"The strength of this Ethan is truly impressive."
In the stands, the members of the university teams from other universities were also watching this battle.
"This Rhydon is undoubtedly extremely powerful. But if this is all it has, then Ethan still doesn't pose a great threat."
The members of the university team from Pokémon University of Blackridge City looked at the Rhydon on the field with thoughtful expressions.
"Even so, it's better not to underestimate him. Earlier I tried looking up information about him online, but there are absolutely no records of his battles. It's obvious that he must be one of the candidates for the world tournament; the League has deliberately hidden his information."
A student wearing glasses kept typing nonstop on his laptop, but no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find any data related to Ethan.
"A candidate for the world tournament?"
"No matter how strong they are, they're still just part of the youth group."
The student who had spoken earlier chimed in again, his expression still filled with disdain.
After all, they were already twenty-three years old. How could so many years of accumulation not be enough to surpass some so-called genius?
Boom, boom, boom!
On the field, the battle continued without pause.
With his terrifying strength combined with overwhelming defense, Rhydon pushed the aesthetics of violence to the extreme.
When Rhydon defeated the final Pokémon of Riverside City's university team, the atmosphere in the stadium reached its peak.
"W-we lost..."
Jason Brands, seeing the Rhydon that had completed a one-against-five victory, was completely stunned.
Although he knew that his university was still far behind a prestigious institution like Pokémon University of Ironvale City, he had never imagined such a crushing defeat.
They hadn't even managed to defeat a single one of the opponent's Pokémon, and every loss had been humiliating!
"Ethan... he really is astonishing."
The professors of Pokémon University of Ironvale City also sighed with emotion.
Especially after learning about Ethan's humble origins and reviewing his past achievements, they couldn't help but feel deep admiration.
From the exchange with Pokémon University of Duskwell City, to the competition for starter Pokémon slots, then the total crushing of Duskwell City's university in the inter-academic exchanges, and finally his accomplishments in the academic field... Ethan was, without a doubt, the most outstanding student of all generations.
Even Daniel Harper, who had already entered Elite-level point competitions, hadn't been this strong at this stage!
"Perhaps, when this generation fully matures, our Pokémon University of Ironvale City could even replace Pokémon Imperial University of Daleron and Pokémon University of Duskwell City, and become the strongest university in the entire League."
Thinking of that possibility, all the professors felt a surge of excitement.
The strongest university in the entire League!
On the stage, amid the deafening cheers of the crowd, Ethan recalled Rhydon and slowly stepped down from the field.
"Ethan, you're truly amazing. You swept the entire field using just one Rhydon."
After stepping off the stage, his teammates immediately gathered around him; Kyle Miller even gave him a friendly punch in the chest.
"The Riverside City team is a university that's just getting started; their overall strength is still quite inferior."
Ethan spoke objectively. Building a competitive university team in a short period of time was no easy task. Although all five members of Riverside City's team were Advanced-level trainers, they were clearly at the lowest tier of that level.
"That's true. This time, our real opponents are only two: Pokémon University of Luminary City and Pokémon University of Blackridge City."
"The former is backed by major aristocratic families, while the latter has the support of huge financial consortiums. One has people, the other has money; we must treat them with caution."
Lucas Silver spoke up to remind them, causing everyone to stop smiling and adopt serious expressions.
...
After the match between Pokémon University of Ironvale City and Riverside City concluded, the battles between the other universities continued.
Only seven universities were participating in this exchange, which together with Ironvale City made a total of eight, so the list of the top four was determined very quickly.
Without any surprise, in the day's matches, Pokémon University of Ironvale City, Pokémon University of Luminary City, and Pokémon University of Blackridge City all secured victory.
"Our next opponent is Pokémon University of Luminary City?"
"I didn't expect to run into them so soon; I thought it would be in later rounds."
Upon seeing the matchups for the next round, Ethan and the others showed interest.
In the previous round, they had all watched the matches of those teams, and without exception, the result had been a crushing victory.
Just like Ironvale City, they too had sent out a single Pokémon to complete a one-against-five victory; their level was far above that of the universities that were just getting started.
"Do the rules for the next round change to five one-on-one battles?"
In the rear area, Ethan and the others gathered to discuss tactics and discovered that starting from the second round, the rules had changed once again.
"It seems the organizers want to avoid more one-against-five sweeps."
Seeing the change in the rules, everyone immediately understood. King-of-the-ring-style battles were simply too brutal for weaker teams.
This kind of exchange didn't have an absolute winner; the primary goal was exchange and learning. Multiple matchups would be held among the eight teams, and if every one resulted in a total sweep, many universities would lose interest in continuing to participate. In that case, the exchange would lose its meaning.
"This is better; otherwise, against weaker teams, any one of us could beat them one against five."
After reviewing the rules, everyone laughed. Even so, the weaker teams still didn't have much chance.
"Alright, let's focus on the immediate opponent. There are seven matches in this exchange, and we must ensure we win them all."
"In this matchup against Pokémon University of Luminary City, even though the format is best of five with three wins, ideally we should win all five battles."
Lucas pulled up the opponent's information. In a format of five one-on-one duels with a three-win system, the order in which members took the field was crucial.
At the same time, when arranging their own order, it was also necessary to anticipate the opponent's order in order to make targeted adjustments. This type of rule tested the team's tactical ability to the utmost; a poor arrangement could make the battle extremely difficult.
In the end, the team was composed of Ethan, Patrick, Lucas, Claire, and Marcus. After a long discussion, it was decided that Marcus would go first, Lucas second, Patrick would act as the main pillar, Claire would be fourth, and Ethan would serve as the final closer.
(End of chapter)