"Grookey, use [Grassy Glide]!"
Near the cafeteria, Satoshi was facing off against yet another random trainer. In less than an hour, he'd already achieved a ten-win streak.
Most battles were 3v3, but given the wildly uneven skill levels among Rainbow Wing Academy students, he usually finished each battle with just one Pokémon.
Since he couldn't repeatedly challenge the same opponent, farming points was impossible. Instead, he was walking leisurely with Anon, casually challenging trainers along the way.
Thanks to the tournament, many students from the Breeding and Economics departments had set up snack stalls, or even converted their classrooms into temporary cafés.
Although there was no real worry about the cafeteria becoming overcrowded, Satoshi shuddered at the thought of those beasts sprinting to the dining hall at lunchtime—their running speed was outright terrifying!
(Though he was always first in line himself~)
As the battle went on, his opponent brought out his third Pokémon—the pre-evolved form of Rayquaza, Caterpie.
"Caterpie, use [Electroweb] to stop Grookey from closing in!"
"[Acrobatics]."
But against the powerful duo of Satoshi and Grookey, Caterpie's efforts were utterly futile.
A single [Acrobatics] knocked Caterpie sprawling, though Grookey mercifully held back to avoid causing too much harm.
"Good work~!" Anon approached with a gentle smile, her cute little fang poking out as she handed Satoshi a bottle of water from a nearby vending machine.
She'd also defeated plenty of trainers with Sylveon, earning her own share of praise. While not quite at Satoshi's level, she was already becoming many trainers' personal nightmare.
Incidentally, the rumor that she and Satoshi were dating had already spread throughout their class's chat group.
If Soyo-san finds out, she'll definitely kill me...
Anon broke out in a cold sweat, slightly panicked. Satoshi didn't seem to care about such rumors, but that blockhead would never realize her feelings unless she stood on tiptoe and kissed him herself.
Oh well… Soyo-san isn't even in our class chat anyway, so it's probably fine~
Feeling reassured, Anon subtly moved closer to Satoshi, deliberately closing the distance. She was certain that clingy, gravity-loving landmine girl would never find out. Besides, she kind of wanted to provoke her just a little.
"Thanks."
"Pachi~!"
Satoshi took the water, easily opening the bottle with two fingers before drinking deeply. Anon thoughtfully passed another bottle to Grookey.
At this stage, their team's battle points remained steadily at the top. Strangely, Team MYGO's points were rising at an incredible speed, drawing attention.
Considering their earlier training sessions, Satoshi suddenly realized something crucial. Based on what he'd seen, his teammates shouldn't have been capable of scoring so highly, which meant—
They've been holding back against me!
Amazing~!
Excitement surged through Satoshi's chest. If they were holding back, that meant they had full confidence in their own strength.
Recognizing this, he wanted nothing more than to battle these girls every day, pushing each other to exhaustion for the rest of their lives.
"Anon, let's keep moving. We can't slow down now, or someone might overtake us."
After their brief break, Satoshi casually took Anon's hand, ready to face the next set of challengers together.
"Mm~!" Anon smiled happily, naturally gripping his hand tighter.
In the Afro Buffalo Cup, defeating opponents with higher win records granted more battle points, helping maintain balance. Some trainers even deliberately targeted stronger competitors when they were tired to score easy points.
No need to worry about opponents running away at the sight of them, then.
"Hikigaya Hachiman, looking forward to a good match... Go, Hitmontop!"
First up was a challenger named Hikigaya Hachiman.
Not overly concerned, Satoshi easily defeated him with Grookey.
"Sawamura Spencer…"
The second challenger's name was too long, so Satoshi didn't bother memorizing it.
Raichu quickly secured another decisive victory.
The Battle Department students really varied too greatly in strength. Many simply weren't adequate as training partners.
Our own team really is better.
After about twenty consecutive wins, Satoshi couldn't help but think this way.
[Uwah Satobaby, when you say 'our team,' does that include me too?]
What are you saying? Of course you're part of our team.
Furiko's hesitant voice sounded unusually timid, but this time, Satoshi didn't argue with her.
She really was a useful System after all, able to chat, send messages, and even assign tasks sincerely.
But his primary focus was on the other trainers around them.
Apparently, some trainers had been uploading information to the school forums. Because of this, many students were now targeting him, eager to take advantage of his weakened state and earn bonus points.
If that was the case, he'd just have to put in even more effort than usual.
"You're Satoshi-kun from Class 1-A, right? If I win, will you accept my love letter?"
A random girl approached shyly, eyelashes fluttering as she blushed.
Another one aiming to take my points? Bring it on!
Totally absorbed by the thrill of battle, Satoshi barely registered her words.
"No problem. Go, Froakie!"
"Wooaah~!"
Fueled by his enthusiasm, the poor girl was swiftly crushed.
As a normal human being, Anon silently mourned for this unfortunate stranger.
Serves you right!
She quietly smirked, a mischievous smile creeping across her face.
During the tournament, Anon mostly played a supportive role, participating in fewer battles. However, this backstage support was crucial in decisive moments—her teammates knew how valuable she truly was.
With such powerful teammates, this arrangement worked perfectly.
Satoshi, however, was clearly growing bored from the lack of challenging opponents. Anon easily noticed this.
"Hehe~ You're looking for a strong opponent, right, Satoshi-kun? Why don't we search together? I posted something on the forums too."
"Yeah, let's check it out together."
Anon eagerly took Satoshi's hand, drawing closer as they both checked the forum on her phone.
"There's a lot of posts here… Oh, someone mentioned a powerful trainer with long pink hair… Eh? Are they talking about me?"
Anon's gray eyes sparkled with excitement for a brief moment, until she realized—it wasn't her.
Who the heck is Gotou Hitori?!
Shouldn't that strong pink-haired trainer be me?!
"Uu…"
Anon pouted unhappily, upset someone else had stolen her unique trait.
"Don't worry, Anon, you're plenty strong too. You and Sylveon almost defeated me and Grookey, remember?"
Noticing her reaction, Satoshi began comforting her gently.
When it came to emotional intelligence in battle, he wouldn't lose to anyone.
He's comforting me like this…!
"Y-yeah, that's true! Well then, let's go challenge this Gotou-san first."
Anon's heart fluttered intensely, waves of emotion washing over her.
Her eyes suddenly sparkled with pink hearts, and without realizing it, she entwined her fingers tightly with his.