At that moment, Tetsu started mocking, "Didn't you just say you wouldn't lose? Now look at you, you lost. Doesn't your face hurt?" He said this while slapping his own cheek.
The crowd around them immediately burst into laughter, and the green-haired boy's face turned red.
No one could tell if it was out of shame or anger. One of his lackeys quickly whispered, "Boss, let's just go. Otherwise, we'll be a joke."
The green-haired boy snapped, "A joke? I'd like to see who dares to laugh at me!"
He then took three Poké Balls from his pocket and released the Pokémon inside.
"Come out, Golbat, Arbok, Ariados!"
In an instant, three intimidating Pokémon appeared. The green-haired boy then barked at his lackeys, "You guys too! Hurry up and send yours out!"
His lackeys quickly released their Pokémon, and in no time, there were more than ten Pokémon on the field.
The group of Pokémon stared menacingly at Eichi and the others, and the crowd of onlookers backed away, forming a large circle.
Eichi shouted, "What are you trying to do? You lose a battle, then get mad and try to gang up on us?"
"Come out, Scyther!"
Seeing Eichi send out another Pokémon, Tetsu, Hirota, and the other three, including the classmate who had warned Eichi, quickly sent out their own Pokémon as well.
Now, there were also more than ten Pokémon on their side, though their group's overall presence was clearly weaker.
They were outnumbered and outclassed; the other side consisted of third-year students whose Pokémon were superior in both number and level.
The green-haired boy shouted, "Attack! Beat them up, hard!"
Just as he was ordering his group to attack…
A voice rose from the crowd, "Who's bullying our first-year students?"
Two students pushed through the crowd, and Eichi immediately recognized the boy in front; it was Sato.
Sato took two Poké Balls from his belt. "Go, Electabuzz, Charmeleon!"
Three other students followed behind him, each releasing their own Pokémon.
Several more Pokémon appeared on the field, and suddenly, Eichi's side had the numerical advantage.
As the two sides faced off, Sato and his group joined Eichi, saying loudly, "I was passing by and heard that some upperclassmen were bullying first-years."
Eichi glanced at Sato in gratitude. Things were now on the verge of escalating into a group battle.
The atmosphere was tense. Even with so many students watching, the place was eerily quiet.
Just as the green-haired boy was about to give his Pokémon the order to attack, an angry shout cut through the silence.
"Enough! Everyone, stop right there!"
All eyes turned toward the source of the voice. The crowd parted to make way for a man; it was Teacher Rondo.
Several other teachers followed behind him, including some Eichi recognized. Among them was Teacher Joylin.
Teacher Joylin quickly hurried over to Eichi's group, while Teacher Rondo stood in the middle and bellowed, "You little brats, all of you, put your Pokémon away right now!"
The green-haired boy immediately looked frightened. The moment Teacher Rondo shouted, he told his lackeys to recall their Pokémon and quickly did the same himself; all traces of arrogance were gone from his face.
Teacher Joylin then said, "Alright, you all put your Pokémon away as well."
Eichi took out his Poké Balls, recalled his two Pokémon, and said to his classmates, "Everyone, recall yours too."
Once everyone had returned their Pokémon, Teacher Rondo pointed at both sides and said, "All of you, follow me to Director Yanagi's office."
Before leaving, Eichi said to Teacher Joylin, "Teacher Joylin, Amin's Poliwag and Tetsu's Miltank are badly injured. Please take care of them."
Teacher Joylin nodded seriously. "No problem, leave it to me."
Amin and Tetsu handed over their injured Pokémon to Teacher Joylin. Hirota's Pokémon were hurt as well.
Then everyone, including Sato and his group, followed Teacher Rondo to Director Yanagi's office.
Director Yanagi's office was on the fourth floor of the second building of the Battle Major Department.
Because there were so many students in that department, one building wasn't enough—so there were five in total.
After walking for several minutes, they reached the second building's fifth floor and entered the office.
Teacher Rondo had them stand in rows before the desk.
Since there were quite a few of them, they stood in two lines. Even so, the division between the two sides was clear: the green-haired boy's group stood together, and Eichi's group stood together, separated by a small gap.
The office was silent. None of the teachers, including Teacher Rondo, spoke. Everyone was waiting for Director Yanagi.
After a while, Director Yanagi arrived. After entering, Teacher Rondo gave a brief report of what had happened.
While listening, Director Yanagi occasionally glanced toward Eichi's group.
When the report ended, Director Yanagi sat down behind his desk, took a sip of tea, and said, "Alright, who's going to tell me what happened? Don't you all know that battles are forbidden on the athletic field?"
Amin looked around nervously. Eichi noticed and encouraged him, "Don't be afraid. Just tell the truth."
Encouraged, Amin stepped forward and explained what had happened.
…
Amin concluded, "…That's everything. Class Representative Eichi already said we'd let it go, but they kept pushing, so we had no choice but to fight."
Director Yanagi turned to the green-haired boy. "Is that true, Fujigoro?"
Fujigoro said, "They injured my Houndoom first."
Amin shot back, "We already apologized!"
Director Yanagi said, "Alright, enough. I understand what happened now.
Both sides are at fault. The school rules clearly forbid Pokémon battles on the athletic field. So, except for Sato and the other three, everyone else will copy the school regulations ten times and lose 30 credits each.
And that's not all. Fujigoro, your case is worse. Someone accidentally hurt your Pokémon, and you responded by seriously injuring theirs. That's your fault, especially since you struck first.
You're supposed to be upperclassmen. Are you proud of bullying juniors just because you're older?"
"You will each receive a major demerit and lose 100 credits. And you, Fujigoro, will lose 500 credits. Don't think I don't know what you were planning.
If this happens again, you'll be expelled!"
Director Yanagi's scolding was harsh and relentless.
Fujigoro didn't argue back. He just stood there quietly, accepting the reprimand.