Hattori Tōkichi walked up to Pryce and said, "My student Koga has been… unwell recently and cannot participate in this competition. This is Koga's younger sister Aya. Although her level is not equal to her brother's, she is still among the best of her peers.
However, Pryce, I've never heard that you had a student before. Bringing someone like this to such an important competition all of a sudden… don't drag down our Johto League!"
Just as Pryce was about to respond, the Dark-type Elite Four Kurokawa Ryosuke, who had been sitting at the edge, also stood up and said, "Hoh… Tōkichi is right. Pryce! Don't just bring someone to make up the numbers. You are an expert in Ice-types. I wonder how much of your skill this kid has learned."
Tōkichi and Ryosuke attacked together, both questioning Tetsuya's level and deliberately restricting Pokémon to Ice-type. Their goal was naturally to "expose" Tetsuya. Even if they knew that Tetsuya was not actually Pryce's student, it would still be hard to explain. Pryce had already prepared for this, so the key point was Tetsuya's performance.
If Tetsuya performed poorly, Pryce would also take the blame. The accusation that Tetsuya was brought in just to fill a spot would be confirmed. Although it would not shake his position as an Elite Four, in the next Elite Four selection, this matter would be magnified infinitely by these people, and a single accusation would make it very difficult for Pryce to be reappointed.
"Hmph! There's no need for the two of you to remind me. I know my own student."
With just one sentence, Pryce left Tōkichi and Ryosuke speechless.
"…If he's capable or not, why not let my student Karen have a few rounds with him? Don't wait until the competition the day after tomorrow to make a fool of himself and disgrace our Johto League!"
After Ryosuke finished speaking, a girl around ten years old with blue curly hair walked over.
'Karen…'
Although she was younger than Kenny, she was definitely the strongest among the three. She was also the only one who would become an Elite Four member in the future, belonging to the same generation as Will and Koga.
In terms of type, she countered Will and had always suppressed him. If not for her sudden disappearance, Will would not have been able to hold the Elite Four position for so many terms.
Seeing Karen stand in front of Tetsuya, aside from Pryce, who looked worried, everyone else revealed strange smiles, waiting to watch Tetsuya make a fool of himself and leave Pryce with no way out.
Pryce gave Tetsuya a look, and Tetsuya nodded. This battle could not be avoided. Although Karen was strong, she was only ten years old and lacked battle experience… 'Maybe'. Tetsuya still had a certain level of confidence in defeating her.
"I'm Karen. Elite Four Kurokawa Ryosuke is my teacher. I hope we can have a fair battle~" Karen said.
"Karen, how long have you been following Elite Four Ryosuke?" Tetsuya asked.
"Oh~ Three years! Why?"
"And I have only followed Elite Four Pryce for three months. Heh… can this be considered fair?" Tetsuya snorted and walked toward the field.
Karen hesitated, then said to her teacher Ryosuke, "…Isn't this too unfair?"
Ryosuke shook his head and said, "There is no absolute fairness in this world. Although he has only followed Elite Four Pryce for three months, he will still have to battle Trainers from Sinnoh. At that time, the opponent will not care about fairness. So right now, you must go all out. Only then can you ensure that he does not embarrass himself in such a major competition."
'Damn Ryosuke-kun…'
Tetsuya cursed inwardly. He had originally intended to provoke Karen with words to distract her during the battle, increasing his chances of defeating her. However, that old fox Ryosuke had spoken such "righteous" nonsense, and now Karen was going to go all out.
"Come out, Houndoom!"
A black canine Pokémon opened its massive jaws and let out a roar, exuding strong intimidation. Karen bringing out such a Pokémon was within Tetsuya's expectations. There were not many Dark-types in the Kanto and Johto regions, and the most representative ones were Tyranitar and Houndoom.
However, Tyranitar was not easy to obtain. Even for an Elite Four student like Karen, raising a Larvitar to evolve into Tyranitar was not something that could be done in just a year or two.
"Piloswine."
Tetsuya threw a Poké Ball.
Seeing the Ice-type Piloswine appear on the field, the other three Elite Four members began whispering among themselves.
"So… it's an Ice-type…" Tōkichi looked somewhat disappointed.
"So what!? Houndoom also has the Fire type. Can a kid like him handle type disadvantage? I don't believe it." Ryosuke was full of confidence, not taking Tetsuya seriously at all. This was also a reflection of his trust in Karen.
"If it weren't for Pryce being such a stubborn old man, I would actually want to support this little shota, hahaha." Aoi Maiko let out a seductive laugh.
---◓---
"Piloswine, get ready. The battle is about to begin!"
Piloswine naturally understood Tetsuya's words. As soon as he finished speaking, Piloswine shook its body, and the temperature inside the entire arena dropped rapidly. Soon, snow began to fall, followed by Hail.
The sudden drop in temperature affected Maiko the most. Dressed lightly, she was already shivering from the cold, her speech stuttering as she continuously cursed Pryce and Tetsuya.
The Hail pelted Houndoom's body. At first, it did not seem significant, but it could not withstand the continuous damage. However, against a Pokémon like Houndoom, the effect of Hail was mainly to interfere with its movements.
Houndoom's nose was extremely sensitive, so Piloswine's Snow Cloak Ability was ineffective. As long as it remained within the field, no matter how well it hid, it could not escape Houndoom's sense of smell.
"Flamethrower, keep using it to warm this place up!"
After Karen gave the command, Houndoom unleashed Flamethrower after Flamethrower onto the battlefield.
"Freeze-Dry."
Tetsuya's objective was clear. He absolutely could not allow Karen to disrupt the Hail weather. Instantly, two blasts of icy air were released, and the Hail intensified.
"Houndoom, right now Piloswine has the advantage of the weather! Long-range moves will have much of their power weakened by the Hail, so we will focus on close combat. Use Howl!"
Karen's judgment was indeed sharp. Howl was a move that increased physical Attack. It seemed that next, he would have to face Houndoom's ferocious close-range assault like a hunting beast.
A howl echoed. This Howl was like a horn boosting morale, and Houndoom immediately became excited.
"Fire Fang!"
After Karen issued the command, Houndoom twitched its nose and quickly ran in a certain direction. It seemed it had already locked onto Piloswine's position.