"You're speechless, right? A teacher can tell at a glance that you just don't want to write that essay." Seeing that Gary had nothing to say, Dendra gave him a look that clearly said, You little brat, you actually dare to fight me.
Gary was indeed speechless, but not for the reason she thought. He had simply been curious to see Penny's strength and wanted to watch the battle unfold. If he told the truth outright, it would come across as disrespectful to everyone involved.
However, since Dendra had pushed him this far, Gary decided to be honest. "I'm sorry. At first I wanted to refuse, but when I saw I could battle one of the students here, I got curious about the strength of this school, so I went along with it."
"Really? And are you satisfied with what you saw?" Dendra asked.
"I don't know about satisfied," Gary said, "but this student's Sylveon is only around Rookie Trainer level."
"What did he just say?!"
"Penny is the class representative of our Class D! She's the strongest student here!"
"Which class is this guy even from? How dare he act so arrogant?"
The students around them were furious.
Dendra saw that Gary had stirred up public outrage and decided to hold back her own reaction, waiting to see how he would respond. In her mind, Gary was just making excuses to avoid writing the essay.
Gary sighed inwardly. He had assumed the students at Naranja Academy would be genuinely strong, but it turned out they were no different from students at other Pokémon schools across other regions—full of theory, but with almost zero practical experience.
He had thought the school's reputation was well-earned. Now it seemed a little inflated.
"I don't want to say this, but it's the truth," Gary said. "If Penny is supposedly the strongest among you, then it seems the students of Naranja Academy are simply... like this."
Gary genuinely disliked one particular type of person—those who thought they were amazing despite having no real ability to back it up.
And this group of students fit that description perfectly. They believed they were special simply because they had been accepted into a prestigious school.
Even if their pride was crushed right here on the spot, they wouldn't accept it. Only once they truly entered the world as real Trainers would they understand how naive they had been.
"Hey, you jerk, which class are you from?!"
"Tell us your name if you've got the guts!"
"He's definitely not from our Class D. Must be Class C."
"Don't talk nonsense, there's no one like that in our class."
Dendra frowned slightly at the students' confusion. The only two classes attending the battle lesson today were Class C and Class D, yet no one recognized this boy at all.
Could it be... that Gary really wasn't a student here?
Well, if that was the case, then he had brought this challenge upon himself by pretending otherwise.
"Enough arguing. Since you all want to know my name so badly, I'll be generous and tell you," Gary said with an arrogant grin. "I am the future World Champion. My name is Gary Oak."
"...World Champion? Never heard of him."
"Sounds like some third-rate Trainer trying to sound important."
"Tch. Don't get cocky just because you beat a couple of us."
Seeing Gary acting so full of himself, the students grew even more annoyed, but there was nothing they could do—deep down, they knew they couldn't beat him either.
"So you think you're strong, huh?"
Just as the students were seething, Penny stood up.
Gary looked at her cold, composed expression and nodded. "Yes. At the very least, stronger than everyone here. I'd guess even your school's strongest student wouldn't be my match."
Gary wasn't bragging. If Penny's level was considered the strongest in her class, then the upperclassmen probably weren't much better. He estimated the school's overall strongest student might reach, at best, the level of a Gym Leader.
"Then let's have another match," Penny said. "If I lose, I'll get Teacher Dendra to let you go."
"That teacher over there?" Gary looked toward Dendra in the referee's area. "Does what she says actually count?"
"Of course. If you can beat Penny, I'll let you leave," Dendra agreed.
Gary was mildly surprised that Dendra had agreed so readily. That meant Penny likely had another, much stronger Pokémon in reserve—one that Dendra believed could actually give Gary trouble.
Gary suspected that this trump card Pokémon had probably been given to Penny by her father, the Steel-type Champion, mainly for the purpose of protecting her.
"Alright, let's begin," Gary said, curious to see just what kind of Pokémon Penny was hiding—and whether it truly had Champion-level strength.
The two prepared to battle once more.
Dendra stepped in as referee again and announced, "This will be a one-on-one match. Please release your Pokémon at the same time."
"Go! My strongest partner!"
"Time to put this arrogant guy in his place!"
Both of them threw their Poké Balls.
Flash!
[Lv.59 Meowscarada ♀ / Quasi-Elite]
The Pokémon Penny sent out was indeed powerful—right at the peak of Quasi-Elite level. It was clear this Meowscarada had been given to her by her father, the Steel-type Champion.
And the Pokémon Gary sent out was—
"Kame!"
A massive, bipedal turtle Pokémon appeared. Blastoise.
[Lv.72 Blastoise ♂ / Legendary-tier]
Yes, Gary had sent out Blastoise—his very first Pokémon, and also one of his trump cards.
The contrast between the two Pokémon was immediately obvious.
What in the world is a Meowscarada compared to that?
"This Blastoise..." Dendra thought to herself, secretly stunned. Although she couldn't determine its exact level, as a battle class instructor she could tell that this Blastoise was extraordinary. Its presence was in no way inferior to Penny's Meowscarada.
"Teacher, it's time to start," Penny urged.
Dendra felt a headache coming on. She had originally assumed Penny would win without any trouble. But now, seeing Gary's Blastoise, she wasn't so sure anymore. Still, things had already gone this far—if she didn't see it through, there would be no clean resolution.
"Alright. Let the battle begin."
As soon as she finished speaking—
"Meowscarada, use Iron Head!" Penny wasted no time and attacked first.
"Meow!"
Meowscarada charged forward like a pirate swinging a blade, claws gleaming.
"Your Meowscarada isn't bad," Gary said, "but it's still far from the top. Let me show you the strength of the future World Champion."
He gave the order. "Blastoise, Aura Sphere."
"Kame!"
Bang! Bang!
Blastoise's cannons fired two Aura Spheres, blindingly fast, closing the distance to Meowscarada in an instant.
"Meow!"
Meowscarada had some knowledge of battle and immediately recognized what kind of move Aura Sphere was. Without hesitation, it swung its steel-coated claws to intercept, slashing directly into the incoming spheres.
Boom!!
But the steel claws couldn't break through. The moment they made contact, the Aura Sphere shattered the steel energy coating the claws and detonated.
Bang!!
Meowscarada was blown backward, sent flying through the air before crashing to the ground, eyes spinning in a daze.