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[Start of the chapter]
"Principal Sun, you're not joking, right?!"
The VIP section fell silent for a moment.
A beat later, the evaluators from the Pokémon universities in the back row stared at Principal Sun in disbelief, their voices trembling as they spoke.
S rank!!
This rating was not something you handed out casually!
What did S rank mean?
It meant that as long as nothing unexpected happened, that person had the terrifying potential to reach Elite Four level without question!!
You had to understand—throughout the Great Axia Alliance, with tens of millions of Trainers…
There were fewer than a hundred Elite Four-level Trainers in existence!
Every single Elite Four-level Trainer was a priceless treasure of the entire Great Axia Alliance!
Either they served as city-lord-tier figures stationed in major base cities,
or they were military titans guarding the peace of entire border regions.
In terms of authority and strength,
they were already at the absolute peak.
In any city—
even those massive base cities with populations in the tens of millions—
as long as a single Elite Four-level figure emerged,
the atmosphere would be even livelier than the New Year: lanterns everywhere, drums and gongs blaring, pure nationwide celebration.
Even the Pokémon universities that rookie Trainers dreamed of—
if one of them produced an Elite Four-level figure,
they would have to put up a tall golden statue on campus,
right at the very center of the main boulevard,
so all teachers and students could pay their respects.
And that was exactly why these evaluators sent by the Pokémon universities reacted so violently to Principal Sun's words.
If you managed to recruit an S-rank freshman,
you were basically recruiting a guaranteed future Elite Four-level Trainer!
For the rest of your life, you could live in comfort and luxury—food and clothes never a worry—wealth and status handed to you, even rising straight up the ladder.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Principal Sun said.
"And honestly… I think even S rank is me underestimating that Charmeleon…"
"Stop, stop, stop! Principal Sun—don't say any more. My heart can't take it!"
"S rank is enough! Enough! How many years has it been since we've had an S-rank freshman?!"
Principal Sun had only gotten halfway through before the evaluators in the back row all hurriedly cut him off.
The more he spoke, the more outrageous it sounded!
S rank was already absurdly strong.
If you went up another tier beyond that…
Wouldn't that reach that level?
No, no, no!
Don't even think it! Don't even think it!
Principal Sun chuckled softly.
He withdrew his finger from Miyazato Aisa's evaluation sheet and calmly watched the battle arenas below.
A faint smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.
"Isobe Himeko, huh…"
Miyazato Aisa looked at the photo of Isobe Himeko on the evaluation form.
"Interesting…"
"I wonder what kind of Charmeleon it really is…"
Miyazato Aisa murmured to herself.
Curiosity showed in her eyes.
A Pokémon that Teacher Moo Inoshishe and Principal Sun praised so highly…
It really did make people look forward to it.
And right at that moment—
down on the four battle arenas,
eight contestants had already stepped onto the field.
They stood on opposite sides, facing each other.
The referee walked up.
In the next second,
the scenery on each arena changed.
Some turned into grassy terrain.
Some turned into desert terrain.
Some turned into rocky terrain.
…
Every arena was different.
This was a simulation of combat conditions that could appear in the wild.
The entire venue quieted down.
On the huge screen overhead,
the matchups for each arena began to appear.
Everyone's attention
was now on the Trainers battling on the arenas.
Most of the audience
was paying closer attention to Arena No. 2.
Because there,
one of this year's most hyped championship favorites—Amano Joji—had taken the field.
In the stands,
the evaluators from the Pokémon universities
perked up when they saw Amano Joji, their faces full of anticipation.
One of the only two people who had qualified under Teacher Moo Inoshishe this year was finally up.
Even though Teacher Moo Inoshishe's evaluation of Amano Joji wasn't high,
her opinion was only a reference.
The real rating
still had to be determined by them.
Hopefully this Amano Joji would be a pleasant surprise!
"The match begins!"
"This match uses 3-on-3 battle rules. When all of one side's Pokémon lose the ability to battle, the match is declared over."
"Now! The match begins! Contestants, prepare to release your first Pokémon!"
The host's command flag dropped.
The next second,
the contestants on the arena
each sent out their lead Pokémon!
"Beep—!"
"Chchch—!"
"Ssspe—!"
…
All kinds of Pokémon cries mixed together into a noisy mess.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
A clear, soaring dragon's roar
rang across the entire plaza and echoed in the sky for a long time.
In an instant, it drowned out all the other Pokémon sounds at the scene.
That was the cry of Amano Joji's Dragonair.
The moment it appeared,
the inborn pressure of a Dragon-type Pokémon
immediately intimidated the other Pokémon.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
Beside Miyazato Aisa, her Dragonite suddenly beat its wings and rose into the air.
It hovered in place,
then answered in Dragonair's direction with an even higher, more fearsome dragon's roar.
It was Dragonite responding to its own offspring.
(End of Chapter)
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