"I just want to confirm, during the 6-pick-4 match, we're not allowed to use our own Pokémon, right?"
"That's right. All teams must use Pokémon provided by the organizers. So, the strength of this Meowscarada won't be of any use in this round."
The commentator was confirming with his partner. Of course, he hadn't forgotten the rules. He was just trying to liven things up with his partner.
"Well, that's a relief. I spent all of yesterday after work trying to figure out how to counter that Meowscarada, and came up with nothing. If Meowscarada were allowed in 6-pick-4, then this match would be downright hopeless."
The Pokémon selection process had nothing to do with Rowan and his team, since the organizers had already planned out sets of six Pokémon for each team. Contestants who were lower in the rankings got to pick a set first in this round.
The order didn't really matter much, since it was all essentially a blind pick. No one would know the exact lineup even if they picked first.
That actually cut down on the agonizing decision-making for people who struggled with choices.
"Shedinja, Gengar, Chansey, Skarmory, Gliscor, Vaporeon… not bad. What do you think, You?"
Joining Rowan and Nekomi in this round was Charizard's Trainer, Lü You. Before Rowan was parachuted in, she had been the team's main force and was best at commanding.
"Yeah, not bad. Shedinja's Ability is Wonder Guard, which makes it excellent for a joint defense strategy. Running a Substitute + Protect + Toxic strategy around it is totally viable."
Looking over the Pokémon data provided by the organizers, both Lü You and Rowan felt they'd gotten lucky. Shedinja might look weak—its stats were low, and it gave off the impression that it would die at the slightest hit—
But it had Wonder Guard.
This Ability meant that only super-effective attacks could harm it. And since Shedinja was naturally immune to two types, the number of attacks that could actually harm it was even more limited.
"Hmm, Chansey even has Rock Slide. Too bad it doesn't have the Serene Grace Ability. Gliscor and Gengar have decent offensive capabilities too. Luck's on our side."
As far as random lineups go, this one had a solid balance of offense and defense, though the Abilities were a bit underwhelming.
And since the Pokémon came with no held items, and real battles are full of unpredictable elements, there were bound to be a few gaps here and there.
"We're still in the prep phase. During this time, it's best to build a good rapport with the organizer's Pokémon, and then…"
"No need. Nekomi is already done with it."
What Lü You was describing was the standard process. After all, there were only thirty minutes of prep time, and in that window, it was critical to establish effective communication with these unfamiliar Pokémon.
The issue was, Nekomi wasn't using the typical method of a human Trainer; she used a Pokémon's method: beating them into submission.
While Rowan and Lü You were discussing strategies, Nekomi had already secured her position as the "king."
"Meow! (I've already won two rounds, so I don't want to lose this one. Try a bit harder, okay?)"
As she spoke, Nekomi pulled out a bag containing some leftover Pokéblocks, and not just the regular hard candy kind.
Depending on the recipe, Pokéblocks could vary not only in flavor but also in texture: hard candy, cookies, jelly, gummies, and so on. But without exception, all of them had a very unique taste.
First came the intimidation through force, then the lure of food—an old tactic, but a classic. And it worked like a charm towards Pokemon.
Of course, the organizers didn't mistreat the Pokémon they raised, but there was a fundamental difference between mass-feeding and a custom-cooked meal. At the very least, these Pokémon had never eaten anything like this before.
They were already required to obey commands, but now their morale was even higher.
The most crucial part? These Pokémon lived alongside the ones picked by other teams. So they knew all about them, and immediately started reporting to Nekomi.
"Meow~ (I think we've already won the intelligence war.)"
"Come on, You. Time's short and the task is heavy. I'll talk, you write. Prepare some new tactics so I can explain them to Nekomi."
"Huh? Brother Rowan, why don't you do it yourself?"
"You're number one in the Battle Department. I'm at the bottom of the liberal arts rankings. Clearly, you're more suited for strategy planning. Plus, aren't you applying for grad school? Do a little more now and your record will look even better."
This kind of situation wasn't Rowan's strong suit. His commands had never been a problem before, but that was mostly because Nekomi's level was so high that as long as he avoided using Normal-type moves against Ghost-types, everything turned out fine.
Doubles battles were a whole different story. Better to leave it to someone more specialized; after all, this was supposed to be one of the Varsity Team's strong points.
Of course, not many people believed what he said. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Rowan had already trained a ridiculously powerful Meowscarada. No one would believe someone like that claiming they weren't capable.
Instead, it made Lü You feel like Rowan was giving her a chance, and she immediately buried herself in the work.
In the battles that followed, Lü You performed beyond expectations, winning more than she lost, and her ranking steadily rose. Meanwhile, Nekomi was treated as their hidden ace and wasn't used directly.
It wasn't until they faced their fellow student from the South Campus, the legendary Psychic, that command was finally handed over to Nekomi.
"Oh my god! A silent battle! I've been commentating the Academy Cup for 12 years, and this is the first time I've seen a silent battle! Could it be that East Campus has a Psychic too?!"
A silent battle referred to one in which there were no verbal commands from the Trainer. On the surface, it just looked like the Pokémon were battling on their own.
Psychics were already rare to begin with. The chances of two appearing in the same tournament were even lower. Matches like this were uncommon and posed a greater challenge for commentators.
In normal battles, they could rely on hearing the Trainers' commands, but in silent battles, it was all visual interpretation.
"Shedinja used Ally Switch to swap places with Skarmory! It took the Double Kick meant for Skarmory! Skarmory's Rock Slide hit Blaziken, but the damage wasn't enough. Blaziken can still fight!"
"Gengar switched in for Skarmory, attempting to counter Blaziken's Flamethrower with Shadow Ball, but it failed! After being hit by Flamethrower, Gengar was then struck by Gligar's Knock Off!
Shedinja tried to turn the tide, but Blaziken seized the opportunity and took it down with Fire Spin!"
Skarmory returned to the field, and both sides were down to their last two Pokémon.
"Meow... (That was my mistake, I thought Gengar could disrupt that Flamethrower...)"
"It's fine. Blaziken doesn't have much stamina left either. Don't measure them by your own standards."
"Meow."
Nekomi made a mistake that veterans are prone to—relying too much on experience.
From her point of view, disrupting an incoming Flamethrower with Shadow Ball was a simple task.
Unfortunately, Gengar couldn't pull it off. It didn't have Nekomi's strength and that caused a chain reaction.
"At the last moment, Gengar used Destiny Bond to take down the opposing Blaziken! The battle between Gligar and Skarmory will decide the winner...
Skarmory has used Rock Slide once again...
Gligar couldn't dodge in time and was hit, triggering a Flinch status!"
The "Flinch" status is typically caused by a relentless barrage of attacks, inducing a panicked mental state in the Pokémon and restricting its movement. In simple terms, it gets stunned, briefly unable to recover.
"Skarmory follows up with a combo attack. This match is over!!
Though the competition isn't finished yet, the top spot on the leaderboard is already locked in! Let's congratulate East Campus in advance for winning this year's Pangoro Academy Cup!!"
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