"Phew…"
Arriving at Shanghai University's stadium right on time for the match, Serena let out a long breath and adjusted her mindset together with Gible, entering battle mode.
"Elimination Round, Match Three of the First Bracket—
Business Administration student Serena versus Pokémon Battle Department student Guo Weifeng."
"Both contestants, please take your positions. The match is about to begin."
"Go, Gible."
"It's your turn—Litten!"
Decide my foot.
From start to finish, each of them only had one starter Pokémon anyway. What was there to decide?
This was the classic freshman fish-pond match.
After reliving her student days, Serena couldn't help but feel that students had a certain beauty to them—
a kind of earnestness that felt a bit too real at first glance,
with eyes full of innocent foolishness.
Of course, that youthful naivety—unspoiled by society—wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Kapu—!"
"Meow…"
Both Pokémon took their positions.
Now, Guo Weifeng's Litten was actually worth talking about.
Evolving from Litten, it could eventually become Incineroar,
the Pokémon infamously known as "the universe's number-one Fake Out demon."
Among starter Pokémon, Incineroar was genuinely excellent.
Even in top-tier competitive battles, its presence remained overwhelming—
a regular Pokémon capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with gods.
Incineroar:
Why stand shoulder to shoulder with Legendary Pokémon? I'll surpass them and become a legend myself!
That said, for Incineroar to exert that oppressive level of control,
it absolutely needed its god-tier ability: Intimidate.
Judging from how weak and listless Guo Weifeng's Litten sounded when it meowed,
it was obvious that this one didn't have Intimidate.
Instead, it had the standard starter ability—Blaze.
Which meant…
A tiger without fangs or claws.
Hardly threatening at all.
No need to fear it.
"Gible, use Sand Tomb!"
Serena's voice was calm as she issued a precise and reliable command.
Against a Fire-type Pokémon,
Ground-type moves were naturally the way to go.
While Gible struggled badly against Ice-types,
it excelled against Fire, Grass, Electric, and Water types.
"Kapu—!"
Gible shouted, eyes sharp, swinging its fin-like arms as it tried to form a swirling sand vortex to trap Litten.
However—
Before the Sand Tomb could fully form,
Gible's attack was interrupted by Litten, which suddenly closed the distance with astonishing speed.
"Litten—Fake Out!"
"Meow—!"
Litten slapped Gible square across the face.
The classic Incineroar combo—
Intimidate + Fake Out + Parting Shot / U-turn—
was infamous for good reason.
Even Legendary Pokémon would tremble before it.
Although Guo Weifeng's Litten lacked the crucial Intimidate,
it still knew Fake Out.
"Kapu…"
Gible froze, clutching its cheek with a pitiful expression.
Gible:
???
You dared to hit me? Are you out of your mind?!
Even my Trainer has never hit me!
But on the other side, Litten didn't have it easy either.
The moment it made contact, Gible's ability activated—
Rough Skin.
Litten's paw instantly swelled red and sore.
It had slapped straight into a steel plate.
After that Fake Out, it was genuinely hard to tell
whether Gible lost more HP…
or Litten took more recoil damage.
If Serena had been even more ruthless and equipped Gible with a Rocky Helmet,
the reflected damage would've been even worse.
That would've turned Gible into a walking damage mirror.
Hit me = hit yourself.
Rocky Helmet:
When the holder is hit by a contact move, the attacker loses 1/6 of its maximum HP.
Each hit of a multi-strike move triggers this effect.
Ground Dragon baby? ❌
Armored Dragon Turtle! ✅
"In that case—Gible, use Bulldoze!"
There was no longer any need to trap Litten with Sand Tomb and slowly chip it down.
With its pitiful expression gone, Gible had already converted grievance into motivation.
The next move would hit twice as hard!
(It wouldn't. But emotionally? Absolutely.)
"Kapu!"
Gible leaped up and slammed down hard,
crushing Litten's back with the full force of gravity.
—It's super effective!
"Litten, shake it off and counter with Fire Fang!"
Flattened into a "cat pancake," Litten still struggled to fight back,
biting fiercely at Gible's fin with flaming fangs.
And then—
Rough Skin activated again.
The recoil damage struck Litten's mouth directly,
cleanly shaving off its last remaining HP.
On top of that, Gible—being a Dragon-type—naturally resisted Fire-type damage.
So in the end, just as before:
The damage Litten dealt
wasn't even as much as the damage it took from recoil.
"Litten has lost its ability to battle!"
The experienced referee immediately waved the flag and announced the result.
"Wha—?! Why?!"
Guo Weifeng's eyes widened in disbelief.
What the hell?!
His Litten hadn't been defeated by Gible's attacks—
It had knocked itself out
by biting Gible with Fire Fang,
as if it had broken its own teeth.
"Rough Skin, kid,"
Serena said with a dismissive shrug.
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