Under the crushing power of teor Mash, the Protect barrier shattered almost instantly, offering only a fleeting mont of defense. Still, that brief window allowed Salance a chance to resist.
Although the opportunity was slim, Salance was Owen's ace Pokémon—it was at the peak of pseudo-Elite, capable of challenging even Elite-level opponents.
As the teor Mash struck from behind, Salance's vulnerable back offered no imdiate way to retaliate. Its wings, arms, and head were all poorly positioned to counter the attack.
In a swift move, Salance twisted its body, bringing its white abdon shell to bear the attack, hoping to absorb the blow.
This white shell had once covered its entire body during its evolution as a Shelgon. Upon evolving into Salance, the shell concentrated on its abdon, serving as protection for its softer underbelly.
For many Pokémon with exposed abdons, the belly is often a critical weak point. So are shielded by tough scales, others by layers of fat, or at least thick fur.
"Boom!!"
teor Mash struck Salance's abdon shell with trendous force, unleashing a shockwave upon impact. The sheer power sent Salance hurtling to the ground like a teorite.
The battlefield's surface caved in, forming a crater four to five ters deep and dozens of ters wide.
Salance was lying at the center of the crater, its abdominal shell was largely shattered, with fragnts scattered around. Despite its injuries, it struggled to stand up.
Above, tagross hovered nacingly, its silver forearms gleaming with an intense light.
In Salance's defiant roar, Flash Cannon was fired, engulfing it completely.
"Salance is unable to battle! tagross wins!" the referee declared.
A clash of the Top Five; a pseudo-legendary against another, a 4th-year against a freshman.
And yet, the 4th-year Owen had suffered a crushing defeat.
Recalling Salance, Owen glared at Julian, unwilling to believe the outco. He asked bitterly, "Why does your tagross know Teleport?"
If not for that unexpected opening move, Salance might still have lost, but it wouldn't have been such a swift and humiliating defeat.
It was a question on the minds of many experts as well.
Teleport, while a Psychic-type move, is learned by only a select few Psychic Pokémon—like Abra and Ralts.
Pokémon that can use Teleport are notoriously difficult to capture. If they sense danger, they escape instantly, leaving Trainers with no way to track them.
While so Pokémon can learn Teleport through TMs, others cannot master it even with this thod.
tagross was one such Pokémon. Despite being part Psychic-type, it is inherently incapable of learning Teleport, even via TM.
tagross reproduces asexually through division, which eliminates the possibility of inheriting Teleport genetically.
The Walker family had been breeding tagross for nearly 200 years, yet not a single one had learned Teleport.
Now, Julian's tagross had miraculously broken this centuries-old barrier.
In the livestream, countless Pokémon researchers eagerly awaited Julian's explanation. If the reason tagross had learned Teleport was due to sothing Julian did, he could easily earn a nomination for next year's Arceus Award, perhaps even winning it.
"My tagross is a genius—it just figured it out on its own," Julian said confidently.
The fact that tagross could use Teleport would eventually beco public knowledge, so why not reveal it sooner and freely use the move in full view of everyone?
--
anwhile, at ho;
Julian's father, Jake, sat watching the livestream. Upon hearing Julian's response, he froze for a mont, then a sense of familiarity washed over him, his expression growing strange.
It wasn't the first ti he'd heard such an explanation.
When Julian had obtained the Dratini egg, he claid he had "found it by chance." When he awakened his Psychic abilities—at Interdiate Level, no less—he said it happened after he took a nap.
And now tagross learning Teleport? The explanation: "It's a genius; self-taught."
--
The livestream chat erupted:
"6666, First Slowpoke gets a new evolution and now tagross self-learns Teleport."
"tagross: When it cos to intelligence, the rest of you are trash."
"Why do I feel like he's lying?"
"I just smacked my Drowzee twice and told it to learn Teleport. Now I'm dangling out of my 15th-floor window thanks to Psychic. Anyone knows if the fall will kill ?"
"Not sure about the 15th floor, but I fell from the 13th. Broke 52 bones but survived. Still typing with my one working finger."
So viewers believed Julian, so doubted him, and others were simply enjoying the chaos.
But so professional scholars asserted that Julian's explanation might hold so truth.
tagross' brain was more advanced than a supercomputer, and its intelligence far surpassed that of most humans.
Perhaps Julian's tagross was a once-in-a-generation genius among its kind, with an intellect so extraordinary that it could indeed self-learn Teleport.
Among the barrage of comnts, a golden, officially verified ID suddenly appeared, standing out with bold, enlarged text:
"Elite Walker: My grandson has the makings of a Champion."
In the past, these words were only circulated among a few high-level trainers, but now, millions of netizens in Drakoria will know it.
Fortunately, Julian couldn't see it. Otherwise, he'd surely experience the agony of secondhand embarrassnt.
The other comnts instantly vanished as countless "My grandson has the makings of a Champion" ssages flooded the screen.
And just like that, Julian gained millions of "grandpas" online.
Upon seeing the flood of comnts, John himself was montarily stunned. Then, he burst into hearty laugh.
--
The match continued.
On the Modu Academy side, the second challenger wasted no ti. Without saying a word, he tossed his Poké Ball into the air.
A Dragonite appeared, its large fra hovering mid-air.
Julian glanced at its belly, 'It's not as fat as my Dragonite's.'
'Sure enough, my Dragonite is overweight after all.'
Dragonite, Level 70, another Pokémon at the peak of pseudo-Elite.
In the Top Five Universities, most 4th-year students had Pokémon at pseudo-Elite level. The most exceptional among them often reached the peak of pseudo-Elite.
This was why the Hundred Schools League primarily featured 4th-years. Even 3rd-years were rare, let alone a sophomore or freshn.
For Julian to compete as a freshman was already a remarkable feat. Defeating a 4th-year from Modu Academy only elevated his accomplishnt to another level.
Owen, who hailed from the prestigious Drake family—a family no less prominent than the Walker family—had been soundly defeated by Julian. He couldn't even put up a fight, highlighting the gap in their strength.
Back in the waiting area, Owen sat with a dark expression. His loss wasn't just a blow to his university's reputation but also a disgrace to the Drake family.
What made it worse was how quickly he'd lost.
He hadn't even had a chance to redeem himself. Instead, he had been reduced to nothing more than a backdrop for Julian and tagross.
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