Chapter 68 68: The Class Gauntlet?（100 Power stone）
Teacher Liu was truly at a loss for words.
The boy actually asked for a Life Orb. That thing was a high-tier illegal substance! Never mind whether a high school could even source one, she could never let a kid near it. One mistake and that thing would suck the literal life out of him!
How do you even know about that item? Do you have a death wish?
Teacher Liu facepalmed in despair, genuinely worried the boy would find a way to accidentally delete himself one day. She urged him to pick a more "normal" request.
"Then... could I bother you for a 'Green Channel'?" Lorze thought about it seriously.
"What kind of Green Channel?" Teacher Liu asked, confused.
"Like... if I have stuff to do, I can just skip class whenever I want~."
"Why would you want to skip class? Even academic subjects are vital."
"Don't hit me when I say this, but I feel like sitting in a classroom is a massive waste of time."
"Excuse me?" Teacher Liu's eyebrow arched. Was he seriously saying this to his teacher's face?
What do you mean 'waste of time'? Is my presence that offensive to you?
"I mean it's cutting into my training time. My training method with Ralts is very specific and requires a certain environment. Plus, I have my contractual duties for Snowhide to fulfill. I honestly can't guarantee I can make it to class on time every day~." Lorze explained quickly before she could scold him.
"What kind of contract requires a high schooler to work?" Teacher Liu looked entirely skeptical.
"I'm under a non-disclosure agreement. I can't say." Lorze shrugged. If she didn't believe him, there was nothing he could do.
"But skipping class isn't acceptable... unless you can guarantee a top-tier result in the Provincial Tournament in a year." Teacher Liu pondered for a moment. For a prodigy like Lorze who had his own rhythm, academic freedom wasn't out of the question.
But even for his own good, she couldn't let him just rot at home. This affected his university admissions.
Unless he secured a Top 3 spot in the Provincials. If he did that, universities would trample over each other to recruit him, completely ignoring his grades.
"No problem. I guarantee it~." Lorze promised instantly.
"Your promise is worthless. I need to personally verify your strength regularly. If I find your skills are stagnating, don't blame me for revoking your privileges and making you do double-time to catch up on every single class you missed." Teacher Liu spoke sternly. This was his future they were talking about; she couldn't afford to be sloppy.
"Deal. I accept the challenge." Lorze nodded. If he had decided to walk the path of a Trainer, he had to be able to handle a teacher's test.
"Fine. I'll arrange a test for you shortly. We might as well let the rest of the class see what the 'Tournament Champion' is actually capable of." Teacher Liu smirked. His request was granted.
Once they finished their negotiation, they returned to the classroom.
The teacher looked at the rowdy teenagers and decided to seize the momentum: "Quiet down, everyone! I can see you're all very excited about your partners. I assume everyone is dying to test them in a real battle?"
"A Pokémon battle?!" The students' eyes collectively ignited.
"Finally! My Taillow was so pissed it missed the Torchic Challenger Tournament!"
"Your Taillow hasn't even evolved, give it a rest. You'd just be a free win. My Houndour is a different story; even unevolved, its base stats are meta!"
"Who are you calling 'normal'? Want to settle this right now?"
"Bring it on! I've been waiting for you to say that!"
The hormone-fueled teenagers were ready to explode. No one was willing to back down, especially not with the girls watching.
The announcement of a battle pushed the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
Every Trainer wants to see what their partner can do once they finally get them.
If it weren't for bad timing, missing out on the news, or having other commitments, most of them would have entered that Torchic Challenger Tournament too.
There were plenty of rookie tournaments over the summer; it wasn't like everyone picked the same one. It was only because of Ralts that Lorze's specific tournament became a viral sensation.
Their underlying message was clear: If we had been there, the winner might have been different.
Don't think just because you won some rookie trophy that you're the number one seed in this class!
Yes, they were talking about that specific "animal" in the class.
That bastard having a pure white Ralts was already enough, but he was soaking up all the girls' attention and even had the audacity to move in on the class beauty, Xue Yi. It was unforgivable!
How could anyone tolerate this?
At the end of the day, everyone was a rookie. They were all starting from the same line. Even if Lorze was good, how much of a gap could there really be?
Sure, Lorze showed some unexplainable tricks in his matches, like that Thunder Punch that ignored type-immunity.
But even with those "hacks," didn't he barely win his final match?
This proved the gap between top rookies wasn't actually that big. Plus, some kids in class already had evolved partners. Compared to the Top 8 in that tournament, they didn't feel they were lacking at all.
As one of the city's premier key schools, City No. 1 was packed with rich heirs. You think their Pokémon were poorly raised?
They just hadn't felt like competing yet!
No one likes feeling inferior. The boys harbored a tiny, nagging doubt: Is Lorze really better than me?
Teacher Liu instantly detonated that doubt. Everyone was itching to test the waters themselves.
"It's good to see such passion. Lorze just agreed to participate. He'll be the defender of the ring. The rest of you are the challengers. I assume someone will be able to knock him off his throne eventually?" Teacher Liu was clearly enjoying the chaos, setting up a Gauntlet for Lorze.
A Gauntlet meant Lorze had to stay in the ring and accept back-to-back challenges without a break until he was defeated. It was the absolute best way to measure his current limits.
No one knew how many people Lorze could survive. The class had some elite talent; their strength was legitimately on par with the Top 4 or Top 8 of that tournament.
Lorze hadn't had an "easy" time in the later rounds of his tournament. Most people assumed five consecutive wins would be his absolute limit.
For Teacher Liu, this wasn't just a test for Lorze; she wanted to gauge the overall power of her class to prepare for the inter-class rankings next month.
After all, that Frogadier Trainer Lorze beat in the finals was a student at this very school. He would definitely be a rival later.
In reality, Lorze had won that final by the skin of his teeth. If his Ralts hadn't unleashed that freakish black hole at the last second, the result would have been a toss-up.
Xue Tong had explained the "Psychic Black Hole" as a rare, defensive instinct unique to the Gardevoir line that was almost impossible to trigger intentionally. Could Lorze really rely on that "fluke" to win again?
Probably not.
But even if the win was lucky, Teacher Liu still felt Ralts had higher potential than the Frogadier.
Ralts had bullied a Protean-buffed opponent despite the type disadvantage. Given time, she would undoubtedly become as terrifying as Xue Tong's Gardevoir.
But that was in the future. Right now, Teacher Liu just wanted to see how long Lorze could last in the meat grinder.