Dragonair's gaze met Dragonite's in midair.
The scene left everyone in the arena and in front of their TVs marveling in surprise. Even the big shots in the VIP stands showed a fleeting look of astonishment.
Dragonite let out a long cry again, as if cheering its child on. Then it beat its wings once and returned to its spot.
The battle below finally erupted.
After that small interruption, nearly everyone focused their attention on the match on Battle Arena No. 2—Amano Joji's battle.
"Hm? This Dragonair seems stronger!"
With her eyesight and experience, Teacher Moo Inoshishe-sensei immediately noticed something as her gaze settled on that Dragonair.
It was clearly stronger than when she had seen it a few days ago.
It wasn't just that its aura felt more oppressive—its build had also become more proportionate, shaking off the bloated heaviness it had before.
Such a huge change in just two days?
Teacher Moo Inoshishe-sensei found it hard to believe.
She nudged the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, then scrutinized Dragonair's long body on the giant screen overhead, inch by inch.
In the end, at Dragonair's neck, she found a wound that had already scabbed over.
That location.
That circular puncture shape.
Teacher Moo Inoshishe-sensei could be certain—this Dragonair had undergone a drug injection.
Otherwise, there was no way such a massive change could happen in such a short time.
Again with this brutal method of overdrawing a Pokémon's potential and lifespan!
Teacher Moo Inoshishe-sensei's expression darkened as she looked toward Battle Arena No. 2, her eyes filled with dissatisfaction.
On the arena below, Amano Joji wore a confident, high-spirited expression.
His opponent was using a Corphish, roughly around Entry-level—early stage, about Level 11 or 12.
A gap of more than twenty levels naturally turned the match into a completely one-sided beatdown.
A single Dragon Breath from Dragonair struck Corphish squarely, knocking it out on the spot and stripping it of any battle capability.
After that, the opponent's next two Pokémon were pitifully weak.
Not a single one even reached Entry-level.
They were all Starter-level.
And that was the situation for most of the thirty-two contestants in this Pokémon Tournament.
After all, it had only been a little over two months since they'd obtained their starter Pokémon.
Being able to raise even one Pokémon to Entry-level was already rare.
As for most people, the other two Pokémon they brought were basically just last-minute catches to make up the numbers for the tournament.
How weak their battle strength was… went without saying.
Naturally, Starter-level Pokémon like that posed even less of a threat to Dragonair.
One Dragon Breath each, sent out as "gifts," and Amano Joji proved his overwhelming strength with a clean one-versus-three sweep. He finished first, advanced to the next round, and made it clear to everyone just how strong he was.
In an instant, thunderous cheers erupted from below.
"Not bad, kid!"
"I think he's got potential—worth cultivating!"
"From what he showed today, a C-rank is burying him. At minimum he should be B-rank!"
"I agree. That's a pretty good seedling!"
"…"
Up in the VIP stands, the Pokémon university assessors were surprised—and delighted—by Amano Joji's dominance.
In their eyes, the level of strength Joji displayed had already far surpassed Teacher Moo Inoshishe-sensei's C-rank 'Outstanding Graduate' evaluation.
This was solidly B-rank 'Genius Graduate' material.
And if his later performance produced even more eye-catching moments, that evaluation might still have room to rise.
"Looks like even Teacher Moo-sensei can misjudge sometimes!"
"I'd say it's because our Teacher Moo-sensei's standards are just too high!"
"Hah—if you put it that way, I'm even more excited for that student surnamed Isobe!"
The assessors sat together, teasing and joking with each other.
Teacher Moo Inoshishe-sensei didn't care about their banter in the slightest.
She stared at that Dragonair without saying a word, her expression icy.
Beside her, Miyazato Aisa wore the exact same look.
As an Elite Four-level Trainer, Aisa's eyesight and experience were naturally no worse—how could she not see the way that Dragonair had been raised?
She fixed her gaze on Amano Joji for a long time.
Then, slowly, she moved her hand and, on the roster in front of her, gave Amano Joji the lowest possible rating—an E-rank—marking it down with heavy force.
Half an hour later, the first round ended.
Across the four battle arenas, eight contestants fought.
Aside from Amano Joji's unforgettable, dazzling performance, the other contestants were all unremarkable—competent, but nothing special.
On the assessors' forms, their ratings clustered around E-rank 'Passing Graduate' and D-rank 'Average Graduate.'
The eight contestants left the arenas.
Immediately after, the second round was about to begin.
Everyone in the VIP stands straightened at once, searching among the eight contestants walking onto the stage—
looking for that striking figure.
(End of Chapter)
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