The moment Yu Hao finished speaking—
The broadcast system of Pewter Gym suddenly echoed through the arena.
"Will Challenger No.12, Gu Qiu, please proceed to the battlefield."
"Will Challenger No.12, Gu Qiu, please proceed to the battlefield."
The announcement repeated three times.
Yu Hao froze.
What… did he just hear?
"Move."
Gu Qiu casually pushed him aside.
Yu Hao staggered back like a puppet with its strings cut, his mind completely blank.
"Why aren't you stopping him? Weren't you asking for a challenge?"
"Did they just say his name is Gu Qiu?"
"Gu Qiu?"
One after another, gazes gathered on the tall, handsome young man walking forward.
"It really is Gu Qiu…"
Mei watched him calmly step toward the central battlefield where Brock was waiting.
Her mind felt slightly dazed.
"No wonder he ignored that challenge… he already registered for an official Gym battle."
"That makes sense."
Yu Hao finally snapped back to reality.
He stared at Gu Qiu's back as the latter walked onto the stage under countless gazes.
Jealousy burned in his chest.
Why…
Why was it always him?
"Gu Qiu…"
Yu Hao clenched his teeth.
"You're going to lose miserably."
On the battlefield—
Le Liangcai was still standing there.
The crushing defeat had left him dazed. Humiliated.
Seeing Gu Qiu walk up, he only glanced at him lazily and made no move to leave.
Gu Qiu raised an eyebrow.
He was still polite—for now.
"Could you step aside?"
Le Liangcai turned his head away dismissively.
He had no interest in acknowledging someone like this.
"The place for a loser isn't here."
Gu Qiu's expression cooled.
The next second—
He moved.
Before Le Liangcai could even react, he felt a sudden force grab him.
His body lifted off the ground—
And he was thrown straight off the stage.
Gu Qiu had subtly infused a trace of ninja technique into the motion.
Le Liangcai flew through the air before landing face-first on the ground.
A perfect sprawl.
"You—!"
His face twisted with pain.
He hadn't expected Gu Qiu to know martial arts.
He suffered instantly.
Gu Qiu didn't even look at him again.
Le Liangcai slowly wiped the dust from his face, fury burning in his eyes.
He memorized Gu Qiu's appearance.
But he didn't act.
He wasn't stupid.
There would be opportunities later.
No matter how strong a martial artist was—
They could never surpass Pokémon.
Whispers erupted around the arena.
"He's ruthless… treating Student Le like that? Does he have a death wish?"
"Le Liangcai is the genius of the Le family. This Gu Qiu is definitely in trouble."
"He's undeniably handsome… but isn't that a bit too domineering?"
"I heard he's just a high school senior. How arrogant."
Yu Hao listened to the whispers.
His mood improved instantly.
Yes.
Let everyone hate him.
Let everyone watch him fail.
The only person looking worried—
Was Mei.
She knew Gu Qiu wasn't simple.
But still…
A high school senior challenging a Gym Leader?
How strong could he really be?
Almost no one believed in him.
"So you're Gu Qiu."
Brock finally spoke.
His voice was calm.
But it was clear—
He already knew the name.
"You know me, Leader Brock?"
Gu Qiu looked slightly surprised.
"Not personally. But I've heard about you."
"A very outstanding genius."
Brock shook his head lightly.
Gu Qiu immediately understood.
Lorelei.
Or someone connected to her had mentioned him.
"The battle format is three-on-three," the referee announced.
"When all Pokémon on one side lose the ability to battle, the other side wins."
"Both parties, release your Pokémon."
Gu Qiu's eyes briefly moved toward Graveler.
"It didn't take damage in the previous battle, but it must have consumed some stamina."
"Are you sure you don't want to switch?"
He didn't like winning by taking advantage.
Brock shook his head calmly.
"No need."
"It barely consumed anything."
"The previous opponent was too weak."
"Just a warm-up."
Below the stage—
Le Liangcai's mouth twitched violently.
Too weak?
Warm-up?
Was he really that insignificant?
"Fair enough."
Gu Qiu nodded casually.
"Against that level of opponent, it wouldn't require much energy."
The audience fell silent.
This guy…
Was actually agreeing with Brock?!
"Let's begin."
Gu Qiu raised a Poké Ball.
"Come out—Frogadier."
A flash of light burst onto the battlefield.
The tall, sleek form of Frogadier landed lightly on the stone floor.
Its crimson eyes gleamed sharply.
On its back—
Two faint chakra tails flickered like flowing flames.
The moment it appeared—
Brock's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Level 24… Frogadier."
Experienced trainers could roughly sense the strength of Pokémon.
Especially when the difference was within ten levels.
And Brock—
Was far beyond that threshold.
But aptitude?
That required specialized testing.
It couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
The next moment—
The entire arena exploded.
"Level 24?!"
"Didn't they say he's a high school senior?!"
"How is that possible?!"
Gasps spread through the crowd.
But the most stunned person—
Was Yu Hao.
His face turned deathly pale.
He stumbled backward two steps.
This…
This had to be a joke.
Ten days ago—
Wasn't it just a Level 5 Froakie?
How had it suddenly become a Level 24 Frogadier?
Did he switch Pokémon?
Yu Hao's mind was in chaos.
If this was the same Froakie—
Then everything he said earlier…
Was a complete joke.
No.
Even worse.
Gu Qiu must have thought he was an idiot.
His face burned with embarrassment.
He had proudly declared that his Torchic reached Level 10.
Now—
Under the strange gazes of everyone around him—
He hurriedly tried to explain.
"N-no… that's not right!"
"Ten days ago it was only Level 5!"
"It was just a Level 5 Froakie!"
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