The final match was quite bizarre. Not to mention professional trainers, even ordinary people with a bit of common sense could tell something was off.
First, an Ice Beam attacked from the front, and then an attack appeared from behind Salamence.
Could Greninja teleport?
But in such a short time, how could it use Teleport, which had a long start-up?
And how could it quickly chain so many moves together?
Moreover, Salamence was flying upward. Unless Greninja teleported, how could it jump onto Salamence's back?
Could a Pokémon without wings climb faster than one with wings?
Come on, even if it had telekinesis flight, it couldn't fly faster than Salamence!
Unless…. there were actually two Greninja on the field.
No one could figure it out.
The coaches and a few of the regular team members knew what was really going on but weren't about to reveal the secret. It would be hard to explain in a short time anyway; they would go over the replay with the students left in the dark at a later date.
"That's it for now. Good work, everyone."
Xu He held a microphone, and his clear words echoed from the speakers down to the field.
Applause broke out. Many school leaders stood up, looking at Li Xiang with faces full of satisfaction and anticipation.
After these two matches, although they hadn't seen his limits, his ability to compete at this level had been clearly proven.
On the one hand, they were curious about what Li Xiang had experienced during the past month.
At the start of the semester, his strength was at best on par with the regular team members, yet now he was able to dominate them in battle.
Both Feng Laiyi and Ruan Jingjing were strong enough to be ranked among the six major universities' teams.
On the other hand, they were considering whether the odds of a top-three finish would be high if Li Xiang played this year.
Was it possible to get first place overall?
According to the original plan, Li Xiang couldn't afford to lose; he needed to keep winning to meet their expectations. If he lost too badly or too often, wouldn't he just become an average trainer?
However, according to Xu He, this year's team was short-handed, and in necessary situations, they might need one person to compete in two different events.
Competing in two events sounded impressive, but it was undoubtedly a lot of pressure for a student.
Could the strategies for singles and doubles be the same?
The number who could excel at both was very small, and even fewer could achieve good results doing both at the same time.
Li Xiang joining could relieve some of the pressure on the team and greatly increase the likelihood of a top-three finish.
They would still have to continue watching his performance.
The group of leaders left first. Down below, Ruan Jingjing smiled helplessly.
She recalled her Salamence, whose body was slowly thawing from the ice and snow, and quietly comforted the sad and bewildered creature.
No one could easily swallow the frustration of not even finding their enemy before being ruthlessly knocked out, least of all this powerful dragon.
Around their trainers, Pokémon often acted like children. On the other side, Greninja's figure silently reappeared beside Li Xiang.
By the wall near the edge of the field, a wisp of smoke dissipated without a sound. This time, it only used one clone, which put little mental strain on it. It could even be called easy.
However, "You were too impatient again. I've told you that when playing hide-and-seek, you can't rush. You need to be more careful."
He patted its head.
"But great job. Your performance in the second round was excellent."
"Ninja."
Greninja narrowed its pupils in comfort.
Against Braviary in the second round, it had been patient, waiting for Braviary's Tailwind to end and pretending to be weak at the start to lure the opponent in.
But when the opponent was down to just one Pokémon, it wasn't only the opponent who got impatient.
Its own side became a bit anxious too, wanting to finish the match quickly to conserve stamina or for whatever reason.
Greninja had definitely been reckless that time.
The correct approach would have been to wait for the clone's animation to end before attacking from behind during the next strike, instead of giving Salamence any time to react.
It had come very close to letting Salamence get off a Dragon Rush.
Although the outcome was still predetermined, this kind of unnecessary variable often led to unwanted results.
Recalling Greninja, Li Xiang saw Ruan Jingjing walking over.
"Senior."
"A formidable junior indeed!"
Ruan Jingjing patted his shoulder, full of admiration.
"When I was your age, I spent all my time hanging out and shopping with my classmates."
As a sixth-year student, she was about to graduate and say goodbye to the campus where she had lived for six years.
Her heart wasn't much lighter than those who hadn't made the team. She had never even been to a global-level arena.
So even though she lost to Li Xiang, seeing him possess such great strength actually made Ruan Jingjing happier than winning.
The stronger her teammates were, the higher the chance of advancing to the global level.
Li Xiang smiled and said nothing.
Today's matches were over. Just as he was about to leave, the senior sisters ran down from the stands and surrounded him, asking all sorts of questions.
Li Xiang answered each one one by one.
The somewhat strange thing was why Senior Bai Xiang, who was full of ladylike elegance and had a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, kept asking him if he was interested in Grass-type Pokémon.
Honestly, he was interested in Pokémon of all types, but at this stage, he really didn't have the energy to train more.
Besides, a cat that knew how to cook was about to enter his home. So he could only tell Bai Xiang that if the opportunity arose, he would raise one.
He didn't expect that once he said that, Bai Xiang's eyes lit up. She grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go, telling him that when he was ready to raise a Grass-type, he absolutely had to consider her family.
What?
"Senior Bai Xiang's family runs a breeding house that specializes in selling Grass-type Pokémon."
Su Qian explained with a smile.
"She loves recommending them to others and will list all the benefits of Grass-types. When it comes to trainers who love Grass-type Pokémon, Senior Bai Xiang is the number one person I've ever met."
"Oh, you flatter me."
Bai Xiang covered her mouth, her eyes curving with laughter.
Then she looked seriously at Li Xiang.
"I hope you will seriously consider my family's Grass-type Pokémon. Every single one of them is truly adorable."
"...Alright, alright."
Li Xiang responded evasively.
So she was doing business even on campus.
But he could accept this recommendation. When he became interested in Grass-type Pokémon, it wouldn't hurt to take a look.
That was assuming he couldn't find a Grass-type from the first four generations.
If he could, then Bai Xiang wouldn't even be in the picture. He would just go directly to Mist Island and use his charm.
With that settled, Su Qian accompanied Li Xiang to the Pokémon Center. She suggested they start practicing doubles in the afternoon since there was only one week left.
Li Xiang had no objections. Gong Xu raised both hands and feet in agreement and volunteered to be their opponent.
As for the remaining person, Song Jie would fill in.
Li Xiang was quite touched. This guy would actually spend his own time to help him out.
He was a good brother indeed.
Students always loved gossip. The afternoon battles inevitably leaked some information.
Whether intentional or not, the details were scarce, focusing more on the fact that Li Xiang had defeated two regular members by a significant margin.
As the center of the storm, Feng Laiyi and Ruan Jingjing were inevitably tagged or privately messaged by many acquaintances.
They both admitted generously that they had indeed lost. There was no reason to deny the truth, even if they were the ones who got beaten.
Trainers always let their strength speak for itself. They weren't afraid of ridicule.
Anyone who thought they were weak was welcome to challenge them.
If they lost, they would give up their spots on the team. It was simple.
Li Xiang naturally wasn't spared by the gossip-loving students either. Unfortunately, he didn't reply to many, only responding to messages from Bai Zhou and the two sisters Lu, ignoring the rest.
If he wasn't familiar with them, why would they start a private chat?
But even without his response, the news inevitably spread among the students.
If most people hadn't signed a contract at the beginning of the semester prohibiting the dissemination of student information to the outside world, his name might have already appeared on various social media apps.
However, the matter quickly died down under the school's intervention.
Li Xiang was not yet at a stage where he could reveal his true strength. As the biggest information broker on campus, Lu Shu naturally also received a "warning" from the school administration.
She scoffed at it. There was no way she would casually spread Li Xiang's information.
She simply ignored the teacher who privately messaged her.
The next day, the underdog story continued.
Unexpectedly, this time four people were skipped over entirely, specifically the doubles team members: Bai Xiang, Shen Qing, Lu Shu, and Zhao Jie.
The latter two had volunteered. They admitted they couldn't beat Li Xiang and saw no point in wasting time.
In singles, they were actually weaker than Feng Laiyi and Ruan Jingjing, relying mainly on doubles to secure their positions.
In doubles, however, they had incredible synergy.
Even though their individual strength was lacking, the two of them together could produce powerful results.
They were largely credited for securing fourth place last year.
Lu Shu had thus become the campus information broker, profiting by selling student data on their Pokémon, but the school turned a blind eye.
As long as the information didn't get out, everything was negotiable.
As for Bai Xiang and Shen Qing, after Lu Shu and the others stated their position, they thought it over and decided not to waste the time either.
Since they wouldn't be participating in singles unless under special circumstances anyway.
Shen Qing clearly recognized that she couldn't beat Li Xiang.
Since she couldn't even beat Ruan Jingjing, how could she possibly beat the Li Xiang who had dominated Ruan Jingjing?
She conceded defeat.
As her good partner, Bai Xiang naturally wouldn't leave her hanging alone.
Bai Xiang had the skill for singles. Although she specialized in Grass-types, she still had the highest score in the school.
The issue was that it wasn't necessary.
If Li Xiang could beat Abigail, he could definitely beat her.
There might be a type disadvantage involved, but Bai Xiang wasn't foolish enough to just let Abigail burn everything.
She naturally had ways to mitigate the power of Fire-types.
Still, she would lose more often than win.
Xu He had always been fond of these hardworking students, so he agreed.
Thus, Li Xiang's journey to challenge the entire team crossed off another four without a fight… leaving him to face the third-strongest person in Grand Mist University: Abigail.
The time had come for revenge.
Li Xiang smiled at Abigail in the distance. She nodded gently back, her expression calm and composed.
Both sides were ready to give it their all.