The Top Ten Are Decided

In the stands, Principal Liu Qingshan pointed at Ye Lan, who was leaving the battle arena with Snivy, and asked the tall woman beside him, "Xiaoyan, what do you think of this Ye Lan?"

The tall woman thought for a moment before answering, "He's already on a completely different level from the other students. With him here, this year might be Mianzhou No. 1 High School's most promising year at the provincial tournament."

The tall woman was named Liu Yan. Not only was she Principal Liu Qingshan's niece, but she was also a powerful professional Trainer. Liu Qingshan had specially invited her this time to serve as the Elite Class's instructor.

"Oh? Even you think so highly of him?"

Liu Qingshan's eyes lit up at Liu Yan's assessment. For so many years, Mianzhou No. 1 High School's results in the provincial tournament had been poor. If the Ministry of Education had not issued a final ultimatum, the school would not have invested so many resources this year.

"I know him. He and that Charmander's Trainer often train until evening before leaving. That's why I think so highly of them."

Liu Yan spoke calmly. While a Pokémon's talent was extremely important, a Trainer's perseverance was equally indispensable.

Only a genius who could fulfill their talent was truly a genius.

"Then Huaxia Academy..."

At Liu Qingshan's words, Liu Yan shook her head.

"Not enough. To enter Huaxia Academy, one must at least have the strength of an intermediate Trainer, perhaps even be close to an advanced Trainer. There hasn't been enough time yet, so it's still too early to tell."

Huaxia Academy was the highest institution for Trainers in the Huaxia Region. Its standing in the Huaxia Region was similar to that of Celadon University in the Kanto Region and Mauville University in the Hoenn Region.

Liu Qingshan also understood that he had been too hasty. After all, nothing proved the quality of a high school's education better than producing a Huaxia Academy student.

Ye Lan returned to the edge of the field to wait. With as many as ten arenas in use, the matches moved at a very fast pace.

Looking at the sunlight points, which had increased by only a little, Ye Lan scratched his head. Still, this was within his expectations.

A battle with such an overwhelming gap in strength was of little use to Snivy, and the sunlight points gained were pitifully few as well.

"Sni..."

Snivy yawned too. Snake Pokémon were naturally sleepy, and Ye Lan had dragged it out of bed early in the morning. Battles of this level were nowhere near enough to wake it up.

After several more elimination matches, nearly every opponent Snivy encountered was instantly defeated in a single move. More and more eliminated students gathered around Arena Seven to watch.

"Is the Unova Region starter Pokémon really that strong? If I'd known, I would've paid a fortune to get one!"

"If you're weak, don't blame the Pokémon! Lin Yan at Arena Four hasn't lost a single match either!"

As the crowd grew, discussions rose one after another.

"I heard Ye Lan's Snivy hatched from an egg he gambled on at Pokémon House. Why don't I ever have that kind of luck?"

"Give it a rest. With that training maniac's workload, even a Caterpie could one-shot you!"

As Ye Lan stepped into the preparation area once more, the final battle for a place in the top ten on Arena Seven was about to begin.

Although his previous battles had been easy, Ye Lan did not let his guard down. After all, this opponent had also maintained an undefeated streak all the way here.

Soon, a girl with short hair cut to her ears walked up to stand opposite Ye Lan.

As the referee's whistle sounded, Snivy stepped into the center of the field, while the short-haired girl tossed out the Poké Ball in her hand.

"Come out, Butterfree!"

As the girl's words fell, a butterfly appeared before everyone. Its body was bluish-purple, its enormous wings bore black vein-like patterns, its head had a cyan organ resembling a nose, and its pale red eyes were Compound Eyes.

Sensing Butterfree's aura, both Snivy and Ye Lan immediately became alert.

The early-game advantage of Bug-type Pokémon was plain to see. Their rapid growth and evolution not only gave them base stats ahead of Pokémon from the same period, but also a far broader move pool.

However, their drawbacks were equally severe. Their lack of late-game potential was why many Trainers gave up on Bug-types midway through their journeys.

"Butterfree, use String Shot!"

"Snivy, Vine Whip!"

Although the short-haired girl had watched Ye Lan's previous matches, his opponents had almost all been one-shot. She had no way of gauging Snivy's true strength.

The bug silk and Vine Whip collided fiercely in midair. In terms of raw force, Vine Whip was clearly stronger.

However, Bug's advantage over Grass still caused the two attacks to deadlock.

Seeing the first exchange gradually turn against her, the short-haired girl gave another command. "Butterfree, use Gust! Fly with the wind!"

A gale suddenly swept across the field, stirring dirt and stones into the air. Snivy was pushed backward, its vision obstructed, while Butterfree lightly rode the wind and rapidly closed in.

"Butterfree, Bug Bite!"

"Snivy, Glare!"

The two gave their commands almost simultaneously. Dark green energy gathered around Butterfree's mouthparts, while strange patterns flickered across Snivy's body.

Despite its name, Glare was not launched through the eyes. It was a visual control effect created by the strange patterns on a snake Pokémon's body.

The rapidly approaching Butterfree suddenly felt its entire body go numb and fell toward the ground.

While Compound Eyes usually provided a wider field of vision, when facing illusion-based control moves, they instead deepened the move's effects.

"Launch it upward with Vine Whip, then use Iron Tail!"

Ye Lan did not miss the opportunity. The instant Butterfree was paralyzed, he directed Snivy to attack.

"Sni!"

Two Vine Whips lashed out at Butterfree like nimble yet swift green serpents.

They struck Butterfree's vulnerable abdomen, immediately followed by a fierce Iron Tail that Snivy chained smoothly into the attack.

"Butterfree, use Confusion to protect yourself!"

The short-haired girl's palms were covered in sweat. Confusion had originally been her trump card for the top-ten rankings, yet she had been forced to use it here.

This top-ten match placed no real pressure on Snivy either, so Ye Lan merely glanced at the other side's data panel. Finding nothing particularly noteworthy, he paid it no further attention.

Just as Snivy's Iron Tail was about to strike Butterfree's abdomen, a pale blue film of light appeared and blocked part of the damage.

However, the remaining force of Iron Tail still sent Butterfree flying.

Watching Butterfree slowly rise from the ground, the short-haired girl let out a sigh.

She had heard of Ye Lan's reputation. She had thought that Butterfree, with its three-stage evolution and type advantage, could contend with him, but it now seemed she had been too optimistic.

"One more time. Finish it with Iron Tail!"

Butterfree, its abdomen injured, tried to dodge the attack before it, but its weakened body was struck by Iron Tail once again, and it lost its ability to battle on the spot.

Butterfree's base HP was only 60, making it an exceptionally frail Pokémon.

The short-haired girl recalled Butterfree into its Poké Ball and shook her head. "I still lost."

"Your Butterfree is very strong. I look forward to seeing you again in the Elite Class."

Ye Lan smiled and waved, then headed with Snivy toward the arena for the top-ten ranking matches.

Although she had lost to Ye Lan, with the strength of that Butterfree, she would still have an easy time fighting her way into the Elite Class from among the eliminated students.

"Ah, she was just unlucky."

"Sni, sni!"

Snivy chimed in from the side. That Butterfree had been much stronger than its previous opponents.

Checking the number of sunlight points, Ye Lan began considering which system function he should unlock next.