I'm Really Not a Genius Trainer!

"Minccino, use Pound!"

"Munchlax, let's use Defense Curl!"

As the saying went, even if your skills were poor, your mouth couldn't lose. Never mind how strong the Pokémon were, the two trainers' commands at least looked convincing.

Teacher Tang had nothing much to criticize. He nodded lightly and explained, "Pokémon like Munchlax generally have much better special defense than physical defense. Both sides made the correct choice."

As he spoke, the two Pokémon on the field began to move.

Minccino took the initiative, its tiny body running with all its might as its long, slender tail swayed behind it. It looked adorable.

But... it was only adorable. It was slow, charged straight ahead, showed no footwork whatsoever, and bore no sign of having been trained.

Eevee lay on Xia Chen's shoulder, shaking her head as she watched. If she moved like that while playing a marksman in Pokémon Glory, she'd get hooked ten times over!

On the other side of the battlefield, Munchlax was no better.

Nearly three seconds after its trainer gave the command, Munchlax finally snapped out of its daze and began gathering Infinity Energy to use its Pokémon move.

It was practically a high-ping warrior. Eevee seriously suspected its brain was made of potatoes.

What a pair of hopeless fools.

The spirit of mockery within Eevee burned fiercely, but Teacher Tang was used to this. This was the general level of most rookie trainers and Pokémon.

His job was to help them improve. Otherwise, what were teachers for?

He patiently explained the two students' strengths and shortcomings in clear, easy-to-understand terms, both for those on the field and those watching below.

Though nearly the entire explanation was about their shortcomings.

Still, this introductory battle class pulled those overly ambitious, chuuni teenagers back to reality.

Pokémon Battles were also a field that required keeping one's feet on the ground.

In the end, Munchlax relied on its thick hide and sturdy body to defeat Minccino by a narrow margin.

Teacher Tang did not keep them behind for advice or criticism. He hurried the two of them to the school infirmary to treat their Pokémon.

The rest, of course, did not have the privilege of skipping class. They had to stay and watch the second practice battle.

Eevee vs. Doduo.

Whispers broke out around the field once more.

"Again, again! I guessed wrong just now, but this time I'm betting on Doduo! Cute Pokémon just aren't reliable!"

With her sharp hearing, Eevee caught every word. She slowly put up a question mark.

What was wrong with being cute? Did cute Pokémon eat your rice?

And he wasn't the only one who thought that way.

"Exactly. Minccino missed several Pokémon moves against a dumb Pokémon like Munchlax. That Eevee doesn't look like she has any fighting spirit at all, so she'll only do worse."

Hmph. You worthless trash thought you were worthy of making Lady Eevee feel battle-hungry?

Maybe if that big stupid cow came, it'd be different.

"And Doduo is way stronger than Munchlax. It's fast and has high attack. Eevee won't even have her agility advantage anymore. This battle's going to be completely one-sided."

Heh, what a bunch of ignorant brats. They actually dared make wild judgments about the rookie division's god?

This battle really would be one-sided, but she wouldn't say which side it would favor.

Just watch!

Since she had been given another life, Eevee would slap the faces of everyone who had looked down on her and Xia Chen, both then and now, until they were swollen!

"Senior Class 1, Xia Chen."

"Senior Class 3, Gao Muyang. Please go easy on me."

After briefly greeting each other, the two stood on opposite sides of the battlefield with Eevee and Doduo.

Eevee still looked lazy. This little nobody hadn't even existed in her memories of her previous life, so what was there to worry about?

As long as she showed the strength she had always displayed before Xia Chen, Eevee was confident she could defeat it easily!

On the other side of the battlefield, Doduo seemed rather impatient.

Before the battle had even begun, its long, slender legs kept scraping against the ground, like a sprinter preparing to explode off the line.

Eevee curled her lip. Could that move be any more obvious? If this stupid two-headed bird didn't use Quick Attack at the start, she'd change her surname to Doduo!

"Then, the battle officially begins!"

At Teacher Tang's command, Xia Chen and Eevee's second battle officially began.

"Eevee, Swift!"

"Doduo, use Quick Attack!"

Both sides chose to seize the initiative.

Over the past month, Xia Chen had clearly seen Eevee's "improvement."

He also wanted to use this battle to test just how capable Eevee was in actual combat now.

When God closed a door, he would surely open a window for you.

The same was true for Doduo. Though its nearly invisible wings had robbed it of the ability to fly, its powerful legs gave it a running speed comparable to a car.

This Doduo was still young, so its speed was not quite that exaggerated. But among Baby level Pokémon, it already stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Watching Doduo charge toward them, Xia Chen's expression turned slightly grave.

If Eevee got hit by Doduo at that speed, she probably wouldn't feel too good.

He still lacked real-world combat experience. Trying to seize the initiative had been too rash.

Still, Eevee had landed a Swift too, so they weren't at much of a disadvantage. Next, he needed Eevee to widen the distance between herself and Doduo.

But Doduo was so fast that she definitely couldn't outrun it head-on. He had to think of something.

Xia Chen was considering his next command when the classmates' startled cheers pulled him from his thoughts.

"Holy crap, what kind of reaction speed was that? Eevee actually dodged it? No way!"

"She can dodge Quick Attack? Isn't that luck a little too ridiculous?!"

Teacher Tang, who had been observing the battle, brightened. "That was an incredibly beautiful move from Eevee. She must have predicted that her opponent would use Quick Attack and prepared to dodge in advance."

This Eevee really was not ordinary!

That one move alone confirmed Teacher Tang's earlier guess.

As he spoke, he glanced toward Xia Chen. Xia Chen wore a calm expression, as though Eevee's dodge had not surprised him in the slightest.

Sure enough, a student capable of raising such an outstanding Pokémon could not be ordinary either.

Then the Swift he had Eevee use at the beginning must have been intentional.

His goal was to make the opponent lower its guard and go all-out with Quick Attack?

This kid... he even understood that all was fair in war, and he had such seamless coordination with his Pokémon. He was truly a rare talent!

This boy had the makings of an Elite Four level trainer!

Meanwhile, Xia Chen himself had only just snapped out of his thoughts. With a calm face (and a baffled mind), he looked toward the battlefield.

Doduo had already stopped its charge, and some distance had opened up between the two Pokémon. Eevee was currently climbing up from the ground, looking somewhat disheveled.

Xia Chen was speechless. This girl had stumbled into another dodge just like last time?

Could Eevee's Ability really be Super Luck?

Because the scene looked so much like their previous battle, Xia Chen automatically filled in the part he had missed while thinking and took it in stride.

Xia Chen had no idea that because of one move from Eevee, combined with his current composed demeanor,

Teacher Tang now saw him and Eevee as a battle partner pair with an incredibly deep bond and exceptional talent.