Chapter 274: Who Wants to Come Up and Die First?
In the silent arena,
a handsome young man stood calmly in the center of the battlefield, his warm smile like a spring breeze.
But his words made the atmosphere in Canalave Academy's camp even heavier.
“What... what did he mean by that?”
Hayaki from Canalave couldn’t help but whisper.
Is he really planning to solo our entire academy?!
Iwamura’s gaze sharpened, though he said nothing.
This was just a young, inexperienced teacher.
Even if his coaching skills were historic… that didn’t necessarily mean he had equivalent individual strength.
And besides… compared to going up against Lijia from Kanto, this was already the better option.
“I’ll go first.”
Iwamura pushed up his glasses. “Let me see this Teacher Lu’s abilities for myself!”
After a brief silence, the arena erupted into cheers once again.
Compared to student matches,
the audience was always more excited for high-level clashes.
And with how unstoppable Lu Ye’s students had been so far—
if no one gave their all now,
this whole match would just become a solo showcase for Teacher Lu!
“Can he really win though?”
“Being a good coach doesn’t mean you’re strong personally!”
“Didn’t you hear what he just said? That confidence—he’s definitely got something up his sleeve!” The crowd’s chatter left Lu Ye completely baffled.
Wait... I sounded arrogant just now?
Wasn’t I being super humble?!
“Whatever, I’m just here to slack off anyway.”
Lu Ye looked down at the Luxury Ball in his hand.
Togepi’s still too little… I can’t let it get beaten up onstage.
Alright, Arcanine. You’re up.
The cheers grew louder and louder, but among the Yuhong crowd, brows were furrowed.
With how well the students had done,
if Lu Ye underperformed now, he could easily become a laughingstock.
“It should’ve been me,” Tianjing said with a wry smile. “No need for Teacher Lu to take this risk.”
But Wenzi shook her head, eyes resolute.
She’d spoken with Lijia before, and they’d discussed Lu Ye.
If the rumors were true…
then Lu Ye’s strength might even surpass Lijia’s!
“Watch closely,” Wenzi said seriously.
“This might become… a match worthy of the history books.”
Yutō Sundae nervously bit her lip, glancing at her two senior classmates.
“Aren’t you guys even a little anxious?!”
“Anxious about what?”
Manatsu blinked his soft, chestnut-colored eyes.
“In Teacher Lu’s words,” Gladion said, arms crossed with a cold snort,
“Even the Baby Cup doesn’t require stress.”
With bated breath, both sides officially stepped onto the field.
Iwamura adjusted his glasses and gave a curt nod. “Let’s have a good match.”
“You too,” Lu Ye replied with a gentle smile.
“The match begins!” the commentator roared.
Flashes of white light—
both Trainers had sent out their lead Pokémon.
Arcanine, majestic and imposing, its flaxen mane fluttering like flames, bared its sharp fangs in a menacing grin.
“Awoooo!!”
Its powerful roar struck awe in the hearts of front-row spectators.
Ferocious and regal, Arcanine’s presence paired perfectly with the handsome young Trainer by its side, etching itself into the minds of all watching.
“Hissss—”
Across the field, a Seviper with dark-gold markings and blood-red eyes slithered low to the ground, flicking its tongue.
Venom dripped from its fangs like acid.
One sting from that blade-like tail could take down an elephant in seconds.
The audience collectively held their breath.
“Seviper, Toxic!” Iwamura barked.
The giant serpent shot forward like lightning, unleashing a wave of putrid, purple venomous mist that spread like acid rain toward Arcanine.
But Arcanine’s lean body was already moving, igniting with blazing flames—
It burst out from the toxic mist with sheer brute force!
Pre-read and dodged.
Using the fire to clear a path, the Toxic attack completely missed.
“You’re gonna try Toxic on me?” Lu Ye clicked his tongue. “Flamethrower, point-blank.”
With the speed boost from Flame Charge,
Arcanine now had the speed advantage.
If long-range attacks wouldn’t land,
then just get up close and blow them away!
That instinctive command speed made Iwamura’s face twitch slightly.
But his experience as a teacher let him react instantly.
“Seviper, Coil!”
Even if it didn’t boost special defense, tightening its body could still reduce the area of impact and serve as a defensive setup.
Not to mention, the buffed state would be key for a future counterattack!
Seviper coiled up, but a flash of fear still appeared in its eyes.
The blazing heat had distorted the air, and in the blink of an eye, the flames devoured it.
BOOM!!
A massive explosion.
Seviper’s underbelly was scorched black—but it somehow clung to a thread of consciousness.
“Toxic!” Iwamura croaked.
There was still a chance!
After Coil, there was no way this Toxic would miss!
But then… despair flashed in Iwamura’s eyes.
With a snap of Lu Ye’s fingers, a pale green barrier shimmered around Arcanine.
Even the most corrosive venom couldn’t break through.
Protect.
Dujuan frowned deeply as she watched from the stands.
Every move Iwamura made—Teacher Lu had already anticipated.
And even turned it against him.
This was more than just a difference in strength—
They were on completely different levels as Trainers.
And clearly, Arcanine hadn’t even shown its full power yet!
Using prediction and flawless commands,
Lu Ye had completely crushed a veteran teacher from Canalave.
“So this is…”
Dujuan took a deep breath, eyes complex.
“This is why… facing him is worse than facing Lijia.”
Lu Ye crossed his arms.
Look, I really did come to slack off.
But using Toxic against me? That’s just insulting.
What if something went wrong—wouldn’t that be a complete loss?
He waved casually, signaling to Arcanine to go freestyle.
“Awooo!” Arcanine howled excitedly, charging forward like a heavily-armored tank.
Boom!!
“Seviper is unable to battle!” The referee raised the flag.
Iwamura gritted his teeth and recalled Seviper.
The pressure this Teacher Lu gave him…
was greater than anyone he’d faced in the Hoenn League.
But…
Iwamura looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand.
Type advantage isn’t something you can just “predict” your way out of!
“Go! Empoleon!”
A flash of white light—
a regal penguin stood tall, blades gleaming at its flippers, eyes cold with imperial pride.
“A Water-type starter—Empoleon!”
The commentator shouted.
“Arcanine has no type advantage here!”
“Not only that,” added the analyst,
“Based on my research, this Empoleon has the rare Defiant ability!”
“After confirming Arcanine’s ability as Intimidate, this was clearly his trump card!”
“This will be a difficult match for Yuhong Academy!”
Iwamura’s plan had been to wear Arcanine down with Seviper.
He hadn’t expected a total massacre instead.
But now, his eyes sharpened.
I’m taking this round, no matter what!
With Defiant, if Empoleon’s attack is lowered, it boosts even higher.
Facing Arcanine’s overwhelming aura, Empoleon’s gaze turned colder still.
Swish!
Steel flippers shimmered with water.
“Aqua Jet!” Iwamura commanded.
Empoleon struck first—two sharp water blades slashing toward the charging Arcanine.
But the minor scratches left everyone in shock.
That’s it?!
This was supposed to be a powered-up, super-effective move!
Why did Arcanine look like it wasn’t even scratched?!
“Is this a bulky Arcanine build?”
Dujuan asked herself, then suddenly her eyes widened.
Electric energy surged over Arcanine’s body, crackling like golden lightning—
It looked like it was wearing a suit of thunderous armor.
Arcanine raised its head and howled.
With a roar of thunder, it launched a Wild Charge straight at Empoleon!
Thud!!
Even as Empoleon tried to block with its flippers, its eyes showed shock.
Like a kite with its string cut, it was blasted back several meters, landing charred and smoking.
One turn. KO.
Dujuan unconsciously swallowed hard.
This… this is bulky?!
How could double-resisted attacks do this much damage?!
The audience still hadn’t processed what happened—
They were frozen in the moment Empoleon got one-shot.
The commentator stuttered,
“Arcanine’s Wild Charge… took Empoleon out in a single blow!”
The analyst, who’d been confidently theorizing a moment ago,
was now red-faced and speechless.
And then…
the crowd erupted.
“Holy sh*t, that was insane!”
“Now this is what I call a strict teacher raising strong students!”
“Is he going to sweep the faculty match too?!”
This was a match between several academies—veteran teachers from all over!
And one rookie teacher just brought a month-old team and steamrolled them all?
What kind of cracked nonsense is this?!
Principal Initial, watching the livestream, felt his blood pressure spike.
He quickly called the logistics office.
“Go buy new training equipment. Top quality only. Got it?!”
Iwamura swallowed hard.
It wasn’t just the battle tactics—he’d lost even in raw training quality.
Even when facing Lijia…
he had never felt this level of domination.
Where did Yuhong Academy even find this monster?!
The match was still one-sided.
Dujuan watched the unstoppable Arcanine, feeling very conflicted.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a friendly match?
Forget next year’s exchange…
we’re not doing this again. Y’all are bullies!
In the end, Iwamura’s match against Lu Ye ended the same: 3–0.
Teachers Tianjing and Wenzi, after recovering from the initial shock, finally accepted reality.
A strong general commands strong soldiers. And vice versa.
Gladion glanced over and muttered to Yutō Sundae:
“This is what you call a ‘Baby Cup.’”
“With Teacher Lu’s personality…” Manatsu smiled sheepishly.
“He might… just stay on the field.”
Wait—he’s not done?!
Yutō Sundae looked up in surprise.
On the dead-silent battlefield, Teacher Lu cleared his throat.
“Anyone else… want to come up?”
Lu Ye thought to himself:
That was just an accident. Next round… next round I’ll definitely hold back!
In a daze, Dujuan felt like the man before her was no longer a schoolteacher—
but more like Oda Nobunaga, the infamous “Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.”
Gazing coldly across the field,
his calm voice echoed:
“Anyone else want to come up and die?”