Chapter Sixty-One: There’s No Way My Driving Theory Exam Could Be That Strange

“Mr. Yaning, you seem to be in quite a good mood today,” Heath remarked with a cheerful smile as he looked at the man before him.

The Farfetch’d glanced up curiously at the human in front of it, searching for anything out of the ordinary. But to the duck, all human expressions looked the same; it couldn’t tell any difference.

“Heh, my daughter finally got into Quartz High School—she’s now an outstanding student!” Mr. Yaning’s smile broadened, his face alight as if his child had just become the League Champion.

Heath was momentarily taken aback, but then he grinned as well. Of course, he knew of Quartz High School. Among all the schools in the Quartz League, Quartz High had the lowest acceptance rate and the highest success rate for its graduates.

Getting into Quartz High almost guaranteed a good chance of being accepted into the most prestigious academy of the Quartz League: Quartz University, which was perched atop the Quartz Plateau.

Only the most gifted attended Quartz University, right next to the headquarters of the Quartz League. Students could use their ID to visit all the public league venues for free, and even enjoy complimentary access to the League tournaments and the Master’s Cup.

It was as if, in his previous life, someone were bragging about their child becoming the top scholar of the province and getting into Tsinghua or Peking University—a truly joyous occasion.

“That’s impressive, Mr. Yaning. Your daughter is sure to be an outstanding person in the future,” Heath said with a gentle smile, making Mr. Yaning beam with even greater delight.

Soon, Mr. Yaning had bought his breakfast and departed happily, while Heath tucked away the payment with a satisfied grin.

“Trainer, is that Quartz High School really that great? Does getting in mean you’ll be remarkable?” Zorua asked curiously, having never heard the name before.

“It’s truly exceptional—it’s the best high school on the continent,” Heath nodded. He’d once dreamed of studying there himself, but life had taken a different turn, though he found his current life quite agreeable.

“But to say that getting in guarantees excellence—that’s a bit of an overstatement. I’ve never believed academic credentials are the measure of a person’s character,” Heath added with a shrug.

If this world judged character by educational background, Heath mused, he’d be the worst of the lot. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“Oh.” Zorua nodded, half-understanding. Heath didn’t press the matter—after all, it was a bit much to expect a Pokémon to grasp such concepts. Maybe an Alakazam or Kadabra would enjoy such discussions with him.

Heath glanced up at the sky over Viridian City. The story hadn’t progressed much yet; Mewtwo likely hadn’t even been born. These peaceful days brought him great contentment.

As the midday rush approached, Heath busied himself once more. When the crowd finally thinned, he began preparing to head out to driving school.

“Hopefully, the trip to the driving school goes smoothly this time. I really don’t want to get chased by a Blissey again,” Heath took a deep breath. But remembering that Joy Xue was probably still at the Pokémon Center, he relaxed a little.

The journey was uneventful, and Heath arrived safely at the driving school. But just as he stepped out of the vehicle, he saw a massive truck barreling toward him at breakneck speed.

“Damn!” Heath was stunned—what kind of vendetta was this?

Or maybe, having come to the Pokémon world, fate had chosen him to be summoned to another world as a hero?

Heath instinctively started to run aside, but before he could take more than a few steps, the truck drifted, fishtailing within a meter of him, then neatly slid into the empty parking space beside him and came to a perfect stop.

Heath stared blankly at the scene. He was starting to think he was cursed at this driving school—every visit seemed to bring trouble. Maybe these people were doing it on purpose.

“Well, if it isn’t little Heath!” Just as he was about to approach the truck and see what kind of driver was out to send him to another world, Junsha Aya leapt down from the cab.

“Aya… Sis Aya?” Heath looked at her in surprise—had she really pulled off that drift?

“What’s wrong? Are you so excited to see your big sister you can’t hold it in?” Aya teased, pinching Heath’s cheek as she strolled over, a mischievous smile on her lips.

“No, not at all,” Heath hastily waved his hands. The last thing he wanted was to encourage this seasoned flirt—who knew what she’d do next?

Aya opened her arms wide, making a show of offering a hug and even puffed out her chest on purpose. But Heath, knowing full well her roguish ways, turned on his heel and walked away. If he just stood there, uncertain or hesitant, she’d seize the moment for sure.

“Hmph, little Heath is so cold,” Aya complained behind him, but perhaps recalling Officer Maple’s punishment yesterday, she refrained from doing anything more.

Heath, still on edge, made his way to the classroom where he’d studied last time. He settled in with his book, though Kadabra was nowhere to be seen—perhaps it had already passed the first exam.

“This book is too damn thick… Even with Kadabra’s study methods, I’ll be at this for ages,” Heath sighed, lifting Zorua from his head and setting her on the seat beside him.

Disguised as a Caterpie, Zorua was immediately met with disdain. A girl nearby, spotting the supposed bug Pokémon, silently slid her chair a few spaces over, putting distance between herself, Heath, and Zorua.

Heath noticed, but felt nothing about it, instead focusing on his studies. After a while, a teacher came in to explain some difficult points from the exam.

Heath listened carefully, though he found it tedious. But if he wanted to drive and travel on his own, he had to endure.

“Now, let me talk about this,” the teacher said, drawing a cartoon of a Dugtrio on the board, with a prohibition sign over it.

“Can any of you diligent students tell us what you should do if you see this sign on the road?” the teacher asked with a smile. Heath stroked his chin—he hadn’t seen this illustration before. Was it in the appendix on traffic regulations?

“Well, for starters, it can’t mean Dugtrio are prohibited from driving. How could a Dugtrio possibly drive a car?” Heath thought to himself, certain of at least that much.