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At the very least, after fighting three matches (excluding B-tier), Li Xiang didn't find anything unusual.
There was no situation where a first-year was stronger than a second-year. D-tier opponents were also noticeably easier than C-tier.
Personally, Li Xiang felt that the lower-year students from Qingcheng High weren't particularly impressive.
They weren't much different from the C-tier students in the Youth Training Camp. At best, their Pokémon were a few levels higher and knew a couple more moves.
These were just the natural advantages of time—nothing extraordinary.
Their battle experience wasn't particularly refined either, and Li Xiang wasn't the only one who thought so.
"I think we might have misjudged the camp leader. He really was just trying to hand out point bonuses."
Qu Sheng pinched four useless slips of paper—proof of his victories—between his fingers. "They weren't challenging at all."
"I feel the same."
Yang Tianwang raised his hand, then lowered his voice. "The opponents were kinda weak. Not even as good as Fang Xin and the others. We should've grabbed more—I didn't even take the full ten."
Most people had been scared off by the steep cost of failure—Li Xiang included.
Because of that, only three people had taken all ten envelopes: Li Xiang, Song Jie, and Wu Ruoxue from Class 5—the girl who had been the first to reach B-tier, with Primarina as her ace.
Even Fang Xin had only taken eight, while Luo Dayou took seven.
This showed just how much psychological damage Xiang Yangwei had inflicted over the past few months with his authority and tormenting habits.
Who knew it would turn out to be all bark and no bite?
They'd been tricked!
Completely tricked!
Qu Sheng and Yang Tianwang clutched their chests in exaggerated despair. In the end, there was a trap in this competition—just not where they expected.
So frustrating.
'If only we'd taken all ten envelopes...'
The more they thought about it, the angrier they got, muttering complaints about Xiang Yangwei's long history of setting traps.
'If you're so bold, say it louder.'
Li Xiang rolled his eyes, sipping slowly from a can of coffee.
Right now, they were resting outside the battle arena, waiting for the remaining three members of their group. All around them, Qingcheng High students wandered about, curiously observing their surroundings.
Honestly, after a full day of battles, Li Xiang had similar thoughts.
But this wasn't entirely Xiang Yangwei's fault. Their own lack of confidence in their strength played a part too.
In short—they were afraid of losing.
Faced with the risk of losing hundreds of points, these same teenagers who had once relentlessly challenged Li Xiang—refusing to back down until they won—had suddenly grown cautious.
Losing hundreds of points in one go was too devastating. Few could afford that kind of setback.
Playing it safe meant they could recover even if they messed up. Yet in the end, they'd still fallen for Xiang Yangwei's scheme.
'The city's traps run deep—I should return to the countryside. But the countryside's roads are slippery, and its schemes even trickier.'
Thankfully, Li Xiang had agreed to fight all ten matches.
He felt a little relieved, though he suspected the A-tier opponents would be different. After all, they were third-years who had been at Qingcheng High for a while.
The ones they found lacking were all first-years.
Back when Li Xiang first met his third senior sister, she had only been a third-year too. Now, she was about to graduate.
Time really flew.
As Li Xiang pondered life, his peripheral vision caught sight of Song Jie approaching from a distance.
The white-haired boy was surrounded by a few girls holding their phones, chattering excitedly.
'Oh ho? Look at you, kid! Getting asked for your contact info on the first day?'
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow. Come to think of it, ever since entering the training camp, stuff like this had stopped happening. He'd almost forgotten the days when he'd been buried under piles of love letters addressed to Song Jie—acting more like a postman than a person.
In the distance, Song Jie said something sternly to the girls, causing them to leave disappointed.
"So popular, Jie-ge."
Li Xiang grinned as he walked over. "Too bad you're clueless. Or do you have a fiancée? An arranged marriage?"
Song Jie shot him a deadpan look. "Read less fiction. More actual books."
"You know exactly what I read every day."
Li Xiang shrugged, then changed the subject. "You fought five matches today, right? Three B-tiers and two D-tiers. How was it?"
As the person who had fought the most B-tier matches so far, Song Jie was the best source for gauging the strength of Qingcheng University's students.
That might help estimate how tough A-tier would be.
"Decent. About what you'd expect for their year."
Song Jie's tone was indifferent.
"…You know that's not what I wanted to hear."
Li Xiang's eye twitched. "Be blunt. Use that famously straightforward personality of yours."
Song Jie glanced at the university students nearby but said nothing. He simply shook his head.
'Got it.'
Li Xiang nodded in understanding.
If even Song Jie said they weren't impressive, then A-tier couldn't be that much stronger. Unless, like Li Xiang had encountered before, they were reserve members of the school team—like his senior sister.
Then it might be a bit harder.
Of course, the real challenge among these ten matches would be the A-tier fights. Win those, and the 2,500 points would be his.
Li Xiang pulled out the battle schedule from his pocket. His A-tier match was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
it was time to pick the right team and prepare properly.
He took a deep breath, steadying his mind.
...
The Next Day
Ignoring the dull C and D-tier battles, the afternoon arrived—and with it, the A-tier match.
A sizable crowd had gathered. Nearly everyone with free time had come to watch.
At the edge of the arena, Li Xiang finished his warm-up, shrugged off his down jacket, and stepped inside. On the far side stood his opponent—a tall, muscular young man with a buzz cut, his well-built frame barely contained by his athletic wear.
He radiated the aura of a Fighting-type specialist.
Then again, maybe not.
Not every buff trainer specialized in Fighting-types—it was just more likely. If that were the case, team selection would be straightforward.
At the center of the arena, the referee began announcing the rules. In large-scale matches like this, there was no time for small talk between opponents, and from this distance, conversation would've been awkward anyway.
With no chance to probe his opponent, Li Xiang silently handed his two remaining Poké Balls to an attendant.
His team was locked in now—no turning back.
Glancing over, he saw five PokéBalls on his opponent's tray.
'Hope I guessed right.'
Taking a deep breath, Li Xiang waited for the referee's whistle—then hurled his PokéBall forward!
Bang! Bang!
Two flashes of light.
"Gahaa!"
A massive, armor-clad raven burst forth, its wings spreading wide as it let out a hoarse cry. Its ruby-like eyes locked onto its foe.
Seventy meters away stood a snow-white duck with sharp eyes, thick black V-shaped brows, and an overly developed chest.
In its left hand, it gripped a leek stalk as tall as itself—peeled to resemble a sword. In its right, it held a shield made of leek leaves.
—A Sirfetch'd, the Fighting-type Pokémon from the Galar region's eighth generation.
'Fighting-type, as expected.'
Li Xiang licked his lips. This one might be tricky.
But at least Sirfetch'd didn't have any super-effective moves against Corviknight—and all its attacks were physical.
'Time to show this duck what a real steel bird can do.'
"Screech!"
"Swords Dance!"
Both sides opted for stat-boosting moves while closing the distance.
Corviknight's body flashed red, muscles tensing beneath its armor as a wispy crimson aura flared and vanished.
Sirfetch'd, wielding a leek sword taller than itself, spun it effortlessly in a dazzling flourish—white light shimmering around it.
Clearly, as an actual sword-user, Sirfetch'd's version of Swords Dance differed from most Pokémon.
Seventy meters vanished in seconds.
The two Pokémon now stood face-to-face—one glaring down, the other up.
As a duck, Sirfetch'd could fly—but only if it dropped its weapons. And since its entire fighting style revolved around them, doing so would be like cutting off its own arms.
So Li Xiang didn't have to worry about this stubborn duck taking to the skies.
That left plenty of room for strategy.
"Brick Break!"
"Screech."
Sirfetch'd leapt high, swinging its leek sword downward in a slash. A thin, reddish-brown energy extended from it like a blade's edge!
Its attack speed was lightning-fast, and its jumping ability was insane. A single misstep, and Corviknight would've been hit.
But unfortunately for Sirfetch'd, it was facing Corviknight—the Pokémon with the best dynamic vision and body control in Li Xiang's team!
To Corviknight, this Brick Break was painfully slow. With a slight twist of its body, it dodged "by a hair's breadth"—the Fighting-type energy missing entirely!
Then, with a powerful flap of its wings, Corviknight soared above the descending Sirfetch'd and let out a grating, mocking caw.
'No way, no way… A bird that can't even fly? Isthis is what Fighting-types are like?'
'Mad? Mad? You mad?~'
Thanks to Li Xiang's influence, Corviknight had mastered the art of trash talk and passive-aggressive taunting. The Taunt took effect instantly.
On the ground, Sirfetch'd's expression visibly stiffened, its eyes burning with rage.
"Gaaah!"
It shouted up at Corviknight, as if arguing back.
The muscular trainer quickly called out, "Don't let it get to you! It's baiting you!"
But it was too late. Taunt had already taken hold—and Corviknight had successfully provoked Sirfetch'd's temper.
Li Xiang wasn't about to give his opponent time to recover. He blew his whistle sharply.
Corviknight immediately folded its wings, its body igniting with blue flames as it shot toward Sirfetch'd like a bullet!
The speed was downright unfair!
"Block it!"
The muscular trainer yelled. Sirfetch'd jerked into action, raising its leek shield defensively.
Even if it couldn't use Protect anymore, the shield could still mitigate some damage!
But—!
Just before impact, Corviknight suddenly flared its wings, spinning mid-air with unnatural agility—and appearing behind Sirfetch'd!
The shield's blind spot!
With nothing guarding its back, Corviknight slammed into Sirfetch'd like a meteor!
BOOM!
A burst of flames erupted on impact!