Someone came to challenge the gym

The preliminary round would take place in three days, on Saturday, giving Su Bai plenty of time to prepare.

Even if it was only the Little Cup, he still needed to prepare thoroughly.

Credits were hard to earn for students in J University's Pokémon Department, so plenty of them would surely seize this chance to earn extra credit.

Su Bai called Qi Shijun.

The phone rang only twice before Qi Shijun answered.

"Hello? What is it?"

"Uncle Qi, do you have any Pokémon that know Thunder Fang? The TM is hard to find."

"You want it for Growlithe, right? No."

Qi Shijun told Su Bai that although this was billed as a city-level amateur tournament, it was essentially an internal competition for J University's Pokémon Department. Unless some ridiculously talented independent trainer showed up, all four semifinalists would likely be local students from the department.

"They're all my students. As the university president, I can't play favorites."

"Uncle Qi, J University isn't the only school in J City with a Pokémon Department. There's J Normal University, J Pokémon University, and colleges in nearby cities too. Are you really that confident?"

"My confidence is my business. If you want to win, do it yourself!"

Qi Shijun hung up, then called Director Li.

"Li, sorry for the extra work, but keep a record of our students who perform well in the Health Cup in a few days. Once the semester starts, we'll need to begin preparing for the National University Pokémon League. These are all potential candidates. All right, that's it."

After giving those instructions, Qi Shijun opened Bilibili's livestreaming app.

Summer break had begun. With no work to attend to and no Master Division league matches to compete in, Qi Shijun could focus on streaming.

"All right, let's start a new game: Pokémon Moe Girl Edition..."

Meanwhile, hearing Qi Shijun hang up, Su Bai muttered, "Heartless," then patted Growlithe's head and called for Pikachu.

"Pikachu, we're going to train!"

Pikachu quickly ran out of the exercise wheel and bounded onto Su Bai's shoulder.

After taking a bottle of juice from the fridge and buying two bottles of Moomoo Milk and two cans of Pokémon food from the System Shop, Su Bai brought Pikachu and Growlithe to the Origin Gym beside Qian Da Plaza.

Today was his first day on the job. He had already agreed on pay with Uncle Wu: he would work part-time as a coach at the Origin Gym, with meals and drinks provided, and could use the gym's facilities.

The Dragon Nation prohibited Pokémon from using moves freely in the streets, and trainers would be penalized for violations.

Anyone wanting to battle could use the professional battlefields found throughout the streets. Trainers who wanted to practice their Pokémon's moves could go to a gym or an accredited fitness center.

It worked out perfectly. Su Bai would earn 70 a day as a coach, paid daily, and could train and shower here too.

As soon as he entered the gym, Xiao Liu, an apprentice, hurried over.

"Mr. Su, you're finally here."

"What's wrong?"

Su Bai was puzzled. The atmosphere in the Origin Gym seemed rather tense today.

After asking for details, he learned that someone had come to challenge the gym.

Origin City actually had two gyms. The Origin Gym's Gym Leader, Uncle Wu Zhong, was a military veteran with good character and solid skills. His gym was trusted, so business flourished.

The other one, the Golden Source Gym, had been upgraded from a club. Whether in public credibility or overall quality, it fell short of the Origin Gym.

But the Golden Source Gym refused to accept that and constantly came to challenge the Origin Gym.

Its Gym Leader, He Zhiguo, lost every time he challenged Wu Zhong, yet here they were again.

Unfortunately, Uncle Wu Zhong was away this time.

"Didn't you tell them the Gym Leader was out and ask them to come back another day?"

"We did, but the Golden Source Gym came prepared this time."

Xiao Liu gave a helpless, wry smile.

"They said that if the Gym Leader wasn't here, the gym members could battle each other instead. The Golden Source Gym's young lady came, and her Glameow is too strong. None of our guys can beat her."

"I'll take a look."

Su Bai walked over to the battlefield and saw a familiar face sitting there.

It was the heavily made-up girl who had mocked him during the final exam-his class representative, He Yuan.

According to the original owner's memories, their advisor, that creep Old Gao, was a sleazy man in glasses whose shifty eyes always wandered toward the pretty girls in class. That, combined with Glameow's genuine ability, had earned He Yuan the position of class representative.

He Yuan was therefore accustomed to throwing her weight around both at home and at school, and she had no kind words for Su Bai either.

"Well, if it isn't Su Bai. I never imagined this gym would hire a poor student like you as a coach. It really ought to shut down."

"What brings our esteemed class representative to the Origin Gym? Did you pass your makeup exam?"

Su Bai's words hit a sore spot, and He Yuan's expression immediately darkened.

"Enough talk. I'm here on behalf of the Golden Source Gym to challenge the Origin Gym. Are you the one accepting my challenge?"

"That's right. It's a one-on-one battle. Any objections?"

The Dragon Nation's gyms operated under a system of healthy competition. If a city had two or more gyms, official rules allowed them to challenge one another, and the challenged party could not refuse.

The authorities ranked gyms according to their wins, publishing the results and allocating resources based on those rankings.

This system maintained gym quality and prevented Gym Leaders from becoming complacent and coasting along after opening their gyms.

"No objections. Let's get started."

He Yuan strode to the challenger's position. As a student about to enter her third year, she had initially felt a little nervous about challenging a gym coach. Once she saw that the coach was Su Bai, however, her confidence soared.

As far as she was concerned, Su Bai had only passed the final exam because the examiner's Krookodile had grown tired, letting him scrape through. Neither Su Bai nor his Pikachu was anything special.

"Go, Glameow! Teach him a lesson!"

"Pikachu, sorry for the trouble."

Pikachu ran onto the battlefield and stood on all fours, two arcs of electricity crackling from the cheek pouches, brimming with fighting spirit.

"Glameow, Shadow Claw!"

"Quick Attack!"

As Glameow slashed at Pikachu with Shadow Claw, Su Bai immediately ordered Quick Attack. The swift strike interrupted Glameow's Shadow Claw and knocked the Pokémon away.

Glameow screeched and flew backward, only to be knocked out by a single Thunderbolt from Pikachu.

He Yuan stared in disbelief at her Glameow, charred black by the electricity.

"Glameow is unable to battle. Pikachu wins! The winner is gym coach Su Bai!"

The referee immediately announced the result. He Yuan glared at the referee, recalled Glameow, and turned to leave the battlefield.

After Su Bai's victory, the gym staff immediately gathered around him.

"Coach Su, you're amazing!"

"Yeah, Coach Su, no wonder you managed to earn our Origin Gym's Badge. You really are impressive."

"Pikachu was awesome!"

Su Bai smiled and responded to everyone's praise, then took Pikachu into the training room.

Pikachu needed to consolidate Volt Tackle and Volt Switch, while Growlithe would have to work on reaction speed for now.

Once Uncle Wu Zhong returned, Su Bai would ask him whether the gym had a training method for Thunder Fang.