What True Brothers Are

"Still, it's a good thing we held something back."

Ye Lan smiled faintly. "Snivy, watch your surroundings."

After Ye Lan's reminder, Snivy slowed its movements and cautiously watched the area around it.

A cold glint suddenly flashed through the Smokescreen, and red claws viciously swiped at Snivy's back.

Sensing the blast of air behind it, Snivy leaped forward, barely evading the attack. A searing heat rushed over it, clinging to Snivy's back like maggots to a bone.

Its emerald scales were scorched black, and thick plumes of smoke rose from its leaf-shaped tail.

"This Charmander's senses are quite sharp in the smoke. It found Snivy's position so easily."

Principal Liu Qingshan could not help nodding. It seemed that not only Ye Lan, but Lin Yan had also grown considerably.

"I wonder how Ye Lan plans to handle this now."

Watching Charmander repeatedly launch surprise attacks from within the smoke, quickly retreating even when it missed, he could not help feeling curious about Ye Lan's response.

While Charmander constantly pressured Snivy into moving with its attacks, it also used Fire-type moves to block off Snivy's possible paths.

The Fire-type moves, dealing double damage, left more and more wounds across Snivy's body.

Even as Snivy fell into a disadvantage, Ye Lan remained completely calm.

What a Grass-type Trainer needed most was patience.

"Now! Use Glare!"

Just as Charmander once again closed in on Snivy, the scales on Snivy's body seemed to come alive, writhing into strange patterns.

Yet Charmander seemed to have anticipated it. It slapped the ground with one paw and used the recoil to leap backward.

Clearly, Lin Yan and his Charmander were both extremely familiar with Snivy's fighting style and move effects.

At Snivy's current stage, the paralysis from Glare only lasted for a limited time.

By opening up enough distance and relying on its own willpower, it had a chance to break free of the paralysis during the interval before Snivy could launch another attack.

Fortunately, Ye Lan had already anticipated this.

Charmander's rapid barrage of attacks had dealt considerable damage to Snivy, but it had also consumed a great deal of stamina.

And not just stamina. Keeping Snivy's position locked onto for so long had also placed a substantial strain on Charmander mentally.

It could not break free from the paralysis in a short time. Even though Charmander had pulled back quite far, Snivy had more than enough time.

The scales of victory had already tipped. The snake that had waited so long was about to bare its sharp fangs.

"Aim in that direction and use Magical Leaf!"

The instant Charmander was paralyzed, gleaming leaves filled with crystalline green light appeared before Snivy and shot toward Charmander like sharp arrows.

The gusts kicked up by Magical Leaf dispersed much of the black smoke ahead, opening up the field of vision.

An explosion rang out. Charmander cried out in pain and was blasted backward, only slowly getting back to its feet after Lin Yan called to it.

But Snivy moved even faster, darting forward several times until it was right in front of Charmander's face.

"Use Glare!"

"Protect!"

Snivy's turn and tail-swing successfully misled Lin Yan's judgment. Not only had he wasted Protect, but Charmander's physical defense had also been lowered.

"For the finish, use Iron Tail!"

Once Protect's pale blue barrier vanished, Snivy's tail lit up with white light, and an Iron Tail struck Charmander squarely in the abdomen.

"Char!"

With another cry of pain, Charmander crashed heavily onto the battle platform.

One small claw trembled as it stretched forward, stubbornly trying to get back up. In the end, it ran out of strength, its eyes turning into spirals as it completely lost the ability to battle.

"Charmander is unable to battle! Congratulations to Ye Lan for taking first place in this assessment!"

As the referee blew his whistle, cheers erupted from the students outside the arena.

No one had expected Snivy, which had just been at a disadvantage, to reverse the battle in an instant. The fight had been incredibly satisfying to watch.

Lin Yan recalled Charmander into its Poké Ball and smiled helplessly.

In terms of tactics, he was still far inferior to Ye Lan.

They were clearly the same age, yet Ye Lan's commands always felt far more seasoned, nothing like those of a Trainer their age.

"I'm taking Charmander for treatment first. You won again this time, so you have to treat Charmander and me to a meal!"

"When did you learn Magical Leaf? I've never seen you use it before."

"Didn't you hide Smokescreen too?" Ye Lan rolled his eyes. Was this what true brotherhood was?

"Actually, I was hiding another move. It's a pity the battle ended before I could use it."

Ye Lan:?

Watching Lin Yan head toward Teacher Li, Ye Lan smiled and high-fived Snivy in celebration. Then he recalled Snivy into its Poké Ball and went for treatment as well.

Of course, the celebration move Ye Lan had been planning for so long was not that simple. Snivy was supposed to leap up, spin around, then high-five Ye Lan's right hand with its leaf-shaped tail.

Ye Lan had thought it looked cool from the start, but Snivy absolutely refused. Only after much persuasion had it finally agreed.

[ Ding! Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 5 Sunshine Points! ]

The system's voice rang out in his mind. After handing the Poké Balls to Teacher Li, Ye Lan and Lin Yan left the venue together.

The rewards for this assessment would only be distributed after the entire assessment ended. The arena would next be used to determine the final ten candidates for the elite class.

But that no longer had anything to do with Ye Lan and Lin Yan.

"How are you planning to spend your afternoon off?" Lin Yan turned to look at Ye Lan, who had become lazy again beside him.

"Training, of course. Today's assessment made me realize Snivy's weaknesses in battle."

Ye Lan recalled the earlier situation in the Smokescreen. If Charmander had known any powerful Fire-type moves at the time, Snivy would already have lost that battle.

Snakes were clearly weaker than other Pokémon when it came to gathering information through sight.

But that also had its advantages. When it came to detecting scents, snakes were clearly superior to other creatures. By taking advantage of that, they could even locate an enemy's position faster than through vision.

Ye Lan had clearly overlooked training in that area before, which had caused Snivy to fall into a disadvantage in the earlier battle. If he had not made preparations as well, the fifty-thousand prize might have slipped away.

As for a specific training method, Ye Lan did not have any ideas yet.

He had also heard that the homeroom teacher of the elite class would be a professional Trainer. He hoped this teacher he had never met could give him some advice.

"That really is your style! But I won't be joining you this afternoon. I'm going to the black market to buy some resources Charmander needs."

Looking at Lin Yan's calm smile, Ye Lan quietly asked, "Do you need any?"

Lin Yan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. The smile on his face deepened. "This time, the prize money is thirty thousand. Even if Charmander evolves after a while, it should still be enough to barely hold out for some time."

Ye Lan nodded and said nothing more.

The seemingly random exchange was actually Ye Lan's way of protecting Lin Yan's pride.

Lin Yan's family situation was extremely dire. His mother had been ill for years and needed medication to maintain her health.

Lin Yan insisted on becoming a Trainer because he knew that, in this world, only becoming a Trainer could change the fate of people at the bottom like him.

Although Ye Lan was not well-off himself, Lin Yan was, in his eyes, a friend worth keeping.

After all, battling was the best way to reveal a Trainer's character and temperament.