After clicking Proceed, the page flashed, and Orin found himself staring at the first set of questions. Instead of starting immediately, he quickly scrolled down to scan the page.
The first section ended after Question 10. Beneath it were the Next and Previous buttons—Previous grayed out—and a small note: Page 1 of 5. He clicked Next and repeated the process, glancing through the second page, then the third, and so on, until he had seen all five pages.
In total, there were 50 questions, and by the timer displayed in the bottom-right corner, there were still 28 minutes left. Each page featured a different type of question, but even so, time wasn't exactly on his side.
The best strategy right now was clear: complete at least two questions per minute and skip anything tricky for later.
"This is so easy," muttered the kid seated to Orin's left, his hair practically glued in place by an excessive amount of hair oil.
Orin ignored him, refocusing on the exam and returning to Question 1. The first page was all multiple-choice questions with four options each.
Question 1:
What is "Pokémon" an abbreviation of?
A) Pocket Monsters
B) Power Creatures
C) Portable Companions
D) Partner Entities
Orin could easily see why the kid thought the questions were simple. Still, he had no time to waste thinking about anything else. Quickly selecting A) Pocket Monsters, he moved on to the next question.
The other nine were just as straightforward. At least to Orin, the multiple-choice questions weren't tricky at all. Compared to the competitive entrance exams he had taken in his previous life, this felt like being spoon-fed.
The questions were all basic world knowledge—nothing about battle mechanics or Pokémon types yet. Even so, Orin kept his focus sharp and moved on to the next page.
The second section was a set of True or False questions.
Question 11:
Pokémon can only be caught in Poké Balls.
True/False
This one made Orin pause for a second.
Sure, Pokéballs were the most common method—but he definitely remembered hearing about other similar devices. Even the anime showed plenty of alternatives.
Selecting False, he moved on without second-guessing himself.
The rest of the True or False questions were much easier, allowing him to blitz through the page before pressing Next.
The third section was Match the Following.
Column A listed ten Pokémon names, and Column B had ten short descriptions.
The first one was easy.
Pikachu—Orin immediately matched it to Small Electric Mouse.
Scratch that—the other nine were just as easy.
Orin suspected this section was specifically tailored for Kanto students, as all ten Pokémon were common species from the region. Hell, even the Kanto starter Trio—Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander—were among them.
Maybe other regions had similar sections customized to their native Pokémons to keep things fair.
These thoughts flickered through Orin's mind as he clicked Next to move to the fourth section of the exam.
During his first scan earlier, this section had genuinely surprised him.
As he looked at the ten questions, a familiar female voice echoed in his head:
"Who's that Pokémon?"
Each question displayed a silhouette of a different Pokémon with a box below asking for its name—just like the questionnaire segment from the Pokémon anime of his old world.
Orin might have been nervous—if they weren't so laughably easy.
Question 31:
Identify the Pokémon: _______________________________
The first silhouette was obviously Pikachu, and the rest were just as recognizable: classic Kanto Pokémon.
This practically confirmed the rumour that each region had its own customized entrance exam.
Quickly writing down the ten names, Orin refocused—because now came the final ten questions.
A quick glance at the clock showed 20 minutes remaining.
He had finished 40 questions in less than 8 minutes.
But this wasn't the time to relax—the last section looked the longest.
Question 41:
You encounter a wild Pokémon in distress, but you're in the middle of an important battle. What do you do?
A) Pause the battle and help the Pokémon immediately.
B) Call for professional help and continue the battle.
C) Finish the battle quickly, then assist the Pokémon.
D) Ignore the Pokémon—it's not your responsibility.
These new MCQs felt… odd.
They weren't testing general knowledge anymore; they were moral questions.
There wasn't a single correct answer—but there was definitely a best answer.
D was clearly wrong.
C seemed passable. B sounded reasonable.
But A was definitely the best choice.
In fact Orin could absolutely imagine himself stopping the battle to help a Pokémon in distress—assuming there wasn't a Nurse Joy nearby.
Even if he called for help, it would still mean pausing the battle.
So choosing A, Orin moved on.
The next question was easier, but Question 43 made him pause again.
Question 43:
A trainer challenges you to a battle, but their team is visibly weaker than yours. What's your response?
A) Offer to train with them instead of battling.
B) Accept the battle but use only one Pokémon to make it fair.
C) Go all out to teach them a lesson in humility.
D) Decline politely, suggesting they train more first.
These questions were clearly geared towards aspiring trainers.
Still, as hypothetical moral questions, they shouldn't disadvantage kids who weren't aiming to become trainers.
Here, D and C sounded way too arrogant.
Orin could easily imagine his big sis picking C—"Teach them a lesson in humility" was exactly her style.
But him? Not a chance.
B seemed fair—using only one Pokémon to even the odds.
In fact, his friends Terri and Kyle would probably pick it, preaching fairness and battle etiquette.
But B assumed that a single Pokémon of his would overpower a full team—which wasn't always a given.
Besides, A seemed more friendly: offering to train with the challenger would de-escalate the situation and still help the weaker trainer grow. And after seeing his stronger Pokémon, the trainer should realize on their own how much weaker the trainer's team is in comparison.
In the end, Orin settles on A and moves on.
But the next question presents another moral dilemma.
Question 44:
A group of students is excluding someone from their club due to differences in beliefs. What do you do?
A) Confront the group and advocate for inclusion.
B) Encourage the excluded student to start their own club.
C) Observe silently—it's not your problem.
D) Talk to a teacher or authority about the situation.
Now, C is definitely the wrong choice. D is something Orin could see himself doing, though from experience, teachers often aren't very helpful in delicate matters between students.
A is certainly brave—standing up for inclusion—but Orin hesitates before choosing it. If their beliefs fundamentally differ, is it right to force a compromise? In contrast, B seems more appropriate. It avoids direct conflict and could give the excluded student a much-needed boost in confidence.
Selecting B, Orin moves on to the next question.
The next four questions are simpler, with more straightforward choices, but the second-to-last question proves to be another tricky one.
Question 49:
You find a rare, shiny Pokémon in a hazardous area. You only have one Pokéball. What's your plan?
A) Carefully attempt to catch it.
B) Leave it alone—risking harm isn't worth it.
C) Come back later with better resources.
D) Try to protect it without catching it.
For someone who insists he is not a collector, the word shiny alone brings a sparkle to Orin's eyes. Shaking his head to refocus, he reads the choices carefully.
B sounds safe—maybe too safe, bordering on cowardly. A feels reckless: unless the Pokémon is weakened or distracted, trying to catch a fully alert wild Pokémon with just one pokeball is a gamble, and a poor one at that.
C seems sensible—come back later better prepared—but there is the risk that the Pokémon could vanish or be caught by someone else. Orin could already imagine the frustration he would feel losing a rare shiny like that.
That leaves D: protect the Pokémon without trying to catch it immediately. It feels like the right call. Guard the Pokémon from hazards first, and maybe, if he earns its trust, the opportunity to catch it will come naturally.
Still hesitating, Orin considers that if he had a tracking method, C might have been ideal. But since nothing like that is mentioned, he chooses D and moves to the final question.
Question 50:
Your Pokémon is struggling in battle and wants to continue. What do you do?
A) Trust their determination and let them keep fighting.
B) Withdraw them immediately to ensure their safety.
C) Give them one last chance, then decide.
D) Encourage them but prepare a backup plan.
Orin sighed after reading the options—several of them seemed right, but unfortunately, he could only choose one of them.
Option A was about trusting in your Pokémon. But as a trainer, if your Pokémon was already struggling, surely you couldn't just stand by and let it keep fighting. It seemed irresponsible.
Option B, withdrawing them immediately, sounded smart from a strategic standpoint, but it was harsh. His Pokémon would definitely feel hurt if their own trainer didn't trust them to carry on. Even their pride would be trampled.
Option C and D both seemed reasonable. But asking the Pokémon again when it was already struggling in the middle of a battle didn't seem very wise. That left D: encourage them, but be ready to step in if necessary. Having a backup plan feels like the perfect blend of trust and responsibility.
The logic checked out. Honestly, Orin could easily imagine himself doing exactly that—trusting his Pokémon, encouraging it, but also preparing for the worst-case scenario.
He selected D and breathed a sigh of relief, noticing a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. Answering these moral questions had definitely not been easy.
Glancing at the timer, he saw there were still 10 minutes left.
"This looks like Clefairy for sure," he heard a voice muttering to his right.
Orin's sensitive ears picked up the mumbled comment. It came from a short, scrawny kid with black glasses, who had been mumbling nonsense ever since the timer started. Although Orin had successfully ignored him until now.
Leaning back slightly in his chair, Orin sneakily side-eyed the kid's monitor screen, curious—there definitely hadn't been a "Clefairy" answer, as far as he remembered.
Question 33:
Identify the Pokémon: _____________________
A quick glance made his mouth twitch in amusement. That was definitely a Jigglypuff, not a Clefairy.
Well, if it had been a cute girl instead of a scrawny kid, Orin might have risked helping by whispering the correct answer. As things stood, he had no such urge.
Turning back to his own monitor, he methodically began rechecking his answers from the very beginning, determined not to let a careless mistake cost him. There was too much at stake with this one test.
He carefully reviewed each answer, paying extra attention to the spelling of Pokémon names in the fourth section.
When he reached the moral choices section again, he sighed, rereading his decisions.
If he were the examiner, he would definitely have some kind of weighted system for the choices in the MCQs. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to have just one "correct" answer for these morally ambiguous questions.
It was still odd to see ethical questions like these in an entrance exam. Orin could think of a few... not-so-good reasons why such a section might exist in a college entrance exam.
"Last one minute remaining!" Amanda's voice rang out from the front of the room, causing a ripple of nervous murmuring across the hall.
Having finished his review, Orin leaned back in his chair, glancing around to see if he recognized anyone.
He did, but it was mostly the psychics stationed around the room, monitoring the students. In the front row, he even spotted the strict-looking psychic Johan, currently berating a kid for trying to peek at someone else's screen.
The sight cracked Orin up—a Team Rocket member scolding a kid for cheating on an entrance exam. Knowing Johan, there might even be a bribe system in place if someone wanted to cheat and have him conveniently look the other way.
Well, it was just a guess—Johan hadn't mentioned anything like that to him, at least.
"That's it! Time's up!" Amanda announced, her voice firm and final.