Chapter 38: The April Citywide School League

As Nero was lost in thought, the door to the training room swung open again, revealing a young girl.

She had an exquisitely beautiful face, with deep, mesmerizing black gemstone-like eyes. Her long brown hair was tied into two buns.

Her slanted bangs framed her long face well, and her twin tails were tied low, making her lively brown locks full of energy. Adding a white sun visor and a pair of sporty white sneakers, she was the epitome of a youthful, energetic beauty!

As soon as the girl entered and saw the four of them, she flashed a charming smile.

"Good afternoon!"

In an instant, the three boys' gazes were drawn to this sporty girl. After a brief pause, Nero finally snapped back to his senses and responded, "Good afternoon."

"Wow! You're that, that, that...!!"

The girl's eyes lit up as she recognized Nero. "You're the Trainer of that Combusken!"

"Uh, yeah... You're right."

For some reason, Nero felt a little disappointed for a moment. Everyone only remembered his Tempest Kick Combusken but forgot that its Trainer was a dashing and charming guy!

"Hey, hey~ Nice to meet you! My name is Sophia Heine."

"N-Nero Vergil..."

"Nero, Nero, that's a great name! Since we're teammates now, we can train together, right?"

This little girl, Nero felt, spoke with such enthusiasm. Though he could sometimes crack jokes, he was completely defenseless against such a passionate girl...

With Sophia Heine's arrival, the entire atmosphere of the training room immediately became more lively.

After that, Sophia also greeted the three other team members, though she was noticeably more enthusiastic towards Nero. The two quickly got into a conversation.

The topics they discussed were fairly common—how it felt to obtain their Pokémon, their daily lives with them, what food their Pokémon liked, and even their own favorite foods.

As their conversation grew more engaging, the three others were left to the side, making Isaac and Caitlin feel rather awkward.

At that moment, Nero suddenly fell into deep thought.

Why...

Why was this adorable twin-tailed girl, whom he had never met before, being so warm towards him from the moment she walked in? She even added him on VChat.

She clearly treated him differently from the others. What was the reason?

Could it be...

Was it because he was handsome!?

Nero suddenly sensed danger. This girl was clearly attracted to him...

Well...

Thinking about it carefully, that didn't seem so bad! Totally acceptable!

Five minutes later, the door to the training room opened once again.

This time, a larger group of people entered.

From a quick glance, Nero counted seven people in total.

Five of them appeared to be around his age, likely the other official school team members. The remaining two, dressed in black uniforms, were evidently teachers.

As they walked in, Nero and Sophia paused their conversation.

Seeing the official school team members standing in a row, the five newcomers followed suit.

One of the teachers, a man in his forties or fifties with a buzz cut and glasses, scanned the ten team members before slowly speaking.

"Hello, everyone. I am Leon Ferhals, the head coach responsible for your school team training. Our team has now expanded from five to ten members. Right now, new and old members don't know each other well. Since we'll be training together from now on, let's take this opportunity to introduce ourselves."

After Leon Ferhals finished speaking, a tall and slender boy from the existing team stepped forward.

"Hello, new members. My name is Viktor Ehman, and I am currently the captain of the school team. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me."

After Viktor Ehman finished, the next to step up was Glenn, Glenn Sannes.

He was the vice-captain of the school team.

The remaining three members included two girls, Patricia Berkel and Mina Kiesling, while the last boy was named Karl Hopfer.

After the veteran team members introduced themselves, Nero and his group followed suit. Nero also learned the name of one of the boys from earlier—Tobias Orndorff.

Head Coach Leon Ferhals nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, today is meant to be a welcome gathering for the new team members. Originally, we planned a small celebration, but due to time constraints, we'll have to skip that. Instead, I have something very important to discuss, so please listen carefully."

"Every year, at the beginning of April, the Provincial Trainer Association hosts a citywide school league in response to the 'Outstanding Trainer' cultivation policy."

"This competition is held in our city, Galas City. In past city leagues, our school, Samron High, has achieved a best ranking of the top 16."

"This result is rather average, and our school is still far from competing with the top high schools in the city. However, after evaluating our current students, I believe this year's team is stronger! Therefore, I proposed to the principal that our goal for this year's city league must be as follows:"

"First, let me clarify that the citywide school league consists of Individual Battles and Team Battles. Everyone understands Individual Battles, but Team Battles follow a 5v5 format."

"Our goal this year is to reach the Top 8 in both Individual and Team Battles!"

"This is an ambitious target. To ensure our success, the school has officially opened the resource room, and rewards will be distributed weekly to support your rapid growth."

Nero understood now.

Simply put, the school was investing more in them, but they needed to bring honor to the school in return. It was a mutual exchange.

"Wait, Coach," Isaac suddenly raised his hand and asked.

"You said the citywide school league is in early April, but it's already March. That means we only have one month left?"

Leon nodded. "That's right. For new members like you, there's only one month left. Time is tight, so for the next month, you will undergo intensive training led by our assistant coach."

"Ah..." Isaac glanced at the assistant coach standing next to Leon, who had a fierce expression, and suddenly felt uneasy.

"Will we be training together with Captain Viktor and the others?" Isaac asked again.

Leon pondered for a moment before replying, "Yes, but not very often. Viktor and his team mainly train for Team Battles, whereas you will focus more on Individual Battles."

Nero understood the logic.

There was a clear division between new and veteran members.

Simply put, the new members were substitutes. The official members had been training since last semester, meaning they had already built solid teamwork. Samron High's goal was to reach the Top 8.

The new members had only a short training period and still needed time to adjust.

Overall, the new members were weaker than the veterans. While they had been struggling for resources and training, the veterans had already been undergoing structured training with school support.

During the competition, new members would likely play supportive roles.

They might get some exposure to Team Battles, but only against weaker opponents, while the main team members would hide their true strength.

Thinking about it this way, Nero even suspected that the school had deliberately arranged this as an extended school team selection.

Perhaps the newly recruited team members were simply there to provide cover for the main players.

However, Nero didn't mind. After all, this was something any normal school would do.

Right now, the priority was to focus on improving his own strength.

By utilizing the school's resources and completing the assistant coach's training program, as long as he became stronger, wouldn't he naturally earn the recognition he deserved?

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