Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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When at work, one missed school, and when at school, one missed working.

Li Xiang found himself in this perpetual state of contradiction.

After the new school term started, aside from the daily Pokémon battles, which were somewhat interesting, everything else failed to capture his attention.

The fundamental courses were dreadfully dull. Leaving aside General Knowledge, Math, and English, the Basics of Pokémon Studies course relied heavily on rote memorization.

What was there to memorize?

Well, abilities, types, and move effects. Not every kid here was a ten-year Pokémon veteran who had fought hundreds or even thousands of battles and had the intricacies of moves, abilities, and even speed tiers committed to memory.

Moreover, the way moves manifested in the real world differed from the games. If you didn't memorize them, you might not even recognize what move your opponent was using unless they explicitly called it out.

It's not as though a subtitle would pop up on the bottom of the screen, like in the games.

Left with no choice, everyone had to commit these details to memory bit by bit.

To be fair, there weren't that many moves, but the variations were the tricky part.

Many moves had multiple forms and manifestations.

Take Water Pulse, for example—

On land, it could be a compressed, water-blue sphere that transformed into a wave to strike the opponent upon getting close.

Alternatively, it could generate a ring of water that radiated outward in all directions.

Underwater, however, it became a vibration-based move, functioning similarly to sound-based moves on land.

These various complex manifestations made it hard for students to remember everything at once.

Even if they managed to memorize it, applying that knowledge in real battles was another challenge.

That's where practical training classes came in.

Practical training was designed to solidify and expand upon what was taught in theory. Seeing moves in action helped students understand and remember them better.

Practical training was what Li Xiang looked forward to the most every day, as he got to see a wide variety of Pokémon in action.

Luo Wei would have the Pokémon demonstrate their moves, explain their traits, and highlight their strengths.

This, in Li Xiang's view, was one of the primary reasons school was worth attending.

If students only came to school to battle each other, then there wouldn't be much need for schools to exist.

However, Li Xiang was a little disappointed.

He hadn't yet found an opportunity to battle Song Jie.

The kid didn't stay for lunch at school, and after class, he left immediately without lingering.

Li Xiang had hoped to battle him during breaks, but Song Jie thought the breaks were too short.

To be fair, ten minutes wasn't that short...

But of course—

If the other party didn't agree, Li Xiang couldn't force him. He could only bide his time and wait for another opportunity to "harvest" something from Song Jie.

Yang Tianwang and Qu Sheng, on the other hand, had become his reliable sparring partners, although they were less consistent than Lin Feng, who always produced candy as a reward.

In short—

There were times when he couldn't win.

No Pokémon could win every single battle, and Litten was no exception.

Its winning streak was attributed to both its own prowess and the advantage provided by the candy rewards and the hot weather, which worked in its favor.

Occasional cooler or rainy weather battles, however, were significantly disadvantageous for Litten.

Conversely, such conditions were highly favorable for Pokémon like Wartortle.

Especially when it was humid, Litten lacked energy, making it hard to perform well in battles.

Moreover, Litten's luck wasn't always on its side. Its moves didn't always hit with full power at critical moments. Sometimes, moves even missed entirely.

A single missed key move or a failure to dodge an opponent's attack could easily turn the tide of battle.

That's right—moves like Aqua Jet, which provided a sudden burst of speed, often caught Litten off guard.

This had happened several times.

Litten had nearly defeated its opponent and was just a step away from earning candy, only to be blindsided by Wartortle's Aqua Jet as it emerged from its shell.

Litten's Heat Wave propulsion failed to take effect, and it ended up getting its face doused by Water Gun for the final blow.

As for Yang Tianwang, his victories usually hinged on either successfully stacking the power of Fury Cutter, a move that grew stronger with consecutive hits, or triggering the paralysis side effect of Dragon Breath.

And these two moves often transitioned into Quick Attack for a finishing blow.

In summary—

Battling isn't just about strength—luck plays a small part as well.

The frustration made Li Xiang's teeth itch. He was tempted to head straight to the daycare and buy a Hidden Ability Indeedee to set up Psychic Terrain and teach these kids who loved using priority moves a lesson.

However, he knew that compared to Indeedee...

...Bringing in a Hatterene or Gardevoir would be much better. The former boasted explosive damage, could set up Trick Room on its own, and had an adorable appearance.

The latter… Well, why demand so much from a "waifu Pokémon"?

Ahem..

Besides, wasn't Gardevoir strong? In competitive Sword and Shield battles, its usage rate only dropped due to its awkward base 80 Speed, the disappearance of its Mega Evolution, and the overshadowing presence of powerful Trick Room attackers like Hatterene.

In real life, though, such factors didn't matter.

Cutness is justice!

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On this day, the focus of the battling class was Water-type Pokémon.

The lesson took place near the school's pool.

Luo Wei brought out three Pokémon this time—

First was Cloyster, a purple, spiked, bivalve-like Pokémon encased in a double-layered shell.

Second was Dewgong, a sleek, pure white seal-like Pokémon with a single horn on its head.

Finally, there was Kingler, a four-legged, crab-like Pokémon with massive claws that looked far larger than any crab from his previous life and appeared delicious at first glance.

All three Pokémon floated obediently in the water, bobbing up and down without much movement.

"As you all know, in most cases, the battlefields we use are standard sand or gravel terrains," Luo Wei began, pointing at Cloyster. "This means that Pokémon like this, without the ability to generate propulsion using moves, become nothing more than sitting ducks."

True enough.

Cloyster was essentially immobile on land without using moves for movement. It couldn't even turn to face its opponents properly, leaving it as an easy target.

Against a faster Pokémon, it would have no way to deal with attacks from behind.

"This kind, on the other hand, fares slightly better. They can move using wriggling or hopping motions, but they still lack agility in turning or evading."

Luo Wei gestured at Dewgong. "When using a Pokémon like this, it's best to create water or ice surfaces on the field."

Hmm…

Looking at Dewgong, Li Xiang couldn't help but think of Magikarp, the Pokémon said to be able to leap over mountains with just Splash if it lived long enough.

Good grief, and this was once considered the weakest Pokémon? Just how weak were humans back then?

"Lastly, this kind of Water-type Pokémon has the strongest mobility and is the most widely accepted among the general public," Luo Wei continued, pointing at Kingler. "However, some Pokémon have peculiar movement patterns. Take this one, for example—it can only move sideways most of the time, which is a significant disadvantage in battles that require agility."

Seriously, even after evolution, they still had to adhere to biological principles?

Li Xiang was speechless. Most Water-types, being fish or aquatic creatures, were naturally at a disadvantage in land battles.

Luckily, he had no intention of specializing in Water-types.