Chapter 178: Love Battlefield

Accompanied by a roar, Charizard appeared in the sky above the arena.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

Shasha's eyes were full of strategic confidence.

In the previous two battles, as long as it reached this phase, Norton would definitely have Steelix use a Rock-type move.

Although most Rock-type moves have poor accuracy, as long as Charizard used Flamethrower from a stationary position, it would definitely be able to receive the opponent's move.

'The disadvantage is completely mine.'

But at this moment, Norton gave an extremely reasonable, yet completely unexpected, command.

"Steelix, use Dig, dodge its Flamethrower!"

The just-now praising how strong Aurient trainers were, Erika, immediately frowned.

If such a command came from a regular trainer, then it couldn't be considered wrong at all.

But Norton, as the dean of Ninox University, didn't he know that he should use a move like Smack Down here?

Even though its physical attack had been reduced twice, as long as Charizard's air superiority was removed, there might still be a chance to struggle, right?

At the same time, Shasha also showed a look of disbelief identical to Erika's.

As one of the involved parties, she quickly understood what Norton was doing.

'Damn, you thick-browed big-eyed guy, you're acting against me?'

'Then don't blame me for being rude!'

"Charizard, today is our first battle in Ninox. Show some spirit."

"Get close and use Seismic Toss!"

Under Norton's dumbfounded gaze, Charizard instantly gave up on Flamethrower and flapped its wings to fly toward the spot where Steelix would emerge.

Steelix's Dig ended at the same time, and it appeared on the surface, colliding heavily with Charizard.

BANG!

Though the damage was negated, the huge difference in size still caused Charizard to be knocked sideways and crash off the stage with a thud.

Cheers immediately erupted from the audience.

"Awesome, just pure body strength was enough to knock the opponent's Pokémon out."

"No wonder he's our dean. I'm definitely going to fight to enroll in Teacher Norton's next class!"

"This... this is just unbelievable!"

The referee paused for a moment before waving the flag in disbelief.

"In the first battle, Steelix is victorious!"

Gym Leader Shasha put on a surprised expression, "Didn't expect that Gym Leader Norton has trained Steelix to such a great level recently, truly admirable!"

Norton clasped his hands together, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

"Thank you so much for your praise..."

Shasha tried hard to hold back her laughter and put on a serious expression.

"Gym Leader Norton, next I'm going to have Incineroar unleash its strongest attack!"

"I haven't trained many Pokémon, so I'll likely lose under your hands today."

"But I won't be discouraged. I'll go all out!"

As she spoke, Incineroar let out a roar and re-entered the battlefield.

At the same time, Steelix's attack was once again lowered.

Seeing Incineroar, Steelix immediately lost all rationality.

Its originally dark brown pupils turned blood-red, and it charged at Incineroar without hesitation.

"Incineroar, use Swagger!"

Hearing this command from Shasha, even Axel couldn't help but be stunned.

'No way, you're acting this obviously?'

'It took so much effort to lower the opponent's attack three times, and now you're boosting it again?'

'Even though Swagger causes confusion, does that even matter with how Steelix is just behaving?'

Axel clearly remembered that Swagger has a very high priority order.

Even if the opponent is already confused, it still boosts Attack by two stages.

Likewise, even if the opponent's Attack is already maxed out by six stages, it still inflicts confusion.

Sure enough, the moment Incineroar curled its finger, Steelix's mental state showed no change, but two upward light rings appeared consecutively on its body.

Norton's heart skipped a beat. Was he about to lose again?

"Steelix, it's a trap, use Protect quickly!"

Steelix: (•́へ•́╬)

'Screw you, I'm not listening. I'm pissed!"

BANG!

Steelix's tail slammed fiercely into Incineroar, instantly smashing it a meter into the ground.

But Incineroar showed no anger at all and even turned around and winked at its trainer.

'Mission complete. No need to fight that freak again!'

Shasha glanced at Axel, and the smile on her lips was harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.

'Little brat, the older, the wiser, huh?'

'Trying to humiliate me again? Impossible!'

"Gym Leader Norton, I haven't trained many main Pokémon, so I'll humbly admit defeat today."

"Once my team levels up, I will challenge again."

"Looking forward to seeing your match with this year's top student, it will surely be spectacular."

Unlike Shasha's joy, Norton looked like he had put on a pain mask, his mouth twitching wildly.

He didn't even want to glance in Axel's direction.

'Damn it...'

'This Gym Leader is so dirty, not only dirty in tactics, but rotten to the bone!'

The referee excitedly announced Norton's victory and turned to Axel.

"Next, let's welcome our first-place winner to the stage, to complete today's mentorship battle with Director Norton."

Axel slowly stood up, smiling at Shasha walking down from the arena, "Referee teacher, I'd like to concede. That match just now already used up all my main force."

"I don't want my Pokémon to battle without giving their all. That would affect their fighting spirit."

"Besides, I'm a student of Ninox University. I'll have plenty of chances to challenge Teacher Norton in the future."

Norton's eyes lit up, and he nearly ran down to introduce his daughter to Axel.

'Such a thoughtful student.'

But the smile on Shasha's face instantly vanished. She looked at Axel in disbelief, her fiery body trembling uncontrollably.

'What the—you're just gonna humiliate me alone?'

'You've mastered the art of passing the torch of embarrassment, huh?'

'If it weren't for the crowd on the field, you'd see whether or not I'd bite you to death.'

———

After the battle ended, Axel didn't linger on the field.

After signing off on the reward delivery address, he followed Erika to her temporary residence at Ninox University.

Without wasting too much time, Axel came out of the room carrying a few bottles of perfume handmade by Erika.

"This gift's pretty good. Very suitable for Cynthia and Eva. Just not sure when would be the best time to give them..."

Just then, Axel's Rotom phone suddenly buzzed.

Eva's image appeared, her tone filled with excitement:

["Ahhh, Axel, you're amazing. You actually helped me get an appointment with Cynthia!"]

["Just now Cynthia contacted me using her private social account and invited me out for a meal."]

["Do you want to come too?"]

Axel was stunned for a second and sent Cynthia a question mark.

Cynthia quickly replied with a message, ["About to leave soon, figured I had to at least meet your Eva, right? smile.jpg"]

Axel looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh.

'This is seriously a love battlefield.'

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