And so…
The history teacher, fed up, ordered the duo to grab their Poké Balls and settle it outside.
Outside the classroom corridor, Jiang Feng and Fatty Wei stood, heads drooping, sentenced to wall duty.
Fatty fumed, "You dog, Jiang Feng! Tricking me? You're no son of man!"
"You're the real dog!" Jiang Feng snapped back. "I tried to help, and you act like a Ditto-brained moron!"
"The answer was 'I don't know'!"
Fatty roared, "You played me with that?!"
Jiang Feng rolled his eyes, exasperated. "The Three Kingdoms were, like, a millennium ago. Tons of history's lost in time's river—no way to verify.
"Internet rumors say Liu Bei had Entei's backing to found Shu Han. Cao Cao had Raikou, Sun Quan had Suicune.
"But actual history books? No clear record. So the answer's 'I don't know'!"
"Get it, my big dumb son?"
Fatty's jaw dropped, regret hitting hard. "One lecture from you, and my ten years of school are wasted! Why didn't you say so?!"
Jiang Feng tapped his head. "You greasy sausage, your brain's full of spicy trash. Don't butcher idioms if you can't use 'em. I told you—you didn't believe me!"
"Traitor, I'm ashamed to stand with you!"
Realizing he wronged Jiang Feng, Fatty flushed, awkward.
Checking no one was around, he sneakily pulled a magazine from his jacket.
Jiang Feng glimpsed the cover and lit up.
Azalea Town's super idol Gym Leader, Bugsy!
Bugsy, early twenties, with clean, vibrant beauty—radiating healthy, clockwork-regular, high-flow vibes!
Jiang Feng thought Mali was unbeatable…
Until he saw the iron-wall maiden who sat a Magnemite flat!
Who's this general?!
Absolute beast!
Gotta study this—does Bugsy's Magnemite have a screw on its head?
What kinda talent flattens a Magnemite?
Such sin!
I'm doing worse than a Magnemite!
Life's tough, don't expose me. Next life, I'm reincarnating as a Magnemite.
(╯·⚇·╰)
Jiang Feng fake-coughed, slyly pocketing the mag.
Free loot? Don't mind if I do!
"I camped eight hours in Azalea to snag that. She's hot, but not my milf type—yours now," Fatty said, wistful.
Bugsy's chest wasn't huge, but it screamed solid, fertile vibes!
"Fatty, you know Magnemite's got a screw on its head?" Jiang Feng asked.
"What? Who cares about screws?"
Fatty blanked, then—veteran perv instincts kicking in—he got it.
"Holy Arceus, savage!"
"I take it back—gimme my Bugsy!" Fatty slapped his thigh, lunging for the mag.
Jiang Feng dodged with ease. Good stuff's for keeping, not sharing!
"Let's roll—training time."
Stand like a good student? Nah, he's no model citizen.
"Jiang Feng, you dog! Give me back my Bugsy!"
Fatty chased, hopping and yelling, even threatening to cut ties.
But Jiang Feng was unfazed.
Outrun him? Easy. Outfight him? Cake. Fatty slunk off, plotting a return to Azalea for another steel-clad Bugsy mag.
While Fatty stewed, Jiang Feng grinded daily at the rocky maze, coaching Combusken's Quick Attack.
As always, he "supervised," Combusken sweated.
A week flew by…
With Toxtricity's guidance, Combusken leveled fast and learned Bulk Up!
But the Proficiency for Bulk Up? Jiang Feng's face fell.
What a sin!
Bulk Up needed five times the Proficiency!
High-tier moves demanded oceanic grind.
Makes sense, though.
Unlike games, where buffs stack endlessly, real-world buffs like Bulk Up work once. Reapplying? Barely any boost.
Higher mastery, bigger gains.
Beginner Bulk Up? Tiny buff.
Master-tier? Massive attack and defense spikes!
Like martial arts inner power.
What's key—inner power or moves?
No contest: inner power rules.
Fancy moves, if they hit, do jack if you can't break defenses.
But pop a buff? Short-term power surge.
A basic attack becomes world-shattering!
This fuels Trainers' obsession with buff moves, building teams around Swords Dance, Dragon Dance, Calm Mind, or Bulk Up.
Jiang Feng was no exception.
Blind grinding's no way to live—it's time to flex!
"Miss, it's been a week, and Jiang Feng hasn't trained Toxtricity once!"
"Worse, he's got Toxtricity teaching Combusken moves instead of grinding Light Screen! Outrageous!"
Zicai, bottling it for days, finally snitched to Mali.
Spikemuth Gym's crowd was waiting for Jiang Feng's flop.
This pretty boy—what makes him worthy of Mali's favor? Toxtricity's her ace!
Everyone knows Light Screen's a tank move, crazy hard to master. Even Gym Leader Niezi couldn't crack it.
A pre-journey student? Clueless and in over his head.
"Talking smack behind backs? Careful, you'll stay single forever," Jiang Feng said, strolling in with Combusken, vibe immaculate.
"You're not even training Light Screen! Toxtricity's wasted a week!" Zicai snapped.
"Chill, Zicai, it's just a week," Mali said, scooping up a tuckered-out Morpeko, feeding it an Energy Cube.
Handing Toxtricity to Jiang Feng was a gamble. She wasn't banking on much.
Win? Beachfront villa. Lose? No biggie.
"How's it fine? The Gym tourney's soon! If we lose again…" Zicai trailed off, face red.
"We won't lose this year!"
Niezi strode in, confidence radiating, his usual gloom replaced by barely-hidden hype.
"Bro, you broke through?" Mali asked.
"Yup, thanks to Jiang Feng."
"Me?" Jiang Feng blinked. I just sang a banger, didn't do squat!
Niezi chuckled, dodging details. "Go battle with confidence. If the Gym's in a pinch, I'll step in."
"Bet!" Mali nodded.
Niezi turned to Jiang Feng. "Heard you're grinding Quick Attack. How's it going?"
"Not bad—broke through."
"Nice, hitting Competent that fast? Impressive."
Niezi gave him props, eyeing Jiang Feng like a brother-in-law…
"Nah, not Competent—Master!"
"Master? Quick Attack?"
"You're capping! Scratch at Master, sure, but Quick Attack? It's not some Poké Mart cabbage!" Zicai scoffed, convinced he was bluffing but lacking proof.
Quick Attack's easy to learn, hard to master.
Like Taiji—park aunties can fake it, but true masters? Rarer than a dowry-free unicorn.
It's all-or-nothing. You either get it or you don't.
Like math: know the formula, solve it. Don't? Bald from stress, still clueless.
Quick Attack's all talent.
No shortcuts.
"You serious?"