Watching the match, Teacher Shen of No. 1 High School felt an unnamed anger burning in his chest.
He had always placed high hopes on Fang Zhirou, a top student at his school, and never expected her to be so completely defeated by Teacher Xu's student.
He gripped the teacup in his hands tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. The teacup seemed to become an outlet for his anger; his grip tightened, his knuckles trembled slightly, and the teacup made protesting creaking sounds in his hand.
However, to Teacher Shen's slight relief, it wasn't long before one of Teacher Xu's students was defeated.
Zhong Cong walked slowly back to the lounge with heavy steps.
He and his Pokémon, Kricketune, had fought hard on the field for a long time, but ultimately lost to his opponent's Fletchinder.
He was the first in their class to be eliminated, which made him incredibly disappointed.
Seeing his despondent look, Teacher Xu quickly walked over and gently patted his shoulder.
That warm palm seemed to carry a magical power, causing Zhong Cong's previously tense body to relax slightly.
Teacher Xu looked at Zhong Cong, his eyes full of concern and encouragement, and said softly:
"Zhong Cong, don't blame yourself too much. You and Kricketune have done your best. In this match, you showed resilience and courage, which is already very impressive. There are always wins and losses in a match; it's all part of the journey of growth."
The blond-haired boy next to him also gave a thumbs up:
"Old Zhong, don't worry, if I get the chance, I'll definitely beat that Fletchinder for you and get revenge!"
After hearing Teacher Xu and the blond-haired boy's words, Zhong Cong's mood gradually calmed down.
"Old Wang, if you get the chance, you must help me get this off my chest!"
The blond-haired boy patted his chest and promised:
"Leave it to me, brother! It's my turn to go on stage. Watch how I make the other high schoolers fall like scattered flowers."
Saying that, the blond-haired boy walked towards the arena with his arrogant strides.
The blond-haired boy had some impression of this opponent and knew her name was Meng Xiaoxiao.
It wasn't that the blond-haired boy suddenly became insightful, but rather that Meng Xiaoxiao's Pokémon was relatively rare in Qu County: it was a Frosmoth!
At this moment, Frosmoth was flying beside Meng Xiaoxiao, gently fanning its snow-white wings, sparkling with soft light in the sun, like a nimble snow fairy.
The blond-haired boy ran his hand through his hair and decided:
"I choose you, Larvitar!"
Larvitar, emerging from its Poké Ball, stood proudly on the field like a little warrior, its small feet scraping the ground with a "shush" sound, full of vigor.
These past few days, the blond-haired boy had successfully "tricked" Larvitar into his Poké Ball.
Seeing how much attention Bai Jin's Dratini had received earlier, he also wanted to show off, so he sent out Larvitar, which was also a pseudo-legendary.
As expected, as soon as Larvitar appeared, it drew exclamations from the surrounding people, who began to discuss:
"Wow, it's a Larvitar."
"Their school actually has another pseudo-legendary Pokémon!"
...
The blond-haired boy heard the discussions around him, and his vanity was greatly satisfied.
However, he completely failed to consider that by this round, the opponent's Frosmoth's level would definitely be in Normal Class (level 20+), while his Larvitar was still a bit short of Normal Class (around level 18).
The blond-haired boy only thought about how Larvitar's Rock-type moves had a quadruple effectiveness against Bug/Ice-type Frosmoth, but forgot that Larvitar was also weak to Ice-type moves...
The whistle for the match blew with a "toot," and the battle instantly erupted, like lit firecrackers.
Meng Xiaoxiao shouted first: "Frosmoth, Icy Wind, blow it!"
Frosmoth immediately perked up, its wings flapping rapidly, and a bone-chilling gust of wind instantly swept out, like a group of mischievous little ice sprites, baring their fangs and claws as they rushed towards Larvitar.
The blond-haired boy immediately yelled at the top of his lungs:
"Larvitar, Rock Slide, smash it for me!"
Larvitar heard the command, pushed off with its hind legs, and gathered power in its hands.
One by one, stones emerged "rumble, rumble" from the ground, quickly converging in the air, and in the blink of an eye, turned into an enormous boulder, pressing down on Frosmoth like a small mountain.
The stone whistled through the air, as if it would smash a huge pit into the entire arena.
Frosmoth's Icy Wind and Larvitar's giant boulder met head-on in mid-air.
Although this Icy Wind was bone-chillingly cold and had a huge range, the giant boulder was incredibly hard, and Icy Wind could not affect it at all, only whistling helplessly past the giant boulder.
However, because the Icy Wind's range was too wide, some of it still blew onto Larvitar.
Larvitar, hit by this cold wind, was instantly covered in a layer of frost, making it shiver all over, its movements becoming sluggish, and its speed consequently decreased.
Although Larvitar's Rock Slide failed to interrupt Icy Wind, the huge boulder came with full force, smashing directly down on Frosmoth.
Frosmoth, having just used its move, was too late to dodge and was hit hard by the giant boulder. With a "bang," Frosmoth was smashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
It struggled to fly up, but its body swayed, as the quadruple damage was simply too high.
Larvitar's movement was greatly slowed due to the freezing, so the blond-haired boy couldn't adjust his tactics and could only shout:
"Keep using Rock Slide, don't stop!"
Larvitar gritted its teeth, and another giant boulder formed under its efforts, smashing towards Frosmoth.
On Frosmoth's side, if it were to use Feather Dance to lower Larvitar's attack power, it would have to endure a powerful Rock Slide, which would put it at a disadvantage.
Aurora Beam would also be blocked by the giant boulder, so Meng Xiaoxiao dared not change her move easily.
She could only shout encouragement:
"Frosmoth, hold on, use Icy Wind again!"
Frosmoth flapped its somewhat tattered wings and once again blew out a bone-chilling gust of wind.
Both sides' attacks collided in mid-air again, and the result was the same as last time: the giant boulder still smashed towards Frosmoth, unaffected by Icy Wind, and Icy Wind still blew onto Larvitar.
Frosmoth was hit by the giant boulder again, its body swaying even more violently, while Larvitar's body became increasingly stiff from the cold.
Thus, they continued to attack each other, each attack accompanied by a huge sound and impact.
The blond-haired boy then realized that he seemed to have been too overconfident; if he had sent out Dwebble, he might have won much earlier.
Meng Xiaoxiao was also sweating profusely from nervousness, holding her breath, and watching this fierce duel intently.
Neither side could easily change their moves; at this point, it was a test of endurance.
Despite being hit by giant boulders repeatedly, Frosmoth still stubbornly flapped its wings to blow Icy Wind, its eyes full of determination.
Larvitar was the same; although its movements were difficult due to being frozen by Icy Wind, it still raised its hands high and repeatedly gathered giant boulders to launch Rock Slide.
Perhaps because Larvitar's ability was "Guts," or perhaps due to its nature, Larvitar gritted its teeth and endured the last Icy Wind.
And after being hit by another giant boulder, Frosmoth could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground with a "thud," losing its ability to battle.
Seeing this, the referee immediately announced: "Larvitar wins!"
The blond-haired boy finally breathed a sigh of relief; he had almost lost.
And Meng Xiaoxiao also rushed to Frosmoth's side, gently picked it up, and said softly: "Honey, you did your best. Your type was really at a disadvantage, but you were already amazing."