Soon, the matchups were finalized. A machine randomly selected two participants to battle in a 2v2 Pokémon format.
The match would end when both Pokémon on one side lost the ability to fight.
Aaron glanced at the display screen.
Lily's name appeared in the ninth match. Her opponent was a student named Luiz.
The corner of Aaron's mouth twitched slightly.
Hopefully not some sleazy guy...
Soon, the matches began.
To better experience Pokémon battles, every student had to step onto the battlefield, standing beside their family member to watch the Trainer's commands and the Pokémon's combat up close.
As the battles got underway, Aaron found himself getting a little sleepy.
He felt like this was almost unfair.
Most of the relatives these students brought were only Intermediate or Advanced Trainers.
For him, it really wasn't all that interesting.
After a long wait, it was finally Aaron and Lily's turn.
Aaron led Lily onto the battlefield.
The surrounding students instantly burst into loud cheers.
"Aaron... go!!"
"Aaron... you're the strongest!!"
"Lily, you can do it too..."
"I love you, Aaron!!"
...
The atmosphere was electric, like fans seeing their favorite idol.
Aaron smiled slightly, then looked at his somewhat nervous sister and said:
"Come on. Let your big brother show you the charm of Pokémon battles."
Lily's cheeks flushed as she nodded.
Their opponents had already stepped onto the field.
They looked like brothers, with similar features and matching buzz cuts.
Luiz and his older brother Lucas stared at Aaron excitedly and shouted:
"Aaron... we're your fans!"
"Can you go easy on us later..."
Aaron's face twitched slightly. He forced a smile and said:
"OK, OK. Bring it on."
"I'll make sure not to beat you too badly..."
At that moment, the referee waved the flag and addressed both sides:
"This match will be conducted in a 2v2 Pokémon battle format."
"When both Pokémon on one side lose their ability to fight, the match ends."
"I now declare. The ninth Pokémon battle begins!"
"Both sides, release your first Pokémon!"
As soon as the words fell,
Aaron and Lucas simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.
"Come out. Sandslash."
"Snorlax. I'm counting on you."
Two flashes of light burst forth.
A yellow, armadillo-like Pokémon and a massive deep-blue, round-bodied Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Lucas sent out Sandslash.
Aaron sent out Snorlax.
A glint flashed in Aaron's eyes as all of Sandslash's data appeared before him.
Advanced late-stage strength. Elite-level potential. Its highest skill proficiency was a Mastery-level Dig.
As expected of Sandslash, its digging ability was indeed impressive.
But Snorlax had already reached Elite mid-stage.
Against an Advanced late-stage opponent, wasn't this basically a father beating his son?
...
The moment Snorlax appeared, it immediately drew gasps from the surrounding students and relatives.
"Holy crap... that Snorlax is huge!"
"Aren't Snorlax supposed to be about 2 meters tall? This one has to be at least 2.5 meters!"
"And did you notice... that's a Shiny Pokémon!"
"What!?"
"It really is... the blue is much deeper. The books say that's the Shiny coloration!"
"Damn... no wonder he's the top scorer. His Pokémon are on another level!"
...
At that moment, Lucas made the first move.
"Sandslash. Use Sand Attack!"
"Shraaa!"
Sandslash let out a low hiss as yellow light surged over its claws.
It plunged them into the ground and flung up a cloud of sand straight toward Snorlax's eyes.
Starting off with a dirty trick.
Aaron remained calm.
"Snorlax. Inhale, then blow it away."
"Snorrr…"
"HOOO—!"
Snorlax opened its mouth wide and took a deep breath.
Its belly puffed up like a balloon,
then it exhaled in a powerful burst.
"WHOOOOSH!"
It was like a level 10 gale, instantly blowing all the sand clean off the field.
Aaron said calmly to Lily:
"In Pokémon battles, the Trainer's commands are crucial. Only by fully understanding your Pokémon can you give the most effective orders."
Lily stood beside him, her eyes shining with excitement.
This was her first time experiencing a battle up close.
It felt completely different from watching on TV.
The tension. The thrill. The immersion.
Her heart raced.
"So this is Pokémon battling!?"
"One day... I'll become a Trainer as strong as my brother!"
As she looked at Aaron's profile, her eyes sparkled.
At that moment, his figure seemed incredibly tall to her.
Hearing him speak, Lily snapped back to her senses and nodded quickly.
Across the field, Lucas's expression shifted slightly when his tactic failed.
"Sandslash. Use Swift!"
"Shraaa!"
Sandslash opened its mouth and fired a stream of glowing stars toward Snorlax.
"Snorlax. Use Amnesia."
Aaron's clear voice rang out again.
"Snorrr…"
A pink glow spread across Snorlax's body.
A confused look appeared in its eyes.
It felt like it had forgotten something.
Did it skip breakfast?
Or forget its 10,000 punches...
"THUD THUD THUD..."
The Swift stars slammed into Snorlax's belly, producing dull, hollow impacts, before bouncing right off.
Snorlax rubbed its round belly, looking puzzled.
Did something just hit its stomach earlier?