Litten—and its evolved form Torracat—only gain their second typing once they finally evolve into Incineroar,
standing upright and acquiring the Dark type alongside Fire.
Unlike them, Gible already possesses a Dragon/Ground dual typing right from its earliest stage.
Some Trainers honestly wish their cute little cat Pokémon would never stand up and turn into a musclebound, ominous-looking tiger—but jokes aside, a second STAB typing is genuinely important for a Pokémon's combat potential.
Torracat, restricted to Fire-type STAB alone, simply lacked sufficient offensive coverage.
Fire-type attacks dealt only half damage to Gible.
With that fundamental disadvantage, defeat was inevitable.
So much for "the universe's number-one Fake Out menace."
Without Intimidate, it was… just okay.
By the time the Sprout Cup advanced into the main bracket—and after Serena and Gible defeated Guo Weifeng's Torracat in the Top 8 match—they had already faced several genuinely troublesome opponents.
And yet, they still pushed forward smoothly, advancing into the Top 8.
Only one more victory stood between them and the Top 4.
Serena remained extremely modest.
"It's my first time in the Sprout Cup. Reaching the semifinals would already count as success."
Gible, meanwhile, thought very differently.
"Kapu kapu!"
(We shall restore Garchomp's glory—this is our sacred duty!)
During the break between matches, Serena sat quietly in the spectator stands, holding Gible's Poké Ball and resting with her eyes closed.
"You won your elimination match way too easily. How do you feel about it?"
"What—silent now? Acting like a master?"
She ignored the teasing voices around her entirely.
A non–Pokémon Battle Department student reaching the Top 8 of the freshman tournament was unprecedented—
the equivalent of an amateur defeating a professional chess player.
At this point, no matter how confident Serena appeared, no one could really object.
She had earned that confidence.
"Honestly… I didn't expect you and Gible to defeat so many Battle Department students and their Pokémon."
A gentle fragrance drifted over.
It was Mimosa, the campus nurse.
A familiar blend of light perfume and disinfectant—oddly calming.
Serena had brought Gible to the infirmary so many times that the scent had become familiar.
That was absolutely not because she was a pervert.
…Though admittedly, maybe a tiny bit.
"Their Pokémon have been trained longer than yours," Mimosa continued, curiosity in her eyes.
"They've grown more. How did you keep winning?"
Serena opened her eyes.
"If Pokémon battles were decided purely by who trained longer, then competitions wouldn't even exist."
"Trainers would just compare experience like—
'You trained for two and a half years,' 'I trained for one,'
—and the result would magically be decided. That's nonsense."
"Tch… →_→"
Nearby, Chen Lidong, who had brought his Yamper to cheer Serena on, silently raised a middle finger.
What kind of person was this?
Ignore classmates completely—
but the moment the pretty nurse shows up, suddenly you're all eloquent?
That said, everyone had misunderstood Serena.
In reality, there was a very practical reason she kept close ties with Mimosa.
Given Mimosa's medical skill and support capabilities,
if she weren't currently interning at Shanghai University to accumulate professional experience—
Serena would never be able to access such high-quality Pokémon medical care for free.
Miss this opportunity, and it might never come again.
So yes—maintaining a good relationship was absolutely necessary.
"That… actually makes a lot of sense," Mimosa nodded, suddenly enlightened.
The logic was simple, yet it answered a long-standing doubt of hers.
Across all Pokémon League regions, even though some veteran Trainers were already advanced in age,
most top-tier Trainers at their peak were still young—often in their teens or twenties.
The outcome of a Pokémon battle was shaped by countless variables.
It was never as simple as
'who trained longer' or 'who has seniority.'
Serena and Gible appeared to be newcomers—a rookie Trainer and a baby Pokémon.
They hadn't even reached second-stage evolution, unlike many Battle Department students' Pokémon.
And yet—
Serena's battle awareness, command timing, and tactical judgment were already far ahead of her peers.
Her daily training plans were clear and purposeful,
unlike many beginners who trained randomly—or slacked off entirely.
The Pokémon Editor was certainly a powerful cheat.
But Serena's greatest advantage wasn't software.
It was her years of experience as a competitive Pokémon player—
and her past life working as an underground "Pokémon modifier."
That experience granted her something far more valuable:
foresight and judgment,
far beyond that of ordinary Trainers.
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