"Misi! (Finally, some action! I thought we were just here to look pretty!)"
Carbink didn't wait for a second invitation. After watching Glameow wag her tail for what felt like an eternity, the little gem-Pokémon was vibrating with pent-up energy. He'd been patient while Julian was lost in his "fluff-induced" trance, but now that the muzzle was off, he was ready to rock—literally.
Johanna, seeing Julian finally snap back to reality, didn't lose her cool. "Oh, so you're back with us? Fine! Glameow, don't give them an inch! Full power, use Scratch!"
"Miyav!"
Glameow lunged. Her front paws glowed with a sharp, white light, her claws extending like silver needles. She was a blur of grey fur, moving with the kind of predatory speed you'd expect from a feline Pokémon. She slammed into Carbink with everything she had, the sound of her claws raking against his stone body echoing across the quiet playground like a chisel striking a diamond.
Clang!
The impact was loud, but as Glameow flipped backward to stick the landing, the dust settled to reveal... absolutely nothing. Not a scratch. Not a chip. Carbink was still floating there, looking slightly bored, his blue mane fluttering in the cold Snowpoint breeze.
"Wait, what?!" Johanna's jaw dropped. "That was a direct hit! And we used Tail Whip four times! He should be soft as butter by now!"
"Miav?" Glameow tilted her head, her ears twitching in confusion. She had poured her heart into those scratches, but it felt like she'd just tried to claw a mountain.
"Sorry, Johanna, but the fun's over," Julian said, his voice regaining that calm, authoritative edge. "You spent too much time dancing and not enough time dealing damage. Carbink, let's wrap this up. Rock Throw, point-blank!"
"Misi! (Rock and roll!)"
The diamond on Carbink's forehead, which had been glowing with gathered energy during the entire 'Tail Whip' fiasco, suddenly flared. A barrage of jagged, heavy stones materialized in the air, hurtling toward Glameow before she could even think about dodging.
Bang! Bang! Thud!
Glameow was many things—graceful, fast, and elegant—but 'durable' was not on the list. The heavy impact of the Rock Throw sent her tumbling backward across the asphalt. When the dust cleared, she was curled in a heap, swirls in her eyes.
"Glameow is unable to battle! The winner is Julian!" Candice shouted, though even her voice carried a hint of disbelief at how quickly the momentum had shifted.
The playground, which had been silent during the climax, suddenly erupted into a cacophony of voices.
"No way! Did you see that?" "He definitely cheated. There's no physical way a Pokémon survives four Tail Whips and takes zero damage from a Scratch!" "Yeah! Glameow's Attack should have been through the roof compared to Carbink's lowered Defense. Something's rigged." "Is this 'six-badge trainer' just a fraud using some weird illegal hold item?"
The accusations started flying fast and thick. The students, who had been raised on textbook type-matchups and standard battle logic, couldn't wrap their heads around what they'd just seen.
"STOW IT!" Candice's voice boomed, cutting through the chatter like an icebreaker through a frozen lake. Her face was thunderous as she glared at the crowd. "If you spent half as much time studying as you do making up excuses for why you'd lose, you might actually graduate this century! Accusing a guest of cheating because you don't understand the mechanics? That's embarrassing for this Academy!"
She turned to Julian, her expression softening just a fraction. "Julian, I know we're in the middle of a session, but do me a favor? Explain the 'magic' to these geniuses before they start a riot."
Julian sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not magic, guys. It's just Biology 101." He stepped forward, looking at the skeptical faces. "How many of you know a move that can reset or prevent stat drops? Raise your hands."
A few hands went up. The third challenger, a boy named Wen Tai who had been watching intensely, spoke up. "Haze resets everything to zero. And Mist creates a barrier that prevents stat reduction for the whole team."
"Right," Julian nodded. "But Carbink didn't use either of those. So, how did he ignore four Tail Whips?"
The students looked at each other, murmuring. Julian let the silence hang for a moment before continuing. "It's an Ability. Some Pokémon don't need to move to protect their stats; they're just built that way. Carbink has an Ability called Clear Body. It's like a permanent, internal version of Mist. No matter how many times you wag your tail, growl, or try to lower his spirit, his internal 'stats' stay exactly where they are. They're locked."
"A talent like that exists?" one girl whispered, her eyes wide.
"Wait, I don't remember seeing 'Clear Body' in the local Dex summary," another student muttered.
Candice crossed her arms, looking disappointed. "And that's because you only look at the pictures! Enshi has lectured about this at least twice. Does the name Tentacruel ring a bell?"
The playground went quiet.
"Tentacruel... the giant jellyfish?" Wen Tai asked. "The ones that swarm the Sinnoh coast?"
"Exactly," Julian added, picking up the thread. "The Tentacool family is famous for Clear Body. Most people ignore them because they're common, or they only think about their Poison-type. But in a high-level battle, a Tentacruel with Clear Body is a nightmare because you can't weaken it. Carbink shares that trait."
He gestured toward the fallen Glameow, who was being scooped up by a worried Johanna. "And let's look at the math. Scratch is a Normal-type move. Carbink is a Rock-type. Rock resists Normal. So even if his defense could have been lowered—which it wasn't—Glameow was still trying to punch through a mountain with a foam finger. She exhausted herself attacking a target she couldn't hurt, and because she's a 'glass cannon' build, one solid hit from a Rock-type was all it took to end it."
The logic was undeniable. The students who had been shouting "cheater" five minutes ago were now looking down at their feet, faces turning various shades of red.
"The badge-earners don't win because they're lucky," Candice lectured, her voice stern. "They win because they know more than you. They know the hidden 'talents' of their opponents and they know how to work around them. If you want to be where Julian is, stop looking for excuses and start looking for answers."
She turned back to Julian, her authoritative mask slipping into a grateful smile. "Thanks for the save, Julian. I think you actually got through to a couple of them."
"No problem," Julian said, though secretly he was just glad nobody noticed he'd been daydreaming about petting Johanna's cat. He waved his hand dismissively. "I'm good to go. Let's finish this."
"You heard the man!" Candice shouted. "Final round! Wen Tai, get out here! Let's see if you can apply what you just learned!"
Wen Tai stepped onto the field. He was taller than the other two, with a focused, almost clinical expression. He didn't have the "Ice-Hot" energy of Zoey or the "Contest Style" of Johanna. He looked like he was walking into an exam.
Beside him, his Tangela—the one who had tried to snag the ball earlier with Vine Whip—shifted its blue vines restlessly.
"My name is Wen Tai," the boy said, giving Julian a stiff, formal bow. "I've been studying your Carbink's movements. Since you're a Rock-type with Clear Body, I won't waste time with status drops. We're going for a direct, high-output elemental disadvantage."
"I like the confidence," Julian said, his eyes narrowing. "But knowing the problem is only half the battle. Solving it is the hard part. Ready, Carbink?"
"Mishi! (Ready! This one looks like he might actually hit back!)"
"The final match of the day!" Candice's arm swept down. "Begin!"