Storm clouds before the school tournament

Hu Bin paid it no mind. Every day, he was either studying or heading off to train. The only tiring part was that he alone was also responsible for training Yi Nanzi, Wu Jin, and Liu Yi.

Of the three, Liu Yi had made considerable progress! Perhaps that battle in their last PE class had really lit a fire under the poor boy. Seeing so many girls admiring Hu Bin had made the normally lazy Liu Yi green with envy, so he had resolved to earn himself some dating prospects in this school tournament!

Hu Bin and his friends had been training steadily lately, and Vulpix had grown much stronger than before!

Soon, the school tournament was about to begin, and many students were already squeezing in every moment of training they could to prepare!

The breaks between classes were short, so Hu Bin, Wu Jin, and Liu Yi could only hurry to the restroom to relieve themselves.

Each of them took a urinal and let it all out!

"Brother Bin, what kind of places do you think we'll get in this school tournament?" Liu Yi asked as he relieved himself.

Looking equally relaxed, Hu Bin said, "Who cares? As long as we win, that's all that matters!"

Wu Jin said worriedly, "You don't have to worry, Brother Bin. You're one of the favorites in this tournament, after all. Liu Yi and I aren't quite up to that level."

After giving himself a shake and pulling up his pants, Hu Bin said to Wu Jin, "The tournament hasn't even started, and you're already drooping. That's no good. A man should never let himself go limp!"

Hu Bin waggled his eyebrows as he spoke.

Wu Jin quickly pulled up his pants and gave Hu Bin a dark look. "I suspect you're making dirty jokes, and now I have proof!"

Hu Bin slung his arms straight around Wu Jin's and Liu Yi's shoulders and laughed. "Don't sweat the details!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! You haven't washed your hands!"

Hu Bin, Wu Jin, and Liu Yi joked around on their way back to the classroom.

Just then, a voice rang out. "You're Hu Bin, right? You don't look like much!"

A boy dressed head to toe in designer clothes strutted up to Hu Bin, sporting a crimped perm that had clearly been painstakingly styled by some trendy hairstylist!

Hu Bin narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The flashy boy gave Hu Bin a disdainful glance and said arrogantly, "Exactly what I said. I'd heard people saying you were pretty good, that you could give me a decent fight. Now, though, I don't think you have what it takes!"

Before Hu Bin could respond, Wu Jin and Liu Yi had already had enough.

Wu Jin snapped angrily, "Who even are you? You've got no manners at all. Can't you speak like a decent human being?"

Liu Yi was furious too. "Exactly! Coming over here to pick a fight—do you think you're that amazing?"

The flashy boy said dismissively, "You two little lackeys aren't qualified to know my name. With those weak Pokémon of yours, you probably won't even make it through the preliminaries."

Wu Jin instantly seethed with anger. "You!"

Before he could finish, Hu Bin stopped him and stared coldly at the flashy boy. "You can talk about me, but leave my friends out of it. Otherwise, I'll make you pay!"

The flashy boy was utterly unfazed by Hu Bin's anger and burst out laughing.

"You're hilarious! I'd love to see how you'll make me pay. Just watch how I beat you in the school tournament!"

Hu Bin gave a cold smile. "I'm looking forward to it. Let's see whether I beat you or utterly crush you!"

The flashy boy froze for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "So you're pretty confident you can beat me, huh? Heh. Then I, Lin Chen, will look forward to it. Just don't cry when the time comes!"

Hu Bin smiled faintly too. "We'll see who ends up crying!"

Wu Jin and Liu Yi sneered as well. "Just make sure you actually get into the main tournament!"

Lin Chen stared coldly at them. "Fine. Then let's see who's left standing at the end!"

With that, Lin Chen turned and left.

Hu Bin kept staring coldly at Lin Chen's retreating back!

Meanwhile, there was a commotion inside Hu Bin's Poké Ball! Vulpix had heard Lin Chen's words and was furious too, itching to come out and teach him a lesson.

"Vul!" Hmph! How dare you bully my trainer! I'll freeze you into ice chips!

Hu Bin soothed Vulpix, gently stroking the Poké Ball as he said, "When the tournament comes, we'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!"

"Vul!" We'll beat him so badly he'll question his whole life!

After Hu Bin, Wu Jin, and Liu Yi returned to the classroom, Wu Jin and Liu Yi were still fuming in their seats.

Hu Bin said to his two friends, "Pretty angry, aren't you?"

Wu Jin and Liu Yi nodded sullenly.

Hu Bin said, "Then let's turn that anger into motivation to train, and give him a good slap in the face when the time comes! Just like those novels say, 'Don't underestimate a young man just because he's poor!'"

After hearing Hu Bin's words, Wu Jin and Liu Yi nodded firmly.

"Did you hear? That idiot Lin Chen went to pick a fight with Hu Bin." On the roof of the school building, a cheerful-looking boy with a broad smile spoke to another boy who was gazing out at the scenery.

"Why bother with him? Lin Chen's nothing but a clown!" The boy admiring the view turned, revealing a handsome but cold face as he addressed the smiling boy.

"Yeah, true. Too bad we qualified directly for the Spring City Cup and can't take part in this school tournament. Otherwise, we could teach Lin Chen a lesson and test out that new seeded contender, Hu Bin, while we were at it!" the cheerful boy said with a grin.

"Hmph. Why bother teaching Lin Chen a lesson? He isn't even worth considering. But Hu Bin does interest me. He's pretty good!" the cold boy said.

Still smiling broadly, the cheerful boy said, "Then we'll have to see how far Hu Bin can go! Isn't that right, Zi Rui?"

The corners of the cold boy's mouth lifted slightly. "I'm looking forward to it too, Da Dong!"

During training that evening, Wu Jin and Liu Yi were especially enthusiastic. Machop and Munchlax seemed positively fired up as well, putting in extraordinary effort! They were so eager that even Yi Nanzi and Hu Bin started to get scared.

Watching Wu Jin and Liu Yi train, Yi Nanzi swallowed and asked Hu Bin, "Bro, what on earth got into those two?"

Hu Bin remained perfectly calm. "That flashy guy we met today must have really ticked them off. Now they want to train hard and teach him a lesson!"

Yi Nanzi swallowed again. "If he made them this angry, just how badly is that flashy guy asking for a beating?"

Hu Bin smiled at Yi Nanzi. "Even I want to punch him. Now I just hope the school tournament gets here soon!"