Thanks to Thunder Wave, Tauros's movements slowed significantly, allowing Mareep to evade its attacks with ease.
"Mareep, use Cotton Spore!"
Seizing the opening, Evelyn issued another command to further cripple her opponent.
Soft, cotton-like spores burst from Mareep's cream-colored wool and drifted through the air before clinging to Tauros's body. The bull Pokémon let out an irritated snort as its movements grew even heavier.
Both Evan, observing from the side, and Tom, standing on the opposite field, immediately understood her strategy.
"Tauros, Horn Attack now!" Tom shouted.
Tauros responded at once. Normal-type energy gathered around its horns, which visibly grew sharper and more imposing. With a powerful stomp, it charged forward once more.
But Evelyn was already one step ahead.
Before Tauros could close the distance, she had already issued her next command.
"Mareep, use Charge, and keep moving!"
Mareep bolted across the battlefield, faint sparks dancing around its body as it gathered electric energy.
While the boost to Special Defense was useless against Horn Attack, the move's secondary effect was exactly what Evelyn needed.
"Mareep, Thunder Shock!"
Crippled by the earlier speed-reducing moves, Tauros was unable to land a single attack as Mareep continued to circle the battlefield with nimble steps.
Then—
Mareep suddenly stopped. Electricity surged violently around its body, crackling and condensing into a single, brilliant point before erupting in a blinding flash.
The distance between the two Pokémon closed in an instant, Mareep had deliberately stopped running.
Before Tauros could reach its opponent.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning struck it head-on.
"Moo—!!"
Tauros, already weakened and lacking in Special Defense, took the full force of the Thunder Shock, now amplified by Charge. The boosted electricity coursed through its body, overwhelming it completely.
With a heavy thud, Tauros collapsed to the ground.
"Tauros is unable to battle. Mareep wins," Evan declared as he stepped forward.
Both Tom and Evelyn recalled their Pokémon, thanking them quietly before returning them to their Poké Balls.
"Ah… I lost," Tom said with a wry smile, scratching the back of his head. "That was an excellent strategy, Evelyn."
"Hm. Indeed," Evan nodded. "It's rare for a beginner to rely on status moves at the very start of their journey. Most depend solely on brute strength and direct attacks."
"Thank you for the compliment," Evelyn replied, bowing her head politely.
"The results will be announced tomorrow," Tom added. "You can look forward to it."
"Then… thank you for the battle," Evelyn said, offering both men a respectful nod before turning and leaving the room.
***
When Evelyn arrived at the lobby, she spotted Maria sitting on a couch with someone beside her.
Maria noticed her almost immediately.
"Eve, are you done?" she asked.
"Yes," Evelyn replied, nodding. "All that's left is to wait now."
Her gaze then shifted to the person sitting next to Maria.
A man with blue hair and yellow eyes.
Family? she wondered.
"Ah, this is my brother, Miguel," Maria said, noticing Evelyn's curiosity. "Let me introduce you."
Miguel Graham.
According to Maria explanation , he is three years older than her, and he also works for the League as an agent and a Water-type Specialist.
Water Specialist, huh?
In this world, the trainer can be divided into two categories : Generalist and Specialist.
Generalists trained Pokémon of various types, building teams with wide coverage and flexibility. Specialists, on the other hand, focused on mastering a single type.
As an example is Miguel, who focuses on water type pokemon.
Most Trainers began their journeys using Pokémon of different types. However, as they gained experience, many eventually gravitated toward one of the two paths.
While having a variety of types allowed for more strategic options and easier counters, it also required significantly more time, effort, and resources to train effectively.
Because of that, many chose to become Specialists.
Experience gained from raising one Pokémon of a certain type could be applied to others of the same type, making training more efficient and cost-effective.
Of course, there were drawbacks.
A Specialist could be hard-countered by Trainers who used types with a natural advantage.
For example, a Water-type Specialist would struggle against Grass-type or Electric-type opponents, but would have a much easier time dealing with Ground- and Rock-type Specialists.
"Hello, you must be Evelyn, right? My sister often talks about you a lot. "
While Evelyn was still lost in her thoughts, a hand was extended toward her.
"Oh, hello. It's nice to meet you," she replied, quickly taking his hand and shaking it.
"Since your friend is here, I'll be heading back," he added.
After the brief greeting, Miguel turned and left.
"I'm sorry," Maria said with a helpless smile 😞. "My brother isn't very talkative."
Evelyn waved her hand lightly. "It's fine, don't worry about it."
She then changed the topic. "How about you? Are you done with your test?"
Thankfully, Maria caught on and didn't bring it up again.
"I just asked the staff," Maria replied with a small frown 😕. "It looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer."
As the two continued chatting, a head of pink hair suddenly popped up from behind them.
"Sorry I'm late! What were you guys talking about?" Sherry asked in her usual bright, energetic voice.
"Oh, Sherry! You just arrived?" Maria asked in surprise.
"Nah," Sherry replied casually. "I was already inside earlier. I'm done now. What about you two?"
Apparently, her name had been called earlier, but her test had taken longer—which explained why neither of them had seen her.
"It looks like Maria still needs to wait a little longer," Evelyn answered.
After that, the three of them stayed together until Maria finished her test. Only then did they finally leave the building together.
***
After returning home, Evelyn hurriedly took a shower and then sat down to eat her lunch.
Tut… tut… 📱
While she was eating, her phone began to ring.
She glanced at the name on the screen, a small smile forming on her lips before she answered.
"Hello, Brother Van. It's rare for you to call."
From the other end came a familiar male voice.
"Yes, it's been a while, Eve."
"I was really surprised, you know," Evelyn said, recalling the events from earlier. "I didn't expect to meet you there."
She still remembered opening the door during the test, only to find her brother standing on the other side.
Yes, the person on the phone was none other than Evan Lowell, the same Evan she had faced during the examination.
But unlike the cold, professional tone he used that morning, his voice now was gentle and relaxed completely different from his nickname, the Ice Prince.
If Tom had heard him now, he might have doubted whether this was really the same colleague.
"You did well in your battle earlier," Evan said.
He went on to praise her performance, calmly analyzing her strategy and decision-making during the match. Before ending the call, he congratulated her for passing the test.
When the call finally ended, Evelyn looked down and realized her food had already gone cold.
Still—
She smiled.
Despite that, she was happy to have talked with him again.