The seventh member of Modu Academy stepped onto the field, his face pale and devoid of fighting spirit, as if he had already accepted defeat.
His Pokémon was a Haxorus, at the peak of pseudo-Elite level.
In terms of appearance, Haxorus was a fierd stylish Dragon-type Pokémon, rivaling Garp in terms of raw visual intimidation. Just a gnce was enough to give the impression that it wasn't to be trifled with.
If you looked at Dragonite, however, without knowing it seudo-legendary, you'd probably think it was just a big, goofy sweetheart.
Dragonite was the Pokémon world's poster child for the "ho face."
"Roar!"
It seemed Haxorus had no idea what happeo the six trainers before it.
Opening with a taunt, Haxorus challenged Metagross with a loud roar.
Metagross responded with a bination of Teleport and Bullet Punch.
In an instant, Metagross appeared to Haxorus's left, its Bullet Punbsp;slig through the air. Haxorus felt as though its face had been run over by a truck.
From the audience's perspective, Haxorus had barely roared wheagross teleported and nded a devastating Bullet Punch, sending the Dragon flying.
The attack didn't knock out Haxorus immediately, though. After being flung a hundred meters, it smmed its arms into the ground to halt its rolling momentum.
"Haxorus, e!"
Metagross's sudden "sneak attack" had clearly infuriated Haxorus. Its faow pletely numb, burned with rage, igniting as the energy of e surged within it.
Its eyes turned blood-red, and waves of inteeam-like heat radiated from its body.
Uhe effects of e, Haxorus's anger overwhelmed its reason, momentarily pushing its power close to Elite-level strength.
Still, the power boost from e was nowhere near parable to Mega Evolution.
"Dragon Rush!"
"Giga Impact!"
"Boom!!"
The two moves collided in an explosive csh that shattered nearly half the battlefield. The shockwaves pounded against the protective barrier, sending tremors through the entire arena.
"Haxorus is uo battle. Metagross wins!"
The seventh trainer from Modu Academy had beeed.
Without hesitation, the trainer recalled Haxorus, his urgency to leave written in his hurried movements. He dashed off the stage without even looking back.
'Dyn will defeat him!'
Meanwhile, in Luis's vil at Imperial Uy, several of Julian's friends—Hugo, Yanis, Ian, Shen, Walter and Dalton—were gathered, watg the match.
"That's seven in a row. Brother Walker truly lives up to his reputation!"
"Boss Julian is absolutely incredible. I won't be able to take on even one of them!"
"If it were me as the eighth oppo, I'd just surrender on the spot. We all know how it's going to end anyway."
Luis and Dalton exged smug grins as they shamelessly tio hype up Julian.
The rest of the group refrained from further ents, their remaining sense of shame holding them back.
"The eighth trainer from Modu Academy should be their captain, right?" Hugo said, idly twirling a sharp knife in his hand.
Having grown up in the wild fights, Hugo always carried a kh him. He spun it frequently—not just for practice, but also to show off in front of the others.
"Yeah, his name's Dyn Drake. He peted st year when he was in his third year of uy. I remember watg his match back then—I was still in my senior year of high school," Walter replied.
"Ian, isn't he from your family?" Walter asked with a curious look on his face.
Modu Academy had strong ties to the Drake family. Most of their family members chose to attend that academy, making someone like Ian, who opted for Imperial Uy, a rarity.
Ian's expression turned slightly sour, but he nodded.
"He's very strong. Julian may not necessarily be able to beat him," Ian said.
The others weren't surprised to hear this. After all, anyone who could be the captain of a team like Modu Academy' was bound to be strong.
Still, the tone in Ian's voice hihat something had happened between him and Dyn.
"You've got that 'love-hate retionship' look on your face. Did Dyn do something to you?"
Luis, who possessed Aura abilities, though still at a beginner level, picked up on Iaional fluctuations when he mentioned Dyn.
Ian didn't answer, his gaze fixed on the s instead.
Sensing Ian's reluce, Luis tactfully dropped the subject.
Annoying Ian wasn't worth the trouble, even if curiosity was gnawing at him.
---
At the arena:
Julian looked at Dyn standing on the opposite side, who was also looking at him.
There was no dramatic exge of gnces or internal monologues—just a brief, ral aowledgment of each other's presence.
If Julian had any thoughts, it was the observation that Dyn was surprisingly handsome. His sharp yet posed features gave him an air of nobility and strength.
"Samence"
Julian's calm expression faltered slightly as he looked up to see Sameh it's blood-red wings h in midair.
Ae-level Pokémon. It made no effort to hide the oppressive aura radiating from it.
Pokémon: Samence (Dragon/Flying)
Level: 71
Potential: Blue
Ability: Intimidate
Held Item: Dragon Fang
Gender: Male
Moves: Dragon Tail, Bite, ch, Dragoh, Headbutt, Scary Face, Dragon Cw, Zen Headbutt, Focus Energy, Fmethrower, e
TMs: Breaking Swipes, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Protect, Steel Wing, Air Ssh, Earthquake, Brick Break, Dragon Pulse, Shadow Cw, Helping Hands, Heat Wave
Geic Moves: Dragon Rush, Hydro Pump, Twister, Draeteor, Dragon Dance
---
Not only was it ae Pokémon, but its potential was also Blue.
The revetion that Dyn, a 4th-year student, had ae Pokémon, immediately caused a stir among the audience as Samence's information appeared on the big s of the venue.
'Elite!-Ae-level Pokémon!'
If most trainers viewed reag the pseudo-Elite level as the pinnacle of their capabilities, then the Elite rank was a distant, almost mythical goal—ohey might dream about but rarely attain.
The prestige of the title alone was enough to inspire tless traio dedicate their lives to achieving it.
In Drakoria, the number istered trainers exceeded 300 hundred million. Among them, nearly one hundred milliohe title of professional trainers. Yet, only about 500 trainers across the entire try had mao reach the Elite level.
Every Elite Trainer, even a beginner-level would be treated with high regard wherever they went.
The requirements to bee ae-level trainer were naturally very harsh. Just owning a Pokémon with -tier potential was a hurdle that eliminated 99% of trainers from ever having the ce.
For Dyn, a 21-year-old uy senior, to have achieved this feat at such a young age was nothing short of extraordinary.
For Pokémon, advang from level 70 (pseudo-Elite peak) to level 71 (Elite-level) was sidered a moal leap.
Even for a Pokémon with -tier potential, this progression could take anywhere from 3–4 years to as long as 7–10 years, or even decades.
These years were spent painstakingly accumuting energy.
As reag the Elite level was akin to a caterpilr emerging from its co as a butterfly. The transformation required an immense amount of stored energy.
While trainers could i substantial resources to accelerate this process, the kind of resources capable ing the gap between pseudo-Elite ae level were both rare and exorbitantly expensive.
