Fairview No. 1 had brought ten students from their twenty-five-member pool. In contrast, Riverside No. 1 had an entire class dedicated to their school team selection—totaling thirty-nine elite rookies.
Inside the Riverside No. 1 Gymnasium, the atmosphere was electric. All thirty-nine candidates sat in the stands to watch the proceedings, joined by the senior training instructors of every class.
The twenty competing participants sat in the front rows on either side of the court, waiting for the signal.
In the stands, the Riverside students gossiped as they eyed the Fairview side.
"Those two girls on the other team are actually really pretty. If they'd date me, I'd transfer schools in a heartbeat..." one student whispered, pointing toward Lynnea and Sarah.
"Keep dreaming. You didn't even qualify for the exchange match, and you want a girlfriend?" his companion shot back ruthlessly.
"Besides, look at their team's Pokémon..." He gestured toward Owen, who looked out of place. Owen was currently whispering something to the Eevee perched on his shoulder.
"An unevolved Eevee is filling a slot? How good can they really be?"
Fortunately, they weren't close enough to lip-read Owen. If they had, they would have heard cryptic phrases like "New phone,""Extra thirty minutes," and "I'll buy you another one."
The First Blood
"The school leadership's speech is taking forever." Seeing the delay, Ethan nudged Blaze. Blaze agreed; he went to speak with the deans, successfully cutting the "inspiring words" segment to get straight to the action.
Under the pressure of two professional trainers, the deans scrapped the formalities and announced the start of the exchange. A young referee stepped onto the platform and signaled for the first pair.
Representing Fairview No. 1: Caleb.
Caleb's starter was a Murkrow, a rare Dark-type that looked like a crow with a wizard-hat-shaped crest. Because of its flight capabilities and its mastery of a Ghost-type move, Caleb's performance during the school selection had been second only to Owen's trio.
Caleb walked onto the court and faced his opponent—a massive, muscular student standing over two meters tall.
"Whoa," Leo whispered. "Why did he grow vertically while I grew horizontally?"
The person next to Leo chose to ignore him.
On the referee's command, both students threw their Poké Balls.
"Murkrow!" "Rhyhorn!"
A Rhyhorn? The four-legged beast was covered in gray, rock-hard armor. Its physical durability was legendary—it could charge through steel blocks without a scratch.
"Go, Clement!! Smash them!!" The cheers from the Riverside stands were deafening.
Caleb's expression grew grim. A Rhyhorn... this was going to be tough.
"Hmph! Hmph!!" Rhyhorn snorted, glaring at the Murkrow in the air. "Murk-yee~~" Murkrow taunted back.
Battle Start!
A cloud of Haze billowed out, obscuring Murkrow's body. Within the thick, dark mist, Murkrow's shadow flickered, merging perfectly with the fog. This was Caleb's favorite tactic: combining Haze with Night Shade to strike from invisibility.
"Rhyhorn, Dragon Pulse!"
Clement didn't blink. He gave a calm command, and a beam of blue draconic energy swept out from Rhyhorn's mouth. It tore through the Haze, striking Murkrow dead-on and slamming it into the ground!
"Haha!!" The Riverside school team burst into laughter.
As a candidate for Riverside's vice-captain and the son of a professional trainer, Clement was no pushover.
His Rhyhorn possessed an extraordinary talent for Dragon-type moves. This "Dragon Bloodline" gave it massive physical stats and specialized power.
It had been meticulously bred by professional breeders—the kind of Pokémon you couldn't buy without serious connections.
"Uh... sorry. I thought Murkrow would dodge that," Clement said with a smirk as Murkrow failed to stand up. The laughter from the Riverside side grew louder.
Caleb turned pale. He hadn't expected to lose so quickly. In an instant, his face went from white to a humiliated red.
"He was too confident in his hiding technique," Owen murmured from the bench, petting Eevee. "Otherwise, he might have had a chance to dodge."
The atmosphere on the Fairview bench was suffocating under the weight of the opposing cheers. Owen shook his head slightly.
This Rhyhorn's strength was already superior to most of the seeded players from the Young Ho-Oh Cup. It was no wonder Caleb had been crushed.
"I'm sorry..." Caleb returned to the bench, his mind a blank.
"Don't dwell on it. That Rhyhorn's Training level was simply higher than your Murkrow's," Dean Wu said in a low voice. "But that habit of being careless? I'll be correcting that once we get back."
Ethan glanced at the grinning Blaze and cursed him inwardly. Cunning bastard. Putting someone as strong as Clement Cheng out first was a clear statement of dominance.
The three Fairview instructors looked at the remaining roster: Owen, Lynnea, Leo, Sarah Zhou...
"I'll go," Sarah said, her expression determined. "My Bulbasaur's Vine Whip and Razor Leaf are faster than Dragon Pulse. Plus, I have the type advantage."
Dean Wu and Ms. Nina were about to warn her that it might not be that simple, but Ethan cut in: "Good. Go on."
Sarah nodded and stepped onto the court, releasing her Bulbasaur.
"Relying on type advantage?" Clement remarked to himself. "What a simplistic tactic."
Sarah ignored him. The battle was instantaneous! She immediately commanded a Razor Leaf.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Bulbasaur spun its body, launching several sharp leaves. Clement calmly ordered a Dragon Pulse.
The blue energy swept across the field, shattering every leaf. However, since the beam was used defensively, Bulbasaur remained unscathed. Taking advantage of the gap, Bulbasaur lashed out with a sneak attack!
"Rhyhorn's Dragon Pulse has a slow startup and makes it winded afterward," Lynnea analyzed. "Sarah is trying to use Vine Whip to snatch a victory while it's tired."
"Will it hit?"
Facing the incoming vines, Clement gave a single command that shifted the tide. Rhyhorn used Stomp.
The ground quaked violently as a surge of Ground-type energy rippled through the floor, causing Bulbasaur to lose its balance.
"What power!" Owen noted. It wasn't quite a full Earthquake, but the Stomp had shadows of it.
Bulbasaur stumbled, and its Vine Whip veered off course. Seizing the opening, Rhyhorn conjured jagged stones and slammed them into the grass-type.
Sarah's pupils shrank as Bulbasaur was buried under the Rock Tomb, knocked unconscious.
Fairview No. 1: Two matches, two losses. The bench fell into a heavy silence.
Leo jumped up, ready to charge out, but Owen grabbed his arm.
"Let me go," Owen said calmly. "It's safer."
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