The arrival of the new teaching assistant, who openly provoked students and boasted about taking on an entire class single-handedly, ignited a new wave of excitement in the livestream. Even many teachers who were in the middle of their battle classes paused their lessons to comment on the upcoming match.
Xia Huna unexpectedly found himself facing a class of students hyped up like never before. He stroked his chin, saying, "Now, now, calm down a bit. When I said I'd take on your class, I didn't mean for you to gang up on me or take turns fighting. If you were to fight like that, you could grab the captain of the school team and ask him if he'd dare to accept."
In front of a screen in the school team's training room, a young man quickly shook his head. "No way, no way."
His teammates beside him immediately teased their captain, "Captain, are you chickening out?"
The team captain pointed at the screen. "Alright, any of you who think you can do it, step up. I won't make it difficult. Against a student from that class, if any of you can win even half the matches, I'll give you my captain's position."
Then, the school team members all quickly shook their heads. "We're chickening out too, we're chickening out too."
The class in question was a large one, with nearly fifty students. Even taking out half would still mean over twenty people. While there was a noticeable gap between the senior school team members and the first-year students who hadn't joined the team yet, it wasn't to the extent that one person could fight over twenty.
Back at the battle arena, Xia Huna continued, "How about we do best of five? Five one-on-one matches. All students from your class can participate, how does that sound?"
From the crowd of students, someone asked, "Are you using your own Pokémon?"
Xia Huna looked at them with pity. "Why would you ask that? I only got my first Pokémon two months ago. Do you think I'm an idiot to use it against you all? Of course, I'm using Pokémon borrowed from the school's breeding facility. So, are you in or not?"
Youngsters' tempers are easily ignited, and the first match quickly began with Tong Ruo as the referee.
Xia Huna toyed with the Poké Ball in his hand and looked at the young man before him. "What's your name?"
"Feng Bing."
"Okay, then, student Feng Bing, the battle begins. Go, Lickitung!"
Seeing Xia Huna send out a Lickitung, Feng Bing also sent out his Pokémon. "Oh, an Abomasnow? Interesting. Are you trying to test my strategy with your lead Pokémon, or do they think you can win against me?"
"Both. Is it okay for you to chat like this, Assistant Professor Xia?"
"No problem. Hail, huh? It'll cause some damage, but it's not a big deal."
At this moment, Xia Huna had already confirmed through the system that this Abomasnow was holding no item. "Here's a welcome gift. Lickitung, use Skill Swap!"
The spectators outside the arena were bewildered, and Feng Bing, who was directly involved, had never even heard of this move. Abomasnow was directly hit.
Seeing the red light emanating from Abomasnow, Feng Bing became a little anxious. "Abomasnow, use Razor Leaf!"
Xia Huna commanded Lickitung to dodge while also provoking Feng Bing. "You're really unlucky. You sent out an Abomasnow that's Grass and Ice type. Ice-type attacks are not fond of Fire-type energy, and while Grass-type is a bit better, it's not that strong. Look how miserable you are."
Feng Bing shook his head frantically, trying to calm himself down. The hail from the snowstorm was temporary, and it wouldn't take much HP off Lickitung. Meanwhile, Xia Huna's Flame Orb was incredibly effective. Although the damage was similar, Abomasnow was struggling due to its typing.
Even though Feng Bing tried to use Grass Whistle and Mist to control Xia Huna, Xia Huna continuously had Lickitung dodge attacks. While it got hit occasionally, it didn't suffer any actual control effects.
Feng Bing grew increasingly desperate but found no solution, eventually having to concede defeat with regret.
Xia Huna clicked his tongue. "Honestly, your Abomasnow is well-trained, but I think it would have been better if you used Icy Wind first. After all, that would have affected my evasion a bit more."
In Xia Huna's research notes, he theorized about the relationship between games and the spiritual essence of stars: even in a one-on-one battle, the arena should be treated as a three-on-three arena. As long as one moves out of the attack range of a move, it can be completely dodged. If one doesn't escape, then the move's accuracy will be judged, which is essentially the success rate of dodging in place. Note: Moves that never miss are not included in this.
Icy Wind is a move with a large attack range and can also affect the opponent's speed. If Feng Bing had used this move to lower Lickitung's speed, Mist might have been more accurate.
After giving Feng Bing a tip, Xia Huna began to pester other students. "The move I just used was Skill Swap, which can transfer something from Lickitung to the opponent. I transferred the Flame Orb, which can burn the Pokémon. That's all I'll say. You guys can discuss your strategies. Also, so far, the Pokémon I'm most familiar with is Lickitung."
After speaking, Xia Huna sat on the ground and played with Lickitung. He was telling the truth; Lickitung was the Pokémon he was most familiar with in his life, having grown up with it. Thinking of this, Xia Huna rubbed Lickitung's face. "You know, I also have a Lickitung. Her name is Xiao Meng. I'll introduce you two sometime."
Lickitung enjoyed being petted and let out two happy hums. The person and the Pokémon were in perfect harmony.
On the other side, the students were not in such a good state. Feng Bing's defeat was rather confusing. Although Xia Huna explained it, he still couldn't quite accept it.
"Feng Bing, the battle is over. What are your thoughts?"
"His strategy should be to swap the Flame Orb over and then play a war of attrition with us. As long as we can deal with the burn, it should be fine."
The other students found this analysis very reasonable. The class monitor, Shi Qing, thought for a moment. "Wang Hu, you'll go next."
Meanwhile, in the school team's training room, the captain was asking the team members around him, "What do you think?"
"When we have matches, who would guard against this move? And who would have thought he'd carry something that causes Pokémon to burn on himself?"
"Chi Ting, what's your opinion?"
"He's got something. Let's wait and see. The first-year class five of the battle department aren't pushovers either."
...
In the battle arena, Xia Huna looked at the broad-shouldered, nearly six-foot-three man before him and couldn't help but exclaim, "Are you really a first-year student?"
The contrast between the two on the field was quite striking, and the audience outside found it amusing.
"I'm naturally tall, Assistant Professor Xia, let's start."
Xia Huna clapped his hands enthusiastically. "You're the first person to call me Assistant Professor! I'll go all out against you."
Wang Hu's Pokémon was a Incineroar. Xia Huna thought of the evolved form, the "strong man tiger," and indeed, they seemed quite well-matched.
The students outside the arena cheered loudly for Wang Hu. "Go Wang Hu, go for the offense!"
Xia Huna looked at Incineroar. A base stat of ninety against Lickitung could indeed allow for offensive pressure, but whether it would be effective was another matter.
Xia Huna clapped his hands, a smile on his face. "Skill Swap!"
Everyone watching the battle froze. It was one thing to use Skill Swap earlier, but to do it again? And to transfer a Flame Orb to a Fire-type Incineroar?
Wang Hu commanded Incineroar to continue attacking, while Xia Huna simply had Lickitung dodge the attacks. This battle was completely unwatchable, just like the first match. Although Incineroar's moves did hit Lickitung, Lickitung's bulk could handle it.
After about two minutes of this cat-and-mouse game, Incineroar suddenly sparked, shocking Wang Hu. "How is this possible?"
The students outside the arena knew that when Incineroar was exhausted, flames would appear on its body, indicating that its Blaze ability had been triggered. But why? Lickitung was just dodging attacks, and the only other move it used was Sleep. What could have caused Incineroar to become exhausted?
After recalling his Incineroar, Wang Hu immediately asked this question. Xia Huna thought for a moment and then countered, "What do you think I swapped over with Skill Swap?"
Wang Hu was stunned. "Wasn't it the Flame Orb?"
Xia Huna shook his head. "No. Besides the Flame Orb, I also have a Toxic Orb. It can inflict a poison status. Although it takes a bit longer to take effect, it's quite potent. If your Incineroar didn't have such high attack power, I might not have even used the Sleep move."
Xia Huna woke up the sleepy Lickitung and walked to the sidelines with it. "You guys can continue to discuss. I'll play with Lickitung for a while longer and recover its status."
After Xia Huna's explanation, although the students of class five understood what had happened, they felt even more frustrated. Who could have imagined that he would switch out the item during the battle break?
In the school team's training room, the captain once again sought everyone's opinion. "Regarding this last match, what are your thoughts?"
"I just want to know when he swapped the Flame Orb for the Toxic Orb?"
"When he was playing with Lickitung, I saw him use a dark purple ball to replace the Flame Orb. I didn't expect it to be the Toxic Orb."
"Chi Ting, your opinion?"
The team member called Chi Ting adjusted his glasses. "This strategy is quite interesting, but also very simple. Because if you check, you'll know that Skill Swap is a Normal-type move. Sending out a Ghost-type Pokémon can solve all the problems. However..."
"However, what?"
"We only learned this move in our second year, and it was just a brief mention. I wonder if these first-year students will know about it."
"They will, look."
A team member pointed at the livestream screen. On the screen, a figure was moving while keeping an eye on Xia Huna.
Although the students of first-year class five hadn't learned this knowledge, it didn't stop them from asking those who did. And among the people in these battle arenas, the person who knew this best was Teacher Tong Ruo.
"That's a good idea. The next match should be interesting."