When Eichi first heard the name Keita, he almost failed to react. So much time had passed; the last time he had seen Keita was back in June of last year, nearly a year ago.
When he first entered Silver Academy, Eichi had found it a bit strange that Keita hadn't come to cause him trouble. He initially assumed Keita didn't want to bully someone younger, so he had focused on his studies and training, eventually forgetting the man entirely. However, hearing the name again today, he finally understood why Keita had stayed away.
It turned out that the news of Keita being defeated by Eichi had spread to every second-year student at Silver Academy. It was one thing to lose, but losing to an applicant was a massive blow to his reputation. Even if Keita's carelessness played a part, a loss was a loss. Keita felt he could no longer show his face at Silver Academy. Fortunately, an exchange program between Silver Academy and the Hoenn region was taking place at the time.
Keita applied for a slot. Originally, he wasn't supposed to be on the list, but thanks to his powerful background, he managed to secure a spot and went to Lily of the Valley Academy in the Hoenn region. Now that the exchange was over, Keita was back, and Eichi had a premonition that the man would definitely come looking for him.
The previous afternoon, a bus pulled into the Silver Academy plaza. The doors opened, and students began disembarking one after another. Finally, the last person stepped off: a sturdy youth with a fiery red afro.
He adjusted his backpack, took a deep breath, and muttered to himself, "Silver Academy, I'm back. And Eichi... just you wait. I will return the humiliation you gave me. You have no idea how strong I've become."
With a face full of confidence, he headed off toward the dorms.
During a break in the afternoon classes, Tetsu watched Eichi quietly reading at his desk. Suddenly remembering the news, he asked, "Hey, Eichi, did you know Keita is back?"
Many first-year students knew about the history between Eichi and Keita. Since Eichi won the Freshmen Tournament, many had looked into his past and discovered that he had once defeated a Gliscor in a single hit during the practical entrance exam.
"I know," Eichi replied without looking up from his book.
"You know? Then why aren't you reacting at all?" Tetsu asked.
"What kind of reaction should I have?" Eichi countered.
Tetsu said worriedly, "I heard from some second-year seniors that Keita went to Lily of the Valley Academy as an exchange student. His strength has reportedly increased tremendously over the past few months. I'm worried he'll come looking for trouble."
This time, Eichi put his book down and turned to look at Tetsu with a look of disbelief. "Do you really think I'll lose to him? Why should I fear a guy I one-shot during the exam?"
"I'm not worried about your strength," Tetsu said sheepishly. "I'm just afraid you'll get careless."
Eichi patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "Don't worry. I won't lose."
As soon as class ended, Eichi and Tetsu packed their things and headed down for dinner. The hallways were crowded with students excited to be out of class. Just as they reached the first floor, they saw several second-year students standing on the main path of the teaching building, searching for someone.
In the center stood the sturdy youth with the fiery red afro. He was staring at the exiting students, his eyes darting back and forth. Tetsu and Eichi naturally spotted Keita. After a few months, he had grown a bit taller, but everything else remained the same—especially that arrogant expression that suggested he thought he was invincible.
When they saw Keita, Keita and his group saw Eichi as well. They marched over aggressively. Other students noticed Eichi and saw Keita's group approaching him; seeing their expressions, everyone knew something big was about to happen. Many stopped in their tracks to watch.
Keita walked up to Eichi. He was as arrogant as ever, but it didn't have much of an effect; Eichi was now slightly taller, forcing Keita to look up to speak to him.
"Is there something you want?" Tetsu asked, speaking first.
A rather ugly-looking boy next to Keita said, "Our boss wants to challenge Eichi."
Just as I thought, Tetsu mused. He then asked, "Are you sure you want to challenge Eichi?"
The lackey wanted to keep talking, but Keita held up a hand to stop him. Knowing the boss wanted to speak, the subordinate took a wise step back.
Keita stared at Eichi and said, "Eichi, at seven o'clock tonight, I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of the Battle Hall."
Without another word, he turned and led his followers away. The surrounding students were buzzing with excitement.
"Who was that? He doesn't look like he's in our grade," one student asked his friend.
"You don't know? That's Keita!" the friend replied excitedly. "I get it now! No wonder he came to challenge Eichi; he's looking for revenge. We definitely have to watch their battle tonight."
Eichi turned to Tetsu and said, "Let's go eat."
"Yeah," Tetsu agreed.
During dinner, news of the battle spread rapidly among the first and second-year students. The atmosphere became festive. Eichi and Tetsu could hear people discussing it while they ate. Despite the excitement outside, Eichi felt nothing. Unless Keita's Pokémon had reached the Gym Leader rank, he truly couldn't find much interest in the match.
After dinner, he went about his business as usual. At half-past six, Tetsu knocked on his door.
"Eichi! Let's go, it's almost seven!"
Eichi opened the door and saw Tetsu's excited face. He turned off the lights, locked his door, and said, "Let's go."
As they headed toward the Battle Hall, they saw many students from both grades rushing in the same direction. They arrived at the entrance to find a large crowd gathered. Everyone was there for the spectacle. Eichi even saw Sato, Konan, and the others—they had all shown up.