"Mr. Guo, your membership is ready."
At that moment, the receptionist returned holding a VIP card.
She handed the card to Guo Yi, then pointed toward a corridor on the side.
"The training grounds are at the very end of this hallway."
"Thanks!"
"Teacher Bai, we'll head over first."
Guo Yi thanked her, then was about to head to the training ground.
Just then, Bai Cai stepped forward.
"Wait a moment."
"Teacher Bai, is there something else?"
Guo Yi stopped and turned to ask.
"It's nothing much."
"I was just wondering if Teacher Guo might let me join in the training."
"After all, the 3,000-yuan-an-hour field is the only one of its size in the whole facility."
Bai Cai smiled as she made the request.
Aside from giving her Garchomp a convenient training space, she also wanted to see for herself how Guo Yi planned to make Pikachu beat Raichu.
"Since Teacher Bai wants to come, I'd of course be glad to have you."
"Let's go together."
Guo Yi didn't refuse.
And so the four of them headed toward the largest training ground.
On the way, Hu Yan'er whispered to Su Qingxue, "Xiao Xue, isn't it a bit much to rent such an expensive training field?"
Though they hadn't known each other long, their relationship was developing quickly.
Su Qingxue glanced at Guo Yi ahead of them, still chatting with Bai Cai, and instantly felt her temper flare.
She gave a cold snort.
"Yan'er, don't worry!"
"Our teacher is just a rich fool."
"Spend all you want, no need to feel bad."
Maybe because she was annoyed, Su Qingxue didn't even bother to lower her voice—
Which meant the two people ahead, Guo Yi and Bai Cai, heard every word loud and clear.
Bai Cai couldn't help but chuckle.
"Teacher Guo, looks like your student has quite a few complaints about you."
She'd already heard of Guo Yi these past few days.
The man who gave away a Perfect-Grade [Evolution Stone]…
Yeah, "rich fool" fit the rumors.
Guo Yi spread his hands helplessly.
"Ah, can't be helped."
"The kid's grown up, you can't control them anymore."
"But before a certain someone calls others a rich fool, she should take a good look at herself."
"Out of the four of us, isn't she the poorest one here?"
Su Qingxue instantly realized he meant her.
She shot back in protest.
"How could I be the poorest? No way."
Then she turned to Hu Yan'er for backup.
After all, it was obvious Teacher was richer than her.
And Teacher Bai—just looking at her Garchomp, a pseudo-legendary, you could tell her background wasn't lacking.
That left only Hu Yan'er as the last possible "poorest one."
But under Su Qingxue's intense stare, Hu Yan'er flapped her hands in a panic.
"Teacher Guo wasn't talking about me."
"I had to write him an IOU just for 10,000 yuan."
From her point of view, she was clearly the poorest here.
With that reply, Su Qingxue straightened like a victorious peacock.
She might be poor, but at least she could cough up 10,000 yuan.
The look on her face was as smug as could be.
"Teacher, you're wrong!"
"I'm not the poorest one."
At last—she could openly refute him.
It might be a tiny step in others' eyes, but for Su Qingxue, it was a huge leap toward a brighter future.
If I can talk back today… maybe one day I can press Teacher under me.
But then—
Guo Yi's next words dropped like a stone, shattering her fragile pride.
"Yan'er has a Perfect-Grade [Thunder Stone]."
At that, both Bai Cai and Su Qingxue stared in shock at the plainly dressed girl.
A Perfect-Grade [Thunder Stone]?!
No way.
When did Perfect-Grade [Evolution Stones] become so common?
If it was real,
that meant Hu Yan'er's net worth was over a hundred million.
"Perfect-Grade [Thunder Stone]?"
Hearing him mention it, Hu Yan'er frowned in puzzlement.
"Xiao Xue, I do have a [Thunder Stone]…
"But what does 'Perfect-Grade' mean?
"They come in different qualities?"
…I—
Looking at her eager-to-learn expression, Su Qingxue suddenly didn't know how to answer.
If she really had a [Thunder Stone], then that [Thunder Stone]'s quality was indeed Perfect-grade—
After all, Teacher wouldn't lie about something like that.
And so—Su Qingxue could only weep inside.
All that posturing…and in the end, the clown was me.
"I want to be alone…"
She sighed.
But Hu Yan'er, now in full curious-baby mode, immediately asked, "Xiao Xue, who's 'Jingjing'? Why do you want to think about him?"
At that, Guo Yi and the others burst out laughing.
Su Qingxue was done for, head drooping like a defeated rooster.
With no answer from the humans, Hu Yan'er turned to her Pokémon.
"Pikachu, do you know who Jingjing is?"
Pikachu didn't know either, but she did know that admitting ignorance meant being laughed at.
Hadn't her trainer just been laughed at?
So to preserve their last shred of dignity, she crossed her arms and struck a haughty pose.
"Pika pika! (Such a simple question, I can't be bothered to answer!)"
But of course—
Hu Yan'er wasn't the type to give up.
She kept chasing after Pikachu.
"Come on, Pikachu, just tell me who Jingjing is?"
"Pika pika! (Not telling!)"
Watching the bickering pair, Bai Cai couldn't help but smile.
She didn't know why, but there was something oddly endearing about the sight.
"Teacher Guo, she's your student too, right?"
"How interesting."
In her eyes, Guo Yi wouldn't go to this much trouble for a Pokémon's training unless it was his student.
But to her surprise, Guo Yi shook his head.
"She's not my student."
"I just don't want to see her and her Pokémon end up regretting things later, so I want to help them."
Truth be told, If Hu Yan'er had already passed the independent enrollment exam and gotten into Shanghai Pokémon University, he wouldn't have sought her out like this.
At his current level, even if he never took another disciple, he could live more than comfortably.
So now, he took disciples based on fate—never by force.
This time, the reason he was willing to put in so much effort, even personally stepping in to help Hu Yan'er, wasn't just the hope that this world might produce another "Pika God."
He also didn't want to see Hu Yan'er ruined.
If Pikachu really used the [Thunder Stone] to evolve into Raichu, even if she beat the examiner and got her trainer into school, Hu Yan'er would carry that guilt for life—
Guilt over why she'd chosen Raichu as an opponent.
If not for that choice, maybe Pikachu wouldn't have had to evolve against her will.
And that could turn into a knot in her heart, one that might push her down a path of no return.
Don't think he was exaggerating—
In the Pokémon manga, Pryce went so far as to capture and control Ho-Oh and Lugia, all to catch Celebi and change time, just so his Lapras, Glacier, could see its parents again.
Changing time might sound impossible, but Pryce had been ready to make it possible.
And with Hu Yan'er's Ash template, her potential was in no way inferior to his.
If, in the future, the wrong people ever swayed her, the consequences could be disastrous.
So—
Whether for emotion or reason, Guo Yi would step in to help her.
As for whether she chose to take him as her teacher afterward, that would be her own choice.
Guo Yi only acted to keep his own conscience clear.
What others thought…
Was their business, not his.
After hearing the story between Hu Yan'er and Pikachu, Bai Cai's gaze toward Guo Yi held a few more shades of respect.
Because if she'd faced the same situation, she would've helped too.
Unlike the examiner, Bai Cai valued the bond between trainer and Pokémon more than evolution itself.
After all—she and her Garchomp had survived countless crises together.
In those moments, even a shred of doubt between them could have been fatal.
...
"Teacher, we're here."
After walking for about five or six minutes, the four of them finally arrived at a training ground roughly the size of a soccer field.
Along the edge of the field stood all sorts of equipment.
"Teacher Guo, please go ahead and assign the task!"
"Pikachu and I will definitely see it through."
Hu Yan'er looked at Guo Yi with firm resolve.
"Pika pika!"
Bring it on!
Pikachu echoed her trainer's tone.
Guo Yi didn't answer right away.
Instead, he walked over to the equipment area to search for training gear.
He had to admit, there was a reason this place was so expensive.
At least in terms of training tools, you didn't need to prepare anything yourself.
Almost everything could be found here.
Before long, Guo Yi returned carrying two weighted vests, one large and one small.
"Here.
"You and Pikachu put these on."
Since they were training anyway, he might as well also put Hu Yan'er's Super Rookie Physique through its paces.
That would help her in the long run as well.
"Got it, Teacher Guo."
When it came to his instructions, both girl and Pokémon obeyed without question.
"Come out, Beedrill!"
Once they were ready, Guo Yi released his ace Beedrill.
"Sbaa!"
With a sharp cry, Beedrill appeared once more.
Following Guo Yi's earlier instructions, Beedrill was only revealing Pseudo–Elite Four strength at the moment.
"Roar!"
But with Beedrill's arrival, Garchomp's gaze turned razor-sharp.
Bai Cai knew very well, this was how her Garchomp reacted only when facing a true threat.
"Teacher Guo, your Beedrill doesn't seem ordinary."
She asked with a hint of meaning in her tone.
Guo Yi smiled.
"Nothing special—just Pseudo–Elite Four level.
"Compared to Teacher Bai's Garchomp, my Beedrill is still far behind."
"Is that so?"
Bai Cai let out a thoughtful hum.
She was certain—this Beedrill was no mere Pseudo–Elite Four.
If it were, her Garchomp wouldn't be looking at it like that.
After all, with Garchomp's pseudo-legendary qualifications and Dragon-type bloodline,
even against an Elite Four-tier Pokémon, it could still stand a chance if commanded well.
So for her Garchomp to treat this Beedrill as a true rival said everything about its strength.
If it can make Garchomp take it this seriously, this Beedrill probably has some Elite Four-level combat power.
But as far as I know, Beedrill at that level only exist with Elite Four Lin Feng… and the so-called "Bug Master" of legend.
Could it be that Guo Yi is… the disciple of that Bug Master?
The thought lit up her eyes.
After all, in the whole of Dragon Country, the benchmarks for Beedrill were only Lin Feng and the mysterious Bug Master.
Lin Feng was currently in seclusion, and Bai Cai knew all of Lin Feng's disciples.
Guo Yi wasn't one of them.
That left only one conclusion.
The Bug Master's disciple, then?
She had no proof, but her gut told her she was probably right.
As for the possibility that Guo Yi was the Bug Master himself...
She dismissed that immediately.
Impossible.
He was so young, even if he'd started training in the womb, he couldn't have raised such a powerful Pokémon.
Some people online claimed the Bug Master's Beedrill had been raised over several generations.
Otherwise, why had this person been so unknown before?
Bai Cai scoffed at that theory.
Never mind whether a Beedrill's lifespan could span multiple generations without losing its edge—
Just look at that final clash between Beedrill and Zapdos caught on video.
The net said Beedrill's last strike was some kind of secret technique.
Secret or not.
There was one thing she was sure of:
Without an exceptionally deep bond between Beedrill and its trainer, it would be impossible to unleash such a move.
Guo Yi… let's see if you really are the Bug Master's successor.
Arms crossed, Bai Cai watched with interest as Guo Yi began Pikachu's special training.
At the moment, Guo Yi was explaining concepts to Hu Yan'er and Pikachu.
"In my view, there are two types of speed: movement speed and reaction speed."
"Movement speed is easy to understand—it's like a hundred-meter dash. Whoever takes less time is faster."
"Reaction speed can be explained through dodging."
"The faster your reactions, the higher your chances of evading attacks."
"There's a saying in martial arts: 'All techniques can be broken—except speed.'"
"But most people think that only means fast movement speed."
"To me, only when reaction and movement both reach the extreme can you truly achieve that."
"After all, pure movement speed has far too many counters."
Listening to Guo Yi's take on speed, all three women gained some level of insight.
The strongest among them, Bai Cai, even gave a slight nod of approval.
Having fought many battles, she knew exactly what he meant.
In ruin expeditions, Ghost-types were a common sight—
And with their unpredictable movements, even a slow one could still launch a deadly surprise attack.
At such times, reaction speed became absolutely critical.
Even standing still, if your reaction speed was fast enough,
you could block every incoming strike.
As for Su Qingxue and Hu Yan'er—
Their Pokémon hadn't been in that many battles, so they didn't have Bai Cai's depth of feeling for the subject.
But watching Guo Yi speak at length on just the concept of speed, they couldn't help but feel...
It makes sense.