"Ninetales," Guo Yi softly called.
Ninetales slowly withdrew her intimidating aura.
Since a wager had been made, naturally, Guo Yi couldn't let Ninetales continue pressuring everyone.
The Pokémon gradually began recovering their senses.
However, the way they looked at Ninetales now carried a faint trace of fear.
For quite a long time to come, Pokémon like Ninetales would remain a shadow haunting their hearts.
Meanwhile, Su Qingxue returned Nidoqueen and Beedrill to their Poké Balls and walked toward her teacher.
"Teacher, are you planning to use Nidoqueen?" Su Qingxue asked expectantly.
Because in her memory, her teacher's only Pokémon at Gym Leader-level was probably that Nidoqueen.
As for his Nidorino…
In her eyes, it might even be weaker than her own Nidoqueen.
After all, her Nidoqueen had evolved using a [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone], immediately surging in strength.
The difference between a [Sheer Force] Nidoqueen and a [Hustle] Nidorino was enormous.
Even if Nidorino reached Gym Leader-level without evolving, Su Qingxue felt it would still be inadequate.
However, Nidoqueen wasn't the Pokémon Guo Yi planned to send out.
Though Nidoqueen's strength had indeed increased recently, and her level had reached Lv59—definitely among the strongest Gym Leader-tier Pokémon.
In a one-on-one, Guo Yi was confident she could win. But one-against-three?
With Nidoqueen alone, she might not be able to handle it.
After all, to become instructors at Shanghai Pokémon University, these three teachers had considerable trainer skills.
Just by looking at Cai Guan's Pidgeot earlier, one could tell as much.
So, Guo Yi shook his head at Su Qingxue, saying:
"It's not Nidoqueen—it's Nidorino."
Nidorino?
Su Qingxue's eyes flashed with surprise.
Had Teacher's Nidorino already reached Gym Leader-level?
Noticing her shock, Guo Yi explained, "Nidorino is still at Ace-level."
"Then…" Su Qingxue was instantly confused.
If it's not Gym Leader-level, why would Teacher send out Nidorino?
Is Teacher really so confident that he plans to battle Gym Leader-level Pokémon with an Ace-level?
Yet Guo Yi smiled and said,
"Isn't it easy for an Ace-level Pokémon to step into Gym Leader-level?"
Right now, Nidorino indeed hadn't reached Gym Leader-level, but he wasn't far from it either.
Since Su Qingxue's Beedrill and Nidoqueen had both entered the Ace-level tier recently,
Guo Yi's Nidorino naturally benefited from training alongside them.
Currently, it had already reached Lv49.
With the [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone] he had previously received as a system reward, stepping into Gym Leader-level would be effortless for Nidorino.
Su Qingxue understood immediately, but Hu Yan'er beside her was utterly baffled.
"Teacher Bai, why did Teacher Guo say it's easy for an Ace-level Pokémon to reach Gym Leader-level?"
"My Pikachu hasn't even broken into Ace-level yet. Is it because of talent?" Hu Yan'er asked Bai Cai, thoroughly puzzled.
As for why she asked Bai Cai—
Naturally, it was because of Bai Cai's identity as a teacher!
Wasn't answering questions precisely a teacher's job?
Glancing toward Guo Yi, Bai Cai smiled slightly and answered,
"It should have something to do with evolutionary stones. Don't forget, your Teacher Guo even gifted away a [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone] as a congratulatory present."
"Since he himself has Pokémon needing [Moon Stones], do you really think he wouldn't keep one for himself?"
"It's just…"
Seeing Bai Cai hesitate, Hu Yan'er quickly prompted, "Just what?"
Bai Cai paused briefly before continuing,
"It's just… [Perfect-Grade Moon Stones] are incredibly rare."
"Even large families usually only have one. If Teacher Guo still has another one, it'd truly be scary."
"Scary?"
Hu Yan'er didn't seem bothered at all, and retorted casually,
"Teacher, isn't Teacher Guo scary enough already?"
Bai Cai instantly froze!
Thinking about it again, Hu Yan'er had a point.
Everything happening around Guo Yi lately—wasn't each event frightening enough?
From this angle, Guo Yi taking out another [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone] didn't seem impossible.
Guo Yi stood facing the trio of teachers.
Students on both sides served as an audience, gathered around excitedly.
"Who do you think will win?"
"That goes without saying! Definitely Teacher Guo! He has an Elite Four-level Pokémon after all."
"I don't think so. This battle restricts Pokémon to Gym Leader-level, instantly chopping Teacher Guo's biggest advantage."
"I agree. Plus, Teacher Cai and the others each specialize in certain Pokémon types. In a drawn-out battle, I think they have a better chance."
"True! I overheard Su Qingxue talking earlier—apparently Teacher Guo doesn't have many Gym Leader-level Pokémon…"
…
For freshmen, battles between teachers were incredibly attractive.
Students continued sharing their opinions excitedly.
"So, who's going first?" Guo Yi asked lightly.
"Ah, well…"
The three teachers exchanged glances, hesitating.
At this moment, none of them wanted to go first, as the first to battle would clearly be at a disadvantage.
Though Cai Guan and the others were cooperating temporarily, each secretly still hoped to defeat Guo Yi themselves.
Naturally, they each wished to preserve their advantage by battling later.
Seeing none of them stepping forward, Guo Yi directly pointed at Cai Guan.
"No need to complicate things."
"Teacher Cai, you first."
Being directly called out by name, Cai Guan had no choice but to accept.
He stepped onto the battlefield.
"Pidgeot!"
At Cai Guan's command, Pidgeot descended from the sky and landed majestically in front of him.
Though Pidgeot had clashed briefly earlier with He Yongsen's Arcanine, that short encounter hadn't affected it much.
For such a crucial battle, Cai Guan naturally pinned his hopes on his ace Pokémon.
As Pidgeot appeared, Guo Yi took out his Poké Ball and released his Pokémon.
"It's Nidorino—still Ace-level!"
Upon seeing Nidorino, Cai Guan was overjoyed.
Just as they'd guessed:
Guo Yi really didn't have a Gym Leader-level Pokémon ready.
Thus, Cai Guan hurriedly declared,
"Teacher Guo, according to our rules, since your Pokémon isn't Gym Leader-level, I automatically win this battle."
Just to be safe, Cai Guan didn't even consider battling the Ace-level Nidorino to secure victory.
Instead, he directly chose to use the rules to win.
Why?
Simply because he was afraid!
Yes, afraid.
Afraid that under Guo Yi's command, this Ace-level Nidorino could somehow defeat his Pidgeot.
After all, in Pokémon battles, the Pokémon's own strength was just one factor; a trainer's strategic command was also crucial.
Upsetting a stronger Pokémon with a weaker one wasn't common, but it certainly happened.
Just to be safe, Cai Guan's choice of a rule-based victory was undoubtedly the safest route.
The students watching, especially those who had chosen Cai Guan's class, immediately felt ashamed.
Had Guo Yi released an over-leveled Pokémon, they'd understand and even applaud Cai Guan's use of rules.
But now…
Facing an Ace-level Nidorino, he still relied on rules—that was just shameless!
Some students had already decided not to choose his class next month.
But Cai Guan didn't care.
Winning was everything.
Once victorious, he could spend a little money online, hire some trolls, and raise his popularity overnight.
However—did he really think he could win by rules alone?
That depended on Guo Yi's agreement.
From his pocket, Guo Yi slowly took out a pitch-black evolutionary stone, smiling faintly as he spoke,
"Teacher Cai, since you insist on facing a Gym Leader-level opponent…"
"Then let me elevate Nidorino to Gym Leader-level right now."
"Catch, Nidorino!"
With that, Guo Yi tossed the [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone] toward Nidorino.
"Nido!"
Nidorino leaped into the air and caught the [Moon Stone] firmly between his teeth.
Bzzzt!
A dazzling evolutionary light instantly enveloped Nidorino completely.
Evolution alone wasn't shocking,
but what made Cai Guan's heart pound wildly was the rapidly increasing aura emanating from within the radiant glow.
Boom!
The newly evolved Nidoking landed heavily on the ground, his massive figure like an ancient beast. The entire battlefield trembled beneath him!
"Nido—!"
A majestic, thunderous roar echoed continuously through the gymnasium.
"Gym Leader-level!"
Feeling the aura radiating from Nidoking, Cai Guan couldn't help but shout in astonishment:
"Was that [Moon Stone] just now...Perfect-Grade?"
Apart from a [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone], no other evolutionary stone could catapult a Nidoking directly to Gym Leader-level in one go.
"What's wrong?"
"It's only a [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone]. Is there really any need to make such a fuss?" Guo Yi lightly chuckled.
His tone suggested that something like a [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone] was practically worthless.
Although, to Guo Yi, [Perfect-Grade Evolutionary Stones] indeed weren't much.
As long as he had enough [Mentor Points], no matter how many stones you wanted, he could redeem them.
However—
To everyone else, Guo Yi's casual comment was the pinnacle of showing off.
Nothing special?
Maybe to you it's nothing special!
If you really have so many [Perfect-Grade Evolutionary Stones], why not just generously hand them out to others!
Teachers and students alike were silently screaming this in their hearts.
However—people like Su Qingxue remained rather calm.
After all, Guo Yi had previously gifted her a [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone] as a congratulatory gift.
Taking out another one now…made sense.
Right!
Totally reasonable.
After Nidoking finished evolving, Guo Yi casually tossed him a [Life Orb].
A [Sheer Force] Nidoking naturally couldn't do without the [Life Orb] to complement it.
"Teacher Cai, can we battle now?" Guo Yi reminded lightly, looking at Cai Guan, who still seemed slightly dazed.
"Ah!"
Cai Guan quickly snapped back to reality, hurriedly replying:
"Yes, we can begin."
And thus, the Pokémon battle between the two officially commenced.