Not long after Penny secured her place in the quarterfinals, Paul became the second of Lucas's students to do so.
Unlike Penny and Shizuka, who had several mature Pokémon, Paul's team was distinctly lacking.
His entire strength consisted of a Grotle that still had a ways to go before evolution, and the Fuecoco that was about to evolve.
If Lucas hadn't lent him Garganacl, he probably wouldn't have made the top 32.
Even if he did, he'd be exposed as soon as he faced Penny or Shizuka.
In a sense, luck was truly on their side today—the three students never faced each other before the finals.
With Shizuka out in the quarterfinals, Penny and Paul were split into A and B brackets, so they wouldn't meet until the finals.
Lucas even began to wonder if he'd bribed Clavell in his sleep.
Looking at the student list, now mostly crossed out, Lucas raised an eyebrow.
If nothing went wrong, Penny's next two opponents would be Atticus, a Poison-type specialist, and Ortega, a Fairy-type specialist.
Talk about a nasty matchup.
On the other side, Paul also faced pressure.
His first match was against a senior near graduation. If he won, his semifinal opponent would likely be Aliquis, a student Lucas had previously taught.
Based on what he knew, Paul would need to work hard to beat Aliquis, since his Meowscarada had made great strides lately.
Just as Lucas expected, Penny used her Garganacl's "Purifying Salt" to ignore Revavroom's poison, locked down its escape route with Stone Edge, and used Salt Cure to whittle it down until Revavroom lost its fighting strength.
This highly formulaic tactic, with a few tweaks, disgusted the surrounding students even more.
After laying numerous traps and advancing step by step, Paul won his match even though Garganacl was slightly weaker than his opponent.
Penny vs. Ortega, Paul vs. Aliquis.
In a way, it was an "in-house" match between Lucas's students.
Even with only two minutes left before class, Hassel couldn't resist winking at Lucas before racing toward the art room.
Before leaving, he called out,
"Looks like it's going to be a bloodbath~"
Lucas was speechless, already plotting to challenge Hassel to a match and curb his arrogance. Hugging Mimikyu, he focused on the matches.
First up was Penny versus Ortega—a "Team Star" internal battle.
It made sense, really. Mela, Atticus, Ortega—they all had strong trainer talent, which made them squad leaders.
Their presence in the finals was no surprise.
Penny and Garganacl, Ortega and Hatenna—a "fierce" battle ensued, mainly Hatenna dodging Salt Cure and using Psychic and Fairy ranged attacks to chip away at Garganacl.
But Penny, having seen Shizuka's defeat, came prepared. After a long struggle, instead of relying on Salt Cure, her Garganacl tanked Dazzling Gleam and finished things with Avalanche.
Penny advanced to the finals.
Offstage, Ortega clenched his fists in frustration.
"Damn it!"
He said he didn't care about the result, but tasting defeat still made his nose tingle and his eyes redden.
His two lackeys tried to comfort him. Penny, rather than avoiding him as usual, hesitated, but then walked over and said,
"You're strong. If there's a chance, I'd like to battle you with my own Pokémon."
"If you have time, you're always welcome at the battle club for a match."
Ortega was stunned, ears turning red. But he still put on a tough act,
"Next time, I won't lose!"
"Hmph, let's go!"
With that, Ortega practically ran away from the field, looking very much like he was escaping.
The two lackeys exchanged glances and deftly cleaned up after him.
"Sorry, Penny. Master Ortega is actually happy to be challenged. Thank you for inviting him! We'll keep him from sulking!"
"Yeah, thank you for the invitation!"
With that, they chased after Ortega.
"Master Ortega, there's still the third-place match!"
Penny stood in place for a while before muttering,
"So he's a tsundere after all."
A few minutes later, the second semifinal began.
Paul vs. Aliquis—a match neither could afford to lose.
"Garganacl, get ready for battle!"
Paul tossed out his Poké Ball. Garganacl landed with a heavy thud, shaking the field.
Aliquis slapped his cheeks, glanced at Lucas in the teachers' area, then muttered,
"Please watch how much I've improved."
"Let's go, Meowscarada!"
A flash of red light—out popped a bipedal, green-furred Pokémon.
Inheriting the looks of Sprigatito and Floragato, Meowscarada's appearance was even more striking. Its cape, mask, and flower bomb hinted at its agility and ability to confuse opponents.
"Grass and Dark-type, Overgrow ability," Lucas muttered, recalling Aliquis' information. "Type-wise, it has an advantage. Too bad it doesn't have Protean—otherwise, it would have even more options."
Lucas had faced a Protean Meowscarada before. Even though the ability had been nerfed in Gen 9, it still worked as originally intended in this world.
Just like Talonflame's Gale Wings, which kept its original strength in the wild.
The battle began.
"Garganacl, Iron Defense!"
Paul, as always, tried to boost Garganacl's defenses. But Aliquis made an unexpected move.
"Meowscarada, Taunt!"
Meowscarada's taunting expression and the dark energy swirling around Garganacl's mind did the trick.
The metallic sheen on Garganacl's body vanished, and it became enraged, charging at Meowscarada.
The crowd was in an uproar, and Lucas's eyebrows twitched.
Of course.
How do you stop Garganacl from stacking defenses right from the start?
Simple—don't give it the chance. Taunt breaks the set-up.
Lucas sighed.
He remembered—months ago, before the Naranja Academy's crackdown, Aliquis had asked him how to prevent an opponent from setting up. Lucas had told him:
"Many Pokémon can learn the status move—Taunt."
It uses Dark-type energy to enrage the opponent, making them reckless.
Just like Garganacl was now.
Seeing his plan work, Aliquis grinned.
Teacher Lucas was right!
Under Aliquis' command, Meowscarada tapped its paw on the ground, leapt lightly, and spun acrobatically to dodge Garganacl's charge.
Mid-air, it snapped its fingers.
In the next instant—
Thick vines burst from the ground, ensnaring Garganacl's legs as it tried to step forward.
Thud!
With a heavy crash, Garganacl took massive damage from the Grass Knot.
Even Paul, usually calm, broke a sweat.
He gritted his teeth, face grave.
This was trouble.
In the teachers' area—
Dendra cheered wildly for both Aliquis and Paul, busier than the trainers themselves.
Under Miriam's restraint, she finally calmed down and shared her excitement with Lucas.
"That kid is really something! Hardest worker in class, too! I never thought such a disgusting move could be countered like that!"
Miriam, used to Dendra's bluster, exchanged a knowing smile with Bronzong beside her.
After all, Dendra was the stereotype of a Fighting-type specialist.
But her noise didn't affect Lucas's focus on the match.
After a while, Paul predicted Meowscarada's Taunt timing, had Garganacl use Protect to stall, then used Recover to regain strength and stack up defenses again.
Back and forth, the battle became intense.
Lucas's eyes gleamed.
He'd never taught Paul prediction skills—this was entirely his own breakthrough, forced by Aliquis' pressure.
But it wasn't surprising—just like the anime's Sinnoh League showdown, Paul often used prediction to outplay Ash. He had the talent.
Aliquis, too, gave Lucas surprises.
Not only had Meowscarada's basic strength improved, but his command style and battle sense were much sharper.
Perhaps after some observation, Lucas could invite him and Ortega to join the school's competitive team.
Especially Aliquis—his brother at Blueberry Academy was reportedly visiting soon.
A great opportunity.
After nearly twenty minutes of fierce fighting, Garganacl's stamina finally prevailed, and Paul managed to outlast Meowscarada.
After recalling Meowscarada, Aliquis left the field in disappointment, needing time alone.
Paul hesitated for a second but didn't chase after him.
First, he wasn't close to Aliquis.
Second, his next match couldn't use Garganacl. He needed to figure out how to use Grotle against Flareon.
…
5 PM.
The all-day school tournament finally ended.
On the podium, Clavell amiably awarded Ortega, Paul, and Penny the bronze, silver, and gold medals he'd made himself.
In the third-place match, Ortega's Dachsbun beat Aliquis' Meowscarada, while in the finals, Penny's Flareon unleashed powerful fire attacks. Paul and Grotle stood little chance and lost.
Clavell smiled at the three students as if seeing Naranja Academy's future. He called out,
"Head Teacher Lucas, the mysterious prize is up to you!"
"...Stop calling me Head Teacher."
Lucas walked up, looking exasperated.
But when he reached the expectant Penny, he cleared his throat, adjusted his expression, and smiled.
"Congratulations on winning, Penny."
"Of course, Paul's runner-up and Ortega's third place are also great achievements."
Penny and Paul thanked him politely. Ortega snorted,
"It's nothing, I was just here for fun."
"Head Teacher Lucas, show everyone the mysterious prize already!"
At Clavell's signal, Lucas took a box from Mimikyu's tray, and under countless curious gazes, opened it.
Inside was a crystal-clear sphere, shaped like a Poké Ball but made entirely of crystal.
"This year's champion's prize," Lucas announced, "is a Tera Orb, provided by Chairwoman Geeta herself!"
...
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