"Let's battle! Let me see how strong your starter Pokémon are!" Jake, having received his Pokémon, was overjoyed and immediately pulled Ethan to go battle.
"You're only saying that because you saw that Emily and I both got Water-type Pokémon, aren't you?" Ethan said, annoyed.
"Hehe, if I don't defeat you two now, even with type advantages later, I probably won't get another chance," Jake said with a laugh, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.
"Grow up!" Emma shook her head helplessly, but also looked at the two with curiosity. "How about it, Emily, should we have a match too? I'm a little curious to try it out."
"I'm fine with anything!" Emily said calmly.
"Right, right! You guys actually want to too, don't you? In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Jake shouted excitedly, hooking his arm around Ethan's shoulder and heading out.
"What's the rush? Can't we at least finish the enrollment procedures first?" Ethan grumbled irritably, but Jake clearly didn't hear him and continued to pull him towards the training grounds.
Today, most of South University's battlefields were being used for the freshman assessment, leaving only the school's training grounds available. These were typically used by students for daily training and weren't usually requisitioned to avoid disrupting their practice, especially since the Pokémon College Entrance Exam would last for about half a month.
Upon arriving at the training grounds, there were already quite a few university students training. Although today was the first day of admissions, not all university students enjoyed joining the crowds, and the sight of rookies battling didn't attract them. So, there were still a good number of people in the training grounds.
"Wow! Is that a Nidorino? It's actually pulling such a large cart while running?" Jake exclaimed, pointing at one of the training areas.
It was a purple Nidorino, a Poison-type Pokémon with a three-stage evolution. Its final form, Nidoking, would additionally possess the Ground-type, and its powerful base stats were not much weaker than those of the starter Pokémon.
At this moment, the little fellow was pulling a cart filled with rocks, running across the field. A two-meter-long, one-meter-wide cart would be difficult for even an adult to pull, but it seemed to have been pulling it for quite some time already.
"He must be training Nidorino's stamina. For most Pokémon, stamina is indispensable. A good body allows for more training and greater improvement. After all, the body is the capital of revolution!" Ethan said with an approving tone.
This Nidorino was clearly well-trained. Although small Pokémon can master world-shattering power, a Poison-type Pokémon being able to drag something dozens of times its own weight at high speed across a training ground requires excellent physical fitness.
Not just this Nidorino, but other training grounds also had various senior students training all sorts of Pokémon. On a day like this, those who came to the training grounds were clearly not the students who slacked off daily, so their Pokémon were also very well-trained.
For example, a Pidgeotto in the distance, with a simple Gust attack, managed to create a sandstorm-like effect on this regular field; there was also a Growlithe, whose Ember + Flame Wheel attacks managed to scorch the entire field; and on another field, a starter Pokémon, Chikorita, spread Razor Leaf across the entire area, so much so that inexperienced newcomers might even mistake it for Leaf Storm…
"There's an empty spot over there, should we go there?" After watching for a while, Emma pointed to an empty training area and asked.
"Let's go, let's go! I can't wait!" After watching for so long, Jake could no longer suppress his excitement and was the first to run to the other side of the field.
"Seriously! You two go first, Emily and I will be the referees," Emma said, shaking her head helplessly.
"That's the only way!" Ethan shrugged and walked to the other side of the field.
"It's time to battle!" Taking out Popplio's Poké Ball, Ethan whispered softly to it.
"Ao~~~" A red light flashed, and a blue sea lion with a red nose appeared in the center of the field, letting out a happy cry towards Ethan.
"Wow! Is that Popplio? I heard it's newly introduced; there's no information about it in the domestic Pokedex yet," Emma exclaimed excitedly.
"Yes, it's the latest starter Pokémon, and it's very strong!" Ethan nodded and said with a smile.
"Ao~~~" Hearing the praise, Popplio let out an excited cry.
Unlike other starter Pokémon, Popplio is a Pokémon that loves to show off. It likes to perform and wants to be praised... So, Ethan's praise was very well-received by it. At the same time, to gain praise, this Pokémon will diligently train itself to become more perfect, gain more opportunities to perform, and thus receive more praise.
"Tch~~~ What's so great about that? It's a creature from the sea; whether it can even move on land is a question. Watch me defeat you! Go, Magnemite!" Jake pouted and shouted, throwing out the Poké Ball in his hand. As the red light faded, a magnet-shaped mechanical creature appeared in the field. However, at this moment, everyone's gaze was not drawn to Magnemite, but rather to Jake.
"Hahaha! You idiot, are you trying to make us die of laughter? Hahaha." After a brief moment of surprise, Emma burst into unreserved laughter.
"You… if you're trying to win by making me die of laughter, I have to say, you've won!" Ethan's mouth twitched, and he said with a helpless expression.
"My bad, my bad! But it doesn't affect my performance," Jake said with an awkward laugh, jogging back to his position.
"I don't know if your throwing posture was cool, but your ball-picking posture was certainly a mess!" Even Emily, whose face was usually expressionless, seemed to show a slight tremor.
"Hahaha, Emily, you really hit the nail on the head!" Emma laughed loudly.
"Hmph! You'll see how cool it is when I defeat him! Let's go! Magnemite, use Thunder Shock!" Ignoring everyone's ridicule, he had already shouted for Magnemite to charge forward.
"Popplio, no need to rush. Create a Water Balloon, then dodge as needed!" Ethan said unhurriedly.
Although Magnemite's aptitude was decent, it only knew two innate moves, Thunder Shock and Tackle. Across such a large training field, even if Popplio stood still, it might not hit, let alone with its slow attack speed.
"Bang!"
Sure enough, just as Popplio was about to jump away using a Water Balloon, it found that the Thunder Shock had struck about a meter away from it. It turned its head to its trainer with a confused look, wondering if that was actually meant to attack it.
"So weak!" Emma sighed, covering her face, unable to bear watching her boyfriend's performance.
"Uh, my bad, my bad. Magnemite, let's get closer this time, and then try Thunder Shock again. This time, it will definitely hit," Jake said with an awkward laugh, clearly having realized Magnemite's problem and having to make it close the distance first.
"Popplio, prepare Water Balloon Jump, then use Water Gun to finish it off. Go easy on it," Ethan said casually. Such untrained Pokémon battles really didn't interest him, and the level difference was also a bit too great.
"Ao~~~" Popplio responded, then leaped from the Water Balloon beneath it, rapidly jumping towards Magnemite. At the same time, a new Water Balloon had already been blown from its red nose.
Creating Water Balloons is a special ability unique to Popplio. They can use the air exhaled from their noses to form Water Balloons, and then use them in battle for various tactics. Therefore, Water Balloon training is an essential part of Popplio's daily routine.
Although Ethan had only had Popplio for two days, he had already basically mastered the little fellow's moves. The most familiar and proficient were Water Balloon, followed by Water Gun. These two could be said to be Popplio's foundation. However, like Magnemite's Thunder Shock, Water Gun's accuracy was not very high, and this still required more training.
"Damn, that works? Magnemite, use Thunder Shock, make it jump in the air!" Seeing Popplio's movement, Jake's eyes widened, and he quickly issued a command to his Magnemite.
Another bolt of lightning struck, easily dodged with the help of the newly created Water Balloon. By now, the distance was close enough, and Popplio no longer waited. It shot out a stream of Water Gun, hitting Magnemite squarely, which had just finished releasing Thunder Shock and hadn't recovered yet, knocking it directly from the air to the ground.
"Magnemite!" Jake shouted, immediately running towards Magnemite, while waving his hand at Ethan, "I surrender, I surrender."
Magnemite's level was still too low, and its base stats weren't high either. Being hit by a Water Gun from a Level 5 Popplio, although it didn't completely lose its battle capability, it was enough for Jake to recognize the gap between them. Continuing the battle was clearly meaningless.
"Magnemite surrenders, the winner is Ethan!" Emma shouted. Afterwards, the others also ran towards Magnemite. Jake took out a potion from his bag and sprayed it on Magnemite, finally feeling relieved after confirming that there was no major harm.
"Hmph! Magnemite's level is too low right now. When we get stronger, we'll definitely defeat you," Jake said unwillingly.
"I'll be waiting! Popplio won't hold back next time!" Ethan shrugged, looking at Popplio perched on his shoulder and smiling.
"Ao~~~" Popplio nodded, its eyes filled with fighting spirit.
"Alright, it's our turn next! Emily, you better be careful, I'm not like this weakling!" After confirming that everything was fine, Emma stroked the Charmander beside her and said to Emily.
"Mhm!" Without saying much, Emily just nodded, then walked towards the position where Ethan had just been standing.
"Then it's our turn to be the referees. Froakie versus Charmander!" Ethan said, walking to the side of the field with Jake, clearing the battle area.