NOVEL WEB Chapter 80: The Ranking System
The sun had begun to set when Combat class finally ended.
The battles after Focalors and Candice were a little entertaining to watch. From Dante's estimate, most of the Trainers and their Pokemon are at the level of being able to pass the Qualifiers back in the Rookie Competition.
Of course, that was also because they had a chance to train for another month compared to the Trainers then.
"Good! Everyone has shown a splendid showing of their capabilities. Before we end our class, remember to write your insights and pass them by tomorrow. I'll upload an assignment tab later, so you can upload it as soon as tonight."
With those words, Professor Tim dismissed the class and began returning all the teaching materials in his bag.
"Professor Tim, may I ask a question?"
"Ahh, Mr. Dante. Is there something I can help you with?"
"I want to ask, do you know any other methods a Pokemon can get a sudden surge in strength?"
Yes. After Dante saw Kachina, he remembered what happened with her Drilbur and how it suddenly became stronger. He planned to ask the professors about it, but Prof. Alma's course wasn't the type to know about something like this, and Prof. Berto left as soon as the class ended.
He described to Professor Tim what happened to the Pokemon of his opponent. How it withstood an attack it shouldn't have, while also displaying strength more than it initially had.
"I see…Is it possible that Pikachu just didn't do enough damage?"
"I know Pikachu's strength the best, Professor. Not to mention, he also used Nasty Plot before that."
"I must say, Mr. Dante, I'm just as confused about this as you are. Oh, look at the time, it's almost time to meet with the varsity team. I'm afraid I won't be able to help with your doubts, Mr. Dante."
Professor Tim finished packing his bag and quickly walked out of the room under Dante's scrutinizing gaze. Professor Tim definitely knew something about it. He just won't say what.
Well, it's to be expected. This information was not available in the Alliance database, so it must be something relatively private.
Walking out of the room, he apologized to Shinobu and the others for keeping them waiting before they walked towards the meeting place where they agreed with Furina.
—
"I heard there are tons of reporters at the entrance."
"It's only natural. Lady Furina is studying in our school, after all."
"Look, she's there with her sister and Dante."
"Damn it! How dare that guy be so close to Lady Furina!"
While walking back to their dormitories, they heard the discussion of the surrounding students. Furina, who had joined their group at some point, was telling Focalors how her day went.
"By the way, are the two of you also renting a dorm here?"
"Of course! Although the room is a little small, it's a fascinating experience to live in a house with only me and my sister."
"Yes. And if only someone didn't wet the bed last night, it would have been even nicer."
"W-what!? Phrasing! I wet the bed due to crying while watching Romie and Julie!"
"Pikachu!"
"Heh, Pikachu said he also cried while watching last night's episode."
"How about you, Dante? Weren't you watching it with Pikachu?"
Dante saw the look of curiosity in Furina's eyes and his gaze subconsciously shifted in Shinobu's direction. He couldn't say that he was savoring the last free time he had with Shinobu yesterday, right?
When Shinobu saw Dante looking at her, she immediately became flustered. Is Dante going to tell them they spent the last night together?
"H-hey! How do the two of you avoid the reporters back in your country? Look, I can see them even from here!"
"Ah, we have Dragonite to thank for that. He has served as our ride ever since we entered high school."
"Oh, how convenient. I hope my next Pokemon can fly, it would be so much easier to travel around."
Shinobu sighed in relief at successfully diverting the conversation. Unbeknownst to her, however, Furina was looking at her with suspicion. As a world-class actress, she can easily see what Shinobu was trying to do.
'Why is she changing the subject? I only asked Dante why he didn't watch with Pikachu…le gasp! Don't tell me…!'
Her eyes shifted back and forth between Dante and Shinobu, her face feeling a little hot.
'T-they're lovers, after all. It's totally normal to do that, yeah. Totally normal.'
For the rest of the walk back, Furina wasn't able to look in Dante and Shinobu's direction. Her mind kept imagining scenes of the two kissing and doing other stuff whenever her eyes fell on them.
The school dormitory was located only a short distance from the school's entrance. It is divided into male and female areas, with different types of buildings available.
First, there's the Apartment area. It consists of a large 10-story building with different rooms. Depending on the size, there can be two to four people living together inside. This is where Shinobu and Candice are currently staying.
Then there's the Cottage area. Houses with different designs are present here. There are only 50 dormitories of this type, and it's usually reserved for the top-performing students who want to rent. This is Dante's current dormitory.
Lastly, there's the Mansion area, with only three available mansions in the whole university. While it is termed a mansion, the houses there are only two to three times larger than the cottages. The best thing about this is the amount of space around the mansion that the inhabitants can personally do with what they want.
The 3 mansions are respectively only for the students who placed first on the Pokemon Trainer Ranking, Pokemon Coordinator Ranking, and the Pokemon Breeder Ranking. It's one of the incentives proposed by the Dean to encourage competition.
By the way, the ranking system is a crucial part of the whole school. Students register on the University's official website, and a ranking is given depending on the course they are taking.
The ranking can be divided into by class, by year, and by overall course.
For example, Dante right now is 1st place in their class and also 1st among the freshmen students. However, he is only ranked 101st in the overall Trainer ranking in the school.
Of course, this is because he hasn't had any ranking challenges yet, so his ranking is below all the other older students.
In addition to getting the rights to rent a mansion, the ranking system also gives further incentives depending on the Trainer's rank, in the form of University merits.
The merits are the school's internal currency, which can be used in various ways such as renting the Training grounds, exchanging for items in the school warehouse, and also obtaining a quota for the Breeder house.
The higher the student's ranking in each respective category, the more merit points they can earn each month.
Of course, there are also other methods of obtaining merit points, such as through exchanges or University tasks.
University tasks range from basic things such as taking care of Pokemon and plants and arranging books in the library, and then to hard ones like collecting specific herbs in the wild and escorting a research team during their venture into a PokePortal.
While chatting on their way back, Dante found out that Furina and Focalors have also rented a cottage, and 'coincidentally', theirs were right next to his!
"Hey, why don't we have a celebration in your dorms? You know, for our first day in college and all that?"
Candice suddenly proposed to the others in the group while walking back. Her eyes were shining in excitement.
"That's a fantastic idea! I'll be in charge of cooking!"
"Please, don't. We already had macaroni for the past two days."
"H-hey! What's wrong with my macaroni?!"
Furina pouted, crossing her arms in front of her flat chest.
"Why don't I help out? I know a thing or two regarding cooking."
"Me too! I'll cook you guys up some of the delicious specialties in my hometown!"
"Certainly! Then Shinobu, Candice, and I will be in charge of cooking."
"Alright. I'll buy the groceries then. Wanna come along with me, Focalors?"
"Okay. We can use Dragonite to travel faster."
As mentioned earlier, Neuvillette gave both his daughters a Pokemon in order to provide protection while away from him. Furina got Kingdra, while Focalors had Dragonite.
The three girls, Shinobu, Candice, and Furina, gave Dante and Focalors a list of what they wanted to buy. The list included various food ingredients and some board and card games.