"Raichu actually lost!"
Tang Ming stared at the Raichu collapsed on the field, his astonishment no less than Teacher Lin's.
But compared to Raichu's defeat, what shocked him even more was Pikachu's method of avoiding [Thunder]'s damage.
"Teacher, you're amazing!"
"Pikachu really beat Raichu!"
At the side, Su Qingxue, overjoyed, praised Guo Yi with her whole heart.
Two days!
In just two days—
Guo Yi had truly enabled Pikachu to defeat Raichu with its own strength, not relying on some illusory miracle of luck and "exploding power."
"Hmph!"
Hearing Su Qingxue's praise for Guo Yi, Tang Ming gave a cold snort:
"That's clearly because the candidate has talent. What does it have to do with Guo Yi?"
"Wasn't he just guessing?"
Hearing this, Su Qingxue's face immediately soured.
"Director Tang, how can you speak so carelessly when you don't know the facts!"
"These two days, Yan'er's Pikachu has been in special training with Teacher!"
"What!"
Tang Ming turned sharply, his stunned gaze locking on Guo Yi.
He could hardly believe it.
That this assistant, who had gotten in through his niece's connections, was capable of such a thing.
"Guo Yi—is that true?"
Tang Ming still found it hard to accept.
Since when did mere assistants have this level of teaching skill?
Then—
Bai Cai's words forced him to believe.
"Director Tang, Pikachu was indeed trained by Guo Yi. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Didn't I tell you earlier?"
"Teacher Guo is no ordinary man."
Tang Ming's face twisted into a bitter smile, thinking: Who knew that by 'not ordinary' you meant his teaching ability!
Truly—preconceptions can kill.
After all, Shanghai Pokémon University had existed for so many years.
Assistants with real talent were few and far between.
And those who entered through connections were worse than useless.
That was why Tang Ming had held so many opinions and criticisms of Guo Yi.
Now, even without Guo Yi speaking for himself, Bai Cai's testimony carried greater weight than his own words.
After recalling Raichu into its Poké Ball, Teacher Lin smiled as he approached Hu Yan'er, offering congratulations.
"Student, congratulations."
"You've passed the exam."
Though his Raichu had fallen to Pikachu, he still felt joy at Hu Yan'er's success.
At the same time, this was proof of her talent.
Which only deepened his resolve—he wanted her as his disciple.
"Thank you, Teacher, for showing mercy!"
Hu Yan'er hugged Pikachu close, bowed deeply, and gave thanks.
Whether or not he had held back—as victor and candidate, proper manners had to be shown.
And sure enough—hearing her words, the gloom in Teacher Lin's heart dissipated in an instant.
He praised her as well:
"Your Pikachu's performance this time was truly dazzling."
"I never expected you'd think of using Pikachu to ground electricity through the earth, lessening [Thunder]'s damage."
Everyone knew the earth conducted electricity.
But to apply that principle in a Pokémon battle—this was his first time seeing it.
"Student, I wonder—would you be willing to take me as your master?"
"Don't think that just because my Raichu lost to your Pikachu, I have nothing to teach. That Raichu is merely my weakest Pokémon."
"But when it comes to Electric-types—I have studied them deeply."
Saying this—
Teacher Lin drew another Poké Ball.
"Come out, Jolteon!"
With a flash of red light—a yellow-furred Jolteon, its neck and body bristling with sharp white and yellow spikes, appeared before Hu Yan'er.
To let her understand his strength, Teacher Lin directly revealed his strongest Electric-type.
[Jolteon (Electric)]
[Gender: ♀]
[Level: Lv58 (Gym Leader-Tier)]
[Ability: Volt Absorb (when hit by Electric moves, takes no damage and restores HP)]
[Moves: Thunder, Discharge, Thunder Fang, Stored Power (commonly used)]
[Tutor Moves: Wild Charge, Thunderbolt, Charge Beam]
[Egg Move: Synchronoise]
[Held Item: Focus Sash]
[Potential: Pseudo–Elite Four]
Jolteon—one of the three most common Eevee evolutions.
Though Eevee had eight evolutionary paths in total, only Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon, evolutions through stones, were known at present.
As for Espeon, Umbreon, and the rest—there had been no reliable reports of them yet.
After all—aside from stone evolutions, other forms of Eevee required special environments, or a bond of intimacy.
And Sylveon's requirements were even stricter.
Not only a deep bond, but also the mastery of Fairy-type moves.
For ordinary people, waiting for such evolutions was nearly impossible.
Most simply chose to evolve Eevee with a stone once it reached decent strength.
Because Fire, Water, and Electric—these three types were already among the most practical and widely used.
And Teacher Lin's Jolteon—though not quite Pseudo–Elite Four, at Gym Leader-Tier—was already considered upper-middle level among the faculty.
So, in his mind, once he released Jolteon, Hu Yan'er accepting him as her master would be all but certain.
However—Hu Yan'er only glanced once at Guo Yi in the audience.
Then shook her head to Teacher Lin.
"Forgive me, Teacher. Thank you for your kindness."
"But as for whom I want as my master—I already have someone in mind."
Through these past few days—Hu Yan'er had long decided she wanted Guo Yi as her teacher.
The only reason she hadn't said it sooner—was because she wanted to wait until after she passed the Independent Enrollment Exam.
In her view—if she couldn't even clear this test, what qualifications did she have to become Guo Yi's disciple?
"You already have someone in mind..."
Hearing this, Teacher Lin gave a wry smile.
At once, he understood.
Of course—such rapid progress from Pikachu in just two days, clearly came from the teaching of a true master.
He was simply too late!
Shaking his head helplessly, Teacher Lin said to Hu Yan'er:
"Very well. Come register your information with me, then."
"Mm!"
Hu Yan'er nodded obediently, following him.
The registration took little time.
Ten minutes later, she returned to the viewing seats with Pikachu.
"Wonderful, Yan'er!"
"From now on, we're classmates!"
Su Qingxue beamed, giving her a big hug.
Hu Yan'er's cheeks glowed with excitement as she said:
"It's all thanks to Teacher Guo's method."
"Otherwise, if it came down only to stamina, Pikachu wouldn't necessarily have beaten Raichu."
She knew it clearly.
If not for the tactic Guo Yi had given her on the way here—in a battle without a lucky "explosion," the result would have been uncertain.
[Iron Tail] grounding electricity into the earth—that tactic was Guo Yi's gift to her.
"Ah!"
Su Qingxue was startled.
She never imagined that just a few minutes apart, something like this would happen without her knowing.
So she asked with eager anticipation:
"Yan'er, what kind of tactic did Teacher give you?"
Hu Yan'er then explained it to her in full detail.
And since she didn't deliberately lower her voice—Tang Ming and Bai Cai, not far away, heard everything loud and clear.
At once—the way Tang Ming looked at Guo Yi was utterly different from before.
A spoiled brat?
Forgive me!
It seems I was blind.
Not only did he devise the strategy, but even calculated the timing.
From Hu Yan'er's words, it became clear.
They had purposely drawn near the very deadline of the Independent Enrollment Exam, just to use the stadium's lighting.
At that moment, Bai Cai's eyes flashed with doubt. She stepped forward to ask:
"Teacher Guo, why were you so certain that once Teacher Lin spotted Pikachu's real body, he would go all-out?"
"If he had instead commanded Raichu to drag things out, wouldn't that have turned your plan against itself?"
Right!
Tang Ming, hearing this, was jolted.
As expected of Teacher Bai—she spotted the flaw at once.
Indeed—if Teacher Lin had not rushed, but kept dragging things on, then this tactic would have collapsed into backfire.
Facing Bai Cai's question, Guo Yi smiled and raised two fingers.
"The reason I was sure this plan would succeed—comes down to two points."
"First, the examiner's dignity."
"As Teacher Bai said, if Teacher Lin had played war of attrition, then yes—Pikachu would have gone down first. But Raichu's condition would not have been much better, perhaps even worse than last time."
"And then, as the examiner, where would his dignity be? So once he caught the real body, he absolutely would choose to go all-out. One strike, decisive kill."
Hearing this, both Tang Ming and Bai Cai nodded in agreement.
If it had been them, most likely they would have chosen the same.
"And the second?"
Bai Cai pressed further.
"As for the second—"
"it's for Raichu itself."
Guo Yi continued: "Two days ago, even though Raichu won—its lightning was actually broken head-on by a degenerated Pikachu."
"Of course Raichu was brooding over it."
"To crush Pikachu outright with thunderous force—that was the wish of both Raichu and Teacher Lin. So the moment he spotted Pikachu's true body, the result of this battle was already decided."
"This..."
Hearing Guo Yi's words, Tang Ming found himself speechless.
This strategy was too terrifying.
No—more than a strategy.
It was a sure-win method.
Heaven's timing, earth's advantage, human intent—all within Guo Yi's calculations.
To be exact—from the very beginning, this exam's outcome had already been sealed.
Yet—Bai Cai suddenly smiled.
"Teacher Guo, your tactic is formidable indeed."
"But it still has one flaw."
"What!"
Tang Ming was shaken again.
Even after all this, there was still a flaw?
Guo Yi nodded inwardly. As expected of someone carrying the Cynthia template—her sensitivity to battle is remarkable.
For in truth, this plan did have a critical weakness.
That was Pikachu's method of grounding electricity being discovered.
Don't be fooled by how Pikachu only revealed the technique at the very end.
During the fight, it had used it more than once.
If Teacher Lin had picked up on it—the entire plan would have unraveled.
But Hu Yan'er was clever.
She too knew the importance of hiding Pikachu's grounding.
So—only when dust filled the air would she let Pikachu use it.
In normal exchanges, even if Raichu's strike happened to hit the real body—Hu Yan'er would direct Pikachu to dodge.
If dodging was impossible, she would rather let Pikachu take the hit head-on than expose the trump card.
And Bai Cai had clearly seen through this as well.
The two of them shared a glance and a smile.
Meanwhile Tang Ming was fuming with impatience.
A flaw!
What flaw? Why don't you say it!
What's with that smile? Admiring each other?
He was like an ant on a hot pan, desperate to know what the flaw was.
But alas—he couldn't ask.
He was the university's director!
He couldn't admit his vision and experience were worse than two young ones.
How would he keep his standing then?
But since he kept quiet—Guo Yi and Bai Cai had no intention of explaining either.
"Teacher Guo, I have a request... I don't know if you'll accept it."
At that moment—Hu Yan'er stepped up before Guo Yi, speaking shyly.
Before Guo Yi could reply, Su Qingxue blurted out:
"Yan'er, don't you know Teacher yet?"
"It's fine—just say it!"
"Teacher will definitely agree."
She didn't realize—a second later, she would deeply regret those words.
"Teacher Guo, I wish for you to take me as your disciple!"
The instant the words left her mouth—Hu Yan'er dropped to her knees.
"Ah!"
Su Qingxue gasped in shock.
She hadn't imagined her best friend had also set her eyes on Teacher.
Tang Ming too was surprised by Hu Yan'er's choice!
Taking Guo Yi as master meant she had refused Teacher Lin's offer.
In that instant—every gaze around fixed on Guo Yi.
Wanting to see—what choice he would make.
Guo Yi stared at Hu Yan'er for a long time, before suddenly asking:
"Yan'er, what do you think is the most important thing between a trainer and their Pokémon?"
"The most important?"
Hu Yan'er fell silent.
From these two days of training, she had seen how much Teacher valued the bond between trainer and Pokémon.
It seemed the answer was "bond."
But faintly—she felt that wasn't her answer.
Gradually—she recalled the many moments with Pikachu.
Two words rose in her mind.
Then she spoke them aloud:
"Happiness."
"Teacher—for me, what matters most between trainer and Pokémon is happiness."
The happiness of adventure, the happiness of growing stronger, the happiness of learning together...
That was the life Hu Yan'er sought. That was why she became a trainer.
Hearing her reply, a smile spread on Guo Yi's face.
"Happiness. Very good."
He was satisfied.
For bonds between trainer and Pokémon were vast, and differed for everyone.
Some bonds were for strength; some were for survival; some were to create miracles...
Because of bonds, trainers and Pokémon came together.
To fulfill them, they grew together.
And for Hu Yan'er—her bond with her Pokémon was happiness.
"Then I hope you'll always hold to your belief."
"My good disciple."
Guo Yi smiled as he said it.
Hu Yan'er, overjoyed, bowed her head to the floor.
"Student pays respects to Teacher."
[Ding! Congratulations, host has taken in their first highly gifted student.]
[Ding! Reward: one Light Ball, condensed from the original Pikachu. One student-linked template.]
[Ding! Aura awakened. Super Rookie Physique obtained.]
With Guo Yi's acceptance of Hu Yan'er as disciple, the system's rewards arrived right on cue.