"Meow, meow~ (Farigiraf reacts quickly, Gengar is a bit clever. That Charizard is pretty sturdy, but not very bright; feels inferior to the one from the Gym. The rest are all trash.)"
Nekomi had completed the test in her own way.
In Nekomi's mind, these people weren't qualified to evaluate her at all. Instead, she should be evaluating whether they were worthy of being her teammates.
If they couldn't even take a hit from her, they weren't even qualified to serve as meat shields.
Getting hit without reacting, just standing there waiting for commands from the Trainer. Clearly, they'd become inflexible due to tournaments.
So after using Petal Blizzard for a group attack, she came to this conclusion.
Were these Pokémon weak?
At least in Nekomi's eyes, they were.
However, looking from a broader perspective, although they are not as outstanding as Gym Leaders or tournament champions from various regions, within the entire Trainer community, they are far from the bottom of the barrel either and making it into a university's Varsity Team already puts them ahead of a great many.
It's just that, often, this was only the threshold of meeting a real genius.
Only when you reach the real big stage do you realize how narrow your previous understanding was.
"Charizard, Gengar, and that Farigiraf are the mainstay of your team?"
"Uh… yeah, Farigiraf is our fastest support, and Charizard and Gengar are pretty strong too. We've mostly relied on them for our past results."
"Of course, they're nowhere near your Meowscarada…"
Charizard and Gengar's Trainers had several Badges as well, but in the end, the Fire/Flying-type Charizard could barely withstand a single Grass-type attack. The level gap was just too big.
Still, for the entire Varsity Team, this was good news.
The one who pulled strings to jump the queue turned out to be a big shot, and might even carry them to a championship. Who would say no to that?
They had plenty of complaints about having to carry a burden, but once they themselves became the burden, they had no choice but to hug this thigh.
The Varsity Team members weren't delusional about their own strength. Even though every year was hailed as "our most promising year" or "the year we're aiming for the championship," everyone knew those were just words to boost morale.
Even Li Han, the data analyst, was happy. This was her first year staying on staff after graduation, and now there might be real results. She'd get to share in some of that glory, at least a little.
"Stop standing around! You all saw the difference in strength. Anyone still have objections?"
Rowan, as a last-minute addition to the team, will be participating in both 1v1 and 6v6 battles.
1v1 was simple—purely a test of individual strength. But in 6v6, there had to be defined roles.
Weather control, terrain setup, main attackers; even cannon fodders needed to be clearly categorized.
For example, before the core team members take the field, someone needs to figure out the opponent's lineup, analyze their strategy using data from previous years—these were the kinds of tasks Li Han was responsible for.
Nekomi's performance had already made things clear, when the Academy Cup started, if the conditions were right, they could even run a five-protect-one strategy around her.
"My Farigiraf can Baton Pass, and also set up Light Screen and Reflect."
"Skarmory can lay down Spikes."
"My Pangoro can use Parting Shot."
Even clinging to a powerhouse required skill. In the real world, "Technical Machine" weren't easy to come by, and most Pokémon didn't have the kind of absurd move pool Nekomi did. So, whether a team member could effectively support the other became a major factor in whether they'd get a spot in the lineup.
Just participating in the match, even if only to go out and lay down Spikes as a sacrifice, still meant something.
Those already in supporting roles weren't too concerned about this. On the contrary, they were happy that the team's main damage dealer had gotten stronger.
It was the one with Charizard, originally in the role of main attacker, who was a bit anxious. After all, if their roles overlapped, the weaker one would naturally be the one to lose out.
"Actually… my Charizard can use Sunny Day too."
"Come on, it's a Grass Type. Sunny Day just helps charge up Solar Beam faster. But it also buffs the opponent's Fire-type moves. Better let my Vileplume handle it, it knows Grassy Terrain!"
"Oh please, like it can't set up Grassy Terrain itself? What, you think Meowscarada need you to do it for it?"
So far, the team atmosphere was quite harmonious. None of the members had any complaints about the new "thigh" addition.
They just had a lot of opinions about who should be on support duty.
There wasn't a final decision yet. It would all depend on the lineup of the opposing teams.
As for the Pokémon themselves, they were actually quite simple-minded. A big enough fist solved most problems.
Nekomi had already successfully used brute force to subdue the group of Pokémon, becoming their temporary "tribal chief."
"Rowan, what's your Meowscarda's Ability, and roughly what moves does it know? Do you mind sharing?"
Li Han walked over to Rowan with her laptop in hand, but then seemed to think better of it and took a few steps back, maintaining a safe distance.
It was her instinct. That Meowscarada was… a bit too protective of its owner. She had a strong feeling it would be dangerous to get too close.
"Its Ability is Protean, and its move pool is quite extensive—it can basically handle any type. It can also use Z-Moves."
Rowan selectively shared part of the information. Even though they were teammates, there was no need to completely reveal all his cards.
But with every sentence he spoke, Li Han's eyes lit up even more.
A Meowscarada with overwhelming strength, the Ability Protean, and a deep move pool—she honestly had no idea how one was even supposed to fight something like that.
With strength like that, instead of making a name for himself at the League tournaments, he's stuck playing in the university's "Baby Cup"… the person who pulled him into the team is really "evil."
But then again, it didn't really matter.
Thinking of that person from last year, the one who extended graduation just to compete another year. Rowan's appearance suddenly felt completely reasonable.
At least this one was still a student.
"Got it. Uh, what's your ID number? Send it to me, I'll book the plane tickets."
"Plane tickets?"
"Yeah, this year's Academy Cup is literally called the Pangoro Academy Cup—of course it's being held over in Tianfu." [TN: Pangoro's literal translation is Domineering Panda and panda is a well-known symbol of Sichuan province, whose capital is Chengdu, located in the region historically called Tiānfǔ.]
"Um… can I not go?"
"Pfft! Cough, cough..."
Old Liu, who had been off to the side daydreaming about promotion, nearly choked on his saliva. He never expected that one second they were chatting perfectly fine, and the next second this "big baby" wanted to withdraw from the competition. [TN: Big baby is the nickname of China's famous basketball player Liu Yutong.]
"What's wrong? Why don't you want to go?"
"It's not that I don't want to go… I just don't like flying."
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"No, not at all. I can ride cable cars and Ferris wheels. I just don't like planes."
Hearing Rowan's response, Old Liu suddenly got a headache. He hadn't expected his student's weak point to be this.
"Then what will you do if you need to compete in other regions later?"
"I'll take a ship. Or once I catch a Flying-type Pokémon, I can ride it there."
"Wait…you're not afraid of flying?"
"Nope. I just don't want to get on a plane."
Whether before or now, Rowan had never wanted to fly.
He understood perfectly well that airplanes were the safest mode of transportation, and knew the data showed that the odds of an accident were extremely low.
But that didn't change his aversion to airplanes.
"So basically, as long as it's not by plane, you're fine?"
"Yeah. I can just buy a train ticket and go on my own, maybe."
"No can do. If you travel alone and we can't find you when we arrive, that's going to be a mess. And making a team member pay out of their own pocket for a competition. Just imagine how that would look."
"Here's what we'll do: Han, you go ahead and book their plane tickets. We'll split up. We'll leave early by train and meet up in Tianfu."
This kind of situation wasn't without precedent. Once, a team member traveled alone and went missing after arriving. Word was, he donated 500 Poke Dollars to a poor, orphan girl on the street, and then got taken in for questioning.
Since then, the Varsity Team had a policy: no team members were allowed to travel alone.
"Um, Teacher Liu, there's one more thing."
"What now?"
"Nekomi doesn't like being in Poké Balls, so we'll need to buy one more ticket."
"No problem. That's easy."
Old Liu had thought it was something serious. As far as he was concerned, as long as Rowan could make it to the competition, everything else was negotiable. Otherwise, his performance metrics would tank, and he'd have no one to blame.
"Teacher Liu, actually there's… one more issue."
"What is it now?"
Just as Rowan's situation had finally been resolved, Li Han timidly raised her hand.
"According to the rules, the university can cover expenses for Rowan and his Pokémon. But Teacher Liu... since you're no longer part of the Varsity Team, your ticket... might not get approved by the finance department…"