"Cac!"
After getting up from the ground, Cacturne forcefully smashed its fists together.
Immediately afterward, Cacturne charged rapidly toward Feraligatr and unleashed Power-Up Punch!
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed through the air.
Feraligatr's figure was violently blasted backward and crashed heavily onto the ground.
Everything happened in a split second. By the time the students managed to react, all they saw was Feraligatr lying on the ground.
"Damn it, damn it!"
The students began shouting in alarm.
Had Feraligatr been knocked down by Cacturne?
Then... the result of this battle...?
"Cacturne, come back quickly. We've lost this battle."
Ethan brought a hand to his forehead.
It was obvious that Cacturne had not properly understood the rules of the competition.
In fact, the moment it stepped outside the designated area, it had already lost, but Cacturne thought that, like in normal battles, one only lost when they were unable to continue fighting.
"Cac?"
Cacturne wore a completely confused expression and innocently looked at Ethan as it turned its head back.
"Alright, the battle ends here. And also, welcome to the Multitype Martial Dojo."
Maya Harper also felt a bit awkward. After taking a deep breath, she recalled Feraligatr and walked over to Ethan with a smile.
"Thank you, senior sister Maya."
Ethan immediately changed how he addressed her and also recalled Cacturne.
Tacitly, the two avoided mentioning the outcome of the battle.
Although according to the rules of the Martial Arts Tournament Feraligatr had won, if one spoke purely in terms of real strength, Cacturne was clearly superior.
Using only three Fighting-type moves, Cacturne had already been able to fight Feraligatr head-on. If they had truly fought without restrictions, Feraligatr would have lost far more miserably.
However, rules were rules. Ethan felt that he would need to explain them clearly to Cacturne later; otherwise, losing a battle in this way would be far too unfair.
"Welcome to the dojo!"
At the same time, seeing Maya lead Ethan toward them, all the students on the field shouted in unison.
Ethan smiled lightly and greeted them. Then he released Cacturne so it could interact with the students' Pokémon and deepen their mutual understanding.
—Chii~
Just at that moment, the dojo's door opened.
A middle-aged man entered from outside with a somewhat gloomy expression.
"Dad, you're back from the meeting already?"
Seeing the newcomer, Maya immediately went to greet him with a smile.
"Yes, I'm back." Dojo Leader Henry Harper replied with a forced smile.
"Dad, did something happen?"
"Could it be that those people want to cancel our dojo's participation quota again?"
Seeing her father's expression, Maya already had a vague idea of what had happened.
"Yes, exactly."
"In the recent tournaments, our students' results haven't been very good. Because of that, the tournament organizers plan to cancel our dojo's participation quota."
"Moreover, they also intend to forbid Pokémon that aren't Fighting-type from participating in the Martial Arts Tournament."
Leader Harper's face looked extremely unpleasant. The organizers' plan was essentially to force his dojo to shut down.
"How can those people be like this?!"
"If it were the Fighting Tournament, it might still make sense, but why the Martial Arts Tournament too?!"
Maya shouted indignantly, her expression equally ugly.
"There's no other choice. If we want them to change their minds, everything depends on this batch of students."
"Only if our students achieve sufficiently good results will I be able to try to get the tournament organizers to reconsider their decision."
Leader Harper sighed and then turned his gaze toward Ethan. After thinking for a moment, his eyes lit up.
"You're Ethan Black, the one old Harris recommended to me, right?"
"Greetings, Leader Harper. I'm Ethan. It was Professor Harris who asked me to come."
Ethan nodded. In fact, it was Professor Harris's suggestion that he come to study at the Multitype Martial Dojo.
"Good, good, good. Then rest assured and study well here at the dojo. Next, I'll do my best to help your Cacturne train its combat techniques. With your potential, achieving good results won't be difficult at all."
Leader Harper looked very pleased. Evidently, Professor Harris had spared no praise for Ethan in front of him, making it clear that Ethan was an extremely powerful trainer.
"Then thank you very much, Leader Harper. As for the Martial Arts Tournament, I'll do my best to obtain a good ranking."
Ethan smiled as he said this. He had clearly heard the previous conversation between father and daughter.
If he could help, he would not be stingy about it. Moreover, if he achieved good results, Leader Harper would undoubtedly guide him with all his strength.
Thus, Cacturne's training at the Multitype Martial Dojo officially began.
...
"Leader Harper, I'll leave Cacturne in your care."
A few days later, Ethan stood outside the dojo and bade farewell to Leader Harper.
"Don't worry, go take care of your own affairs. Cacturne works very hard; it shouldn't take too long before it completes its training."
Leader Harper smiled and patted the body of the Cacturne beside him.
"Cac!"
Cacturne nodded repeatedly, indicating that it would study diligently.
"Cacturne, work hard. When I'm done with my business, I'll come back to get you."
After exchanging a few words with Cacturne, Ethan turned around and left.
Once outside Battle City's territory, Ethan released Charizard and, riding it, flew toward Ironvale City.
This time he was returning to Ironvale City because there were matters at the university that required his presence.
According to what Captain Jason Brooks had told him over the phone, it seemed to be an inter-university exchange competition in which he needed to participate.
When Ethan arrived at the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, he saw that Lucas Silver, Marcus Foster, Kyle Miller, and Patrick Mills had already arrived; only he, the captain of the school's second representative team, had been missing.
"I see, it's the regional inter-university exchange tournament."
After listening to Lucas's full explanation, Ethan nodded.
With the continuous popularization of Pokémon, more and more Pokémon universities had appeared in various regions, especially Pokémon technical schools, which every year supplied a large number of human and Pokémon talents to society.
As the number one institution in the Ironvale region, and in order to raise the educational standards of other universities, the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, at the request of the Ironvale City League headquarters, organized this exchange tournament.
However, although it was only a regional competition, it was said that several universities had even sent their main teams to participate.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, the university decided to also call in Ethan and the other members of the second representative team... to assert their presence at the venue!
(End of chapter)