Seeing Su Qingxue directly release both her main Pokémon, Bai Cai immediately stepped forward to mediate: "Everyone, calm down a bit!"
"As for the training ground, I can—"
Before Bai Cai could finish her sentence,
Pikachu had already leaped down lightly from Hu Yan'er's shoulder.
"[Thunder]."
Two words, softly spoken.
"Pika!"
Electric snakes flashed wildly around Pikachu's body, and a massive bolt of lightning abruptly fell from the sky.
Its targets: the Flying-type Pokémon soaring overhead.
"Spear—"
"Pidge—"
"Chiii—"
Several Flying-type Pokémon took Pikachu's [Thunder] head-on.
Instantly charred black, they dropped from the sky like stones.
"What's going on? Someone's causing trouble!"
"Damn it, sneak attacking like that—so shameless!"
"Must be pissed they couldn't get a training ground. But we're not pushovers either!"
"Fearow, use [Peck]!"
"Pidgeotto, [Wing Attack]!"
"Swellow, [Quick Attack]!"
...
The sudden attack infuriated the students on the field.
In a split second, dozens of Flying-type Pokémon dove toward Pikachu.
Though these Pokémon were mostly at Qualified-level, with only two or three reaching Excellence-level, their sheer number alone was imposing.
Dozens of diving Flying-types—that was a sight to behold.
However, faced with this dense swarm of Pokémon, Su Qingxue and Hu Yan'er merely exchanged a glance.
Then, as one, they commanded:
"Nidoqueen/Pikachu, [Thunderbolt]!"
"Nido!"
"Pika!"
Nidoqueen and Pikachu unleashed simultaneous [Thunderbolts], waves of orange-yellow lightning wildly surging into the sky.
Immediately, large groups of Flying-types fell screaming out of the air.
"Too easy."
Had Pikachu been alone, stopping such a large number might've been difficult.
But now, with Nidoqueen added to the mix, it became a simple matter.
Granted, Nidoqueen wasn't Electric-type; her [Thunderbolt] lacked the boost of Same-Type Attack Bonus.
However, this was a [Sheer Force] Nidoqueen equipped with a [Life Orb].
The [Thunderbolt] she unleashed was no weaker than Pikachu's own, powered-up by a [Light Ball].
"Damn it!"
Seeing his students' Pokémon all knocked down,
Cai Guan burned with anger.
He never imagined Guo Yi would resort directly to force after failing to negotiate.
"You made the first move. Don't blame me now."
A flash of ruthlessness passed through Cai Guan's eyes.
He might not be able to handle Guo Yi, but surely he could deal with a few mere students?
Turning quickly to his Pidgeot, he commanded: "Pidgeot, [Air Slash]!"
"Piii—!"
As the words left his mouth, a massive Pidgeot, conspicuously muscular, let out a piercing cry.
[Pidgeot (Normal + Flying)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv60 (Gym Leader-level)]
[Ability: Big Pecks]
[Moves: Wing Attack, Agility, Quick Attack, Mimic (Commonly used)]
[Tutor Moves: Aerial Ace, Steel Wing, Sky Attack]
[Egg Move: Air Slash]
[Held Item: Sharp Beak (Gym Leader-level)]
[Potential: Pseudo–Elite Four]
As Cai Guan's ace Pokémon, this Pidgeot was exemplary in both level and nurturing.
An ordinary Pidgeot stood around 1.5 meters tall.
This one, however, approached nearly two meters.
Clearly, Cai Guan had invested extraordinary effort into it.
After the cry, Pidgeot's powerful wings beat rapidly,
Swish, swish, swish—!
Several half-meter-long blades of wind cut fiercely through the air, slicing directly toward Nidoqueen and Pikachu.
"Oh no!"
Standing nearby, Leng Yue's face shifted immediately.
She hadn't expected Cai Guan—a teacher—to actually attack a student's Pokémon.
Yet, that wasn't what truly worried her.
Leng Yue was concerned that if Nidoqueen and Pikachu got hurt, Guo Yi would intervene.
If Guo Yi stepped in, the matter would spiral completely out of control.
Just as Leng Yue prepared to release her Pokémon to block Pidgeot's attack, a blazing stream of flame shot upward against the wind blades.
Not only intercepting the [Air Slash], but forcing the giant Pidgeot to retreat mid-air.
The source of that fire was none other than He Yongsen's Arcanine.
"Gym Leader-level?!"
Cai Guan was stunned to see the Arcanine blocking his Pokémon's strike.
His heart burned even hotter when he noticed He Yongsen's school uniform.
"This can't be..."
"How can a student possess such strength?!"
Mixed with his anger was a pang of jealousy.
Why did Guo Yi—a mere teaching assistant—gain Bai Cai's favor?
Why could he have such gifted disciples?
But regardless of his anger, his jealousy, right now,
Cai Guan truly had no more cards left to play.
After all, the real culprit—Guo Yi—hadn't even made a move yet.
He was already stumped dealing with just these three students.
One Gym Leader-level, two Ace-level, plus a Pikachu whose strength wasn't weaker than an Ace.
Such a lineup...
Even if Cai Guan brought out all his main Pokémon, victory was uncertain.
Besides, if word spread that he had to use all his strength just to face some students, enrollment in his courses would plummet.
And student enrollment directly affected a teacher's performance and salary.
Cai Guan wouldn't do something so foolish.
He decisively shifted his focus toward his true peer, Guo Yi.
"Guo Yi, what's the meaning of this?"
"Letting your students attack others—I'll definitely report you to the Academic Affairs Office."
Cai Guan knew perfectly well:
in terms of strength, he wasn't worthy to even stand in Guo Yi's shadow.
Thus, he resorted to the pettiest method—filing a complaint.
Guo Yi, however, couldn't care less.
"Whatever, report me if you like."
"Doesn't bother me. At worst, I stop being an assistant."
He laughed lightly and fired back: "But aren't you also partly responsible for this mess? Training Flying-type Pokémon yet hogging two fields at once."
"Do you think that's reasonable?"
"You—!"
Hearing Guo Yi's shameless retort, Cai Guan instantly choked on his words.
Indeed, if the Academic Affairs Office investigated the full story, he certainly couldn't dodge responsibility either.
As for punishing Guo Yi, things wouldn't be as severe as he'd hoped.
After all, Guo Yi hadn't made the move himself—it was his students.
Even if blame was placed, Guo Yi at most would bear secondary responsibility.
As for the trio, Su Qingxue and the others...
Considering their talent, the school naturally wouldn't impose any serious punishment.
Though unpleasant to hear, geniuses often held special privileges.
Especially since Su Qingxue already had two Ace-level Pokémon in hand.
She could definitely be considered the undisputed top freshman.
Such a prodigy would be carefully protected by the school.
Excessive penalties were impossible. Instead, Cai Guan himself might get reprimanded!
Just as Cai Guan was trapped, stuck between a rock and a hard place, backup finally arrived.
Fu Hong and Shen Yongfeng walked over together.
And the very first thing they did upon arriving was to criticize Guo Yi.
"Guo Yi! How could your students bully others just because they're stronger!"
"Right, Guo Yi, acting this way—you're disregarding school rules completely!"
"You think you're so great just because you have an Elite Four-level Pokémon?"
"Let me tell you—we're not afraid of you!"
"Exactly, we aren't afraid!"
Fu Hong and Shen Yongfeng sang in harmony, relentlessly accusing Guo Yi of his oppressive actions.
Listening to their scolding, Guo Yi's expression gradually chilled.
Did you take me for a harmless kitten just because I didn't bare my fangs?
"Relying on superior strength, huh?"
"Then let me show you clearly what real superior strength means!"
In full view of everyone, a Poké Ball appeared in Guo Yi's hand.
"Not good!"
Seeing this, Bai Cai inwardly shouted with alarm.
She wanted to mediate, but the words stopped at the tip of her tongue.
Because she'd already caught sight of Guo Yi's ice-cold gaze.
She knew very clearly.
Even if she tried to speak, she couldn't change his mind now.
In the end, Bai Cai could only inwardly sigh.
These people brought this on themselves. They can't blame others.
Seeing the Poké Ball in Guo Yi's hand, Fu Hong and Shen Yongfeng's throats bobbed nervously.
They were scared!
Originally, they'd expected Guo Yi to argue back and forth, but judging by the current situation, he clearly had no interest in wasting words.
"G-Guo Yi, what are you planning to do?"
"I'm warning you, this is school grounds—you can't just do whatever you want!" Fu Hong swallowed hard, giving a feeble warning that completely lacked confidence.
"What am I doing?"
Guo Yi sneered coldly, "Nothing special. Just letting you understand clearly—"
"Today, no Pokémon other than my students' are qualified to stand in this gymnasium."
As he finished speaking, he directly opened the Poké Ball in his hand.
Under a flash of red light, Ninetales made her dazzling appearance.
"Ninetales!" Guo Yi called out softly.
Ninetales nodded, immediately understanding his intentions.
In an instant—
Ninetales's nine tails swayed majestically behind her as the overwhelming pressure of an Elite Four-level Pokémon surged forth, covering the entire area.
"Raticate, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Ivysaur, stand up already!"
"Butterfree, why did you suddenly faint?!"
From behind the three teachers, countless students' panicked voices continuously rang out.
At this very moment—
Aside from Guo Yi's own students' Pokémon, all the others, no matter what they'd been doing just a second before, were now trembling uncontrollably, prostrate on the ground.
An ordinary Elite Four-level Pokémon might indeed struggle to achieve this.
After all, among so many Pokémon, there had to be a few with strong wills, unfazed by pressure.
However, while releasing her Elite Four-level aura, Ninetales also mixed in psychic powers.
Fine, you won't kneel?
Then I'll simply make you kneel!
With the spiritual energy accumulated over a millennium, spreading her psychic power throughout the gymnasium was just too easy for Ninetales.
"Teachers, please continue your classes!"
"Just make sure you're not monopolizing school resources and wasting them away here," Guo Yi mocked.
You want to reason? Fine, I'll reason with you.
I won't move a finger or even say another word.
I'll just watch quietly.
Go ahead and continue training—if you dare!
Seeing that Guo Yi had gotten serious, the three teachers fell into complete silence.
They had no choice.
In the face of absolute strength, all arguments became useless.
They'd thought to use school rules to suppress him.
But no school rule said teachers couldn't release their own Pokémon.
They'd thought to rely on students.
But all their students combined weren't even enough to take on Guo Yi's three disciples.
Now, the three of them were truly stuck in a deadlock.
If I'd known earlier, I should've just given up a single battlefield.
None of this trouble would've followed.
Cai Guan was filled with bitter regret.
Why had he let himself be swayed by momentary anger?
After all, his students primarily trained in the sky anyway.
Giving up a single battlefield would've been nothing!
But unfortunately, there were no second chances in life.
And as the situation remained locked in stalemate, the students under the three teachers became disgruntled.
Since Guo Yi hadn't lowered his voice earlier when he requested the battlefield, the students knew the ins and outs of the whole affair clearly.
Thus, some of them directly blamed the teachers:
"Why provoke someone if you're not strong enough?"
"Great, now we can't even train properly!"
"If it were just today, fine. But if Teacher Guo decides to release his Ninetales every time he's unhappy, what can we possibly learn?!"
"Yeah! It was just a single battlefield, but none of you three would compromise."
"Don't you see? They're clearly jealous!"
...
For a moment, discussions ran rampant among the students.
Of course, among them were also the teachers' loyal students, as well as those who disliked Guo Yi's style. They quickly began criticizing him:
"How unreasonable!"
"Dragging students into teachers' personal grudges..."
"He has no ethics as a teacher."
However, these voices were only a small minority.
After all, compared to teachers, genuine strength was far more awe-inspiring.
"Guo Yi, you're just relying on your Elite Four-level Ninetales!"
"If you dare, fight us fair and square at the same level!" Shen Yongfeng resorted to the most outdated provocation method, utterly desperate.
They had absolutely no means to counter an Elite Four-level Ninetales.
But if it were at the same level, perhaps there was still a chance.
Cai Guan quickly followed up, "Guo Yi, this conflict is between us teachers. Dragging students into it really isn't fair."
"How about this: we'll each use a Gym Leader-level Pokémon to battle."
"If even one of the three of us wins, the matter ends here, and we'll give you a battlefield. But if we all lose, half the gymnasium will be yours."
"How does that sound?"
"Yes, Guo Yi, how about it?"
In an instant, the three quickly reached consensus.
Guo Yi stroked his chin thoughtfully before replying, "Fine."
"But I have another condition: If the three of you lose, you'll bow your heads and apologize to me."
Guo Yi knew it wasn't good to remain stuck in this stalemate.
Indeed, Cai Guan had said one thing right:
Personal grudges between teachers shouldn't affect students.
After all, the students had come here to learn. They were innocent.
The three teachers exchanged looks, nodded, and simultaneously answered:
"Fine, we accept."
"But there's one condition—your Pokémon must be Gym Leader-level. If you don't have enough Pokémon at that level, you automatically lose."
They were gambling now—gambling on the fact that Guo Yi didn't have enough Gym Leader-level Pokémon.
As long as just one of them could win, victory was theirs.
They still had a decent chance.
"No problem!"
Guo Yi naturally agreed without hesitation.