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Noon.
The new match schedule was announced.
Li Xiang was participating in the revival round, so naturally, the number of competitors had increased.
"Wow, I finally get to face someone from the regular class," he muttered as he flipped through the information about his opponent, a student from Class 7.
After fighting for so long without encountering a single regular class student, he had assumed they had all been eliminated.
Unexpectedly, some had managed to hold on.
The name was... Quartz?
???
Could there really be such a coincidence? The Quartz Conference? The Quartz Plateau?
Li Xiang was stunned. When he shifted his gaze to the Pokémon his opponent used, he was even more surprised.
It was a Nidoking, covered in sharp spikes, with a dark purple body, a milky white belly, large ears, and a long tail. It looked extremely fierce!
To have evolved into a Nidoking at just level 24?
Li Xiang blinked, confirming that the level was indeed 24, and began strategizing how to deal with it.
As mentioned before, Torracat was a must for this match, so winning would depend on the specific stats of the opponent's Nidoking.
Ability—Rivalry.
Who still uses that ability these days?
Li Xiang didn't understand. Rivalry... wasn't that just being submissive towards the opposite gender and aggressive towards the same gender?
The move power increasing or decreasing based on gender seemed ridiculous.
Reading further—
Alright.
No need to keep reading, this match is in the bag.
A physically-oriented Nidoking, with the only special move being Confusion, clearly a Pokémon still in its baby phase, lacking many useful or powerful moves.
The only threatening attacks were Drill Run and Aqua Tail, both melee moves.
Li Xiang put down the information and rubbed his temples.
At first glance, evolving Nidorino into Nidoking at level 20 seemed like a loss. But in reality, Nidoking doesn't learn many useful moves just by leveling up.
It's better to evolve it early and then slowly learn moves from its move pool, enjoying the benefits of higher base stats while accumulating experience and resources.
However, this person should be somewhat skilled, so why were they in the regular class...
Probably because they only evolved their Nidoking during the winter break.
...
Afternoon.
Both competitors were in position.
A large crowd of onlookers had gathered, buzzing around outside the wire fence, chatting and waiting to see whether Li Xiang was truly skilled or just pretending.
Students from all grades—first, second, and even third-year—were present.
The main reason for such a large audience was due to Li Xiang's previous match-fixing behavior, which had been heavily promoted by a few eliminated classmates who had nothing better to do.
The news had spread across various school group chats.
Even many teachers had heard about it, discussing and joking about it in the office, teasing Sun Chengbin, the homeroom teacher.
Sun Chengbin, while chatting with his colleagues, was also curious about Li Xiang's thoughts and began considering whether to have a talk with him.
For a top student like Li Xiang, Sun had high expectations, which was why he had insisted on making him one of the Class Rep.
During the Qu Sheng incident, Sun Chenbing had also helped from behind the scenes. If Li Xiang was truly "acting," Sun believed it was necessary to correct his misguided mindset.
But if someone was threatening him... no matter whose child they were, they wouldn't be allowed to stay at the school.
In his over twenty years of teaching, Sun had expelled countless students, faced assaults, complaints, and even near-dismissals, but he had never been afraid.
On the field.
The match officially began.
Completely unaware of how much attention he was attracting, and having barely checked the group chats in the past few days, Li Xiang finally saw the Nidoking in person.
From its appearance, it was slightly taller than the usual 1.4-meter-tall dwarf Nidokings, but not by much.
At most, 1.6 meters.
Its intimidation factor towards humans had significantly decreased.
Torracat wasn't afraid either, staring at Nidoking as if it were already a dead man and a stepping stone.
It was determined to use this match to redeem its reputation from the previous battle!
Nidoking, you're doomed!
Not even Arceus can save you! There, I said it! Today, I, Torracat, will show you what it means to be the number one beneath the sky
Torracat raised its head, its expression bold and arrogant.
"Fake Out!"
"Poison Jab!"
Both commands were issued simultaneously, but the speed of execution was not on the same level.
Torracat easily took the lead, slapping its paws together from a distance!
Boom!
A white shockwave flew towards the stunned Nidoking!
Slap!
A crisp sound echoed as the shockwave hit Nidoking right between the eyes!
"Bulk Up!"
"Snap out of it, Nidoking!"
As both trainers issued their second commands, Torracat calmly began boosting itself.
Nidoking, however, was slow to react, its mind still stuck on Quartz's previous command. It roared and charged towards Torracat!
At the same time, its right arm glowed with a dark purple, pungent light!
Despite its bulky appearance, its body was extremely agile, and its speed was impressive. The twenty-meter distance was covered in just a few seconds!
However, Li Xiang remained calm and unfazed, saying:
"Bulk Up!"
Greed, greed, greed!
The opponent is attacking, and you're still boosting!?
The onlookers were somewhat shocked. The opponent's attack was coming, and instead of countering, you're just standing there buffing yourself???
Is Nidoking's punch not strong enough, or do you think it's too slow?
Too arrogant!
This guy might actually be bad, not pretending!
Many people thought to themselves.
On the field.
Torracat's eyes were fixed on the charging Nidoking, its muscles bulging and tightening, as hard as iron, with white smoke rising around its body once again!
As the smoke dissipated, Nidoking arrived in front of Torracat, looking down at it, and swung its thick right arm, slamming it into Torracat's cheek!
Thud!
A dull sound echoed as Poison Jab hit!
The force of the blow kicked up some dust!
Quartz's face lit up with hope, eagerly anticipating the poison effect, while some onlookers frowned, calling it painful to watch.
But the next second, their expressions froze.
Torracat was still standing there, its cheek pressed against Nidoking's fist. Not only had it not been knocked back, but it hadn't even tilted its head, its face filled with a wild, menacing grin!
Is this your Poison Jab? Pathetic!
No effect!
As if intimidated by Torracat's gaze, Nidoking instinctively retracted its arm and stepped back, looking at it with fear.
"Don't be afraid! Use Drill Run!"
Quartz panicked, shouting for Nidoking to continue attacking. In his mind, even after two Bulk Ups, Torracat shouldn't have taken no damage at all. There should have been at least some effect.
If they were lucky, maybe even poison...
But why!?
Torracat was completely unharmed!?
On the other side.
Li Xiang's expression mirrored Torracat's, completely unaffected by the crowd. Seeing the earth-yellow aura swirling around Nidoking's horn, he slowly uttered two words.
"End it."
Torracat's eyes lit up, its body igniting with a dark-red radiance. Its expression grew even more reckless and brazen, and just before Nidoking could lower its head and charge— It leaped!
Then, just like the one true man from The Outlaws, Ma Dong-seok, it slightly pulled back its paw—now engulfed in a blood-red glow—building up power.
~Woosh!
Thud—!!!
A thunderous impact exploded through the battlefield!
In the stunned gazes of the spectators, a hulking, purple figure was sent flying as if it had been hit head-on by a speeding train, defying gravity itself!
THUD!
Nidoking's back crashed into the chain-link fence with a deafening slam. Its massive body dented the metal, leaving it wedged within the structure—shocking the onlookers standing behind it!
This massive beast, easily weighing over a hundred kilograms, had been slapped into the wall by a mere Torracat!
"Ah..."
Quartz stood there, dumbfounded, watching as Torracat landed gracefully. The sound of the wind whistling past Nidoking's body still echoed in his ears. His expression was blank.
His Nidoking... had been sent flying by Torracat!
"BEEP—!!!"
The referee's whistle blew, signaling his official ruling—Nidoking was no longer able to battle.
The match…
Had come to an abrupt end, after two reckless Bulk Up uses, an unflinching tanking of the opponent's attack, and a single, devastating counterstrike from Torracat.
Outside the arena.
Many people were still in shock, just like Quartz, completely clueless about what had just happened. They turned to their companions, asking for an explanation.
Those who understood explained the simple truth.
Two Bulk Ups, plus a Dark-type move that grows stronger with each stat boost— Power Trip.
(Note: There was a error in the original version in this part, It said that Torracat used Swagger, but then described the move as a Dary-type move that increased in power with boosted stats, which made no sense as Swagger was a Normal type move. The only Dark type moves that made sense were Punishment and Power Trip, but given the context and Torracat's gestures and actions, I decided to go with Power Trip as being more appropriate. However if in future translations, I find that Torracat used Punishment, then I'll edit this and change the move accordingly.)
This allowed Torracat to crush Nidoking, which had only managed to use one move, with overwhelming force.
"Don't underestimate Torracat's durability," Li Xiang said, giving Quartz a pitying look.
Li Xiang gave Quartz a sympathetic glance. With two Bulk Up boosts, Intimidate, and all the PokéBlocks Torracat had eaten over time...
A non-super effective physical move against it might as well have been a light tickle.
Even with Rivalry, what could you really do?
A measly Rivalry boost—how much extra damage could that even add?
In front of him.
"Meow!!"
Torracat roared at the sky, relishing the stunned and admiring gazes of those around it.
Damn.
The feeling of showing off in front of others is this amazing!?
Is there really something more exhilarating than catnip!?
Torracat recalled the crowd's skepticism before it tanked the Poison Jab, their shocked expressions when it emerged unscathed, and the fear in the eyes of the much larger beast as it retreated!
Ahhh!!!
I'm so hyped!!!
Torracat was slowly turning into Dio, but it was quickly interrupted by its trainer.
"Alright, alright, if you overdo it this time, there won't be a next time. It's time to go."
Li Xiang's warning made Torracat slightly wary.
No next time?
No way!
I, Torracat, need to enjoy this feeling more!
"Meow!"
Torracat looked at Li Xiang seriously, tugging at his pants, urging him to return it to its PokéBall and make a quick escape.
Li Xiang was more than willing.
The classmates were too enthusiastic, and the questions were endless. If they didn't leave soon, they'd be swarmed.