Lin Fan, who was originally sitting by the window lost in thought, suddenly felt a probing gaze. He looked up and met Zhang Rou's eyes, who smiled slightly at him.
Oh no...
A bad premonition suddenly arose in Lin Fan's heart.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered. Why did it feel like this Teacher was going to use him to establish her authority?
Judging by his current strength, he was undoubtedly the strongest in the class. As a Teacher for training class, she naturally needed the students to acknowledge her strength first. Based on this, there was a high probability that he would be used as an example to scare others.
As their training class Teacher, Zhang Rou's own strength was definitely not weak. She was most likely an Elite-level Trainer, much stronger than him. Although Beedrill already had advanced strength, the gap between advanced and Elite-level was very large. He was already very satisfied to reach Elite-level strength before entering university.
He exchanged a glance with Su Ling not far away, and she chuckled gleefully, clearly understanding what was about to happen.
Lin Fan was helpless, but then he felt a bit excited.
He also wanted to know how big the gap truly was between him and an Elite-level Trainer.
Zhang Rou didn't waste any time and asked, "Who is the sports representative?"
Su Ling raised her hand, "Teacher Zhang, it's me, Su Ling."
Although sports representatives are usually boys, given Su Ling's physique, there was really no one in the class who could compare to her. Lin Fan would also need some time to surpass Su Ling.
Zhang Rou nodded, "Lead the team to the sports field. First, jog two laps to warm up, then stretch. Do you know the stretching exercises?"
"Yes." Su Ling nodded. Seeing Zhang Rou lead the way to the sports field, she called out to her classmates and also hurried to the field.
After about five minutes, the entire class had warmed up and stood neatly in two rows, their eyes fixed on Zhang Rou at the front, waiting for her next instruction.
"First, a trivial question: Is there anyone who doesn't want to be a Trainer?" Zhang Rou asked, looking at everyone.
Silence. No one spoke, clearly everyone yearned to become a Trainer.
"Very good." Zhang Rou nodded, a slight smile appearing on her face, "I know that compared to physical training, everyone must prefer to start Pokémon training earlier and get in touch with systematic battle knowledge earlier."
"Coincidentally, I was a member of the provincial normal university's school team before, and I do have some insights and experiences in Pokémon battles. But no matter how much I talk, it's not as good as demonstrating it to you. So..."
Zhang Rou's gaze fell on Lin Fan, and she showed a sweet smile: "Lin Fan, please step forward!"
Sure enough, Lin Fan sighed and took a step forward.
However, he had only guessed that this Teacher's strength was unusual, but he hadn't expected her to actually be a member of the school team.
"Everyone knows that this student won the Zero Moon Cup Champion, right?" Zhang Rou looked at the crowd. After receiving affirmative replies, her smile grew even sweeter. "Since that's the case, I'm sure everyone acknowledges this student's strength. Let him have a Pokémon battle with the Teacher to demonstrate what a qualified Trainer should consider in battle."
Soon, Lin Fan and Zhang Rou stood on the battleground on the sports field, while the other students gathered around as spectators, eagerly discussing.
Zhao Liang spoke mysteriously, "What do you guys think, can Lin Fan defeat the Teacher?"
"No, buddy, what are you thinking? Although Lin Fan's Beedrill can beat my Shroomish with one hand, Teacher Zhang is a member of the provincial normal university's school team. She can't possibly lose to a Beedrill that's only been trained for two months, right?"
"Oh, that sounds right too. Look, look, it's about to begin!"
On the field, Lin Fan released his Beedrill, his gaze solemn as he looked at the Pokémon in front of Zhang Rou, a powerful Ampharos.
Ampharos's skin was very smooth and moist, clearly meticulously cared for. It was currently curiously observing the Beedrill in front of Lin Fan, looking very friendly.
Despite this, Lin Fan's expression remained serious. He faintly felt a strong sense of pressure from Ampharos. Although it was far less than Su Wu's Machamp back then, it was equally startling.
This Teacher isn't holding back at all. With the strength of this Ampharos, it must be her main Pokémon.
"Beedrill, don't be careless. The opponent is very strong."
"Hiss, beep~"
Beedrill nodded. With a stronger perception than Lin Fan, it naturally felt the pressure from Ampharos even more. A hint of excitement welled up in its heart, and the Double Needle in its hands yearned for action.
Zhang Rou also observed Beedrill. Upon seeing the pair of Double Needle shimmering with a chilling glint, she couldn't help but marvel slightly.
What an excellent Pokémon. It possesses a very strong will to battle, and it's clear it has experienced truly brutal combat. The look in its eyes doesn't lie.
While marveling, Zhang Rou began to explain to the surrounding spectators: "First, as a Trainer, you need to understand what each Pokémon excels at. For example, a Pokémon like Ampharos excels at extreme special attacks, and speed is its weakest point. A Pokémon like Beedrill, however, excels at physical attack and speed. So, if I want to defeat Beedrill, I must first limit its speed. Only then can Ampharos's high special attack have room to be effective."
"And Ampharos's move pool happens to include Thunder Wave, a move that can paralyze Pokémon, which can very effectively limit Beedrill's speed."
"Knowledge about Pokémon is something you'll learn in your theory classes. If some of you don't know, you should read more books."
As her words fell, Zhang Rou gestured, indicating that Lin Fan could initiate the attack.
"Beedrill, Double Needle!"
Lin Fan didn't hold back and immediately had Beedrill launch an attack.
Zhang Rou watched the rapidly approaching Beedrill with a smile, giving no command, allowing Ampharos to act on its own.
A hint of cunning flashed in Ampharos's eyes. It didn't use the Thunder Wave Zhang Rou had mentioned, but instead directly used the area-of-effect attack, Discharge!
Lin Fan's expression changed drastically. Holy cow, this Teacher isn't playing fair!
Beedrill stopped just in the nick of time, retreating at an even faster speed, thus avoiding being caught by Discharge.
"Can any student explain why Ampharos didn't use Thunder Wave as mentioned before, but chose to use Discharge instead?"
Zhang Rou smiled as she looked around. Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, shaking their heads.
"This involves the issue of who goes first," Zhang Rou explained, not wanting to make things difficult for them. "If Ampharos were to attack first, then choosing Thunder Wave would be the best option. However, in this battle, Beedrill attacked first. If Ampharos were to still use Thunder Wave at this point, even if it paralyzed Beedrill, Beedrill would still get close and deal damage. And even if Beedrill were paralyzed, Ampharos's speed would still not allow it to create distance, meaning both sides would remain in close quarters, which would undoubtedly be extremely disadvantageous for Ampharos."
"Therefore, in this situation, using the wide-range offensive move Discharge to force Beedrill back is the best choice. With Ampharos's high special attack damage, Beedrill wouldn't dare to trade blows with Ampharos. This is called 'offense as defense.' After Beedrill is forced to retreat, Ampharos can then seize the opportunity to use Thunder Wave. That's when it's the best choice."
Everyone showed expressions of sudden realization, and Lin Fan couldn't help but fall into deep thought, marveling inwardly.
This Teacher truly had skill. A simple lesson had already taught him so much.
After all, his previous life's games were turn-based and there was no such thing as skills forcing retreats. They lacked too much compared to this kind of practical combat, and this kind of practical experience and tactical choice was exactly what he was missing.