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Initially, it was pretty much as Li Xiang had suspected.
After Anya found out Li Xiang wanted Abigale's WeChat account, she used a secondary account to deceive him, planning to reveal the truth at a certain point.
But she discovered Li Xiang was very smart and didn't take the bait; it was as if he knew she wasn't the real Abigale, reacting very coldly to her advances.
Alternatively, Li Xiang himself might just have no interest in Abigale and was only asking for the WeChat account as a formality.
...The latter possibility wasn't high initially, but judging by his current reaction, it seemed very likely.
Therefore, after a full three months with little progress, Anya lost interest in teasing Li Xiang. Her replies became less frequent, and she no longer tried to initiate topics like before.
However, for some reason, Abigale found out about this.
She confronted Anya, expressing great anger that Anya had used her name to tease an eleven-year-old boy.
Abigale believed that whatever feelings Li Xiang might have for her shouldn't be decided by Anya.
She would reject what needed rejecting and dislike what deserved dislike; she didn't need Anya to do it for her. No matter what their relationship was.
This was about respect, respect for every individual.
Seeing that Abigale was truly angry, Anya had no choice but to apologize apologetically and promised to explain everything to Li Xiang.
But after some thought, Abigale felt that since Li Xiang believed this account was hers, she might as well take it over and continue chatting with Li Xiang.
This would avoid hurting the boy's self-esteem when the truth came out. After all, adolescent boys could be very fragile.
If he found out he'd been tricked for so long, who knows how discouraged he might become.
However, she would still reject him where necessary. It wasn't about whether she was interested or not; students needed to focus on their studies, and trainers were no different.
And this… was the reason why the chats between Li Xiang and Abigale changed from forced small talk to occasional conversations sharing their experiences.
They were simply two different people!
So, how did Abigale find out?
—From the informant, Song Jie.
By then, Song Jie and Li Xiang were already very close friends. Not wanting Li Xiang to fall into a trap, he secretly tipped off Abigale.
He thought the two would cut contact after that, but they never did!
Moreover, he wasn't very clear about what happened afterwards. He didn't dare ask Abigale and didn't want Anya to know he was the informant.
If Abigale hadn't spoken up today, he would have also thought that account was still managed by Anya.
"Girls these days really know how to play."
After learning the whole truth, Li Xiang sighed with a face full of emotion.
How could he ever outplay these people?
His senior sister was much more pure.
'The women down the mountain are tigers; when you meet them, you must run away~'
Li Xiang couldn't help but whistle the tune of that song.
...
They found Xu He standing outside.
The balding uncle's smile was extremely kind. "How was the tour?"
"Very good."
Both nodded in praise.
It was quite good, at least they knew their teammates were capable and not deadweight.
"That's good." Xu He chuckled. "There's something I need to tell you two. I've discussed it with the principal. You'll both directly enter the reserve team in March."
"After an observation period, once the Spring Tournament starts, you'll be considered for the candidate list based on your performance. Don't worry about spots or anything."
Originally, only Li Xiang was supposed to enter the candidate list, but now it was both of them.
He believed that since Xu He said so, it couldn't be just empty talk or perfunctory behavior.
As long as they performed excellently enough, entering the candidate list was a certainty.
However….
"Coach, I want to participate in the selection exam," Li Xiang spoke up, "If possible."
Song Jie glanced at him sideways and also said, "Coach Xu, me too."
Xu He was momentarily stunned, then looked at them in surprise. "Are you serious? You plan to compete with the others? Let me make this clear first; anything can happen during the selection matches."
"I'm serious, Coach."
How could Li Xiang pass up this opportunity? It was a chance to prove himself and earn candy—a win-win, wasn't it?
Song Jie responded similarly.
Xu He was silent for two seconds, then nodded lightly. "Alright, since you both insist so much."
'Coach, you're quite the actor. If I didn't already know your true nature from Su Qian, I'd really be fooled by your concerned expression.'
Li Xiang thought to himself.
Then, Xu He said a few more things before letting them leave. Their participation in the selection was now set in stone.
Returning to the large classroom, the two saw that everyone was still inside, discussing something heatedly.
Su Qian saw them and quickly walked over. "We're planning to have some opening battles later. Do you want to join?"
Opening battles were an old tradition of the Mist City University team. Regular candidates and reserves would battle each other, and the loser had to treat the winner to a meal or bubble tea.
"Sure!"
Li Xiang was more than willing. He hadn't battled much with the team's trainers yet; last time, he only fought one newly promoted member.
Song Jie had no objections.
In the distance, Chao walked over slowly and said to Song Jie, "Mind if I be your opponent? I'm actually a bit curious about your strength."
"Of course, I look forward to learning from you."
Song Jie agreed, not intimidated just because Chao was the vice-captain.
At worst, he'd just lose. Seeing this, Su Qian also turned her gaze to Li Xiang. "Junior, if—"
"Captain, please let me go first."
A somewhat magnetic voice sounded.
Everyone looked over and saw Abigale, who had walked over at some point, hands in her pockets.
"What do you say?"
She looked at Li Xiang.
"Sure."
Li Xiang agreed directly. He was very interested in Abigale's strength and said to Su Qian, "Senior, next time I'll ask for your guidance!"
Su Qian didn't mind. She was just acting on a whim; it wasn't like she had to battle Li Xiang.
There would be plenty of opportunities later.
...
Using what was available on site, everyone directly headed to the outdoor arena.
The main stadium was divided into four large sections, each measuring seventy by fifty meters.
But surprisingly, many weren't in a hurry to start their own battles. Instead, they watched Li Xiang and Abigale with anticipation, clearly positioning themselves as spectators.
The title of National Number One was indeed attractive. They might not say it outright, but they were all very curious about how much skill Li Xiang really had.
"Junior, mind if we watch?"
Someone shouted.
"No problem, watch all you want." Li Xiang smiled, not too concerned. After repeated deliberate practice, he had learned to ignore the audience's gazes and comments.
External influences had little effect on him now.
Abigale walked to the opposite side without a word, took her position, and almost without hesitation selected three Pokémon.
Li Xiang thought for a moment, recalled Abigale's general team composition, and silently chose his own three.
No referee was needed.
Both sides revealed three PokéBalls, counted down three seconds silently, then suddenly threw them forward and rushed ahead!
Bang! Bang!
Two crisp sounds!
Li Xiang had chosen Corviknight because he remembered Abigale had a strong Arcanine with the Intimidate ability.
Unexpectedly, Abigale didn't send out Arcanine. Instead, she chose a Pokémon with a gentleman's hat, a golden beak, crimson eyes, a patch of white fur on its chest, a jet-black body, and red parts inside its wings and tail.
—The Dark/Flying-type, Honchkrow.
Unlike ordinary Honchkrow, which were at most around one meter tall, Abigale's stood about 1.78 meters, deserving to be called giant.
If this were Alola, it might be mistaken for a Totem Pokémon.
Its innate advantages were certainly greater than those of other Honchkrow of the same level.
'Is this... planning to use Taunt and Tailwind?'
Li Xiang wasn't entirely sure, but he didn't mind competing for speed with Honchkrow.
It didn't have the Prankster ability; why should he fear it? It was just a big glass cannon.
Since when was his Corviknight afraid of trash talk?
"Beep!"
"Tailwind!"
The distance between them was still great, and the chance of Taunt failing was high, so both simultaneously used speed-boosting moves.
Two gusts of wind arose, swirling around their bodies, increasing their speed!
The previously somewhat distant gap closed rapidly.
At the same time, even before the trainers gave orders, both sides used Taunt!
Corviknight let out a piercing, mocking screech, speaking as fast as a rapper, chattering non-stop.
Honchkrow's Taunt was much more restrained. It didn't speak but covered its hat with its wing, looking down on Corviknight with the disdain of a superior.
Like a grand noble seeing a beggar on the roadside... no, a wildly barking stray dog.
It would dirty its eyes even to spare it a glance.
It had to be said, Honchkrow's Taunt was very effective. Even without speaking, its gaze made Li Xiang angry; he wanted to tear its wings off.
It was incredibly expressive.
Corviknight's sarcasm seemed truly low-class in comparison, utterly unable to affect the noble Honchkrow.
How could the elegant Honchkrow care what a roadside stray dog said?
—Okay, it actually did care.
Looking at Honchkrow's trembling beak, Li Xiang knew it had fallen for the Taunt. Turning to look at Corviknight, he saw its fierce eyes and knew his Corviknight was also affected.
Mutual destruction!
One an emotional transmitter, the other a rapid-fire cusser.
Incredible, truly incredible. If they hadn't specifically practiced this, Li Xiang absolutely wouldn't believe it.
He glanced at Abigale in the distance.
She had clearly noticed this too, frowning slightly, but showed no intention of recalling Honchkrow.
'Huh? Where's this confidence coming from? What moves does Honchkrow have that can hit Corviknight?'
'Sucker Punch? Foul Play?'
'It couldn't be Feint Attack, right?'
Neither could use status moves now; it was just a straight fight. Li Xiang didn't think his tanky Corviknight would lose to a glass cannon Honchkrow.
"Beep!"
'Iron Head, smash it!'
"Caww!"
Corviknight cried out loudly, the crown on its head glowing with a silvery-white light, then forming an uneven surface like a hammer as it charged fiercely at Honchkrow!
"Sucker Punch!"
'As expected!'
Honchkrow used Sucker Punch, a move that strikes first if the opponent uses an attacking move.
The +1 priority gave it faster flight speed, its two wings glowing with a blood-red light.
Dark-type energy only came in a few colors: pure black, black-purple, and blood-red.
Sucker Punch was often blood-red, making it very easy to identify.
The two collided!
Using its superb body control, Corviknight retracted its neck as Honchkrow approached, presenting its breastplate to meet the attack.
Thud!
A dull sound!
The two large birds separated upon contact, as if touching an electric current, each retreating several meters!
And the result?
Li Xiang looked up at the sky and saw that neither Corviknight nor Honchkrow showed any sign of pain.
This meant that neither move had been effective, for either side!
...There's something off about this Honchkrow.
Li Xiang frowned slightly, feeling that Iron Head should have hit but didn't get the expected feedback.