Victory Road, First Challenge.
"Oger—"
On the battlefield, Ogerpon was currently in a dilemma.
It had indeed listened to its Trainer's words, knowing it should give these adorable students more opportunities to shine, so it couldn't just physically put the opponent to sleep like in a normal battle.
But precisely because of this, facing Dudunsparce that kept rolling on the ground, occasionally burrowing underground and popping out to launch sneak attacks, it momentarily couldn't judge whether it should make a move.
The opponent's attacks basically all hit its mask, completely painless and itchless for itself, and its movement trajectory could be easily tracked.
But once it made a move, the completely unprepared Dudunsparce would probably fall asleep immediately—
That would violate its Trainer's philosophy.
"Oger~"
After thinking it over, Ogerpon simply gave up thinking, blinking its pitiful little eyes and looking at its Trainer behind it.
The meaning was simple—
Let the Trainer do the thinking instead!
"—"
Aiden read its thoughts, waved his hand somewhat helplessly, then looked up at Nemona who was still passionately commanding on the other side.
"Alright, that's enough."
As soon as his words fell, Nemona immediately instinctively stood at attention, looking at him with an expectant expression.
"I must say, Nemona, you really came up with this tactic—"
Aiden looked at the already devastated battlefield, his mood still relatively calm.
Students who had challenged the Sunshine Gym knew that he hated moves that destroyed the battlefield the most, because repairing it afterward was very troublesome.
Therefore, whenever students used moves like Dig or Earthquake in front of him, they would always unlock Teacher Azure's Demon Form, venting all his grievances.
But this time he naturally didn't care, after all, the venue was in the Paldea League and not under his management—there were other staff members to worry about it.
So when Nemona displayed this somewhat "Whack-a-Mole" game-like unconventional tactic, Aiden only found it interesting.
If it were a Pokémon with a slightly slower reaction speed, it might not be able to keep up with Dudunsparce's speed. Moreover, while underground, the chances of being attacked were much lower.
"Ogerpon is almost getting dizzy from Dudunsparce's circling, so the battle can be declared over."
Aiden casually made up a reason, and when he looked at Ogerpon again, it was indeed very cooperatively putting on a performance, rolling its eyes and plopping down on the ground sitting.
Fortunately, the mask was blocking it, otherwise its appearance of desperately holding back laughter might be discovered.
Seeing this, Aiden simply recalled it into its Poké Ball, then was the first to start applauding, looking at Nemona and speaking again: "Congratulations, Nemona."
"You are this year's first student to pass the first challenge of the Victory Road."
"I hope in the next four battles, you can also maintain your level and demonstrate your strength."
"Yay!"
Finally hearing the words she had long anticipated from Aiden, Nemona's excitement was already overflowing. Despite her poor physical stamina, she even jumped to an exaggerated height exceeding her own height.
After all, since meeting Teacher Aiden, under his ideological influence, Nemona had always had only one goal in her heart—to become Champion and prove that she was already a strong Trainer!
This way, even stronger Trainers would come to challenge her, and she could openly invite people to battles—exchange pointers!
And now, her dream seemed within reach.
Seeing Nemona's thoughts, Aiden proactively stepped aside, making a "please" gesture toward the path behind him.
"The Elite Four member stationed for the second challenge is Rika. The type she specializes in is Ground."
"After waiting so long, she should be feeling bored by now, so don't keep her waiting too long."
"Mhm mhm!"
After recalling Dudunsparce, Nemona nodded repeatedly, jogging past Aiden, then suddenly turned back and gave him a brilliant smile.
"I'll keep doing my best, Teacher Aiden!"
Aiden didn't respond, but silently watched her departing figure until the door to the next challenge closed.
Since Nemona had prepared so many tactics to deal with him, then the other Elite Four members with more fixed types and more singular playstyles shouldn't stump her either—
Could the Victory Road conclude today?
Aiden felt curious in his heart. It just so happened that the time had reached 5 PM, their off-duty time, and no more students would come to challenge him.
So he sat back in his position, took a sip of coffee, and looked at the computer screen.
In the footage, the handsome older sister Rika who was stationed there was already yawning repeatedly, completely matching his guess.
Let me see what more interesting tactics you'll bring out next.
Don't disappoint me, Nemona~
Walking in the corridor toward the second challenge, Nemona's current mood was quite subtle.
Happy, of course she was happy—after all, she had earned Teacher Aiden's recognition, proving she was indeed on the right path as a Trainer.
But following closely was another more serious problem.
"These past three months, it seems like I've been thinking entirely about how to deal with Teacher Aiden—"
Only now did Nemona suddenly realize—
Oh right, the Victory Road opponents weren't just one person! There were still three more experts and Chairwoman Geeta behind!
"What was Big Sister Rika's main Pokémon again—"
Nemona tried hard to recall information about her next opponent, but her already small-capacity brain didn't respond.
The corridor with only her in it fell into several seconds of silence, until Nemona suddenly punched her palm and made a decision: "Forget it, whatever!"
"Being timid and cautious isn't my style. Even if I lose to others, there will be next chances!"
"I'll just treat it as using actual combat to scout for information!"
Nemona quickly finished cheering herself up in her heart, once again full of energy as she pushed open the door.
Similar in structure to Aiden's room, Rika was sitting in her seat drowsy.
However, when she noticed the door opening, she immediately reacted, straightening her body to make herself appear more dignified, while looking at Nemona who walked in with gentle eyes.
Finally someone came to challenge her!
Aiden!!! Do you know how I spent this entire day?
Sure enough, letting Aiden guard the first challenge was a very wrong decision—it directly made the other four Elite Four members so bored they were playing with their fingers!
"Hello, this cute little classmate."
Rika proactively greeted Nemona, then stood up, approaching her while stretching her body.
Regarding Nemona, she didn't know much, but roughly understood her approximate teacher-student relationship with Aiden, and that her family was one of the major shareholders of Naranja Academy.
Setting these aside, since she was an outstanding student who could break through Aiden's defense, she would definitely bring lots of fun, right?
Rika began looking forward to the upcoming battle.
Half an hour later, Nemona's challenge journey finally temporarily came to a pause.
After barely defeating Rika, using Max Revives to temporarily restore her Pokémon's stamina, she ultimately fell before Elite Four member Larry.
Moreover, she seemed completely unaware of some of Larry's already revealed tactics and was caught off guard.
Including but not limited to: Scrappy + Close Combat to kick Gholdengo's gold coins flying, Staraptor with the Flame Orb + Facade combination.
And one that looked harmless but actually had the troll ability "Lingering Aroma"—Oinkologne.
(T/N: In the games, Larry has an Oinkologne with Gluttony. It's been changed for this fic.)
Sitting at his workstation, Aiden naturally watched the entire process, and therefore felt even more perplexed by her result—these tactics Larry hadn't hidden either. Even if there might be some information gap, Nemona shouldn't have been completely unprepared, right?
So, there was only one answer!
So this little girl Nemona had used all her scheming on him and hadn't prepared any tactics against the other Elite Four at all?
Truly worthy of being his good student—
Aiden sighed with a complex expression, shaking his head helplessly.
However, with her defeat, today's Victory Road challenges also temporarily came to a close.
He could go back and rest a bit too.
Even for himself, a battle maniac who loved grinding, accepting over ten students' high-intensity 6v6 challenges in one day was inevitably a bit tiring, making him want to slack off.
And just as he was about to leave, he suddenly felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
Opening it:
[Geeta: All Elite Four members please return to the League office immediately for a brief summary meeting regarding today's student performances.]
Aiden: ?
Oh no, it seems like it's coming for me!
After all, almost all the students who came to challenge today had fallen at his challenge. Could it be that the pass rate was too low and Chairwoman Geeta was going to criticize him?
What do you mean only one person passed the first challenge on the first day?
With somewhat nervous feelings, Aiden quickly arrived at the office and immediately saw Rika who looked somewhat schadenfreude.
"I told you to go a bit easier, didn't I? Giving students high intensity on the first day—really something you would do."
"I guess Chairwoman Geeta probably wants you to take it easier and let more water through. Don't scare all the students away."
After all, her pass rate was currently still 100%, much more "friendly" compared to Aiden.
As for why it was 100%, that didn't matter~
Aiden only silently waved his hand at her, not responding.
He had already gone very easy, but even so the students still couldn't pass his challenge—
Could that be his problem?
Of course not!
If the students had just tried 100 times harder, could it still be like this?
And speaking of difficulty, hadn't Nemona passed too? And she even beat Rika, so he definitely had no problem!
Just as Rika wanted to continue teasing this future colleague, Chairwoman Geeta also walked in through the large door right after them.
So Rika immediately fell silent, putting on an appearance of "this is none of my business."
Normally, she and Geeta were indeed good besties, but the only sun of Paldea—Chairwoman Geeta—had always been strict about separating public and private matters.
If she fooled around with her during work hours, or even talked back to her face, she would probably suffer along with Aiden.
Not worth it, not worth it.
So Rika decisively admitted defeat, waiting for what Geeta would say next.
However, contrary to Rika's expectations—
After walking in, Geeta didn't slam the table and tell Aiden to adjust his attitude as she had imagined.
Instead, she first smiled at him, then calmly spoke: "I've watched all of today's Victory Road battles. Aiden, you did very well. Continue to maintain this in the future."
"Yes."
Aiden was also somewhat surprised, but after only a moment of surprise he immediately understood, nodding seriously in response.
"Compared to previous student levels, the strength they demonstrated this time was obvious to all. Among them, quite a few might be worthy of the title of Champion."
Summarizing today in one sentence, Geeta quickly continued speaking, her expression becoming more serious.
For Paldea, Champion was more like a recognition for students—only the few most outstanding students each year could receive this honor.
However, at the end of the day, it was still just students' internal small competitions, like the self-proclaimed "Elite Four" of a certain club in Blueberry Academy—it couldn't be taken seriously.
As for what truly had weight, only Geeta as the "Top Champion" qualified.
"However, after all, this year's Champion still has a special mission with very high danger, so having higher requirements is also good."
"If we let students with insufficient strength delve into Area Zero—I don't think anyone would feel at ease."
What Geeta spoke of was, of course, the "Paradox Pokémon" that had been giving all of Paldea headaches. To delve into Area Zero to discover the truth, while simultaneously reclaiming control of Area Zero from their hands, was no simple matter.
"From today's student performances, Aiden's screening of them was indeed reasonable. The gap between Nemona and other students was already almost a tier apart."
"So, let's use Student Nemona's strength as the benchmark and continue to examine whether there are other outstanding students."
After Geeta finished speaking, she suddenly looked at Rika who was trying her best to lower her presence.
"Compared to Aiden—I get the feeling you were somewhat off your game today, Rika?"
Rika: ?
When named by Geeta, Rika was directly stunned.
After all, who could have thought that Geeta was actually coming for her—
This time it was Aiden's turn to be schadenfreude.
Exactly, exactly—how did you get swept by Nemona's team?
It was reasonable that he couldn't win, being counter-targeted, but Nemona's entire team didn't have a single good answer to Ground types. The fact that she still won could only mean Rika had a problem.
Chairwoman Geeta truly had keen eyes, love it love it!
"Student Nemona was indeed excellent, and Aiden had already certified her, so I felt the level she demonstrated was enough to pass, so I went a bit easier."
After being named by Geeta, Rika could only harden her scalp and explain, even throwing in a mention of Aiden to strengthen her persuasiveness.
She couldn't say that because she was too sleepy, she had been spacing out during the battle, and seeing Nemona's performance was pretty good she just let her pass, right?
Then Geeta would truly transform into a demon and finely chop her into minced meat—
"—Pay more attention next time."
After Geeta listened, she only remained silent for a moment, then no longer pursued the matter.
Before dismissing the meeting, she once again looked at the Elite Four members with their various expressions, emphasizing seriously and repeatedly.
"In short, for this Champion selection, we must be extremely cautious."
"If you feel the students' strength is insufficient to defeat Paradox Pokémon, rather than let them settle for another year, do not hold back."
"This is also for their own good. I hope everyone will keep this in mind."
"Yes!" ×4
The reactions of Paldea's Elite Four varied.
Aiden nodded solemnly, Rika appeared somewhat absent-minded, Hassel was already wandering in spirit.
Only the bitter working-class Larry was given special attention by Geeta. Under her gaze, her originally stern face seemed to age a few more years—
This Paldea Elite Four business didn't seem as good as he had imagined!
After observing the "varied expressions of all living beings" around him, Aiden thought silently in his heart, while a somewhat strange idea involuntarily lingered in his mind.
How about—after Nemona, should he also cultivate Poppy, letting this 9-year-old little comrade suffer a bit and return to the normal track of the world?
He suddenly understood why Paldea once had a 9-year-old Elite Four member.
Precisely because of her young age, Geeta didn't dare to overuse this little loli for black labor, and along with it, the pressure on the other three Elite Four members was also much less!
As for himself?
Being a slacking Gym Leader didn't seem so bad either.
No, he should say this kind of hard work was better suited for him to handle!
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