In the stands, Principal Marcus Greenhill pointed toward Evan Lane, who was leaving the battlefield with Snivy, and asked the tall woman beside him, “Elena, what do you think of this Evan Lane?” The tall woman thought for a moment, then answered, “His strength is already on a different level from the other students.
With him here, this year might be Mapleford First Academy’s best chance at the state tournament.” The tall woman’s name was Elena Greenhill.
Not only was she Principal Greenhill’s niece, she was also a powerful Professional Trainer.
This time, Marcus had specially invited her over to serve as the elite class mentor.
“Oh?
Even you think that highly of him?” Hearing Elena’s evaluation, Marcus’s eyes lit up.
For so many years, Mapleford First Academy’s state tournament results had not been ideal.
If the Regional Education Board had not issued a final warning, the school would not have invested so many resources this year.
“I know him.
He and that Charmander Trainer often train until evening before leaving.
That is the reason I think highly of them.” Elena spoke calmly.
Although a Pokémon’s talent was extremely important, a Trainer’s perseverance was also indispensable.
Only a genius who could live up to their talent was truly a genius.
“Then Arcadia Academy…” Hearing Marcus’s words, Elena shook her head.
“Still not enough.
To enter Arcadia Academy, they would at least need to reach Intermediate Trainer strength, or even be close to Advanced Trainer level.
Right now, there’s too little time, so we can’t see too much yet.” Arcadia Academy was the highest institution for Trainers in the Arcadia Region.
Its status in Arcadia was similar to Celadon University in Kanto and Mauville University in Hoenn.
Marcus also understood that he had been too impatient.
After all, nothing proved the quality of a high school’s education better than producing a student who could enter Arcadia Academy.
Evan returned to the edge of the field and waited.
Because there were a full ten battlefields, the pace of the matches was extremely fast.
Looking at the single Sunlight Point he had gained, Evan scratched his head.
Still, this was within his expectations.
In battles where the difference in strength was too large, not only did Snivy gain little from them, but the amount of Sunlight Points earned was pitiful as well.
“Sni~” Snivy also yawned.
Snake-like Pokémon were naturally fond of sleep, and she had been dragged out of bed by Evan early in the morning.
Battles of this level were completely unable to wake her up.
After several more elimination rounds, the opponents they encountered were basically all defeated by Snivy in a single move.
This also caused more and more eliminated students to gather around Battlefield Seven to watch.
“Are Unova starter Pokémon really that strong?
If I’d known, I would’ve spent a fortune to get one too!” “If you’re bad, don’t blame the Pokémon!
Lucas Ember over on Field Four hasn’t lost a single match either!” As more and more people gathered, discussion rose one after another.
“I heard Evan’s Snivy came from a mystery Egg at the Starter Center.
Why don’t I have that kind of luck?” “Please.
With the training maniac’s training load, even a Caterpie would be enough to sweep you!” As Evan once again stood in the preparation position, the final battle for a top ten spot on Battlefield Seven was about to begin.
Although the previous battles had been easy, Evan did not let his guard down.
After all, his opponent in this match had also won all the way until now.
Very soon, a girl with short hair that reached her ears arrived opposite Evan.
As the referee’s whistle rang out, Snivy came to the center of the field.
The short-haired girl opposite him also threw the Poké Ball in her hand.
“Come out, Butterfree!” As the girl’s voice fell, a butterfly Pokémon appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Its body was bluish purple, with huge wings behind it marked by black vein patterns.
On its head was a pale blue organ that resembled a nose, and its eyes were pale red compound eyes.
Feeling the aura of the Butterfree across from them, both Snivy and Evan became serious at the same time.
The early advantage of Bug-type Pokémon was fully displayed here.
Their extremely fast growth and evolution speed not only gave them base stats ahead of other Pokémon at the same stage, but also a broader move pool.
However, the drawbacks were also very serious.
Their late-stage weakness and lack of staying power were the reason many Trainers gave up on Bug-types halfway through.
“Butterfree, use String Shot!” “Snivy, Vine Whip!” Although the short-haired girl had watched Evan’s earlier battles, his opponents had almost all been defeated in one move, so she could not tell how deep Snivy’s strength really went.
The bug silk and the vine whips collided fiercely in midair.
In terms of force, Vine Whip was clearly superior.
However, Bug’s advantage over Grass still allowed the two sides to enter a stalemate.
Seeing that the first round of probing was gradually falling into disadvantage, the short-haired girl gave another command.
“Butterfree, use Gust and ride the wind!” A violent gust suddenly swept across the field, lifting dust and gravel from the ground.
Snivy’s body began sliding backward, and her vision was obstructed.
At the same time, Butterfree lightly followed the wind and rapidly approached.
“Butterfree, Bug Bite!” “Snivy, Glare!” Almost at the same time, both Trainers issued their commands.
Deep green energy gathered around Butterfree’s mouthparts, while strange patterns flashed across Snivy’s body.
The move Glare was not actually activated through the eyes, despite its name.
Instead, snake-like Pokémon used the strange markings on their bodies to create a visual control effect.
The rapidly approaching Butterfree instantly felt its whole body go numb and began falling downward.
Compound eyes normally provided a wider field of vision, but when facing illusion-like control moves, they could instead deepen the move’s effect.
“Vine Whip upward, then follow with Iron Tail!” Evan did not miss the opportunity.
The instant Butterfree was paralyzed, he commanded Snivy to attack.
“Sni!” Two vine whips lashed toward Butterfree like green snakes, agile and fierce.
Just as they struck Butterfree’s fragile abdomen, Snivy smoothly followed up with a sharp Iron Tail.
“Butterfree, use Confusion to protect yourself!” The short-haired girl’s palms were covered in sweat.
Confusion had originally been the trump card she was saving for the top ten ranking matches.
She had not expected to be forced to use it here.
For Snivy, this top ten qualifying battle did not put much pressure on her either, so Evan had only glanced briefly at the opponent’s data panel.
After finding nothing special, he had stopped paying attention to it.
Just as Snivy’s Iron Tail was about to strike Butterfree’s abdomen, a pale blue light barrier appeared, blocking part of the damage from Iron Tail.
However, the remaining force of Iron Tail still sent Butterfree flying.
Watching Butterfree slowly rise from the ground, the short-haired girl sighed.
She had heard of Evan’s reputation.
She had thought that with Butterfree’s three-stage evolution and type advantage, she would be able to fight him evenly.
Now, it seemed she had been too optimistic.
“One more time.
Finish it with Iron Tail!” The injured Butterfree looked at the incoming attack and tried to dodge.
However, weakened as it was, it was struck by Iron Tail again and lost the ability to battle on the spot.
Butterfree’s HP base stat was only 60, making it a very frail Pokémon.
The short-haired girl recalled Butterfree into its Poké Ball and shook her head.
“I still lost, huh.” “Your Butterfree is strong.
I’ll look forward to seeing you again in the elite class.” Evan smiled and waved, then brought Snivy toward the field for the top ten ranking matches.
Although she had lost to Evan, with the strength of that Butterfree, it would still be very easy for her to fight her way into the elite class from among the eliminated students.
“Well, she can only blame her bad luck.” “Sni, Sni!” Snivy echoed from the side as well.
That Butterfree’s strength had been much better than the previous opponents.
After checking the amount of Sunlight Points he had, Evan began thinking about which system function he should unlock next.