Chapter 21: A Ridiculous Match
The next day early in the morning, Lu Li took Tropius to school.
The effect of the Spirit Beauty Pill was too strong; even by the next morning, Wailmer had not fully digested the Spirit Beauty Pill.
Just as he entered the school doorway, Lu Li saw a group of people crowding around a bulletin board.
“Make way in front, I still don’t know who my opponent is.”
“Haha! It’s actually Liu Jingbin, he has Weedle, I have Pidgey, I just happen to counter him!”
“The one in front, who told you Pidgey counters Weedle?”
“Don’t you know Weedle is double weak to Flying?”
Lu Li also relied on his physical fitness to squeeze to the front of the crowd.
After finding his name in the chart, Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief.
Today’s match was clearly carefully prepared by the school, and his greatest worry of facing Jin Huang in the opening round did not happen.
Lu Li wasn’t afraid of not being able to beat Jin Huang; Jin Huang’s strength could steadily rank second at First High School, and it wouldn’t be good if he eliminated him early.
The match start time was nine o’clock, the location was inside the school’s gymnasium, the preliminaries had eight fields, and the end time was noon at 12 o’clock.
In the Pokémon World, the two most important landmarks of a middle school are the library and the gymnasium.
The school’s teaching building can be small, but the gymnasium absolutely cannot be; after all, the annual high school rating is judged by how many students enter Pokémon University.
First High School Principal’s Office.
The already 50-year-old principal looked respectfully at the middle-aged man in front of him and said in a slightly flattering tone, “I really didn’t expect Lord you would come to Qingfeng City.”
Yu Zhonggang smiled and explained, “I heard your school produced a little genius, so I came to take a look.”
Mentioning Lu Li, the principal’s mouth corners slightly curved up, and he said with a hint of pride, “You’re talking about Lu Li, right? He is indeed the strongest genius Qingfeng City has seen in a century.”
For others, Lu Li might just be an ordinary genius, but for him as the principal of First High School, this was a political achievement!
Lu Li entering Jiuzhou Alliance University was a matter of time.
Pokémon Alliance University refers to Kyushu University and Alliance University; both schools rank in the top ten universities in the Pokémon World.
Yu Zhonggang smiled noncommittally.
The principal carefully probed, “Gym Leader, did you come here to take Lu Li as a Gym Apprentice?”
Yu Zhonggang shook his head with a smile on his face: “Qingyun Gym can’t accommodate this great Buddha; I came to form some good karma.”
Hearing this, the principal finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, Lu Li was a prime candidate for Jiuzhou Alliance University; Qingyun Gym was not bad, but it was still a bit lacking.
“Gym Leader, do you want to go watch the match now? By the timing, the match should have started.” The principal asked carefully.
“No need, I’ll watch the afternoon finals.” Yu Zhonggang shook his head.
First High School this year’s trainers added up to only over 100, and they were all novices; Yu Zhonggang had no interest in rookies pecking at each other.
Inside the gymnasium.
Lu Li finally met his opponent.
The opponent was a student from the neighboring class, with a starter Pokémon Caterpie.
The battle result was obvious; the Caterpie that hadn’t even entered Growth Stage was instantly defeated by Tropius.
“The school’s arrangement is really unscientific; most of the Pokémon in the hands of the school’s rookie trainers are still in Novice Stage—what’s there to watch in such a match?” Lu Li thought somewhat speechlessly.
The youth opposite looked at his Caterpie being one-shot by Tropius, first stunned for a moment, then sighed in relief.
“Once my Caterpie evolves into Butterfree, your Tropius definitely won’t be my opponent.” After throwing down those harsh words, the person recalled Caterpie with a face full of unwillingness and left the gymnasium angrily.
Seeing this scene, Lu Li sighed.
The opponent’s post-battle handling was very poor; just from this, it was clear that person was not suited to be a trainer.
Losing a match isn’t scary, but after losing, instead of comforting your Pokémon to rebuild its confidence, you recall it and leave—this really doesn’t fear leaving childhood trauma in the Pokémon.
Books have repeatedly mentioned many such things, but some students always overlook this point.
Pokémon are companions, that’s true, but newborn stage Pokémon are just children.
Pokémon at this stage need coaxing, just like coaxing a child.
As a Junior Breeder, Lu Li had always paid special attention to Pokémon mentality issues; compared to humans, Pokémon are more prone to psychological problems.
Because Pokémon are more innocent than humans, in their worldview, judging the good or bad of a matter is often very straightforward.
After one-shotting the opponent, Tropius raised its head high, looking like “I performed so well, come praise me quickly.”
“Tropius, you did great! But don’t get too proud; the later opponents will be stronger.” Lu Li first encouraged Tropius, then gave it a little reminder.
The first battle result was good, not only building Tropius’s confidence but also making Tropius fully accept battle.
Tropius is a relatively mild Pokémon; even wild Tropius aren’t keen on battle—this is Tropius’s nature.
Lu Li had always worried that Tropius’s racial nature would affect its battle enthusiasm, but today it seemed his previous worry was unnecessary.
Looking at the high-spirited Tropius that looked like it could take on ten, Lu Li couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, then recalled the Tropius on the field with a Poké Ball.
After entering Growth Stage, Tropius learned Razor Leaf; Tropius had just one-shot Caterpie with its not very proficient Razor Leaf.
A Novice Stage Caterpie’s speed was such that even a grass seedling turtle would shake its head; even if Tropius wasn’t very proficient with Razor Leaf, it still hit Caterpie.
The school selected the top fifty in just one morning.
After eating lunch in the school cafeteria, Lu Li returned to the class; just as he entered, he heard Jin Huang boasting about his battle record inside.
“You guys didn’t see it, my Corphish directly tanked the neighboring Caterpie’s String Shot and one-shot it.”
“And my second match, that dumbass actually naively tried to Tackle with my Corphish—he knows nothing about the value of a steel tank!”
Hearing this, Lu Li curiously asked, “What Pokémon did your second match opponent use?”
“Pidgey!”
Lu Li: “…”
“Then your win was way too deserved!” Lu Li sincerely remarked.
Having Pidgey compete with Corphish in Tackle? What kind of iron-headed boy is that?
Lu Li curiously asked, “Why didn’t he have Pidgey not use claw?”
Jin Huang said proudly, “I asked; that unlucky kid’s Pidgey only knows two skills, Sand Attack and Tackle. That Pidgey’s Sand Attack damage was even weaker than scraping.”
Lu Li suddenly understood why that Pidgey trainer made such an obvious mistake; he initially thought the guy didn’t know how, but now it seemed he had no choice.
