Jiang Feng rolled his eyes. His Aura senses were screaming—Li Xiao Du's grudge was the thickest in the room. Who else am I gonna dunk on if not you?
First rule of transmigration: charm the heroine, then clap the haters!
"Need a reason to yeet someone into next week?" Jiang Feng smirked.
"Hmph, a Starter Pokémon? Big whoop! Trash Trainer, trash Pokémon!" Li Xiao Du sneered.
"Jiang Feng, you don't know jack about Pokémon!!"
"There's no such thing as a weak Pokémon—just weak Trainers. You're up, Caterpie!!"
Li Xiao Du, with a crooked grin, unleashed his thicc Caterpie—triple the size of a normal one! Absolute unit!
"A Caterpie rocking an Everstone for this long? Bro, you're a legend in your own mind!" Jiang Feng gave a sarcastic thumbs-up, then sighed dramatically.
"Yo, Li, there's something I've been meaning to clear up."
"That notebook you found under Widow Li's bathtub? Total prank by yours truly."
"The part about Caterpie with an Everstone evolving into Rayquaza at max level? Yeah, just a joke."
"Sorry, man, didn't think you'd take it seriously and spend three years raising that bug."
His precious secret… a prank?!
Li Xiao Du's face went paler than a Gastly. His trembling finger pointed at Jiang Feng.
Three years!
You know how I survived these three years?!
By trash-talking Jiang Feng every day—it was pure bliss!
But if it was all a lie, what was the point of his struggle? His endurance? His vibes?!
Heartbroken, Li Xiao Du ripped off the Everstone. His beefy Caterpie glowed with the light of evolution, morphing into… a Metapod!
"Metapod, use Harden!"
Ready for the battle of the century?
"Harden? Pfft, small-fry, let me show you real hardness!"
Sea King System, activate!
Time to juice up!
Jiang Feng dumped all 1,000 of his freshly farmed Proficiency points into Scratch!
Scratch: (Proficient 150/1000)
Upgrade successful! Broke through to Adept tier!
Scratch (Adept 1150/10,000)
Every skill level-up was a game-changer for a Pokémon—a straight-up glow-up!
You could see Combusken's claws getting sharper, beefier, and… rougher! One swipe, and it's leaving three stripes minimum!
"Combusken, Scratch attack!"
With the Smile Card boosting their bond, Combusken gave a sassy eye-roll but obeyed, charging forward with gleaming claws!
Three streaks of ghostly light flashed!
Metapod, slow as a Slakoth, couldn't dodge—forced to tank it!
Tank it?
With the Smile Card's +50 Attack and Adept-level Scratch?
"My claws are dripping with cheat codes—think you can block this?!"
BOOM!
Metapod let out a pathetic squeak, flying back like a tossed Poké Doll, rolling across the field. It twitched, tried to stand, then flopped over, down for the count.
"How?! Harden didn't work?!" Li Xiao Du's jaw dropped.
Last time he was this shocked was… well, the last time.
The crowd was just as stunned. Combusken's Scratch had that much power now?
This ain't science!
They thought it'd be a noob-on-noob slugfest, but it was a one-sided massacre!
"What's the deal? Did bottom-tier Jiang Feng sell a kidney for a power-up?!"
"That's Adept-level Scratch! No doubt about it!"
"Lucky fluke, right? No way he had this strength before. Dude's hacking!"
The classmates buzzed with gossip. Was the eternal benchwarmer about to rise?
With an Adept-tier move, he was out of the loser bracket!
Bad news for the rest of us—no more Jiang Feng to pad our rankings! The fight for last place just got real!
Jiang Feng flashed a crooked grin. Sweating buckets now, huh, little bro?
"Actually, the Caterpie-to-Rayquaza thing might be legit!"
"Look at 'em—same green vibes! Caterpie's gotta be Rayquaza's baby form. They're totally on the same evolution line!"
"Plus, didn't you notice? The handwriting in Widow Li's notebook was all scribbly, like some ancient sage wrote it. Nothing like my penmanship!"
"Such a shame it evolved into Metapod, though."
Li Xiao Du stared at his dopey Metapod, mind blank. It's been, what, two minutes since it evolved? Can I undo this?!
Three years of scheming, three more years of grinding—back to square one.
Li Xiao Du donned the mask of pain: "Jiang Feng, you dog! Give me back my chonky Caterpie!!"
Jiang Feng dug at his ear. Yell that loud, and you'll shake out my prized earwax! How am I supposed to simp for the ladies now?
"No weak Pokémon, only weak Trainers. Believe in yourself—you're the best!" Jiang Feng said, all sage-like.
Spring winds don't reach the Jade Gate, and Buddha won't save a dummy like you.
Victory secured, Jiang Feng strutted off with his smug Combusken, walking like he owned the place.
"Big W, let's celebrate! Fireworks for all!"
"Viva la Spikemuth, the villagers of Noobsville send their congrats!"
"Explosive Gang—Pokémon Branch—drops a gift, charge it to the Hoenn F3 Socialite account!"
"Finally ditched the benchwarmer label! Time for a feast?" Wei Littlefat sidled up, grinning like a Snorlax after a buffet.
Jiang Feng shot him a look. "Sure, let's round up the neighborhood Growlithe and have them drop a feast for you!"
"Maximum dumpage!"
Wei flipped him off, and Jiang Feng returned the favor.
One month to go until the Academy Graduation Tournament.
Combusken's current strength? Barely good enough to shine a Champion's shoes. No reason to get cocky.
Score top four or higher, and you'd snag a Trainer Pokédex plus a free TM—no registration fees needed. That was the Shenzhou League's perk for talented Trainers.
Anyone could be a Trainer, but not everyone got a Pokédex.
Take Bug Catcher kids—grabbing a starter Pokémon and hitting the road with nothing but vibes and a dream. Too young for the Shenzhou League's approval, they usually traveled without a Pokédex, like rogue cultivators in a wuxia flick.
Most Trainers graduated from local academies around 19, then set off to challenge Gyms. Others went the elite route, attending prestigious Pokémon Universities.
A Pokédex? That was your ticket to being a League-recognized seed Trainer. Free lodging and medical care at Pokémon Centers—saving a fortune!
Pondering his next steps, Jiang Feng headed out of the school.
As he rounded a corridor corner, an angry punk girl blocked his unstoppable Sea King path.
Love around the corner?
"Whoa, what's the deal?!"
Missing her hair clip, Mali's twin tails hung loose, adding a chaotic charm to her vibe. Her cute face was all fury, her icy eyes glaring daggers, ready to throw hands.
Damn, she's got presence.
Jiang Feng's beefy Aura senses could pick up goodwill, malice, and emotional vibes. Mali's cool-girl act? Total front. Deep down, she was panicking.
Seeing through her façade, Jiang Feng licked his dry lips and teased, "What's up? Craving more plum sauce?"
"Pfft, pfft, pfft! Jiang Feng, you jerk! Give me back my hair clip!"
"Hmm… that clip means a lot to you, huh?" Jiang Feng stroked his chin, his grin turning slightly pervy.
"Of course it does! It's super important—hand it over!"
Important? Perfect.
"Why would I return a love token I earned fair and square?"
To activate the system, the hair clip had been sacrificed to create the Smile Card, now bound to Combusken. No take-backs.
So, Jiang Feng leaned into his inner rogue.
"Love token?!" Mali blinked, stunned. Eighteen years and five months old, she'd never met someone this shameless. Her cool-girl persona nearly cracked, a "what the actual Muk" stuck in her throat.
"What are you babbling about?! It's not a love token—you stole it!"
"Hey, hey, stealing's such a harsh word. Scholars like us call it borrowing."
"We're all educated folks here—let's keep it civilized, polite, and… know our depths."
Depths, my ass! Mali fumed, summoning her adorable Morpeko with a battle-ready glare.
"Fine, let's settle this Trainer-style! You lose, you give it back!"
Jiang Feng shook his head. Fight?
No way he'd brawl with his future waifu—that's domestic violence!
Unless it's a clothing-optional sparring match—that doesn't count.
Not that he'd admit he'd probably lose…
Mali might look cute, but she was a top-tier Trainer at Spikemuth Academy. Her Morpeko packed Master-tier moves! Combusken, with its measly Adept Scratch, didn't stand a chance.
The gap was like A-cup to E-cup—massive.
Meanwhile, the two Pokémon eyed each other curiously. Combusken, getting all up in Morpeko's business, started sniffing around—mostly its butt.
Jiang Feng facepalmed. Sniff if you must, but why you obsessing over its rear? Waiting for a Happy Meal?