The moment Blue saw Dragonair, she knew the outcome.

  "I still lost, huh?"

  She felt a slight twinge of frustration, but she accepted the result.

  If it weren’t for sheer luck—having [Metronome] pull off [Dragon Rush]—this battle would have ended much sooner.

  "Oooh~"

  The victorious Dragonair nded beside August, affectionately rubbing its head against him. It wanted to coil around his shoulders like before, but its evolved form was now too rge for that.

  "You did great!"

  August grinned as he patted Dragonair’s head. Compared to when it was a Dratini, its texture had changed—less soft, but with a pleasant esticity.

  Retracting Clefairy into its Poké Ball, Blue looked at August. "I lost two battles in a row. Does that mean my skills are pretty low?"

  Since there were still spectators around, she refrained from mentioning that this was part of her International Police evaluation.

  August shook his head. "No, quite the opposite. I think you have a lot of potential."

  Blue was puzzled.

  August expined, "For starters, my Dragonair’s level was already higher than your Pokémon’s. The fact that you held your ground against a stronger opponent is impressive in itself."

  His Dratini had been absorbing the energy of a Dragon Crystal every day, causing its level to skyrocket—it had evolved in just half a month.

  Meanwhile, Blue’s Clefairy was freshly caught. Even though it evolved into Clefable with a Moon Stone, its level was still too low. Compared to that, her Jigglypuff, which had a higher level, performed much better.

  "More importantly, from our battles, I could tell that you understand combat strategy."

  "Combat strategy?" Blue repeated the phrase, mulling it over.

  "That’s right. You don’t just use moves mechanically—you take advantage of your Pokémon’s unique traits and have already started forming your own battle style."

  That might sound simple, but in reality, it was extremely difficult to achieve.

  There were hundreds of thousands of registered Trainers in the Kanto region, but most of them only memorized type matchups and used moves rigidly. Very few ever developed their own distinct battle style.

  August himself had only honed his style after dealing with thousands of poachers during his career as a Ranger—an experience that also helped him train his Gardevoir to an Elite Four-level powerhouse.

  Hearing August’s words, not only was Blue deep in thought, but the surrounding spectators also seemed to be reflecting on his insights.

  Perhaps the battle they had just witnessed wasn’t particurly high-level in terms of technique, but August’s perspective was something none of their professors had ever taught them before.

  Among them were two Trainers who had participated in the Nidorino vs. Gengar match August had previously watched. It was now clear that they had only been using moves rigidly—his words had given them a new direction for growth.

  Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted:

  "Professor, I want to learn battling from you!"

  That instantly snapped everyone back to reality. Right—this was Training Ground No. 2, a field specifically reserved for professors.

  Which meant… the person they had just watched battle was actually a professor at Cedon University?

  In an instant, the entire training ground erupted in excitement. The students eagerly called out for August’s name and asked when he would start teaching.

  August hadn’t expected that merely offering Blue a few words of encouragement would ignite such enthusiasm among the students.

  And just at that moment, the system's voice chimed in again.

  [On your first day as a professor, you and your assistant delivered an excellent battle demonstration during your break, earning the admiration of the students. Title unlocked: ‘An Unconventional After-Css Lesson’!]

  [Please select your reward:]

  [1. Quick Cw][2. Amulet Coin][3. Exp. Share]

  As the system notification appeared, August stifled the urge to roll his eyes at the ridiculous title. Instead of selecting his reward immediately, he turned to the eager students watching him with shining eyes.

  "Alright, settle down, everyone. I’m August, an intern lecturer at Cedon University. As for when I’ll be teaching, that’s up to the Academic Affairs Office. Keep an eye on their announcements."

  With that, he swiftly shifted the responsibility onto the Academic Affairs Office.

  Being admired was nice and all, but he had bigger priorities—like dealing with Team Rocket and saving Kanto.

  Teach csses?

  Maybe after Team Rocket was taken care of.

  Using Gardevoir’s [Teleport], August and Blue finally managed to slip away from the overly enthusiastic students.

  Word of the commotion soon reached the university’s principal, who chuckled to himself. "As expected of someone recommended by Professor Oak."

  But for now, none of that mattered to August.

  After returning to the hotel, taking a hot shower, and lounging on the sofa in his room, he idly toyed with the [Amulet Coin] in his hands.

  Among the three rewards, he had ultimately chosen the [Amulet Coin].

  Not for any profound reason—mainly because he had already seen [Quick Cw] in the League’s item warehouse and could buy it at a discount if he wanted to.

  As for the [Exp. Share]? He already owned one.

  Compared to the other two, the [Amulet Coin] was something he hadn’t encountered in the League’s inventory before. That curiosity was enough to make him choose it.

  The coin gleamed brilliantly under the light. Though it had some horizontal ridges, its surface was unexpectedly smooth to the touch.

  The texture reminded August of the coins on the foreheads of wild Meowth in the Safari Zone.

  Come to think of it… it looked like a Meowth’s coin, felt like a Meowth’s coin—could it actually be a Meowth’s coin?!

  The thought fshed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head.

  Whether it was or not, he had no way of knowing—and frankly, he wasn’t interested in finding out.

  "But what exactly does this thing do?"

  August held the [Amulet Coin] by its cord and dangled it in front of his face.

  In the games, carrying this item doubled prize money earned from battles.

  But in reality, there were only two possibilities for that effect to work:

  One, it had the ability to magically generate money out of thin air whenever he won a battle.

  Two, it had some kind of hypnotic ability, like a Hypno’s pendulum—after a battle, it could subtly influence the defeated Trainer into willingly handing over twice their usual prize money.

  "...Both of those sound completely ridiculous."

  August found both theories highly unlikely.

  Since he couldn’t figure it out for now, he decided not to dwell on it. He simply looped the coin around his neck.

  Even if it was just a trinket, wearing it as a good luck charm wouldn’t hurt.

  Afterward, he dialed Lance’s number. After a few short rings, the call connected.

  "What’s up?" On the other end, Lance’s tone was noticeably upbeat.

  Apparently, the Rocket Grunts August had helped capture at Mt. Moon had finally coughed up some valuable intel. Using that information, the League had recently scored significant victories against Team Rocket.

  As expected, recruiting August into the International Police had been one of Lance’s best decisions in a long time!