"Vee!"
In the center of the fray, Eevee stood atop a jagged rock, hurling one Shadow Ball after another. Behind it, a kaleidoscope of energy from its teammates' moves lit up the sky. The strategy was simple and brutal, but undeniably effective.
"Wake up! Please, just wake up!"
The Danning High students were suffering in silence—or rather, shouting in vain. Their Pokémon weren't just ignoring orders; they were practically sprinting into oncoming attacks like they'd lost their minds. The mental toll on these trainers was immeasurable.
Click! Click!
In the press area, Selina was firing off shots as the Fairview team's bombardment intensified. A sensational headline was already forming in her mind:
SHOCKING! Five Pokémon Frenziedly Pounce on Eevee... The Hidden Truth Behind the Madness...
But what was the truth? Selina bit her lip. She wasn't a professional trainer; she couldn't quite identify the specific move Eevee was using to cause such chaos.
Luckily, while she didn't know, plenty of others did.
"I've seen Swagger before, and I've seen Taunt..." one school teacher muttered, his face contorted in a strange grimace. "But I have never seen a Pokémon use those moves with such... vivid theatricality."
"The expressions are so rich... the gestures are so mocking..."
Eevee's performance was peerless. Combined with its powerful mental suggestion, it was likely that any Pokémon it taunted today would remember that smug little face for the rest of its life.
"All five of Danning High's Pokémon are unable to battle. The winner is Fairview No. 1!"
A mere 61 seconds.
The referee waved the flags and announced the result. Many onlookers checking the timestamps on their recording devices couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
"Incredible. That Eevee practically carried the entire team to victory single-handedly."
"Even if Fairview could have won without it, it wouldn't have been this easy."
"Actually, the teammates coordinated well too. You can tell they practiced this 'Provoke-and-Bombardment' flow; the move transitions were seamless."
Amidst the heated discussion from the crowd, Owen led his team off the field. His role in this victory was undeniable.
"It's still hard to believe..."
There was no doubt Eevee was the key. But even for a Psychic-type specialized in mental suggestion, it shouldn't be that easy to force five targets to lose their sanity simultaneously.
"Can an Eevee really possess such immense mental strength?"
Several Professional Trainers in the stands were narrowing their eyes. Among them was Blaze, an old rival of Owen's mentor, Ethan, from the Riverside Trainer Association. Because of the history between Riverside and Fairview, Blaze had come specifically to scout this match.
He had seen Owen's Eevee one-shot a Magmar months ago, so he knew it was strong. But today, he saw a different side. Instead of raw power, it used superior mental fortitude to dismantle a team.
The Professional Trainer fell into a long silence. Damn it... with this level of mental energy, is Owen a high schooler or a secret disciple from a Psychic Dojo?
I thought you were the type to just charge in and slam into people. Since when are you this versatile?
Blaze began to wonder if this was actually a Dragonite wearing an Eevee skin.
"Well done!"
When the five players returned, Zoe met them personally. Because the match had been such a blowout, no one was injured, and they had barely spent any stamina. This meant they were in peak condition for the upcoming matches.
"Take a break. Owen, come with me."
Zoe led Owen aside while the other teachers took the rest of the team to refuel and recover.
"From this point on, Eevee's high mental strength is public knowledge," Zoe said. "The spinning Sand Attack, the Anticipation ability—you know people will be analyzing everything now, right?"
The "Counter Shield" version of Sand Attack was already known from the Young Ho-Oh Cup, and the effectiveness of Eevee's Swagger would now be the top priority for every rival school. As the Captain of Fairview, Owen was officially the most targeted trainer in the league.
Owen nodded.
"Do you remember what I said in class?" Zoe asked.
"I remember. I won't over-rely on my trump cards."
Owen knew exactly what she meant. A qualified trainer has many hidden cards, but both trainer and Pokémon have limits. You can't rely on infinite surprises. A trainer's core value lies in their command quality.
Now that the intel was out, opponents would come prepared with counters. Zoe wanted to ensure Owen could adapt on the fly—that even when an opponent targeted his specific moves, he had the tactical sense to dismantle them anyway.
If you put all your hope in a "secret move," you eventually run out of luck.
The standard for a trainer's level is a combination of the Pokémon's power and the trainer's command ability. Zoe and Owen were discussing the latter because, frankly, Owen's cultivation and training were so flawless that even a Professional like her couldn't find a fault.
Eevee was simply too well-bred. Sometimes Owen didn't even need to give a "stroke of genius" command; Eevee just ended the fight on its own.
This often made Owen look like a "useless accessory" with no room to show off his skills.
The next day, the Selection Trial for the Individual Battles concluded.
Owen finished with a perfect 3-0 record. In all three matches, Eevee ended things with a Shadow Ball. If one didn't work, it used two. If two didn't work, it used three. In a contest of raw damage and reaction speed, Eevee hadn't lost yet.
While Owen sailed through, the rest of Fairview didn't have it so easy.
Leo suffered a crushing 0-3 record. His luck was abysmal. Is this the legendary 'pay-to-win but still lose' curse?
Lynnea finished with one win, one loss, and one draw. While her record wasn't spectacular, her Growlithe's "police dog" style training meant it had no glaring weaknesses. She received extra points for training quality and successfully advanced.
As for the others? It was a bloodbath. 0-3 was a common sight, and even those who managed a single win were often filtered out during the cultivation evaluation.
In the end, only Owen and Lynnea advanced from Fairview No. 1.
The field had been cut from 140 to 48. Having two survivors placed Fairview in the "middle-tier" performance bracket, but the school leadership was already over the moon.
Compared to the schools that had only one person advance—or none at all—they were doing great.
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