Miss Yue Fan's Fiery Temper

"Me?"

Xu Mu froze.

Hold on... This is getting confusing...

You finally found me?

What's that supposed to mean?

Did I lead you on and dump you?

That can't be right. From the original Xu Mu's memories, he'd been single for over a decade—a hopelessly innocent guy.

Forget a beautiful romance. The last time he held a girl's hand was probably back in elementary school.

Even then, it only happened because the teacher made deskmates shake hands while introducing themselves. That was his first memory of getting close to a girl.

"Yes!"

"You! Don't think you can run away!"

The young woman glared at Xu Mu as if she wanted to tear him apart.

Xu Mu had to admit, he panicked a little.

Even the usually unflappable Xu Mu felt a flicker of fear under her fierce stare.

After making absolutely sure he had never seen her before, he finally worked up the nerve to ask:

"I'm not running. Can you tell me what this is about?"

His willingness to talk did nothing to cool her anger.

She kept glaring at him and snapped, "Don't play innocent! Think about what you've done!"

What I've done?

I've spent the last two days at the hotel. I haven't done anything!

"I'm not sure what you mean. Just say what's on your mind."

Their argument drew the attention of spectators and competitors who had been about to leave. They stopped to watch.

Some were already making up the story in their heads.

This had to be a girl confronting a two-timing jerk!

"Fine! I'll say it plainly!"

"Were you behind what happened at the Magma Gym?"

"Did my master offend you? Did you have to humiliate him like that?"

"Do you have any idea how much shame you brought on the Magma Gym?"

As she listed Xu Mu's offenses, her voice grew thick with tears.

At last, Xu Mu understood.

I knew it. Love doesn't come from nowhere, and neither does hatred!

There's a reason for everything. I've never wronged a girl in my life. If she's confronting a jerk, she's got the wrong guy!

So that's what this is about!

The Magma Gym!

Xu Mu glanced back at Greninja and Charmander, who were both pretending nothing was wrong, and smiled helplessly.

Look what you two did. You caused this mess, and now I have to clean it up. Don't you feel even a little guilty?

"I failed to keep an eye on my Pokémon, and I'm sorry for the trouble they caused the Magma Gym."

"But isn't the point of a gym to accept challenges?"

"Am I supposed to apologize for winning a gym challenge?"

Xu Mu kept his tone as calm as he could. Then he stopped paying her any attention and started to leave with his two Pokémon.

He didn't think he had done anything wrong. The way he had challenged the gym had just been a little inappropriate.

Watching him walk away, the young woman trembled with anger.

Tears of frustration welled in her eyes, nearly spilling over.

"Fine! I'll see you in the main tournament! My name is Yue Fan—remember it!"

With those words, she hurried out of the spectator stands.

She couldn't win an argument with Xu Mu. If words didn't work, she would fight him!

But in her fury, Yue Fan seemed to have forgotten one thing: Xu Mu had beaten all six of her master Chen Qi's Pokémon. What chance did she have against him?

The preliminaries went smoothly. After Xu Mu's first match earned him a seeded spot, nearly all the opponents he was matched with were ordinary Rookie Trainers.

Greninja knocked them out the moment he entered the field. He reached the main tournament with barely any effort.

That night, after the preliminaries ended, Xu Mu slept soundly in his room.

"Croak!"

[Come on, Charmander. It's time to go!]

"Chirp!"

[Got it!]

Two figures felt their way to their feet in the dark, then crept toward the door by the faint moonlight coming through the window.

"Chirp!"

[Wait for me. I need to grab something.]

At the door, Charmander suddenly turned back and rummaged through Xu Mu's bag.

A moment later, he bounded back out carrying a huge pile of Potions, while Greninja watched in confusion.

"Croak!"

[Why are you bringing so many Potions?]

Greninja didn't understand and asked Charmander.

Charmander only gave him a mysterious smile.

"Chirp!"

[You don't get it. Better safe than sorry.]

Greninja pressed a hand to his forehead, at a loss for words over how afraid Charmander was of getting hurt.

Still, bringing some Potions wasn't a bad idea. The Pokémon in Charizard Valley really were strong. Even with a type advantage, Greninja couldn't beat the Elite Four-level Charizard there.

As for the few Master Class Charizard above them, Greninja wouldn't even dare provoke them.

"Croak!"

[Tonight, I'm going to beat the one I fought last time!]

With his goal set, Greninja quietly shut the door.

Little Master has worked so hard these past two days. He's watched every opponent's match and never left the arena before the end.

I'll make sure he wins this tournament he cares so much about!

And I'll use it as a starting point to help Little Master become the strongest Trainer!

Greninja, brimming with ambition, had no idea that his Little Master wasn't watching those matches to scout his opponents.

Xu Mu was just an incorrigible lecher watching the pretty girls!

And why did he stay until the end? That was even simpler: the stands were circular, and the girls Xu Mu watched sat across from him.

No matter how the competitors performed, those girls would remain opposite Xu Mu until the event ended, leaving him free to admire whichever one he liked.

Unfortunately, the fiery-tempered Yue Fan had scared Xu Mu these past two days.

He no longer dared approach pretty girls lightly, so he hadn't gotten a single one's contact information.

Xu Mu had also begun to assume that every pretty girl in this world was obsessed with battling.

A girl as beautiful and gentle as Serena was almost impossible to find!

The next morning, the first ray of sunlight shone into the room.

Xu Mu slowly opened his eyes and stared, baffled, at Charmander, whose entire body was wrapped in bandages.

"What did you two do last night?"

Xu Mu woke Greninja and questioned him sternly while scooping Charmander up and carefully removing his bandages.

"What happened? He's wrapped up like a mummy! How badly is he hurt? Why didn't you keep an eye on him?"

Xu Mu meant to rebandage Charmander and check just how serious his injuries were—whether he needed to go straight to the Pokémon Center.

But the moment Xu Mu removed the bandages, he had to admit it: Charmander deserved a beating!

You little bastard! It's just a scrape on your arm! Why did you wrap your whole body in bandages? You think bandages are free?