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Reality wasn't turn-based.
In the games, Rest lasted exactly two turns, but in the world Li Xiang lived in, the rules more closely resembled the anime's Diamond & Pearl era.
For example, there was the famous scene where Sceptile, after being hit by Darkrai's Dark Void, woke up almost immediately upon hearing Ash's voice and took Darkrai down with a single Leaf Blade.
That moment, beloved by fans, perfectly showcased the bond between trainer and Pokémon—something akin to the game's friendship system.
Right now, the muscular guy's only hope was probably that same kind of bond.
Unfortunately for him, before Scrafty even hit the ground, Rotom had already formulated its strategy.
First, it used Nasty Plot to restore its lowered Special Attack—and then boosted it even higher. Then, with its claw-like energy arms, it raised its right drain hose and aimed it at Scrafty, violently sucking in moisture from the air!
A torrent of blue water surged forth!
Until Rotom learned Thunder, Hydro Pump was undoubtedly its most powerful move.
Sure, Hydro Pump's accuracy was notoriously unreliable—sometimes missing four times in a row and nearly costing battles—but against a sleeping Scrafty?
It was nothing more than a motionless punching bag.
No movement meant no dodging.
So, while the muscular guy desperately shouted, trying to wake Scrafty with his voice, Rotom finished charging Hydro Pump.
A massive, azure column of water erupted from the hose!
The sheer water pressure formed concentric rings around the blast, like the shockwaves of a supersonic jet!
The air trembled in its wake, a deep rumbling echoing through the battlefield. The muscular guy fell silent, his shouts cutting off as Hydro Pump fired.
He knew the match was already over.
Given Rotom's demonstrated firepower, this Hydro Pump would crush Scrafty without question.
THUD!
The sound of something heavy hitting the ground sounded!
The devastating water blast struck Scrafty, relentlessly grinding its body into the floor.
Scrafty woke in agony, feeling as if seventeen or eighteen Snorlax were piled on top of it—suffocating, unable to breathe. It tried to struggle, but moving even a finger was impossible.
Within seconds—less than two, really—dizziness swallowed its consciousness, draining the last of its strength.
"BEEEP—!!"
The shrill whistle was the last thing it heard.
3v3. Total victory.
Li Xiang took his ID card back from the referee. Just as he was about to leave, the muscular guy stopped him.
"Hey, junior. Got a sec?"
Li Xiang blinked at the hesitant older student. "What's up, senior?"
"You're from Qingcheng, right?" the guy asked, lowering his voice as if steeling himself.
Li Xiang nodded. "Yeah."
"When it's time to pick a higher education institute, I hope you'll seriously consider Qingcheng!"
The guy's expression turned deadly serious. "We might not be top-ranked, but if you join us, you'll receive the highest level of training possible!"
Li Xiang's eyes flickered with confusion.
Was this... a post-battle recruitment pitch?
"Your talent is the strongest I've ever seen. If you came to Qingcheng, you'd carry us to new heights in the Youth League and Intercollegiate Championships!"
The guy actually bowed slightly. "As a fellow Qingcheng native, wouldn't you take pride in elevating our local institution? Please, give us serious consideration!"
Then, as if too embarrassed to stay, he turned and bolted—his retreating figure radiating relief, like he'd just completed some mission.
Leaving Li Xiang standing there, dumbfounded.
So these guys weren't just here to hand out red envelopes—they were also scouting talent?
Li Xiang frowned. His original plan had been to follow his third senior sister there, but after seeing how unreliable her teammates were—and knowing she'd graduate soon—he'd dropped the idea.
Which meant...
He still hadn't decided where to go.
In his mind, the top choices were institutions in the Five Capitals or Divine/God's Island—powerhouses that dominated the scene and ranked among the world's best.
Next came the flagship schools of Kyushu and the Thirteen Islands.
Only then would he consider local institutions like Qingcheng.
Not that regional schools were all bad—some were decent. But Qingcheng?
Honestly, he wasn't interested.
Even if it was his hometown institution, he had zero desire to carry a weak school to prominence.
Sure, the sense of accomplishment would be nice, but that kind of underdog story was better suited for someone like Lin Feng.
...….
Outside the arena, several students approached Li Xiang, eager to pick his brain about pivot strategies.
Aesthetic appeal aside, pivot tactics—like Perish Song teams—were highly effective but had steep learning curves and specific usage conditions.
They weren't universally applicable.
These guys hoped to glean some wisdom from the master.
Even if they couldn't replicate it, at least they'd know how to counter it.
Since Li Xiang had time to kill, he humored them briefly—and asked if anyone else had experienced post-battle recruitment. Turns out, he wasn't alone.
Out of ten people, five or six had been approached about "considering Qingcheng."
Clearly, this was an organized effort.
They might not have been as polished as actual admissions officers, but the impression was made. Even if only one recruit bit, Qingcheng would come out ahead—because the ones being targeted were undeniably top talents.
When Li Xiang found Qu Sheng and the others, he wasn't surprised to see they'd also been ambushed.
As former "Death Ten" arena champions, they were prime targets—especially Song Jie, who was surrounded by seven or eight girls enthusiastically pitching the Qingcheng institute.
Spotting Li Xiang, Song Jie shot him a desperate look.
Li Xiang promptly turned on his heel and fled. Getting involved now would be suicide.
'Every man for himself, brother.'
From a safe distance, Li Xiang saluted Song Jie's suffering, ignoring the latter's furious glare, and slipped away to his next battle.
(As for how long Song Jie throttled him afterward... that's a story for another time.)
The next day marked the final two matches determining his overall ranking—one C-Class, one D-Class.
The "grueling" A-Class was behind him, and the remaining battles went smoothly.
Or so he thought.
Turns out, his earlier caution had been warranted.
In the C-Class arena, Li Xiang encountered his first opponent whose strength surpassed their grade level. In fact, individually, this guy felt stronger than the A-Class opponent.
His Pokémon?
A Clefable.
A pure Fairy-type. Ability: Magic Guard.
No damage from weather, items, abilities, status conditions, stat changes, or recoil moves (except Struggle).
Meaning: immune to sandstorms, hail, poison, burns, Rough Skin, Iron Barbs, Leech Seed, and even item recoil.
An incredibly useful ability and one of the main reasons Li Xiang found this fight so troublesome. Making matters worse, he'd sent out Rotom.
Not only did it lack supereffective moves, but its raw firepower also fell short—Clefable's special bulk was no joke.
To add insult to injury, the opponent opened with Gravity, negating Rotom's Levitate, then spammed Cosmic Power to boost defenses and Moonlight to heal.
The plan was obvious: max out stats, then nuke Rotom with Stored Power.
Left with no choice, Li Xiang decided to fight cheese with cheese.
Cosmic Power?
Snatch it mid-use. What could they do?
Moonlight?
Pain Split says hello.
'Your healing is my healing—and since you have more HP, I profit either way.'
With the opponent playing the long game, Li Xiang had ample time to set up his Electric Terrain + Charge + Rising Voltage combo.
In-game, this sequence's base power exceeded 360.
Here?
Electric Terrain boosted power by 30%, Charge doubled it, and Rising Voltage doubled it again in terrain...
Add Nasty Plot's Special Attack boost and STAB...
The final damage output reached terrifying levels.
That the opponent let Li Xiang stack so many conditions was nothing short of miraculous. Of course, Clefable was also busy boosting with Cosmic Power and Minimize, aiming to one-shot Rotom.
Both sides were pushing their Pokémon's energy to the absolute limit—draining every last drop.
Fortunately, Li Xiang stopped stacking just in time, unleashing Rising Voltage first.
His opponent, greedy for more power, tried for one last boost—only for Clefable's Stored Power to be interrupted mid-charge.
As an AoE move, the amplified Rising Voltage was virtually unavoidable.
Lightning engulfed most of the arena, its brilliance rivaling the midday sun. Both trainers had long since retreated outside, silently watching the spectacle.
In the end, amidst deafening thunder and serpentine bolts of electricity...
Clefable went down. Hard.
Rotom, meanwhile, was completely spent—not a drop of energy left.
With that, Li Xiang's bet with Xiang Yangwei was officially complete. Ten wins, zero losses.
By the numbers, he'd actually gained 3,000 points.
But more importantly...
He could finally trade for the Shiny Metang.
Clutching his ID card, Li Xiang gave Song Jie a quick heads-up before sprinting to Xiang Yangwei's office. He needed to collect his prize immediately—before anything could go wrong.
Luckily, Xiang Yangwei and his bespectacled man were both present when Li Xiang arrived.
"Ah, here he is."
Xiang Yangwei stubbed out his cigarette, grinning. "All ten matches done?"
Li Xiang nodded, handing over his ID card.
With no battles except the Red Packet matches these past few days, his point total was crystal clear.
"Hahaha! Well done. Just as I expected."
Xiang Yangwei passed the card to the aide, who plugged it into a POS-like device. A few taps later, he returned it.
"2,500 special points deposited. Log into the exchange marketplace, and you can trade them under the transfer tab."
"Thank you!"
Li Xiang's gratitude was genuine.
After a few more words of encouragement—and sensing Li Xiang's impatience—Xiang Yangwei dismissed him.
Li Xiang bolted like his life depended on it.
Xiang Yangwei sighed, turning to the aide. "Am I really that unlikable to kids?"
"Objectively speaking, you can't compete with powerful Pokémon."
The deadpan response earned him a glare.
"You know, with that attitude, it's no wonder you don't have friends."