"I won this time."
Xiao Luoxue looked at Ling Wanqiu with a triumphant grin.
Since their last match, Xiao Luoxue and Ling Wanqiu had sparred several more times, trading wins and losses. In this latest encounter, they had fielded their Salamence and Garchomp respectively.
Her Salamence had emerged victorious, which she considered a satisfying revenge for her previous defeat.
"Don't get too full of yourself. You'll probably lose next time," Ling Wanqiu replied, her tone remarkably calm despite the loss. Her Garchomp was evenly matched with Xiao Luoxue's Salamence in terms of raw strength; in a battle between them, either one could realistically come out on top.
"Do you two want to spar with my Pokémon?" Jiang Chen asked, turning his head toward them.
"Not interested," they replied in perfect unison.
Neither of them enjoyed being bullied. Over the past few days, they hadn't been entirely opposed to sparring with Jiang Chen's Pokémon, but the results were almost always devastating.
They hadn't managed to win a single round and were usually left in a pitiful state. They weren't masochists, so why would they want to keep being used as punching bags for Jiang Chen?
"Wanqiu, you've changed. I remember you used to be quite persistent in challenging me," Jiang Chen noted, his gaze falling on Ling Wanqiu. "If I recall correctly, one of your main goals was to defeat me."
Back when they were still at the Pokémon Academy, Ling Wanqiu had viewed Jiang Chen as her greatest rival. Even if Jiang Chen didn't seek her out, Ling Wanqiu would initiate a battle every few days.
"Don't even mention it. I've already abandoned that goal," Ling Wanqiu sighed.
In the past, defeating Jiang Chen had indeed been her primary objective. Now, however, she felt that hanging onto it was pointless the gap between them had grown far too wide.
If it were just a small difference in strength, she would have been confident in catching up. But after seeing the current power of Jiang Chen's Pokémon, she knew she likely wouldn't catch him in this lifetime.
It was better to focus on her other goal: surpassing her father.
While her two old goals had been to defeat Jiang Chen and surpass her father, her current ambitions were slightly different. Beating Jiang Chen had been replaced by a new target: becoming a Champion.
Indeed, she wanted to be a Champion. Then again, ninety-nine percent of Trainers were working toward that same dream.
"Young master, someone is here to see you. His tone is quite unpleasant, so I didn't let him in yet," Ning Ya said as she walked into the backyard.
"Someone's looking for trouble?" Xiao Luoxue asked with a chuckle.
If someone was actually coming here to pick a fight with Jiang Chen, they were truly blind to the danger.
"Is he still there?" Jiang Chen asked.
"Still at the gate."
"Let's go take a look then."
Jiang Chen headed toward the entrance, with Ling Wanqiu and Xiao Luoxue following closely behind.
"Oh, it's you."
Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised to see the visitor. It was Xu Jie.
"Jiang Chen, I'm here to challenge Ling Wanqiu? Why are you here?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Xu Jie's eyes landed on Ling Wanqiu standing behind Jiang Chen. He instinctively stumbled back a few steps, his face turning incredibly ugly.
Ling Wanqiu frowned and countered, "Why shouldn't I be here?"
Though they were former classmates and she knew he had a crush on her, Ling Wanqiu didn't have a single good thing to say about Xu Jie.
She remembered that right after they had received their starter Pokémon, he had challenged Jiang Chen, only for his Charmander to be easily defeated by Jiang Chen's Squirtle.
He had tried again later, but that had ended in an even more humiliating defeat.
The worst part was when Jiang Chen was training his Wobbuffet's endurance; Xu Jie had actually reported Jiang Chen for "Pokémon abuse." Ling Wanqiu found that behavior absolutely despicable.
In short, she had zero respect for him.
Seeing the blatant disgust in Ling Wanqiu's eyes, Xu Jie's expression darkened even further.
Damn it! Are Ling Wanqiu and Jiang Chen already together?
He had come to challenge Jiang Chen so soon after graduation specifically because he had gained a bit of strength and wanted to impress Ling Wanqiu. He believed that if he defeated Jiang Chen, he would prove he was the superior man and finally win her affection.
"It's just as well that you're here," Xu Jie barked, trying to regain his composure. Even if they were together, it wasn't like they couldn't break up. Defeating Jiang Chen right in front of Ling Wanqiu would be even more effective.
It was anyone's guess where Xu Jie got the audacity to think he could actually win.
"You're challenging me?" Jiang Chen looked at Xu Jie with genuine bewilderment.
Are you actually asking for a beating? His memory of Xu Jie was faint he mostly just recalled the guy having decent grades in theory, but nothing else.
"Sorry, I don't have time to play with you," Jiang Chen replied, flatly rejecting him.
The gap between them was like that of a graduate student and a primary schooler. Jiang Chen didn't even have the heart to bully him. He doubted Xu Jie's Pokémon would be worth much in terms of system points anyway.
Rather than wasting time for a pittance of points, he'd rather go into the wild and fight wild Pokémon; it was much faster.
"Are you afraid?" Xu Jie sneered provocatively. "Are you scared of losing in front of Ling Wanqiu and disappointing her? Jiang Chen, you don't deserve her. Only I do."
Having apparently grown a very thick skin, Xu Jie boldly proclaimed his thoughts.
Standing to the side, Xiao Luoxue finally understood the situation. This guy liked Ling Wanqiu and was here to challenge Jiang Chen out of spite.
Is this guy actually strong? He talks quite the big game.
"You want to challenge Jiang Chen? Fine. But you'll have to beat me first," Xiao Luoxue said, stepping forward.
Xu Jie, whose attention had been entirely focused on the other two, finally noticed Xiao Luoxue.
The moment he saw her face, a flash of pure jealousy crossed his eyes jealousy directed at Jiang Chen. Xiao Luoxue was every bit as beautiful as Ling Wanqiu. Seeing two stunning women revolving around Jiang Chen would make any man green with envy.
"If you can't even handle me, you have no business challenging Jiang Chen," Xiao Luoxue stated again.
"I think I should be the one to do it," Ling Wanqiu added.
"I spoke first, so it's my turn," Xiao Luoxue insisted. She wanted to do this herself, viewing it as helping Jiang Chen swat away an annoying fly.
"Fine. I'll beat you first, and then I'll challenge that coward. I hope you won't be too scared to accept then," Xu Jie said, glaring at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh. The words coming out of this guy's mouth were the funniest joke he'd heard in a long while.
Scared to accept? Jiang Chen wouldn't even back down from a member of the Elite Four, let alone this guy. He was truly speechless at the man's delusions of grandeur.
"I'll leave it to you, Luoxue."
"Don't worry, just sit back and watch the show."
Xiao Luoxue could see right through him. This was a man with no strength and even less self-awareness. He hadn't even appeared in the rankings for the Freshman Trainer Tournament; that alone said everything about his level.
"I won't even bother bullying you. Pikachu, you're up."
Xiao Luoxue sent her Pikachu onto the field.
"Go, Charizard!"
Xu Jie's original starter Charmander had already evolved into a Charizard. However, its strength had only just reached the level of a Quasi-Elite Four Stage 1.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Crackle!
A blinding flash of lightning tore through the air. A moment later, Charizard was sprawled on the ground, completely unable to battle.
"That's it?" Xiao Luoxue blinked, stunned.
She knew the guy was overestimating himself, but she hadn't expected him to be this pathetic. His Pokémon couldn't even withstand a single Thunderbolt from her Pikachu.
"Pika~!"
Pikachu reached up with a tiny paw and scratched its fluffy cheek. It turned out the big guy was all show and no substance; Pikachu felt silly for having taken the fight so seriously.
"Your Pokémon is this weak, and you actually had the nerve to challenge Jiang Chen?" Xiao Luoxue looked at Xu Jie with pure contempt. Being weak was one thing, but being weak without any self-awareness was something she truly looked down upon.
Xu Jie's face turned bright red. Even with his thick skin, being one-shotted was an unbearable humiliation especially since he had been defeated by a woman.
"Useless! I didn't expect you to be so weak!" Xu Jie screamed at his Charizard.
He blamed the Pokémon for his embarrassment. He had intended to show off his power in front of Ling Wanqiu, but instead of looking like a hero, he had ended up looking like a clown.
"No wonder Jiang Chen rejected your challenge. You're just too weak," Xiao Luoxue added.
"If I were you, I'd leave now before I embarrassed myself further," Jiang Chen interjected.
Clenching his fists, Xu Jie glared at Jiang Chen. He wanted nothing more than to drive a punch into Jiang Chen's face. However, comparing their height and build, he knew he was no match for Jiang Chen in a physical fight.
"Blaziken, teach him a lesson!"
He threw another Poké Ball. A Blaziken burst out and, following Xu Jie's command, immediately lunged at Jiang Chen with a powerful kick.
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