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First, take down Persian in an instant, then finish off Dodrio.
The entire two-part process probably took less than two minutes, but for the opponent, it felt longer than two years.
Moreover, it was an exceptionally hopeless "two years."
In the smoke-filled arena.
Rotom swiftly flew into the miniature microwave hidden in a pit, transforming back into its Microwave form.
The strength of Pokémon like Rotom lay in their flexible ability to change forms.
With an appliance, it's Fire/Electric; without the appliance, it's Ghost/Electric. It could choose however it wished.
This also conveniently provided a defense against Normal-type moves.
If he weren't afraid of the appliance being destroyed by the opponent, coupled with the fact that custom miniature appliances were extremely tedious and time-consuming to make, and that competition rules might not allow it...
Li Xiang even had the idea of scattering five appliances around the arena in every match, allowing Rotom to transform at will.
"Come back."
He took out a PokéBall and recalled Rotom in its microwave form. Then, he sent out Riolu, who had been recalled less than half a minute ago.
The black-and-blue puppy's expression was calm.
The enemy only had a barely surviving Lickitung left. After taking a Force Palm and a Circle Throw, its stamina was on the verge of collapse.
The final straw that broke the camel's back could be any move.
There was no longer any possibility of a comeback. The outcome was settled.
The opponent understood this too but was still unwilling to accept it. Years of his own hard work paled in comparison to a newly enrolled freshman, to the point where he couldn't even put up much of a fight.
The techniques he painstakingly practiced were seen through at a glance and easily countered.
Furthermore, being eliminated in the first round... how could he maintain his standing in the circle after this...
He felt he couldn't accept this reality, biting his lower lip, clutching his PokéBall, not daring to breathe heavily.
"Student, please send out your Pokémon promptly."
The referee reminded him, adopting a stance that suggested a foul would be called if he didn't comply.
Five seconds was far too short. Too short to allow any room for thought.
The opponent subconsciously released Lickitung from the PokéBall.
"Lick..."
Lickitung knelt on one knee, one eye closed, the other open, its chubby face full of pain.
It clutched its chest and right foot, where marks from the energy impact were visible.
"Ah!"
The opponent belatedly realized what he had done and opened his mouth to speak.
Unexpectedly, a brilliant blue energy sphere flew across the arena, spinning rapidly, and slammed into Lickitung's head.
Boom!
The Aura Sphere exploded like a firework, releasing a dazzling light.
In that brilliance, Lickitung's heavy body fell, raising clouds of choking dust.
"Beeep—"
The referee decisively blew the whistle.
The dust settled.
...
"Well done."
Li Xiang bent down and scratched Riolu under the chin.
"Riolu~"
Riolu rubbed against his warm palm, responding in a low voice, its eyes curved into a smile, utterly adorable.
Li Xiang couldn't resist pinching its cheek again, then turned his gaze towards the outside of the arena.
Sure enough, it was already crowded with people. Countless pairs of dark eyes stared fixedly at him. Without mental preparation or a strong nerve, one could easily be startled.
But despite the dense, swarming crowd, very few were speaking; most remained silent, with about half holding up phones, quietly recording.
It made him seem like an international superstar holding a simple fan meeting. Except most of these "fans" weren't very friendly.
At the entrance.
The opponent ran out with his head lowered, unsure whether he was rushing to heal his Pokémon or if his mentality had shattered.
Li Xiang was speechless. He recalled Riolu, put on his face mask, completely ignored those with phones, and slowly walked out of the arena.
Outside.
Some people dispersed after the match ended, while others stayed put, seemingly lost in thought. They watched Li Xiang's figure until he disappeared from sight, before hushed conversations began to emerge.
"The gap was too big."
"His Riolu's training level is very high."
"Don't just mention Riolu; Rotom is the same. Just that move using Double Team to dodge Rollout is far from as simple as it looks."
"He didn't even need to use his third Pokémon."
"Who is his next opponent?"
"Someone from Class 3, second year. Never heard of him."
"His luck is too good."
The students who had come to scout the enemy situation conversed, their expressions more or less complex.
The previous match was enough to prove that Li Xiang's strength was no small matter.
And for these seniors, a newly enrolled junior possessing such strength and defeating one of them with a crushing momentum was absolutely ironic.
Some with more active imaginations put themselves in the shoes of the loser just now.
That feeling of humiliation, like working hard for countless days and nights, finally gathering the courage to confess to your crush, only to find she was easily stolen by some young kid.
Inevitably, a sense of "if this happens to him, it could happen to me" sorrow arose in their hearts.
But regardless, hose who needed to strategize would strategize, those who needed to upload the video would upload it. They absolutely couldn't let this junior win so easily.
If he won, what would happen to them?
These people with ulterior motives dispersed.
Another group watched them leave, cold smiles on their faces.
Where some liked to hold others back, naturally others disdained such actions.
The latter mostly had absolute confidence in their own strength or conducted themselves openly and honorably.
At the same time, the latter held the former in extreme contempt, believing that actively gathering intelligence was acceptable and justified, but actively spreading intelligence was malicious.
It was also a manifestation of lacking confidence in one's own strength.
Such people wouldn't go far.
Holding onto their pride, the other group also disappeared from outside the arena.
...
Afternoon.
Li Xiang hid at home practicing martial arts, taking the opportunity to study the Pokémon recipes Bai Wanhua had given him.
Just as he was about to attempt making a "Starry Sky Pie," he was bombarded by Bai Zhou's frantic calls.
"Senior Li Xiang! Quick, check the forum!"
His voice sounded slightly anxious; anyone unaware might think some blackmail material on Li Xiang had been exposed.
It was nothing more than someone uploading his battle video to the forum.
Regarding this... Li Xiang had anticipated it. After all, his name had a high appearance rate on the forum for the first half of the month.
"I know."
He replied casually.
He opened the forum and immediately saw the post with the bold red title on the Mist City University forum homepage.
—[So This is the Strength of the Nation's Number One (laughs)]
Below it was a picture of Lickitung using Rollout to tear through the Electro Web.
Had to admit, the candid shot skill was top-notch, the angle was absolutely perfect. Even from Li Xiang's perspective during the battle, he hadn't seen it so clearly and comprehensively.
'What a waste not to be a photographer.'
Clicking in, sure enough, it was the video of his battle with that guy earlier.
One refresh and over a dozen more replies appeared.
'Looks like this is a manual bump to the top?'
Li Xiang scrolled out. After confirming it indeed wasn't pinned or featured, he realized it was all organic traffic from students.
The number of replies kept increasing as time passed.
Clearly, the post was as hot as it could get. But Li Xiang was curious: did Mist City University have no other students? What was the meaning of always focusing on him alone?
Even if there really were no other students, wouldn't it be better to pay more attention to the school team members?
'Aren't the senior sisters pretty? Aren't they strong? Surely Mist City University had some other notable figures, right?'
Full of speechlessness, Li Xiang clicked in and started reading the replies from the beginning.
The first few posts were all placeholder nonsense. It wasn't until later that some serious replies appeared.
Without a doubt, they first evaluated the battle, then evaluated both participants.
[This Riolu is pretty good.] #6
[The strength is okay, but 'Nation's Number One' is an exaggeration, right?] #7
[Reply #7: This title originally refers to last session's Youth Training Camp graduates. Did you really think it meant the whole nation?] #8
[The opponent is so stupid, lol.] #11
[Not that great, average student level.] #12
[Feels like a father beating his son, no skill at all, just relying on raw strength to score points. Just bullying a weak opponent.] #13
[Does the guy upstairs not understand type matchups?] #14
[Lickitung is so blind, couldn't even crash through all those clones with Rollout. Good thing I don't have a Pokémon like that.] #15
[You all sure know how to act tough. When it's your turn to get on stage, every one of you will be like dead pigs.] #16
[Can Riolu really hit that hard? Why does my Lucario seem weaker than it?] #18
[Reply #18: His knows Aura Sphere without evolving. What about yours?] #19
[Reply #19: That hurts, old friend.] #20
'Pretty interesting! As expected of netizens, not much difference across worlds.'
Li Xiang lay on the sofa, scrolling through the replies with his finger, somehow feeling like he was back in the era of big data.
But soon, a long reply caught his eye.
This reply summarized the battle and, based on the video, inferred the energy levels, strength, and preferred tactics of Li Xiang's Pokémon.
Below it was a string of "Big boss is awesome," "Big boss 666."
But... Aside from correctly listing the moves Riolu and Rotom used, about eighty percent of the rest was nonsense.
If Li Xiang were to grade it, he'd only give it a failing score. He couldn't help but look at this person's ID.
—[Fancheng's Hottest Player], with the listed grade as fourth year.
A male student.
Li Xiang continued scrolling down and soon saw [Fancheng's Hottest Player]'s battle strategy guide.
It essentially detailed how to counter his Pokémon and which Pokémon could handle his team.
Seeing this, Li Xiang's expression instantly became complicated.
"Where did this living Bodhisattva come from? If anyone actually believes this, won't they get their brains beaten out by me?"
Complete nonsense... well, not entirely nonsense. Half of it was nonsense, the particularly fatal half. The key was that some people actually believed it.
'Are students really this easy to fool? Just follow whoever writes more?'
Li Xiang really couldn't resist and posted a reply.
[Don't believe it, it's all wrong.]
In less than ten seconds, replies came.
[If you say it's wrong, then why don't you analyze it?]
[Yeah, even if he's being wise after the event, at least he shared something. Why don't you share something too?]
[All you know is talking big. What does a first-year know? You think you're the person himself? Important people like him wouldn't bother with the forum!]
[I agree with him. Isn't 'Hottest Player' just bragging about his trophies? Is he wrong?]
[Reported the guy upstairs. Wait for the homeroom teacher to find you!]
[Your message has been deleted].
"HAHAHAHAHAHA."
Li Xiang clutched his stomach, convulsing on the sofa, tears almost laughing out. These students were just too hilarious.
Doublade nearby looked at Li Xiang twisting like a caterpillar, its gaze saying, "This guy's having another episode."