A Ridiculous Match

Early the next morning, Lu Li took Tropius to school.

The effects of the Beauty Spirit Pill were too potent. Even by the next morning, Feebas still had not fully digested it.

Just as he entered the school gates, Lu Li saw a crowd gathered around a bulletin board.

"Make way up front! I still don't know who my opponent is."

"Haha! It's actually Liu Jingbin. He has a Weedle, while I have a Pidgey. I counter him perfectly!"

"Who told you Pidgey counters Weedle?"

"Don't you know Weedle is doubly weak to Flying-types?"

Relying on his physical fitness, Lu Li squeezed his way to the front of the crowd as well.

After finding his own name on the chart, Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief.

The match arrangements had clearly been carefully planned by the school. His greatest worry—facing Jin Huang right at the start—had not happened.

It was not that Lu Li was afraid he could not beat Jin Huang. Jin Huang's strength was enough to firmly secure second place at First High School, and it would be a shame if he got eliminated early.

The matches were scheduled to begin at nine in the morning inside the school Gymnasium. The Preliminary Round had eight battlefields and was set to end at noon.

In the Pokémon world, a middle school had two most important hallmarks: one was the Library, and the other was the Gymnasium.

A school's teaching buildings could be small, but its Gymnasium absolutely could not be. After all, high school rankings were judged by how many students a school sent to Pokémon universities each year.

First High School's Principal's Office.

The fifty-year-old principal looked respectfully at the middle-aged man before him and said in a somewhat fawning tone, "I truly didn't expect you to come to Qingfeng City, sir."

Yu Zhonggang smiled and explained, "I heard your school produced a young genius, so I came to take a look."

At the mention of Lu Li, the principal's lips curled upward slightly as he said with a hint of pride, "You mean Lu Li? He truly is the greatest genius Qingfeng City has seen in a hundred years."

To others, Lu Li might merely be an ordinary genius, but to him, the principal of First High School, this was an achievement on his record!

Lu Li getting into Kyushu Alliance University was only a matter of time.

Pokémon League University referred to Kyushu University and Alliance University. Both schools ranked among the top ten universities in the Pokémon world.

Yu Zhonggang merely smiled noncommittally.

The principal cautiously probed, "Gym Leader, did you come here because you want to take Lu Li on as a Gym Apprentice?"

Yu Zhonggang shook his head with a smile. "Qingyun Gym cannot accommodate such a great figure. I only came to establish some goodwill."

Only then did the principal breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, Lu Li was excellent material for Kyushu League. Qingyun Gym was not bad, but it was still somewhat lacking.

"Gym Leader, would you like to watch the matches now? By my estimate, they should have started already," the principal asked carefully.

"No need. I'll just watch the Final this afternoon." Yu Zhonggang shook his head.

There were only a little over a hundred Trainers in First High School's current year, and they were all rookies. Yu Zhonggang had no interest in watching novices peck at each other.

Inside the Gymnasium.

Lu Li finally met his opponent.

His opponent was a student from the class next door, whose starter Pokémon was a Weedle.

The outcome was obvious. The Weedle had not even entered the Growth stage and was instantly defeated by Tropius.

The school's arrangements are so unscientific. Most Pokémon in the hands of the school's Rookie Trainers are still in the Beginner stage. What is there to watch in matches like this? Lu Li thought helplessly.

When the boy opposite him saw his Weedle get one-shot by Tropius, he froze for a moment before letting out a relieved sigh.

"Once my Weedle evolves into Butterfree, your Tropius definitely won't be my match." After tossing out that threat, he recalled Weedle with an unconvinced expression and stormed out of the Gymnasium.

Lu Li sighed at the sight.

The other boy's post-battle handling had been terrible. From that alone, it was clear he was not suited to be a Trainer.

Losing was not frightening. But after losing, instead of comforting your Pokémon and helping it rebuild its confidence, you recalled it and left. Was he not afraid of leaving the Pokémon with childhood trauma?

Books had repeatedly covered matters like this, yet there were always students who overlooked it.

Pokémon were Companions, that was true. But the problem was that Pokémon in the Newborn stage were just children.

At this stage, Pokémon needed to be coaxed, just like children.

As a Junior Breeder, Lu Li had always paid close attention to Pokémon's mental state. Compared to humans, Pokémon were actually more prone to psychological issues.

That was because Pokémon were more pure-hearted than humans. In their worldview, judging whether something was good or bad was often very straightforward.

After one-shotting its opponent, Tropius raised its head high, looking as though it were saying, I did so well, hurry up and praise me.

"Tropius, you did great! But don't get too proud. The opponents ahead will be stronger." Lu Li first encouraged Tropius, then gave it a small reminder.

The result of its first battle had been excellent. Not only had it built Tropius's confidence, it had also made Tropius completely accept battling.

Tropius was a relatively gentle Pokémon. Even wild Tropius were not particularly fond of fighting; it was in their nature.

Lu Li had always worried that this racial instinct would affect Tropius's enthusiasm for battle, but it seemed his previous concerns had been unnecessary.

Watching the high-spirited Tropius, which looked as though it wanted to fight ten opponents at once, Lu Li could not help but chuckle before recalling it into its Poké Ball.

After entering the Growth stage, Tropius had learned Razor Leaf. It had just one-shot the Weedle with a still-not-very-proficient Razor Leaf.

A Beginner-stage Weedle was so slow that even Turtwig would shake its head at it. No matter how unskilled Tropius was with Razor Leaf, it still hit the Weedle.

In just one morning, the school had selected the Top Fifty.

After lunch in the school cafeteria, Lu Li returned to the classroom. The moment he entered, he heard Jin Huang bragging about his results.

"You guys didn't see it. My Aron charged straight through that Weedle's String Shot and one-shot the Weedle on the other side."

"And in my second match, that idiot actually tried to compete with my Aron in Tackle. Does he even understand the value of a steel tank?"

Hearing that, Lu Li asked curiously, "What Pokémon did your opponent use in the second match?"

"Pidgey!"

Lu Li: "..."

"Then you really deserved that win," Lu Li said sincerely.

Making Pidgey compete with Aron in Tackle? What kind of thick-headed kid was that?

Lu Li asked curiously, "Why didn't he have Pidgey use Scratch?"

Jin Huang said smugly, "I asked. That Unlucky Kid's Pidgey only knew two moves: Sand Attack and Tackle. That Pidgey's Sand Attack dealt less damage than a scratch."

Lu Li suddenly understood why that Pidgey Trainer had made such an obvious mistake. At first, he had thought the guy simply did not know better. Now it seemed the guy had no other choice.