"Hoo!"
Looking at the Gym Leader-level Nidoking standing opposite him, Cai Guan took a deep breath, repeatedly cheering himself on internally.
Cai Guan, believe in yourself!
The opponent only just broke through to Gym Leader-level. He absolutely won't be your match.
You can do it!
A few seconds later, Cai Guan's eyes were once again lit with the shine called "confidence," thanks to this mental pep-talk.
"Pidgeot, [Air Slash]!"
With air superiority in hand, Cai Guan immediately chose a long-range battle of attrition.
"Bee-joo!"
Sensing the determination in its trainer's heart, Pidgeot's gaze sharpened dramatically.
With a powerful flap of its broad wings, seven or eight razor-sharp air blades visibly tore through space, racing toward Nidoking.
The [Air Slash] this time—though in terms of number, was roughly the same as when confronting Su Qingxue previously—was incomparable in power.
After all—earlier, Cai Guan had been angered by Su Qingxue and the others' actions, but they were still just students—and students with exceptional talent at that. He'd only wanted to teach them a lesson back then.
He wouldn't dare truly inflict heavy injuries upon their Pokémon.
But now was different.
Right now, his dignity and his future were at stake. Pidgeot would naturally go all-out.
"Nidoking, [Dig]!"
At the very instant Pidgeot launched its attack, Guo Yi had already reacted.
Although the Ground-type move [Dig] couldn't harm the airborne Pidgeot directly,
it was exceptionally convenient for dodging.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With the repeated sounds of [Air Slash] blasting into the earth, Nidoking smoothly dove underground, dodging every strike.
"Pidgeot, ascend!"
To prevent Nidoking's surprise attack, Cai Guan commanded Pidgeot to soar higher into the air once again, gazing downward from above, closely observing every movement on the ground.
"Nidoking, [Stone Edge]!"
Seeing no opportunity for a sneak attack, Guo Yi simply had Nidoking resurface, launching a frontal assault instead.
"Nido!"
The moment Nidoking re-emerged from underground, its powerful forelegs stomped heavily upon the ground.
Instantly—the entire battlefield trembled violently.
Then—
Several sharp, dazzling white stones materialized, circling around Nidoking before swiftly shooting toward Pidgeot.
Seeing this, Cai Guan's expression grew exceedingly serious.
[Stone Edge] was a Rock-type move with a terrifying base power of 100.
Not only was its damage immense, more importantly, Rock moves possessed type advantage against Flying-types.
If Pidgeot took a direct hit from this move, defeat wouldn't be far away.
"Pidgeot, [Agility]!"
"Show them your aerial mobility!"
"Bee-joo!"
Facing the relentless incoming stones, Pidgeot concentrated harder than ever before.
Though its body was sizable, it maneuvered like a small, nimble swallow, darting elegantly between narrow gaps amid the dense barrage of stones.
This extraordinary performance created a breathtaking visual spectacle for all the spectators.
Standing to the side, Fu Hong couldn't help but excitedly clap his hands, praising loudly:
"Excellent, Teacher Cai! Just keep stalling him exactly like this."
Indeed, earlier when Guo Yi had evolved Nidorino using that [Perfect-Grade Moon Stone]—
resulting in an instant Gym Leader-level Pokémon—this unexpected development initially threw them off.
But simultaneously, it revealed one important detail:
Guo Yi clearly didn't have many Gym Leader-level Pokémon at hand—perhaps this Nidoking was his only one.
Otherwise, if Guo Yi had another Pokémon ready, why go through such lengths?
Thus, the longer Pidgeot stalled Nidoking, the greater their chances of victory in subsequent battles.
Cai Guan had also noticed this, and from the start, he never intended for Pidgeot to clash directly with Nidoking.
Although he was reluctant, effectively setting up victory for Fu Hong and Shen Yongfeng, they were ultimately allies.
As long as they won, everything else could be overlooked.
However—to think they could rely purely on air superiority to stall Nidoking—that could only mean they severely underestimated Guo Yi.
At that moment, Guo Yi raised his head and locked onto Pidgeot, activating his [Data Eye].
From that instant onward, every movement of Pidgeot was completely under his control.
Right there.
Guo Yi's eyes sharpened, and he shouted decisively to Nidoking, "Nidoking, [Thunderbolt]! Nine o'clock position, straight ahead!"
"Nido!"
Hearing Guo Yi's command, Nidoking opened his jaws without the slightest hesitation.
Terrifying lightning energy rapidly gathered in his mouth, then surged forth violently toward the nine o'clock direction.
"Nine o'clock? Pidgeot isn't even there!"
"Could Teacher Guo have some deeper intention…?"
As the students murmured uncertainly about Guo Yi's odd command—
"Bee-joo!"
The next second, a piercing cry of pain from Pidgeot echoed through the air.
No one knew how, but Pidgeot inexplicably appeared precisely at the nine o'clock position,
flying straight into the [Thunderbolt] as if it were a moth charging headfirst into fire.
Directly struck by the [Thunderbolt], Pidgeot was instantly roasted, feathers scorched black,
plummeting down from the sky like burnt charcoal.
Guo Yi seized this moment without mercy:
"Nidoking, [Poison Jab]!"
"Nido!"
Nidoking immediately charged forward, his heavy feet shaking the earth with each powerful stride, rapidly closing in on Pidgeot's landing spot.
Meanwhile, his raised right fist glowed with sinister purple light, dense Poison-type energy gathering intensely.
Spotting the perfect moment—Nidoking leaped up ferociously, landing a devastating punch directly onto the falling Pidgeot.
The immense force smashed Pidgeot brutally into the wall of the gymnasium.
"Teacher Cai, you've lost."
Before everyone even fully processed the rapid succession of moves just now, Guo Yi had already calmly announced the result.
The students watching stood slack-jawed, eyes filled with utter disbelief.
They'd never imagined—
The Pidgeot that initially held aerial advantage, even seeming slightly superior—within mere seconds had been defeated in a flash.
"So this is the commanding skill and battlefield insight of an Elite Four-level trainer…?" a senior student muttered quietly to himself.
In the battle just now, anyone with sharp eyes could see clearly: that single [Thunderbolt] had completely turned the tide.
But—seeing clearly was one thing. Actually pulling it off was an entirely different matter.
To accurately foresee Pidgeot's position in the very next second, despite its tremendous speed, striking so perfectly that even Pidgeot itself couldn't react in time—such skill wasn't something anyone could casually achieve.
After seeing Guo Yi's precise maneuvering, no one dared doubt anymore that Ninetales had truly been trained by him personally.
"I lost…" Cai Guan sighed, crestfallen, recalling Pidgeot into its Poké Ball.
He hadn't expected—he couldn't even last a few minutes.
This realization deeply frustrated Cai Guan.
But when he returned to Fu Hong and Shen Yongfeng's side, he still mustered his spirit and reminded them seriously:
"Be careful. He's very strong!"
The two nodded solemnly.
From the earlier battle, they'd already realized the enormous gap between their commanding abilities and Guo Yi's.
Their only remaining hope was now the advantage of attrition through successive battles.
"I'll go next!" Shen Yongfeng volunteered.
This time, under immense external pressure, none of them dared play little tricks anymore.
Right now, they could only hope to combine the strength of all three to defeat Guo Yi.
As a Grass-type specialist, Shen Yongfeng had only one goal for this battle:
Stalling!
Grass-type Pokémon were famously skilled in battles of attrition, after all.
[Leech Seed], [Synthesis], [Sleep Powder]—
All were essential moves for exhausting opponents.
"Teacher Guo, your next opponent is me!"
Shen Yongfeng shouted toward Guo Yi and immediately tossed out a Poké Ball.
"Come out, Venusaur!"
"Da-na!"
Accompanied by a heavy, dull growl, a huge frog Pokémon carrying an enormous flower on its back appeared before everyone.
[Venusaur (Grass/Poison)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv59 (Gym Leader-level)]
[Ability: Overgrow]
[Moves: Petal Dance, Synthesis, Leech Seed, Sleep Powder (Commonly used)]
[Tutor Move: Sludge Bomb]
[Egg Move: Ingrain]
[Held Item: Miracle Seed (Gym Leader-level)]
[Potential: Pseudo–Elite Four]
Venusaur was a four-legged reptilian Pokémon with ears on both sides of its head, their inner sides red, and large, orange-red eyes.
The flower bud on its back had fully bloomed into a giant flower, composed of six trapezoidal red petals and a yellow crown-shaped stamen, supported by a thick, palm tree-like stalk.
Whether a Venusaur was well-trained or not could be judged at a glance by the quality of its blooming flower.
And as Shen Yongfeng's ace Pokémon, the Venusaur before them was naturally well-cultivated.
When Shen Yongfeng saw Guo Yi showed no intention of switching Pokémon, he became even more certain of their earlier guess.
Looks like Guo Yi really only has one Gym Leader-level Pokémon.
"If that's the case..."
Glancing at Nidoking, Shen Yongfeng decisively commanded his Venusaur:
"Venusaur, [Ingrain]!"
"Da-na!"
Several thick roots immediately extended out from Venusaur's giant flower, burrowing deeply into the earth and continuously absorbing nutrients from the ground.
[Ingrain]: Pokémon takes root, gradually restoring HP over time.
If Shen Yongfeng were facing a Fire-type Pokémon, he definitely wouldn't dare use [Ingrain].
Although Ingrain could continuously restore Venusaur's health, it also severely restricted its mobility, turning it into a living target.
If facing a Pokémon with type advantage, the health restored from Ingrain would never keep up with incoming damage.
But Nidoking was different.
In Shen Yongfeng's mind, a Nidoking—Ground and Poison-type—couldn't possibly inflict significant damage on Venusaur.
As long as he combined Ingrain with moves like [Leech Seed] and [Synthesis], even if he lost in the end, he'd still ensure Nidoking would be exhausted to less than ten percent of its strength.
He would undoubtedly make an enormous contribution toward their final victory.
Sigh.
In the end, the glory will still fall into Fatty's hands.
Thinking that far, Shen Yongfeng sighed helplessly to himself.
If possible, he'd naturally prefer defeating Nidoking himself, boosting his own reputation again.
Unfortunately!
Reality simply wouldn't allow it!
To be safe, Shen Yongfeng could only choose the most conservative method.
Such tactics might not guarantee victory, but at least they ensured he wouldn't easily lose.
However, when Guo Yi saw Venusaur use [Ingrain], his face revealed a strange, almost mocking expression, as if he were looking at a clown performing.
At that moment, Su Qingxue—standing on the side—coldly chuckled:
"This time, Teacher will end the battle even faster."
As someone who owned a Nidoqueen, Su Qingxue was extremely clear on how many moves a Nidoking could master.
[Ice Beam], [Flamethrower]—even her own Nidoqueen had learned both moves.
She absolutely didn't believe her teacher wouldn't teach them to Nidoking.
And so—the instant Shen Yongfeng ordered Venusaur to use [Ingrain], the result of this battle had already been decided.