"You're the trainer who came here to cause trouble at our Pokémon Tech?" Giselle Yuto asked.
Her expression was icy, and her gaze toward Nozomi carried no hint of friendliness.
"That's right! It's him!"
"Exactly him, Miss Giselle!"
The students who had previously been intimidated by Nozomi suddenly seemed to find a leader. They pointed at him and spoke boldly to Giselle.
"I didn't ask you!"
Giselle snapped coldly, leaving no room for argument.
Her mood was terrible. She had been quietly reading in the library when someone had come rushing to tell her that something serious was happening at the school. But upon arriving, she had witnessed the disgusting scene firsthand.
It had utterly shamed Pokémon Tech's reputation.
And now these people still had the nerve to speak in front of her! If not for the greater threat at hand, she would have made sure to teach these fools a lesson.
Hearing Giselle's words, Nozomi smiled faintly, meeting her eyes. "Cause trouble? I wouldn't say that. I'm just here to challenge your school properly."
Since arriving, I've only played a proper 3v3 match with your students and exchanged a few neutral words. If anyone calls that 'troublemaking,' it's certainly not me—I don't admit it.
"Hmph!"
Giselle snorted but said nothing.
Nozomi's conduct left nothing to fault. From the moment he entered Pokémon Tech, he had done nothing improper; she genuinely had no reason to complain.
"Besides, to be precise, I'm not exactly an outsider. After all, I did study at Pokémon Tech for a period. Have you forgotten, Miss Giselle?"
Nozomi said this with a calm smile.
He remembered sitting just behind Giselle during his time at the school.
Giselle's expression softened as she pondered for a moment, then recognition hit her. "You're… Nozomi?"
She spoke with a hint of disbelief.
She recognized him, but the Nozomi before her now was completely different from the one in her memory.
The Nozomi she remembered had been quiet, withdrawn, and academically poor—the very bottom of the class. He had been in a completely different world from her, the top student. She had only occasionally noticed him, never paying him serious attention.
Yet now he had come here himself, and he possessed a formidable Metagross.
Her gaze swept across the Metagross floating beside Nozomi, and a hint of caution flashed in her eyes.
The bottom-of-the-class kid she had known had grown so powerful in such a short time.
Yet she quickly found herself puzzled. "If you also studied at Pokémon Tech, why come to challenge the school?"
It didn't make any sense.
"You should ask Koji about that." Nozomi nodded toward the corner, where Koji crouched, avoiding attention.
"What's going on?"
Giselle's eyes snapped to him, and Koji froze.
He spoke awkwardly, tinged with regret: "Miss Giselle, back then, because Nozomi's grades were at the bottom, we gave him some inappropriate guidance."
He then turned to Nozomi and bowed at a ninety-degree angle. "I sincerely apologize for our previous actions."
Giselle immediately understood.
She knew some of the unspoken rules at Pokémon Tech: lower-performing students were often bullied by higher-achieving ones. She had never expected it to escalate into such chaos.
"So this is why you're here."
"Yes. I came to Pokémon Tech because of that incident," Nozomi admitted without hesitation. "Passing by here, I remembered what happened before, felt a little upset, and decided to come over."
He spoke lightly, almost casually.
But for Giselle and the other Pokémon Tech students, the situation seemed utterly absurd.
Their disgrace had reached the level of the entire school's reputation—and it all happened just because someone passing by felt slightly annoyed?
It was enough to drive them insane.
Giselle clenched her teeth, suppressing her anger. She glared at Nozomi. "Are you satisfied now? If you are, can you leave?"
She felt Nozomi was far too dangerous. Just feeling irritated and bringing Pokémon to challenge their school was incomprehensible.
"Satisfied? Not at all. If I'm challenging you, I intend to see it through to the end."
He may have felt satisfied personally, but the system had just issued a task, so he couldn't leave yet.
Random Task: Defeat Giselle Yuto, earn Bronze Lottery Ticket ×1
Even though the reward was only a low-level bronze lottery ticket, every little bit counts. Nozomi wasn't about to pass it up.
"What's your intention?" Giselle braced herself, ready to call security if he demanded anything excessive.
As a prestigious academy, Pokémon Tech's security was formidable.
"You battle me directly, I won't use Metagross. If you win, I'll stay silent about today's events."
The offer was tempting. If the incident became public, it would devastate Pokémon Tech's reputation. If Nozomi kept quiet, the damage could be minimized.
Yet she didn't immediately agree. Some things needed clarification first: "And if we lose?"
"No problem. Public apology. Simple enough." Nozomi replied.
"Fine!" Giselle agreed decisively.
Pokémon Tech had already been at fault regarding Nozomi's matter. His demands were fair, even generous; she had no reason to refuse.
Giselle and Nozomi took positions on opposite sides of the battle field.
The referee remained the same as before.
"The match will be 2v2, no issues, right?"
Nozomi looked at Giselle.
A 1v1 battle is too risky—too much chance involved. A 3v3 or 6v6 would take too long, so 2v2 was the perfect compromise.
"No issues." Giselle nodded.
"Prepare yourselves. Begin!"
As the referee's words echoed, both trainers simultaneously released their Pokémon.
"Go, Cubone!"
"Go, Bulbasaur!"
Nozomi sent out Bulbasaur, while Giselle sent out the white-boned Cubone.
With Metagross held in reserve, Nozomi used Bulbasaur to gain some quick experience.
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"
Swish—two green vines shot out from Bulbasaur's back.
"Cubone, dodge! Then, Bone Boomerang!"