In a room on the fourth floor of the guesthouse, two people sat on opposite sides of a table. They were the Grade Director and the Vice Director of the first-years from Indigo Academy.
The Vice Director, a middle-aged man in his thirties with short black hair and glasses, spoke to the Director with concern, "Director, I'm a bit worried that the students might become complacent because of today's matches."
The Director took a steady sip of water and replied, "Indeed, that is an issue. How about this: gather the second-year students later and hold a meeting to address it."
The Vice Director nodded. "Understood, I'll go arrange it now."
After he finished speaking, he left the room.
Half an hour later, the Vice Director's room was quite lively as all the second-year students from Indigo Academy arrived, accompanied by several teachers.
Everyone looked rather unhappy; after all, no one likes meetings. Being called over late at night when they could be resting in their own rooms didn't sit well with them.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the Vice Director began to speak, "Everyone, quiet down. I'll say one thing and then we're done."
The surroundings finally quieted down a bit.
"Everyone saw the third-year matches today, right?" the Vice Director asked. "After watching, do you all feel that Silver Academy is very weak?"
As soon as he said it, everyone nodded in strong agreement.
The Vice Director continued, "Since that's the case, I have one requirement: I hope everyone takes tomorrow's matches seriously. Do not be careless."
Several second-year students answered with visible impatience, "We know, we won't be carewess."
One look at their expressions told the Vice Director they hadn't taken his words to heart. However, there was nothing he could do; no matter how much he said, they remained the same way.
Feeling helpless, the Vice Director dismissed them.
As soon as several students reached the door, they began grumbling. "Tch, I thought it was something important."
"What a waste of time. I could have spent this time playing more games."
"Exactly, saying all that is completely useless."
"Based on Silver Academy's performance today, you can tell they are total trash."
"I don't get it. This is supposed to be the best academy in the Johto region?"
"Anyone we pull at random from our academy would be stronger than them."
Standing behind them, the Vice Director heard their conversation and exchanged helpless looks with the other teachers. He was deeply worried. With their current mindset, they might suffer a major setback in tomorrow's matches.
The second day of the exchange tournament brought clear skies. The roads were quiet as most students were in class, except for those participating in the tournament.
Arriving at the Battle Hall, the second-years from Indigo Academy were all very relaxed, with no atmosphere of tension at all.
Conversely, the Silver Academy side was very quiet. Everyone sat silently in their seats.
The Vice Director of Indigo Academy noted the silence from Silver Academy, but it wasn't a stifling silence; it felt more like the calm before an explosion.
Seeing this, his worry intensified.
The leaders of Silver Academy sat in their seats chatting and laughing as if yesterday's unpleasantness had never happened.
When the match time arrived, the referee took the stage and the electronic screen turned on. The screen lit up to reveal the first pair of contestants.
Silver Academy sent out a thin male student for the first match of the second-years. From his appearance, one wouldn't expect him to be particularly formidable.
Indigo Academy sent up a burly male student.
When he saw his opponent, he didn't even look him in the eye, maintaining an air of total indifference.
At the referee's command, both sides released their Pokémon.
The opponent released a Graveler, while the senior from Silver Academy used a Bayleef.
Eichi opened his Eye of the Bug Emperor. Graveler was at the Experienced rank with an Excellent talent grade.
The Bayleef was also at the Experienced rank, but its talent grade was Outstanding.
The match began. Although Bayleef had a type advantage over Graveler, the Indigo Academy student didn't panic.
He firmly believed he would win, so he ordered Graveler to attack head-on.
The senior remained calm. Eichi observed closely from below; from an external perspective alone, this Bayleef was exceptionally well-raised.
Consequently, Eichi felt that the one to lose in the end might be that Graveler.
Sure enough, two minutes later, Graveler was hit by Bayleef's Razor Leaf. Its power was beyond imagination.
The Indigo Academy trainer hadn't taken it seriously and ordered Graveler to tank it directly. Unexpectedly, he had overestimated Graveler. It couldn't withstand the Razor Leaf at all and immediately lost its ability to battle.
"How is this possible..."
The Indigo Academy student couldn't believe his Graveler had lost so quickly.
Next, he released his second Pokémon, a Machamp.
The battle continued. This time, he still hadn't learned his lesson and charged in directly.
Five minutes later, under the barrage of Bayleef's Razor Leaf, Machamp lost its ability to battle.
Although it had defeated Machamp, Bayleef's stamina was nearly depleted. This Machamp was significantly stronger than the previous Graveler, and it had taken quite an effort to defeat it.
The Indigo Academy opponent released his final Pokémon, a Primeape.
This was a powerful Primeape that knocked out Bayleef in less than a minute.
At this, the senior released his second Pokémon, a Flareon.
His second Pokémon wasn't as strong as Bayleef and was quickly defeated.
The senior's expression didn't change much as he released his third Pokémon, a Vaporeon.
This time, the senior watched as Vaporeon continuously drained Primeape's stamina. Primeape grew increasingly frantic as it failed to defeat Vaporeon.
Finally, it lost control. Seizing this opportunity, Vaporeon defeated Primeape.
It was a hard-fought victory. The Indigo Academy opponent left the stage with a grimace, eyes full of regret.
But there was no medicine for regret; he had already lost.
The senior let out a heavy sigh of relief when he saw Primeape fall.
He then left the stage quite excitedly. Having won, he would receive the first reward.
The second pair took the stage. Even though they had lost the first match, the Indigo Academy side still didn't take it seriously. After all, in their eyes, the senior had only won due to luck; no one else would be that stupid.
Thus, in the second match, a very unexpected thing happened: a tie.
Both sides fought down to their last Pokémon, and the final two Pokémon fainted at the same time.
A tie!
Next came the third match. The Indigo Academy opponent felt that as long as he was slightly serious, he could win.
With this thought, he entered the battle. Fifteen minutes later, he looked at his Blastoise lying on the ground, having lost its ability to battle. He looked on in disbelief with a pale face; he had lost.
In the fourth match, both sides took the field.
Twenty minutes later, both sides' final Pokémon lost their ability to battle simultaneously.
Another tie!