Oliver asked, "So what are the rules for matches between different teams? Singles battles, or team battles?"
Teacher Liu replied, "It's a king-of-the-hill format. Both sides send one person onto the field. The winner stays on, the loser is replaced. Once one side has all five members defeated, that team loses automatically."
Oliver nodded.
"That kind of format really does balance overall team strength, while also letting outstanding individuals fully play their impact."
Teacher Liu smiled and nodded.
"Exactly. The Southwest Intercollegiate Tournament has used this format for decades. The fact that it's been kept for so long shows it's the most suitable rule set."
With that explanation, Oliver finally had a clear understanding of the competition process.
At that moment, Liu Lixuan spoke up,
"Captain, we've all introduced our starter Pokémon already, but you haven't introduced yours yet."
The other two immediately echoed him.
"Yeah, Captain, let us see Milotic!"
It was obvious—they had long been fascinated by the legendary reputation of Milotic, known as the most beautiful Pokémon, and desperately wanted to see it in person.
Oliver smiled.
"That's fair. If I'm serving as the team captain, it would be strange if my teammates didn't even know my Pokémon."
A flash of red light appeared—but instead of Milotic, a fierce, bipedal Pokémon emerged.
It was Gabite.
"This is—!"
Teacher Liu, who had been watching from the side, was completely caught off guard.
Oliver had just released a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
"Gabite!"
Guo Shengfu, whose family was relatively wealthy and who had broader knowledge, immediately recognized it.
"You mean… that's Gabite?"
"The pseudo-legendary Pokémon?!"
Up until now, the only Pokémon Oliver had publicly revealed was Milotic, so everyone had assumed he only owned that one.
"Milotic doesn't really like coming out," Oliver explained calmly.
"So I released Gabite instead. Gabite, say hello."
Gabite cracked open its massive jaws and waved at everyone with a claw.
Although it was clearly meant as a smile, it somehow still looked terrifying.
Even though they didn't get to see Milotic, being able to see such a rare pseudo-legendary Pokémon already left them more than satisfied.
Jiang Shuyun's eyes sparkled—she looked like she wanted to rush over and carefully examine every detail of Gabite's body.
This was exactly her favorite type of Pokémon: handsome, powerful, and domineering.
"Old Ye, did you catch this Gabite during winter break?" she asked.
"That's right. When I caught it, it was still a Gible. It only evolved recently."
The trio immediately followed up with enthusiastic flattery.
"As expected of the Captain!"
"You even have a pseudo-legendary!"
Qi Jun suddenly seemed to recall something.
"I remember hearing someone say that a few days ago, Meng Ming from No. 2 High School got beaten at a battle park by a Gible, and after the match that Gible even evolved. Captain… was that you?"
"If the Meng Ming you're talking about had a Blaziken as his starter," Oliver said, "then yes—that was me."
Jiang Shuyun also remembered something and scratched her head.
"I've seen Meng Ming at the training base before. His Blaziken's close-combat ability is terrifying—even my Charizard isn't his match."
Teacher Liu walked over and added,
"I've heard of him too. That Blaziken is extremely strong. Meng Ming is No. 2 High School's team captain for this year's Southwest Tournament—their absolute ace."
As a coach, Teacher Liu routinely gathered information on rival schools' key players.
After all—know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never be defeated.
Qi Jun shrugged casually.
"So what? He couldn't even beat the Captain's Gible. Now that it's evolved into Gabite, he's definitely no match."
Teacher Liu immediately corrected him.
"That way of thinking is wrong. This tournament is a team-based king-of-the-hill format. No matter how strong Oliver is, he can't fight one-versus-five—"
He paused mid-sentence.
Given Oliver's true strength… he actually wasn't sure anymore.
"Even if he could fight one-versus-five, then what would you all be here for?" Teacher Liu said sternly.
"You're a team. Everyone has a role to play."
"C–Coach, we're sorry! We were wrong!"
The three spoke in unison, apologizing sincerely and in perfect sync.
Oliver seriously suspected they had rehearsed that.
After that, the five of them discussed the order of appearance for the king-of-the-hill battles.
In the end, they decided:
Jiang Shuyun would go first,
the middle three would rotate depending on the situation,
and Oliver would go last.
This arrangement was deliberate.
Just like in relay races, the strongest members are usually placed at the first and last positions.
The first sets the tone and boosts morale, while the last gives everything to close out the match.
Naturally, those two critical roles belonged to the strongest members.
They then discussed various tactics—such as relay-style counter strategies and matchup planning.
These were extremely practical approaches that, when used well, could even allow weaker teams to defeat stronger ones.
Most of the discussion was led by Jiang Shuyun and the three teammates.
Oliver mostly listened quietly, only offering brief comments when necessary.
Just then, Oliver felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
He stepped aside and took it out—it was Tian Xin calling.
The moment he answered, her anxious voice came through.
"Junior Oliver, have you checked your phone yet?!"
"Not yet. What happened?"
Oliver was confused—until her next sentence hit him like a thunderbolt.
"A professor went public and accused you of academic fraud, saying your Fairy-type paper was plagiarized! It's already blown up online—you need to check right now!"
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