“Too easy to predict.
Snivy, use Vine Whip.” Evan Lane shook his head.
Pokémon battles, in the end, were a kind of rock-paper-scissors game influenced by each Pokémon’s individual traits.
Single battles did not fully show that side of things.
Only when it came to full 6v6 team battles would a Trainer’s true skill be put on display.
“War!” With a pained cry, Wartortle was struck by Vine Whip once again.
The double damage caused by Grass-type advantage made Wartortle’s body sway unsteadily.
“Hang in there, Wartortle!
Use Hydro Pump!” However, the side effects of forcing its growth were now completely exposed.
Under heavy injury, Wartortle’s internal energy became even more unstable, causing Hydro Pump’s release speed to slow dramatically.
Snivy leaped lightly and easily dodged the Hydro Pump.
“Don’t stop!
Keep using Hydro Pump!” Sophia King had completely lost her composure by this point.
She had originally planned to crush her opponent with raw stats, only to discover that the other side was evenly matched with her.
Now that she wanted to compete through command skill, she realized the gap between them was more than just a little.
Hydro Pump fired again and again.
Snivy’s nimble figure constantly slipped between the gaps in the attacks.
With each repeated move, Wartortle’s stamina began draining at a terrifying speed.
While dodging, the distance between Snivy and Wartortle gradually shortened.
“It’s over.
Finish it with Iron Tail.” “Sni!” White light gathered around Snivy’s tail.
She flipped her body and swung her tail, striking the crack she had created earlier.
With a bang, a corner of the shell shattered.
Blood flowed out, and Wartortle rolled several times across the ground before completely losing consciousness.
“Wartortle is unable to battle.
The winner is Evan Lane!” As the referee’s whistle rang out, thunderous cheers erupted around the battlefield.
“That Snivy is seriously strong.
Even Sophia’s Wartortle couldn’t beat it!” “Even with type advantage, the gap shouldn’t be this huge, right?” “Wait, did you guys notice?
Evan’s Snivy also knows Protect.
Isn’t he supposed to come from an ordinary family?” In the stands, Elena Greenhill nodded.
“His command quality is also excellent.
He’s a good seedling.” “To reach this level after only one week of training, if his Snivy can evolve before the state tournament, he might really be able to place near the top.” Principal Marcus Greenhill was also very satisfied with Evan’s performance.
The Protect TM he had given away was clearly worth far more than its price.
The reason TMs were so expensive in this world was entirely because of how efficient and convenient they were.
All one needed to do was place the TM close to the button on a Poké Ball, and the Pokémon inside could quickly grasp the techniques required to learn that move.
After Snivy used the TM, she had only needed to apply it briefly during her battles with Charmander before fully mastering it.
The first match ended, but Evan noticed that Sophia turned to leave without any intention of recalling Wartortle.
Evan frowned and spoke up to remind her.
“Your Wartortle is badly injured.
It needs treatment immediately, or there may be lasting damage.” “My Pokémon is none of your business!
I spent that many resources getting it to evolve, and it still couldn’t beat a first-stage Pokémon.
Trash is trash!” After saying that, Sophia left the battlefield without looking back.
This sudden situation was not something Evan had expected.
Even the teachers watching the match were shocked.
That was a starter Pokémon.
She was just throwing it away?
Outside the battle court, Ms.
Lawson, who had been waiting nearby to prevent accidents, quickly stepped forward and began treating Wartortle together with Audino.
“Sni, Sni!” Snivy glared angrily in the direction Sophia had left.
She was clearly disgusted by the act of a Trainer abandoning a partner.
“We’ll meet plenty of Trainers like that in the future.
That’s why we need to become stronger.
We can’t lose to people like them.” “Sni, Sni!” Snivy nodded, then turned to look at the Trainer beside her.
He had thick dark hair, slightly curled bangs, and a clean face, with the slight puff beneath his eyes standing out clearly.
For the first time, Snivy felt that her Trainer was actually rather handsome.
Evan sighed.
Seeing something like this in the real world for the first time still left him with complicated feelings.
Back when he played handheld Pokémon games, he had also caught and discarded plenty of Pokémon just to hunt for the right ability and nature.
There was nothing wrong with raising Pokémon with good talent.
But reality was different.
Pokémon had flesh and blood.
Bonds existed between them and their Trainers.
The strange chemistry between a Trainer and Pokémon was also one of the key factors that decided victory or defeat.
By the time Evan came back to his senses, Lucas Ember was already standing opposite him.
“Do you want to rest for a bit?
If you battle my Charmander right after that match, you might lose pretty easily.” Lucas smiled at Evan.
Charmander also roared toward Snivy.
“You’re underestimating us way too much.
That last match was just a warm-up!” “Sni, Sni!” At that moment, Snivy’s fighting spirit rose completely.
Her black vertical pupils locked tightly onto the opponent who always liked burning her tail.
Evan’s lazy expression also faded, and his entire air became completely different from before.
“Why does it feel like Evan suddenly became a different person?” “Maybe he never saw the earlier opponents as real opponents.” Many students around them began discussing it.
There were even a few girls whose cheeks gradually reddened after seeing Evan’s serious expression.
“Battle start!” Following the referee’s command, Lucas was the first to issue an attack order.
“Charmander, Fire Fang!” As Charmander rushed forward, flames burned fiercely around its mouth, making it look as if it were wearing a mask of fire.
Just as Charmander was about to reach Snivy, Snivy leaped into the air.
White light gathered around her tail, and she smashed it heavily toward Charmander’s face.
With a boom, the collision of the moves sent dust flying across the battlefield.
When the dust cleared, Snivy and Charmander both leaped backward at the same time.
Snivy’s leaf-shaped tail had been scorched slightly black.
As for Charmander, the bloody marks across its face proved that it had not come out unharmed either.
“The power of those moves has already surpassed the Junior level.” Looking at the situation on the field, Elena smiled.
“They really have given me quite a few surprises!” Principal Greenhill also looked very pleased.
In less than one week of training, they had already reached Intermediate Trainer strength.
Let’s see who would still dare say Mapleford was no good after this!
The situation on the battlefield changed in an instant.
Before Charmander could recover from that Iron Tail, two vine whips shot out from the dust like pythons hunting in the dark, lunging toward it.
With no time to dodge, Charmander quickly raised both arms in front of its body.
However, the whipping attack it expected from Snivy did not arrive.
Instead, two soft but extremely tough vines firmly bound Charmander in place.
“Charmander, Smokescreen!” Just as Charmander was about to be dragged in front of Snivy, ink-black smoke burst from its mouth, instantly blocking the vision across the field.
“You clean-cut traitor, Lucas!
You were hiding a trick!” During Evan and Lucas’s usual battles, Evan had never once seen Lucas’s Charmander use this move.
Originally, Evan had wanted to have a fair match with his good friend, so he had not used Detection to check Charmander’s data panel.
Now, he almost could not hold himself back.