As time passed, a week went by in the blink of an eye.
As the buses entered the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, the official start of the Inter-University Exchange Tournament of the Ironvale region was announced.
"So this is the Pokémon University of Ironvale City... no wonder it's such an old and famous university."
A student looked enviously at the campus scenery slowly passing before his eyes.
"The Pokémon University of Ironvale City is indeed very good, but our Pokémon University of Luminary City isn't far behind either. I'm already looking forward to seriously facing the members of their representative team."
Another student rubbed his hands together, clearly intending to give it his all and shine brightly.
"That's right, I'm starting to feel excited too."
"Although the representative team of the Pokémon University of Ironvale City holds a very high position in the rankings of the entire League..."
"...the members of that generation have already graduated. This generation of the team is from the same year as us. If we really fight, it's not certain that we'll lose."
The other students were also getting fired up one by one. If they truly managed to defeat the representative team of the Pokémon University of Ironvale City in the exchange, they would undoubtedly become famous overnight.
Moreover, this tournament was extremely important for the universities they represented, since to a certain extent it influenced the distribution of resources that the League allocated to each institution.
The representative team of the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, thanks to the efforts of Captain Daniel Harper's generation, had occupied third place in the entire League for three consecutive editions. Even among the four major capitals, there were two universities from those four major capitals that had been surpassed by the Pokémon University of Ironvale City.
Unfortunately, although Captain Daniel and the others wanted to continue leading the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, after reaching the Quasi-Elite level they had to head to the Champion's Path, so they could no longer remain on the representative team.
"The old generation of the representative team has mostly disbanded. From now on, it's the turn of our new generation. The League's university rankings... it's time for them to be reshuffled."
Inside the buses representing the various universities, many students displayed looks full of anticipation.
...
Initial campus of the Pokémon University of Ironvale City.
"It seems that this time everyone has come with ill intentions. They say it's a friendly exchange, but in reality they want to show off in the tournament."
At that moment, Ethan and the other members of the second representative team were reviewing the list of students participating in the exchange.
As expected, all the universities had sent their main representative teams, and they had also chosen to arrive precisely during the period when the old team of the Pokémon University of Ironvale City had graduated. The intention behind this was more than obvious.
"What is there to worry about? All these Pokémon universities were founded in recent years, after the League relaxed its control over Pokémon."
"If we calculate by time, their main players on the representative team are, at most, from the same year as us or only one year older. With opponents of this level, we won't have any problem dealing with them."
Patrick Mills spoke with great confidence. For them, the members of the second team, this was also a perfect opportunity to prove their worth.
If their performance was outstanding, it wouldn't be impossible for them to be promoted directly to the first team.
"Even if you say that, we still have to be careful. For example, this Pokémon University of Luminary City has the backing of major families; the strength of their students from the same year is quite high."
"And we also need to pay special attention to the representative team of the Pokémon University of Blackridge City."
"Look at the ages of their members: most of them are 22 or 23 years old. Judging by their age, it's very likely that they belong to the same generation as Captain Daniel and the others."
At that moment, Lucas Silver pulled up the information of the representative team of the Pokémon University of Blackridge City on the computer, and his tone became more serious.
"What?"
"Students aged 22 and 23!"
"I remember that Captain Daniel graduated last year at 23, and senior sister Emily was 22, right?"
"According to the League's age regulations, shouldn't these guys be graduating this very year?"
Seeing this data, the others also gathered around, visibly surprised.
"Wasn't the Pokémon University of Blackridge City founded only three years ago?"
"Did these students start studying at 20?"
Marcus Foster immediately rolled his eyes. It sounded far too fake.
"Most likely they're students about to graduate who transferred from other universities. This kind of situation isn't rare within League universities; that university probably did exactly that."
"It seems these students want to take advantage of the retirement of the old generation of representative teams to really shine in the League's university competition."
Lucas shook his head with a bitter smile while continuing to carefully review the information on those students.
"This is getting interesting." Ethan stroked his chin, thoughtful.
"By the way, what are the rules of the exchange tournament?"
"If it's still a team competition, we'll have to prepare some tactics in advance."
Kyle Miller's face also showed excitement. He had prepared several Pokémon capable of serving as tactical cores, and this competition was perfect for showcasing them.
"The competition is still team-based, but it won't be a direct 5 vs 5; it will be an arena-type battle."
As the brain of the team, Lucas immediately displayed the tournament rules.
"Arena battle? This kind of format is very unfavorable for teams with uneven strength. It seems our university also kept a hidden card. This way, the overall strength of the five members will be compared, and the possibility of accidents will be reduced to the greatest extent."
After seeing the rules, everyone showed expressions of understanding. However, even though five people would go on stage, deciding who would participate and in what order was still a major problem.
If defeat were due to the performance of certain individuals, those people would undoubtedly bear enormous pressure.
...
With the official opening of the exchange tournament,
one after another, all the Pokémon universities of the Ironvale region began to gather at the Pokémon University of Ironvale City.
In total, seven universities participated, and together with the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, they made eight institutions.
Moreover, in this academic exchange, not only did the members of the representative teams of each university attend, but also many breeders, researchers, and specialists, which suddenly filled the initial campus of the Pokémon University of Ironvale City with life.
In various corners of the campus, banners welcoming the different visiting universities could be seen.
This exchange tournament was led by the Ironvale region's League, so exchange was the main focus and competition was secondary.
Therefore, after the universities arrived, the tournament did not begin immediately; instead, various academic exchange activities were carried out first.
Combat classes, breeding classes, and academic studies were held every day, turning the event into a true cultural feast.
Of course, the competitive exchange between the representative teams of the various universities was still the highlight of the event, and it also served to reflect, to a certain extent, the overall teaching level of each institution.
(End of chapter)