The Trainer Academy boasted more than 1,000 battlegrounds of varying sizes. Each class typically had two or three battlegrounds designated for their use, with different terrains and setups for training purposes.
The special class, being the most privileged group within the academy, had access to ten battlegrounds, including both large arenas and specialized terrain fields.
Julian led the way confidently, but halfway through, he slowed his pace. He intended to wait for Shen to catch up, but to his surprise, she had already fallen behind, engrossed in conversation with a new friend. The two seemed to be hitting it off.
"Cough-Shen, come here!" Julian called, coughing lightly to catch her attention.
"What is it?" Shen asked.
"Uh... which way is the battlefield?"
Julian's sudden question clearly embarrassed him. He had been striding forward confidently, but halfway there, it dawned on him that he had no idea where their class's battleground was.
Shen shot him a sharp look. "You made such a bold declaration back in class, ready for a fight, but now you don't even know where the battlefield is?"
Julian gave a sheepish grin. "Yeah, well..."
Shen sighed, "Just keep walking straight. You'll see it."
Fortunately, Julian hadn't taken a wrong turn. If he had wandered off in the wrong direction in front of his classmates—and more importantly, their teacher—it would've been hard to live down.
After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a standard battle arena. A sign beside it read: "2022 Special Class".
The battlefield was the size of a football field, a neutral environment without any elemental bonuses, a perfect blank slate for any type of battle.
Julian took his place at one end of the field, his expression calm and composed.
Across the field, however, the six students who had earlier challenged him looked at each other, Finally one of them, a boy wearing glasses, stepped forward.
"I'll go first," the boy said.
The head teacher, Frank, who had followed them to the battlefield, stepped forward as the referee. "Would you like to activate the protective shield? It costs 100 credits per match."
The protective shield was a barrier system that ensured trainers wouldn't be harmed by the aftermath of their Pokémon's moves.
In public competitions, it was always used to protect both trainers and spectators from the powerful moves unleashed during battles.
Julian waved it off. "No need. This won't take long."
His casual dismissal sent a ripple of murmurs through the crowd. The boy with glasses, Tyler, was flushed with anger.
Julian's words felt like a blatant challenge, implying he wasn't even worth the time it took to activate the shield.
"Your friend sure talks big," murmured a girl next to Shen. "Tyler is the individual champion of the Central South Provincial High School League, just like your friend Julian."
Shen simply smiled, "You'll see soon enough."
Hearing Shen say this, Kate was also curious about how strong Julian really was, and looked forward to the upcoming match.
Frank raised his hand to signal the start of the match. "One Pokémon to decide the winner. Agreed?"
There were six people who challenged Julian. If each of them fought with two or more Pokémon, it would undoubtedly take a lot of time.
Julian nodded. "Agreed."
Tyler also nodded, though his face was set in a determined scowl.
Julian didn't hesitate.
He released his Pokémon, and in a flash of light, a silver Metagross floated into the air, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon whose mere presence commanded respect.
The metallic beast hovered effortlessly, its cold eyes focused on the opponent.
Tyler also threw out his Poké Ball, revealing a towering Blaziken, a powerful Fire-type known for its speed and devastating fire-based attacks.
Tyler was a fire type trainer, fire was super-effective against steel, which was one of the reasons why he refused to accept Julian as the monitor and was the first to challenge him.
"Blaziken, use Flamethrower!"
Blaziken darted forward with astonishing speed, crossing the battlefield in a blur. As it neared Metagross, it unleashed a searing column of flames.
"Steel Beam," Julian said, his voice calm.
Metagross's eyes flashed, and in an instant, a brilliant beam of silver light shot forth, cutting through the air.
The Steel Beam collided with Blaziken's Flamethrower, but the flames were no match for Metagross's power. The beam sliced through the fire and struck Blaziken head-on.
The explosion that followed sent Blaziken flying across the battlefield, crashing to the ground at the far end.
"Blaziken is unable to battle. Metagross wins!"
Frank announced, glancing at Julian with newfound respect.
Blaziken was defeated in a single move. Blaziken, who was known for its speed, didn't even have time to dodge.
Tyler stood frozen, disbelief etched across his face. His Blaziken had been taken down with a single move, and he hadn't even seen it coming.
The other students watching were equally shocked. If they hadn't know Tyler was a high school league champion, just like Julian, they would have believed this match to just be a play.
"Next," Julian said, his voice cutting through the stunned silence.
Tyler recalled his Blaziken, his face pale. He had nothing left to say as he walked off the battlefield in defeat.
The remaining five challengers hesitated now. The ease with which Julian had dispatched Tyler had shaken their confidence.
"That high school league title means nothing. What a joke," sneered one of the remaining challengers as he stepped forward.
Tyler heard him but didn't say anything, Afterall he did lose the fight.
"Yanis, he scored highest in the national college entrance examination, and I heard his father is an Elite Trainer," Kate whispered to Shen, her excitement rising.
"Walrein, let's go!"
The other trainer was an Ice-type specialist. Seeing the level 58 Walrein, Julian became slightly interested; after all, it had a cyan aptitude.
Yanis stared intensely at Metagross. Despite his earlier comments about Tyler, he didn't truly look down on him—there were no weaklings in the special class.
The fact that Tyler's Blaziken had been instantly defeated by Metagross only demonstrated how powerful and fearsome Julian's Pokémon was.
Even though Metagross didn't exude a pseudo-Elite aura, its strength was undeniably at that level.
"Walrein, Surf!"
Yanis, unlike Tyler, was more strategic. Surf didn't just target Metagross—it also aimed to overwhelm Julian with its enormous wave.
A massive surge of water formed across the entire battlefield, with Walrein riding atop it, guiding the wave towards Metagross.
"Interesting... let's see how they handle this," murmured the head teacher Frank.
This arena didn't have a protective shield, so even if Metagross managed to break through the Surf attack, the momentum would carry the leftover water straight towards Julian.
For Metagross, this was no issue. But Julian? Being hit by such a massive wave would likely leave him drenched and disoriented.
"Metagross, Psychic."
Julian's command was simple. As Metagross' eyes gleamed blue, the immense wave came to a sudden stop under the control of Psychic.
The Surf attack, which weighed dozens of tons, and carried incredible force, was frozen mid-motion.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister