Dawn broke like a sharp sword, slicing through the silent veil of night and ushering in the morning sun.
Guo Yi had no idea about Jin Yu's arrival.
In fact, he wasn't even clear about the Flying Eagle Gang's current situation.
Ever since that decisive battle with Lie Ke, Guo Yi hadn't bothered asking about the situation between the Azure Dragon Society and the Flying Eagle Gang.
He'd simply told Ye Qing that if a powerful enemy appeared, she could send someone to inform him.
But up until now, Ye Qing hadn't sent anyone.
Most likely, absorbing the Flying Eagle Gang hadn't met with any real resistance.
The only thing that left Guo Yi slightly disappointed was that old geezer Lie Ke, who'd seemingly vanished without a trace after their battle.
Guo Yi had been waiting, fully expecting some follow-up assault.
I was just overthinking it.
...
Today—perhaps because of He Yongsen's upcoming battle against Su Qingxue—Tang Ming had especially invited Guo Yi to sit on the VIP stand.
This time, Guo Yi didn't refuse the request.
After all—Tang Ming had shown him plenty of kindness recently.
Though largely due to Guo Yi's own abilities and background—this small request wasn't something Guo Yi would ignore.
...
"Principal, Director Tang, good morning!"
When Guo Yi arrived at the VIP stand of the stadium, the principal, Tang Ming, and others were already seated.
Guo Yi politely nodded and greeted them.
"Teacher Guo, it's been a while. You've grown even more handsome," the principal said cheerfully.
"You flatter me, Principal. When it comes to youthfulness, you're still unmatched," Guo Yi replied politely.
After exchanging some pleasantries, Guo Yi took his seat.
At the same time—the sixteen competitors who'd advanced emerged through the contestant passageway, taking their positions on the field.
With only sixteen remaining...
The matches shifted from multiple simultaneous battles yesterday to sequential matches today.
The first contestants weren't Guo Yi's disciples but other students instead.
With the referee's call of "Begin!"
Both contestants confidently threw out their Poké Balls, releasing their Pokémon.
"A Veteran-tier Jumpluff and a Veteran-tier Linoone—these are the strongest Pokémon of both competitors."
"It seems they're both aiming to seize the initiative right from the start!"
Those who made it into the top sixteen were undoubtedly the school's future elites.
As the director, Tang Ming naturally had detailed information on every contestant.
"Teacher Guo, between these two Pokémon, which one do you think has the better chance?"
Beside him, the principal smiled, looking at Guo Yi and waiting to hear his opinion.
Guo Yi didn't immediately reply. Instead, he activated his Data Eye to observe the two Pokémon.
[Jumpluff (Grass/Flying)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv38 (Veteran Tier)]
[Ability: Chlorophyll]
[...]
[Linoone (Normal)]
[Gender: ♀]
[Level: Lv36 (Veteran Tier)]
[Ability: Quick Feet]
[...]
In terms of level, Jumpluff held the advantage.
But in a Pokémon battle, victory wasn't determined solely by level.
Weather, Pokémon condition, the trainer's commands—these would all shape the final outcome.
Even Guo Yi couldn't give an immediate answer on who would ultimately win.
He raised his head, glancing at the sky.
Today's bright sunshine was the ideal condition for activating Chlorophyll.
After brief consideration, Guo Yi shared his thoughts.
"Jumpluff will dominate early on, but unless it can quickly turn that advantage into a decisive lead, Linoone might win in the end."
Right now, boosted by Chlorophyll—Jumpluff had an absolute speed advantage.
As long as it capitalized fully on this strength, Jumpluff's odds were quite good.
However, that didn't mean Linoone had no room for a counterattack.
Everyone knew facing Grass-type Pokémon, you had to watch out for various powder attacks:
Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and so forth.
If one landed, your Pokémon would fall into a difficult situation.
But thanks to Linoone's Quick Feet ability, unless hit by Sleep Powder, it still had a chance to unleash a powerful counterattack.
Besides its advantageous ability, there was also type resistance.
Considering Jumpluff's known move pool, it would have difficulty dealing significant damage to Linoone.
But Linoone was different—as a Normal-type Pokémon, its trainer had clearly cultivated a diverse move pool.
And this particular Linoone happened to know Ice Beam.
If it seized the right opportunity to hit Jumpluff with that—the battle would shift dramatically!
But Tang Ming, hearing Guo Yi's analysis, held a different view.
Though he lacked Guo Yi's Data Eye, able to instantly gauge both Pokémon—he still had the school's detailed data on them.
Between these two Pokémon, he clearly knew who was stronger and weaker.
Tang Ming raised an eyebrow.
"Teacher Guo, I believe this match will undoubtedly go to Jumpluff."
"With sunny weather boosting Chlorophyll, plus its higher level, I honestly can't see how Jumpluff could lose."
Guo Yi gave a faint smile. "Oh? Well, let's wait and see then."
Afterwards, everyone attentively watched this first match of the round of sixteen.
And the battle situation unfolded exactly as Guo Yi predicted.
Right from the start—Jumpluff seized the initiative, leveraging its speed and aerial control to dominate the rhythm completely.
But...
After multiple attacks, Jumpluff failed to convert that dominance into a clear path to victory.
Although, to the audience, Linoone seemed to be at a severe disadvantage…
But Jumpluff's trainer clearly had a more impulsive and fiery personality.
Once Jumpluff took the lead, he focused single-mindedly on aggressively finishing the battle.
Yet he failed to notice—as the pace of attacks kept accelerating, Jumpluff began exposing more and more weaknesses.
Compared to him, Linoone's trainer was much calmer.
He gave fewer commands, but each was crucial for Linoone.
This stabilized the situation; even though Linoone was at a disadvantage, things hadn't completely collapsed.
The battle between these two trainers felt like watching Ash and Paul: one impulsive, one calm.
However...
Not everyone could become Ash.
If you don't have Ash's ridiculous luck, you shouldn't copy Ash's reckless tactics.
At this moment—the sunny sky suddenly dimmed.
A flash crossed Guo Yi's eyes.
Here's the opportunity!
A passing cloud had drifted in, blocking the glaring sunlight.
With Sunny Day suddenly gone—Jumpluff's speed abruptly faltered in midair!
Linoone's trainer displayed impressive timing and seized the chance for a counterattack.
"Now, Linoone! [Ice Beam]!"
Exactly as Guo Yi expected.
A Linoone equipped with Ice Beam had the ability to completely overturn the battle.
Even though it had been suppressed from the start, Jumpluff—with its quadruple Ice weakness—couldn't possibly endure such an attack.
Just one Ice Beam hit, and Jumpluff instantly fell, unable to battle.
"Jumpluff is unable to battle!"
As the referee announced this, the leaders on the VIP stand showed expressions of astonishment.
When Jumpluff held the advantage earlier, they had briefly thought Guo Yi's prediction would fail this time.
Who could've imagined that one passing cloud would completely reverse the situation for Linoone?
However...
Everyone also knew clearly that the cloud only provided Linoone an opening.
What truly changed the outcome was Linoone's Ice Beam.
"Teacher Guo, how did you know Linoone had mastered Ice Beam?"
Tang Ming's face was filled with confusion.
After all—Ice Beam hadn't even appeared in that student's official record.
Clearly—this was a secret trump card!
How had Guo Yi figured it out?
Guo Yi answered calmly, "Just a guess."
Other than this reason, he couldn't exactly say he possessed an eye that saw through every Pokémon's secrets!
Seeing Guo Yi unwilling to elaborate further, Tang Ming didn't press the matter.
He assumed Guo Yi must have learned some secret skills from his own teacher.
Besides, just looking at Guo Yi's Nidoking was enough to see how skilled he was at training and mastering moves.
Figuring out Linoone had Ice Beam wasn't too surprising after all.
Back on the battlefield—with Jumpluff defeated, the rest of the match became straightforward.
The following Pidgeotto also fell to a single Ice Beam from Linoone, losing its fighting ability on the spot.
During the next few battles, Tang Ming didn't give up.
He repeatedly compared judgments of the battle situation with Guo Yi.
However...
Whenever their opinions differed—Tang Ming always ended up being wrong.
After a few rounds of this Tang Ming was completely convinced.
"Teacher Guo, your observational skills are even sharper and more accurate than the records I have!"
Every time victory seemed certain, some hidden trump card from a student would completely reverse the battle.
Yet none of these hidden moves were recorded in the student files.
Luckily, Guo Yi was on their side.
Otherwise Tang Ming would've suspected the school's records had leaked.
Guo Yi smiled. "Director Tang, don't worry too much. I just happen to have studied these Pokémon a little."
"A little"?
But the problem was—those seven or eight Pokémon each had completely different types.
Could this really be described as just "a little" knowledge?
His casual remark made everyone again realize just how deep Guo Yi's Pokémon knowledge ran.
"Next, contestants Su Qingxue and He Yongsen, please enter the battlefield and prepare for your match."
At that moment the stadium's broadcast finally announced the two names everyone had been waiting for.
The battle between Guo Yi's own disciples...
Who knew how many students and teachers had eagerly awaited this showdown…