Hu Bin had even earned the honorary title of Demon King. As for the adorable little Vulpix, his classmates couldn't bear to give Vulpix an unflattering nickname. After seeing that lightning-fast speed, they simply called Vulpix White Lightning—a far better name than Hu Bin's title!
Wu Jin and Liu Yi's haul was a whole bunch of girls adding them on WeChat. They spent all day chatting with them, grinning so much that their faces creased!
Now Hu Bin wanted nothing more than to stay far away from those two idiots. They were so embarrassing!
After finishing the competition and eating dinner, Hu Bin and the others returned to the Training Hall for their daily training. Yi Nanzi, Liu Yi, and Wu Jin were unusually fired up, though! They were practically running on Ho-Oh's blood!
Hu Bin knew Yi Nanzi wanted to keep training hard with Cyndaquil after losing in the school tournament, so they could shine in the Marathon and the Spring City Rookie Tournament!
Wu Jin and Liu Yi, however, were filming themselves while training hard, then posting the videos on their WeChat Moments!
Their caption read: "Outstanding Pokémon Trainers and Pokémon belong in the Training Hall, working up a sweat!"
Then they attached a photo of themselves training!
Hu Bin's expression darkened when he saw it. You two really don't waste a single opportunity! You never took photos to post on Moments before, but now that you've added a bunch of girls, you've started snapping away! How can you be so shamelessly opportunistic?
Tsk, tsk. Your motives are anything but pure! Pah, shameless!
After silently scorning Wu Jin and Liu Yi, Hu Bin decided to keep his distance. Those two would be a bad influence on him!
Hu Bin took Vulpix to the Icefield inside the Training Hall and began training!
Once Vulpix entered the Icefield, the cold felt so wonderful that those little eyes narrowed in contentment!
Seeing how much Vulpix enjoyed it, Hu Bin made up his mind to take Vulpix on a trip to a real snowfield once these competitions were over!
Vulpix closed those eyes, soaking in the surroundings and absorbing the Ice-type energy in the snowfield!
Just then, Vulpix's eyes snapped open. Terrifying Ice-type energy rapidly gathered in that little mouth, forming a silver beam that shot toward the rocks ahead.
Vulpix's silver beam smashed through the rocks with unstoppable force. One, two, three! It pierced straight through three rocks, and a thick layer of ice formed over the ground.
Hu Bin stared, his eyes wide with astonishment. "That's... that's Ice Beam!"
Hu Bin was stunned. He hadn't expected Vulpix to learn Ice Beam without any guidance. And it was incredibly powerful—far stronger than Vulpix's Aurora Beam!
Vulpix was delighted too, looking expectantly at Hu Bin with an expression that plainly said, I'm amazing! Praise me, Master!
Beyond his shock, Hu Bin was positively ecstatic!
Until now, Vulpix's strongest move had been Aurora Beam. The move itself wasn't particularly powerful; its strength had only increased because of Vulpix's affinity for Ice-type energy!
This put Hu Bin's mind at ease. With a finishing move like Ice Beam, Vulpix would be much stronger now!
Hu Bin happily stroked Vulpix's little head!
"Impressive, little Vulpix! You're getting stronger and stronger. Tsk, tsk, that's my Vulpix!"
Vulpix enjoyed Hu Bin's petting, that little face brimming with pride!
After receiving Hu Bin's praise, Vulpix trained even harder, continuing to practice the newly learned Ice Beam!
Training makes this little Vulpix happy!
Hu Bin stood nearby, beaming as he watched Vulpix train so earnestly!
He was filled with emotion. Having a Vulpix who never makes me worry... tsk, tsk, I'm so happy I can hardly stand it!
Then Hu Bin entered the system shop, planning to get a few Ice Gems for Vulpix to lick and increase the power of those Ice-type moves!
With a grand wave of his hand, Hu Bin bought five Ice Gems outright, spending every last point and leaving himself penniless. He didn't care in the slightest. What was wrong with spending a little money on his own kid? Besides, wouldn't winning tomorrow's match earn him more points and rewards? Perfect!
Outstanding people never worried about what they had lost, because they could earn it back!
Just then, a move offered through a Technical Machine in the system shop caught Hu Bin's attention!
Return—the higher the friendship between a Pokémon Trainer and their Pokémon, the greater the move's power!
This move had tremendous potential. If Vulpix learned it, the bond between Hu Bin and Vulpix would make its power absolutely explosive!
Combine that power with Vulpix's speedy, in-your-face fighting style... tsk, tsk, he hardly dared imagine it!
Hu Bin coveted it, wishing he could buy it immediately and have Vulpix learn it. But with its hefty price tag of 15,000 points, the penniless Hu Bin could only look, not touch!
Hu Bin thought glumly, Looks like I'll have to complete more missions and fight more battles to earn points, so Vulpix can learn it as soon as possible!
After leaving the system shop, Hu Bin carefully used a little towel to gently wipe the sweat from Vulpix, who had worked up quite a sweat while training!
He also thoughtfully gave Vulpix some water and Pokéblocks to replenish that stamina!
Under Hu Bin's attentive care, Vulpix recovered. Yes! Ready to go!
Vulpix jumped out of Hu Bin's arms and went straight back to training, not wanting to rest a moment longer!
The finals are tomorrow, and there'll be even more powerful opponents to battle in the future. I can't let up for even a moment! I have to stand at the pinnacle of the Pokémon world with my master!
Talent alone wasn't scary. Talent combined with hard work was!
Watching Vulpix train so hard, Hu Bin felt both concerned and proud. All he could do was keep Vulpix company during training, then prepare a feast and give Vulpix a massage afterward to ease the fatigue and any injuries.
After a long training session, Yi Nanzi, Wu Jin, Liu Yi, and their Pokémon were utterly exhausted!
Hu Bin had prepared Pokéblocks for them too, and he gave all their Pokémon massages. It felt so good that the Pokémon practically floated off the ground!
Relaxing comfortably, Machoke shot Wu Jin a glance, the meaning perfectly clear: Look at Hu Bin, then look at yourself! You embarrassment! What kind of Pokémon Trainer are you?
Cyndaquil was a little more forgiving toward Yi Nanzi. At least my Pokémon Trainer has a conscience and is learning seriously beside Hu Bin. I'll get a massage when we go back too!
After all that, every Pokémon's affection for Hu Bin skyrocketed. As for Wu Jin and Liu Yi, their Pokémon could only feel embarrassed by their own Pokémon Trainers!
Hu Bin sat on the couch with Vulpix in his arms, watching TV. Naturally, they were watching Vulpix's favorite tearjerker.
If Vulpix hadn't liked it, Hu Bin would never have touched that kind of melodramatic TV series in his life!
As they watched, Hu Bin fed Vulpix snacks. It was an especially heartwarming scene!
Hu Bin had originally scoffed at shows like this, but by the end, he had to admit it was pretty gripping!
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