"Whoa—no way, that's a Gible?!"
"I heard there was a freshman this year with a late-blooming Pokémon… so it's actually true?"
"Yeah, it's weak early on, but once it grows and evolves, it becomes a powerful Dragon-type Pokémon…
Wait—why is the trainer not from the Pokémon Battle Department?!"
Whispers spread through the audience.
Gible really was rare—and undeniably strong.
Even at Shanghai University, where new students and rookie trainers enrolled year after year, getting one of the standard starters was already considered pretty good luck.
But a pseudo-legendary Pokémon hatchling?
That was something that might only appear once every few years.
"..."
Serena completely ignored the chatter from the stands.
Even when the rumors escalated to people speculating whether she was the secret child of some Dragon-type Elite Four member, she didn't react in the slightest.
People loved gossip. That was just human nature.
"Gible is strong, I'll give you that,"
Wang Yilun said confidently.
"But at this stage, there's no way it can beat my Munchlax!"
Like Snorlax, Munchlax had deep stamina and excellent bulk.
It was indeed a very powerful Pokémon.
If it were holding an Eviolite, its durability could even surpass Snorlax itself.
Of course, that was already entering high-level breeding and competitive theory—far beyond what freshmen usually dealt with.
"Munchlax—use Body Slam!"
"Gible—Sand Tomb!"
Although Serena issued her command a moment later, Gible's speed was far higher than Munchlax's.
In an instant, swirling sands erupted across the battlefield, forming a violent vortex that trapped Munchlax in place.
"Don't panic, Munchlax—jump out of it!"
"Kabi—!"
Munchlax leaped up, attempting to break free by crashing down with Body Slam, its heavy body smashing toward Gible.
Gible's ability, Rough Skin, activated on contact, dealing recoil damage as Munchlax scraped across its surface.
As it landed, Munchlax misstepped, its foot sinking into the unstable sand pit.
"Now—press the advantage!
Gible, use Dragon Claw!"
"Kapu!"
Though small in stature, Gible was ferocious.
It charged forward and slashed out with a claw overflowing with pure Dragon-type energy, striking Munchlax squarely in its round belly and knocking it back into the Sand Tomb.
"Ka… bi…"
Munchlax's eyes spun into spirals as it lost consciousness, collapsing into the sand pit—
accidentally enjoying a rather luxurious sand bath in the process.
"How… how is that possible? My Munchlax…?"
Wang Yilun had raised Munchlax since it was small and knew its endurance well.
He never expected it to be defeated so cleanly by a Gible.
If it had been Gabite—or Garchomp—that would've made sense.
But Gible?
That was just absurd.
In reality, Sand Tomb dealt continuous percentage-based damage,
Rough Skin punished physical contact,
and the STAB Dragon Claw sealed the deal.
Munchlax had taken multiple layers of damage in a short time—it wasn't an unfair loss.
"Munchlax is unable to battle!
Victory goes to Serena, from the Department of Business Administration!"
The referee quickly announced the result.
And just like that, Wang Yilun lived up perfectly to his name—
becoming a one-round elimination in the freshman tournament.
Serena calmly recalled Gible and returned to the waiting area to prepare for the next match.
"Your battle strategy was very well chosen, Serena,"
Miss Mimosha said, having paid close attention to the fight.
Over the past few days, she and her Hypno had provided Gible with numerous recovery treatments.
She had personally witnessed Serena's effort and dedication.
—After all, since it was a university-provided benefit, not using it would've been a waste.
Serena had practically dragged Gible to the infirmary every chance she got.
Aside from training time, she looked like she was one step away from bringing Gible over for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well.
Not because the medical meals tasted good—
but because she wanted more chances to interact with the so-called "Angel of the Infirmary."
Once you left campus, those student-only perks disappeared.
Of course, Pokémon Centers weren't much worse—
Nurse Joy and Chansey were angels too.
"I just give the commands,"
Serena replied with a smile.
"Gible's the one who executes them perfectly."
"Kapu~ (^▽^)"
Gible beamed proudly and leaned in toward its trainer, clearly asking for praise.
Instinctively, Serena reached out to pat Gible's head—
"Zzzzt—!"
Rough Skin activated.
Serena's HP dropped by one-eighth.
Gible didn't have the bad habit of biting its trainer,
but with Rough Skin, accidental friendly fire was basically unavoidable.
Was this the unavoidable AOE damage every Pokémon trainer had to endure?
At this rate, Serena would end up mastering the legendary martial art—Iron Palm.
"…Ugh."
She glanced at her reddened right hand and sighed helplessly.
Would tonight's long night require switching hands?
"You're far too careless, Serena."
Seeing the injury happen right in front of her, Miss Mimosha frowned and scolded her seriously.
But even as she reprimanded her, she was already opening her medical kit and wrapping Serena's hand with bandages.
If the price of getting closer to the Angel of the Infirmary was constant injury and self-sacrifice—
That price was far too heavy.
Life was hard.
Better to let Gible tank the damage instead.
Gible: o.0… kapu?!
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