Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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In the end, the Yuzhou University team didn't let Li Xiang, their temporary fan, down—though Jiang Shangrong carried hard, even she couldn't salvage a team that was beyond saving.

Facing the powerhouse Shanghai University team in the semifinals, the Yuzhou University's team's true mediocrity was laid bare. Aside from Jiang Shangrong's matches, they barely won anything.

At this point, whether they were playing at home or away didn't matter. Many Yuzhou University fans felt embarrassed, as if they'd wasted their money on tickets.

Of course, there were still die-hard fans who lamented the team's wasted potential—alumni of Yuzhou University, locals with hometown pride, or those who had been moved by the team's fleeting moments of brilliance.

Jiang Shangrong fought desperately, but in a competition like the Junior World Tournament, which was semi-team-based, she couldn't turn the tide alone.

In the singles bracket, she suffered a bitter defeat in the fourth round.

In doubles, they were crushed in the quarterfinals—her partner's support just couldn't keep up, and when she switched to supporting, their offense fell short.

Li Xiang was so frustrated he almost wished he could send out Incineroar to cover and buff her.

The final total score wasn't even in the top ten—they ranked around 13th or 14th out of just over twenty teams. A truly pitiful result.

Li Xiang felt like he'd cheered himself hoarse, but the Yuzhou University's performance was just that disappointing.

In the end, this wasn't a solo show.

A real shame.

There were single-player tournaments for students, but they weren't as globally renowned as the Junior World Tournament—at best, they were regional collaborations, like the Asian Games in his past life. A second-tier event at best.

After all, compared to watching a bunch of students compete, people would rather watch the annual regional Trainer League qualifiers, leading up to the World Championships every four years.

That was where Masters, Elite Four members, and Champions would all compete—far more exciting than students' "solo shows."

The reason the Junior World Tournament was so famous was its promotion of friendship, victory, teamwork, and cooperation, along with heavy investment from academic alliances and strong support from the Pokémon Association.

After Yuzhou University's defeat, the siblings-in-training had no mood to keep watching. They gave away their remaining tickets and gloomily returned to Qingcheng.

Jiang Shangrong came back a couple of days later. Unlike her indignant juniors, she herself was in decent spirits.

"There's still next year. We'll make it to the global stage eventually," the third sister said optimistically. "The seniors will graduate after this."

Ah—the deadweight would be gone.

Li Xiang nodded in understanding, but then wondered: wasn't the team supposed to be merit-based?

After asking Jiang Shangrong, he learned that the teams were divided into starters, reserves, and probationary members. Jiang Shangrong had joined in her second year, spent two years as a probationary member, then a year as a reserve before finally getting to play.

And the final lineup decisions? Made by the team's two coaches.

Yep, one team had two coaches.

Not just that—they also had two faculty advisors.

The coaches handled strategy, in-game decisions, and analysis, while the advisors dealt with school administration and sponsorship negotiations.

In short, the former were battlefield commanders, the latter were logistics managers.

So the coaches were partly to blame too.

Li Xiang sighed internally. The school team wasn't as straightforward as it seemed—it wasn't purely merit-based.

He couldn't fathom why Jiang Shangrong had been benched for so long.

All he could do was silently wish his third sister better luck next year.

On a side note—

Even though the Yuzhou team had flopped at regionals, their performance in the divisional rounds and early stages still earned them a decent prize pool.

As one of the main starters, Jiang Shangrong and another male teammate took the lion's share.

Suddenly, Jiang Shangrong was a minor heiress—pulling in millions per month. Not that she wasn't already well-off.

At Qi Sunsun and Bai Zhi's teasing, the usually composed Jiang Shangrong actually showed a rare hint of shyness and treated everyone to a meal.

Even Duan Tianxing, who rarely went out, made an exception for his favorite disciple.

Though he left early when he heard they were planning to go out afterward, having Bai Zhi escort him back first. Still, it showed just how highly Duan Tianxing regarded Jiang Shangrong.

Of everyone present, only Li Xiang wasn't jealous—the others couldn't hide their envy.

After all, there were very few people in the world who could get Duan Tianxing to go out.

...…

Mid-to-Late July

Sticking to his principle of quantity over quality, focusing solely on earning candies, Li Xiang successfully harvested a new batch.

Once again, Incineroar and the others edged closer to their next breakthroughs.

At the same time, considering the semi-closed nature of the training camp, Li Xiang had custom triangular candies made to mimic Ability Candies as a cover.

Speaking of which—

To avoid raising suspicions from Song Jie and the others, Li Xiang had deliberately cultivated an image of loving candies, even going so far as to share a few with them.

To humans, the candies were just ordinary sweets with no effect.

Over time, Song Jie and the others accepted this as part of Li Xiang's personality.

Lin Feng even mocked him with pictures of rotten teeth, saying, "This is what happens when you eat too much candy—you'll end up like this sooner or later."

Proof that Li Xiang's deception was a success.

At least his close friends wouldn't suspect anything. The fake candies were just to throw others off.

Speaking of custom orders—

Li Xiang had also been eyeing ultra-compact appliances for a long time.

The market already had mini appliances, but they were still designed with practicality in mind, making them slightly bulky.

Li Xiang didn't need practicality—he wanted portability. So he had his father, Li Zhehan, splurge on custom-made, fully functional miniature lawnmowers, fridges, and washing machines—all scaled down.

Small microwaves and fans were already available, so no need to waste money there.

The finished products arrived in July.

When Li Xiang saw the machines—each no bigger than a large human head—he was satisfied.

Sure, they were small, which might slightly affect combat performance, but it wasn't a big deal. The key was that they could fit inside his spatial bag.

Besides, move power wasn't determined by output size. Even an Octillery's tiny mouth could fire a Hydro Pump strong enough to shatter boulders.

Smaller was fine—it might even lower the opponent's accuracy.

As for Rotom, it had no complaints about the tiny appliances. Even though the original ones had been half Li Xiang's size, now they were only as big as his head.

It always claimed to love washing machines and heat-mode appliances, but judging by how often it zipped into the lawnmower to race Lin Feng's Porygon, it clearly preferred mow-mode.

A born speed demon.

Seeing it win every race against Porygon, Li Xiang dubbed it—

The True Drift King of Mt. Akina.

Porygon, the former racing champion, just couldn't keep up.

"The new generation surpasses the old."

How naive.

Rotom didn't know what "Mt. Akina" was, but the title sounded cool—like something a speedster would have—so it happily accepted.

Easiest-to-please Tsundere Rotom.

With preparations nearly complete, the next day, Yang Tianwang finally sent over the compiled intel.

Six schools, 240 students—excluding their own. Among them, ten were marked in red.

[Lizard Shoveler (Yang Tianwang)]: "Couldn't gather much on the other provinces—too scattered. Here's Qingcheng's info first. These ten are the strongest contenders. Take them seriously—No. 2 and No. 4 High's best are in here."

Surprisingly professional.

Li Xiang skimmed through the files on his computer. The intel was detailed—fighting styles, move sets, strategies, training directions, approximate levels, even battle records and a few videos.

Li Xiang: "You even got videos!? Did you sneak recordings?"

Lizard Shoveler: "They were posted by people at their schools. Did you even read the content? Old stuff. I paid good money for these."

Similar to the clips of Li Xiang back in the day—except while others had proper battle footage, his were all weird moments.

Like staged battles or him punching people.

Qingcheng No. 1 High students had a strange way of focusing on the wrong things.

Switching windows, Li Xiang kept reading.

No doubt about it—

These ten trainers' Pokémon averaged Level 35+, with all their starters fully evolved. Their other Pokémon were also high-level.

"The Ten Prodigies of Qingcheng," Li Xiang muttered, impressed.

This year's Qingcheng batch wasn't bad—at least ten could be considered geniuses on par with the finalists from two years ago.

As for their actual strength?

Two words summed them up—young.

Not that Li Xiang was getting arrogant, but their skill levels just weren't that high.

They were all a step below Song Jie, the ceiling of their age group—roughly on par with Yang Tianwang and Qu Sheng, slightly better than Lin Feng.

Only two stood out—

Fang Xin (No. 2 High) and Luo Dayou (No. 4 High).

These two might be a cut above Qu Sheng and the others, with family backgrounds to match—one's grandfather was Qingcheng's Vice President, the other's family ran Qingcheng Construction Group. Both were core figures in the city.

But based on their recorded performances, they still fell short of Song Jie.

"Take 70% seriously, doubt the other 30%."

Li Xiang exhaled, then noticed that the guy who'd fought Lin Feng over Xu Wan was also among the ten.

'This just got interesting. Serves you right for puppy love! Go fight over her at the training camp!'

Li Xiang smirked. He had no intention of meddling in Lin Feng's love life.

And so, the last few days of July slipped by like water.

August arrived quietly.

It was time for the training camp.

...…

Reporting Day

Li Xiang, with Riolu in tow, carried his luggage to the gates of No. 1 High, where several buses bound for the camp were parked.

After registering and storing his bags as instructed, he boarded one.

Air-conditioned, spacious—a blessing in the summer heat.

The only downside was the faint odor inside.

"Over here."

Song Jie, seated toward the middle-back, raised a hand.

Li Xiang took the spot beside him, eyeing the white-haired boy's gray bag. A month apart, and he'd somehow gotten even more refined looking.

"You're early."

"Nothing to do at home."

Song Jie opened his bag and pulled out a box of candy. "Here. Relatives gave it to me. My sister says this brand's good."

"Thanks, but why do you keep giving me candy? Worried my teeth are too healthy?" Li Xiang took it. This wasn't the first time—Song Jie always gave him expensive imported sweets.

Song Jie shrugged. "Too many relatives, too many gifts. They see me as a kid, so they keep sending candy bundles. I don't even like sweets."

"Tell them to get you a sports car next time," Li Xiang joked, then waved at Yang Tianwang and Qu Sheng as they boarded.

After chatting for a bit, he moved to their seats, realized Lin Feng wasn't on this bus, and went to check the second one.

Sure enough, Lin Feng and Xu Wan were there. He exchanged a few words before heading back.

Half an hour later, with everyone accounted for, the buses set off for the camp in the suburbs.

The real competition was about to begin.