Battle Hotspot

Rustboro Academy Entrance

A stretched black luxury sedan pulled up before the academy gates.

The Mediterranean Director waiting at the entrance hurried forward to greet them, opening the car door and carefully holding his hand above it, afraid the person stepping out might bump their head.

"Director Yu Sui, you're too kind."

"Not at all, Mr. Stone. Welcome to our academy. We're honored that you've personally come to guide us."

The Mediterranean Director, who had shown Roy nothing but disdain moments ago, was now smiling so hard that the wrinkles on his face bunched together. There was none of that previous indifference toward Roy.

Stone Hibiscus, the current president of Devon Corporation, was also one of Rustboro Academy's sponsors—the academy's true financial backer.

Many commoner students at the academy who didn't have Pokémon received sponsored Pokémon from Devon Corporation, though most were Pokémon like Geodude, Sandshrew, and Diglett.

Even so, countless commoner Trainers were deeply grateful. After all, trying to catch those Pokémon in the mines themselves would cost them at least half their lives.

Because of this, Devon Corporation's charitable deeds had won widespread support throughout Rustboro City.

But was it truly charity, or merely a way to win people's hearts? Who could say for sure?

In any case, the students who received Pokémon knew that their first Pokémon had been donated by Devon Corporation.

A young man stepped out after Hibiscus. He wore a tailored suit, was handsome, and carried himself with an air of nobility, yet he showed no interest whatsoever in the Rustboro Academy before him.

"This is my son, Steven Stone. Like me, he enjoys rocks."

"So he's Devon Corporation's eldest young master. I've long heard that Young Master Steven possesses extraordinary talent as a Trainer. His future achievements will surely be exceptional!"

Hibiscus looked delighted to hear someone praising his son. Steven merely nodded politely in response.

The flattery had landed squarely on a horse's leg.

Led by the Mediterranean Director, the group entered the academy. The first thing they saw was the standard building at its center: the battle arena.

"This is the battle arena the academy built two years ago. It's usually used for student battles and training. Thanks to your investment, we were able to build a battle arena of this scale."

Steven, walking beside them, found it painfully dull. Listening to the Mediterranean Director flatter his father was far less interesting than looking at rocks.

Just as the Mediterranean Director was introducing the place, a massive crowd suddenly gathered outside the battle arena.

Since Hibiscus had asked for this visit to be kept low-profile, the director hadn't informed anyone that Stone Hibiscus would be coming today.

What was going on?

Had the students organized this themselves?

To the Mediterranean Director's surprise, the students didn't even glance at him before flooding directly into the battle arena.

Some of them were even muttering words like "Ghost type."

Confused, the Mediterranean Director randomly stopped a student heading into the arena. After asking around, he learned that there was an unusual battle taking place there today.

It turned out that earlier that morning,

Roy and Roxanne's battle had piqued many people's curiosity after the chubby kid spread the word. Some people had never even seen the Ghost-type Pokémon from urban legends.

So, upon hearing that a Ghost-type Pokémon would be battling in the arena, they all came rushing over. The number of people wanting to watch soared.

Tsk... so that was why his eldest nephew had come looking for him that morning. If he'd known, he wouldn't have said that extra sentence.

Roxanne, who had arranged the battle with Roy, entered the arena surrounded by a crowd of supporters.

"That girl is the most talented female student among the academy's lower grades. Her name is Roxanne."

The Mediterranean Director explained awkwardly.

"Then let's go take a look as well."

Hearing there was a battle, Steven finally showed a little interest. It wasn't as interesting as rocks, but it was still better than chatting with this bald fat man.

The four entered the battle arena, and the Mediterranean Director hurriedly asked the teacher in charge to arrange two better seats for them.

But Hibiscus politely declined and instead took Steven to one of the most inconspicuous spots in the stands.

The Mediterranean Director sat beside them as well, accompanying them to watch.

On the field,

Roy stood at the command position, watching the crowd continuously pour into the stands. Naturally, the more spectators there were, the better. That way, his Popularity Points would rise faster.

A whistle sounded from the referee.

"Go, Onix!"

Roxanne was the first to throw out her Poké Ball.

With a flash of red light, an Onix nearly three meters long appeared on the battlefield. Its body was made of several massive gray boulders, a long stone horn protruded from its head, and a pair of black eyes sat beneath it. Its chain of huge rocks formed a serpentine body.

"Roar!!!!"

The instant it appeared, Onix let out an earth-shaking roar, declaring its absolute strength.

"Go, Boss! Beat him flat!"

Roxanne's lackeys in the audience cheered excitedly at Onix's entrance.

Steven watched Onix appear from the stands. He looked calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was thrilled. He also liked Steel-type and Rock-type Pokémon very much.

System Scan

Pokémon: Onix

Level: 27

Gender: Male

Ability: Sturdy (Even if hit by an opponent's move, it won't be knocked out in one hit. One-hit knockout moves also have no effect.)

Moves: Bind, Tackle, Harden, Rock Throw, Rock Tomb, Rage, Stealth Rock, Smack Down, Slam, Gyro Ball

Held Item: None

Inherited Moves: Rock Climb, Rollout

Individual Values: 18

Technical Machine/Move Tutor: Facade

A level 27 Onix?

Roy paid no attention to the commotion around him. What era was this? Were people still convinced that size was king?

"Litwick, play with it. Use Haze, then Minimize!"

Upon receiving Roy's command,

Litwick hopped down from Roy's shoulder and bounced its way into the battle arena.

The entire arena instantly fell silent.

Weren't Ghost-type Pokémon supposed to be terrifying?

Why did Roy's little candle look so cute?

Was this really a Ghost-type Pokémon?

Seeing the little candle Roy had sent out, the spectators all found themselves charmed by it.

Even some of the more timid people opened their eyes to look at the little candle on the field.

"Wow! What a cute Pokémon! What's its name? I want to hug it so badly!"

"Exactly! Ghost-type Pokémon don't seem all that scary."

Litwick's appearance instantly drew the attention of a group of girls in the stands. In their eyes, cute was everything.

"What good is cute? Can it beat the boss's Onix? That tiny thing doesn't even need the boss. My Roggenrola could take it out with one punch."

Seeing the girls who had originally supported Roxanne switch sides because of a candle, the chubby kid looked at Litwick on the field with disdain.

Would it still be cute after Onix sent it flying with one swing of its tail?

Even Roxanne herself couldn't help staring blankly at the cute little candle before her for two seconds.

Only Roy stood at the command platform with a slight curve at the corner of his lips.

The thought of what he was about to do made him want to laugh.

Cute? No, no, no. Once you really encountered it, you wouldn't think it was only cute anymore.