"Pika!"
"Chu!!"
Pikachu's whole face was slack with comfort, melting under Guo Yi's hand.
She even let out little cries she couldn't hold back.
"So… so amazing!"
Hu Yan'er couldn't help exclaiming.
This was the very first time she'd seen Pikachu not reject an outsider at all.
Normally, anyone other than her so much as tried to touch Pikachu, and they'd end up on the receiving end of a good round of electrical punishment.
As for why Guo Yi could so effortlessly handle Pikachu...
First, it was thanks to his deep breeder knowledge from Blue
With that knowledge, he knew exactly which spots to touch to make Pikachu's body and mind feel perfectly at ease.
Second, it was his own [Power of Viridian].
The special potion just now had only healed Pikachu's external injuries.
There were still quite a few hidden internal wounds lurking inside her.
But with the help of the [Power of Viridian]...
Right now, Pikachu felt as though a thousand-jin weight had been lifted off her.
The sense of relief was something she had never experienced before.
...
Half a minute later.
Guo Yi's palm finally withdrew slowly from Pikachu's body.
"Pika!"
Why did you stop?!
For a moment—
Pikachu actually felt a trace of unwillingness to part!
Fortunately, her strong will drove her to turn and, step by step, with one look back after another, return to her own trainer's side.
"Hello, my name's Guo Yi."
"I'm currently an assistant instructor at Shanghai Pokémon University."
Guo Yi followed Pikachu forward as he introduced himself.
Hu Yan'er thanked him first, then said, "Hello, teacher, my name is Hu Yan'er."
"Thank you for the potion just now."
"Oh, right—teacher, how much was that potion? I'll pay you for it."
Seeing Hu Yan'er about to take out money, Guo Yi waved his hand.
"It's fine!"
"Just a bottle of potion. You don't need to pay."
But Hu Yan'er's face was stubborn.
"No way!"
"What should be paid for, must be paid for."
"Teacher, just tell me how much!"
Her grandpa always said, once you're in the big city, you must never ever take advantage of people.
Seeing her like this, Guo Yi could only shake his head helplessly.
Then he said, "It's not much—just over ten thousand."
As soon as the words landed...
Hu Yan'er's hand froze in place.
"Te… ten thousand…"
"Teacher, I don't have that much on me right now!"
She was on the verge of tears.
She never imagined a single bottle of potion could be so expensive.
As for whether Guo Yi had overcharged her...
That thought never even crossed her mind.
After all, she was the one who insisted on paying.
And he'd even specially lowered the price for her!
"It's fine!"
"It's just one special-grade potion, you don't have to make such a fuss."
Guo Yi said with a smile.
But even so, Hu Yan'er still shook her head.
"No!"
"Grandpa always said, you can't take benefits from others for nothing."
"Wait here."
Next, she picked up a blank sheet of paper and began writing.
IOU
I, Hu Yan'er, hereby owe Teacher Guo Yi ten thousand yuan. This note serves as proof.
I will repay in full without fail!
Debtor: Hu Yan'er
"Done. Here."
When she finished, Hu Yan'er handed the note to Guo Yi.
Looking at the IOU, Guo Yi couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
"You really didn't need to write this. Even if you never paid it back, it wouldn't matter."
Hearing that, Hu Yan'er's expression grew unusually serious.
"No!"
"Grandpa always said, if you owe something, you write an IOU."
"Otherwise, you're no better than a street thug."
…Alright then.
Seeing how determined she was, Guo Yi accepted the note.
Then he glanced at the human and Pokémon still sulking at each other and asked, "So what happened? Why are you two quarreling all of a sudden?"
"Pika!"
"I—"
Pikachu and Hu Yan'er spoke at the same time, then both stopped short.
"I'll go first!"
"Pika pika!"
"I'm the trainer, of course I go first."
"Pika pika~~chu!"
"Ah!"
"Pikachu, you dare shock me?!"
"I won't forgive you!"
"Pika pika!"
…
Sigh!
Guo Yi looked at the human and Pokémon wrestling in front of him, and could only cover his face with one hand in exasperation.
Sure enough, with the Ash Ketchum template, even if it's a girl, the personality is still so similar to Ash's.
"All right, stop it."
"I have a way for Pikachu to beat Raichu without evolving."
Seeing that neither the girl nor the Pokémon showed any sign of stopping, Guo Yi could only speak up.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Pikachu and Hu Yan'er both froze mid-motion, staring at him with disbelief.
"Really?"
Hu Yan'er asked cautiously.
"Of course it's real."
"I'm a teacher—do I need to lie to you?"
Guo Yi rolled his eyes at her.
Heh!
Hu Yan'er gave an awkward little laugh… but then remembered what Grandpa had said before she left.
"Xiao Yan'er, once you're in the big city, you must be careful—especially with good-looking boys."
"Remember— the more handsome a man is, the better he can lie!"
"And that [Thunder Stone]—you keep it safe. Don't let any outsider see it."
In an instant—
Hu Yan'er's expression sharpened again.
She stared at Guo Yi for a long while, then nodded as if she'd uncovered something.
"Grandpa said, the more handsome a man is, the better he can lie."
"Someone as handsome as you—how could you possibly be a teacher?"
"A teacher should look more like… like that examiner just now, right?"
Examiner: Pffft! A mouthful of old blood—so it's my fault for being ugly?!
"So, what you just said must be a lie. Your goal is definitely my [Thunder Stone]."
"Hmph!"
"I, Hu Yan'er, will never be tricked by you!"
She stood there with her hands on her hips, face full of swagger, as if she'd just uncovered the great truth of the universe.
Little did she know—
Both Guo Yi and Pikachu were looking at her like she was an idiot.
Pikachu: My heart is so tired…
Guo Yi just shook his head with a wry smile.
Never thought the day would come when my looks would cause this kind of misunderstanding.
"If you want to know how Pikachu can beat Raichu, then follow me."
Originally, Guo Yi had been planning to be direct and ask to take her as a disciple.
But now…
Better observe her a bit longer.
The template is good, sure—
But if the trainer's brain isn't working, better not.
Otherwise, I'll just end up exhausting myself.
With that, Guo Yi turned and headed toward his ride.
Meanwhile, Hu Yan'er was still lost in her own chain of reasoning.
"Hahaha!"
"As I thought! I guessed right."
"He just wanted to trick me, but now that I've exposed the truth, he's fleeing in shame."
"Come on, Pikachu—!"
She turned to call for Pikachu, only to realize the spot by her feet was empty.
Looking up, she saw her Pikachu strolling leisurely after Guo Yi.
Her cheeks instantly puffed up like steamed buns.
In two quick strides she caught up, grabbed Pikachu, and launched into a stern lecture.
"Pikachu! You traitor!"
"That guy's a liar—how can you just go with him?!"
…Ugh!
Right now Pikachu just felt so tired.
A liar?
Have you ever seen a liar who, before even scamming someone, first hands over something for free?
And in broad daylight, in front of witnesses? Not afraid people will remember his face?
But more importantly, Pikachu simply couldn't sense any malice from Guo Yi.
As an Electric mouse, her sense for danger was sharp.
Plus—she really wanted to know how she could beat Raichu without evolving.
Don't be fooled by her earlier resolve about evolving, that was only because there was no other way.
But now, if there was a way to win without evolving, of course she wanted to hear it.
"Pika pika!"
He's not a bad person—trust me!
Pikachu spoke up for Guo Yi.
"…Really?"
Hu Yan'er trusted her Pikachu deeply.
After all, since coming to Shanghai, she had run into some bad people, but Pikachu had spotted them every time.
After hesitating a moment, Hu Yan'er thought about Guo Yi's earlier words, and decided to follow after all.
Because right now, she really was in a bind.
"Heh—"
"So you're not afraid I'm a bad guy anymore?"
Glancing at her, Guo Yi chuckled.
Hu Yan'er pouted.
"I looked you over again. You're not that handsome after all."
"So you're probably not a liar."
…Guo Yi was at a loss for words.
If he said he was handsome, that'd be admitting he's a liar in her logic.
If he said he wasn't handsome, who in the world would insult themselves like that?
In the end, he decided not to argue.
Hu Yan'er trailed after him obediently, not saying another word.
"Get in."
Guo Yi slid into his Aston Martin and waved her over.
She gritted her teeth, opened the door, and got in.
Seeing the wary look still on her face, Guo Yi tossed her a transparent document pouch.
"Have a look."
"I really am a teacher. I'm not lying to you."
Hu Yan'er picked it up, the first thing she saw was Guo Yi's faculty ID.
"Shanghai Pokémon University, Assistant Instructor—Guo Yi."
She read it aloud, her voice getting quieter and quieter.
Because she knew—she'd wronged him.
"Teacher Guo… I'm sorry!"
Hu Yan'er bowed deeply to show her apology.
Guo Yi snorted.
"Looks like Pikachu's a lot smarter than her trainer."
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu nodded vigorously, then, adopting an elder's air, patted Hu Yan'er on the shoulder and shook her head with a sigh.
For this kid… your big sis has gone through so much trouble.
Humiliated by her own Pokémon again, Hu Yan'er just wanted to find a hole and crawl into it.
So embarrassing!
Seeing the pair of clowns, Guo Yi couldn't help but laugh and started the car.
…Soon, they arrived at the school gates.
"Bro, open up!"
Guo Yi rolled down the window and called to the security booth.
The guard opened the gate, but when he saw Hu Yan'er in the passenger seat, he stuck his head out and gave Guo Yi a big thumbs-up.
"Nice one, little bro!"
"Didn't even check in yet and you've already scored."
Guo Yi opened his mouth to explain, but the guard just waved a hand and said:
"Little bro, have yourself a great night!"
And went back inside.
…Great.
Now his reputation was going to spread all over campus.
He'd already learned from chatting with the guy earlier, this guard was a terrible gossip.
In a few days at most, Shanghai Pokémon University would be buzzing with rumors that the new assistant instructor had picked up a student.
And what could he even say?
Oh, I was just taking her to teach her how to beat Raichu.
Yeah, who'd believe that?
Forget it.
Let them talk.
Guo Yi shook his head, started the car again, and drove toward Tangcheng Yipin.
"Sensei, where are we going?"
Hu Yan'er stared out the window at the rapidly changing scenery, curiosity in her voice.
"My place."
Guo Yi answered casually.
Whether it was because of Pikachu or not, Hu Yan'er didn't protest. Instead, she asked about the main issue.
"Sensei… in just two days, can Pikachu really have a shot at beating Raichu?"
She sounded uncertain.
If she'd had a month, even without Guo Yi, she and Pikachu could probably pull it off.
But two days was just too short.
She couldn't see a way.
Guo Yi nodded.
"I can't say for other Raichu."
"But to beat the examiner's Raichu—two days is enough."
If it were any other Raichu, without pulling a [Light Ball] from the system store, even he couldn't be sure.
But this examiner's Raichu… was different.
From watching earlier, Guo Yi had spotted its fatal flaw—
It was slow.
Now, on paper, Pikachu's base Speed was 90, Raichu's was 110.
Purely by numbers, Raichu was faster.
But this wasn't a game—it was the real world.
Battles weren't decided by a few numbers.
To Guo Yi, base stats were more like natural talent.
Put simply—if you took a Pikachu and a Raichu of the same potential, and trained their speed equally hard, Raichu would naturally be faster.
However, this examiner had trained his Raichu mostly for endurance and electrical power.
Its speed… was barely passable.
That was the breakthrough point.
Guo Yi explained briefly.
Hu Yan'er's eyes lit up instantly!
She might be scatterbrained in daily life, but in battle she was sharp.
She quickly understood Pikachu's advantage.
In fact, Pokémon battles could often be summed up in eight characters:
Use your strengths, strike their weakness.
Every Pokémon had its own strengths and flaws.
Victory came down to whether you could make use of both yours and theirs.
Even if your stats were worse—if your tactics or command were better, you could still win.
The key was finding those strengths and weaknesses.
Once you did, victory was already close.
"Teacher Guo—so now we're going to train Pikachu's speed?"
Now that she knew the key, Hu Yan'er was eager to start.
But, Guo Yi shook his head.
"No, no training yet."
"First, we eat."
"…Eat?" Hu Yan'er blinked.
Guo Yi shot her a look.
"Your Pikachu just finished a battle—it burned through a lot of energy."
"If you start training now, you'll just be draining her potential."
"Pika pika!"
That's why he's a teacher—so much more reliable than my trainer!
Pikachu nodded approvingly.
Maybe it was because she now knew how to beat Raichu, but this time Hu Yan'er just stuck her tongue out playfully to hide her embarrassment.
Meanwhile as Guo Yi drove toward the Tangcheng Yipin villa, Su Qingxue was also making preparations inside.