Mewtwo shards were the second priority. After all, Julian needed to collect 100 of them, and even with this mission, he only had 13 shards in total—a little more than ten percent of the way there.
What really excited him wasn't the Mewtwo shards though—it was the Golden legend shard. He remembered spending 25,000 points to buy his first golden shard, thinking that once he gathered 10 of them, his purple-tier Metagross could be upgraded to golden-tier.
But when he tried to buy the second shard, the price had quadrupled.
At that moment, Julian knew he'd been tricked by the system. It felt like a telecom fraud.
Now, this quest offered 2 Golden legend shards as a reward. Along with the one he had already bought, he'd have 3 shards—nearly a third of the way to the 10 he needed.
But the reward would only come if he completed the mission. Otherwise, the Mewtwo shards, the Golden legend shards, and even the points would be out of his reach.
"Gather around, let me arrange the battle order"
Head teacher Frank called out. Ten students from the special recruit class of 30 stepped forward. Besides Julian, the others were Tyler (Fire), Ian (Dragon), Luis (Ice), Walter (Water), Hugo (Ghost), Yanis (Ice), Gucci (Fighting), Zane (Grass), and Jim (Electric).
These were the strongest nine students in the special class, excluding Julian. Shen wasn't included—although she had begun to awaken her abilities, she was still in a semi-awakened state, and her Pokémon were not at a high enough level.
"Teacher, let me go first. I can handle at least two opponents"
Luis said confidently. His Ace Pokémon had recently reached the peak of the Advanced tier.
"I should go. Better than you, I can take on three," Tyler replied, stepping forward.
Luis scoffed. "Let's see you do that without relying on type advantage!"
When Trainers' Pokémon were evenly matched, type advantage often played a crucial role.
"How about I go first?"
Jim suggested, raising his hand and looking expectantly at Frank.
Going first was stressful, but they preferred to bear the pressure themselves rather than leaving it for someone else.
"I'll go."
Julian's calm voice suddenly broke through their discussion, silencing the group. Luis blinked in surprise.
"Brother Walker, you're going first?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?, I want to take on all ten," Julian said.
As the leader of the special class and the strongest among them, Julian was typically placed in the middle or as the final player.
It was rare for the ace to lead the charge—like throwing down your trump card at the very beginning of a card game.
As for the idea that Julian would take on all ten opponents? They didn't take that too seriously.
"Teacher, I'll go first"
Julian repeated, turning to Frank.
"Alright, but you need to defeat at least three"
Frank said, noting the determination in Julian's eyes.
At 9:00 AM, the exchange match between Imperial University and Shu University officially began. After both sides submitted their battle orders, the first player from Shu University was Nolan, who confidently walked to the battlefield.
He had faced Julian before during the high school league, and after that defeat, he had chosen to attend Shu University—specifically because he had learned that Julian had gone to Imperial College.
Since then, Nolan had worked hard and rebuilt his confidence.
"No matter who Imperial University sends, I'll beat them," he told himself.
'As long as it wasn't him.'
But as Nolan glanced across the field, he froze. He saw the Trainer from Imperial College—a familiar face with a familiar Pokémon.
Nolan rubbed his eyes.
An illusion, It had to be an illusion.
But when he opened them again, the same person and Pokémon stood before him.
Nolan nearly choked. How could Julian, the leader of the special recruit class, be the first to play?
The Shu University side was equally stunned.
They couldn't believe Imperial University was leading with their strongest player. What kind of strategy was this?
The Elite-level Trainer leading Shu University couldn't help but mutter, "That bast**d Frank, he's playing mind games with me."
She then turned to the girl beside her. "Acacia, keep a close eye on that Metagross. I don't think Nolan can beat Julian, and you might not be able to either. But watch closely."
The battle order had already been submitted, so it was too late to switch things around. Otherwise, she would have sent Acacia in second to test Julian's strength against Shu's best.
Nolan took a deep breath. Even though he didn't want to face Julian, he had no choice. He gripped the Poké Ball tightly in his hand.
'I've gotten a lot stronger since then.'
"Go, Tyranitar!" Nolan shouted.
In a flash of white light, a massive Tyranitar appeared on the field. Its body was covered in thick green armor, with a long tail and an imposing presence.
Pokémon: Tyranitar (Rock/Dark)
Level: 56
Qualification: Blue
Ability: Sand Stream
Held Item: Hard Stone
Gender: Male
Moves: Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Rock Throw, Payback, Bite, Scary Face, Rock Slide, Stomping Tantrum, Screech, Dark Pulse, Earthquake, Giga Impact
Disc Moves: Hyper Beam, Dig, Protect, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Mega Punch
Genetic Moves: Earth Power, Sandstorm, Ancient Power, Outrage
Julian's Metagross stood across from it.
Pokémon: Metagross (Steel/Psychic)
Level: 59
Qualification: Purple
Ability: Light Metal
Held Item: Metal Coat
Gender: No gender
Moves: Tackle, Agility, Steel Beam, Confusion, Metal Claw, Hammer Arm, Bullet Punch, Flash Cannon, Magnet Rise, Psychic, Scary Face, Meteor Mash, Hyper Beam, Take Down
Disc Moves: Iron Head, Zen Headbutt, Iron Defense, Protect, Light Screen, Psycho Cut, Shadow Ball, Gyro Ball, Psyshock, Icy Wind, Giga Impact, Bulldoze, Brick Break, Psychic Fangs, Hard Press, Future Sight, Trailblaze
Genetic Moves: None
--
Nolan's Pupitar had evolved into Tyranitar over the summer, earning the title of the "Desert Tyrant."
As soon as Tyranitar saw Metagross, its fury ignited.
This was the Pokémon that had knocked it out with a single punch last time. Now that it had evolved, it was eager for revenge.
"Swish~"
Tyranitar stepped forward, its powerful presence stirring up the sand around it.
Seeing how fired up his Tyranitar was, even though Nolan felt a flicker of doubt, but he quickly pushed it aside.
'When Metagross beat my Pupitar, it was fully evolved.'
'But now, my Tyranitar won't be any weaker than Metagross. Things will be different this time.'
*****
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