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That night, Li Xiang and Ms. Yin returned to Qingcheng.
Because of Litten, Ms. Yin had used up most of her vacation days originally planned for a trip with Li Zhehan.
This led to an interesting phone call between Li Xiang and his father that evening. Li Zhehan informed him that once he got back, the two of them had to arm wrestle.
If Li Xiang lost, his father threatened to crush his head with his fiery, bulging biceps.
… Truly, the bond of blood.
Li Xiang wasn't scared at all. It wasn't like he hadn't been put in a headlock before; you get used to it.
Who's afraid of who? Worst case, he'd end the Li family bloodline right there! Let's see if Grandpa Li would take a knife to Li Zhehan for it. Seven generations of single descendants? Keep boasting!
Feeling bold, Li Xiang went right back to tormenting Lin Feng. After all, with the school year starting soon, there wouldn't be many opportunities left.
For now, he had the time to grind for candy, so he was going all out.
Lin Feng went from being excited initially to becoming expressionless, and eventually, outright avoiding him.
He was sick of battling Litten all day long—it was driving him nuts.
What's with this absurd stamina?!
Doesn't your Pokémon need to rest?!
—Of course, it needed rest. But after eating HP candies, Litten's stamina far exceeded what was typical for its level, making it easy to take down two low-level opponents without breaking a sweat.
Eventually, even Lin Lan couldn't stand it anymore and pleaded with Li Xiang to give Lin Feng a break. Lin Feng still had to help out at the shop the next day.
Li Xiang found an easy solution: he went to Lin Feng's family fruit shop to lend a hand, lightening Lin Feng's workload.
All in all, this 27-year-old man in a young boy's body had abandoned all sense of shame, relentlessly targeting Lin Feng, the proverbial fat sheep, for every last candy.
Poor Lin Feng, destined to be the "protagonist," was helpless against Li Xiang's "onslaught." Whenever he tried to resist, Li Xiang always had a slew of convincing reasons, tricking him back onto the battlefield before he even realized it.
By the time Lin Feng caught on, the battle had already started, and it was too late to back out.
What a beast!
Lin Feng could only fume silently and pray for the school year to start as soon as possible.
Bullying little kids truly felt wonderful!
.....
September arrived.
Nearly three months had passed, and Qingcheng's Basic Trainer Academy finally opened its doors to two new young boys.
The school was officially called Qingcheng Trainer Middle School, also known as the First Middle School.
There were also Second, Third, Fourth… all the way to Sixth Middle School, a total of six schools, each serving different districts.
From what Li Xiang had learned, the freshman intake at his school alone was around 400 students.
And, by conventional logic, the teaching quality, resources, and overall student abilities at Qingcheng Trainer Middle School weren't going to be particularly outstanding.
Why?
Because if the school were too good, there'd be no room for a protagonist to shine!
—Li Xiang wasn't entirely wrong.
First Middle School had once been glorious, but in recent years, it had declined in every aspect—from the number of students admitted to advanced academies to overall combat ability and peak performers.
Currently, Second Middle School held the crown.
First Middle School had been dethroned.
What does that make it?
The perfect setting for a protagonist's rise!
Li Xiang figured he might even witness Lin Feng pulling off those dramatic "show-off-and-face-slap" moments against students from other schools.
Whether or not the scenes would be incredibly awkward wasn't his concern.
Speaking of which, their two senior brothers seemed to be in Second Middle School.
.....
Friday, registration day.
Accompanied by Ms. Yin, Li Xiang sat in a spacious classroom to take the entrance placement exam—a written test.
During the exam, Pokémon companions were not allowed in the room. Overseeing the proceedings was a Alakazam, floating cross-legged in midair like a meditating sage, holding two spoons in its hands, its eyes glowing with a blue light.
This Alakazam was far more effective than surveillance cameras. Any small movements you made couldn't escape its psychic monitoring.
Cheating?
Impossible.
As Li Xiang worked on the test, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was staring at the back of his head. It was unsettling.
Fortunately, the questions weren't too difficult.
The test included General Knowledge, Math, and English, along with a course called Basic Pokémon Studies.
The first three subjects were straightforward enough. The Pokémon-related questions mainly focused on type matchups, Pokémon types, abilities, and some peculiar application problems.
Type matchups and types were manageable, but the questions about abilities were tricky. If you weren't familiar, you'd struggle to answer.
Could you name the abilities of Spoink, Solrock, and Octillery off the top of your head?
Or which Pokémon had the ability Reckless?
How about whether Scyther could learn Giga Impact?
If Li Xiang hadn't specifically studied these things, he might not have been able to answer.
Who memorizes obscure Pokémon and their niche abilities, anyway?
By the time he neared the end, Li Xiang's head was spinning.
Thankfully, he managed to finish before his brain completely shut down.
After the written test, it was time for the practical evaluation.
This consisted of two parts. The first was an obstacle course, similar to training a dog or cat, designed to test the trainer's rapport with their Pokémon.
The second part was a target-hitting exercise. There was no need to battle others or attack opponents—just hit the target with any move of your choice.
Instructors stood by to score the performance.
The requirements were quite lenient, to say the least.
Later, Li Xiang realized that the "practical test" carried a relatively low weight in the overall assessment, with the written test being the real priority.
Hmm… studying General Knowledge, Math, and English at a Trainer Academy? That felt a bit out of place.
But it wasn't entirely unreasonable. After all, many graduates of Basic Academies ended up failing their Advanced Academy entrance exams.
Those who didn't make the cut often chose to transfer to regular high schools to continue their education.
Some even gave up on becoming Trainers altogether, skipping the exams entirely and going straight into high school instead.
For those individuals, the importance of the three foundational subjects—General Knowledge (Science Included), Math, and English—became evident after three years of reflection, realizing they lacked the talent to pursue a career as professional Trainers. They would stop the losses early and set out on a different path.
Of course, none of this concerned Li Xiang.
There was no way he would ever give up on being a Trainer.
...
At 5 PM, after finishing all the tests, Li Xiang walked through the lush campus with Litten by his side. The warm breeze rustled through the shade of the trees, prompting both the boy and his Pokémon to yawn in unison.
Ms. Yin had gone to the administrative office to finalize his enrollment, apparently needing to sign some additional forms. She'd left him to wander around the school and familiarize himself with the environment.
As Li Xiang strolled around the campus—a student once again after many years—he couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
This school was nothing like the typical middle school he remembered from his past life.
So many battlefields!
Li Xiang silently remarked to himself, having already spotted at least 30 battlefields lining the paths he'd walked so far.
Suddenly—
"Li Xiang!"
A familiar voice called out from a distance.
It was Lin Feng, walking towards him with a cheerful little Charmander toddling beside him, swaying adorably with each step.
"How'd you do? I heard people saying there'll be a total of 13 classes, and Classes 1, 2, and 3 are the honors classes!"
Lin Feng ran up to him and whispered excitedly.
Four hundred students divided into 13 classes? That's just over 30 students per class. They probably counted the Pokémon as well, to avoid overcrowding the classrooms.
But that wasn't the main point.
The real issue was—
Young man, why are you stealing my job?
Li Xiang gave Lin Feng a peculiar look.
Normally, gathering and sharing information like this was his role, a job for the sidekick to help move the plot along.
"Why are you staring at me? I asked you a question!"
Lin Feng urged him impatiently.
Li Xiang shrugged. "It went okay, I guess. Can't brag without seeing the results first."
"Hey! So was it good or not?!" Lin Feng was dissatisfied with such a vague answer. This ambiguous response was clearly not what he was looking for.
But Li Xiang had no interest in wasting energy on trivial conversations like this.
"Forget about that. We haven't battled yet today. Let's go!"
He grabbed Lin Feng's shoulder and spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.
Lin Feng froze for a moment, then his face turned pale as he waved his hands frantically. "Bro! C'mon, it's the first day of school! I still need to find my mom. I really can't today—let's take a break!"
Managing to string together four excuses in a single breath, Lin Feng was undeniably a talent in his own right.
"Come on, just five minutes in the arena," Li Xiang said, dragging Lin Feng by the arm. He added solemnly, "What kind of Trainer doesn't battle? I'm doing this for your own good!"
Nearby, Charmander sighed, resigned to its fate, while Litten cheerfully nudged it toward the nearest battlefield.
.....
At a Trainer school, the most popular spots on campus were undoubtedly the battlefields scattered everywhere.
Lin Feng's luck wasn't bad—all the battlefields they could see were already occupied.
"Phew…" He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Xiang, however, wasn't too disappointed. Waiting wasn't a big deal—nobody was going to battle all day. Eventually, their turn would come.
What caught his attention, though, was the scene unfolding on one of the fields.
The battle featured a Wartortle with blue skin, white ears, and a white tail, facing off against a Vigoroth, covered in white fur with a tuft of red hair on its head, resembling a baboon.
The former was one of the original starter Pokémon, while the latter's evolution was famous for its ridiculous stats and ability.
Li Xiang's focus, however, was on the Wartortle's effortless domination of the match.
Using Withdraw to boost its defense, then closing the distance with Rapid Spin, the momentum from the spin allowed its Water Gun to cover a wider area.
If it hit the opponent's eyes, it could also impair their vision and disrupt their judgment.
The Wartortle finished the battle with a clean Aqua Jet to its opponent's chest.
It was a seamless sequence, as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times.
The Vigoroth could barely fight back, managing only a couple of light scratches on Wartortle's shell with Slash.
"Not bad," Li Xiang remarked, narrowing his eyes at Wartortle's Trainer.
The Trainer appeared to be a boy about the same age as him, with a decent demeanor. Clearly, his family had the resources to support him.
But whether he was from the previous year or this year's intake was unclear.
If he was a peer, he'd undoubtedly be a strong competitor.
And that Water type… At low levels, type advantages were everything.
Li Xiang suddenly felt the urge to teach Litten some moves that could broaden its offensive capabilities.
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