"And would you look at that! The winner of this year's rookie rumble is Matthew Thompson, beating Grace Martinez's swirlix with his crogunk, just showing how significant the type advantage can be in these early levels"

"Well said, Josh, but I think you are underselling Matthews crogunk here, I mean did you see it's bullet punch, such a good move so early, it must of been extremely difficult for it to learn"

"For sure Tom. But that swirlix was also mighty impressive and would of won if not for crogunks taunt attack, I mean did you see the moves it knew Earlier, learning yawn and copycat before even leaving for their first league is also mighty impressive"

I sigh as I look at some of my potential 'competition' for this year's league, eve if they have had pokemon since they turned 18 and I've been stuck worrying about my standard aptitude test results to come back.

"Don't worry about them you'll probally do well enough" the voice of my older sister, Sarah, comes from my left. The only reason I am probably going on this task might I add. With the great suggestion that since she had such great potential with flying types that I would probally be the same. I mean seriously, she reached ace level in 6 years and she expects me to do something similar?

"Really, you actually think that I'm going to do well, especially since there are two people competing this year with fucking peak level talent in fairy and fighting?" I ask with a obvious deadpan in my voice, knowing I'm probally going to bomb.

"You don't have to win this season, even Bertha took 2 seasons to make it to the league." She said with that look she always had, obviously she had only taken a year, even if she was lucky with the gym rotations, I mean, really. Peak flying aptitude and the grass, bug and flying gyms are all in rotation? Bellshill, she didn't even have to deal with a single gym that was strong against her.

"Yeah, and she had to go against the water, Ice, grass and flying gyms all in that one season" I reply to her, with as much sarcasm as possible I might add.

"Just saying that you don't have to worry, if you put in the effort you'll be fine, plus your results will be in any day now, if you follow the guidelines its easy to not die" she all but smiled at me, probally reminiscing about something. She never tells us much about her adventures but it is rather easy to put together.

"Yeah not like the beedrill mating season is soon or anything, I should be perfectly safe in the forests" I reply dryly "plus their is no guarantee that I even have good potential, we aren't even related by blood for god sake, it's rather easy to tell, you've good brown hair and blue eyes and I've got dirty blond hair and green eyes, not to mention we look nothing alike" I point out to her pointedly, knowing for a fact that even if we have the same mother, her flying affinity could of came from her dad.

"Yeah that doesn't matter though, my dad only had mediocre flying potential and mom is untested, she probally has peak and that's how I got peak" she counter argues in her defence, which I admit Is a rather good point, not that I will fall over just because of it.

"Yeah but you also forg-" "would you to just shut up and do something productive instead" my Mom shouts from the kitchen, probally eavesdropping on the conversation while making breakfast, I decide to just continue browsing the TV to see if their is anything else interesting while my sister stands up and goes to probally prepare her teams lunch, which there is not at this time of the year, so I decide to just go back to my room.

Once in my room I just decide to overlook the travel plan I've constructed, had to make it a bit rushed after the unexpected last minute changes to the gym order this year, I mean seriously, switching the path from oreburgh to eterna, into oreburgh to pastoria. Was quite the shock and changed quite alot of tournament locations, apparently gardenia was gonna be second again but got pregnant and has too be replaced by saphira, and she didn't have any low enough level monsters for the second gym.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I quickly realise that it's useless to look at this at the moment and quickly switch to looking to looking at the current migration routes so I know what to look out for, don't want to get stuck in a tauros stampede after all, and quickly realise that alot of foreign flying types are coming in the next few months, basically rubbing my sisters skill in my face. And after that I just switch to looking though the forums on my pokegear.

[Later]

I continue to look at all the dumb shit on the forums, until I find something intresting, survey results on the pokemon that have been seen in rugged pass, which shouldn't be interesting, but apartently they opened some deep underground chamber that had some undiscovered regional variant of snubull and granbull that has thus been deemed hisuian snubull/granbull, they are a dark blue instead of pink, with more black highlights, with yellow eyes and a spiked choker with cuts in their ears, the grandbull has similar spikes around its wrists. They are dark types and once they evolve they apartently become part fighting, quite the intresting discovery. Apartently the extinct species of cranidos was also discovered in the cave, and after some deeper exploration they found some lileep and cradilly that are essentially the same but seem to have stayed still for so long they are stuck in place deep in the cave.

[Even further later]

"Valen, I think its here" my Mom shouts from the living room, clear excitement in her voice, probally expecting great things from this. I bregrudeonly stood up and started on my way down the stairs, knowing that if it's any good I'm going to be forced on a journey, I mean how do these tests even work. Do they take your blood and have a psychic look at it or something?

"I'm here, I'm here" I say as I walk down the stairs, probally about to have a moment that could decide if I go to community college or go on a journey, real exiting moment right here, not like no one ever gets a good aptitude and still doesn't do well on a journey, I guess danger be gone because I've got better aptitude or something.

As I enter the living room I see my Mom in her one of her endless combinations of blue yoga pants and some type of trackie top, with her short brown hair and blue eyes that are basically shining with excitement, the second she sees me she all but shoves the letter into my hands and pushs me onto the couch.

"Go on, open it" she almost shouts in my ear as I look down at the literally spotless white envelope in my hands, the only ylthing of notice being the league logo in red wax sealing it shut.

"Alright, alright I'm opening it" I say as I feel my sister start breating down my neck, probally just walking into the room from who knows where to see how I do. I struggle with the wax before just ripping the envelope for a minute and then unfold the paper

Name: Valen Ardent

date of birth: 18/4/875

Knowledge test score- 87%

Practical test score- 90%

Overall- pass

Energy aptitudes-

Normal- 23% (low)

Grass- 19% (low)

Bug- 41% (mid)

Flying- 51% (high)

Fighting- 62% (high)

Rock- 12% (low)

Ground- 37% (mid)

Dark- 96% (peak)

Ghost- 59% (high)

Psychic- 50% (mid)

Posion- 53% (high)

Water- 45% (mid)

Ice- 6% (low)

Steel- 84% (peak)

Electric- 18% (low)

Fire- 46% (mid)

Fairy- 21% (low)

Dragon- 67% (high)

As I see the results on my aptitude test only one word comes to mind...... Fuck.