Beat His Wife or Get Beaten by Her

When Cynthia saw that Su Bai finally understood, she turned to Qi Shijun.

"Elite Four Qi!"

"Just call me Uncle Qi, little Cynthia. What do you think of my nephew?"

Cynthia was her Chinese name as well, and Qi Shijun seemed well acquainted with her elders. His tone was far from formal.

"All right, I'll call you Uncle Qi."

Cynthia nodded slightly, then glanced at Su Bai.

"I'd like to have a Pokémon battle with Mr. Su Bai."

"With me?"

Su Bai froze. He hadn't expected Cynthia to make such a request.

Qi Shijun shook his head repeatedly.

"Little Cynthia, under Dragon Nation law, Su Bai isn't a professional Trainer yet. He only has one Pikachu, so..."

"Don't worry, Uncle Qi. We'll each use just one Pokémon, and if you agree, he can borrow one of yours."

Cynthia readily offered to allow a battle with a borrowed Pokémon.

She wanted to verify Su Bai's ability for herself.

Although Cynthia was a girl who knew her own mind, she wasn't necessarily opposed to an arranged engagement.

Su Bai looked good, and there was something endearingly earnest and clueless about him. He was her type.

But Cynthia needed to know whether Su Bai's earlier prediction had reflected his actual ability or whether Qi Shijun had coached him beforehand.

If his skills were lacking, he could develop them over time. Cynthia didn't demand that her future husband be invincible, but if everything earlier had been an act deliberately staged to win her favor...

That was something Cynthia couldn't accept.

"Mr. Su Bai, don't you even have the courage to accept a battle?"

"No, I accept!"

Su Bai had fallen silent because he'd received system missions.

[Ding! A change in the host's circumstances has been detected. Mission issued: Assert Your Authority as a Husband. Defeat Cynthia using Pikachu. Reward: refresh the Chosen Lucky One randomization count.]

[Ding! A change in the host's circumstances has been detected. Mission issued: King of Living off Your Wife. Lose to Cynthia using Qi Shijun's ace Pokémon. Rewards: unidentified Legendary Pokémon redemption voucher ×1, Garchomp's Brick Break guillotine.]

[Ding! A change in the host's circumstances has been detected. Mission issued: Marital Harmony. Hold out against Cynthia for a while using Pikachu. Rewards depend on how long you last.]

[Please make your choice.]

He sucked in a breath.

Beat my wife or get beaten by her? That is the question.

Beating my wife is definitely out. I'm not that kind of man, and I couldn't beat her anyway.

Get beaten by my wife? That's no good either. I don't mind living off her, but that Garchomp Brick Break guillotine sounds terrifying.

Su Bai's heart tightened when he noticed the hint of danger lurking beneath Cynthia's smile.

Has she misunderstood? Does she think today's chance encounter was all arranged in advance?

System, I choose option three, Marital Harmony.

[Ding! The host has made his choice. Pikachu's level has temporarily doubled. Current level: 42.]

After the randomization, Pikachu's level had reached 19. Defeating the examiner's Krookodile had raised it to 21. Now that its level had temporarily doubled, Su Bai felt a little more confident.

Her Pokémon still have an overwhelming level advantage, but my Pikachu doesn't play by the rules.

"Miss Cynthia, I accept your challenge, but I'll use Pikachu!"

Everyone thought Su Bai had gone mad when they heard him.

Especially Qi Shijun.

"You little brat, are you serious? Stop fooling around!"

"Uncle Qi, I know you want what's best for me, but if I have to borrow your strength to battle my own fiancée, what kind of man would I be?"

Su Bai glanced at Pikachu and affectionately nuzzled its little cheek.

"Pikachu, sorry for the trouble!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu nodded happily. Garchomp might be incredibly powerful, but for Su Bai's sake, it wasn't afraid.

Cynthia's cheeks flushed slightly at Su Bai's words. This young man did have some courage.

And he's pretty shameless, too. Who's your fiancée? I haven't agreed yet.

"All right. Since you've both decided, I'll arrange a battlefield for you."

With that, Qi Shijun took out his phone and made a call.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at a Battle Hall inside the City Sports Field.

There were no bystanders here, and the facilities were adequate.

"Dance amid the ice and snow! Glaceon!"

When Cynthia sent out Glaceon, Su Bai realized that she was still going easy on him.

"Pikachu, sorry for the trouble."

Once Pikachu took the field, Qi Shijun announced the start of the battle.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

"Glaceon, Shadow Ball!"

Cynthia's battle-hardened Glaceon predicted where Pikachu would land next and fired its Shadow Ball straight at that spot.

But Pikachu suddenly sped up, and the Shadow Ball missed!

Only Bai Yi knew that this was his Pikachu's Speed Boost Ability at work.

"Glaceon, use Dig!"

Although Cynthia was surprised, she wasn't about to leave Su Bai an opening. Glaceon followed through on its Shadow Ball motion and burrowed straight into the ground.

Once Cynthia entered a battle, she became utterly focused and serious.

Su Bai, how will you handle this?

"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail on the ground!"

Glaceon had only just burrowed underground when Pikachu's Iron Tail jolted it back out.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt, landing a direct hit on Glaceon.

Its high base stats compensated for the level gap, and Glaceon took some damage.

That sequence of moves completely exceeded Cynthia's expectations, but she was no ordinary Trainer.

"Use Blizzard!"

Glaceon shook its head and blasted out a Blizzard straight at Pikachu.

The Blizzard unleashed by Cynthia's Glaceon swept across the entire battlefield. Pikachu had nowhere to dodge.

"We have no choice! Pikachu, use Quick Attack! Use Thunderbolt while you run!"

The level gap was still far too great. Su Bai could only take a gamble.

"Pika!"

Pikachu used Quick Attack, and Thunderbolt's lightning gradually enveloped its body.

Blizzard battered Pikachu, and ice had already begun forming on its body.

"Pika, pika, pika, pika, pika...!"

Pikachu pushed forward with all its might. With its ever-increasing speed and Thunderbolt's lightning, it gradually transformed into a cannonball wreathed in electricity!

"That's it! Pikachu! Volt Tackle!"

Everyone present froze at Su Bai's words. This Pikachu could actually use Volt Tackle?

Pikachu really did unleash Volt Tackle. Its high defenses, combined with the lightning blocking part of the Blizzard, were all that kept Glaceon from knocking it out in one hit.

The sight exceeded everyone's expectations, including Cynthia's. Having rarely lost since her debut, she froze on the battlefield for the first time.

"Pika!"

Volt Tackle finally slammed into Glaceon.

When the smoke cleared, Glaceon's body was scorched black and its fur was disheveled, but it was still standing.

"Use Feint."

Cynthia smiled faintly. Glaceon flicked its forelegs in a light kick, and the priority-two Feint struck Pikachu directly.

"Pikachu!"

Su Bai hurriedly caught Pikachu, which was unable to battle.

Su Bai had lost this match, but everyone now saw him in a new light.

"Su Bai, the way you and Pikachu worked together really surprised me. If you don't mind, please use this."

Cynthia walked over to Su Bai and handed him an Oran Berry.

Having raised Pikachu to this level and shown such a flexible battle style, Su Bai had earned Cynthia's initial recognition of his abilities.

Her way of addressing him had also grown a little warmer.

"Thank you, Miss Cynthia."

"Just call me Cynthia. You've done a truly excellent job raising Pikachu. I'm sorry I doubted your abilities earlier."

Cynthia was a girl who was bold in both love and hate, with clear likes and dislikes. She openly admitted her earlier doubts about Su Bai and also said that he hadn't entirely lost.

Under Su Bai's puzzled gaze, Cynthia picked up her Glaceon to show him.

Su Bai saw a red sash tied around Glaceon's neck.

So it was a Focus Sash.

As they spoke, Qi Shijun approached with a serious expression.

"Little Cynthia, excuse us for a moment."

With that, Qi Shijun pulled Su Bai aside.

"Tell me honestly. Where did you get a Light Ball? And how did you raise Pikachu?"