As Professor Kant finished speaking, Director Yanagi remained silent for a while before muttering, "It seems I was overthinking it. Given Eichi's current situation, he won't attract their attention."
Professor Kant downed the tea in his cup and said, "That's more like it. You didn't look like a Director at all just now! Anyway, I'm heading back. I have a lot to handle. Thanks for the fine tea."
Diao Kato sat down opposite a youth with his meal tray. When the boy saw him, he asked in surprise, "Senior Kato, you're here for dinner too?"
"Long time no see, Junior Oda," Diao Kato said with a smile. "How have you been lately?"
"Very well," Oda replied gratefully. "I feel like I've improved a lot. I haven't even thanked you properly for your guidance yet."
Diao Kato waved it off. "Don't mention it. It was just a small favor. When I was in my second year, I had seniors guiding my studies too. It's perfectly normal, so don't feel like you owe me."
Diao Kato began to eat. After a while, when they were both nearly finished, he suddenly asked, "By the way, I have something I wanted to ask."
"What is it? Go ahead, Senior," Oda said.
"Are you familiar with the people in your year? Do you know a student named Eichi?" Diao Kato asked.
Oda frowned. "Eichi..."
"I'm sorry, Senior. I know most of the students in my year, but there is definitely no one named Eichi." Oda felt a bit embarrassed; his senior had just helped him, yet he was powerless to help in return.
Diao Kato was completely baffled. That's not right. With Eichi's strength, he should be very famous in his year.
"What about the first-years?" Diao Kato asked again. "Aren't you very familiar with the first-year students?"
Oda thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, there's no Eichi among the first-years either."
This left Diao Kato even more confused. When he chatted with Eichi, Eichi never specified which grade he was in. They had always assumed he was a second-year. Now, it turned out he wasn't a second-year, nor was he even a first-year.
Then where on earth is he from?
Suddenly, Oda's brow furrowed. "But the name Eichi sounds so familiar. I think I've heard it somewhere." Oda looked up sharply, his eyes lighting up. "I remember where I heard it!"
"Hurry up and tell me," Diao Kato urged.
"I heard it from a teacher," Oda explained. "This year's entrance exam was the hardest in history. Those who could get 90 points in previous years could only get 80 this time. But despite that difficulty, three people still scored 99. There was one for each of the three majors. And that Eichi is from the Battle Major."
Oda finished and looked at Diao Kato's expression. Diao Kato was now completely stunned.
"Senior? Are you okay?" Oda asked.
"Eichi is actually from the Battle Major..." Diao Kato muttered to himself. He didn't even know what to say. Eichi! Oh, Eichi! You really are...
Finally, life could settle down. Having been away for the past two months, Eichi felt almost like a stranger to his classmates. He enjoyed a few rare days of leisurely campus life, but he noticed that his and Tetsu's lives had somewhat flipped. Before, he was always the busy one while Tetsu lived a relaxed life. Recently, Tetsu had been working very hard. In fact, most of the other students were working hard too.
This was because the Two-Academy Exchange Match was fast approaching. It was now March 7th, only one month away from the match. Furthermore, it was the end of the semester, and exams were coming up. Most students had begun studying diligently.
However, the students participating in the Two-Academy Exchange Match wouldn't have a holiday. The academy planned to send all three grades out for training to gain more combat experience. Each person could only take one week of leave to go home, leaving nearly a month for field trials.
Knowing this, Eichi didn't plan to continue being a "salted fish." It was time for proper training.
In the woods outside the academy, a Pokémon darted out like a bolt of yellow lightning. Ordinary people couldn't even see its shadow; stronger ones might catch a glimpse of an afterimage. A red figure followed closely behind, and the two collided.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The air whipped up into fierce gusts from the impact of the two Pokémon, sending dust flying everywhere. Suddenly, the sound of clashing metal rang out. As the steel pincers, glowing with a metallic luster, collided with the twin stingers, sparks flew. To a normal person, only afterimages and sparks appearing out of thin air were visible.
Eichi stood on a tree, his eyes glowing with a faint blue light, while Heracross lay on a branch nearby, sleeping. Eichi nodded as he watched the two Pokémon battle.
Both Beedrill and Scizor were now Elite rank, but Beedrill had entered the Elite rank earlier. Its level, converted to game terms, was roughly Level 45, while Scizor was Level 43.
Once a Pokémon entered the Elite rank, the speed of leveling up dropped drastically. Even after several months, Beedrill had only grown by 5 levels. This was the result of Eichi daily infusing it with Bug Force and providing the highest quality Pokémon food and Pokéblocks. He even gave it massages every night. If growth was this slow under such conditions, one could imagine how much slower it was for other Pokémon.
It wasn't just the leveling speed; move cultivation had also slowed to a crawl. This was especially true after several moves had reached the Mastery or Peak levels. Making other moves reach Peak was even more difficult. So far, aside from a few moves moving from Skilled to Mastery, most remained unchanged. Scizor was in a similar boat, though it still had a period where it could improve relatively quickly.
Suddenly, the two figures revealed themselves. It was Beedrill and Scizor. Black silk ribbons were tied over their eyes; they had been fighting entirely by sensory perception just now.
Beedrill crossed its stingers as electrical arcs surged across its body, slowly covering it entirely. Scizor's body hummed with visible energy fluctuations as it continuously gathered power in its mouth.
As if by silent agreement, they released their moves at the same time.
A thick bolt of compressed electricity was unleashed, while a pillar of flame erupted from Scizor's mouth. The fire and lightning collided, refusing to give an inch. The intense energy fluctuations immediately disrupted the two Pokémon's sensory perception. Knowing they hadn't won yet, they could only increase their output. The two different energies continuously clashed and repelled each other, with neither side gaining the upper hand. Finally reaching the limit, the two energies became entangled and caused a massive explosion.