Lu Xiangwen

"Tch, what a sissy!" Where there were admirers, there were naturally detractors, and even some who were green with envy. Xiao Ran had grown used to it over the years and paid their remarks no mind. Instead, he focused on the Poké Ball he had just received.

"Ding!" A flash of red light appeared, and a large, cream-colored cat materialized before him.

"Look, look! It's a Persian! Oh no, this gorgeous guy's going to lose too!" Some of the girls who had been screaming over Xiao Ran's looks immediately appeared disappointed when they saw the Pokémon he had drawn.

Persian was a Normal type, which put it at a disadvantage against the Rock- and Ground-type Graveler. Many of its moves would deal greatly reduced damage. Besides, Graveler's body was made entirely of rock; Persian might even injure its claws scratching it. Winning would be difficult indeed.

Xiao Ran, however, showed no sign of panic. Instead, he began communicating earnestly with Persian. To win, he needed to be in sync with his Pokémon, and he also had to know exactly which moves it could use.

Xiao Ran even had Persian demonstrate every one of its moves. Although this consumed a considerable amount of its stamina, at least it let him gauge its proficiency with each move.

Finally, after repeated urging from the staff, Xiao Ran entered the battlefield with Persian. His opponent was still the same Pokémon Trainer from earlier, and the Pokémon was still a Graveler, though not the same one as before. With battles taking place so frequently, the restaurant could hardly make a single Pokémon fight from morning to night. They generally kept plenty of Pokémon in reserve.

"Graveler, Rollout!" Once again, his opponent seized the initiative. The moment Xiao Ran stepped onto the field, the opposing Pokémon Trainer issued his command without wasting a word.

"Fake Out!" Xiao Ran commanded just as quickly.

"Meow!" Persian, which had been preparing to dodge Rollout, briefly paused. Its body flickered, and it suddenly appeared behind Graveler from over ten meters away. Its front paws struck in succession, slamming hard into Graveler's body. Graveler had only just curled up and was about to start rolling when Persian interrupted it. The attack did little damage, but small chips of stone fell away.

Fake Out was a Normal-type move Persian could learn naturally. It was most effective at the start of a battle, becoming much less useful once the enemy was on guard. Its damage was also very low, so in real battles it was generally used only as an opening interruption or a setup for a combo.

"Assurance!" Xiao Ran shouted next. This was precisely why he had ordered Persian to open with Fake Out: to set up the Assurance that followed.

Struck by Fake Out, Graveler had its Rollout interrupted and pitched forward, exposing its back to Persian once again. Dark-type energy gathered around Persian's right paw, which slashed across the two wounds on Graveler's body with lightning speed.

Unlike Fake Out, Assurance was a Dark-type move rather than a Normal-type one. It could tear open an enemy's wounds to inflict greater damage. That was why Xiao Ran had told Persian to use Fake Out first. How much damage the opening move dealt was unimportant; what mattered was the Assurance immediately following it.

Besides, this was no game. Assurance in reality was not limited to one use per turn like in the games from his previous life. As long as it inflicted damage once, it could lead into an endless cycle of Assurance attacks until Graveler found a way to escape.

"Graveler, use Magnitude, then get out of there!" The opposing Pokémon Trainer had clearly realized the problem too. As Graveler suffered another Assurance, it finally received instructions from its Pokémon Trainer.

"Roar!" Boom! After taking yet another Assurance head-on, Graveler finally fought through the pain and stirred the earth, making it shake violently. This allowed it to escape Persian's fourth—and most lethal—Assurance.

"Use Taunt, then fall back!" Xiao Ran frowned before issuing his command.

He had not factored that move into his plans, as it was rarely seen. Magnitude's damage varied wildly. At its strongest, it could even surpass the powerful Ground-type move Earthquake, while at its weakest, it might do less damage than a basic attack. Moreover, the latest generation of games in his previous life had removed the move altogether.

Looks like I can't rely too heavily on my past-life experience in battles. Reality and games are still very different, Xiao Ran thought.

Until now, he had never taken part in a real Pokémon battle above Entry Class. When it came to pure Pokémon research, much of his experience from his previous life had served him beautifully. Only now, standing on an actual battlefield, did he realize how quickly things changed. Often, there was simply no time to apply the theory, because he had no time to think at all.

"Roar!" Provoked by Taunt, Graveler's eyes turned bloodshot. For the moment, it completely ignored its Pokémon Trainer's commands and charged recklessly at Persian, constantly picking up stones to use Rock Throw. But attacks launched so rashly mostly missed.

"Persian, put some distance between you, then turn around and use Swift." Xiao Ran calmly issued his final command.

Having already run some distance away, Persian immediately turned around. The red gem on its forehead shone with white light, and a stream of rapidly spinning stars hurtled toward Graveler. Each star exploded as it struck its body.

Persian could learn energy-based moves of most types. Unlike other Pokémon, however, it relied on the red gem on its forehead to learn them. This gem possessed mysterious power, and mastering the power within it was the key to making Persian stronger.

"Roar..." Stone chips flew around Graveler, and it collapsed before even enduring a full barrage of Swift. Three high-damage Assurance attacks had already exhausted its stamina. Even without that final Swift, it would not have lasted much longer.

"Come back, Graveler!" Without arguing, the opposing Pokémon Trainer recalled Graveler into its Poké Ball and handed it to a staff member who was already waiting nearby. The look he gave Xiao Ran, however, was decidedly strange.

"Ahhh! He won! He won! He's amazing! He's gorgeous and so strong!" The girls outside the battlefield who had been disappointed earlier immediately erupted into screams, making Jiang Cheng and the others glance their way.

"Nice! We get to eat Pokémon steak!" Jiang Cheng shouted excitedly, only to be distracted by the cries outside the field a moment later. "Tch, this guy's way too popular. Look at all those girls! Lingling, aren't you jealous?"

"Tch, you think everyone's like you? Xiao Ran would never fall for those random girls!" Shen Yue firmly supported her friend, taking a jab at her boyfriend without hesitation.

"As if I would!" Jiang Cheng pouted and retorted indignantly.

"You're really good. Are you an incoming freshman this year? Which university? Want to add each other?" After recalling his Pokémon, the opposing Pokémon Trainer came over to congratulate him. Xiao Ran had only a Popplio perched on his head, and his face still had a youthful look. Beautiful though he was, anyone could tell at a glance that he was young. His battling style, however, had genuinely impressed the Pokémon Trainer.

"Sure! I am an incoming freshman, at Nanjing University. Are you a student too?" Xiao Ran nodded and replied warmly, taking out his Pokédex to add the other Trainer as a friend. University was the final stage before entering society; getting to know more people could never hurt.

"Oh? Then you're my junior! Let me introduce myself properly. Lu Xiangwen, a Rock-type Pokémon Trainer from Class Two, third year. If you ever run into trouble, feel free to come to me." The tall, thin young man's eyes lit up, and he immediately smiled. Losing to a freshman was certainly embarrassing, but if that freshman was a powerful Pokémon Trainer with boundless potential, he would hardly pass up the chance to befriend him.

"Then thanks in advance!" Xiao Ran replied with a smile.

"Hello. You've won an Entry Class battle, so you're eligible for a Pokémon steak set meal for two. Here's your voucher. I've already notified the restaurant." Lu Xiangwen had been about to say something else, but a staff member came over to speak to Xiao Ran. It was the peak dining hour, after all, and plenty of people were still waiting in line to battle.

"All right, sorry for the trouble! I'll be heading off, then."

"Sure, go ahead. I need to keep battling too. Losing to a freshman junior really will be a little embarrassing if word gets back! Hahaha!" Lu Xiangwen laughed. His easygoing expression made it clear he had not taken the loss to heart.

When Xiao Ran returned to the viewing area, Jiang Cheng eagerly came up to greet him. Although one victory earned only a single Pokémon steak set meal for two, it also allowed them to purchase a limited number of additional portions based on the number of diners. Young Master Jiang certainly had no shortage of money, but without a win, the restaurant had refused to sell him any. Now that Xiao Ran had won, he could finally enjoy a meal thanks to him.

"All right, all right, stop hollering. You've been going on about it the whole way. It's just a Pokémon steak, isn't it? You're acting like you've never had one before," Shen Yue complained irritably.

"You don't get it! How can eating it at home compare to eating it here? I've been dreaming about this for years. I've been waiting all this time for Xiao Ran to win a match for me," Jiang Cheng said excitedly.

"Hahaha, just let him enjoy himself. After all, next time he'll have to win for himself." Xiao Ran laughed. There were restrictions on the challenge here: each person could win no more than three times a year. This also prevented shameless, powerful Trainers from coming over every day to mooch free food and drinks.