Entry-level

At that moment, Xiao Ran suddenly understood why he had never heard of Pokémon from the Secret Realm entering their world. This bay was too small; no Pokémon lived here at all.

"Froak~~"

Froakie waved both arms above them, urging the group to follow. From underwater, Xiao Ran and the others could already see figures onshore. Ye Ling seemed to have only just reached land. A red crab Pokémon bobbed in the water beside her—a Krabby.

Opposite her stood a man in white sportswear, who kept saying something to her. Even without hearing him, they could tell he was questioning her about the basics. After all, this was still the Hall's territory.

Xiao Ran waved, about to circle around with Jiang Cheng and Shen Yue, only to see a flash of red light onshore. His heart jolted. That was the light of a Pokémon being summoned from a Poké Ball.

Peering closer, he saw that Ye Ling had indeed summoned Sneasel. The instant Sneasel appeared, it charged straight at the opposing Pokémon Trainer, clearly ready to fight.

Too impulsive! Unable to speak underwater, Xiao Ran could only direct Popplio beside him to follow Froakie toward the surface, hoping to help Ye Ling. They no longer had time to circle around to a hidden corner and instead rose straight up.

In the brief time it took them to surface, several exchanges had already taken place onshore. Sneasel was fast, using Quick Attack immediately upon appearing to try to take out the opposing Pokémon Trainer first. But Krabby was too close to him. Though Krabby reacted a little slowly, Krabby still managed to use the lifesaving move Protect.

By then, the opposing Pokémon Trainer had reacted as well and immediately ordered Krabby to counterattack. Huge pincers snapped toward Sneasel, forcing Sneasel to retreat instead of pressing forward to kill the Pokémon Trainer.

This was the real world, not the game from his previous life, nor one of their usual friendly matches. This was a fight to the death. Taking out the opposing Pokémon Trainer first was therefore the top priority. Not only could it end the battle early, but it could also prevent the opponent from summoning other, unknown powerful Pokémon. This time, however, Ye Ling had clearly failed.

"Hmph! Krabby, use Bubble Beam!" Having escaped the fatal strike, the Hall's Pokémon Trainer breathed a sigh of relief and called to Krabby with a sneer.

At the Pokémon Trainer's command, streams of bubbles poured from Krabby's mouth and shot toward Sneasel.

Bubble Beam was a Water-type Special Attack move that launched almost as quickly as Quick Attack. Although Krabby's base Special Attack stat was low, a hit from Bubble Beam had a chance of slowing its target. If that happened, Sneasel's speed advantage would disappear.

"Sneasel, Protect, then use Taunt!" Ye Ling called calmly.

Although Sneasel had not reached Entry Class and had probably missed the best period for growth, Sneasel had learned plenty of moves over the past five years. Ye Ling knew every one of them by heart and could execute every tactical combination as naturally as moving her own limbs.

Protect was another move Sneasel could learn, though it generally required instruction. Technical Machines did not exist in this world. To learn a particular move, a Pokémon needed to be taught by another Pokémon or study independently using instructional material.

Taunt was a Dark-type provocation move that forced the target to use only attacking moves for the next three turns.

Of course, that was its description in the game from Xiao Ran's previous life. In the real world, it provoked the opponent's anger, making them feel an uncontrollable rage toward the user for a time, until they lost reason and attacked wildly.

Sure enough, after Sneasel's taunt, Krabby began ignoring its Pokémon Trainer's commands. Krabby's enormous eyes swelled blood-red like two lanterns, and Krabby charged madly at Sneasel, swinging massive pincers.

"Krabby, get back here!" the Hall's Pokémon Trainer shouted, reaching into the bag he carried. Inside were Poké Balls containing his other Pokémon.

"Popplio, use Water Gun!" Ignoring Krabby, who was busy chasing Sneasel, Ye Ling called to Popplio, who had just burst through the surface.

As a marine Pokémon, Popplio could not move very well on land but was fast in the water, especially in an ocean like this. In just a breath or two, Popplio had rushed from the Secret Realm's entrance to the surface. Hearing Ye Ling's words, Popplio immediately spat a Water Gun at the Hall's Pokémon Trainer, trying to stop him from summoning another Pokémon. But it was already too late.

"Argh~~ You're all finished!" Struck in the left shoulder by Water Gun, he cried out in pain. Though it was only Water Gun, it had torn through his skin and tissue. Combined with the corrosive force of the water-element energy, it had left his left shoulder drenched in blood.

"Arf~~~" Popplio did not press the attack, instead bracing for battle. Popplio had already sensed an immense threat from the Pokémon the opponent had just summoned.

It was a Floatzel, with an orange body and cream-colored belly, eyebrows, palms, and tail tips. An orange water-drop pattern marked Floatzel's belly, while a yellow band resembling a swim ring hung around Floatzel's neck and extended down the back.

This was an evolved Pokémon, the evolved form of the Water-type Pokémon Buizel. Apart from Pokémon such as Caterpie, almost any Pokémon that had evolved once possessed at least Entry Class strength. That increase in strength came from a drastic change in its level of life.

"Pfft~~ Now we're in serious trouble~~" Xiao Ran surfaced just in time to see this, and his heart sank.

"Popplio, make Water Balloons and be ready to dodge! Froakie, be ready to provide support!" Xiao Ran shouted.

"Cheng, Yue, you two handle Krabby! Krabby isn't fast, so just make sure you don't let Krabby get close. Ling, have Sneasel come deal with Floatzel. Popplio and the others probably won't be able to do much damage!" Xiao Ran gave instructions rapidly. Jiang Cheng and Shen Yue had only just surfaced and had no idea what was happening, yet suddenly they had already been assigned their roles.

"Hurry! This Pokémon is at least Entry Class!" Seeing that the two were still dazed, Xiao Ran shouted.

"Oh, right!" His shout snapped them out of their stupor. They scrambled to summon their own Pokémon and charged toward Krabby.

Neither Charmander nor Magnemite could dive underwater, so they had stayed in their Poké Balls earlier. Only now, after reaching shore, could the two summon them to fight.

"Heh, you're all done for! Floatzel, use Quick Attack, then Pursuit! Get rid of that annoying sea lion first." The Hall's Pokémon Trainer took a moment to recover, endured the pain in his shoulder, and sneered at Xiao Ran's group. He had figured it out: they were probably all new students who had only just received their Pokémon. With an Entry Class Floatzel at his side, he could sweep through these Normal Class Pokémon.

At the Pokémon Trainer's command, the previously motionless Floatzel became a streak of lightning and rushed at Popplio. Its speed was too fast for the naked eye to follow, leaving Xiao Ran no time to react before Popplio was struck and sent tumbling across the surface of the sea, screaming in pain.

But it did not end there. After landing the first blow, Floatzel continued the chase with the Dark-type move Pursuit. This move could strike an opponent as they switched Pokémon, dealing double damage. In reality, switching Pokémon became fleeing, and Popplio being knocked backward through the air clearly met that condition as well.

"Popplio!" Xiao Ran cried out. If this next attack landed, Popplio's physical resilience likely would not be enough to survive it. This was his starter Pokémon. After spending more than a week together, they had already formed a deep bond. How could Xiao Ran bear to watch his own Pokémon die like this?

"Sneasel, Protect!" Ye Ling's clear voice rang out. Having shaken off Krabby, Sneasel had made it over. The second use of Protect successfully blocked Floatzel's follow-up attack, though Sneasel was visibly struggling to hold it back this time.

This was not a game, and Protect was not guaranteed to stop an enemy's attacks. It had a limit. Although that limit was far higher than the power of attacks at the user's own level, against an enemy far stronger than the user, even a barely executed Protect could shatter instantly.

"Hmph, don't rush. Not one of you is getting away. I'll start with this Sneasel, then. This Pokémon belonged to one of your parents, right? Looks like your parents weren't anything special either. Still just an ordinary-level Sneasel, even if Sneasel is a tiny bit stronger than others at that level." The Hall's Pokémon Trainer sneered. His opponents had more people and more Pokémon, but he still held the initiative.

"Hmph! A frog in a well! Sneasel, Taunt!" Ye Ling sneered without saying anything more and had Sneasel charge first. Though their exchange had been brief, she could tell that Floatzel had probably evolved only recently. Moreover, Floatzel's dull coat showed that Floatzel had not been raised particularly well. If that was all they were facing, they still had a fighting chance.

"Heh, arrogant fool. Floatzel, finish Sneasel off. Quick Attack, then Crunch."

First came Taunt, then the Pokémon Trainer's command. Although Floatzel was powerful and Sneasel's Taunt could not last very long, that did nothing to stop Floatzel from attacking Sneasel.

Crunch was a powerful Dark-type move that used teeth filled with Dark-type energy to crush the opponent. If it landed, it could very well leave Sneasel half-dead. Yet the final outcome was entirely unexpected.

"Sneasel, Payback! Then use Foul Play!" Xiao Ran and Ye Ling shouted in unison, writing the final chapter for the rapidly approaching Floatzel.