"H-how... how is this possible!"
At the same time, the students on the other side began shouting in disbelief.
"W-what... what exactly happened?"
Seeing the shocked expressions on the other side, the student could no longer hold himself back.
As he pushed his way through the crowd and reached the front, his eyes widened as well.
From that side, they could see a huge hole in the protective wall beneath Arthur's feet.
Rhyperior was embedded in the wall.
"Rhyperior was sent flying?"
That was the first thought that appeared in his mind. But immediately another doubt arose. If Bisharp had sent Rhyperior flying... then where was Bisharp?
"Wait... if we look at the direction... could it be...?"
Suddenly something occurred to him, and his eyes slowly widened.
At that moment, Rhyperior slowly stood up.
And inside the large hole it had opened in the wall, Bisharp was completely embedded, already having lost the ability to battle.
"H-he... he defeated it with a single strike."
"Even Arthur was defeated with one hit!"
Seeing this, the student was completely stunned.
What had he just seen?
A Pokémon of that size... had burst forward with such terrifying speed.
Even Pokémon specialized in speed would find it difficult to achieve something like that.
And that attack power capable of instantly defeating Bisharp and making the earth tremble...
Attack, defense, and speed.
That Pokémon was practically perfect.
He found it impossible to imagine what Pokémon of the same level could defeat it.
"The captain's Bisharp... also lost?"
Seeing the scene, the other members of the substitute team were also stunned.
Their captain was only twenty years old, but among people of his age he practically had no rivals.
And yet that person in front of them had defeated his Pokémon so easily.
Moreover, as an exchange student from another university, that person on the stage was probably also around twenty years old.
And yet he had instantly defeated their captain's Bisharp?
"Invincible among twenty-year-olds?"
"In Ethan's case, he's probably the strongest among those under twenty-two. Besides, this Rhyperior isn't even one of his strongest Pokémon. If he had brought that one out, the battle would have ended even faster."
Below the stage, Marcus and the others sighed with emotion.
To them, Ethan was practically a monster. His strength was absurdly high.
Among people of their age, Lucas and Marcus couldn't even force him to use his main Pokémon. They simply weren't on the same level.
After the battle, they looked with amused expressions at the students of Harvard Pokémon University.
Earlier they had said they had never heard of Ironvale City Pokémon University.
Now they would surely remember that name well.
"So, do you remember me now?"
At that moment, Ethan spoke from the stage, causing the atmosphere to freeze.
"Don't think I only have Bisharp!"
Arthur was furious.
Then he took out another Poké Ball and released his starter Pokémon: Emboar.
"You still want to continue?"
"Since we've been here this long, let's fight to our heart's content. Let's show the power of the Daleron League!"
Ethan made a decision and returned Rhyperior to its Poké Ball after the enormous exertion.
Then he threw another Poké Ball.
A Sandslash appeared on the battlefield.
"Is that Sandslash?"
"If I remember correctly, Sandslash is quite a common Pokémon."
After seeing the dominant Rhyperior, the spectators were confused when they saw the seemingly weak figure of Sandslash.
It was difficult to associate it with a strong Pokémon.
"It's Sandslash... looks like Ethan isn't holding back either."
On the contrary, the students from Ironvale City Pokémon University exchanged confident glances.
Ethan's Sandslash could even be considered the strongest Sandslash in the world.
They still clearly remembered how, in the battle for the world championship qualification, it directly withstood the attacks of Adrian Vane's Garchomp.
In a sense, with its combined moves, this Sandslash was practically unique and irreplaceable.
"Sandslash?"
Arthur, who didn't know its true power, became furious. To him, Ethan withdrawing the powerful Pokémon from before and sending out Sandslash was an act of contempt.
"Emboar, use Flare Blitz!"
Arthur directly ordered a powerful attack, trying to finish the battle quickly.
"Sandslash, Spin Drive!" Ethan also gave his order, directly using a combined move.
Instantly, both Pokémon moved.
Emboar wrapped itself in flames and, with the strong physique of a Fighting-type Pokémon, quickly charged toward Sandslash.
At the same time, Sandslash began to roll.
It combined the move Rollout with the move Rapid Spin, increasing the power of the move to its maximum.
RUMBLE!
The speed of Emboar's Flare Blitz was very high. But the speed of Sandslash's combo was even greater.
Almost the moment Emboar started moving forward, Sandslash had already reached it.
With a loud crash, Rock-type energy collided with Fire-type energy.
Unable to withstand it, the Rock-type energy instantly crushed the Fire-type energy.
Sandslash struck Emboar directly and sent it flying.
BOOM!
Another explosion resounded.
As if intentionally, Emboar fell directly into the large crater that Rhyperior had created earlier and became embedded there.
"D-don't tell me... it was defeated with one hit again?"
A student swallowed nervously, his voice dry.
What kind of Sandslash was that?
Did the simple move Rollout really instantly defeat Emboar?
Moreover, the power of that Rollout attack was far too terrifying.
Since they didn't know it was a combined move with Rapid Spin, they assumed it was the first turn of Rollout.
If that was only the beginning... what level would its power reach after several turns?
If it increased several times more... wouldn't it even reach the Quasi-Elite level?
On the battlefield...
"Was it really defeated in one hit?"
"Who the hell is that Ethan Black?"
"An attack of that level probably only belongs to students qualified for the world championship."
After a brief silence, the entire place erupted in noise.
Everyone looked at Ethan and began discussing among themselves.
Although Captain Arthur had failed to qualify for the Youth World Championship, it was because he was only twenty years old and still lacked experience. Yet he had still been defeated so overwhelmingly.
That meant only those students with world qualification could achieve something like that.
Among them, the only twenty-year-old they remembered was the Dragon-type trainer, Thomas. But Thomas was the heir of a super family.
How could he appear here?
"Could it be that this guy is over twenty years old?"
Some people began to suspect Ethan's age.
"Don't drag me into this. That guy really is twenty years old. But even I'm not his opponent."
Suddenly, a somewhat resigned voice echoed across the field.
The students were surprised and looked toward where the voice came from.
"That's... Thomas!"
Upon seeing him, the entire place erupted in exclamations.
Although Thomas was also a student of Harvard Pokémon University, he almost never studied on campus.
No one expected him to appear today... and to be watching this battle.
Wait...
What had he just said?
That guy really was twenty years old?
No...
That even he was not a match for that person!
Remembering his words, the atmosphere froze.
Everyone widened their eyes in disbelief as they looked at Thomas.
(End of chapter)