"That's four battles now. As expected, bridging a three or four-year gap in just a few months is too much."
A black-haired dude, the top 10 among the freshmen, sighed. As the matches went on, the gap between them and the seniors only grew more apparent.
At the beginning, Focalors and Shinobu were able to at least struggle against Mualani and Roman. But starting from Candice, and now Kathy, their Pokemon became more disadvantaged due to lower stats.
Next on the stage were Kachina with her Excadrill, and Liuai with her Poliwrath. The moment the two Pokemon appeared, most of the students already labeled this battle as another loss for their Freshman team. Of course, except for her friends.
"Go Kachina! Take revenge for us!"
"Kachina, show them what you got!"
Kachina glanced back at her friends on the sidelines and nodded solemnly. After making it into the Freshman team with the others, she had started to relax. However, with Coach Jomar's earlier warning, she had started to realize her unstable position in the team.
"Hey, relax junior~ Let's have a fun battle!"
Liuai seemed to pick up on Kachina's tension and tried to lighten the mood.
"E-eh, ah, yes! Please give me your advice!"
"Likewise!"
The battle began. Kachina immediately had Excadrill use Sandstorm. With her Sand Rush Ability, Excadrill would gain an advantage in speed as long as she was able to set the weather. Of course, Liuai won't let that happen so easily.
"Too slow! Poliwrath, Drain Punch!"
The air had started to get dry and sand was beginning to swirl across the battlefield, but as Liuai said, Excadrill's set-up was not fast enough. Poliwrath arrived in front of the mole-like Pokemon, his arms reared back for a punch.
"Twirly! Rapid Dig!"
Kachina had anticipated this. Twirly still wasn't proficient in using Sandstorm. So, to avoid being caught off guard, they practiced this move combination Rapid Spin and Dig.
Excadrill spun in place, using the added momentum to dig faster. Poliwrath's punch only grazed the tip of his head and he vanished underground.
"Not bad, junior. However, you've just given me an excellent opportunity. Poliwrath, Belly Drum!"
Poliwrath glanced away from the hole Excadrill made and began drumming his chest, red-like energy surrounding him as his attack rose to an unimaginable level.
"Twirly, Earthquake!"
Kachina bit her lip. Poliwrath's current state reminded her of Dante's Ursaring against the match with Norman. She needs to knock him out before he has a chance to attack.
Excadrill drilled out from underground and slammed the ground, causing the earth to shake. When Poliwhirl saw his opponent emerge, he charged forward, his every footsteps leaving deep marks on the floor as it neutralized the ripple of Excadrill's attack.
"Twirly, Rapid Dig again!!"
"The same trick won't work twice. Use Bulldoze, Poliwrath!"
Just as Excadrill began to dig, Poliwrath gathered Ground-type energy on his foot and stomped.
Although Bulldoze can't reach as deep underground as Earthquake, with Poliwrath's increased attack as well as Excadrill not having gotten far yet, the move easily reached him.
"Exca!"
Deep underground, a loud cry of pain echoed before eerily falling silent.
"Twirly, no!"
"Excadrill is unable to battle! Liuai wins."
Kachina rushed towards the hole, pressing the button on her Pokeball to return Excadrill back. When she saw his current state she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ehehe, sorry about that. I got a little excited."
Liuai walked beside Kachina, scratching her head in embarrassment.
"No, no! I-it was my fault. I was the one who commanded Twirly to dig underground."
Kachina waved her hands, looking down at the floor in shame. In Trainer Battles, it is very risky for a Pokemon to faint underground. Not only is there the possibility of the ground collapsing on them. If they are too deep, the Trainer won't be able to retrieve them back to their Pokeball.
The two girls returned to the sidelines under everyone's applause, and Coach Jomar once again called on the next group of Trainers. And just like before, with the advantage of more battle experience and having reached the racial limit, the seniors continued winning.
Top 7: Celiz, a black-haired senior girl with Nidoking vs. Keith, a black haired dude with Centiskorch. Using Earthquake, Centiskorch wasn't even able to get near his opponent before going down.
Top 8: Imar, a blue-haired senior girl with Corviknight vs. Lena, a pink-haired girl with Floette. Corviknight tanked Floette's attacks with ease, knocking down the flower-like Pokemon with a wave of his steel wings.
Top 9: Kala, a yellow-haired senior guy with Gourgeist vs. Panopio, a brown-haired guy with Flaaffy. Using her resistance against Electric moves and higher defenses, Gourgeist toyed with Flaaffy until he fainted.
Top 10: Talong, a purple-haired senior guy with Bewear vs. Nazar, a black-haired dude with Sneasel. With Bewear's Fluffy Ability which weakens contact moves, Sneasel, a Physical Attacker, didn't stand a chance.
"I feel there's always something off about these matches."
At the end of Talong and Nazar's match, Candice voiced out doubtfully.
"Indeed, we never once had the type advantage."
Focalors, who had already calmed herself, replied. Every match, whether hers or the others, their Pokemon are either type-neutral or type-disadvantaged against their seniors'.
"So, you've noticed."
Coach Jomar walked over from the field, making the students stand at attention.
"In Pokemon battle, intelligence is one of the decisive factors to winning. When you know your opponent's Pokemon, moves, strategies, habits, you've already won most of the fight."
"Wait, so they've prepared against us!?"
Kala, who had been the most humiliated among the Freshman, shouted in outrage. But under Jomar's glare, he immediately wilted.
"Not just yours. I make my team watch every Ranking Battle- from the first year to the fourth. Being a Pokemon Trainer is a journey of constant progress. If you stand still, it means you're falling behind."
"But what does that have to do with watching our Ranking battle?"
"Everything. Every Trainer has a different style of fighting, no matter how similar they may seem. By observing and learning from all kinds of battles, you can experiment with them; choose what works best for yourself."
"Remember, there is no strongest Pokemon lineup. Only the one most suited to you."
Coach Jomar's words caused the Freshman to fall silent and ponder, while the Senior looked on in nostalgia. Most of them had also been part of the Freshman team years ago and received almost the exact same speech.
"Coach, if we assemble the most suitable fighting style for us…can we become as strong as Dante?"
Suddenly, one of the freshmen asked. It was Lena. She was looking at Dante with an anticipatory look in her eyes. The others also began to murmur and looked at Coach Jomar with hope.
Jomar paused. He looked at said white-haired boy, before quickly turning away.
"Students, there's another thing you have to understand. Life isn't fair. Some people are born without sight, some with no food to fill their bellies. Meanwhile, there are those who never have to lift a finger their entire lives yet still get what others can only dream of."
"The Trainer profession is the same. There are Trainers who don't even have the capability of getting a Starter Pokemon, or be forced to train a Magikarp. And some… some are simply born to be Trainers."
"From the moment they get their Pokemon, they surpass the progress of others who have trained their whole lives in mere months, years. These are the ones destined to stand atop the world, to carry the responsibility to protect the rest of us."
Silence enveloped the field. Most of the students gazed in awe at Dante, who just had a stoic look on his face.
"That's enough chit-chat. Rest up! We'll continue the sparring session after an hour. Use the time to reflect and come up with new strategies based on what you've learned. Dismissed!"
"Wait, coach! What about me?"
As Jomar turned around to walk away, Dante's voice sounded. He had been patiently waiting for his turn, thinking he'd face the other seniors, maybe even the coach himself. But why did Coach Jomar suddenly issue a dismissal?
"After the break, it'll be your turn."
Jomar continued to walk away. His words caused the students to tense, dreading the possibility of facing Dante next.
A/N: I forgot to upload this chapter. No wonder it felt as if something was skipped.