Wei Chiting went to capture new Pokémon for the team's performance in the tournament, while at the school, Xia Hunao devised a new plan for Li Qiufeng and the others so as not to waste Wei Chiting's efforts.
After the morning training session ended, Xia Hunao went to the school shop, got a mineral water tank, bought a bunch of ping pong balls, and then sat in the battle hall to tinker.
Xia Hunao's manual skills quickly led him to create a lottery box. He wrote numbers on the ping pong balls with a marker, shook them in the box, and said, "Alright, I think it's good."
…
When the afternoon training began, Li Qiufeng was startled by the crowded battle hall. He rushed to Xia Hunao's side, "Xia, Coach Xia, what's going on?"
Xia Hunao looked at the dense crowd in the battle hall, holding the small box in his hand. "This, the teacher and I discussed it. We always had you train with the freshmen, and we felt the intensity wasn't enough. So, we've opened up the training participation, allowing any student without classes to join. Do you think that's a good idea?"
"This is hardly a good idea. Do you think we can handle it?"
"That's not my concern. You all, gather quickly, I have something to say."
Li Qiufeng gathered everyone and came before Xia Hunao to listen to the new rules for the afternoon.
"Do you see this box? There are a lot of ping pong balls inside. When the afternoon training begins, you will each come up in order and draw a ping pong ball. Based on the different numbers on the ping pong balls, you will engage in various battles. Li Qiufeng, you go first as an example."
Li Qiufeng stood up and said helplessly, "Yes."
Li Qiufeng reached into the box in front of Xia Hunao and was about to draw out a ping pong ball when Xia Hunao asked him, "Hey, are you sure you don't need to mix them up? Maybe the luck would be better that way."
Li Qiufeng shook his head. "No, a true man wants that kind of resolute spirit!"
With that, Li Qiufeng directly pulled his hand out, and the ping pong ball had the number four written on it. Xia Hunao handed Li Qiufeng a list. "Take a look yourself."
Li Qiufeng took the list from Xia Hunao and began to read it. The list contained the latest training plan, with various battle formats scheduled from one to five.
One was the simplest one-on-one battle, but opponents were limited to third and fourth-year students. Two was a marathon battle, fighting continuously from first to fourth year according to the queue. Three was a two-on-two battle, with no restrictions on opponents, but teammates were limited to first-year students. Four was one-versus-many, where the number of opponents varied by grade level, starting with five first-year students and four second-year students, and so on. Five was a three-on-three battle, with no restrictions on opponents, but teammates were limited to non-school team members.
Looking at the number four Li Qiufeng had drawn, Xia Hunao's eyebrows shot up. "As expected of the captain, truly extraordinary. You've drawn the most exciting battle type right off the bat. Which grade are you going to pick opponents from?"
Li Qiufeng looked at the sea of people and asked Xia Hunao, "Assistant Coach Xia, I don't think I can win this."
Xia Hunao replied without thinking, "That's exactly what we want! I want to see how long you can last. Of course, you're not without a chance. Perhaps their coordination isn't perfect, and you can seize an opportunity. Also, for all the battles today, school team members will choose their Pokémon last."
Li Qiufeng thought about it. After all, he was the captain of the school team, selected through various difficult trials, so he couldn't possibly have no chance of winning.
So, Li Qiufeng said to Xia Hunao, "Coach Xia, I choose to battle two fourth-year students."
Li Qiufeng had considered this. The strongest fourth-year students had already joined the school team. He also knew most of the other strong ones. As for the remaining students, while he wasn't particularly familiar with them, he wasn't completely clueless either. With him choosing his Pokémon last, there was a good chance he could have an advantage.
His plan was good, but it couldn't withstand Xia Hunao's mischievous nature. Xia Hunao took out a megaphone and shouted to the crowd, "Everyone be quiet! Fourth-year students, are there any twins who would like to come up for a pair battle? If not, third-years are also acceptable."
At that, two people stepped out from the crowd. Xia Hunao looked at them and said, "Alright, it's you two. Your mission is to beat him to a pulp. Preferably, win."
With that, Xia Hunao walked out of the battle arena, leaving the stage to Li Qiufeng and the brothers.
The battle quickly began. The brothers sent out Plusle and Minun, while Li Qiufeng did not use Feraligatr. Instead, he sent out his second Pokémon, Tyranitar.
Watching Tyranitar on the field, Xia Hunao exclaimed in amazement, "I didn't expect this. Li Qiufeng has such a trump card. This must be a pseudo-legendary with a base stat of 600, right? How nice, I want one too."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Hunao shook his head. "No, what's so great about Tyranitar? It's just a pseudo-legendary. I have Diancie, it's just as strong, can Mega Evolve, and it's cute. But thinking about it, I haven't let her battle much recently. It seems I need to find some time for the little princess to get some exercise."
After these thoughts, Xia Hunao refocused his gaze on the ongoing battle. Although Tyranitar had a type advantage, the brothers had clearly considered this. Plusle and Minun not only carried their Electric-type STAB moves but also Grass-type moves.
Despite Li Qiufeng's considerable skill, facing the super-effective moves and the coordinated efforts of the twins, he was eventually defeated. However, before Tyranitar was knocked out, it managed to take down Minun, and Plusle also sustained some damage.
After encouraging the twins, Xia Hunao approached Li Qiufeng. "You've been hiding this well. Why didn't you use it during previous training sessions?"
"I'm more accustomed to using Feraligatr."
"I can see that. Those twins likely sent out Plusle and Minun to counter Feraligatr. However, because you attacked last, you gained a slight advantage. Alright, have someone else come up."
Li Qiufeng stepped off the battle stage and casually pointed to the next team member.
"I recall your name is Xing Kai, right? Your main Pokémon is a Decidueye. Come on, draw your lot."
Xing Kai reached into the box and stirred the contents before drawing out a ping pong ball. The number on it was three. Xia Hunao asked Xing Kai, "It's a two-on-two battle. Do you pick your teammate, or should I randomly select someone from below?"
Xing Kai replied, "Coach Xia, don't worry, I have a teammate. From the first years."
Xia Hunao then picked up the megaphone. "The first two students in line, it's your turn for a two-on-two battle."
After speaking, he turned to Xing Kai, "Xing Kai, where's your teammate?"
Xing Kai took a step to the side, and behind him stood Chu Xiaodie, who had just joined the school team. Xia Hunao, seeing the smile on Xing Kai's face, suddenly realized, "Let me guess, did Lu Bingming teach you this trick, or was it Wei Chiting's arrangement?"
Xing Kai blinked in surprise. "What does Vice Captain Wei have to do with this?"
Xia Hunao smirked. "Oh, so it was Lu Bingming and that scoundrel causing trouble for me? Fine, I've noted it. The battle begins."
This battle had more variables compared to the previous one. Chu Xiaodie did not send out her main Pokémon, Butterfree. Instead, she sent out her newly captured Combee. None of the three people present were very familiar with this newly introduced Pokémon, giving Chu Xiaodie a slight advantage. However, Combee was only in its early twenties and couldn't single-handedly control the battle. Although it managed to defeat one Pokémon with the cooperation of Decidueye, it also lost its fighting ability. In the end, the battle was won by the two casual students who were at the front of the line.
After sending the two casual students off the stage, Xia Hunao returned to Chu Xiaodie's side. "You two, although you exploited a loophole in the rules, you didn't think it through enough. Chu Xiaodie, I know you want Combee to participate in more battles to evolve quickly, but you overlooked one problem: Combee is a new Pokémon you've just caught, and you don't know it very well. Moreover, Xing Kai chose you to exploit the loophole because they had studied how to coordinate with Butterfree. They might have even thought about strategies for coordinating with Beautifly and Vivillon. You making a major mistake by not discussing with your teammate before sending out a Pokémon."
Chu Xiaodie lowered her head. "I understand. It won't happen again."
Even though Chu Xiaodie said this, Xia Hunao didn't let the girl off the hook. "As punishment for you cooperating with them to exploit the training plan's loophole, you will participate in all subsequent training battles. For every loss, you will be penalized by having to copy the School Battle Hall rules once. Do you understand?"
Chu Xiaodie's face fell. "How can you do this, Coach Xia? You know, the School Battle Hall rules are very long."
Xia Hunao nodded. "I know, of course. The School Battle Hall rules are over five hundred words in total. This is already good. Originally, I was going to make you copy the school student handbook."
Chu Xiaodie pouted. "Okay, I understand…"
Xia Hunao grabbed the megaphone. "School team, next!"
The third team member drew the marathon battle. After arranging for Chu Xiaodie to go first, and then having the subsequent students follow in order, Xia Hunao could finally take a moment to rest.
Watching the ongoing battles with Tong Ruo, Tong Ruo asked, "Don't you think what you're doing isn't quite right?"
Xia Hunao looked at Chu Xiaodie, whose battle had ended and was now recovering her Pokémon. "Is it, Sister Ruo? This isn't forcing growth. Before the winter break, Guagua and I went through even more absurd and crazy special training, and we got through it, didn't we? I believe Chu Xiaodie, this isn't a foolish act of forcing growth."
Tong Ruo shook her head. "Who said that? I'm talking about the punishment of copying the battle hall rules."
Xia Hunao understood. "Oh, you're talking about that. Don't worry, with Chu Xiaodie's ability, she might end up copying it ten or twenty times before school ends this afternoon. Tens of thousands of words are indeed a heavy burden, but I didn't say when I want it, nor do I plan to collect it. I just want to push her potential."
Tong Ruo shook her head again. "Is that what I meant? I meant, you should punish her by having her assist me for a day every time she loses, so I can teach her."
Xia Hunao looked at Tong Ruo with a playful expression. "Teacher Tong, are you sure that's what you're thinking, and not that you want me to be an accomplice in your personal favor?"