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The night run ended.
Once again, Li Xiang turned down someone's request to team up.
Nobody here was a fool—the benefits of forming alliances were obvious. After all, the Youth Training Camp had never prohibited cooperation.
As a result, Li Xiang, the undisputed "leader" of their group, became highly sought after. Everyone wanted to team up with him, hoping he could carry them further.
Unfortunately, when it came to crucial performance points, Li Xiang wasn't about to drag dead weight.
Every request for partnership was met with a firm refusal, along with a brief explanation.
Those who were rejected, seeing his resolute attitude, could only walk away dejected.
As for Qu Sheng and the others, they had already formed pairs. A four-person team would make point distribution too slow and uneven—two or three was the ideal number.
Li Xiang skimmed through the group chat and found that quite a few people had tagged him, mostly begging for a carry.
To avoid misunderstandings, he sent a message addressing everyone, making it clear he wouldn't be teaming up.
If he didn't want to do something, he wouldn't pretend otherwise.
The moment his message went out, the chat erupted in despair, as if they'd lost their backbone.
Some even spammed pleas for him to reconsider.
The result? A three-minute mute for the entire group, followed by silence.
'Bunch of idiots.'
Li Xiang put away his phone and waited for his Pokémon to finish their training. Once they were done, he hurried back to the dorm, eager to log into the camp's online exchange store.
Unsurprisingly, it was an internal site—impossible to access from the outside.
And the items available for exchange? Things that were either unavailable on the open market or sold at exorbitant prices.
Including Pokémon and eggs.
The only catch? They cost a staggering amount of performance points, ranging from a hundred to a thousand.
Of course, everything was Pokémon-related—this was a training camp, after all.
Li Xiang clicked through the interface, quickly finding the filter option and selecting the "Pokémon" category.
Instantly, the page displayed nothing but Pokémon.
He sorted them by price, highest to lowest.
The result? A list spanning over thirty pages, with thirty Pokémon per page.
And at the very top?
Shiny Pokémon.
The most expensive of them all.
Li Xiang easily spotted his target—third from the left.
Shiny… Metang??
Cost: 6,000 points!
'Wait, wasn't it supposed to be a Shiny Beldum? Did it evolve already?'
He blinked, confirming that the silver, disc-like Pokémon with golden claws and a pointed nose was indeed the one he'd been eyeing.
Instead of clicking into its profile, he scrolled down further, searching for a Shiny Beldum.
Unsurprisingly, he found none—because it had already evolved into a Shiny Metang.
'Well then. Evolved already, huh?'
Li Xiang clicked into its entry, forcing himself to ignore the terrifying 6,000-point price tag as he checked its details.
To its credit, the camp had gone all out in "advertising" this Shiny Metang.
They'd recorded nearly every detail about it—even including footage of it using moves.
Level: 27
'So it evolved pretty early.'
Li Xiang found that acceptable. He kept reading.
Pokémon: Metang (Shiny)
Gender: None
Level: 27
Ability: Clear Body
Type: Steel /Psychic
Moves: Metal Claw, Confusion, Magnet Rise, Pursuit, Miracle Eye, Iron Head, Bullet Punch, Zen Headbutt, Iron Defense, Take Down, Flash Cannon
'This guy knows a lot of moves.'
Li Xiang was surprised. He'd expected it to know six or seven moves at most, but Flash Cannon and Miracle Eye?
'Might actually be a decent fighter.'
Watching the demonstration video, he couldn't help but admire the Shiny Metang's sleek, powerful movements.
Its ability, Clear Body, broke his streak of only having Hidden Ability Pokémon, but it was arguably more useful than Light Metal.
After all, Metagross was a physical attacker. If its Attack got lowered by an opponent's ability or move, it'd be like fighting with one arm tied behind its back.
Compared to that, Light Metal might have niche uses, but that was about it.
"6,000 points?"
Song Jie's voice came from behind him.
Li Xiang turned to see the white-haired boy, hair damp and a blow dryer in hand, squinting at the screen.
"Yep, 6,000. I don't think there's any chance of getting it this year."
With such a steep price, saving up enough in three months was outright impossible.
"Who knows? Maybe you'll earn a thousand points just from tomorrow's performance competition."
Song Jie ruffled his fine hair, the blow dryer roaring as it chased away the moisture.
The price of the Shiny Metang was within their expectations. If it were too easy to obtain, it wouldn't feel as special.
"There's a demo video. How does it look? Personality? Any breeder evaluations?"
"Overall, pretty good. Follows commands well—probably because it's a Psychic-type. Seems pretty smart."
Li Xiang watched as the Metang solved mental arithmetic problems and memorized patterns like some kind of prodigy.
Psychic-types were universally acknowledged as highly intelligent, their minds rivaling humans—something most other Pokémon couldn't match.
In various Pokémon Contests, the "Cleverness" category was always dominated by Psychic-types.
Song Jie leaned in, scrubbing through the video for a couple of minutes.
"Not bad. Worth the 6,000."
Despite his youth, the white-haired boy had a discerning eye. He could tell a strong Pokémon from a weak one with just a glance.
Then again, that was a basic skill for any trainer. The more Pokémon you saw, the sharper your instincts became.
Like playing a game long enough to instantly recognize which gear was trash and which was top-tier.
"Good to hear."
Li Xiang closed the window. He couldn't keep looking—the more he saw, the more he wanted it, and he'd never sleep tonight if he kept going.
He scooped up Riolu from the bed, ignoring the pup's squirming as he spun in a circle, laughing.
"We're finally getting our sixth team member!"
Riolu paused, glanced at the computer, then lit up in realization.
Li Xiang's long-standing obsession with a Shiny Beldum—and his inability to obtain one—was something the whole team knew about.
Had he finally found a lead?
"Rii-oh!"
Riolu patted Li Xiang's head, happy for him.
"Hahaha!"
Li Xiang didn't mind the "disrespect." He set Riolu back on the bed.
Nearby, Incineroar—leaning against the wall with its eyes half-closed—let out a quiet snort but said nothing.
These days, Riolu was the only one who still shared Li Xiang's bed. The others had simply grown too big.
And letting Riolu sleep in the same room was partly due to its in-game evolution conditions—maybe proximity would help trigger it.
Though Incineroar and the others weren't thrilled about this arrangement, they swallowed their complaints. Their trainer had his reasons.
That said, not every Pokémon liked sleeping in the other bedroom.
The team's sleeping spots were scattered all over the dorm—on beds, floors, sofas, even the carpet. And one (who shall remain nameless) had tried to claim the bathroom.
Too embarrassing to mention.
Li Xiang returned to the computer, browsing the store with curiosity.
'What could possibly be ranked higher than a Shiny Metang?'
As it turned out—
Two things.
First place: Shiny Kangaskhan.
Second place: Shiny Gengar.
The former was practically a national treasure. The fact that it was even available for exchange was absurd—and its 10,000-point price tag was even more so.
'10,000 points! Who could possibly save up that much?!'
Even with Li Xiang's skills, 6,000 points felt like a nightmare. 10,000? He refused to believe anyone in Province could manage it.
Why spend that many points on a Shiny Kangaskhan when you could use them for A-rank training facilities or Pokémon Paradise?
'Top-tier breeders as personal support! That kind of opportunity was once in a lifetime!'
The Shiny Gengar, priced at 6,500, was only slightly more expensive than the Metang.
Not surprising—evolved Pokémon always cost more, especially Ghost-types.
Clicking into its profile, Li Xiang found that its level and movepool outclassed the Metang's, justifying the higher price.
Further down the list:
4th place: Shiny Gyarados. Its crimson body burned like fire. The fan-favorite "commoner's powerhouse" was as popular as ever, and its Level 40 status drove the price up to 5,000 points.
Plus, the Water Type Elite Four's ace was a Gyarados—brand loyalty existed in every world.
5th place: Shiny Galarian Ponyta. Its mane shimmered in blue and gold, and it looked unbearably cute—also 5,000 points, with apparently exceptional potential.
But Li Xiang barely registered the details. His entire focus was hijacked by the footage of the vibrant, rainbow-maned foal prancing around, melting his heart on the spot.
For a moment, he considered abandoning the Shiny Metang and bringing this living rainbow home instead.
Even if it never battled, just having it around would be a joy.
'Cuteness is justice!'
Fortunately, Li Xiang's willpower held strong. He reeled himself back before the Ponyta's charm could fully ensnare him.
Further down:
Shiny Dratini. Pink and adorable. Also 5,000 points.
Li Xiang kept scrolling, each entry making him crave the Pokémon more. There wasn't a single one he didn't want.
'This is the problem with Shinies. Their allure is just too strong.'
With a sigh, he mustered the willpower to shut the laptop. If he kept looking, he'd never sleep tonight.
"Not interested in any of them?" He turned to Song Jie, who was already in bed.
Song Jie glanced over. "You think I don't already have access to these?"
…Right. Rich kid problems.
For someone like him, Shinies were just a matter of throwing money at the right people.
Li Xiang climbed into bed, hugging Riolu.
"This whole points system is gonna keep me up. Exciting but stressful. So many things I want, but all of them out of reach."
He was sure others felt the same.
Very few could resist the temptation of browsing the exchange store—only those who'd already experienced it all (or could get it effortlessly) could stay indifferent.
Like Song Jie.
"You'll get used to it. What's yours will come eventually." Song Jie turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling. "Sleep. Morning drills start early. Goodnight."
"...Pretty sure that's my line. Whatever. Goodnight."
Li Xiang turned off the lights and burrowed under the covers.
The night passed without incident.