Chapter 527: The Stage Is Set—Now It’s My Turn to Show Off

The moment their attacks connected, hope surged through the students.

Smiles broke out among them.

But one second later, a tremendous roar thundered across the arena.

The smiles on everyone's faces froze.

Tyranitar's armored body barely showed a scratch.

Tyranitar had a base Defense of 110, and under a sandstorm, its Special Defense received another 50% boost.

Most importantly, it was a Class Champion-level Pokémon.

The gap in level was simply too wide.

Against Pokémon like theirs, Tyranitar was a nightmare made real.

Boom, boom...

Faint red energy shimmered around Tyranitar.

Dragon Dance had raised both its Attack and Speed by one stage.

The pressure coming off it grew even heavier.

"Tyranitar... show them what real power looks like."

"Earthquake. Sweep them."

Quincy grinned.

Tyranitar threw back its head and unleashed another thunderous roar.

An earthy yellow glow flared around its body before it drove both feet into the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A violent shockwave ripped through the ground in every direction.

The entire battlefield shook violently.

"We're screwed! Charizard, get airborne!"

"Blastoise, withdraw into your shell and wait to die!"

"Arcanine, run! Just stay alive as long as you can!"

"Infernape... forget it. We're done."

...

The sight of that Earthquake shattered what little resolve the students had left.

There was no way to dodge it.

Earthquake covered far too much ground.

"Sceptile... hop onto Metagross."

Aaron gave the order without hesitation.

Braveon stared at him in silence.

So Metagross was a mount now?

Metagross was still a pseudo-legendary, for crying out loud.

Did pseudo-legendaries get no respect around here?

"Scep!"

The tremors were already racing toward them, so Sceptile had no time to complain.

It jumped straight onto Metagross's head.

"Metagross..."

Metagross let out a low cry and immediately floated high into the air using magnetic force.

The two Pokémon rose clear of Earthquake's reach.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Earthquake tore through the entire arena.

Dust and smoke swallowed the battlefield, leaving the place looking like a war zone.

When the dust finally cleared, the arena was littered with "bodies."

One Pokémon after another had spirals in their eyes.

All of them had lost the ability to battle.

Only a handful of Pokémon capable of getting airborne had escaped Earthquake.

One move.

Just one move.

The Pokémon from Classes 1 and 2 had been almost completely wiped out.

This was the absolute power of a Class Champion-level Pokémon.

The entire arena fell silent.

No one seemed quite able to process what they had just seen.

The freshmen took it even harder.

Several of them simply dropped to the ground as their legs gave out beneath them.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight that...? We don't stand a chance. We're screwed."

"The level gap is way too big. There's no way we can win."

"What are we supposed to do now...? Are we seriously going to have to take academic leave?"

"Screw this. This test is literally impossible. What kind of bullshit assessment is this?"

"Exactly. We should report him. He's obviously trying to force us out."

"This is bullshit. Someone like him doesn't deserve to be an instructor—he doesn't even deserve the uniform."

"If you're gonna talk that much shit, at least say it loud enough for him to hear."

...

The students looked completely defeated.

They had fought their way into the university of their dreams, only to have Quincy put their futures on the line.

No wonder some of them were close to breaking.

Only Aaron and Braveon still looked completely at ease.

"Aaron... you planning to do something yet?"

"Our classmates are about ready to give up."

Braveon glanced at the despairing students around them, then smiled at Aaron.

"Yeah... just about."

Aaron glanced around.

The despair had peaked.

Perfect.

This was exactly the moment to make an entrance.

He nodded once.

"Sceptile... time to show them what you can really do!"

Aaron called to Sceptile atop Metagross's head.

"Scep!"

Sceptile nodded and let out a low cry.

With a single leap, it landed firmly in the arena.

The wind howled around it as the sandstorm raged.

Sceptile stood tall and unmoving amid the storm.

"Look... Aaron's finally stepping in!"

The students from Classes 1 and 2 immediately noticed Sceptile standing alone at the front.

"What's the point of stepping in now...? Does he seriously think one Gym-level Pokémon can beat Tyranitar?"

"Seriously? He sat back the whole time, and now he jumps in just to steal the spotlight? Some number one on the Hidden Dragon Rankings."

"Exactly. What's he supposed to accomplish by himself? He's just going to embarrass himself."

...