Every eye in the crowd swung toward Luke.
"Wait, Luke's competing too!"
"But his opponent's a school team member — go easy on our class rep..."
A few girls sized him up out of the corner of their eyes, uneasy but with a flicker of something else creeping in too. Handsome Luke, coming through in the clutch after all.
Elena eyed the menacing Gastly bobbing beside him, brow creasing slightly. Instinct told her this thing wasn't something to underestimate. But the Trainer standing in front of it? Handsome, sure. Still just a Finance Department student. There was no way his commanding could stack up against someone trained in the Fighting Department.
"Hey, you sure about this?" Bob whispered. "Lose this and you might not even get to compete tomorrow."
Luke had been on the fence right up until that sentence — then his eyes lit right up. Wait. If I lose, I get to spend tomorrow studying instead.
He clapped Bob on the shoulder and smiled. "I'm in."
He stepped forward, calm. "Metro City University doesn't have a tradition of letting the ladies go first."
"Class Rep Luke—"
He could feel the heat of a dozen glares stabbing into his back. The Fighting Department boys behind Elena were practically grinding their teeth. Bad enough this kid was good-looking. Now he wanted to show off in front of them too?
A Finance Department freshman, challenging an actual school team member. You clearly don't know how bad this is about to get for you.
"Sister Shen, teach this guy a lesson!"
"Yeah! Beat him so hard he quits being a Trainer altogether!"
Luke's eyes lit up again, and he shot the loudest one a genuinely grateful look.
"Settle down," Elena said, cutting through the noise. She turned to the coach. "Would you referee?"
Coach Miller sighed. "Fine, fine — as long as this gets resolved quietly. I'm still on probation here."
The Finance Department crowd swept toward the field with Luke at the center, practically an entourage. Gastly floated at his side, eyes bloodshot, wearing its trademark unsettling grin.
That grin sent a genuine chill down Elena's spine.
Only Luke knew the truth: that expression was purely a side effect of Gastly pulling an all-nighter. Huh. Dark circles really do make it look scarier.
Bob leaned in, nervous. "You feeling confident?"
"Uh, honestly? I'm not great at commanding."
"...What?"
"This is actually my first time calling a real battle," Luke said, laughing easily.
"Guess we'll find out."
"???"
______________________________
On the standard ten-by-ten field, Elena and her Granbull squared off against them, ready to go. Granbull looked something like an upright bulldog — light purple fur, a powerful jaw, fangs that meant business, and an expression that could curdle milk.
Luke felt a small pang of disappointment at the sight of it. I was kind of hoping for a cute little Ralts. Apparently the family's Fairy-type pedigree topped out at Granbull.
Coach Miller blew the whistle. "Battle begin!"
Elena swung her arm forward, pointing. Granbull lunged instantly.
"Bite!"
But before Granbull even landed, Gastly was already beside it, grinning wide.
A flicker of alarm crossed Elena's mind. That speed—
Luke sighed internally. Everyone and their grandmother could see Bite coming. Why even bother calling it?
"Gastly, Substitute!"
Gastly's Haze twisted and split, forming a second grinning double. Under the crowd's stunned stares, both copies looped around Granbull at a speed that bordered on absurd.
"Wait — is Elena actually losing ground here?"
"No way, that's obviously just a setup to make it drop its guard!"
A bead of sweat slid down Elena's forehead. That speed is a genuine problem. I need to slow it down.
"Granbull, Scary Face!"
"Gastly, close your eyes!"
The two commands landed in the exact same instant. Elena shot Luke a look of pure alarm — and found him wearing an expression that could only be described as called it, bordering on bored.
"Too easy to see coming," Luke murmured.
A pressure Elena had never felt before settled over her chest. Is he... reading me?
Pre-reading — anticipating an opponent's exact command mid-battle — was one of the riskiest strategies in the book. Guess wrong, and the whole match could collapse in an instant. Guess right, though, and it hit an opponent's confidence like a sledgehammer.
No. Impossible. That was just a lucky guess.
Elena pressed her lips together. One lucky read. That's all.
On the field, Granbull's Scary Face sailed harmlessly past — Gastly's eyes were already shut, rendering the whole move pointless. And in that same blink of darkness, a shimmering Confuse Ray bloomed around it.
The light flickered. Granbull shook its head, unaffected.
Elena exhaled, relief steadying her nerves. "Granbull, Bite!"
Granbull's jaws snapped forward — and closed on empty air. Gastly had already slipped clear.
Elena stared at Luke, baffled. He just pointed down at Granbull's feet and shook his head, almost pitying.
Mean Look had already locked in. Granbull's legs were trembling, rooted to the spot, unable to move an inch.
"Granbull looks tough," Luke said with a sigh, "but its personality's actually pretty timid. If you'd studied the Pokédex entries a little closer, you'd never have let it make eye contact with a Ghost-type."
Elena opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
"Don't space out on me now," Luke said, mock-urgent. "That's Taunt. Verbal. It's a real tactic, you know."
He blinked, genuinely thrown for a second. I figured school team members would just brush off trash talk. I hadn't even gotten warmed up and she's already rattled?You're not even giving me room to work here.
Elena bit down on her lip, voice unsteady. "Granbull, u-use—"
"Gastly, Will-O-Wisp!"
"Hiss!"
Gastly grinned wider, three coils of chilling flame spiraling around it before slamming together into a single explosive burst. Granbull went flying with a crack, fur singed black in patches.
"Ow—!!" it howled.
But Gastly wasn't done. This wasn't turn-based — if Elena couldn't find a way to break the pattern, the pressure wasn't going to let up. Against Gastly's speed, Granbull simply couldn't find an opening to fight back.
Elena's stiff, hesitant calls were starting to genuinely stress Luke out. What happened to Metro City's school team? Is this really the level we're at? I've fought tougher opponents in mobile games.
"Boom!"
One final explosion, and Granbull went down with a whimper, collapsing to the field.
Dead silence swallowed the arena.
Every face turned toward Luke, one identical thought stamped across all of them.
Luke just beat a school team member?
Bob replayed Luke's words from before the match, and it hit him all at once.
"Not very good at commanding," huh?
You just steamrolled a school team member on pure reads and you're STILL calling yourself bad at this?!
Brother Luke. Have some shame.