UA (Day)
'So this is the number one hero school in Japan.' Dominic said to himself as he gazed up at the enormous building. It reminded him of the overwhelming pressure he felt whenever he stood right outside a Gym, but multiplied by seven. 'Well, as long as there aren't any ghosts this time, I'll play. At least, until I can figure out a way home.' Based on the information Nezu gave him, out of every 100 students that applied, only 1 actually made it in. Not exactly reassuring, but something told him that he'd get in no matter what happened.
Nezu had given the blonde a choice. He could remain in jail, or he could enroll in UA and use his Pokemon to become a Hero in this world. Truthfully, it wasn't really much of a choice, and the Trainer was sure that Nezu was aware of this. It was basically 'stay in jail or work for me'.
Walking through the front gate, Dominic managed to navigate his way to the examination room. Almost every desk was filled, and the room itself was massive as well. Taking his assigned seat, he noticed something on his desk. A small card with writing on it.
Exam Ticket: Examinee No.: 0064
Test Location: Battle Center D
'Nezu did say there was more than one aspect to this. A written exam and a practical.' the blonde said to himself as a man's voice called out from the PA System.
"Alright boys and girls! This is your school DJ coming to you live from the monitoring room! This is your official message to get rocking on those tests in front of you! But no cheating! You've got two hours to complete the Written before we get to the main course! Your test starts...NOW!"
'Well, someone certainly loves his job.' Dominic thought with a smile before turning to his exam.
(Two hours later)
"Time's up! Pencils down!" the voice said.
Dominic, hearing the man who was likely to become his teacher, raised his head from his desk and opened his eyes. 'Finally, I've been waiting an hour and a half for this damn test to end.' he thought, the glare from a nearby bluenette going unnoticed. 'Compared to the other tests I had to take at Beacon, this was easy. Maybe it's because I'm older than everyone here.'
Suddenly, all the lights in the room turned off, leaving a single spotlight that illuminated the floor in front of the desks. Walking into the light was a blonde man wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket, though his most unusual piece of clothing was a speaker that he wore around his neck. "Welcome to today's live performance! Everybody say 'HEY!'!" he yelled.
"HEY!" Dominic yelled in response, upsetting a few of the other examinees.
"Glad to hear the feedback!" the man said, giving a thumbs-up to his fellow blonde. "Now, here's the rundown on the Practical! As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock battles! After the presentation, you'll head to a specific Battle Center, okay?" The screen behind him turned on, showing a computer simulation of him going through the Practical instead. "Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center. Depending on difficulty, you'll get points every time you take one down. Of course, attacking fellow examinees and other unheroic acts are prohibited!"
"May I ask a question?" the blue-haired kid from before asked, holding his hand up straight. "On the printout, there are four types of villains. If that is a misprint, then UA, the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes."
'Well, looks like Gregory has a rival in who's more of a pain in my neck.' Dominic thought to himself, sighing.
Unfortunately, the boy heard that. "And you, with the blonde hair! Sleeping in class is inexcusable! If you aren't going to take this seriously, I suggest you leave!"
For twenty seconds, nobody said anything. Until, out of nowhere, Dominic laughed. "If you think I'm leaving that easily, you are sorely mistaken." he said, leaning back in his seat. "And for the record, we're not in class yet. So sleeping now is perfectly fine, right?" he asked with a smile. Before anyone could answer him, the instructor explained the typo.
"Okay, settle down. The fourth villain is worth zero points. He's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center, though I'd just avoid him if I were you."
"Thank you. Please continue." the bluenette said, sitting back down.
'So it's like a Thwomp. Not impossible to beat, but you don't gain anything from victory.' Dominic thought, remembering the stone faces. Immovable, yet easy to evade due to their slow attacks.
Battle Center D (Day)
The trip to the exam area was a quick bus ride. Once they arrived, the empty vehicle served as a changing room for anyone who needed it. Several of the other examinees wore specific clothing, likely to augment their power better.
"Okay, start!" the instructor said, sitting in a large stone tower. "Get moving! There aren't any countdowns in real battles!"
Smiling, Dominic's eye turned red as he got a Poke Ball from his pocket. "Charizard, time for your debut!" he said, throwing the ball into the air. It opened in a flash of light, releasing a large orange lizard with draconic wings and a flame at the end of it's tail. On it's wrist, it wore a metal band with Charizardite Y embedded inside. "Use Fly!" Dominic commanded, getting on the monster's back. Other examinees watched in awe as the duo took flight and soared into the faux city.
It wasn't long before they found one of the fake villains, a Two-Pointer. It rushed at the Flame Pokemon before slashing at it with one of it's arms. While it did manage to impair it's flying, it only did so for a moment. "Dragon Claw!" Channeling energy into it's claws, Charizard retaliated and tore the robot apart. Hearing the distinct sound of treads from behind them, the team of Trainer and Pokemon flew up to evade another attack. Looking down, they saw a One-Pointer. "Flamethrower!" Fire engulfed the machine, melting it into scrap.
As they ascended into the air to search for more faux villains, they happened to pass a hidden camera that recorded the entire battle.
