I Recommend Banning Johan-sensei!

3 PM, clear skies.

Molayne stepped into the player tunnel, and the roar of the crowd grew louder and louder.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our next competitor from the Alola region—Master Molayne!!"

The host's booming voice echoed through the arena, sending waves of excitement through the audience.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Spotlights lit up one after another, focusing on the entrance where Molayne stood.

"Molayne!!"

"Go Old Molayne!!"

"Don't worry, Old Molayne—your opponent is Johan-sensei!"

Molayne's mouth twitched.

So just because he was facing Johan-sensei, he was guaranteed to lose?

Not necessarily...

"And now, let's welcome the young master from Hoenn, hero of Opelucid City—Johan!!"

"Johan-sensei!!"

The audience's cheers made it very clear—Johan was the crowd favorite.

Hero of Opelucid City!

Those five words alone were enough to explain why.

In Unova, it wasn't easy to earn the title "hero," and Unovans took that title very seriously. Thanks to league promotion and widespread news coverage, Johan's popularity in the region had soared. Perhaps only Champion Alder still held more influence than him.

Listening to the crowd, Molayne scratched his head.

He couldn't compete with this level of popularity.

In earlier matches, Johan's opponents like Lacey and Piers didn't show such a stark difference in support. Lacey was local and cute, and Piers was a famous rock singer—plus those matches were in sub-arenas.

But now, this was the main arena—and Molayne wasn't exactly a fan favorite to begin with.

As Johan stepped into view under the lights, Molayne nodded slightly.

Yeah… he really was good-looking.

Still, Molayne wasn't the type to be bothered by popularity or crowd cheers.

"At last we meet, Johan-sensei. Maybe we can talk astronomy sometime."

During the handshake, Molayne smiled warmly.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Molayne… wait, astronomy?"

Johan froze at the unexpected comment.

Since when was he into astronomy?

He wanted to say he wasn't into that stuff—maybe just a little interested in the stars.

Well, more like… Larvitar liked eating them.

Not actual stars—just starlike snacks.

"Professor Cozmo told me," Molayne replied, thinking Johan was just being modest.

"He did?" Johan blinked.

Cozmo knew Molayne?

What else had he said?

Before they could talk further, the referee signaled them to return to their sides.

So Johan walked back still puzzled, while Molayne thought:

Johan-sensei's way easier to talk to than I imagined. Seems like a nice guy.

In the prep phase, both trainers had submitted their full teams of six and selected three for the match.

To be honest, Johan wasn't a fan of the 6-vs-3 format. It wasn't ideal for him.

After all, he only had six usable Pokémon:

Gengar, Ninetales, Tinkaton, Dragonite, Urshifu, and Ceruledge.

Larvitar, despite being a future Tyranitar, was still a baby and not suited for high-level competition yet. Same with Rotom.

Maybe his Gallade maid had a chance—but she was better suited for doubles. And against a Steel-type specialist like Molayne? Not exactly ideal.

His choices were limited.

That's the price of only having been a proper trainer for a little over half a year.

But other trainers like Cynthia, Lance, and Steven had full rosters beyond six. Even Molayne had options.

They could research Johan's battle records, prepare six specialized counters, then choose the most optimal three.

Still, Johan had other options.

He could field Mew, Marshadow, Mewtwo, Genesect, Darkrai, and Meloetta…

That'd probably make the opponent surrender on the spot.

But what's the point?

It would just crush his current team's morale.

His Pokémon had worked so hard to grow and improve—how could he bench them now?

Sure, they weren't as strong as Mewtwo or Darkrai yet, but one day… who knows?

Boom! Boom!

The giant screen flashed with icons representing each trainer's six Pokémon.

Johan's team was expected.

Molayne's lineup: Metagross, Alolan Dugtrio, Klefki, Magnezone, Skarmory, and Aegislash.

The actual chosen three? Only the players and officials knew for now.

"Trainers, summon your Pokémon!" the referee declared.

Molayne ruffled his hair, eyes sharpening.

"Old Molayne's getting serious!" Sophocles clenched his fists in the stands.

People thought he was lazy, but truth was, worthy opponents were rare.

Sophocles had total faith in his cousin.

"Let's go!" Molayne tossed out a Poké Ball.

Johan narrowed his eyes—not at the ball, but at Molayne's wrist.

Ah.

A Z-Ring… and a Steelium Z.

So Molayne was prepared to use a Z-Move.

Still… the dance part was a bit—

Cough.

Back to the battle.

Johan threw out his Poké Ball too.

"Skreeee!!"

Molayne led with Skarmory—metallic feathers gleaming in flight.

Johan sent out Ceruledge.

"Goka!"

Ceruledge's twin blades shimmered cold and deadly.

Also, the battlefield they'd drawn was the Rock Terrain.

"On paper, Johan-sensei has a slight type advantage," explained commentator Raihan, who had just finished his own match and now stood at the commentary booth—streaming the whole thing to his fans as well.

"However, Skarmory has the high ground and ridiculous physical defense. Ceruledge is a melee attacker—this could go either way."

Real battles were very different from games.

Skarmory taking flight was something game mechanics couldn't fully replicate.

Why did Lance love Flying-types so much?

Because they let him kite opponents.

Once both sides were ready, the referee dropped the flag.

"Battle, start!"

"Skarmory, take flight and use Spikes!" Molayne called out first.

"Skreee!!"

Skarmory launched into the air, scattering metallic feathers that morphed into invisible hazards across the ground.

Spikes, huh?

Johan's expression turned… odd.

He said nothing. Ceruledge barely twitched, then stood still again.

"Huh? Johan-sensei's not reacting?"

"Wait, didn't he once publish a whole strategy guide about Skarmory hazard setups?"

"Oh my god, is this… trying to beat Johan-sensei with Johan-sensei's own strategy?"

The crowd was baffled.

Molayne remained focused.

"Skarmory, Stealth Rock!"

Floating stones shimmered into place—more invisible traps.

Classic hazard stacking.

From the stands, Steven and Lance exchanged knowing looks.

They'd been taught a lesson by this very strategy once.

Next comes Iron Defense + Body Press… or Whirlwind?

But then, Johan finally gave a command.

"Ceruledge, Flare Blitz."

Whooom!!

Blue flames exploded—not on the field, but in the air.

"Behind Skarmory!"

"What the—?!"

"Where did Ceruledge go? The one on the ground—!"

The Ceruledge on the field vanished like a mirage.

"It was a shadow left behind by Shadow Sneak," Raihan explained. "Johan-sensei and Ceruledge didn't need words—they were already in sync."

Spooky level of coordination.

Even Raihan hadn't seen it coming. Neither had Molayne.

Skarmory's aerial advantage vanished as Ceruledge's fire crashed into it.

BOOM!!

Heat surged. Skarmory screamed and tumbled, wrapped in flames.

Still, Molayne didn't panic. He gave a swift command:

"Ceruledge, Phantom Force!"

"Skarmory, Hurricane! Blow away the flames—blow it back!"

Skarmory fought the pain, flapping to unleash a violent wind, trying to douse the fire and repel Ceruledge.

Whirlwind!

"Here it is! Johan-sensei's signature pre-read!" Raihan shouted.

The Hurricane hit nothing.

Ceruledge vanished into the shadow realm.

It had learned that from Gengar, after all—master of mischief.

Whirlwind was a slow move—priority -6. Easy to counter if you had the reflexes.

Molayne adjusted quickly.

"Skarmory, Roost!"

Falling toward the ground, Skarmory tucked its wings, recovering HP.

Just as Ceruledge appeared again—Phantom Force!

WHAM!!

It hit.

But Skarmory's defense + Roost meant the damage was minimal.

"Return, Skarmory!"

Molayne recalled it without hesitation.

Its job—laying hazards—was done. Better to swap it out before it got knocked out.

Whirlwind wasn't the only way to force switches.

"Whew…"

Molayne exhaled.

But wow…

Battling Johan-sensei was seriously intense.

It felt like his entire strategy was read and dissected.

Well… what did he expect?

Johan-sensei was a master of hazard play.

Viewers agreed.

"Trying to beat the master with his own dirty trick… yeah, good luck with that."

"Molayne did his best, but Johan-sensei even threw in a silent opening act—so sneaky!"

"Honestly? I suggest we just ban Johan-sensei from the tournament."

Ban him??

Johan raised an eyebrow.

He hadn't even let Ceruledge use Transform yet.

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Powerstones?

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