Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof

-----------------

Conservation Base

Li Xiang held a trophy made of some unknown metal, with a large and small feline Pokémon trailing behind him.

Without a doubt, the ultimate winners of the Junior Ho-Oh Cup were Li Xiang and his Litten.

Although the opposing Scorbunny was incredibly strong, even demonstrating exceptional move control, it couldn't outmatch Li Xiang's thorough preparation.

He had anticipated the possibility of a counterplay to High Jump Kick well in advance.

The inspiration came from Ash's Krookodile in Pokémon Best Wishes.

In one match, Krookodile's High Jump Kick, which should have missed, suddenly transitioned into a hit by switching legs mid-air, catching its opponent off guard.

This detail had stuck with Li Xiang. He researched similar strategies online and, finding that such techniques indeed existed, drilled them into Litten during their training sessions.

Surprisingly, in an actual match, Scorbunny pulled off this advanced move.

And that became its downfall.

Additionally, Li Xiang was lucky.

Without Flame Charge, Litten might not have been able to evade High Jump Kick.

It might have had to take the hit head-on to find a counter opportunity, possibly even getting delayed by Scorbunny's Quick Attack.

After all, at the time, Litten was slower than Scorbunny.

Fortunately, every move they used ended up landing at the most opportune moments, achieving the best possible results.

...

In the Office

"Well, well~ Little Xiang won the championship!"

In the office, Su Yiliu and Mrs. Yin both stood up when they saw Li Xiang walk in with the trophy.

One took the trophy from him, while the other helped him take off his backpack.

"It's just a victory, not really a championship," Li Xiang said with a modest smile. He picked up a water bottle from the desk, poured himself a glass, and downed it in one go.

Although he'd acquired the Evolution stones, it was of no immediate use to him.

For now, it would just sit in his bag and collect dust.

—But none of that mattered. The priority was testing the Speed Candy!

After finishing his drink, Li Xiang said a quick goodbye to the two and left with Litten and Purugly in tow.

The items were all in his pocket, ready to go.

Su Yiliu, hoping for a chance to pinch Li Xiang's now-leaner cheeks, found herself thwarted and clicked her tongue in frustration.

...

Testing speed didn't require going outdoors.

The base had a specialized treadmill for this purpose in the same gym where they'd previously measured strength.

Since no one else was using the facility at the time and there wasn't a guard stationed, Li Xiang could tinker with the equipment without worry—as long as he didn't break anything.

"Alright, let's start."

Li Xiang guided Litten onto the treadmill and activated the test mode.

Then, stepping aside, he took out the Speed Candy he'd already ground into powder and mixed with Moomoo Milk. The mixture had been divided into several portions.

He'd done this to avoid drawing attention. Feeding a Pokémon treats was normal, but feeding it ten pieces at once? That would definitely raise eyebrows.

Now, with no one watching, he could do as he pleased.

Purugly, meanwhile, found a soft spot nearby, curled up, and began to nap, uninterested in whatever Li Xiang was up to. It had the laid-back attitude of a hands-off guardian.

The test proceeded smoothly.

Half an Hour Later

Li Xiang took a deep breath, trying to suppress the excitement bubbling inside him.

Regardless of whether it was "200 points" or not, the Speed Candy had undeniably delivered. Litten's speed had increased significantly.

As for how many levels it could outperform? That was hard to quantify.

Comparing Pokémon with different base stats, move sets, and battle habits—on top of type advantages—was meaningless.

Even on paper, how much a Pokémon's stats grew per level varied wildly.

Without comparative data for Litten at different levels, all Li Xiang could do was make an educated guess.

—He estimated that against non-counter-type Pokémon below level 15, Litten could now win effortlessly. Even against counters, it might manage an even fight.

And if the opponent wasn't particularly smart, like that overpowered Miltank from before, it might even surpass those limits.

This was already excellent progress.

Li Xiang knew how to appreciate his gains.

"Good job, little kitty. You've gotten stronger again."

He scratched under Litten's chin, earning a contented purr as the Pokémon rolled around on the ground in delight.

After celebrating the good news, it was time to address the bad.

As Li Xiang had anticipated, after feeding ten candies to Litten, their effects began to diminish.

The reduction in potency wasn't significant, but it confirmed that expecting Litten to overpower Pokémon at levels 30 or 40 while still at a low level was impossible—even with this advantage.

The candies' effects weakened with each use. Eventually, there would come a day when even consuming 20 or 30 would yield no results.

Of course, before reaching that point, the benefits they provided were already substantial.

Litten's current stats were as follows:

Pokémon: Litten 

Level: 7

Type: Fire

Ability: Intimidate 

Gender: Male ♂ 

Known Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Heat Wave, Nasty Plot, Crunch, Bulk Up, Flare Blitz

At first glance, having eight moves seemed like a lot, but in reality, only a handful would remain practical in the long run.

Moreover, Litten was entirely unskilled at using the last two moves, which relied heavily on luck when executed.

And that was far from acceptable.

Based on Li Xiang's estimation, it would take at least a month—perhaps longer—for Litten to become proficient in these techniques.

Learning so many moves at once was undeniably greedy.

Once Litten mastered its current moves, Li Xiang planned to teach it Protect, Hyper Voice, U-Turn, and Parting Shot.

Rather than flashy, high-powered Fire-type attacks, he prioritized utility moves.

.....

Over the next few days...

Li Xiang cleverly used Lin Feng's Pokémon as "experience bags."

What was the point of having a good friend? 

To grind candies, of course!

Since Lin Feng had returned, Li Xiang spent every available moment challenging him to battles.

After fighting Lin Feng's Charmander, he would immediately move on to his Porygon.

These two Pokémon essentially became fixed daily objectives—mandatory tasks.

Lin Feng, helpless to stop it, could only sigh in exasperation.

He couldn't refuse Li Xiang's requests either, as he also enjoyed battling and needed his own Pokémon to gain more experience.

The problem was that the results of their matches were usually the same: Lin Feng lost more often than he won.

Even when it was a tag-team effort, Litten often emerged victorious, taking down both Charmander and Porygon with ease.

There was no helping it—Li Xiang had the advantage of "boosted stats."

Charmander's Blaze Mode and Porygon's long-range Psybeam couldn't compensate for the fact that Litten was tough, versatile, and occasionally sped itself up.

Neither of Lin Feng's Pokémon could even touch Litten's tail, leaving them in a state of frustrated impotence.

Lin Feng, baffled, finally asked Li Xiang how he trained his Pokémon so well. He had thought his own progress was fast, only to realize that Li Xiang's was like taking a plane in comparison.

Faced with this question, Li Xiang gave a simple answer: "Training two Pokémon at once versus training just one—it makes a difference."

At first, Lin Feng thought this made sense, but something about it felt off. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what, so after thinking about it for a while, he gave up.

Then, out of nowhere, Lin Feng made a bold suggestion:

"Can I battle Purugly next?"

Li Xiang was initially stunned by his courage, but he quickly agreed. He dragged a reluctant Purugly into the match, afraid that Lin Feng might change his mind.

When the battle began, Li Xiang didn't hold back.

While Lin Feng was fighting Purugly, Li Xiang sat to the side with Lin Lan, happily munching on frozen Pecha Berries.

The result?

Purugly effortlessly slapped down one Pokémon and then chased Lin Feng, swatting at his backside with its paw.

Lin Feng ran around wailing and apologizing profusely, but Purugly was determined to pin him down and deliver its justice.

'Ah, kids these days—they loved to test their limits.'

Did Lin Feng have any idea how powerful Purugly was?

Challenging it now? What a joke.

Sure, maybe after a final evolution, he could stand a chance, but at this stage?

He must be out of his mind.

---------------------------------

Read up to 30 advance chapters on my Patreon! Do check it out guys.