Chapter 119: Those who want to fight line up


    The Trainer Academy boasted more than 1,000 battlegrounds of varying sizes. Each ss typically had two or three battlegrounds designated for their use, with different terrains and setups for training purposes.


    The special ss, being the most privileged group within the academy, had ess to ten battlegrounds, including bothrge 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,e 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 ss''s battleground was.


    Shen shot him a sharp look. "You made such a bold deration back in ss, 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 ssmates—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 ss".


    The battlefield was the size of a football field, a neutral environment without any elemental bonuses, a perfect nk te for any type of battle.


    Julian took his ce at one end of the field, his expression calm andposed.


    Across the field, however, the six students who had earlier challenged him looked at each other, Finally one of them, a boy wearing sses, 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 publicpetitions, 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 sses, Tyler, was flushed with anger.


    Julian''s words felt like a tant 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 uing 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 sh of light, a silver Metagross floated into the air, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon whose mere presencemanded respect.


    The metallic beast hovered effortlessly, its cold eyes focused on the opponent.


    Tyler also threw out his Poké Ball, revealing a towering ziken, 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 ept Julian as the monitor and was the first to challenge him.


    "ziken, use methrower!"


    ziken darted forward with astonishing speed, crossing the battlefield in a blur. As it neared Metagross, it unleashed a searing column of mes.


    "Steel Beam," Julian said, his voice calm.


    Metagross''s eyes shed, and in an instant, a brilliant beam of silver light shot forth, cutting through the air.


    The Steel Beam collided with ziken''s methrower, but the mes were no match for Metagross''s power. The beam sliced through the fire and struck ziken head-on.


    The explosion that followed sent ziken flying across the battlefield, crashing to the ground at the far end.


    "ziken is unable to battle. Metagross wins!"


    Frank announced, ncing at Julian with newfound respect.


    ziken was defeated in a single move. ziken, who was known for its speed, didn''t even have time to dodge.@@novelbin@@


    Tyler stood frozen, disbelief etched across his face. His ziken had been taken down with a single move, and he hadn''t even seen iting.


    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 y.


    "Next," Julian said, his voice cutting through the stunned silence.


    Tyler recalled his ziken, 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 earlierments about Tyler, he didn''t truly look down on him—there were no weaklings in the special ss.


    The fact that Tyler''s ziken 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''smand 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.