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For now, the matters of the exchange interface and books could be set aside.
Li Xiang needed to let his new team member out for some fresh air.
As luck would have it, the Point Bonus Storm event had just ended.
The students from Qingcheng had all left, and the trainees from the Youth Camp had returned to their dorms to rest.
Not many people remained outside.
Song Jie had online classes to attend, so he didn't tag along.
Finding an open B-Class arena, Li Xiang turned to face his team with a smile.
"Ready to meet your new teammate?"
The group of Pokémon responded enthusiastically.
Metang was a Pokémon with an extremely high danger rating—much like its evolution, it had a notoriously aggressive temperament.
It was the type to throw hands at the slightest provocation, beating up other Pokémon without hesitation. So, if Corviknight was the foul-mouthed hothead of the team, then Metang was the brawler.
By the time Corviknight finished saying "What're you lookin' at?", Metang would already be swinging its massive metal arms while yelling "You got a problem?!"
That was the fundamental difference.
While the Metang in the video had seemed relatively "friendly," there was no guarantee it would act the same toward Li Xiang.
Better safe than sorry.
Li Xiang decided to play it cautious and let Incineroar and the others act as his bodyguards. Pressing the button on the PokéBall, he enlarged it, then tossed it out.
Bang!
A flash of white light.
A silver-and-gold figure, flat as a flying saucer, hovered in the air.
It had two massive, hammer-like arms, pitch-black eyes with golden rings, and a sharp golden spike in the center.
Overall, it gave off a sleek, mechanical vibe.
"Metang!"
A robotic, computer-like voice rang out.
"Hey there, Metang."
Li Xiang stood beside Incineroar, waving at the cold-eyed Metang as it glanced around but made no sudden moves.
The moment he spoke, Metang's gaze locked onto him. A strange glint flashed in its eyes.
"Metang!"
The silver saucer let out a cry—then, without hesitation, it charged straight at Li Xiang!
'So it really is a hothead!'
Li Xiang's expression didn't change as he quickly stepped back.
Incineroar's eyes gleamed. 'Oh, you're actually coming at us? Perfect. Time to teach you what it means to respect your captain!'
"Grrr-ow!"
'The name's Big Kitty.. Ahem.. Tiger. Prepare to meet your doom!'
Incineroar cracked its knuckles, grinning savagely.
But then, to its utter shock, Metang didn't even glance at it.
It flew right past Incineroar as if it weren't even there, its golden-ringed eyes curving into crescents as it cheerfully cried "Metang! Metang!" and zoomed toward Li Xiang.
'What the—?!'
'This guy's got nerves of steel! Ignoring me like I'm nothing?!'
Incineroar spun around in disbelief, white light gathering around its fist as it prepared to smash Metang's head in.
But just as it was about to strike, Riolu suddenly barked out a warning.
"Riolu!"
'Stop! It doesn't mean any harm!'
Hearing this, Incineroar instinctively halted, though it frowned. It wasn't stupid—Metang could be friendly, but that wasn't a guarantee.
Incineroar wasn't fond of gambling on things like this.
But Riolu, as a Pokémon capable of sensing emotions, was the authority on this matter.
If Riolu said it was fine, then it was fine.
Despite being rivals, Incineroar trusted Riolu completely.
Sure enough, just as Riolu had said, Metang meant no harm.
Once it reached Li Xiang, it stopped moving and—somehow—pulled out a photograph, holding it up and comparing it to Li Xiang's face.
Li Xiang, who had been sweating bullets, was now baffled by this bizarre behavior. Curiosity got the better of him, and he leaned in to look.
It was a photo of him—posing with a PokéBall, looking pretty handsome. Probably a snapshot from one of his matches.
''How the heck does this thing have a picture of me?'
"Metang!"
After confirming the match, Metang stuffed the photo back into… wherever it came from, then extended a claw toward Li Xiang.
Since Metang had no facial expressions, Li Xiang could only tell it was smiling by the crescent shape of its golden pupils.
He stayed still as Metang grabbed him and—like lifting a child—started bouncing him up and down.
Up. Down. Up. Down.
The motion was practiced, as if it had done this a thousand times before.
Li Xiang: "…?"
'This thing… has issues. Why do all genderless Pokémon act like this?!'
"Stop, stop, stop—hold on a sec." Li Xiang patted Metang's metallic arm, signaling it to put him down.
Since this Metang seemed relatively easy to communicate with, he needed to get to the bottom of the whole photo and lifting situation.
"Metang?"
Metang paused, confusion flickering in its eyes, but it obediently set Li Xiang down.
"Ahem. Mr. Translator, your assistance is required."
Li Xiang pulled out his phone, summoning the Rotom inside.
A big smiley face appeared on the screen, followed by a cheerful and recognizable female voice.
"Hmph! Since you so desperately need my help, I suppose I can grace you with my services!"
'I swear… this voice pack does sound nice, but hearing it out loud is just embarrassing, especially considering the person who's voice model is being used.'
Li Xiang covered his face, thankful no one else was around to witness this social suicide.
Currently, Rotom—being the only Pokémon on the team that could speak human language—had taken on the role of translator.
It was indispensable in many situations.
Li Xiang held up his phone, letting Rotom and Metang communicate directly while he was left completely out of the loop. He tried following the conversation, but Rotom kept firing off questions without repeating Metang's answers.
Occasionally, it would respond with "Ohhh,""Mhm," or "Yeah, yeah."
'This translator isuseless. Shouldn't it be mediating the conversation, not just interrogating the other side?!'
Li Xiang opened his mouth several times but couldn't find the right moment to interrupt, so he had to wait for them to finish.
About five minutes later, the two Pokémon finally wrapped up their chat.
"So? What did you find out?"
Li Xiang stepped back toward Corviknight, putting on his headphones to speak privately with Rotom.
Meanwhile, Incineroar and the others took the chance to approach Metang—they had questions of their own.
"It said it was originally sucked here through a 'colorful hole' while searching for food."
Rotom first addressed Li Xiang's biggest concern.
'So itis from the Reverse World?'
Li Xiang sighed in relief—but then tensed up again. The good news was that no one had been reckless enough to enter an Ultra Wormhole.
The bad news was that the wormhole this shiny Metang fell through had opened naturally.
'Is this world just full of holes?! Why do so many Ultra Wormholes keep opening here?!'
The whole thing felt absurd.
Next was the matter of the photo.
"About the picture—after it was taken, someone gave it to Metang. They told it that you were its future partner. At first, it didn't care, but over time, it grew more and more attached."
Rotom paused. "I suspect this was the work of a Master Breeder's Psychological Suggestion skill."
Among the abilities of Master Breeders, Psychological Suggestion was a technique used to gradually reduce a Pokémon's hostility—even fostering affection toward humans.
It wasn't mind control or anything forceful—just a subtle psychological shift.
Not only was it completely harmless, but it also helped ease the bonding process between Pokémon and trainer.
Of course, the skill had a high barrier to entry. Even Master Breeders couldn't guarantee success every time.
A lot depended on the individual Pokémon's mental resilience.
"And that lifting thing earlier?" Li Xiang asked.
Rotom replied, "Oh, that? Metang said a Kangaskhan taught it. Supposedly, it's 'very effective for handling young ones.' So it decided to try it out…"
'That's forbaby Kangaskhan! If you don't know how to teach, thendon't!
Li Xiang's face darkened. "Anything else? You two were talking for a while."
"Well…"
Rotom summarized the rest of the conversation—mostly about Metang's life in its original world and what it had experienced.
After getting the gist of it, Li Xiang understood that some Master Trainer had already "pre-trained" this shiny Metang to be non-aggressive toward him.
The only question was—
THUD!
A sudden impact from behind!
Li Xiang whirled around just in time to see Metang and Incineroar locked in combat!
One swung gleaming silver fists, while the other's palms burned with flames.
Riolu watched from a distance, and Greninja—wait, where was Greninja?
'Never mind.'
'And of course Incineroar couldn't resist a fight.'
Li Xiang facepalmed. Incineroar was a battle junkie through and through—facing a new teammate, it had to test their strength.
There was no avoiding it.
Riolu and the others understood this, which was why they were just spectating.
After a moment's thought, Li Xiang decided not to intervene.
'Let them fight. They were going to clash sooner or later anyway.'
Besides, there was no real need to stop them.
In the distance, the gap between shiny Metang and Incineroar was massive.
Whether it was the Steel/Psychic typing, the level difference, or the sheer number of stat-boosting candies Incineroar had consumed, Metang wouldn't stand a chance even if it had ten lives.
Just looking at levels alone—Level 31 versus Level 42—it was already a steep uphill battle.
Speaking of which, as of early January:
Corviknight had reached Level 45.
Rotom was at Level 43.
Incineroar and Riolu were both Level 42.
Greninja was at Level 41.
That was pretty much this year's progress.
Honestly, the growth had slowed a lot, but that was just how it was. After Level 40, their leveling speed dropped significantly.
It took a little over a month to gain a single level now. By the time they hit Level 50, it might take two months per level.
Still, going from zero to this in less than three years (well, two and a half) was already impressive by this world's standards.
As for what would happen in the future?
No one could say.