Jin's Mother's Scheme

In fact, not every Pokémon in this world was born with Egg Moves, nor could every Pokémon learn moves when leveling up.

Pokémon with average aptitude could only possibly learn one or two moves upon breaking through a major stage. Only those truly gifted Pokémon could comprehend moves when advancing through minor levels.

Take the Pidgey Jin Huang mentioned. Having two moves during the Beginner stage meant that, for ordinary people, its aptitude was already quite good.

In fact, most Pokémon did not even know any moves during the Beginner stage. Among the first group eliminated that morning were two unlucky people in exactly that situation.

"Lu Li, how did your matches go?" Jin Huang asked curiously.

Lu Li replied in an even tone, "More or less the same. Most Rookie Trainers are pretty hard to watch."

The two opponents he had been matched against that morning had both been one-shot.

Pokémon born in Pokémon Secret Realms clearly had greater talent than those Wild Pokémon.

"That's what I thought."

Jin Huang nodded.

"Looks like first and second place in the school will be decided between the two of us." Jin Huang looked at Lu Li, his fighting spirit blazing.

"Not necessarily."

Lu Li smiled and shook his head before explaining, "There's a trainer in Class Three whose starter Pokémon is an Ekans. It knows both Poison Sting and Poison Fang, so it's quite a formidable opponent too."

There were ten senior-year classes at First High School, with around forty students in each class. The Elite Class, however, had only twenty.

Class Three's overall standard was slightly above average. Lu Li had not expected it to produce such a "dragon."

An Ekans that had mastered both Poison Sting and Poison Fang during the Newborn stage—if Poison Fang was inherited, that meant the Ekans had at least Elite-level potential, perhaps even Gym Leader-level potential.

Jin Huang was stunned for a moment upon hearing that, then smiled confidently.

Seeing Jin Huang's reaction, Lu Li immediately understood.

Judging from Jin Huang's response, his Aron was probably no ordinary Pokémon either. It might have inherited at least two moves.

If his guess was right, then Jin Huang's Aron had at least Gym Leader-level potential.

"By the way, how many people from our class advanced?" Lu Li asked curiously.

Jin Huang smiled. "Sixteen. Four unlucky people got matched against opponents with type advantages."

Lu Li nodded, then pulled out a book from his desk and began reading.

Only when the afternoon matches began did Lu Li reluctantly put down his book.

After arriving at the Gymnasium with his Poké Ball, Lu Li followed the teacher's directions to Field Six.

Lu Li's opponent was a Nidoran trainer.

The Nidoran trainer declared spiritedly, "First place at First High School? Your legend may end here."

"Go, Nidoran!"

A purple Pokémon with dark purple patches, large ears with teal inner coloring, and a poisonous horn atop its head appeared on the Battlefield.

Nidoran! Its final evolution was Nidoking, whose base stat total could reach 505. It was a true all-around attacker.

Lu Li chuckled and released Tropius.

The moment Tropius entered the field, its aura completely overwhelmed the opposing Nidoran.

Tropius stood two meters tall, while Nidoran was less than half a meter in height. Its sheer size alone brought immense pressure to its opponent.

"My opponent is... a purple rat?" Tropius glanced disdainfully at Nidoran.

After two consecutive victories, Tropius was starting to get a little too full of itself.

The instant Nidoran heard Tropius's taunt, its eyes turned red.

Before its trainer could even issue an order, Nidoran charged straight at Tropius.

"Tackle?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Lu Li's face, but he still commanded, "Tropius, fly up."

During the Newborn stage, flying Pokémon like Tropius held a tremendous advantage in battle.

Tropius flapped its wings and took off. Nidoran lunged at empty air, and having failed to hit its target, it could not stop itself in time and charged straight out of bounds.

"The match is over! The winners are Lu Li of the Elite Class and his Tropius!" the Referee Teacher beside the field announced loudly.

Faced with such a dramatic defeat, the Nidoran trainer was completely dumbfounded.

If Tropius had defeated Nidoran head-on, he could have accepted it. But Tropius had not even used a move, nor had it launched a single attack, and he had already lost.

"This... this, you... I... ugh!"

The Nidoran trainer sighed dejectedly, then recalled the Nidoran that was still preparing to attack.

Humiliating. Too humiliating!

His face flushed red, whether from anger or embarrassment, the Nidoran trainer gripped his red-and-white Poké Ball tightly.

Lu Li kindly reminded him, "You should train your Pokémon's move proficiency. With an all-out attack like that, Newborn Pokémon can't pull back their strength."

"I know."

After throwing out those words, the Nidoran trainer left the Gymnasium without looking back.

"Still too young," Lu Li remarked sincerely.

An all-out Tackle was indeed powerful, but if it failed to hit the opponent, it became extremely awkward—just like Nidoran's had been.

Nidoran's Tackle had some power behind it.

Moreover, Tackle was clearly Nidoran's Egg Move. A Nidoran with at least one Egg Move would have at least Elite-level potential in the future.

Jin Hua, who had been watching from nearby, said disdainfully, "How boring. I thought you'd reveal your true strength in this match."

After recalling Tropius, Lu Li dropped into a seat beside Jin Huang.

Instead of answering, Lu Li asked, "You should be up next, right?"

Jin Huang nodded gloomily. "Yeah. My opponent's Pokémon is a Machop."

Upon hearing that Jin Huang's opponent was a Machop, Lu Li gave him a somewhat pitying look.

Aron was four times weak to Fighting. Jin Huang had truly run into a tough opponent.

Before long, Jin Huang stepped onto the field.

Lu Li watched Jin Huang's back in confusion. He found it strange that Jin Huang had been matched against such an opponent.

Given the Head Teacher's status and connections in the school, Jin Huang should not have been matched against a Pokémon like Machop.

Someone clearly did not want Jin Huang to advance.

Did the Head Teacher offend someone? But who in First High School had that kind of authority? The dean of discipline, or the principal? Lu Li wondered.

On the second-floor corridor of the Gymnasium.

Jin Cuilian stared fixedly at Jin Huang on the field, silently praying, Son, whether you can soar to greatness depends on whether you can catch that person's eye today.

The reason Jin Huang had been matched against Machop was entirely due to the maneuvering of his mother.

It was not because she wanted her son to lose. On the contrary, Jin Cuilian wanted Jin Huang to win, and she wanted him to win impressively.

Dou Guomin asked teasingly from beside her, "Aren't you afraid your son will lose?"

"My son may not compare to Lu Li, but he isn't weak! I believe he won't disappoint me." Jin Cuilian's words were filled with trust and expectation for her son.

"First Machop, then Sandshrew. You really are afraid your son won't get a chance to show how exceptional he is," Dou Guomin remarked.

Jin Cuilian sighed. "If Lu Li hadn't appeared at First High School, that person would probably never have come to this little place in his life. This is A Jin's only hope. Even if there's only the slightest possibility, I want to help him seize it!"

Dou Guomin smiled. Parents all wanted the best for their children.

As a father himself, Dou Guomin could understand Jin Cuilian very well.