Chapter 031

"So, here we are" said Joseph. He held Roger's phone in his hand. It was the second week of March. Today was the day the results for the third round would be released.

Hence, both of them got up early and borrowed Roger's phone. The results were due at 10 o'clock. There was still 5 minutes to 10. Joseph sat in the middle of the hallway. Roger and Jasmine were sitting in front of him. Next to him sat Alex, and the rest of the children of Cherry Grove sat around him.

They all waited for the results to be announced, to see if Alex and Joseph would pass the third round as they claimed, if Cherry Grove would have two people who passed the third round of the PIT.

Alex was sitting by the side, completely chill. He knew he had gotten nothing wrong. Unless the examiner nitpicked at any small details he may have missed, he was confident in a full score. Joseph, even though he claimed he was confident if passing, was nervous about his results. Alex thought he was unsure of being in the top 100, as they were guaranteed to get an adventure scholarship if they applied at the three places he picked, according to the results of the previous year. Those lower than this still would get the adventure sponsorship, but it was not guaranteed if they did not impress the sponsor.

"It's time" said Joseph as he typed in his examination number

After a brief pause, he grinned, held out his hand and showed off the results displayed on the phone.

Joseph Rodiguez

#233568

Rank : 77

"Yahoo! I did it" he yelled cheering and swinging his arms around, as did the other children around him as they offered their congratulations.

Roger took the phone from Joseph's hands, and proceeded to put in Alex's examination number. He then asked in shock, starting at the displayed result.

"Well? How is it?" asked Alex.

Roger said nothing, and turned the phone towards Alex to let him see for himself.

Alex Burns

#233566

Rank : 7

"Well that's not too bad. I expected the number one rank, but considering I am competing with people who grew up learning about Pokemon, rank 7 is not all that bad" he thought.

"Waah! Alex, you got rank 7! That is awesome!" said a kid who caught sight of the phone.

His voice caused everyone to pause. Joseph snatched the phone from Roger's hands and looked at the results himself.

"Wow! Rank 7. That is so good" he said, after which the cheers and congratulations of the other kids sounded again.

"Well done you two! Considering that there may be some people who apply for recorrection, you may drop a few numbers down in your final ranking. But still! These are two of the best results in all of Kanto! You should be proud!" said Roger happily.

After receiving congratulations and praises all around and basking in the awe of the children, Alex and Joseph went back to their room. Roger followed them in.

"Well! You previously told me that you would apply for the adventure scholarship of Oak Corall, Silph Co, and Devon Corporation. Are those still your choices?" asked Roger, accessing the PIT website on his phone.

"Yes! Oak Corall is my first choice, and the other two are backups. I don't think I need the backups considering that I ranked in the top 100 though" said Joseph.

"Well, you are required to apply for 2 papers at least for some reason. Also, sometimes these big companies offer extra incentives to convince prospects into their sponsorship. Even if you don't ultimately choose it, having that option open never hurts" said Roger.

He then selected the papers chosen by Joseph and submitted the application.

"And it's done. The same papers for you too Alex?" asked Roger.

"Yes," said Alex. He then hesitated, but said, "and another one too. Select the Oak Corall research internship."

"Research? I didn't think you would be interested in research" said Joseph, surprised.

"Just want to keep my options open" replied Alex.

"Alright. I submitted the application for those four papers" he said to Alex.

He then pocketed his phone and said, "Alright! Now that it's over with, I will be going. The papers by the three places you have applied for should be arriving within a couple of days. You can each fill the papers by yourself and I will mail them for you. Remember to complete them as soon as possible. Though the deadline is week and the mail gets delivered fast, there is always the possibility of it getting delayed for some reason."

The boys nodded, and he started walking out.

He then looked back, smiled and said, "Alex. Joseph. I am proud of you."