"Unbelievable… he's just a commoner, and yet he keeps sending out such rare Pokémon!"
Giselle's gaze locked onto Psyduck, her beautiful eyes flashing with deep shock.
Whether it was the mutated Charmander earlier, or this Shiny Psyduck, there was no question that both were extremely rare Pokémon.
Even she, Giselle, the academy's star prodigy, had never owned such rarities. That commoner boy—what had he done to deserve them?!
"Flareon, use Tackle!"
Frustrated and losing her composure, Giselle lashed out recklessly.
Psyduck, being a Water-type, naturally resisted Fire.
Choosing a move outside of Fire-type attacks was the correct approach.
But in a type disadvantage situation, shouldn't you be more careful, not just charge in blindly?!
"Hmph, courting death."
Watching Giselle's rash behavior, Yozora sneered coldly. "Finish it—Hydro Pump!"
Boom!
A fearsome blast of water erupted from Psyduck's bill, slamming straight into Flareon and blasting it into the air.
With a pained cry, Flareon crashed heavily onto the ground, unconscious.
"Hiss… taken out in a single hit? Even with type disadvantage?"
"No doubt about it—that Psyduck is extraordinary, wielding power far beyond its level!"
Defeating Flareon with a single blow in a tier-skipping battle sent another wave of shock through the students.
What a joke…
The powerful Miss Giselle had actually lost two rounds in a row?!
"Flareon is unable to battle! Psyduck is the winner!" Komiya's ruling rang in Giselle's ears like thunder, snapping her back to her senses.
"Even if it's just luck, that commoner boy truly has considerable strength. From here on, I must take this seriously!"
Taking a deep breath, Giselle recalled Flareon and hurled out another Poké Ball. "Go—Raichu!"
Her third Pokémon was a Raichu.
As everyone knew, Raichu was the evolved form of Pikachu—though not through natural means, but via a Thunder Stone.
Ash once said it best: "Pikachu are as common as stray dogs on the street!"
At the time, Team Rocket had treated Pikachu as a rare prize and tried to capture it. Ash was dumbfounded: Rare Pokémon? But Pikachu are everywhere—like wild strays!
In other words, Pikachu were by no means rare. The only truly unique one was Ash's Pikachu.
By extension, Raichu wasn't rare either—it only required a Thunder Stone, though an expensive one.
"Raichu, Thunderbolt!"
"Psyduck, Hydro Pump!"
This time, Yozora and Giselle gave their commands almost in unison.
Rumble…
The two powerful attacks collided violently in the arena.
Hydro Pump instantly tore through Thunderbolt and barreled straight toward Raichu.
Yet Thunderbolt did not dissipate—it clung to the water stream like a writhing lightning serpent, racing straight back along the torrent toward Psyduck.
Boom!!
Raichu was blasted sky-high by the Hydro Pump, shrieking before crashing to the ground, unconscious.
Meanwhile, Psyduck's body was bathed in crackling electricity…
But incredibly, not a trace of pain showed on its face. Instead, it lifted one stubby claw and scratched itself, as though the electricity was nothing but a ticklish itch.
"???"
"What the—Psyduck isn't even afraid of electricity?!"
"Yeah, even if it were high-level with great defenses, it shouldn't be completely unfazed!"
"Not unfazed—didn't you see? It was scratching itself. That's not pain, that's… enjoyment!"
"Ruthless… utterly ruthless!"
The scene left the entire crowd dumbstruck.
Even Giselle herself was speechless.
Yozora's Pokémon broke every rule of common sense, far beyond anything her textbooks had taught!
"Raichu is unable to battle! Psyduck wins again!" Komiya announced, plunging the arena into an eerie silence.
The atmosphere turned strangely tense.
The top student of the Junior Class—the top student, Miss Giselle—had just lost three times in a row.
And Yozora? He hadn't lost a single match.
He still had all six Pokémon untouched!
The gap was terrifying.
As members of the Junior Class, they knew Giselle's strength. She was indeed powerful, strong enough to easily overwhelm even Komiya, the class's second seat.
Yet here she was, being humiliated by a so-called commoner…
Could it be true? Were the rumors right—that Pokémon Tech was really so weak and pitiful?
At that moment, doubts began creeping into the hearts of many students.
They were heavy with theory, but hopelessly lacking in practical combat.
They only knew how to rely on levels to pressure opponents.
Their Pokémon weren't as sturdy as their peers outside, nor did they have the same agile battle sense.
"…I want to take a leave from school."
That sudden voice froze the entire Junior Class into silence.
Giselle's pressure mounted.
As class's top seat, she represented all of them.
Now someone was talking about leaving school?
Wasn't that basically slapping her in the face?
"Yozora… it's all his fault! He's actually making my classmates think of dropping out—this is unforgivable!"
Her anger boiling, Giselle glared at Yozora and hurled out her fourth Poké Ball. "Go—Kadabra! Use Psybeam!"
Kadabra had barely appeared when it unleashed a dazzling multicolored beam straight at Psyduck.
But Psyduck brushed it aside effortlessly with its Psychic power.
Its eyes glowed blue, radiating a fearsome, commanding aura.
The wave of psychic might rolling off Psyduck was so overwhelming that even Kadabra, a Psychic-type itself, shrank back in fear!
"What terrifying psychic power! Hard to believe such a small Psyduck could wield strength like this!"
"Yeah! Kadabra specializes in Psychic abilities, but it can't do a thing against that Psyduck… what the heck even is this?"
The students around the arena were in disbelief.
They didn't blame Giselle. Instead, watching Yozora and his overwhelming Pokémon, they began yearning for the outside world.
Surely there were many trainers like him out there beyond the academy?
They longed to set out on their own journeys—otherwise, wouldn't they just remain frogs at the bottom of a well?
"Psyduck, Hydro Pump!"
After Psyduck had deflected Psybeam, Yozora gave his order without hesitation.
"As if! Kadabra, use Teleport!" Giselle shouted.
And indeed, Teleport was blindingly fast.
Just as the Hydro Pump was about to engulf Kadabra, its body vanished from the spot in an instant—
…
…
(End of Chapter)