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Song Jie also had a villa. It happened to be right next to Li Xiang's, the same size, with a nearly identical interior layout—no difference at all.
But unlike Li Xiang, who was personally welcomed by the team captain, Song Jie came alone.
Most arrangements were handled by his family, so the treatment differed quite a bit.
He also hadn't had much interaction with Principal Bai Wanhua.
His most frequent contact was with another teacher, but even then, they hadn't exchanged many words.
"So, where have you been all these past six months?"
Li Xiang tossed him a drink, sat down beside him, and asked curiously.
"Went to quite a few places. The far north, Western Europe, the Archipelago Region, North America—all over."
Song Jie listed them off, then shook his head. "Just traveling, though. Nothing particularly memorable."
"Alone?"
"Of course not. With a bunch of relatives. Overall, it was somewhat interesting, I guess."
Song Jie tilted his head, seeming to think of something, then pulled a PokéBall from his pocket. "Oh, right. A gift for advancing to university."
Snap!
A crisp sound, a flash of white light.
A strange, pink creature full of girlish charm landed on the floor.
It had a bell-shaped head, four tentacles at the back, a lower body resembling a barnacle, and strange yellow patterns on its body.
—The Rock/Grass-type Fossil Pokémon from the third generation, Cradily.
"A Shiny Fossil?"
Li Xiang's mouth formed an 'O'. Fossil Pokémon were rare already; a Shiny Fossil was even rarer, practically one in a million.
"Storm Drain ability."
Song Jie's lips curled slightly. "Barely usable, I suppose. Still decent."
'You...! Kid, you've changed. You've learned to show off. My youth is over.'
Li Xiang looked at the white-haired boy as if he were a stranger.
Hidden Ability + Shiny + Fossil Pokémon.
Rarity maxed out.
This world wasn't a game where you could lock abilities, IVs, or natures. Such an incredible Cradily—in the current environment, Li Xiang thought someone would fight tooth and nail to buy it for hundreds of millions.
Don't underestimate the wealthy collectors in this world.
"...Ahem."
Song Jie's expression grew awkward under Li Xiang's stare. "Actually, being Shiny is like a genetic mutation; it doesn't mean much..."
"Alright, stop explaining. It's not like I didn't know you were loaded from day one."
Li Xiang waved his hand, hugging Doublade close. Only this reincarnated sword spirit girl could soothe his wounded heart.
But as he held it, he couldn't help but ask, "So, is your Cradily fierce?"
"...You really never change. No, it's very gentle." Song Jie couldn't help but mock him.
After a pause, he added, "You can touch it however you want; it's fine."
Li Xiang was overjoyed and promptly set aside the utterly incredulous Doublade. Then, he promptly started handling the somewhat cute-looking Cradily.
Just as Song Jie said, Cradily had a gentle temperament. It didn't resist or anything. Touching it felt somewhat like a highly flexible cloth doll.
The pink tentacles... looked like balloons, but actually touching them felt like they had fine fur.
Two large rings on its head encased two smaller circles, looking like eyes at first glance, but they weren't actually its eyes. Its real eyes were inside its pitch-black body, like two yellow dots.
No eyelids, whites, or pupils.
Clearly, its visual organs were very different from humans'.
Li Xiang gently lifted its foot. Unlike the expected sight full of suckers, the underside of Cradily's foot was very smooth, like a sea slug's foot.
"Does it know Leech Seed?"
Li Xiang asked while examining the Fossil Pokémon.
"No, why do you ask?"
Song Jie didn't get the reference at all, finding it puzzling.
Li Xiang laughed. "From a magazine. It said Cradily with Leech Seed can increase its sustainability."
"Oh." Song Jie understood and said no more.
The two chatted for a while longer, visited the neighboring villa, and then headed to the battle area.
After half a year apart, Li Xiang certainly didn't want to miss out on Song Jie, his candy-making machine.
Song Jie was also very curious about how much Li Xiang had grown after spending nearly half a year at the club.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were still few people at school, they acted on a whim, found a remote, open spot, and directly had a full six-on-six battle.
This battle lasted a full two hours.
It went on until both sides' Pokémon were exhausted, lying on the ground unable to move, and the trainers were too tired from dodging and maneuvering.
The two sat on the ground without a care, laughing heartily.
"Kid, you've been getting plenty of special training! Your strength has increased so drastically! I thought you'd slacked off!"
"Rather than me, aren't you the same? You've gotten so much stronger again. Do you know what people outside are calling you?"
"Number one in the nation?"
"It's 'The King of the New Era'! 'The Morning Star'!"
"What kind of cringey titles are those? Who came up with them?"
"They came from Sakura Island. Didn't I tell you? The video of your battle at Sakura University got posted online."
"Sakura Island, huh. That explains it."
Li Xiang spat out the dust in his mouth and glanced at Doublade lying KO'd nearby. It had been taken out by Pupitar's powerful Crunch.
Song Jie's Pupitar was truly terrifying.
The burst of air it shot out in an instant could propel its charge speed to a level hard to see with the naked eye. Doublade just couldn't react fast enough and got taken down.
"How much longer until your Pupitar evolves?" Li Xiang asked.
"At least six months. It's only level 49 now. You know how leveling gets harder and harder after 40."
Song Jie replied.
As his third Pokémon, Pupitar could also be said to have started from humble beginnings, but its growth rate wasn't ideal.
It couldn't make rapid progress.
"Heh..."
Li Xiang was speechless. In his heart, Song Jie had always been the TOP among their peers. His final ranking of only sixth was because Song Jie didn't care about GPA points and didn't want to compete with Li Xiang for them.
Not far away, Song Jie stood up, brushed off his clothes, and suddenly said, "Do you know that person? He's been staring at you and smiling."
'That person?'
Li Xiang turned and saw a balding, beady-eyed middle-aged man outside the wire fence, looking at him with a joyful, pleased expression.
"Ah, Baldy— I mean, Teacher He. Good afternoon."
He quickly stood up and shot Song Jie a look.
"Good afternoon, teacher."
Song Jie came to Li Xiang's side, his expression neutral.
Xu He looked at the two, nodded, and put his hands behind his back like an old man out for a stroll. "Hello, hello. Don't mind me. Please continue. I'm just looking, taking a walk."
'You say you're taking a walk, but there are footprints under your feet; you've clearly been standing here a long time.'
Li Xiang was momentarily speechless. He could only bow slightly and lead Song Jie away.
Once they were farther away.... "He wasn't wearing his hat and glasses; I didn't recognize him."
Song Jie said first.
"I feel the same," Li Xiang agreed. "Yeah, yeah. A few days ago, he saw me when I was climbing the tree. Gave me a scare."
"Climbing the tree?"
"Yeah, the one at the school gate."
"...Really, you. How old are you?"
"Fifteen. A minor. Thank you."
"..."
They bickered for a while, no longer in the mood to stay. Even if they were, their Pokémon's stamina wouldn't allow it.
Time to leave.
They packed their things and left the area under Xu He's gaze.
"Such promising seedlings! Absolutely promising seedlings! To think our Mist City University would have a turn of luck one day."
Xu He watched their retreating figures, his face glowing, mouth slightly agape, almost drooling and losing his composure.
Couldn't be helped; he couldn't control his emotions. No coach could remain calm after seeing that battle.
Two newly enrolled freshmen actually had this level of strength!?
Originally, Xu He only had a superficial understanding of Li Xiang, thinking most of his reputation was hype. He hadn't paid much attention, focusing all his efforts on nurturing the older team members, trying to bring them to a bigger stage.
Now, he felt the people outside were still too modest.
The King of the New Era? The Morning Star?
No.
This was a god!
A god that a whole generation would look up to!
'Did Xia Chunyu have this level of strength when he was this age? I'm going to hype this to the skies! Has Lady Luck finally started favoring our Mist City University?'
Historically, Mist City University could be considered as picking up students that Tiandu University, Shen Island University, and Shanghai University didn't want.
But even then, they still had to compete with Yandu University and Longdu University.
Only occasionally, when luck was great, could they pick up one or two decent students.
To think—
Xu He, past forty and approaching fifty, was uncharacteristically excited. At his age, hadn't he also dreamed of leading his students to the global stage and dominating there?
Unfortunately, reality was very stark.
Although a top contender, Mist City University hadn't obtained that entry ticket for seven years.
The newspapers' names for Mist City students had changed from "Stars of Tomorrow" to "The Lost Generation," "The Generation Getting Worse," and so on.
Xu He saw it and it pained his heart. As a coach, he couldn't go on the field for the students. He could only usually teach them to practice diligently and employ various countermeasures.
But sometimes, the gap in hard power couldn't be bridged by just a few practice sessions or clever matchups.
When the overall strength and talent couldn't keep up, he really had no recourse.
But now, it was better.
He had two aces in hand, the two biggest aces. As long as he utilized them well, they would sweep away all obstacles!
Xu He's hand trembled slightly as he pulled out his phone, preparing to call Bai Wanhua.
'These two, they must be nurtured well, using the best methods!'
...
Infirmary.
Completely unaware of the experience he had just given a middle-aged man, Li Xiang was chatting with Song Jie.
"You're here. What about your sister? Is she back at school?"
"She's still at home. Why are you asking about her? The Breeder School isn't here; the base is over on the mountain!"
Song Jie glanced at him.
"Tsk, we're acquaintances, aren't we? Not strangers. What's with you, kid? Can't I even ask?"
Li Xiang clicked his tongue and hooked an arm around Song Jie's neck. "I've wanted to ask for a long time. What's the actual situation? Be honest. Stop being so cryptic."
Song Jie hesitated upon hearing this, looked around, and seeing no one nearby, took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll tell you. But you have to promise me not to get excited, not to spread it, keep it buried."
"Who would I tell? Spit it out!" Li Xiang felt like punching this guy's stomach.
'What is it? Speaking in bits and pieces, so annoying.'
After getting the promise, Song Jie slowly raised a hand and, under Li Xiang's gaze, bent his four fingers down, then straightened them, then bent them again.
"Get it?" he asked.
To be honest, if Li Xiang were truly a fifteen-year-old boy, this might have hit a knowledge gap.
But now—
"Damn! Your sister swings the other way? With who? Senior Abigale?" Li Xiang asked with a shocked expression.
Song Jie nodded with difficulty. "It's a mess. Don't get involved any further."
It was indeed a mess. If Li Xiang were in a harem story world, maybe he'd struggle a bit. However, right now, he was a model youth with hardly any female friends, only his respected senior sisters.
"Doublade, thank goodness we turned back from the wrong path in time!"
Li Xiang hugged Doublade, momentarily not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Doublade was completely clueless.