Xia Huanao was pleased to hear Cai Rou understood his intention, taking a few steps forward before retreating. "Too happy, overshot it, this way."
Xia Huanao's mood was visibly excellent. It was understandable; if Cai Rou could help him, it would undoubtedly lessen his workload significantly. Considering the levels of his current Pokémon, Quagsire, Diancie, and Lycanroc were not well-suited for the upcoming task. This left him with only three other Pokémon, and putting on a performance with just three would be rather difficult.
As for why a performance was necessary, it was a joke. Without it, it would simply become a one-sided slaughter. If he took out all these spoiled brats himself, he wouldn't see a single one of them the next day.
He led Cai Rou and Xia Pingdong into Meng Tianya's office. Xia Huanao asked Meng Tianya, "Since you gathered them here, you must have their information, right? Give me their Pokémon's data, it's a matter of life and death."
Meng Tianya seemed prepared, turning around and handing Xia Huanao a folder. "Here, this is it. Honestly, I didn't expect you to be so brave."
Although Meng Tianya's choice of words wasn't particularly refined, the sudden use of "brave" caught Xia Huanao off guard. "Brave, let me see..."
Xia Huanao looked for only two seconds before changing his tune. "A true warrior dares to face a bleak life. What the hell is this? Cai Rou, is this your boyfriend?"
Cai Rou blinked. "What, I don't know Li Han's Pokémon very well. Let me see."
Cai Rou took the paper with Li Han's information from Xia Huanao and examined it carefully. The information wasn't extensive, just basic details like name and age, along with his Pokémon.
However, Li Han's Pokémon were truly...
According to the Pokémon League's registered data, Li Han, like Xia Huanao, was a trainer capable of carrying six Pokémon. However, Li Han's first choice, his starter, was Popplio.
That was fine. A starter was a personal choice. The problem was that his subsequent choices were rather… unusual.
Li Han's second Pokémon was Ralts, his third was Igglybuff, his fourth was Snorunt, his fifth was Petilil, and his final Pokémon was Purrloin.
If you just heard these names, there would be nothing amiss. But if you opened your Pokédex and saw what they looked like after their final evolutions, you'd realize, "Mr. Li Han, you're something else."
If these Pokémon could evolve to their final forms, without exception, they were all very aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, all of Li Han's Pokémon were female, making his intentions crystal clear.
What was even more infuriating was the time they were acquired. Only the first one, Popplio, was obtained in the year he became a trainer. The others were acquired after Xia Huanao's Awakener team released the Pokédex.
The moment Xia Huanao saw the data, he knew that Li Han had acquired his Pokémon based on his Pokédex. However, he had to admit, Li Han's aesthetic taste seemed not much different from his own.
After handing the file to Cai Rou, Xia Huanao couldn't help but ask, "Cai Rou, does Li Han have any intention of capturing Bounsweet next?"
Cai Rou took the file and replied, "I think I heard him mention it..."
Both of them paused, then spoke in unison, "I knew it..."
Xia Huanao and Cai Rou continued reading the file. Xia Pingdong, standing nearby, felt a pang of curiosity and involuntarily reached out to take it from Xia Huanao. Xia Huanao moved his hand slightly. "No, how well do you know them? You should already know all about their Pokémon. Why bother?"
Xia Pingdong scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, while we're considered drinking buddies, I don't really know what Pokémon they all have."
Xia Huanao rolled his eyes. "Is it okay for you to describe yourselves as drinking buddies? Besides, what's the use of you looking? You're not going to be participating later anyway."
Xia Pingdong pointed at himself. "I'm not participating?"
"If you participate, are you planning to lose or win?"
Xia Pingdong hesitated, then decisively gave up on participating. It was a joke; if he participated, whether he won or lost, it wouldn't end well.
No matter who lost, a scolding involving "stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat" was unavoidable. But what if he won? Whoever he beat would resent him. It was better not to do something so thankless.
After a brief look at the information, Xia Huanao rubbed his ear. "These guys are something else. They've thought of every possible solution."
Cai Rou glanced at the earpiece in Xia Huanao's ear. "What did you hear?"
Xia Huanao recounted what he heard from the earpiece:
As soon as Xia Huanao and the others left, Li Han and the others began to discuss. After Li Han expressed that he had absolutely no battle experience, he added, "We can't possibly win the upcoming battles, so we might as well try to lose gracefully."
Li Han's analysis had some merit, but someone immediately objected. "Lose gracefully? Are you planning to face Greninja or Sylveon? Both of those Pokémon are formidable. If you're facing your girlfriend, that's one thing, but what about us if we face the Great Xia?"
"I think, given Great Xia's character, he wouldn't stand by and watch us suffer, so you know..."
Xia Huanao, who had been listening the whole time, sighed after relaying the story. "How should I put it? They guessed pretty accurately, but, sigh."
Xia Huanao naturally wanted to say that someone was watching them from the room next door, but considering Xia Pingdong beside him, he ultimately didn't say it.
Xia Huanao, Xia Pingdong, and Cai Rou left the office. Xia Pingdong asked, "Didn't we come to get gifts?"
Xia Huanao shook his head. "Yes, I originally wanted to get some gifts to motivate everyone. But after looking at everyone's information, I felt it was too soon. If any of you win a solo match and take the prizes, how will the rest of us manage?"
Indeed, just as Xia Huanao had said, the afternoon's matches were a complete slaughter by Xia Huanao and Cai Rou; they didn't lose a single one. Even though Li Han and the others had given Xia Huanao hints, and Xia Huanao and Cai Rou had indeed gone easy on them to a considerable extent, the gap was simply too vast. Xia Huanao couldn't even make them lose gracefully; they couldn't create any back-and-forth effect.
After an afternoon of battles, the person in the worst mood was Li Han. He had originally thought he would battle his girlfriend, and the outcome would have been somewhat more presentable.
But then, Xia Huanao called Li Han out as soon as he arrived. "Come on, Li Han, let me see how capable Cai Rou's boyfriend is."
Li Han was about to say something when Xia Huanao advised him, "I suggest you forget it. If Cai Rou were to battle you, neither a win nor a loss would be a good outcome. If she wins, would you still dare to marry her? If she can't even defeat you, you'd definitely not dare to marry her. What do you think?"
Li Han pondered for a long time, then, with a complex mood, had a match with Xia Huanao.
...
Meanwhile, the parents who had been observing their children in the large conference room could hear the sounds from the battle arena. The moment Li Han's son spoke, Old Li's expression changed drastically. If it weren't for the wrong time and place, who knows what might have happened.
As the matches progressed, the parents present sighed one by one. "There's nothing we can do, the gap is here."
"Yes, Little Xiazi is already very considerate, his efforts to go easy were quite skillful. Unfortunately, they aren't living up to expectations!"
"I say, Old Li, what are you looking at? Your son's match is already over."
Old Li stared intently at the screen. "What's the point of looking at that unpromising boy? Of course, I'm looking at my future daughter-in-law. Little Xiazi is very shrewd, but he's wrong about one thing: I can't possibly not recognize this daughter-in-law. This daughter-in-law is far more promising than my son."
"Speaking of which, after these boys go home tonight, what are your plans?"
"They already know we're here. But I think we should still respect Little Xia's wishes and not intervene."
"That's true. We can't let down Xia Huanao's good intentions."
"Their staying here is progress. At least they're better than those who ran away."
"Right, remember to give them a heads-up, don't beat your own sons too badly. Although they can no longer train under Xia Huanao, if they get injured, they won't be able to train anywhere else."
...
Around six in the evening, the first day of training for this makeshift team concluded. Except for Xia Huanao using his Pokémon to gain some experience, it held no real significance for him.
Leading his team members out of the building, Xia Huanao watched as the seniors expressionlessly picked up their children. Cai Rou sighed, "Everyone, good luck."
"You're worried about Li Han, aren't you? Don't worry. This building is full of schemers, and when a bunch of schemers get together, how can things not end perfectly?"
Yes, Xia Huanao was a schemer, selecting a group of "not entirely hopeless" spoiled brats to continue the alliance's plan. The remaining spoiled brats were also schemers, cooperating with Xia Huanao to avoid unknown misfortune. The parents watching the show were even more astute, seeing through the act put on by Xia Huanao and the spoiled brats, and playing along.
The grand opera staged by this group of schemers had just begun.