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The next day.
As it turned out, the wilderness arena was vast.
What Li Xiang had seen earlier was only a small fraction of it.
Beyond the mountain with the sparse structures—the one he remembered being part of the arena—lay an enormous valley.
The two of them were now there, steadily harvesting the Pokémon in the area.
"Screech!"
A sharp whistle cut through the air as a massive black figure swooped down from the sky, targeting a Jumpluff with three cotton puffs raised high, its body a deep blue.
Glistening pale-blue wings sliced through the air—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three dull impacts!
But not from the wings hitting its body.
Instead, the three large cotton spores exploded the moment it was struck, bursting outward like popped water balloons!
The spread was instantaneous, covering at least several dozen meters—and still drifting further.
Corviknight flapped its wings, staring in surprise at the spectacle, its claws gripping the now-unconscious Jumpluff, its cotton puffs significantly deflated.
The thing had tried to use Cotton Guard at the last second to block the attack, but under the effect of Taunt, it had already lost the ability to use moves.
So, instead of a defensive skill, it burst its cotton.
Because bursting was an instinct, not a move—Taunt couldn't stop that.
Below, Li Xiang and Song Jie, both wearing masks, watched as the former hurled a PokéBall at the Jumpluff, capturing it mid-air before sprinting out of the spore-infested zone.
Only when the floating spores thinned, carried away by the wind, did the two remove their masks.
"Definitely poisoned. Probably used it before Taunt hit. Lucky Corviknight's Steel-type, or even a whiff would've been trouble."
Li Xiang tucked the Ball into his waist pouch, holding up a faintly purple tuft of cotton for Song Jie to see.
Purple meant Poison Powder—one of the Grass-type's favorite status moves.
"It's worth three points. Of course it's going to fight dirty."
Song Jie's expression didn't change.
Nearly half an hour had passed since the competition began.
In that short time, the two had encountered numerous Pokémon and dealt with all kinds of situations.
The process was tedious, but they were finally seeing results and they were slowly learning how to handle these high-level wild Pokémon.
The Pokémon in this competition were far more troublesome than expected.
They loved using status-inflicting moves. Even when defeated and captured, they'd make sure to leave your Pokémon with some kind of problem.
And if they couldn't inflict status? No problem.
Oh, you want to catch other Pokémon?
How about a few sound-based moves to announce your arrival and scare everything else off?
In short—they were vicious.
Absolute menaces.
Earlier, the two had stumbled upon a field of sunflowers—specifically, a group of Sunflora, each worth a single point, numbering about five or six.
At first, they hadn't even noticed them—the things blended in perfectly.
But the little devils spotted them first.
Using the late-summer sun, they gathered energy in seconds before whipping around and firing off Solar Beam—
Boom.
Five or six beams merged into one, the resulting blast as thick as an electromagnetic railgun from the anime.
Thankfully, Li Xiang and Song Jie had sensed something was off and dodged in time.
Otherwise, they might've actually gotten caught in the crossfire.
And when Solar Beam failed?
The little terrors immediately switched tactics—Grass Whistle.
Corviknight, caught off guard, was put to sleep.
Left with no choice, Song Jie's Lycanroc had to charge in with Fire Punch, teaching those Sunflora a lesson in staying in their lane.
The field nearly went up in flames.
Then there were the runners.
—A Rapidash, worth three points, perched halfway up the mountain.
The moment it spotted them, it bolted without hesitation, its hooves pounding the ground at insane speeds—leaving them in the dust.
And it wasn't a one-time thing. They saw it multiple times, taunting them from a distance, prancing around just out of reach.
Li Xiang had tried chasing it a few times but ultimately gave up.
The thing was fast, loved darting into thickets, and once it disappeared into the trees? Good luck finding it again.
They could have chased it down, but it wasn't worth the time or energy.
Three points just didn't justify the effort. So, they forced themselves to ignore it.
Eventually, the Rapidash lost interest in them and moved on to pester other students.
With that nuisance gone, the two quickly racked up points, capturing a steady stream of Pokémon.
Even when surrounded by a herd of Rhyhorn, they relied on type advantage to take them all down.
Then they got chased by a stampede of Tauros, scrambling across the hills until Corviknight, using its aerial advantage, finally took them out with Brave Bird.
The points piled up—glorious.
Of course, even a large area had its limits.
As Li Xiang and the other students explored deeper, teaming up to clear out the zone, the Pokémon numbers dwindled and problems started cropping up.
First, the pros and cons of the valley:
Pros: Wide-open sightlines. Spotting Pokémon was easy. No need for careful searching—just sharp eyes.
Cons: If you could see them, others could too.
And as Pokémon became scarcer, the unspoken rule of you don't interfere with my hunt, I don't interfere with yours—Vanished.
Some people started stealing Pokémon.
And with direct attacks between trainers forbidden, if someone just stood there, waiting for your Pokémon to weaken a target before swooping in to capture it?
There was nothing you could do. Those were the rules of the competition.
Because if you backed off, they wouldn't step up either.
It became a stalemate—until one side gave in.
And if it dragged on, it could lead to free labor—doing all the work only for someone else to take the reward.
Thankfully, Li Xiang wasn't stupid.
'Can't attack the trainer? Fine. But their PokéBalls? Fair game.'
The moment they threw one, Corviknight or Lycanroc could easily intercept and crush it mid-air.
How much force or speed could a thirteen-year-old's throw really have?
And when it was his turn to capture?
He'd move in close, using his physical presence to block interference.
'Oh, you wanna get in my face? Fine. I'm worried this Pokémon might be faking it—better hit it a few more times. Got a problem with that?'
'Oh, you got caught in the crossfire? Not my problem. The instructors told you to keep your distance—should've listened.'
'Want your Pokémon to make the capture instead? Sure. Enjoy this wide-range AoE move. As long as the main target isn't your Pokémon, it's not an attack, right?'
In short—Where there's a rule, there's a loophole.
No system was perfect, and no one was taking a Pokémon from Li Xiang's grasp.
Whether they helped or not, if he found it first?
'Try stealing it, and we'll settle things after the match. Every. Last. Point. Returned.'
Of course, tough talk aside—
Dealing with these kinds of people was annoying. Mostly just gross.
And then there were the really gross ones—the ones who tried to guilt-trip him, whining about how desperate they were, begging him to hand over his targets.
But at that point, calling him Vice Class President—or even Dad—wouldn't work.
Li Xiang shut them down fast:
"I need these points. Can't help you."
Then he'd leave immediately, cutting off any further attempts at emotional manipulation.
Why ruin a perfectly good classmate relationship?
If they ended up with zero or negative points because they were weak? Not his problem.
Li Xiang knew some people wouldn't back down until they were humiliated, forced into a corner where they had no choice but to admit defeat.
And from there, it was a short step to outright hostility—shouting matches, red-faced arguments.
Way too ugly.
Thankfully, most of these shameless beggars had some sense and didn't try to cling to him.
"This is the cost of playing the hero. They've started relying on you."
Song Jie's comment came out of nowhere.
"Only for now. After today, they'll realize I'm not their savior."
Li Xiang's reply was calm. If it wasn't a mutually beneficial arrangement, he wouldn't have stepped up in the first place.
Song Jie didn't press further, changing the subject.
"Heading into the woods? We haven't seen the boundary yet, but it can't be far."
"We've been out here this long and still haven't found a single five-pointer. I bet they're up ahead."
Li Xiang pointed into the distance. If he had to guess, that's where the five-pointers would be.
Were they really this rare?
He'd caught enough to total over forty points by now, yet not a single five-pointer among them.
Still, Corviknight and the others did need a break. After working this hard, it was time to rotate the team.
"Let's stop for now. Feed them, let them rest, then switch out."
Spotting a wooded path leading uphill to their left, Li Xiang called a halt. They could regroup and plan their next move afterward.
And they needed a break too.
Sure, the Pokémon did most of the fighting, but trainers still had to dodge attacks.
A few times was manageable, but over time? Exhausting.
If not for the efficiency of working as a duo, Corviknight and the others would've been done long ago.
Song Jie had no objections.
The two began feeding their team—Oran Berries for energy recovery, Poffins for stamina, and a bottle of warm Moomoo Milk for comfort.
Every time he saw it, Li Xiang was reminded of just how much Miltank had contributed to this world.
'How could a drink be this good?'
And unlike soda, it was healthy—packed with nutrients, boosting physique and immunity with long-term use.
'A godsend for overworked employees.'
If this had existed in his past life, he might not have died so pointlessly.