"Teacher Moo! Sorry about this, but your Raticate is about to taste defeat!"
Joji put on a confident expression.
He naturally believed his Dragonair
could completely crush the Raticate in front of him.
Even if Dragonair's level had been force-raised by feeding it Rare Candies,
a twelve-level gap
was more than enough to make up for the negative effects of that.
"Begin."
Teacher Moo didn't waste words.
A trace of disdain showed in her eyes as she looked at Joji.
As an outstanding Pokémon Breeder,
she could tell at a glance that this Dragonair had been piled up to its current level with all sorts of materials, items, and resources.
Teacher Moo found that approach deeply disgraceful, because it ran completely counter to her principles of raising Pokémon.
A Pokémon that hadn't been tempered by real battles,
that hadn't grown stronger through systematic training and refinement,
was nothing more than a pet.
It wasn't combat power in hand at all.
"Chi-ya!!"
Facing Dragonair, Raticate's aura didn't weaken in the slightest.
Those tiny, bead-like eyes burned with intense fighting spirit.
The next second,
Raticate moved.
Its short, thick limbs pumped rapidly across the ground,
so fast its body nearly blurred.
"Dragonair! Supersonic!"
Joji gave the command.
"Roooaah—!"
Dragonair opened its mouth and let out a loud cry.
Invisible sonic waves spread outward.
The sharp, piercing noise
made Raticate's charging body stall for an instant.
Raticate froze in place,
shaking its head hard
before it recovered slightly from the confusion and found its direction again.
"Water Pulse!!"
Joji seized the opportunity and issued another order.
Water-type energy gathered at the tip of Dragonair's tail, forming a sphere.
The ball of water churned as if boiling,
roiling and rolling without pause.
Dragonair whipped its long tail.
The water sphere condensed into a jet and shot straight at Raticate.
"Chi-ya!"
Raticate reacted quickly.
It immediately used Quick Attack to shift out of the way.
Boom!!
The water jet smashed into the ground, exploding into countless splashes that sprayed everywhere, pattering down into a curtain of rain.
That curtain of rain
instantly blurred Joji and Dragonair's vision.
Where was Raticate?
Where did Raticate go?!
Joji searched anxiously for Raticate's silhouette.
"Chi-ya!!"
The next second!
A yellow figure
suddenly burst out from the rain curtain on the side.
That headlong momentum—
It made people feel
like what was charging in wasn't a Raticate at all,
but an enraged Tauros!
"Dragonair! Dodge, now!"
Joji panicked and shouted.
But it was obviously too late.
Dragonair twisted its slightly bloated, heavy body to evade,
barely shifting a few centimeters—
When Raticate, like a streak of yellow lightning,
rammed straight into Dragonair.
"Rooaah!!"
Dragonair let out a pained wail.
Its body was knocked into a roll across the battle arena floor, spinning several times before it finally stopped.
Raticate was also thrown far away by the recoil,
staggering unsteadily.
That Take Down
dealt Dragonair a solid amount of damage.
But Raticate itself also took part of the impact.
The candidates watching below
instinctively sucked in a sharp breath when they saw this.
The situation on the field
was completely different from what everyone expected!
Shouldn't it have been Joji and Dragonair,
with a one-sided, crushing advantage?
So why did an Elite-tier Dragonair
look like it was struggling so hard against an Entry-level Raticate?
The one holding the upper hand and the initiative
was actually Raticate instead?
On the battle arena,
Joji's face was livid, his expression extremely heavy.
This Raticate
was even stronger than he'd estimated.
The atmosphere inexplicably grew tense and heated.
Joji clenched his fists,
unease churning in his chest.
Damn it—
Could he actually lose this battle?
An Elite-tier Pokémon losing to an Entry-level one?
And the opponent was a Pokémon without even a Trainer giving commands?!
If he lost,
he'd probably be laughed at for the rest of his life!
Realizing that,
Joji's expression instantly turned grave.
The Amano family had made extensive plans for this year's Pokémon Tournament!
If he couldn't even pass the Entry-level Trainer Exam and secure qualification to compete, then wouldn't all their effort and preparation go straight down the drain?
No way!
"Dragonair! Get serious!"
"Stop underestimating it! Next—finish it in one go!"
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload 20+ chapters to Patreon!!
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]