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Li Xiang never praised others without a reason.
While Huo Li and the opposing Trainer exchanged insights and analyzed their battle, Li Xiang shamelessly stood nearby, holding Litten, and eavesdropped. Whenever he encountered something he didn't understand, he jotted it down roughly, intending to ask Huo Li later.
Unsurprisingly, Huo Li lived up to his reputation as a "fire-type expert." His knowledge was far more useful than the ambiguous advice often found online.
After more than twenty minutes, Li Xiang's notebook was filled with notes, large and small.
"So serious?"
Huo Li looked at Li Xiang, engrossed in writing, and was surprised. "Not bad, Xiao Xiang! You're bound to achieve great things in the future!"
"…"
Li Xiang paused, feeling slightly awkward under the praise. "Uncle Huo, isn't that a bit exaggerated?"
Achieve great things… What kind of outdated evaluation was that?
"I'm serious! I'm not joking with you."
Huo Li's expression turned solemn. "Do you know the most important traits for a Trainer?"
Without waiting for a response, he answered his own question.
"Learning, perseverance, and humility—the three essentials for Trainers."
Pointing to his chest, he continued, "Your Uncle Huo here, at thirty-two years old, can barely be considered a seasoned Trainer. But back when I was fifteen, I got into an Advanced Academy!"
The Advanced Trainer Academy—a place famously known for producing seasoned Trainers upon graduation.
The academic duration was split into two types. If you entered after turning 18, it was a three-year program. If you entered before 18, it was six years. Each academic year started in spring rather than fall.
To graduate, one had to achieve at least a Great Ball rank in battles. And to participate in the Pokémon Continental Championship, you had to be at least 18.
At 14, individuals could bear full criminal responsibility; at 18, they could make independent life decisions.
If you couldn't reach Great Ball rank in three years, you'd either drop out or receive a certificate of completion.
If you achieved the requirements early, you could graduate immediately—no one would stop you.
It was all about performance.
Huo Li had only recently reached Great Ball rank himself.
"Back then, I was full of confidence. Everyone called me a prodigy Trainer destined for greatness! I really thought the world was mine, and that Master rank was just around the corner."
Huo Li's gaze grew distant as he puffed out his chest, seemingly reliving his youthful pride.
But within two seconds, his posture sagged slightly, as though burdened by an invisible weight.
"And then? What happened after I entered? At first, I was arrogant and dismissive of others. But after a few battle assessments, I realized my actual level.
"I was utterly crushed. I fell into despair, comparing myself to other prodigies, forgetting to learn, to persevere, and to remain humble."
Suddenly, Huo Li leaned closer, grabbing Li Xiang by the shoulders and staring intently into his eyes. "Xiang, listen to me! Advanced Academies are a haven for geniuses and a hell for mediocrity!
"When you see others advancing by leaps and bounds while you remain stagnant, it's incredibly painful. Every second feels like torture.
"But don't forget—never, ever forget—to learn, persevere, and stay humble, even if you can't catch up to those prodigies.
"Other people's accomplishments are theirs; you can't live in envy. Only what you earn through your own efforts truly belongs to you. Don't always fixate on them. You're living for yourself!"
Huo Li's intense emotion caught Li Xiang off guard. This didn't align with the Uncle Huo he remembered—a casual, laid-back man who never uttered such serious words.
So Uncle Huo had this side to him…
Li Xiang didn't know how to respond. He could only nod firmly.
Pokémon could be ranked, and so could people.
Some got a head start and seemed to sprint ahead effortlessly, as if flying. Others ran by the rules but found their legs giving out halfway through.
Then there were those born at the finish line, gazing at horizons unseen by most.
Uncle Huo belonged to the second group. He ran earnestly and surpassed many, thinking he was leading the pack—only to discover others flying planes, driving cars, or even riding rockets ahead of him.
In his determination, he pushed himself so hard that he metaphorically "broke his leg."
Even so, he was still dragging his "injured legs," stumbling forward without giving up.
The path of a Trainer was indeed a long and arduous journey…
Li Xiang sighed inwardly, his thoughts drifting to the candy in the tin box.
If that candy was real, would it mean he was piloting a spaceship? One capable of creating wormholes and teleporting through space?
.....
In the following days, Li Xiang immersed himself in a routine of morning exercises, observing battles at the park, training at home, and studying resources.
He didn't follow his mother to the conservation center, choosing instead to focus on training Litten at home.
Seeing that he could manage meals himself, Mrs. Yin left Meowstic to keep him company and departed, confident in his independence.
During this time, Li Xiang didn't do anything remarkable. He simply focused on improving Litten's physical condition and honing its existing moves through basic exercises.
He avoided trying to learn new moves or seeking battles with others.
This simple, straightforward approach helped build their bond and allowed Litten to better master its current moves.
Following Uncle Huo's advice and the materials he provided, Li Xiang progressed steadily, neither rushed nor complacent.
One unexpected surprise was the confirmation of the candy's functionality.
The variously colored triangular candies confirmed that it wasn't a prank or a dream—it was real.
Li Xiang even identified some patterns.
As long as the day's training met a specific standard, a triangular candy would naturally appear in his palm. The candy's color—and thus the stat boost—varied. Only one candy could be obtained per day.
However, whether this limit applied to one Pokémon or all Pokémon was unclear.
When Li Xiang tried to involve Meowstic in training, no second candy appeared.
The possible reasons were:
- Meowstic wasn't considered his Pokémon.
- Meowstic didn't meet the activity threshold.
- The total limit was one candy per day.
For now, he couldn't determine which was correct.
So how could he obtain the larger candies?
Increasing training intensity didn't work; Litten would be exhausted and dozing off, yet no candy appeared.
Would they appear through battles? Capturing Pokémon? Leveling up?
Li Xiang wasn't sure. Simulated battles didn't work either. He had Litten battle Meowstic, and when Litten lost—no candy appeared.
Then Meowstic stood still, letting Litten win—still nothing.
In the end, Li Xiang ended up with bruises on his legs after being smacked around by Meowstic and later got an earful from Mrs. Yin.
As a result, he changed strategies, deciding to wait patiently for Litten to level up.
Or perhaps, wait for the day Lin Feng is free and battle him.
It's crucial not to mix these scenarios. If the candy appears after both leveling up and winning a battle, how would he determine the specific condition that caused it? Worse yet, if leveling up grants one candy and winning also grants one, but doing both only results in one candy, where would he even begin to argue?
Or maybe leveling up and winning could result in a bigger candy. That's not entirely impossible.
In any case, Li Xiang wasn't in a hurry. The pattern for the candy's appearance would eventually reveal itself.
Besides, he still didn't fully understand the rules for using the triangular candies.
If everything followed the original settings, consuming the smallest candies alone would raise a single stat up to a limit of 49 points. After that, larger candies would be required.
But to reach that 49-point limit with just one stat, it would take around 400 of the smallest candies!
Li Xiang couldn't recall the exact number—it was something he calculated out of boredom back then.
With one candy per day, it would take him a year to max out a single stat for just one Pokémon. To max out all stats to 49 points each? That would take seven years!
Talk about a time-consuming profession.
Given this, if leveling up or battling did reward larger candies, he wouldn't dare to waste them recklessly.
After all, once the smaller candies max out at 49 points, they become useless.
He was hoping that it wouldn't be that troublesome.
....
And so, another day passed.
The heavens reward the diligent—Litten finally leveled up, reaching level five.
Li Xiang found a small red candy in his hand.
'So, leveling up gives small candies?'
Li Xiang fell into thought. He'd expected something more unique—maybe a specialized candy, or at least a large one. Even a medium one would have sufficed; he wasn't picky.
But a small one?
Did this mean that specialized or larger candies didn't exist? And what about the consumption rules?
Li Xiang decided to hold off on giving the candy to Litten for now. Aside from remembering that blue candies increased Speed, he couldn't recall which stats the other colors corresponded to.
He resolved to wait until he had at least five of the same type. For blue ones, eleven candies would be better.
Based on the original settings, the first nine candies guaranteed one-point increments, but beyond that, two candies were needed for each additional point.
With a larger stockpile, Litten would also have a clearer understanding of its stat growth, something it could communicate back to Li Xiang through Meowstic.
Incremental changes might not yield an immediate impact.
The Speed stat, however, should reflect the changes most noticeably. Using blue triangular candies would quickly clarify whether two were needed per point or just one.
… Hopefully.
Crossing over to this world had already been a stroke of luck.
....
A few days later.
Lin Feng invited him out again.
Nearly a week had passed, and Li Xiang couldn't help but feel that Lin Feng looked… darker. Was it just his imagination?
Didn't his dad run a shop selling Berries? Did that require being out in the sun?
However, from Lin Feng's perspective, it was Li Xiang who looked different.
"You seem to have slimmed down a bit!"
Lin Feng's face carried an expression of shock, as if he'd just witnessed something unbelievable.
No way, no way—could it be that when Li Xiang joked last time about his sister not liking chubby boys, he actually started dieting?
But Lin Lan was only ten years old!
And it had been a joke! Li Xiang wouldn't have taken it seriously, right?
Please, no…
Lin Feng's imagination ran wild as he scrambled to think of a way to reject Li Xiang without hurting his pride.
Fortunately, Li Xiang wasn't aware of the nonsense brewing in Lin Feng's head; otherwise, he'd have decked the kid, all the while yelling something like -
'Stupid brat, daydreaming instead of focusing on your studies. What's the point?'
His own attention, however, was entirely fixed on the Pokémon in Lin Feng's arms.
A small, bright red Pokémon with big, watery eyes, a tiny frame, and a flickering flame at the tip of its tail. Its overall appearance resembled a cross between a lizard and a dinosaur.
A Charmander.
A quintessential starter Pokémon. If you were going for classics, nothing beat this iconic choice.
Who knows? Down the line, Lin Feng might even get his hands on two Mega Stones and have to choose between evolving into X or Y.
On the other hand…
Lin Feng also found the choice classic.
Once his daydreams subsided, he decided to ignore the weight-loss topic entirely, acting as though nothing had happened. Instead, he shifted the conversation to Pokémon.
"You really went for a cat-like Pokémon, just like Aunt Yin!"
Lin Feng naturally knew all about Yin Tao's Pokémon. Before the family moved, he'd often visited Li Xiang's house. He was also familiar with Li Zhehan's Pokémon.
"Yeah," Li Xiang replied, glancing down at the Litten by his side, his gaze softening.
The more time he spent with it, the more he discovered its potential, and the more he felt confident in his choice.
With excellent natural talent and the addition of stat-boosting candies, it wouldn't be hard to surpass others with a late-game push. All it required was patience and steady progress.
Lin Feng, meanwhile, looked between Litten, Purugly, and his Charmander. Finally, he said the words Li Xiang had been waiting for.
"Wanna have a Pokémon battle?"
This was exactly what Li Xiang had been waiting for!
Without hesitation, he quickly agreed.
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