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The Delinquent looked at the last PokéBall in his hand, his resolve shaken.
Rotom, the biggest threat to his Toxapex, hadn't been dealt with. Instead, his Grimmsnarl had been taken out by Greninja.
How to fight now?
No Trick Room, no Reflect/Light Screen, no Tailwind. How was he supposed to win? With his head?
This match was already lost.
Accepting this imminent fact, the Delinquent's mindset gradually stabilized. Having been a trainer for over six years, losing was a common occurrence for him.
Besides, winning or losing a practice match wasn't important.
Winning wasn't the primary goal this time anyway. His purpose in participating was to force Li Xiang to reveal more of his strength, to expose more information.
Winning was secondary; a temporary victory held little meaning.
Looking at it now, his goal had been achieved. The Delinquent took a deep breath, convincing himself to keep pushing, to squeeze out a little more information.
He had no other choice.
Toxapex was silently released within the five-second limit. Li Xiang also silently recalled Greninja and sent out Wash Rotom.
The distance between them was less than ten meters.
One side activated a purple, spiky light shield Baneful Bunker, while the other rushed forward, skimming the ground and unleashing Rising Voltage.
Sapphire electric light spread out like a shockwave in an instant, dancing across the ground like fragmented spots of light, illuminating the field intensely.
Then, a cluster of electricity erupted beneath Toxapex. The current grew and twisted upwards like a tree, finally forming black lightning that struck Toxapex.
The residual electric waves rippled outwards like water.
Without Trick Room, Toxapex's movement speed was pitiful; it couldn't dodge and could only take the hit.
Then, it tried to endure the second hit with Recover.
Wash Rotom used Rising Voltage, amplified by the Electric Terrain, a total of three times. The first was blocked by Baneful Bunker. The second time, Toxapex used Recover, healing as it was struck.
It barely managed to hang on, relying on its remaining, still substantial HP and swift recovery ability.
The third time... it fainted.
Having priority didn't matter if it couldn't withstand the attack. Setting up screens? Boosting defense?
It was useless. The combination of Electric Terrain, the power boost from Rising Voltage, and the Same-Type Attack Bonus wasn't something easily block.
And if screens went up, Rotom had Defog.
Having reached this point, how could the Delinquent still cling to the hope that Wash Rotom hadn't learned Defog? A Pokémon only has so many usable moves; only a fool wouldn't learn Defog.
"It's over," the Delinquent frowned. The Rotom had displayed high offensive power and high mobility, but just these two pieces of information weren't enough to satisfy him.
He glanced around the field, confirmed the match had been recorded, and left without even waiting for Nagayama Kunimi to blow the whistle.
He said he didn't care, but how could he not care? No one willingly wants to lose.
His earlier words were just excuses to comfort himself, to stabilize his mindset and keep fighting. Especially after being beaten like this by a rookie who had only been training Pokémon for three years.
It was utterly humiliating.
Delinquent youth Ryukawa Haruki glanced back at Li Xiang before entering the player tunnel, his eyes inexplicably profound.
His departure caused an uproar in the spectator stands.
Leaving without even hearing the closing remarks? The post-match handshake?
'Etiquette! Etiquette! People might think our Sakura University can't handle a loss! What's wrong with him!'
Many students still cared about the school's image and felt the delinquent had disgraced Sakura University .
Tenzoji, listening to the students around him criticize the delinquent, smiled wryly.
"That guy... he's probably going to get chewed out by the coach again."
"He brought it on himself. It would have taken a minute at most. He just had to skip it to show off his individuality. I really don't get it," Fukoja stood up. "Let's go. Get a copy of the video. We need to study it carefully and figure out what's going on with that Greninja."
Tenzoji noncommittally stood up and followed Fukoja out of the stands.
On the field...
Nagayama Kunimi blew his whistle softly, sounding somewhat lacking in confidence, since one of the participants had already left.
"Junior... congratulations, you won, Junior." He forced a smile at Li Xiang, his mind swirling with information that eventually condensed into two words:
'Holy crap!'
Ryūkawa Haruki was the strongest rookie Sakura University had seen in recent years. If not for his lack of seniority, he could have been a reserve member even in his second year.
He was a potential future candidate for captain or vice-captain.
But this genius...
...had actually lost to a freshman who hadn't even started school yet.
It was just absurd.
"Senior, who's next? Who's next?" Li Xiang recalled Rotom. Corviknight fainting didn't matter; he had plenty of other Pokémon. Incineroar and Greninja had just warmed up, and Riolu hadn't even taken the field yet.
Keep them coming! It's only six candies!
"Next..." Nagayama Kunimi's eyes darted around as his phone rang in his pocket. "Sorry, I need to take this."
He smiled, walked some distance away, and answered the call.
Seeing this, Li Xiang turned and went back to where Yan Hu and the others were.
"Junior, not bad!" Wang Dong and Lu Chengfeng were excited. "That guy just now... he should be a successor of the Kitakuni Itto-ryu! And a direct successor at that!"
"Kitakuni Itto-ryu?" Li Xiang was stunned, not understanding what they meant.
Yan Hu explained, "Kitakuni Itto-ryu is a traditional swordsmanship school from Sakura Island. Its history isn't that long, only about two hundred years, but it holds high prestige on Sakura Island."
"High prestige meaning..."
"About a hundred thousand disciples, at least," Yan Hu said.
'One hundred thousand.'
Li Xiang was shocked by the number. Like in his previous world, martial arts in this world were mostly considered hobbies.
A hundred thousand people learning Kitakuni Itto-ryu... If Beng Quan had that many disciples, even someone as stern as Duan Tianxing would probably laugh in his dreams.
'That delinquent practiced martial arts?'
"How could you tell, Senior Brother?" Li Xiang asked curiously. That delinquent hadn't even made a move himself.
Duan Yu said, "His Pokémon, and his own footwork. That very large water blade was probably the core technique of Kitakuni Itto-ryu, the 'Ōkiri-otoshi' (Great Cutting Drop). His own steps were also martial arts footwork."
'Ōkiri-otoshi…. I feel like among all these people, I'm the only one who practices martial arts blindly, knowing nothing,' Li Xiang thought to himself.
Just then, Nagayama Kunimi walked over. "Junior, sorry about that. Something came up with the reserve team; the coach called them away. They probably can't make it."
"Something came up?" Li Xiang narrowed his eyes. Nothing happens early or late, but something comes up right after he finishes two matches? And for dozens of people at once?
It was probably an excuse to avoid fighting.
Li Xiang looked at the spectator stands; the onlookers were leaving. The cameras were being taken down.
They weren't keeping their word.
Li Xiang glanced at Nagayama Kunimi, who looked very embarrassed.
After all, they had seemed so eager initially.
"Uh, Junior, Sister Yan Hu, everyone, it's getting late. How about we go get a bite to eat? The food at Sakura University is pretty good," Nagayama Kunimi changed the subject.
A voice came from the nearby tunnel. "That's right, Junior Li, stay for a meal before you go. There are quite a few of your admirers here at our school."
Li Xiang looked over and saw two tall, slender young men walking out of the tunnel.
One had black hair parted in the middle, wore neat clothes, and looked refined and modest.
The other had a spiky hairstyle, a somewhat fierce appearance, making people hesitant to approach him.
"Junior Li, I'm the captain of the Sakura University team, Tenzoji Ki. This is the vice-captain, Fukoja Shizuya. We hope you'll honor us with your presence," the refined and modest young man said with a smile, extending his hand to Li Xiang.
Li Xiang hesitated, glanced back at Yan Hu and the others, saw them nod, and then shook his hand.
"Hello, Captain Tenzoji, Vice-Captain Fukoja."
He also shook hands with Fukoja.
"Just call me Tenzoji or Ki. Senior is fine too," Tenzoji smiled, then said to Nagayama Kunimi beside him, "Kunimi, the coach is looking for you. You should go."
"Ah? Oh!" Nagayama Kunimi exited the scene.
This toolman was completely gone now.
Li Xiang's expression remained unchanged, curious about what Sakura University wanted. Poaching? Fishing for information?
'Probably not.'
Under Tenzoji's lead, the group headed out.
On the way, they stopped by the Pokémon Center to heal the injured Corviknight.
Tenzoji suggested a full check-up to avoid any internal injuries.
Li Xiang refused.
A full check-up would reveal most of Corviknight's data; only a fool would agree to that.
Tenzoji didn't insist.
Arriving at the cafeteria, it was unexpectedly crowded. It seemed to be mealtime.
Li Xiang had expected something to happen, but nothing did. It was just an ordinary meal.
During the meal, only the Sakura University coach and supervising teacher made a brief appearance.
There was no honey trap or anything else. Just an ordinary meal.
It actually made Li Xiang feel a slight resurgence of goodwill towards Sakura University.
He hated grand gestures.
After the meal, Tenzoji brought a white cloth for Li Xiang to sign, saying it might be priceless once Li Xiang became famous.
This made Li Xiang a bit embarrassed, but he couldn't refuse their enthusiasm. He signed a large, flamboyant signature that even he couldn't recognize.
The visit to Sakura University thus came to an end.
Pity he only earned six candies. Incineroar and the others hadn't even gotten to show their full strength.
They drove back to the inn.
The senior sisters had already returned. Seeing Jiang Shangrong, Li Xiang hurried over and showed her the video Duan Yu had recorded.
"Senior Sister, I ran into someone from the Kitakuni Itto-ryu. He had a Slowbro that was really strong..."
Yuzhou University hadn't faced Sakura University yet; they might meet in the second half of the tournament.
Information was always a two-way street. He had revealed his own information, but he had also gained information about his opponent.
He would likely face that delinquent again in future competitions.
The guy was only a third-year.
"Kitakuni Itto-ryu?" Third Senior Sister clearly knew about this school. After watching the video, she was silent for a moment.
She said, "If he's a direct successor of Kitakuni Itto-ryu, having this level of strength isn't surprising. The 'Ōkiri-otoshi' technique itself is very suitable for Aqua Cutter."
What was Ōkiri-otoshi?
It involved raising the sword high overhead, even leaning back, settling the breath, then shouting and striking down with force.
The motion might look comical, but the power was immense, and the speed of the descent was exceptionally fast. If one carelessly tried to thrust at the chest, they could easily be cut down.
Of course, the flaw was obvious: short reach, limited attack range.
But Slowbro's super-sized water blade perfectly compensated for that.
"Not using Protect was the right choice. This move isn't Brick Break, but its power is very high. Corviknight's Protect couldn't have blocked it," Jiang Shangrong said. "And look, it was aiming diagonally at the body, towards the wing. It was clearly trying to restrict Corviknight's mobility."
Li Xiang nodded. When the video was slowed down thirty-two times, Slowbro's intention became very clear.
"Overall, very impressive," Jiang Shangrong evaluated Slowbro's strike. "Golisopod might barely withstand it, with Protect plus its front claw shield."
Golisopod has a pair of large, trapezoid shield-like claws.
That was its front claw shield, with strong impact resistance. In the anime, it even deflected Pikachu's Corkscrew Crash [Z-Move].
"Even Senior Sister's Golisopod can only barely withstand it," Li Xiang thought, glancing at Incineroar, who was laughing heartily at Corviknight, now bandaged up nearby.
He thought, 'as expected, they still haven't consumed enough candies.'
With enough candies, they naturally wouldn't be afraid.