Hearing Bai Yun call the girl a rich young miss, Cheng Tian couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
You're a rich young master yourself, okay???
Bai Yun grinned and slapped Cheng Tian. "A Tian, why don't you go say hi? Kick off a doomed romance or something?"
Cheng Tian snapped, "Why don't you try? Maybe she likes soft, pretty boys like you."
Bai Yun waved his hands frantically. "You know me—real women are for admiring from afar; my true love's in 2-D!"
Lin Lin sneered. "Hah, hopeless otaku."
Bai Yun's brows shot up; he looked Lin Lin over from head to toe, then shook his head with a sigh.
"What are you sighing about?"
Bai Yun put on a sage face. "Flat runways and normies don't belong in this world."
A textbook smacked him in the face. Lin Lin yelled, "Drop dead!!!"
After a bit of horseplay Cheng Tian called a halt—class would start any second. "Enough, we've got business. A Tian, wanna train pokémon after school?"
Cheng Tian blinked. "Train? Where?"
"The Pokémon Center has booths—fifty an hour, all the gear you need."
Cheng Tian's eyes lit up; fifty split two ways was twenty-five—cheaper than an internet café.
"I'm in. At that price? Definitely."
Last period was psychology; Cheng Tian tuned it out, twirling a pen while he thought.
The exam was only two weeks away; merely passing wouldn't cut it—he needed a top score to land in the elite class.
That meant finishing in the top forty overall, written plus practical.
He might sweat humanities, but for pokémon? He'd just smirk.
Please—two lifetimes of videos under his belt, more battles watched than these kids have movies. If he couldn't crush them, he'd spell his name backward.
Confidence, yes; arrogance, no—Cheng Tian knew the difference.
Who knew if some prodigy had been bred on this stuff? Losing would be a joke.
He glanced at the droning teacher, slipped out his phone, and opened the Pokédex.
Type charts were child's play; he could jot those from memory.
After a full period of browsing, the bell rang and students scrambled to pack up.
Cheng Tian slung his bag over his shoulder and left with Bai Yun and Lin Lin.
At the gate Bai Yun asked, "Lin Lin, Tian and I are training—coming?"
Lin Lin shook her head. "I'll head home to cram; I still can't name half the Pokédex."
They parted at the gate; Cheng Tian and Bai Yun climbed into a black sedan for the Pokémon Center.
Inside, the receptionist smiled. "Are you here to heal your pokémon?"
"A training room, please," Bai Yun said.
"Certainly—fifty yuan for one hour."
They split the fee; Cheng Tian insisted—he already owed Bai Yun three hundred, no need to add more.
"Trainer IDs 336, one hour. Staff will notify you when time's up."
They nodded and entered, Cheng Tian whistling at the League's lavish setup.
Walls and floor were reinforced alloy that could shrug off a Tyranitar's charge.
Heavy Sandbags lined the room; barring deliberate slashes they'd last forever.
Pricey gear, yet the League installed it without flinching and charged pocket change—deep pockets indeed.
Center-stage, they released Froakie and Chimchar.
Cheng Tian had a plan: Froakie, a Water-type, feared Grass, but its egg move offered perfect payback.
Ice Punch Lv3
His goal—grind that move until it was second nature.
Bai Yun just needed bonding time; he'd only gotten Chimchar last night.
"Froakie, show me Ice Punch."
"Froak." It nodded, white hands glowing as ice energy sheathed them in frosty gauntlets.
"Pound that Sandbag." At the words, Froakie whipped an Ice Punch into the bag; the impact rocked it and frost instantly coated the spot where fist met leather.
Cheng Tian scratched his head—this kind of training didn't seem to help. After a moment he turned to Bai Yun. "Let's battle instead. Solo practice isn't doing much."
Bai Yun nodded; nothing bonds Trainer and pokémon faster than a real fight.
The two pokémon took their stances on the field. "Chimchar, Swords Dance!" Bai Yun opened.
Chimchar beat its chest, its aura flaring. "Froakie, charge!"
Froakie sprinted across the turf, closing in fast. "Bubble—go for the feet!" It tore off two clumps of Bubble and hurled them at Chimchar's ankles.
"Jump clear, then Thunder Punch!" Chimchar leapt, dodging the Bubbles, sparks crackling round its fist as it brought the Thunder Punch crashing down on the approaching Froakie.
Froakie braked, whipped out Slash, and formed two Water Shuriken that caught the Thunder Punch head-on.
"Lick!" Froakie's tongue slapped across Chimchar's cheek. The monkey's face tingled, but paralysis didn't set in.
"Glare and grab it!" Chimchar's eyes widened as it lunged. Froakie stayed calm, dropped Slash, and shot both fists forward in a flash of Fighting-type energy.
Power-Up Punch. Because Chimchar was Fire-type, the Ice-type Ice Punch would be weak, so Froakie traded blows with the Fighting-type Power-Up Punch instead.
The ideal trade would have been Water Pulse, but Froakie held both a type and level edge; Cheng Tian had told it to avoid Water-type moves except Bubble.
Chimchar was blasted backward, hurting. "Thunder Punch again!" Bai Yun urged.
Chimchar loosed another Thunder Punch; Froakie kept firing Power-Up Punch. Each successive Fighting-type hit grew stronger.
Fist met fist four times; Froakie took the heavier damage, disadvantaged by type, yet though electricity surged through it, the frog wasn't paralyzed or felled.
"Break off—dodge and Bubble!" Froakie disengaged, leapt clear, and began pelting Chimchar with drifting clouds of Bubble.
Chimchar was stymied; its only ranged move, Ember, barely scratched the Water-type Froakie.
It couldn't close the gap while Froakie kited it with Bubble, and soon the little monkey collapsed in defeat.
"Ugh, Tian, you kited me the whole time—so annoying," Bai Yun complained.
"Bai Yun, do you know where you went wrong?" Cheng Tian asked gravely. "Hmm? Was it being kited?"
"No. In a pokémon battle it's the pokémon that fights, not the Trainer. Read the field and let your pokémon decide; step in only to choose the crucial move, not to micromanage every second."
"Just now, opening with Swords Dance was right, but once you were being kited you chased melee non-stop. You could have created distance; Bubble's reach is limited."
Bai Yun listened earnestly, a little embarrassed—she really had reversed priorities, barking orders every moment.
"Sorry, Chimchar. This loss wasn't your fault; my commands failed you." Bai Yun apologized. "Chim-char!" The monkey shook its head—obeying its Trainer was never wrong, and it would never blame her.
"Froakie, you've flaws too. Trading blows was fine, and your timing was crisp, but once Chimchar threw Thunder Punch you should have disengaged. That move counters you hard; had the paralysis landed you'd have been in real trouble."
"I did restrict your Water moves, but Bubble was always allowed."
Froakie lowered its head, sheepish—it had tunnel-visioned on trading hits.
"Remember, Froakie, you want to be a Ninja. A Ninja strikes from range unless victory is certain or the melee serves a plan."
Froakie nodded solemnly, the lesson etched…