Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

What exactly is that move?

Chu Si now wished she could rush to the other side of the battlefield immediately to ask this question.

She forced herself to calm down; she had already embarrassed herself enough, and she couldn't let the school team lose face any more.

"Swamp Monster, rain!" It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost.

“Swamp—” A deep blue light shimmered in the gray dust.

The next second, dark clouds filled the sky above the battlefield, followed by a torrential downpour.

The sandstorm in the center of the field was also washed away by the rain, revealing the figures of two elves.

The exhausted-looking but determined Garchomp stood facing off against the furious and imposing Swampert.

Chu Si felt a little guilty. She knew that the usually strong-willed Swampert was extremely angry at this moment, even more so than if it had lost a normal match.

They were repeatedly outmaneuvered by opponents far inferior to themselves, without gaining even the slightest advantage.

And all of this was a mistake made because of his own arrogance as a trainer.

She took a deep breath: "Swamp Monster, use all your power! Water Split!"

"Swamp—" Swampert roared, its entire body brimming with deep blue water, as it charged wildly toward Garchomp.

The rain was still falling on the battlefield, and the large raindrops pounded on the Swampert's body, further agitating the violent water energy flowing across its surface.

Xia Shen looked at the swamp monster, which was charging forward with great momentum, and knew that digging a hole or protecting it was useless. At most, it could only buy them a little more time.

He shook his head with regret, lamenting that the gap in raw strength was simply too great...

However, even in defeat, one should lose in a spectacular way!

"Garuda, respond with our strongest power!"

"Roar—" Dark green, frenzied energy shone on Garchomp's claws.

He gazed intently at the swamp monster that was charging towards him, a monster far superior to himself in every way.

......

No, at least my will is no less than yours!

He raised his claws and fearlessly charged forward.

In the heavy rain, dark green and deep blue blend together.

It felt like crashing into a mountain or falling into the deep sea.

The Garchomp's claws dissolved into the seemingly vibrant water the instant they touched the Swampert.

"Bang—" Swampert, like a heavily armored chariot moving at full speed, mercilessly crushed the Garchomp that tried to stop it.

------

"Alright, let's end this!" Coach Zhang's voice was devoid of emotion; he had stopped the match, as continuing would be pointless.

The two players on the field remained silent, neither a winner nor losers.

The sidelines were also completely silent.

The school team members, who had been drawn there at some point, looked at the exhausted Garchomp and his trainer, Xia Shen, with complicated expressions.

Everyone was waiting for Coach Zhang to speak.

"Your name is Xia Shen, right?" Coach Zhang suddenly asked in the tense atmosphere.

Xia Shen grinned, "That's right, Coach Zhang, Xia Shen from [一晴方觉夏深]."

Coach Zhang gave him a meaningful look and said, "You played very well. Come report to the school team tomorrow at noon."

He then waved for his guest to leave, saying, "Take your Garchomp to the infirmary now."

Looking sympathetically at Chu Si, who had remained silent until now, Xia Shen already foresaw what would happen here after he left.

I can only apologize; what can I do? I need a certificate to join the school team.

Silently apologizing to her senior, Xia Shen followed Teacher Ye out of the training hall.

…………

"Good lad, I didn't know you had this kind of ability!"

As soon as they left the training hall, Teacher Ye reverted to his usual carefree self, excitedly patting Xia Shen on the shoulder.

"Basic operation..." Xia Shen feigned modesty.

"That was so satisfying! Finally, we got to see Coach Zhang, who usually ignores everyone, get his comeuppance." Perhaps still caught up in the excitement, Teacher Ye spoke a bit without thinking.

Xia Shen asked curiously, "What, do you have a grudge against him?"

"No, that's not it. He was already the school team coach when I was still studying here," Teacher Ye said with a touch of nostalgia. "It's been almost ten years already..."

Xia Shen was surprised, "Oh, so you're not thirty years old yet, teacher?"

Teacher Ye turned her head, her eyes shining with kindness, and smiled slightly, "Would you like to try Afu's Golden Hook Arm?"

"Just kidding!" Xia Shen quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Please continue."

Teacher Ye rolled her eyes at him and got back to the point: "Originally, he was also a very promising professional trainer. At the age of thirty, he was already at the level of a professional sixth dan."

Looking at Xia Shen's dismissive expression, she said irritably, "Do you think everyone is like that prodigy Yan Yu, who can become a master-level trainer at the age of twenty-seven?"

"Someone like your teacher, who has achieved a professional third-dan at the age of twenty-seven, is already quite remarkable, isn't he?" Teacher Ye's tone was quite proud.

"Teacher, you've gone off-topic again..." Xia Shen kindly reminded him.

"Oh, speaking of Coach Zhang, he was promoted to professional sixth dan at the young age of thirty, but for some reason he came to our school as the school team coach, which caused quite a stir in the professional circle at the time..." Teacher Ye said with emotion.

"What's next?" Xia Shen asked.

"Next? There's no next, and then we've just kept doing it until now, haven't we?" Teacher Ye said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, there's no more below..."

(Thank you Changqing and the big boss for the donations, it's too much! Red bean paste, arigato!)

Seeking investment and continued reading~)

## Chapter 53 Garchomp's Combat Talent

The following day at noon, the school was on the battlefield.

Xia Shen stood beside Coach Zhang, calmly facing the various scrutinizing gazes of the school team members.

"This is our second team's new substitute, Xia Shen. He's a year younger than you all, so please take care of him in the future."

Like throwing a stone into a calm lake, the whispers below grew louder and louder.

Although many people watched the match yesterday, no one expected that Swampert, one of the school team's main singles players, would be facing a rookie trainer who had only been in the industry for a few months.

As a result, most people looked at Xia Shen with increasingly strange eyes, while a few others glanced at the usually energetic but silent girl with complicated expressions.

"Alright, you can go back to the team now. Just find a spot in the second row." After a brief introduction, Coach Zhang told Xia to go back to the team.

After Xia Shen stood at the end of the line, Coach Zhang continued, "Because we've recently added a few new players, let's talk about our goals for this semester again today."

"The most important thing is undoubtedly the National High School Pokémon Battle Tournament to be held next April. But before that, we need to qualify for the finals."

The veteran team members listened casually to these familiar topics, while the new team members, including Xia Shen, listened attentively.

Coach Zhang continued, "Jiangnan Province has three spots in the finals. Although we have almost never missed one, we still cannot let our guard down."

"The Affiliated High School of Zhida University, the Affiliated High School of Ocean University, and Yancheng High School are all quite strong overall, especially with the emergence of several outstanding new talents. You should have a deep impression of them, Wang Yiyi, right?"

The girl at the head of the row nodded solemnly.

"The Jiangnan Province competition will begin during the winter break of this semester, so our training schedule will be very heavy during this period. Please be mentally prepared. Okay, everyone, you can all go home now."

The crowd dispersed, and Xia Shen silently observed his teammates.

The five people who had just been standing in the first row gathered together, chatting in twos and threes, while warming up with the elves before training.

Every now and then, someone would sneak a glance at him.

The seven or eight people in the second row were more scattered and looked more relaxed, clearly not feeling that what Coach Zhang had just said had much to do with them.

……

Xia Shen ran to a deserted open space, intending to start training.

He didn't take the National Elf Battle Tournament seriously.

At its current growth rate, it's not exactly wishful thinking for Garchomp to surpass the Swampert from yesterday by April next year, but it's certainly a pipe dream.

His purpose in joining the school team was simply to find opponents who could put pressure on him.

Although the pressure from the main Pokémon of the first team might be too great...

…………

"Garuda, are you ready?" Xia Shen shouted to Garuda not far away.

"Ow~"

"Little bear, let's go!"

"Miya!" The bear cub in front of her nodded seriously, trying to put on a fierce expression on its cute face, but it only made it look even more adorable.

This training match was special, as it was an internal battle between Xia Shen's two Pokémon.

After battling that Swampert yesterday, he had the idea of ​​cultivating the Pokémon's independent fighting spirit.

While command is an important communication bridge between trainers and Pokémon during battles, it is not always applicable in certain situations.

For example, if you want to catch your opponent off guard, you can't just shout it out, right?

Such loud, secret plotting is so conspicuous that it's hard for the opponent not to notice unless they're deaf.

Today is the first training session for Garchomp to fight independently.

After the bear cub underwent a bodybuilding boost to close the gap in strength between the two, the battle officially began.

……

Knowing that the cubs lacked ranged attacks, Garchomp charged straight at them without any maneuvering.