"Not good, Mightyena—dodge, quick!"
Carmine's voice rang out almost at the same time as Shizuka's, showcasing her sharp reflexes.
As a Pokémon known for its extreme loyalty once it recognizes a trainer, Mightyena didn't hesitate; it released its jaws and tried to leap backwards.
But it was too late.
Mightyena could only watch as the flower on Venusaur's back snapped shut into a large bud and, after a slight contraction, released a rain of foul-smelling, purple poison liquid from above, showering down onto its back. The toxins swiftly seeped into its skin, right through the layers of protective fur.
Within the blink of an eye, the areas on Mightyena struck by the poisonous liquid began to bubble with purplish froth.
In Pokémon terms—
Mightyena was now badly poisoned!
Carmine's face immediately darkened.
She never expected that, in her mind, the ever-kind, gentle, and helpful Nurse Joy would actually command a move like "Toxic".
She had let down her guard.
Such a blunder. She hadn't dodged.
This is not the Joy I know!
"Guess you could call it a surprise tactic—"
Geeta, who had been paying close attention to the battle, curled her lips into a faint smile.
In her eyes, Nurse Shizuka had leveraged her opponent's false sense of familiarity, catching Carmine completely off guard. Next time, trying to land "Toxic" again wouldn't be so easy.
As a student who'd managed to stand out in the rigorous Blueberry Academy, Carmine's battle instincts were apparent from that split-second difference in her reactions.
Lucas's judgment was spot on—this girl was a real talent, worth recruiting to the Paldea League.
Having confirmed Carmine's talent, the ever-quick-thinking Geeta started analyzing Shizuka's seemingly bland play with "Toxic".
Maybe I could also lead with Glimmora for an unexpected advantage, helping set up my team with surprise tactics, and then send in Kingambit to anchor the endgame?
Going over this new line of thinking, Geeta suddenly saw a new path unfolding before her.
Meanwhile—
The battle between the now-badly-poisoned Mightyena and Venusaur raged on.
Carmine recovered her composure quickly, clearly had a plan, and didn't recall Mightyena immediately. Instead, she had it keep up the skirmish with Venusaur, darting in and out, looking for a better opportunity.
Here, the gap in trainer experience became obvious.
With Carmine on high alert, Shizuka's next actions grew less coordinated.
Venusaur's barrages of bullet-like "Leech Seed" attacks failed to land as Mightyena dodged with agility, returning fire with skillful uses of "Taunt" and "Harsh Sunlight", both status-altering moves.
But the price was clear: under the continuous pressure of the toxic status, Mightyena's condition kept deteriorating.
However, it was all part of Carmine's plan.
"Come back, Mightyena!"
Carmine returned Mightyena to its Pokéball, then with a flick of her wrist, hurled another Pokéball skyward.
"I'm counting on you, Ninetales!"
Amarys, standing behind her, let out a small smile.
Yes, that's it—take back the initiative step by step until victory, my dear friend.
It wasn't the Alolan Ninetales from Lucas's farm.
This Pokémon boasted luxurious golden fur, an elegant and noble demeanor, and nine long, silky tails.
The Fox Pokémon—Ninetales.
A pure Fire type.
Seeing Ninetales appear, Lucas let out a gentle sigh.
Shizuka is still "too young." Even though I've taught her a plethora of tactics and strategies, she's still lacking in the ability to improvise, to completely internalize lesson plans and adjust in real time to the battle's flow.
All I can do is hope she'll realize from this that "Toxic" is not some almighty solution—and that your opponent won't just stand there and let you go through the motions.
Ninetales appeared on the battlefield, instantly benefiting from the "Harsh Sunlight" set up by Mightyena, giving its Fire-type moves a further boost. Venusaur, still under the effects of "Taunt," was unable to use status moves, and because of "Ingrain," it was rooted and unable to move.
Defensive moves like "Protect" and "Substitute" were locked out, and the "Chlorophyll" ability was effectively useless since Venusaur couldn't move because of "Ingrain".
"Toxic" was incinerated by fire before it ever reached Ninetales.
Venusaur was forced to rely on offensive moves alone—but that was a lost cause.
Given that the two Pokémon were roughly equal in strength, the weather advantage and type effectiveness meant that Ninetales neatly finished Venusaur off with the inescapable "Fire Blast".
"Venusaur is unable to battle—Ninetales wins!"
"Shizuka, please send out your second Pokémon!"
Clavell's deep, even voice resounded through the arena. He didn't look at anyone in particular, completely professional as the impartial judge.
Shizuka bit her lip, retrieving her burned Venusaur into its Pokéball and handing it to a former colleague.
Deep breath. She threw her second Pokéball.
"Porygon2!"
This time, a red-and-blue, round-bodied, comical duck Pokémon appeared.
Around its neck hung a necklace; if you looked closely, the outline of an "Eviolite" could just be discerned.
Shizuka bought this item out of her own pocket for Porygon2.
With the Eviolite, both Porygon2's defenses soared to terrifying levels. Combined with its inherent defensive prowess and typing, it could be called a tank in all senses.
Among the Naranja Academy squad—
The moment they saw Porygon2 appear, the previously worried Penny's face instantly turned pale—as if about to throw up.
No wonder, really.
Before Nemona and Eri returned, Penny was the only girl who interacted much with Shizuka.
Repeatedly dragged by Shizuka for all sorts of "experiments", she knew just how stomach-turning this seemingly silly duck could be.
Just thinking about it made her want to retch.
…
Shizuka's Porygon2 ability: "Download".
Effect:
If the opponent's Defense is lower than Special Defense, Porygon2's Attack rises.
If their Special Defense is lower than Defense, Special Attack rises.
This gives Porygon2 a strong output buff, especially since its natural Special Attack stats aren't bad.
It was a pity—Ninetales's Defense was lower than its Special Defense, so when Porygon2 flared with red light, the ability that increased was—Attack.
Lucas always regretted this.
If only Porygon2's ability were "Trace". After it evolved again, it would convert to "Adaptability", letting its STAB (Same-Type Attack Bonus) rise to 100%—a true artillery cannon, making up for the offensive shortfall in Shizuka's team.
But "Download" wasn't useless. At times, the bonus could exceed "Adaptability", though the latter was more consistent.
And so, Porygon2 abandoned its specialty: ranged barrages. Instead, it leveraged the bonus to unleash a devastating "Double-Edge", blasting through Ninetales's Infernal Flames with the sheer force of a steam train!
At the same moment, Shizuka rapidly gave her command:
"Conversion 2!"
Porygon2's entire body flared with blue, its presence changing abruptly.
Facing down an enraged Ninetales's Fire Blast, Porygon2 chose to tank the hit directly, firing off a "Tri Attack" in return!
BOOM!
The battlefield exploded with successive detonations around both Pokémon. When the smoke cleared, many spectators gasped. Porygon2 looked relatively stable, while Ninetales was panting, its fine fur now matted with dust and ash.
In Blueberry Academy's ranks, Amarys spoke again.
"I see—the Conversion 2 changed it to Water type, so now it can play the long game with Ninetales."
Her gaze sharpened, focusing on the serious, tense Shizuka.
Looks like the opposition's even tougher than I thought—a real slugger.
This fight was far from over.
After several more exchanges, as Ninetales' stamina began to falter, Carmine realized that if this continued, her Ninetales would be worn down by Porygon2's insane endurance.
Blueberry Academy consistently trains students to rotate in battle. Without hesitation, Carmine recalled Ninetales and once again sent out Mightyena.
But she'd slightly underestimated the toll "Toxic" had taken on Mightyena.
Mightyena made a valiant effort, leaving a few deep marks on Porygon2, before its body sagged and it collapsed on the field.
Now, the score was tied 1–1.
Perhaps to give Porygon2 a breather, Shizuka returned it and sent out her third Pokémon:
"I'm counting on you, Chansey!"
Almost the very image of Nurse Joy's public persona, the round-bodied Chansey appeared with an innocent, adorable smile. Facing the glare of Ninetales, her eyes snapped open.
"Chansey~!"
Could Chansey actually fight?
This thought flashed across the minds of Blueberry Academy's students.
But it didn't take long for them to realize—it was more than just "capable."
Most of the time, Chansey didn't even need instructions from Shizuka; she responded on her own, effortlessly countering Ninetales's moves.
If Shizuka made a mistake, Chansey would auto-correct, picking the best possible option for the circumstance.
Dodging "Fire Blast" with a "Minimize" in the split second before impact, then raining rocks with "Rock Slide" to make Ninetales flinch—Chansey's play had people twitching with disbelief.
This wasn't a Pokémon battle—it was torture.
Ninetales, usually so elegant, was bonked repeatedly by Rock Slide, completely battered, before finally fainting, a look of resentment etched across its face.
2–1!
The tide had turned!
The crowd from Blueberry Academy grew increasingly serious.
Shizuka's commands seemed full of holes in their eyes, yet her unpredictable combinations brought uncanny strength, putting even the powerful Carmine in a hard struggle.
Naranja Academy was, indeed, a tough nut to crack.
"Big sis…"
Kieran watched his sister's back, a little nervous.
Sensing her brother's gaze, Carmine shot him a reassuring look, then drew a deep breath and tossed her Pokéball:
"Go, Sinistcha!"
A flash of light, and the evolution of Poltchageist, Sinistcha hovered in the air, eyeing Chansey with a sinister chuckle.
Sinistcha was Carmine's ace, stronger than both Mightyena and Ninetales—that's where her confidence came from.
Playing cautiously, Shizuka recalled Chansey and instead sent out the already battered Porygon2, clearly looking to test out Sinistcha's capabilities.
Beside Lucas, Hassel eyed Porygon2 with curiosity: "Does Porygon2 have any recovery moves?"
Since Porygon2 isn't common in Paldea, and he specialized in Dragon-types himself, he didn't know much about it.
"Yes, it can learn 'Recover', but this one hasn't yet," Lucas answered.
Hassel smacked his lips.
With that much toughness, and the potential for healing like Chansey, what an ordeal these things must be in battle.
As they debated, Porygon2 and Sinistcha clashed fiercely.
Sinistcha's lower Special Defense allowed Porygon2's Special Attack boost to shine, making its energy attacks hit all the harder.
But thanks to Sinistcha's unique typing, Porygon2 could only use the "Icy Wind" it had learned for super-effective damage.
Still, as Carmine's starter, Sinistcha's base strength was outstanding. Even without Ghost-type moves, its Grass attacks were enough to finish off the weakened Porygon2.
Ten minutes later, victory was settled.
Porygon2, lacking recovery and effective attacking moves, was worn down by Sinistcha's attacks.
But Sinistcha had also taken repeated "Icy Wind", its speed greatly reduced.
Now it was Shizuka and Carmine—two apiece—with the match blazing white-hot.
Chansey versus Sinistcha.
Lucas was already bracing for a grind.
That single bout between Chansey and Sinistcha dragged on for over an hour!
Even the energetic crowd began losing focus, some dozing off.
Chansey, under constant threat of "Toxic", could only lean into her huge HP and modest "Rock Slide" to try and wear down Sinistcha, just like before.
But they didn't realize—Sinistcha's signature move, "Matcha Gotcha", wasn't just a powerful special attack. It also healed itself, and if lucky, could burn Chansey, further lowering Rock Slide's already minimal damage.
Chansey could use "Heal Bell" to clear status and eat her own eggs to heal.
The two "emperors" battled to the ends of space and time, even obliterating the Dao.
Approaching two hours, Chansey eventually fell just short, her energy and stamina wrung dry. She slumped over—KO'd.
Sinistcha wasn't much better, swaying and then collapsing, too exhausted to rise.
Thus, Blueberry Academy scored the opening win for the exchange tournament!
The next match would be between Paul and Kieran.
After them, the long-awaited Nemona VS Drayton—arguably the two strongest among the fourteen contestants.
Blueberry Academy's finest VS Naranja Academy's top ace!
…
…
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