Chapter 253: The Substitute-Protect-Toxic Strategy

Chapter 253: The Substitute-Protect-Toxic Strategy

So it really was the same "Hikaru" from the group chat yesterday.

But what they hadn't expected…

It was actually the same Hikaru who had won the High School League Championship!

In an instant, the entire class erupted with excitement.

"Holy crap, it's really Hikaru!"

"Hikaru… Hikaru-sama is actually in our class?! Damn, does that mean our class is guaranteed first place in the upcoming Secret Realm expedition?"

"Small thinking, my friend."

"Not only Hikaru, but Sakura is here too! I heard they both just finished their first year of high school! They enrolled early!"

"Huh? Sakura barely talks in the group chat, but she suddenly showed up yesterday… Wait, they're only first-years? No wonder they look so young!"

"The first and second-place champions from this year's High School League… This is insane. I heard from the professors that this year's tournament was the most competitive in recent years!"

"They're young, talented, and rich… Sakura is basically a little princess."

"And she's from the Hayashi family, one of the top Pokémon lineages! Her background is unmatched!"

"Well… it's nice to dream. But look, they walked in together."

"Ah…"

Even though the students were whispering, Hikaru could hear every word with his enhanced senses.

For a moment, he felt like he could hear the sound of hearts shattering around the room.

He instinctively glanced at the girl beside him.

Sakura must have sensed it too—because she flashed him a dazzling smile.

Hikaru couldn't help but internally admire just how captivating she was.

The classroom was spacious, so the two of them casually found a seat.

They had just settled in when an elderly professor entered, carrying a book.

As soon as he stepped inside, the room fell silent.

Clearly, he commanded a great deal of respect.

Wearing thick-rimmed black glasses, the professor didn't bother checking attendance.

He simply walked to the front, turned on the projector, and immediately began teaching.

"Today's lesson will cover a rather annoying strategy. And once I explain it, you'll understand why it's annoying."

"This strategy is called Substitute-Protect-Toxic. As the name suggests, it revolves around the Substitute, Protect, and Toxic moves."

"The 'Toxic' part can be substituted with any status-inflicting move, as long as it wears down the opponent over time."

The strategy itself was old-school, but highly effective.

The students listened attentively, including Hikaru.

To provide an example, the professor played a battle video from a previous Youth League match.

On the screen, a Venusaur was battling a Rapidash.

Venusaur was around level 48, while Rapidash was level 49.

Despite the level difference, Venusaur's trainer still won.

At the start of the match, Venusaur set up Grassy Terrain and immediately used Ingrain.

This gave up turn priority, allowing Rapidash to hit it with Flamethrower, dealing massive damage—almost knocking it out in one hit.

But shortly after, Rapidash was poisoned by hidden Toxic spores spread throughout the Grassy Terrain.

And to make things worse, Venusaur had also planted Leech Seed.

Between Ingrain healing and Leech Seed draining Rapidash's HP, Venusaur was back on its feet in no time.

It then rotated between Protect and Substitute, stalling out the match.

In the end, Rapidash could only watch helplessly as the poison worsened and its HP was slowly drained away by Leech Seed.

And the most infuriating part?

By the time the battle ended, Venusaur had almost fully healed again.

Meaning it could enter the next match at full strength.

Throughout the entire battle, Venusaur never moved once.

It didn't even attack.

It only used Leech Seed and Toxic, letting its opponent slowly die.

Hikaru noticed that at the end of the match, Rapidash's trainer looked absolutely devastated.

"This is a textbook example of the Substitute-Protect-Toxic strategy."

"Now, let's discuss how to counter it."

Hikaru leaned forward slightly, intrigued.

Even though this strategy wouldn't work on him,

After all, a single Mega Charizard would melt any stall tactics instantly—

Still, he had a Bulbasaur now.

And while his Bulbasaur's stats exceeded a normal Venusaur, it still benefited from speed advantages.

That made it perfect for running this strategy.

Even if it wasn't effective against him,

He could use it himself.

So it was worth learning how to counter it, in case others tried to counter him.

"The first counter is overwhelming force. If your Pokémon is strong enough, no strategy will work against it."

"If your Pokémon's strength is close to your opponent's, then just use an ultimate move immediately."

"The second counter is type advantage. If even one part of the Substitute-Protect-Toxic cycle fails, the whole strategy falls apart."

"For example, if they're using poison, then just bring a Steel-type Pokémon, which is immune to most poison effects…"

"This is just one example. If the opponent's status move isn't poison, just find another counter based on the type."

"The third counter…"

As the professor continued his analysis, Hikaru nodded to himself.

No doubt, this was a top-tier university professor.

His explanations were logical and well-structured.

If it were Hikaru teaching, he'd probably just say—

"Send out Charizard and burn them to ashes."

A true counter to all strategies.

But now, when training Bulbasaur in this strategy, he could at least avoid the common weaknesses.

At that moment, a student stood up and asked—

"Professor… what if we can't do any of those things?"

The professor adjusted his glasses.

"Then you should think of a new solution… Or just raise your hand and tell the referee, 'I can't win this battle.'"

The entire class burst into laughter.

The lesson lasted about an hour.

Afterward, there were no more classes for the day.

University students had a lot of free time.

Yesterday, Hikaru had only briefly explored the campus with Hayashi Mei.

Today, he could take his time learning more about the university.

After all, he'd likely be staying here for a while.

Every time he went somewhere, something crazy happened.

At this point, he was starting to suspect that he had some kind of "trouble magnet" ability.

Now that he was in Kyoto, maybe things would finally settle down…?

After class, Hikaru stretched and was about to leave, but his path was suddenly blocked by a girl.

She was short, probably around 1.5 meters tall, with round cheeks that made her look like a cute little potato.

She looked up at him with hopeful eyes and asked—

"Hikaru… can I invite you to join our Longspring Secret Realm Expedition next month?"

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