"Candidates, please present your exam permit, ID card, and student card. Leave your Pokémon and mobile phone here before entering the exam hall. You are all senior students, so you know the consequences of cheating. Be mindful."
"Nekomi, hold onto these things. Go wait for me over there."
"Meow~"
Nekomi took the phone and Weavile's Poké Ball, then picked a window with bright sunlight and sat directly on the windowsill. Meanwhile, Rowan went to the back of the line and picked up his study materials for one last review.
The students in this line were all here for their graduation make-up exams. Since they had different test papers, their exams were held separately from the next-year students, but within a single exam hall. The subjects being tested varied.
Broadly speaking, they can be divided into two types. The students in Rowan's exam hall were all from Pokémon-related majors. With the existence of Pokémon, productivity had undergone significant changes, and Pokémon had given rise to many industries.
Accordingly, many universities had established various majors. Some were purely theoretical, where students might go four years without encountering a real Pokémon, but these majors still carried an air of prestige.
Other exam halls included standard subjects, but those had nothing to do with Rowan.
Aside from surveillance cameras and invigilators, Rowan also noticed the proctor Pokémon at the entrance—a Haunter with a proctor's badge hanging from its body, assisting humans with inspections. The inspection process, however, was a bit... haunted.
This actually suited Haunter's nature quite well. As a Ghost-type Pokémon, Haunter was literally a ghost. The essence of using Pokémon for proctoring was to prevent people from using Pokémon to cheat.
Some Psychic-type Pokémon had telepathic abilities, while certain Ghost-types had natural camouflage abilities—both of which made them exceptionally suited for such tasks.
The Haunter passed through the walls and floor, weaving through the crowd as it conducted inspections. Because its hands were detached from its body, it occasionally even removed its own eyes, holding them in its hands to inspect candidates from different angles.
Some candidates unintentionally brushed against Haunter, and every single one of them shivered involuntarily.
Unlike Rowan, the other students had all returned their Pokémon to their Poké Balls, making Rowan an exception. This, in turn, piqued Haunter's curiosity.
Haunter quickly popped its eyes back into their sockets, then rubbed its small hands together before reaching out to tap Rowan's shoulder, curious about what made this candidate different.
But just as Haunter made the move—before its hands could even reach Rowan—they were suddenly bound by an invisible force. The small hands, as if filled with cement, dropped straight to the floor with a heavy thud.
"Grrkss?!"
As a "ghost," Haunter wore an expression as if it had just seen a ghost itself. It couldn't understand why its hands wouldn't float back up—until it noticed the Meowscarada beside it, looking far from friendly.
The Nekomi that had been basking in the sunlight on the windowsill had, at some point, silently appeared right next to it.
"Meow—"
Feline Pokémon, much like ordinary cats, shared certain traits. Their voices could range from sweetly soft to sharp and piercing. At this moment, Nekomi's voice carried a husky tone, exuding a highly threatening vibe.
Nekomi's voice was low, and Rowan, still absorbed in reviewing his notes, hadn't noticed what was happening. But Haunter had.
Pokémon, despite having different cries, shared a common language. Haunter could already sense Nekomi's hostility.
[What do you think you're doing?]
Meowscarada is inherently a proud, attention-seeking Pokémon with delicate emotions and strong attachment to its Trainer.
Seeing a Ghost-type Pokémon seemingly trying something suspicious, it naturally reacted in defense.
Nekomi then adjusted its leafy cloak slightly, revealing the previously invisible vines that had ensnared Haunter's hands—finally making it clear why they had suddenly become so heavy.
"Wooooo..."
Even after realizing what had happened, Haunter's mind still seemed a bit sluggish. It wasn't new to assisting with proctoring and had encountered plenty of Pokémon before, but this was the first time it had run into something like this.
From Haunter's perspective, what student's Pokémon would dare attack the proctor's Pokémon? More importantly... who the hell brought out the BOSS for a stroll?!
The aura radiating from Nekomi even made Haunter a little afraid. After evolving into a Meowscarada, Nekomi was no longer just a pure Grass-type—it was now a Grass/Dark-type Pokémon.
The type disadvantage and the sheer gap in power left Haunter visibly unsettled—and to make matters worse, Nekomi showed no intention of letting go. That half-opened flower bud hovered ominously around Haunter's body.
Anyone familiar with Meowscarada would recognize this as a dangerous signal. That wasn't some decorative flower—it was a real flower bomb.
Meowscarada's signature move, Flower Trick, was released through it. Judging by Nekomi's stance, if Haunter couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, this matter wasn't going to be over anytime soon.
However, things didn't escalate beyond control. The friction between the Pokémon had already drawn the attention of the proctors, and Haunter's Trainer was now walking over.
"Student, please have your Meowscarada release Haunter. My Haunter only recently evolved from a Gastly and hasn't fully adapted to having hands yet. I'll discipline it later."
The approaching Trainer wasn't putting on any airs. He knew exactly what kind of personality his Pokémon had. Ever since his Gastly evolved, it had developed a habit of touching things everywhere. Judging by the situation, it must have touched something it shouldn't have.
"Nekomi, let Haunter go. This place is safe—you don't need to be so tense."
Rowan had been too focused on his exam materials to notice what was happening. It wasn't until someone called out Meowscarada that he realized they were talking to him. After all, the exam hall has no other Meowscarada.
"Meow~"
"It's okay, I know what you were trying to do. You didn't cause me any trouble—go ahead and keep sunbathing."
Rowan quickly pieced together why Nekomi had reacted this way. It seemed like Nekomi had retained the Ability from that game.
In that game, there were all sorts of battle tactics, including Trainers being able to stab each other in the back during Pokémon battles. From Nekomi's perspective, a Ghost-type Pokémon getting too close was inherently dangerous.
As soon as Nekomi let go, Haunter immediately dashed back to the exam hall entrance, clearly shaken. Its Trainer, however, didn't say anything further and simply resumed his duties.
He wasn't some three-year-old who would throw a tantrum over such a trivial matter. Meanwhile, Rowan tossed his study materials onto the desk by the entrance, gave Nekomi a quick nod, and made his way to his seat...