The two losses had already left the senior student rattled. Still, as a Trainer with plenty of experience losing, he forced himself to calm down and lowered his head, reflecting on his mistakes in the previous battles.
Why had things turned out this way? Was his opponent simply too strong?
The correct answer had barely crossed his mind before he dismissed it. Xiao Wu's acting in both battles had been so convincing that strength seemed to have nothing to do with it.
In the first match, Golem had attacked Xiao Wu with Rock Tomb. Panicking, Xiao Wu hadn't even tried to dodge and had taken the attack head-on. Then, just as Golem used Rollout to finish the match, a stumble over a rock had wiped out its entire advantage, leaving it to be defeated by Xiao Wu's wild, panicked attacks instead.
During the battle with Golem, neither Xiao Wu's mentality nor its attacks had shown the combat instincts a Pokémon should possess. It had seemed more like a spoiled pet.
That behavior had been even more pronounced in the second match against Meowth. Meowth hadn't been particularly strong to begin with, and even the senior student admitted that it was no match for Chu Xin's Dragonair. Though Meowth was more agile than Xiao Wu, it was far too fragile. If Xiao Wu had possessed enough battle experience, it could have completely overwhelmed Meowth!
Yet Xiao Wu's "timidity" during the match had still shocked the senior student. Despite being far stronger than Meowth, Xiao Wu hadn't dared take the initiative, only defending passively against its attacks. Meowth, despite being vastly weaker, had managed to dominate the battle!
It was precisely Meowth's outstanding performance that had given the senior student hope of victory. Under his command, Meowth had attacked Xiao Wu repeatedly,