Chapter 169: Horace: I Don't Want My Pokémon to Be Used Immediately by Other Trainers
"First, walking toward us! It's the team from Imperial Academy!! Imperial Academy has won the National Collegiate League championship for six consecutive years!
"We wonder if this year's Imperial Academy can continue their myth of consecutive victories?!!!"
From the Imperial Academy side, a female coach strode forward, holding a flagpole with both hands. The fluttering flag displayed the Imperial Academy crest. Beside and behind her walked a group of young men and women in Imperial Academy uniforms, heads held high and chests puffed out, looking like proud roosters.
"Next up! The team from Metropolis Academy!! Also a veteran top-tier academy, although their results in the last few National Collegiate Leagues have slipped somewhat!
"But rumor has it that Metropolis Academy has prepared a secret weapon for this year's league. Can they break Imperial Academy's winning streak?! Let us wait and see!!"
Following closely behind was Metropolis Academy, with Coach He also holding high the flag emblazoned with the Metropolis Academy crest.
Next came the thirty-four provincial academies entering in sequence.
Only after them did the contestants who had fought their way through the preliminaries of the five major zones make their entrance.
Back in the exclusive lounge for Metropolis Academy, Kenji sat on the sofa with Coach He beside him.
With the entrance of the contestants from the five major zones, all 1,340 participants were in position.
The National Collegiate League had officially begun!!!
The first two rounds of the preliminaries used a 1v1 battle format. Trainers could only send out one Pokémon, and a single match determined the winner.
After all, with a whopping 1,340 contestants, totaling 670 matches, using a 3v3 format would simply take too much time.
These preliminary rounds also adopted a rule where multiple matches within a group took place simultaneously—five matches per group.
Metropolis Academy and Imperial Academy contestants didn't appear in the first few groups.
It wasn't until the fifth group that Xie Mu's name appeared on the large display screen above.
His opponent was a contestant from Gilded Academy who had advanced through the selection trials.
However, as Kenji scanned further down, he noticed that in the seventh match of the same group—below Xie Mu—was a contestant from Imperial Academy facing a contestant from Formosa Academy.
"It's him! Horace from Imperial Academy!!" Coach He narrowed his eyes and said.
Kenji turned to look at Coach He.
Coach He's obsession with Imperial Academy ran deep; he had practically dug up every piece of information and quirk regarding every contestant from Imperial.
"This Horace... his biggest characteristic is his chaotic command style. For example, he might command his Pokémon to use Flamethrower, but the Pokémon might actually release Fire Spin," Coach He explained.
Kenji paused upon hearing this. That could count as a tactic—colluding with one's Pokémon before the battle. For instance, telling the Pokémon to use Fire Spin when the command "Flamethrower" is given.
What is this?
Does he not want his Pokémon to be effectively used if they fall into another trainer's hands?
However, this tactic felt a bit like an unorthodox trick. In lower-level battles, it might be quite effective and catch opponents off guard.
But in high-level battles, its utility would be extremely limited.
Still, in the context of the National Collegiate League, it could probably play a decent role.
Coach He flipped through the documents in his hand and soon found the information on Xie Mu's opponent.
The strength was decent, but only just decent.
If he were at Gilded Academy, he might be the head of the chickens, but at Metropolis Academy, he would only be the tail of the phoenix.
Let alone the elite students of Metropolis Academy selected for the competition, even Guo Fei probably wouldn't lose to this person.
Xie Mu, as usual, chose to send out Medicham to lead the charge. In just a few rounds, he secured victory.
compared to Xie Mu's match, Kenji focused his attention on the match involving Horace.
"Go!! Noctowl!!"
"Kingler! I choose you!!"
"Hooo..."
Noctowl
Level: LV.45
Type: Flying/Normal
Ability: Keen Eye (Prevents accuracy from being lowered)
Potential: A-
Kingler
Level: LV.44
Type: Water
Ability: Sheer Force (Removes additional effects to increase move power)
Potential: B+
The levels of the two Pokémon weren't too far apart, with only a one-level difference.
But Noctowl was a Flying-type and held the aerial advantage.
"Kingler!! Use Ancient Power!!"
"Cookie!!—"
Kingler slammed the ground, controlling several rocks to launch at Noctowl.
"Double Team!!"
"Hoo!"
Noctowl tilted its head, and instantly, multiple copies of Noctowl split off in the air. The rocks smashed into a few of the clones, hitting nothing but air.
"Hypnosis!!—"
"Hoo!—"
"Kingler!! Close your eyes and use Uproar!!"
There are generally two ways to execute Hypnosis. One is through sound, like Jigglypuff's singing, lulling the opponent to sleep.
The other is visual, like Hypno using its pendulum, inducing psychological suggestion in the opponent.
By having Kingler close its eyes and use Uproar, it could block both hypnosis channels simultaneously.
It was clear that this contestant from Formosa possessed decent command capabilities.
"Cookie!!—"
Kingler let out a strange cry while waving its massive pincer, creating a noise that was irritating to the ears.
"Hoo!!—"
However, Noctowl didn't use Hypnosis. instead, it flapped its wings, sending out several blades of wind.
"Air Cutter!!!—"
"BANG!!!—"
With its eyes closed, Kingler took the Air Cutter squarely. It let out a cry of pain.
"What!!" The Formosa contestant was caught off guard.
"Continue!! Noctowl! Hypnosis!!"
Horace issued another command.
"Bubble Beam!!" This time, the Formosa contestant didn't trust Horace's nonsense commands anymore.
Hearing the command, Kingler raised its massive pincer. The claw opened, and a pillar of bubbles shot out.
But this time, Noctowl actually used Hypnosis...
Under Horace's unpredictable tactics, Kingler was soon defeated.
...
As the matches continued, contestants from top institutions like Imperial Academy and Metropolis Academy gradually took the stage.
It had to be said, this truly was the National Collegiate League, gathering the strongest of the new generation in Huaxia. Although the Pokémon levels weren't exceedingly high, the battles were splendid and highly entertaining.
As the competition progressed to the thirtieth group, Kenji's name finally appeared on the electronic screen.
His opponent was a contestant from Blackwater Academy named Konrad.
And right below Kenji's name, another name appeared: Zephyr.
From Imperial Academy.
"It's him!"
As soon as Zephyr's name appeared, Coach He in the Metropolis Academy lounge let out a small gasp.
Kenji raised an eyebrow slightly.
Zephyr. Although the name was ordinary, the person was anything but. Kenji had heard this name from Coach He's mouth more than once.
Zephyr of Imperial Academy was the strongest among Imperial's contestants this year.
He was also the guy Coach He had mentioned a few months ago—the one who had successfully mastered Mega Evolution.
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