"Ugh, the new semester has begun."
After finishing the university team evaluation, Ethan and the other four walked together toward the advanced campus.
"I didn't expect Captain Daniel and the others to graduate so quickly."
"By the way, that thing they mentioned earlier... what exactly is the Champion's Path?"
As they chatted, Ethan suddenly remembered the conversation at the university team headquarters and asked.
"The Champion's Path... is the path that leads to the Champion title. You could say it's the highest temple where a trainer can learn. Only the best of the best have the chance to enter and study there."
Lucas Silver smiled as he explained to Ethan. In his eyes, the aspiration was clear when he mentioned the word "Champion."
If nothing unexpected happened, the Champion's Path would be his next major goal.
"The path to becoming Champion, huh..."
Ethan's eyes shone slightly as he engraved the thought in his heart.
Very soon, while they walked, the five arrived at the university's Advanced Campus.
The place looked quite deserted.
After all, very few students could enter the Advanced Campus during their four years at university. Most completed their studies in the Intermediate Campus without ever managing to enter the Advanced Campus.
Moreover, during the period in the Advanced Campus, most of the training consisted of outdoor exploration—similar to third- and fourth-year professional internships. That made the number of students regularly present even smaller.
However, the fact there were few students also had its advantages: each one received a considerable amount of resources per year.
And inside the university's Secret Kingdom there were numerous ideal places for exploration. In some areas lived extremely strong Pokémon, giving students plenty of opponents for training.
At the same time, the professors' laboratories and training fields were also inside the Secret Kingdom. Day to day, these professors personally guided the students in their learning and battles.
...
Half a month later.
In the gym of the Advanced Campus.
At that moment, Ethan was doing battle training against Captain Jason.
In the center of the field, Meltan and Blaziken were fighting fiercely.
Boom, boom, boom!
Meltan had transformed into a flying sword. Its body left streaks in the air as it slashed repeatedly at Blaziken.
But Blaziken's speed was far too fast. In fact, it was even faster than Meltan using magnetic levitation! And as the battle went on, the speed difference became even greater.
"This is... the Hidden Ability Speed Boost?"
Ethan looked at the Blaziken moving at an absurd speed and rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Blaziken, the Fire/Fighting-type Pokémon, had Blaze as its normal ability, but its hidden ability was precisely Speed Boost, which increased its speed each turn it remained in battle.
"Blaziken, use Fire Punch."
Under Jason's command, Blaziken's fists ignited with flames. It stomped the ground hard, its body shooting forward like a projectile, and with the continuous speed increases from Speed Boost, it flickered and appeared right in front of Meltan, throwing a brutal punch.
BOOM!
With a thunderous sound, Meltan didn't even have time to react to the Blaziken that had pushed its speed to the extreme. The flaming punch struck it squarely, sending it flying.
"Finish it. Blaze Kick!"
BOOM!
After using Fire Punch, Blaziken's figure wavered briefly in the air, but just as it seemed about to fall, fire burst beneath its foot. With a single step in the air, it forcibly stabilized itself.
Tap, tap, tap—
With consecutive steps in the air, Blaziken advanced while stomping on the void, instantly reaching the space above Meltan. Its right leg, wrapped in flames, fell like an axe.
BOOM!
Meltan's body was hurled from the sky and crashed violently into the ground, opening a massive crater.
When the smoke cleared, Meltan had already lost the ability to fight, completely unconscious.
At the same time, Blaziken also fell from the air due to losing balance. After lying on the ground for a few seconds, it managed to get up little by little. Its ragged breathing made it clear that its victory had not been easy.
"Ugh... it finally won."
Seeing Blaziken secure victory after such an intense fight, Jason let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He had originally wanted to use this battle to reaffirm his authority as captain... but he hadn't expected that even with a type advantage, Blaziken would win so narrowly.
Moreover, Meltan hadn't even used Electromagnetic Cannon during the battle. If it had used it at the start, before Blaziken's Speed Boost had stacked up... it wasn't guaranteed that Blaziken could've endured it.
Of course, the recoil of Electromagnetic Cannon was also enormous. If Blaziken had managed to dodge or block it, the battle would have ended immediately.
"Ethan, not bad. Let's continue. My next Pokémon will be this one."
Jason recalled the exhausted Blaziken and threw another Poké Ball. The figure of a Charizard appeared.
"Charizard, huh? Then you'll go."
Seeing Jason's fighting spirit, Ethan didn't refuse.
After thinking for a second, he remembered something and threw Charmeleon's Poké Ball.
"Chaarmeell!"
As soon as it appeared, Charmeleon saw its evolved form standing before it, and its eyes filled with emotion and fire.
With continuous training, it could clearly feel that its evolution was getting closer... and having Charizard in front of it was like seeing its future self.
It had to be said... it looked pretty cool!
After releasing Charmeleon, Ethan also looked at Charizard. He had chosen to send Charmeleon precisely so it could observe its evolved form up close and prepare for the evolution that was approaching.
"That Charmeleon that defeated my Magmar?"
Jason frowned. He still couldn't understand how exactly his Magmar had lost that time.
"Greet it first. Charizard, Flamethrower."
"CHAAARRZZ!"
Hearing the command, Charizard opened its mouth and unleashed an intense stream of flames.
Charmeleon, seeing that it was a Fire-type move, didn't bother defending. It used its temperature-control ability, raising its own body temperature above that of the incoming fire, completely absorbing Charizard's Flamethrower.
Then, it opened its mouth and spat out a Flamethrower... whose power even surpassed Charizard's.
(End of chapter)