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Why had it taken Greninja and the others so long to resurface?
Was the school of Wishiwashi too strong?
No.
It was because there were simply too many helpers.
During their first dive, Greninja genuinely hadn't expected the lakebed to be hiding so many Pokémon.
Thankfully, they had gone in as a team—otherwise, they might have been wiped out down there.
"So, this is everything you managed to get?"
By the riverside, Li Xiang watched as the four Pokémon repeatedly dove back in, each time surfacing with another unconscious Pokémon in tow before tossing them onto the shore.
Greninja nodded, standing beside a fused ice sculpture of four Vigoroth.
The Wishiwashi's underlings far exceeded expectations—fish Pokémon, shellfish Pokémon, Mareanie, and even Pyukumuku. In total, over a dozen.
Most were worth one point, with only three being worth three, but combined with the five-point Wishiwashi at the core, the haul was substantial.
Li Xiang was more than satisfied as he stored them away in his pack.
"Good work, all of you. You're amazing!"
He praised the four slightly exhausted Pokémon, rewarding them with food.
In a team battle, injuries were inevitable. Tanky Pokémon like Blastoise were prime targets for focus fire. As a result, all four Pokémon—including Greninja—bore some wounds.
Bronzong, for instance, had a massive dent on its rear, likely from a Wishiwashi ramming into it.
Steel-type Pokémon often faced this awkward issue, but unlike humans, they didn't need a hammer to fix it. Feeding them metal powder would naturally restore their form.
"Take a break in your PokéBalls."
Li Xiang recalled Greninja after it finished eating.
The other three did the same.
After such an intense battle, ample rest was necessary. The next rotation brought out Corviknight and Lycanroc—both well-rested. Qu Sheng chose Slowbro, while Yang Tianwang picked Sceptile.
Sceptile was hailed as the Guardian of the Forest, renowned for being unmatched in dense woodland environments.
That was obviously an exaggeration, but it spoke volumes about Sceptile's strength in such terrain.
The group then headed toward the mountain marked on the map.
Honestly, they were already sick of staying in one place for too long.
Lycanroc took charge of tracking hidden Pokémon. Its Scent Tracking ability worked wonders here, consistently picking up unusual odors that betrayed hidden presences.
Whether it could detect Pokémon buried underground remained unclear, but Lycanroc proved its worth.
It helped Li Xiang find a Gloom hiding under thick bushes, half-buried and disguised as a mushroom.
Without its Stench ability, such Pokémon were incredibly hard to spot, easily blending in with common fungi.
They also found a Muk seamlessly merged with the ground.
The sight reminded Li Xiang of his exam encounter, prompting Corviknight to strike a little harder than necessary.
All in all, Li Xiang's score broke past 110 points, and with his existing points, he was now over 300.
He wasn't far from unlocking B-class arenas.
The thought put him in a good mood.
....
The Mountain
This was the same mountain Li Xiang had seen during his night runs—the one with abandoned structures.
As expected, most students avoided mountains for Pokémon hunting. They were sick of them by now.
Yet even so, few Pokémon remained.
If students weren't coming up, the paid Pokémon would just go down. On their way, they witnessed over a dozen students ganging up on three Exploud.
One was a five-pointer, the other two three-pointers.
Cornered and unable to escape due to a Shadow Tag, the Exploud decided to go down fighting, unleashing endless Boombursts with their remaining stamina.
The resulting sonic explosions injured who knew how many Pokémon.
Li Xiang's group wisely kept their distance.
A trapped beast fought hardest. A five-point Pokémon with nothing to lose was terrifying. Besides, there was no need to compete with so many others—wasting time and drawing unwanted attention. They quickly moved on.
Later, they crossed paths with Luo Dayou's trio again.
What were the odds?
Lin Feng and Xu Wan were nowhere to be found, yet Luo Dayou kept popping up. The trio had just taken down a five-point Drapion and its two three-point underlings.
The moment they spotted Li Xiang approaching, they bolted without a word, as if he were the plague.
Qu Sheng couldn't help but ask what Li Xiang had done to them.
"Just stole a few Pokémon."
Li Xiang waved it off, lamenting that he had arrived too late this time. He was sure Luo Dayou would challenge him after the event to reclaim those two Klinklang.
In that case, stealing a few more shouldn't matter—they were going to fight anyway.
Just kidding.
If others found and captured their targets fair and square, there was no need to interfere. Being greedy never ended well.
The group made it to the mountain without further incident. Li Xiang climbed onto Corviknight's back first, scouting the area from above.
The abandoned structures at the summit and mountainside stood out. The latter seemed to be a small, two-story watchtower.
The summit's building, however, was different—an unfinished mall, four stories tall and sprawling like a parking lot.
As for the inside…
'Huh?'
Li Xiang blinked, feeling like he had missed something.
A strange sensation flickered in his chest. He rubbed his eyes, shut off his hearing and smell, and instinctively activated the Three-Blind Perception Method.
Instantly, the "world" changed.
He detected an intangible ripple in the air, distorting something.
When he reopened his eyes, he saw a group of humanoid Pokémon sitting cross-legged at the third-floor edge.
Pink and gray, with large feet—Medicham.
Fighting/Psychic-types.
They sat in meditation, palms pressed together, eyes shut. One was a five-pointer, the other three three-pointers.
'These guys…'
Li Xiang frowned. How had he missed such obvious targets earlier?
No—it had to be a concealment technique, like Greninja's. Rubbing his temples, he recalled his lessons on Medicham's abilities.
These Pokémon possessed immense psychic power. Through special yoga poses, they could merge with their surroundings, masking their presence.
Of course, this wasn't their original intent.
They sought to become one with nature, to comprehend its mysteries, but the side effect was still useful—avoiding predators.
A concealment technique honed through yoga… Could it synergize with the Three-Blind Perception Method?
'Would it work with Greninja's Camouflage? If so, it might enhance its protective coloring. It should be compatible.'
Li Xiang remembered yoga being a thing in this world too.
He suddenly realized that methods to train Pokémon were everywhere, hidden in everyday life.
In the distance, the five-point Medicham cracked its eyes open, glowing blue as it stared at Corviknight and Li Xiang, but the distance was too great for an attack.
"We've been spotted."
Li Xiang patted Corviknight's back. "We need to get the others up here fast, or this thing might flee."
Despite their serene, sage-like appearance, the Medicham would bolt the moment danger approached.
"Gah!"
Corviknight growled, wings beating as it descended.
...
At the mountain's base, Song Jie and the others were advancing slowly.
Corviknight landed swiftly, and Li Xiang quickly briefed them on the Medicham at the summit.
"Concealing Medicham."
Song Jie frowned. "How do they compare to your Greninja?"
Li Xiang shook his head. "They're not on its level. Their trick only works from a distance."
Once he had spotted them, they couldn't hide again.
Greninja was different—even if you saw it once, the moment you looked away, it would vanish from your senses.
Not wanting to waste time, the four summoned their flying mounts.
Yang Tianwang, having not chosen Dragonair, had to ride with Li Xiang on Corviknight.
When they reached the summit, the four Medicham were gone, but a Pokémon that had revealed itself once wouldn't escape so easily.
They headed to where the Medicham had been. Lycanroc trackd their scents, picking up their lingering traces.
In seconds, it had their location.
"Awoo!"
Lycanroc howled softly, darting downstairs and the group followed closely.
Soon, on the mountain's northern side beneath a large tree, they found the four Medicham.
They hovered over a boulder, bodies contorted into strange poses, enveloped in a faint blue glow.
"Medi!"
'Of course. Yet another Pokémon that can levitate.'
"Gah!"
Corviknight shrieked, its body igniting in blue flames as it charged the five-point Medicham with Brave Bird!
Behind it, Slowbro's eyes gleamed as it unleashed a telekinetic surge, isolating one of the three-point Medicham.
Lycanroc hurled a massive boulder like a catapult, the impact sending another Medicham flying.
Sceptile, having scaled the tree unnoticed, became a green blur, snatching the last Medicham away before it could react.
—Divide and conquer.
Psychic-types were terrifying in groups—far more than the sum of their parts.
The simplest way to deal with them was to split them up!
The battlefield fractured into four in an instant. The five-point Medicham strained against Corviknight's Brave Bird with its psychic power, a bead of sweat rolling down its forehead.
They had only stopped to fight because escape was impossible, but they hadn't expected these students to be so strong!