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Li Xiang gained a lot from his trip to Mist Island.
Some of it were non-renewable resources, while others were things he could replenish anytime, anywhere.
For example, Berries, water, Moomoo Milk, and a degraded version of Rare Candy.
Shuckle Island, which he had visited, was merely one of the territories belonging to the Shuckle clan within Mist Island.
Additionally, there were two other Shuckle Islands he only discovered later after being invited by the Shuckle clan leader.
It was also at that time that Li Xiang learned just how extraordinarily efficient Shuckle were at producing Berry juice.
He couldn't possibly use that much Berry jam by himself. So, he inevitably thought about sharing it.
After all, he could always go back to restock whenever he had time. And currently, the person closest to him, with whom he had the best relationship and who would absolutely not reveal his secrets, was none other than Song Jie.
"Jam? What jam?"
Song Jie was momentarily stunned, clearly not understanding what Li Xiang was talking about.
"Come over to my place at noon, and you'll find out."
Li Xiang patted his shoulder and went back to find the two waiting coaches.
He thought there might be something urgent, but there wasn't. They had simply come, encouraged by the students, to watch him and Song Jie spar.
Hmm... it seemed he wasn't the only one surprised.
Were his classmates all so knowledgeable and had such good eyesight?
...….
On the other side.
Xu He had mixed feelings. As an experienced teacher and a long-time school team coach, although he didn't know the specifics of Mist Island, he understood some inside information.
The students on the school team had been there before, and every one of them came back stronger.
But he had never seen anyone make such dramatic progress as Li Xiang, who seemed completely reborn.
If Li Xiang before was a player who could dominate the spring season, then now, he was a formidable trainer capable of shining brightly in the summer and autumn seasons, even taking a dominant position!
Based on Xu He's many years of coaching experience, Li Xiang was more than qualified to be a regular team member, and being the vice-captain or even the captain was not out of the question.
Yes.
Based on his current performance, ignoring both sides' trump cards, Li Xiang's performance was identical to Su Qian and Chao in their normal state.
But the key was, he was only a freshman! And the first semester wasn't even over yet!
Xu He had already been preparing to approve Li Xiang's summer vacation leave, wondering whether to approve one month or two.
Maybe he could even have him help with recruitment? His image was so good, and his popularity hadn't completely faded.
But what a pleasant surprise this turned out to be!
The Mist City team actually lacked personnel. The current regulars were fine, but in Xu He's opinion, few of the current reserve students had much potential.
It seemed that after the fifth-years like Su Qian and Chao, and the fourth-years like Abigail, the second and third years had a gap.
There weren't enough strong prodigies, leaving the reserves mostly consisting of fifth-years and sixth-years.
What difference was there between this and those ordinary schools?
Lately, Xu He couldn't even field a full roster of five singles and six doubles players in peak condition; he was agonizing over the reserves.
He was planning to bring it up at the meeting next week. Unexpectedly, just as he was getting drowsy, a pillow showed up at his door!
However, whether Li Xiang could actually compete was a troublesome issue that he alone couldn't decide.
"For now, head to the Pokémon Center. I'll find you if anything comes up."
That was all Xu He could say.
Miao Shuang remained silent. She didn't know what to say either. Praise Li Xiang? But this was beyond the level of simply praising him.
This kid was a prodigy!
The two coaches left, talking about something as they walked.
Li Xiang, full of question marks, was then surrounded by the reserve team members again, who asked him for methods to train their Pokémon.
"I remember I've told you before, haven't I?"
He repeated his training methods, which were simply a routine of morning training, battling, practice, battling, and night training.
Circular and repetitive. Apart from adding the Rare Candies, Li Xiang hadn't done much that was particularly strange.
Some believed what he said, some didn't.
Li Xiang didn't care. This was his daily training routine. Ordinary students might not know, but didn't they?
There were no special training bases; the training halls and battle halls were open to everyone.
Some people left. The remaining ones asked Li Xiang for battles, hoping to learn something from him.
These upperclassmen were really willing to humble themselves.
Li Xiang naturally accepted all comers.
However, Incineroar and the others needed to rest for a while and couldn't continue battling. Song Jie's Pokémon were ultimately not that easy to deal with, so they had to postpone.
The two went to the Pokémon Center together.
Since it was reserved for the school team, there was basically no one around. They each handed over their Poké Balls for the nurses to check.
Both sides' Pokémon were in good condition, mostly just fatigued with no serious injuries. They would be fine after resting for a while.
Battling with old friends had restored the confidence of Incineroar and the others, who had been thoroughly thrashed by Mewtwo and Mo Ye.
After winning one against seven, Corviknight was moved to tears.
What does it mean to be a star of victory?
This is it!
Who was that losing streak chicken on Mist Island? I don't even know him.
Li Xiang laughed and scolded them for being hopeless.
While chatting with Song Jie, Gong Xu hurried over, excitedly asking if Li Xiang had gotten stronger again.
Oh! Delivering himself right to my doorstep!
Li Xiang definitely wasn't about to let him go this time. He ignored Gong Xu's request to practice double battles together.
"Come on! Spar with me later!"
"Hey—"
"Hey my foot! Don't you dare run!"
Grabbing Gong Xu's arm and glancing at his Pokémon, whose stamina hadn't fully recovered, Li Xiang smiled broadly, waiting for his second round of farming Rare Candies.
So, for the entire morning and into the afternoon, he kept finding people to battle against. After going all out against four people, Li Xiang finally had his fill.
Although Incineroar and the others were tired, they were also extremely satisfied, feeling the pleasure that came with immense power.
They suddenly understood why Mewtwo always liked to torment them.
So bullying people was this fun!
Why had they been so well-behaved before? Always so rigid when battling.
At noon, Li Xiang gave the Rare Candies to Song Jie. However, the white-haired youth didn't seem to like sweets. After tasting a little, his face contorted as if in pain.
He found it too sickly sweet. He said he wasn't sure if his Aggron and the others would like it; they probably wouldn't, as their tastes were similar to his.
Li Xiang then told him that eating these things could accelerate energy level growth.
Song Jie was stunned. Then, with a serious expression, he said he would definitely supervise Aggron and the others to finish them.
He knew Li Xiang wouldn't speak without reason. Since he said so, it surely had that effect.
However, Song Jie was curious about where these things came from. Even with his family background, this was the first time he had heard of a food that could accelerate energy level growth.
He didn't ask further.
After receiving a certain amount of Berry jam and devising a consumption plan as Li Xiang had instructed, the white-haired youth left happily.
In the afternoon, the original plan was to practice moves, or continue battling if they didn't want to practice.
But the Big Three said they needed to go to the conservation base. The affairs of the Iron Cats Gang and the Savage Hounds Gang weren't finished yet.
Although they had achieved their goals, they were still concerned about what might have happened during the past month.
Hearing this, Li Xiang simply gave the three of them the afternoon off. After all, missing one day wouldn't matter, as long as they didn't skip morning training and night training.
As for himself, he would go to class—the kind of private lessons taught by a high-ranking trainer.
...…....
Conservation Base.
Cat's Nest.
Countless Meowth had gathered here. The atmosphere was unusually gloomy.
During the month that Incineroar and the others had been away, although the group leader Perrserker had their backs, they had inevitably suffered repeated defeats at the Warrior Arena.
The Iron Cats Gang had too few pillars of support. With Incineroar and Riolu away and two executives missing, their losses kept mounting, and the Savage Hounds Gang grew increasingly arrogant.
The top executives of the Iron Cats Gang felt quite helpless.
There was no helping it. Incineroar and the others were trained Pokémon. With their trainer going off for special training, there was no way they could stay behind.
They couldn't be blamed for that. If anyone was to blame, it was the Iron Cats Gang itself for having such poor talent reserves.
That's why they kept losing more and more at the arena.
The young master Absol hadn't smiled in nearly a week. Meowstic sighed all day long. Pyroar wasn't taking any new wives. Luxray stared day and night in the direction of Mist City University, waiting for something.
The two little Meowth who used to cling to Incineroar most often repeatedly asked their mother when Brother Incineroar would come back.
They were only met with bitter smiles.
Only Galarian Meowth remained dull all day, occasionally showing a different expression only when cooking.
Nothing seemed to affect it much. At least on the surface, that was the case.
This was the desolate scene Incineroar and the others saw when they hurried over.
Suddenly, two Perrserker jumped out from the bushes.
"Who goes there!"
"It's a Lucario! From the Savage Hounds Gang—"
Before they could finish their shouts, Incineroar grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks and lifted them up.
"You two, acting like I don't exist?"
It glared fiercely at the two Perrserker.
The two simpletons belatedly froze, then said with sheepish grins, "B-Brother Incineroar, it's you."
"Then this one is..."
They looked at Lucario, a thought flashing through their minds.
Lucario stared back coldly, arms crossed. "Go on. A what from the Savage Hounds Gang?"
"Big Sister Dog!" x2
The two dropped Perrserker decisively lay prostrate on the ground, kowtowing to Lucario. "We failed to recognize your greatness! Please, be magnanimous!"
"Hmph!"
Lucario snorted coldly.
In the distance, because of the loud shouts from these two Perrserker, and Incineroar's striking, showy red fur, many Meowth noticed their arrival.
Cries of "Brother Incineroar is here" spread far and wide, though to outsiders, they just sounded like meowing.
"You're really popular, huh."
Lucario listened to the echoes reverberating through Cat's Nest, clicking its tongue.
"I am Brother Incineroar, after all."
Incineroar smiled shamelessly. Then, from the corner of its eye, it saw a white shadow flying toward it. Caught off guard, Incineroar was tackled to the ground.
"You're finally here!"
Absol looked down at the slightly surprised Incineroar, its eyes gleaming with intensity!