Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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Classroom.

Li Xiang encountered Song Jie, who was sighing heavily, and couldn't help but look surprised.

"Lost?"

"Won."

Song Jie slumped into his chair, and the Aron behind him wore a dejected expression.

"But I almost lost. A special attack Aron is so difficult to manage."

Indeed.

This young man's Aron followed a mixed-attacker approach, balancing physical and special attacks.

Li Xiang could understand Song Jie's choice; Aggron's special attack movepool was vast, including many powerful special moves, and with the Pokémon training level in this world, boosting its special attack in the future wouldn't be too difficult.

But that was an issue for later.

"I was fighting a Bibarel. Charge Beam missed once, hit the second time but didn't deal enough damage. It managed to set up Swords Dance and nearly wrecked Aron with Aqua Jet."

Song Jie sighed.

Li Xiang's expression froze. Bibarel? What kind of Pokémon was that? It sounded vaguely familiar.

After a moment of thought, he realized.

It was the early-game rodent Pokémon from the fourth generation, known for its unique ability, Simple.

This ability doubled the effects of moves that alter the user's stats.

For example, Swords Dance usually increased attack by two stages, but with Simple, it would increase by four stages.

Absolutely broken.

That Song Jie could still manage to pull off a win under such disadvantageous conditions was quite the feat.

"You did well."

Li Xiang patted Song Jie's shoulder.

Song Jie, in turn, asked about Li Xiang's match.

It was a one-sided battle, not much to talk about. Without any high-power Water-type moves, what could Bubble possibly achieve?

The surprise element was the opponent's hidden Focus Sash.

Torracat's final Heat Wave took out the remaining HP of the Lotad, which had no chance to counterattack.

Speaking of which...

Li Xiang couldn't help but wonder how Lin Feng had fared in his match.

To be honest...

The gap in strength was significant but not entirely irredeemable.

Things were different now; Charmeleon was no longer the same as the tiny Charmander it once was. Lin Feng also had a Lapras as an option.

Though it was still a juvenile in both age and size, its energy level was already at 21.

Unless the opponent was a fully evolved Water-type starter, Lin Feng had a decent chance of winning—

"Lost?"

Li Xiang looked at Lin Feng, sitting alone with a forlorn expression, gazing at the sky, and started to feel uneasy.

"Huh? Oh, it was a tie."

Lin Feng, startled by Li Xiang's voice, paused before responding.

A tie?

"My opponent had a Torterra. Lapras got lucky and froze it with Freeze-Dry, letting me get in a few extra hits. But in the end, it fell to Leech Seed, and we both went down at the same time."

Lin Feng explained.

Li Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a punch. "Then why do you look so miserable?"

He had almost thought Lin Feng had lost so badly that he started doubting life.

"Do I?" Lin Feng touched his face, suddenly grinned brightly, and stood up. As he stepped past Li Xiang, he asked, "How did your match go?"

Huh?

Sichuan opera face change?

Li Xiang turned his head instinctively and saw a beautiful girl walking over with her Pokémon.

Unlike the Ralts she had last time, the Pokémon by her side this time was a round, golden, glittering rabbit-like creature.

A golden Azumarill!

Li Xiang's jaw dropped. It was the second shiny Pokémon he had ever seen in person—and it was an Azumarill!

She had never shown it off before!

"Won!"

Xu Wan smiled gently at Lin Feng and nodded politely at Li Xiang.

Lin Feng's grin grew so wide it almost looked like a blooming chrysanthemum.

Li Xiang: "..."

Damn it, smiling so brightly—for a girl?

Prioritizing romance over friendship.

Li Xiang quickly excused himself, but Lin Feng didn't even try to stop him or spare him a glance.

So this is what a "surface-level friendship" looks like.

Afternoon.

The second round of exams began.

This time, his opponent was a girl.

The class division at the beginning of the semester was primarily based on written exam scores, so it wasn't surprising for there to be someone lacking in battle skills in the advanced class.

Li Xiang's luck was pretty good—he was up against a Grass-type Steenee.

It looked like a mangosteen with part of its interior exposed... Wait, it was a mangosteen with eyes and a mouth.

If it had its hidden ability Queenly Majesty, that would be one thing. Steenee was decently strong.

But what use was this Steenee in a battle?

It was practically a joke!

Torracat approached and landed a Heat Wave. Steenee didn't even have the chance to counterattack before fainting on the spot.

The challenge was so low that even the girl seemed stunned. By the time she reacted, she was already crying, leaving both Li Xiang and the referee awkwardly standing there.

But the result didn't change.

Winning was far too easy, so much so that Li Xiang even had time to go watch Song Jie's exam.

Spectating was allowed during the exam, but making noise was prohibited.

This time, Song Jie was using a Lycanroc.

His opponent's Pokémon was Sigilyph, a Psychic/Flying-type from the fifth generation.

This peculiar Pokémon looked like a jar adorned with colorful patterns, sporting two black fork-like appendages and flamboyant wings and tail.

Despite its odd appearance, Sigilyph was a highly effective Pokémon.

It had a unique ability called Magic Guard, which nullified all indirect damage.

From weather effects to item damage, nothing could harm it.

Unfortunately, its opponent was Song Jie's Lycanroc.

Taking Sigilyph's Psybeam head-on, Lycanroc howled loudly, leaped into the air, and used Thunder Fang to drag it down from the sky. Then, with Rock Slide, it crushed Sigilyph's small head, which resembled Unown's design but was thinner and smaller.

"Wow, its strength keeps skyrocketing."

Li Xiang couldn't help reminiscing about his battles with Song Jie. Battling this guy was almost impossible unless you went to his house.

And those few battles always ended with Li Xiang losing more than he won.

Why?

Because Song Jie's Pokémon were exceptionally strong.

His Rockruff had reached level 21 within the first week of Li Xiang getting Riolu. Now, it had reached an impressive level 26.

Aron was also at level 25, not far from evolving into Lairon.

To be fair, Song Jie wasn't cheating.

He simply had abundant resources and talented Pokémon, which combined to make their level growth rapid and understandable.

Back then, Li Xiang's Torracat couldn't defeat Song Jie's Rockruff or Aron without using his hidden trump card, Torracat's Fireball Spin.

Even Riolu, occasionally leveraging its type advantage, mostly ended up getting one-shot.

Its durability was just too low.

After losing so many times, Li Xiang even considered feeding Torracat some burned catnip.

In the end, he didn't resort to it.