Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
All tests were completed.
Li Xiang walked out silently, placed his Pokémon on a nearby tray, which was then sent via conveyor belt to the adjacent Pokémon Center.
"Not bad. For your age, both your Pokémon's levels and the number of moves they know are quite outstanding. Moreover, with such high proficiency, I believe if you consolidate for another year or two, your future prospects are limitless."
Xu He patted Li Xiang's shoulder, his eyes full of appreciation.
In nearly thirty years of teaching, this was the first time he had encountered a student so powerful right upon enrollment.
What was even more commendable was that Li Xiang didn't carry much arrogance or conceit; instead, he was very humble and polite towards seniors and peers.
This gave Xu He an extremely favorable impression of him.
After all, over the years, Xu He had seen far too many young trainers with some talent and strength who thought they were the greatest and that everyone should yield to them.
Even Su Qian, when she first joined, wasn't as responsible, leadership-oriented, or authoritative as she is now.
Troublesome and thankless tasks like guiding new junior students—she wouldn't do them even for credit, let alone for free.
She only gradually changed after joining.
"Mhmm."
Li Xiang nodded lightly, putting on a well-behaved and understanding demeanor, while secretly giving a thumbs-up to Song Jie behind his back and shaking it.
The white-haired boy remained silent but flipped him off the moment he turned around.
'Vulgar! How can a young master from a wealthy family be so vulgar!'
Li Xiang glared at him. The guy's expression was as calm as water, his face thick-skinned as he walked straight into the training room.
"Coach, shall I go next?"
Song Jie phrased it as a question, but he was already inside the training room, ready to release his Pokémon.
"Then you're up next."
Xu He glanced at Gong Xuan, and seeing he had no objections, nodded in agreement.
During the time the others were talking, the training room had been quickly refurbished under control, and the targets, among other things, were replaced with brand new ones.
Song Jie stood in a safe spot and swiftly released his Aggron.
The silver-armored behemoth let out a deep roar, reminiscent of a dragon's growl, reverberating through the training room.
Li Xiang silently recalled the characteristics of Song Jie's Pokémon.
Suddenly...
"You're really amazing, Junior."
Su Qian had somehow arrived at his side, her shoulder bumping his as she leaned in and lowered her voice.
"You flatter me. There are still many areas where I need to learn from you, Senior."
Li Xiang slightly turned his face and responded quietly.
Even though there was a four-year age difference, this minor was half a head taller than Su Qian. Coupled with his years of martial arts training giving him a straight posture, they looked less like senior and junior and more like senior brother and junior sister.
"Being too humble is a form of pride, you know? With you being this strong, I'm really looking forward to your performance in the selection matches."
Su Qian's eyes curved into pretty crescents.
It was also at this moment that Li Xiang noticed Su Qian was wearing a pair of non-prescription glasses, making her face appear small. Her fair, delicate skin under the lighting looked quite cute.
The saying 'natural beauty cannot be abandoned' probably fit her perfectly.
It's just a pity that while there are thousands of pretty girls in the world, very few could surpass his senior sister.
"Do the glasses look good?"
Noticing his gaze, Su Qian asked with a smile.
"Very much so."
Li Xiang perfunctorily replied, withdrew his gaze, and shifted his attention to Song Jie in the training room.
Seeing him suddenly look uninterested, a question mark popped up in Su Qian's mind. She couldn't help but take out a pocket mirror to check.
'—Still beautiful though? What's going on? Teenage boys these days are really hard to understand.'
Su Qian pouted, no longer dwelling on the matter. She was just somewhat curious about this outstanding junior.
She wasn't about to press her warm face against his cold backside.
Nearby.
Gong Xu quietly withdrew his gaze, frowning slightly, thinking that he absolutely couldn't let Li Xiang start dating at this point. Not to mention he was still waiting to stand on the global stage together.
Once a teenage trainer starts dating, it's pretty much over. Not only is their time occupied, but their determined will also declines.
'Hmm... It's necessary to have a good talk with him.'
Gong Xu resolved that he must find time to properly advise Li Xiang.
The three teenagers, each with their own thoughts, were lost in their minds. Only Song Jie was focused on displaying his strength, and only Xu He was focused on watching.
...
Actually, Li Xiang's understanding of Song Jie was as deep as his understanding of himself.
Apart from some small secrets he didn't know, he basically had a thorough grasp.
Take Aggron, for instance, the highest-level Pokémon in his team, reaching a full level 53.
With the Sturdy ability, its armored body was hard enough to make one's nose bleed. Every time Incineroar finished fighting it, it would howl and whine for a while.
Hitting it was almost like hitting a steel plate hundreds of centimeters thick.
And the most distinctive feature of this guy was its special attack talent, which was not inferior to its physical attack output.
Even back in its Aron and Lairon stages when it lacked moves, it displayed special attack power of unusual potency, leaving many students astonished.
Countless students had lost to this aspect.
In terms of casting moves while moving, this guy had mastered it early on and was also quite skilled at swimming.
Li Xiang had once surfed on its back. Good grief, the sense of security was no different from being on a boat, living up to its reputation as an amphibious heavy tank.
Capable of tanking, dealing physical damage, and special attacks, Aggron was almost all-round except for its speed, which really couldn't be improved.
It was also the strongest ace in his team.
The second one:
The punk-style Midnight Form Lycanroc, level 52.
A mad dog that was usually foolish but fought recklessly, not caring for its life.
It didn't seem like a Pokémon with the Keen Eye ability at all; instead, it had a hint of No Guard about it.
But in daily life, its appearance of having abundant energy with nowhere to vent precisely proved the existence of the Keen Eye ability.
Its special point was its pain tolerance; it could almost ignore the damage inflicted by others, maintaining its attack power and speed as if in its prime.
As everyone knows, as a Pokémon's stamina decreases and it takes damage, its reactions become sluggish, and its speed and output capabilities slowly decline.
Perhaps it might not be noticeable in the heat of the moment when excited, but once it calms down, it becomes fatal.
This is an instinctive physical reaction of Pokémon.
Just like how, when their stamina is exhausted, they, like humans, automatically enter a brief dormant phase, reducing some bodily functions to recover.
Moreover, Lycanroc possessed extremely sharp intuition and sense of smell. With the help of these abilities, this guy could vaguely discern Greninja's location and relentlessly pursue it.
It didn't need its deceived vision; its sense of smell and intuition were enough.
This was also one of the reasons Li Xiang was very wary of this punk-style dog.
The third one:
Shelgon, whose instantaneous burst speed could rival Riolu's, perhaps even surpass it.
Level 49.
When this guy jet-propeled the accumulated airflow behind it, it could cover over a hundred meters in a parabolic arc in the blink of an eye.
With this power boost, its attacks became exceptionally forceful and fearsome.
It still had some way to go before evolving into its final form, Salamence. And by that time, Song Jie's overall strength would probably skyrocket.
The fourth one:
Alolan Golem, level 50, with the Galvanize ability.
Like Rotom, it didn't have many peculiarities. The only commendable thing was probably its ability to launch huge rocks from its back like an electromagnetic railgun.
And when launched, the rocks carried an electric current.
It didn't have much power, but it could make many Pokémon's bodies stiffen for an instant.
Sometimes, a moment of paralysis could be fatal. Unfortunately, firing electrified rocks in rapid succession was impossible; it could only do it intermittently.
Even when using Rock Blast.
Observing the process, there were six luminous stones on Alolan Golem's back launcher.
Every two stones lighting up represented a certain stage of "charging." When all six stones were lit, it reached the stage where it could fire.
It was like the Kamen Rider's patricidal weapon, the 'Signal Axe,' with its calls of "Full Charge" and "Ready Go."
This meant the possibility of rapid firing was currently out of the question, ut the possibility of it being specifically trained by Song Jie and finally taking shape couldn't be ruled out.
The fifth one: Bronzong, level 48, with the Levitate ability.
Clearly a semi-support Pokémon, somewhat similar to Riolu.
It had a large amount of psychic waves, seemingly due to millennia of precipitation/sedimentation. Its extrasensory perception ability was exaggerated; it could discern many things within the battlefield without using its eyes.
Additionally, like Song Jie's other Pokémon, it was very tanky.
The sixth one:
The ferocious Aerodactyl, level 48, with the Pressure ability.
This guy's personality was somewhat similar to Metagross's; both were inherently ferocious/vicious types.
It was the kind of extremely dangerous. Pokémon that inspired awe and made people want to stay far away. Its innate base 130 Speed allowed it to streak across the sky extremely quickly.
Whether it was because it had a bonus while flying or its condition diminished when on the ground, this guy disliked staying on the land.
It was a relatively typical fast attacker in Song Jie's team, with wide coverage and incredibly strong power. It could create numerous fist-sized rocks around its body while flying and fling them out by flapping its wings.
The power of this Rock Slide was something that Pokémon weak to Rock generally found hard to withstand.
Of course, Incineroar was an exception.
The seventh, and final one:
Cradily, level 40, with the Storm Drain ability.
Didn't have many merits; it was just good at enduring.
When it used Ingrain, even marble ground could be pierced by its tentacles, allowing it to absorb stamina even from barren land; And it could attack opponents while absorbing.
Its six tentacles could extend and retract at will, capable of attacking opponents up to five meters away.
They were very tough/resilient; Doublade found it difficult to cut them, and even if cut, they would grow back at an extremely fast rate.
Just like Carvanha's teeth.
The above was the overall performance of Song Jie's entire team.
It was pretty much the same as Li Xiang remembered, with no major discrepancies. Clearly, in his battles with Li Xiang, Song Jie was always displaying his full strength.
"Excellent! The surprise you've given me is no less than the previous one. It won't be long before you definitely have a spot among the regulars."
Xu He was very satisfied with Song Jie. He also knew there couldn't possibly be a second Li Xiang in the world.
Moreover, regardless of Li Xiang, Song Jie himself was a teenage trainer worthy of heavy cultivation, not inferior to Su Qian, Abigale, and others, perhaps even surpassing them.
With this level of strength alone, he could easily crush many lower-grade students in the school.
"Thank you."
Song Jie nodded lightly, sweat beads on his forehead.
"You're really holding up well, kid. Your strength increases daily; I'm almost unable to keep up with you."
Li Xiang laughed and punched his chest.
Song Jie dodged, rolling his eyes, "Mocking others isn't a good habit. How can you have the nerve to lecture your Corviknight? Aren't you just the same? Like trainer, like Pokémon."
"Am I?"
"Aren't you?"
The two muttered and almost started arguing. Then, it was Gong Xuas turn to step up.
"Watch my Pokémon carefully."
He reached out and patted Li Xiang's shoulder, saying with a smile, "You'll be amazed."
The golden-haired youth was very confident, making Li Xiang look forward to it. "Alright!"