Facing David's questions, the two students exchanged glances, neither choosing to answer him.
The person who had just been brought back by Ralts even attempted a threat: "The League has a rule that Trainers are absolutely forbidden from attacking other Trainers. Your Ralts violated that rule—do you realize that?"
"Release us immediately! Otherwise, I'll report you to the proctors."
Hearing this, David couldn't help but laugh.
"Ha, the rules specifically prohibit attacking Trainers, but they don't say anything about restraining them with psychic powers, do they?"
"Feel free to report me. Once you're eliminated, you'll have plenty of time for that."
"What if I help you press the rescue button? When the rescue team arrives, will you be considered eliminated or not?"
David spoke with evident disdain. Observing this, Ralts immediately used her psychic power to remove his Points Watch from his wrist.
"Wait, you can't do that..."
Panic crossed the student's face as he desperately tried to hide the wristband behind his back.
However, such futile struggles were clearly no match for Ralts's formidable psychic abilities.
Soon, his wristband was removed and floated gently through the air via invisible force, coming to rest before David.
"Only fifteen points? You're that poor?"
"And even if I don't directly press your rescue button, I could just take your points and then 'help' your Pokémon lose their battle capability..."
"Tell me, would you choose to continue adventuring here with several Pokémon unable to fight, or would you be forced to withdraw voluntarily?"
Upon hearing David's words, the student appeared thunderstruck, lowering his head and no longer displaying his earlier defiance.
At this moment, the other nearby student, though remaining silent, clearly experienced rising panic after hearing David's implications.
Damn it! What kind of devil have I encountered?
"So? You refuse a gracious offer only to accept the hard way. Will you talk or not? If you won't, I'll simply take your points."
"Wait, I'll talk! I'll talk..."
The psychological defenses of that student finally crumbled under David's pressure...
"Alright, hold on a moment, Ralts."
David gestured to stop Ralts from activating the other student's rescue button, then slowly turned back to face them and continued, "You don't need to worry excessively. Only the three of us are here. As long as you tell me everything, no one else will discover what happened.
You simply need to leave this area and pretend you never encountered me.
I won't take your points either. You two also have mutual leverage over each other, so neither will speak out. You can rest easy about that."
After speaking, David glanced at the student who had remained silent earlier.
"I'll talk too! I'll talk too! Please don't eliminate me."
That student also couldn't maintain his composure any longer. Catching David's gaze, he quickly responded.
The two exchanged glances, and finally, the Houndour Trainer explained the full situation to David.
It turned out that even before the mid-term assessment began, those schools hoping to dethrone Imperial Capital No. 1 High School from its top position had already reached a tacit agreement.
The strength displayed by David and his peers during the Rookie Cup had made them feel genuinely threatened—not just David, the Rookie Cup Champion.
Emma, who reached the top eight, was an obvious concern. Luke, Miles, and Willow had all lost to their respective ace opponents, and the margins weren't particularly large.
What's more, Luke had been using Beldum at the time... Consequently, they'd instructed their students to prioritize suppressing and eliminating Imperial Capital No. 1 High School participants. If necessary, students from multiple schools could even team up.
As long as sufficient No. 1 High students were eliminated, even if these cooperating students were eliminated early from the assessment themselves, their schools would reward them generously and continue prioritizing their development.
However, the League's decision to randomize all students' deployment positions had caused their initial grouping strategy to fail.
According to the Wyvern Academy student before them, the seven of them hadn't originally planned to group up from the start.
Among their number, two were from Wyvern Academy, two from Imperial Capital No. 2 High School, and three from White Spirit High School.
It was purely by chance that they'd converged in this vicinity. Remembering their schools' instructions, they'd decided to form a temporary alliance to target Imperial Capital No. 1 High School students.
As for why they'd been following Ursaring, it was because they'd discovered an excellent location nearby that could serve as a temporary camp.
They'd planned to remain there for several days, accumulating points while trying their luck at encountering No. 1 High students.
The two of them had witnessed Ursaring returning and attacking David with Hyper Beam while they were out searching for supplies.
Thinking they might capitalize on the situation, they'd followed. For safety, they'd even sent someone back to report, but unexpectedly, they hadn't gained any advantage—instead finding themselves captured.
After listening to their confession, David's mind began racing, and an intriguing idea suddenly formed.
Since they wanted to play games, let's play something big. He still hadn't secured lodging for tonight!
They wanted to find Imperial Capital No. 1 High School students? Then he might as well turn the tables completely and give them a classic "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" scenario.
With a plan forming, David gestured for Ralts to release her psychic hold on the two students, then casually pointed in a direction away from their camp.
"Go! Get far away from here, and don't return to your camp. Remember—if you encounter me again next time, you won't be this fortunate."
After speaking, David turned around, no longer acknowledging them.
The two students exchanged surprised glances, seemingly shocked that David was actually releasing them without taking their points.
"Still here?"
Hearing David's prompt, the two didn't dare hesitate further and immediately fled, running in the opposite direction from their camp's location.
"They're not completely foolish..."
David muttered to himself, watching their rapidly retreating figures, then spoke softly to his side, "Ralts, follow them and observe. Return once they've gone far enough."
"Ralts! (Understood!)"
The blue and white figure instantly vanished from David's side.
David didn't claim to be a particularly virtuous person, but at minimum, he kept his word. He disdained actions like breaking promises.
If he said he'd release them, he'd release them. If he said he didn't want their points, he meant it.
After their departure, David began organizing the collected supplies with Zorua and Riolu's assistance.
A medium-sized outdoor camping tent, sufficient high-calorie food and clean drinking water to last him at least three days.
Most importantly, five Super Potions and a substantial bag of Pokémon energy cubes.
David picked one up and tested it by chewing.
"Ptooey~"
It was mass-produced general-type feed, far inferior in quality to his Pokémon's daily rations, but it would suffice for emergency situations.
David roughly estimated these items were worth nearly 200 points, already comparable to the baseline reward for surviving until the assessment's end. This was an excellent haul.
After organizing the supplies, David was in no rush to depart. He remembered there was still one more task he hadn't completed!