Chapter 33: Pokémon Knowledge Competition.

Greenwich Town, once known as Greenwich Village, became very famous when a world-renowned Pokémon Trainer took the world by storm by winning three Pokémon Leagues with his Bug-type Pokémon.

Indigo Plateau Conference, Silver Conference and Ever Grande Conference.

He won three Conferences, one after another, before settling down as a Gym Leader of his home region. His name resounded in the whole world but not just for his ability as a trainer but also for his side career.

"~Kyaaa! I am a big fan of his. I heard he would open the gym for spectators for the weekend. You know what that means, right?"

"He will hold a concert before the Gym Battle!"

"I can't wait. How long has it been since he last did the special event?"

"Two years if I remember correctly, and that was when Princess Shirona challenged him to a Gym Battle."

"I wonder who it is this time!"

Aeron, Nessa and Misty walked through the streets of Greenwich Town, which were filled with people. The crowd would increase since people were flying from all over the Kanto Region to attend the concert of the world-famous singer Jason Raige.

"Wow, I could have never guessed your first Gym Battle would attract this much attention." Nessa looked at girls talking excitedly among each other while streets were decorated with colourful lights.

"How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Aeron sighed to himself. They had just arrived in Greenwich Town, and the first thing he did was register for a Gym Battle. At first, his Gym Battle was supposed to take place tomorrow morning, but it was suddenly postponed to the day after tomorrow. And now there was supposed to be a concert before his battle with the Gym Leader...

Misty laughed as she saw Aeron's troubled expression."People would die for a chance to have him hold a concert before their Gym Battle."

"And I am not people." He shook his head. "Now, the whole world would be watching."

"Feeling the pressure?"

"Yes." Aeron did not lie. "A least a few thousand people would watch me live while many more would watch me through streams on Poketube." He let out a troubled sigh. "My first Gym Battle just became a worldwide event."

Nessa and Misty kept laughing the more Aeron sighed.

"You will be fine." Misty locked her right arm in his left and led him through the bustling streets. "Let's enjoy ourselves for today and let our Pokémon recover from their exhaustion."

"You have worked hard, so don't feel too pressured." Nessa locked her left arm with Aeron's right before flashing a smile to Misty. The boy sandwiched between them could see sparks coming out of their eyes.

The trio roamed the markets for the next few hours, interacting with different Pokémon following their trainers. Since certain someone was a model, she did not forget to take them on a shopping spree.

"Misty bought a few, so kinda understandable, but are you even going to wear all these?" The Duskborn could not help but ask. He carried at least ten shopping bags while Nessa enjoyed an ice cream.

"I bought them because they are pretty. Unlike you, I love to dress well when I am not training." Nessa looked at Aeron, who wore the usual black pants, a black t-shirt and a black jacket. "How can one wear so much black?"

"Because I look good in it?" He raised the bags in his hand before adding. "And why am I not supposed to put them in the space bag?"

"Because it takes away the feel behind going shopping."

[Attention: We will hold a Pokemon Knowledge Competition at the central plaza; only official trainers below the age of twenty can participate].

The duo carefully listened to the announcement before their eyes lit up.

"It's [PKC]." They said at the same time.

"Are we participating?" Nessa asked with a competitive grin.

"No way am I going to let anyone claim it," Aeron spoke with a small grin, which was rare for him. "Every winner of [PKC] gets an Evolution Stone and an unknown egg of a Pokémon from the Kanto Region."

"Did you two forget which one of us had a higher score in Regionals?" Misty flashed them a grin as well.

"Game on!" Aeron and Nessa said together before the trio made their way toward the Central Plaza, and it did not take for them to reach either.

"We are here," Nessa said while looking at the city's central plaza filled with Pokémon Trainers. "We should release our Pokémon as well."

Aeron removed the three Luxury Balls and called out his team; Nessa did the same.

"Xew!"

"Woof!"

The Dragon-type and Fire-type were amazed by the number of people; they were itching to run around and explore. On the other hand, the Bug-type silently climbed to Aeron's shoulder and started munching on berries.

"Xew?" The Dragon-type felt jealous and immediately jumped on its trainer's head. "Xew, Xew." A satisfied smile appeared on its face as it sent a smirk to the green worm Pokémon.

"Woof! Woof!"

"Yes, I love you as well." Aeron smiled and picked up the orange puppy in his embrace. Now, all his Pokémon were resting somewhere on his body.

"They crave your attention."

"I have had that effect on others." The Duskborn shrugged before adding. "You are the one to talk."

Nessa chuckled. Horsea was in her arms while Pidgey was resting on her head. She turned toward her friend, who was sulking with a pout and could understand why.

Just like Pokemon Trainers, there was a strength classification of Pokémon, and they were very similar to Trainer License Classes.

S-Class > A-Class > B-Class > C-Class > D-Class > E-Class > F-Class.

Pokemon that were considered S-Class or A-Class threats were not allowed to be called within towns or any public space if not posted otherwise. Misty's Gyarados was an S-Class, while her Wartortle was an A-class Pokémon. Looking at trainers enjoying the night with their Pokémon made her sad.

Axew looked at the orange-haired girl before jumping from Aeron's head and standing before her.

"Xew?"

"You want me to pick you up?" Misty's eyes lit up, and she immediately grabbed the Dragon in her arms before rubbing her cheeks with it. "Aren't you very considerate?"

"Axew!" The Dragon nodded its head, and the other two trainers lit up with smiles watching Misty cheer up, but Aeron could not help but whisper to Nessa.

"Don't you think Axew is being suspicious?"

"How so?" Nessa asked while eyeing the happy Misty that carried the Dragon in her arms.

"It is..."

[Attention Trainers. The Pokémon Quiz will begin in one hour at 22:00 sharp. We advise trainers to sign up for it online using their Pokedex, as the online page would stop taking participants five minutes before the completion begins. The results will be announced immediately, and Sir Gideon, the Mayor of Greenwich Town, will present the rewards].

"Let's get the registration out of the way, and then we can try some street food," Misty spoke to her friends as she led the way while Axew climbed onto her head.

The duo agreed and forgot about their previous conversation.

"Xew?" The Dragon's ear perked up at the mention of food, and it held Misty's hair with its left hand and pointed his right hand forward.

"AXEW!"

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"The Pokémon Knowledge Competition has been held multiple times across every region at random times. But I can see many of you have come to participate." The Event Coordinator pointed at the large screen set up in the plaza that showed the images of the winners. He looked at hundreds of young trainers standing before him and asked. "There have only been 68 winners so far. Can any of you carve your name on this list?"

"YES!"

The young trainers shouted at the top of their lungs.

Suddenly, the space around the Even Coordinator distorted as two Pokémon appeared beside him.

"These are my Pokémon, Alakazam and Hypno. They will ensure none of you cheat, and if you do...there will be repercussions as a negative note will be left on your Trainer Profile. A negative note would mean problems when you apply for an upgrade in your Trainer License."

The Event Coordinator paused as he let his words settle in the brains of these young trainers while his two Psychic-type Pokémon released a bit of Psychic Waves to let these trainers know of their presence and powers. There had been cases of cheating every time a Pokémon Knowledge Competition was held, but each time, the perpetrators were caught, and their names were made public while a negative note was left on their Trainer IDs.

"There will be thirty questions, and you will be given 30 minutes to complete the quiz. You have to answer all the questions correctly to be the winner. Simple, right?" The Event Coordinator smiled while the trainers shook their heads. If the competition was so simple, there wouldn't be only 68 winners. The first few questions will be easy, while the last five will be the hardest. Even answering the first twenty was praiseworthy. "So, are you all ready?"

"YES!"

"Trainers, take out your Pokedexs!"

The young trainers immediately followed his instructions and opened the online quiz that would begin at 22:00 sharp, and when few seconds were left, the Event Coordinator did a countdown.

"3."

"2."

"1."

"BEGIN!"

All the trainers immediately looked at the first questions.

"Ahhhh!"

Surprised shouts of trainers rang out as they were teleported to the stage.

"We have our first batch of those who attempted cheating." The Even Coordinator announced while looking at the camera streaming the competition. He pointed at the trainers who tried to cheat, and the cameraman focused on their faces...

While all this was happening, Aeron was busy going through the quiz.

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Q1: 'Do you even lift, bro?' To which Pokémon does this statement refer?

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Q2: What type of Pokemon are mainly blue?

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Q3: Normal-type is weak to which Type?

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Q4: What are the three types shared by every Royal Pokemon?

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Q5: How many different Pokémon-types are there?

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The first five questions were straightforward, and Aeron immediately answered all of them. They were questions which every capable trainer would know. The trickier ones came after that. Since this competition was held in Kanto, the following questions were about Kanto Region and different Pokémon found here.

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Q6: What is the total number of Pokémon registered under Kanto-dex?

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Q7: What cave—named after a Pokémon—connects Route 2 and Route 26 to Route 11 in the Kanto region?

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Q8: What Gym Badge do you earn for defeating Erika at the Celadon City Gym?

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Q9: What gender is Nidorina?

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Q10: Which Pokémon is number 69 on Pokedex?

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An unknown smile appeared on Aeron's face when he saw the 10th question, which he quickly hid.

The questions did not pose much trouble to him since he was very knowledgeable about the Kanto Region and Pokémon living in the region. The only question he found tricky was number 6.

Legendaries Pokemon were never seen, nor were there any photos of them and their existence was considered a myth. So, many people did not count the three Legendary Pokémon within the 151 Pokémon of Kanto. However, the League had always refused that notion and mentioned the three Legendary Birds of Kanto within the 151 Pokemon under Kanto-dex.

Once he was done answering these questions, he did not stop and kept going without losing his concentration. The following five questions would be challenging as they would not be limited to just one region.

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Q11: Zigzagoon evolves into what?

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Q12: Which Water-type Pokémon first discovered in the Unova region can be found with either a red or blue stripe on its back? Be careful! The two forms of these Pokémon do not get along well.

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Q13: This move allows a Pokemon to copy any move used and keep it permanently. What is it?

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Q14: What is the name of the mountain that divides the Sinnoh region in half?

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Q15: Which Fighting-type and Flying-type Pokémon, categorized as the Wrestling Pokémon, was first discovered in the Kalos region?

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Aeron went through all the questions in rapid succession and then focused on the rest. Questions 16-25 were all about famous Pokémon Professors and their research.

Although he had always wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer, Aeron also showed interest in Pokémon Research, and thus, he answered all the questions. However, a frown did appear on his face when he reached Question number 26, and it just deepened when he looked at Question 29 and Question 30—the last two.

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Q29: Which Pokémon was the mysterious former king of the Kalos region reunited with after he redeemed himself?

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Q30: A professor experiments to find out the [Hidden Power] of a mystery Pokemon known as Subject X. Subject X's Hidden Power is discovered to be: a) Super effective on Abomasnow, b) NVE on Milotic, c) Super effective on Tyranitar, d) Of normal effectiveness on Lapras. Which is Subject X's possible Hidden Power?

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"Times up!"

The Event Coordinator called out, and the online site froze before with all the answers locked in. After these thirty minutes, everyone had different expressions on their faces. Some were happy, while others were not.

"How was it?" Nessa asked as she made a sulking expression. Her test had not gone too well, or at least how she wanted.

"I think I aced it," Misty said, looking at Aeron while crossing her arms before her chest.

Aeron said nothing and just gave them a smile before looking toward the Event Coordinator. The mayor of Greenwich Town was here.

It was time for the results.