Rustboro City Trainers' School.
"The school's primary class hours are from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The practical battle instruction classes are generally scheduled between 2:00 PM and 3:50 PM. Please remember the schedule and avoid being late or absent..."
Walking down the hallway toward the classroom, Roxanne's polished leather shoes clicked rhythmically as she patiently explained the details to Hakuya.
Although it was a temporary Battle Instructor position, and the contract only lasted for two short weeks, that didn't mean he could just come in and slack off. The school's regulations, the specific curriculum, and the teaching methods all required a high standard of strict adherence.
"As a general rule, the Pokémon used for practical combat demonstrations are provided by the Trainers' School. You simply need to submit an approval request before class..." Roxanne brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead and continued, "Of course, if a Battle Instructor wishes to use their own Pokémon for teaching, that is also perfectly fine. However..."
At this point, she deliberately paused.
Generally speaking, the purpose of battle instruction was to help students better understand a specific type of Pokémon, or to train their own teams and tactical commanding skills. Therefore, using the standard Pokémon provided by the school was naturally the best approach.
Hearing this, Hakuya nodded thoughtfully.
Besides the class schedule and the Pokémon used for practical demonstrations, there were many other details to keep in mind as a Battle Instructor, such as ensuring the physical safety of both the students and the Pokémon during combat exercises.
"Hakuya, did you get all that?"
"Yes... Your explanation was very detailed. I have a complete understanding of what this job entails now."
After listening to the entire orientation, Hakuya nodded and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Ms. Roxanne, you truly live up to the rumors of being an incredibly dedicated and responsible teacher~"
"Ah..."
Hearing this, a faint blush spread across Roxanne's pretty face.
Everyone enjoys a compliment, especially one coming from a truly strong individual.
Faced with this sudden praise, the normally dignified and quiet Rustboro Gym Leader felt a bit bashful.
Chatting amiably as they walked down the corridor, Roxanne and Hakuya soon arrived at the classroom where the students were waiting.
"Alright everyone, this is Mr. Hakuya. He will be your Battle Instructor for the next two weeks~"
"Hello, Mr. Hakuya!" "Hello, students."
With a polite nod to the class, Hakuya released Floragato and the others from their Poké Balls one by one.
Although Roxanne had just advised that it was generally better to use the school's Pokémon for teaching, after some consideration, he had a different plan in mind.
The moment Floragato and the others appeared, a chorus of excited chatter erupted among the children in the classroom.
"It's the Legendary Pokémon Latias! Is that Mr. Hakuya's Pokémon too?! So cool~"
"I've never seen that big green cat in our textbooks before!"
"I think I saw it in an extracurricular Pokémon study guide... Um, it's one of the starter Pokémon from the Paldea region! A Grass-type named Floragato!"
"I can't believe Mr. Hakuya also caught a Milcery~ She's just as cute as the pictures in the dessert magazines..."
At first, the kids were clearly captivated by the aesthetics of Latias and the others.
After all, whether it was Latias, Floragato, or Milcery, they were all incredibly adorable.
However, it didn't take long for the "meta-slaves" to dominate the conversation.
"Who do you guys think is stronger: Ms. Roxanne's Golem, or Mr. Hakuya's Floragato?"
"I bet Mr. Hakuya's is stronger! I feel like that Grass-type Floragato could one-shot Ms. Roxanne's Golem with a single Leafage."
"We won't know until they fight... I wanna see Mr. Hakuya and Ms. Roxanne battle!!!"
"..."
Visibly, Hakuya noticed the beautiful teacher beside him turning as red as her pantyhose.
"Stop, stop, stop!!!"
Before the situation escalated any further, Roxanne put her hands on her hips and intervened with a stern face.
"Mr. Hakuya was hired specifically to teach you how to battle, not to fight me. If I hear anyone making comments irrelevant to the class again, I'll have them use their own Pokémon to battle Mr. Hakuya..."
"No need to wait for next time. Let's do it today."
Before Roxanne could even finish her threat, Hakuya smoothly picked up where she left off.
His gaze swept over the classroom of suddenly terrified elementary school students, and he stated simply:
"Everyone, follow me to the training battlefield. Today is your first practical battle lesson. The task is to send out your Pokémon to fight any one of mine. Only the winners get to go home early~"
"Ehhhh?!!"
A collective wail of despair echoed through the classroom.
Standing to the side, Roxanne was slightly stunned upon hearing this.
To be honest, she was only joking earlier to scare them.
She originally thought Hakuya just wanted to show the students Pokémon from other regions, and that he would eventually use the school's beginner Pokémon for the actual lesson.
She didn't expect him to actually use those absurdly overpowered monsters of his against the students.
—Wouldn't setting the difficulty that high completely crush the students' passion for battling?
However, it wasn't long before her doubts vanished, and she found herself nodding thoughtfully.
Because Hakuya wasn't going all-out like he did when he battled her; he intentionally instructed his Pokémon to severely suppress their power.
"What's wrong? Are you too afraid to attack because you're facing a Grass-type Floragato? Are you preparing to surrender?"
Looking at the little girl with bun-shaped hair who was nervously gripping the hem of her skirt, Hakuya crossed his arms and asked.
"U-Um... b-but..." The little girl lowered her head, her voice trembling. "A Rock/Ground-type Geodude can never beat a Grass-type Floragato no matter what, right?"
Hearing this, Hakuya couldn't help but chuckle.
"But your Geodude still believes in you. Are you sure you don't want to attack?"
"Geo!"
At this moment, although equally intimidated by Floragato's aura, Geodude noticed its Trainer's gaze. Suddenly feeling as though all its strength had returned, it pumped its fists and shouted loudly.
"I-I understand! Let's go, Geodude!"
"Use Rollout!"
"Meowha~"
After an intense (and heavily handicapped) battle, Hakuya and the intentionally defeated Floragato smiled as they watched the little girl and her Geodude hug each other tightly, weeping tears of joy.
"Hmm... engaging in combat with a powerful opponent, learning to trust your Pokémon in desperate situations, and relying on each other... As the curriculum for the first lesson, this actually seems like an excellent idea..."
Taking in the scene before her, Roxanne subconsciously pressed her soft, glossy lips together.
In her usual classes, she primarily taught theoretical knowledge like type matchups and Pokémon evolutionary lines.
While these were fundamental concepts every qualified Pokémon Trainer had to master, relying solely on them long-term inevitably produced "bookworms" who blindly trusted textbook theories and rigid data.
True Pokémon battles were never decided solely by type advantages or evolutionary stages.
Sometimes, what was truly needed was the courage to face insurmountable odds.
Even if you knew defeat was certain, you had to believe in your partner Pokémon and meet the challenge head-on.
Yeah... getting the chance to battle Pokémon of this caliber means these kids definitely got their tuition's worth today.
Suddenly, the Rustboro Gym Leader's lips curled upwards into an incredibly radiant and beautiful smile.
Mr. Hakuya, and his teaching methods today—she fully approved.
"But speaking of which, the strength of Hakuya's Pokémon is truly terrifying~"
Her gaze swept over the Pokémon Hakuya currently had out, and Roxanne couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
After being completely brutalized and traumatized by them twice, she was highly qualified to make that statement.
—The Legendary Pokémon Latias, whose aura became increasingly terrifying the more her Special Attack was 'lowered' by [Draco Meteor].
—Floragato, who could unleash a [Leafage] with the sheer destructive force of two consecutive [Leaf Storms].
—And Milcery, who could tank dozens of [Stone Edges] without even blinking.
Pulling out any single one of them would be enough to make countless Trainers stare in awe, let alone possessing all three.
She had no idea what kind of hellish training regimen he used to raise them to such a terrifying level.
Thinking of this, Roxanne's eyes suddenly sparkled with a bright light.
I need to take advantage of his free time over these next two weeks and ask him for advice as much as possible.