Snorlax

"This place is really luxurious... I wonder how much they'll pay me."

Fang Yuan looked around and found that there were already so many Battle Arenas set up outside, not to mention the private Battle Rooms inside.

He estimated that the monthly maintenance costs for the Battle Arenas alone had to be enormous.

"Eevee!"

Eevee started thinking about it too. If Fang Yuan had money, that was basically the same as it having money. Then it could drink higher-end fruit juice and milk.

"You're Fang Yuan, right?"

After waiting in the lobby for only a short while, Fang Yuan saw an unfamiliar middle-aged man come around the corner and greet him.

"That's me."

"I won't bother with pleasantries. Yang Han introduced you, and although he vouched for you, we still need to test your actual ability. After all, Star Glory Battle Club isn't a charity."

"Here's how it'll work. Come with me. I'll take you to a battle, and your opponent will also be a Rookie Trainer. If you win, you can stay on as a sparring partner. If you lose, take today's pay and give up this job," Mr. Shan Mi said.

"But don't worry about the private guidance. I promised Yang Han, and I'll do everything I can to help you."

Hearing that, Fang Yuan nodded, though he felt bitter inside.

It seemed Old Yang's friendship with Mr. Shan Mi was not as deep as Fang Yuan had imagined. Whether he could get this part-time job still depended on whether he had real skill.

Fang Yuan had also gathered some information from the man's words. His next opponent would be another Rookie Trainer. Since they were both beginners, there was no need for Fang Yuan to be afraid. As long as he did not face a Psychic-type or Ghost-type opponent that Eevee could not currently handle, their comprehensive special training gave them a major advantage.

"Not bad spirit." Mr. Shan Mi smiled slightly when he saw the expressions on Fang Yuan and the Eevee on his shoulder. "Looks like Yang Han has a decent eye after all. Come on, follow me. I'll tell you about your opponent first."

"Like you, he's a student at Peaceful City First High School. His Beginner Pokémon is a Snorlax. That Pokémon has astonishing fat, and ordinary attacks can barely do anything to it. With that Snorlax, your opponent has easily achieved nineteen consecutive wins at the Public Battle Arena outside. Of course, all his opponents were Rookie Trainers from the same period, so you don't need to be too nervous."

Snorlax?

As Fang Yuan listened to Mr. Shan Mi's reminders along the way, his thoughts shifted, and he relaxed slightly.

Sure enough, everyone who could come to Star Glory Battle Club was loaded.

Snorlax was known as a gluttonous Pokémon. Even on the first day after birth, it needed to eat nearly a hundred pounds of food.

If it was fed cheap crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn, that would be one thing...

But if it was given large quantities of nutritious food, that would be terrifying. Few families could afford to raise one unless they had a mine at home.

With enough food and nutrition, Snorlax's growth rate truly was a nightmare for most Rookie Trainers. That thick layer of fat alone was enough to block the power of many moves.

It was no surprise that a Pokémon like that had won nineteen straight battles.

Still, despite how powerful it sounded, Snorlax had one drawback: it moved slowly.

So Fang Yuan was not worried.

"We just need to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses."

After following Mr. Shan Mi into a private Battle Room, Fang Yuan already had a strategy.

The moment he stepped onto the Battle Arena, Fang Yuan could not help feeling excited. This should be his and Eevee's first official battle. There was no nervousness, only anticipation. Though they had gone through several fights in the Secret Realm, Wild battles and official battles could not be compared.

"My name is Liu Le."

When Little Fatty saw Fang Yuan enter, he introduced himself first. He carried himself with great confidence, clearly certain of victory. Snorlax's advantage over Rookie Trainers was indeed huge, and it had given Liu Le a carefree attitude.

"My name is Fang Yuan. I'm your next opponent."

Looking at the chubby Liu Le, Fang Yuan muttered inwardly, Having money is really nice...

"Your Eevee is pretty cute." Liu Le smiled, taking Fang Yuan even less seriously.

"Eevee..." Eevee nodded proudly.

Fang Yuan: "..."

He was mocking how harmless you look, idiot.

Fang Yuan decided that he would let Eevee do his Chinese homework from now on, so it would not cause some embarrassing misunderstanding later because it could not comprehend writing.

Mr. Shan Mi smiled and clapped his hands, interrupting the two as they introduced themselves. "Friendship first, battle second."

"We'll be watching from above. Have a pleasant battle."

Only then did Fang Yuan notice another middle-aged man sitting in the spectator stands. Judging by his build... he seemed to be Liu Le's parent?

Ignoring everything else, after the referee entered, Fang Yuan and Liu Le each walked to opposite sides of the Battle Arena and waited for the referee's command.

"The Battle Arena is a standard field. The rules are one-on-one, with one battle deciding the winner. Now, both sides, please send out your Pokémon."

"Eevee, go."

After the referee finished speaking, Eevee leaped down from Fang Yuan's shoulder and curiously looked at the Poké Ball in Liu Le's hand.

"I'm counting on you, Snorlax. Same as before—if you win, I'll reward you with a Deluxe Meal."

With that, Liu Le threw his Poké Ball forcefully. A flash of red light appeared, and the Poké Ball bounced back, but he only barely caught it after fumbling around. It was not graceful at all.

Snorlax had dark blue skin and a small, flesh-colored white belly. It stood and walked upright, and its round, large eyes were currently shining with desire.

"Gon! Gon!"

After hearing its trainer promise it a feast, Snorlax stared at Eevee with blazing eyes.

For some reason, Eevee suddenly turned its head and looked at Fang Yuan.

Watching Eevee stare at him for a while before turning back, Fang Yuan's heart ached.

This little bastard... it probably wanted a feast too.

Once the battle began, Liu Le immediately gave his command. "Use Defense Curl."

Defense Curl: Curl the body into a ball to raise one's Defense.

With that move, Snorlax curled itself into a ball...

"Hahaha, your boy is interesting. Is he planning to use a passive defensive strategy?"

In the spectator stands, Shan Mi laughed. With his eyesight, he could naturally tell that this Snorlax had astonishing defensive power. It had probably eaten plenty of highly nutritious food.

"That's just fighting passively." Father Liu shook his head.

"Let's see how Fang Yuan breaks through it. Going by Eevee's offensive options, it'll be difficult for it to hurt Snorlax. This might turn into a tough battle for him." Shan Mi looked toward Fang Yuan and Eevee again.

Yang Han had asked him to give Fang Yuan some guidance, but he did not know where to begin. Perhaps he could observe something from this battle.