Xia Huanao sat in the main seat, looking at his classmates in front of him. "Come on, Wei Chiting, what do you want to ask?"
"Yes, Coach Xia, what was your plan with the coin toss?"
Xia Huanao countered, "Just to ask that? Didn't I explain it to the coach from Lianfu University?"
Wei Chiting shook his head. "We don't believe a single word of your explanation. Please explain it."
Xia Huanao spread his hands. "I really checked the weather forecast yesterday, and dust, air currents, and even some weather-related skills are affected by the wind. I chose this venue simply to strengthen Chu Xiaodie. But since we're on the subject, you all will have to learn to utilize favorable conditions in the future."
Wei Chiting looked at Xia Huanao with skepticism. "Then what about Guo Shuang'er? You singled her out for a reason, didn't you?"
"How about this, let's play a game."
Saying that, Xia Huanao took a coin out of his pocket. "Guess whether this coin will land heads or tails."
Xia Huanao led everyone in guessing the coin toss twenty to thirty times in a row, and Guo Shuang'er got every single one correct…
The school team members were stunned. Forget them, even Tong Ruo, who was sitting with them in the tent, was dumbfounded. "What, there's such a thing?"
Xia Huanao threw the coin to Guo Shuang'er. "It's just that absurd. Although the probability of you guessing correctly each time you flip a coin is one in two, after you guess correctly once, the probability of guessing correctly the next time is still one in two. But the probability of guessing correctly twenty-seven times in a row has a denominator of over one hundred thirty million."
Guo Shuang'er smiled shyly. "I don't know why, but my talent in this area is getting stronger and stronger. When I was little, I could still guess wrong occasionally, but I haven't made a mistake since I became an adult."
"So, I want to let everyone know as quickly as possible that we can win every coin toss, and the credit goes to Guo Shuang'er. This way, during the coin toss, they will pay attention to Guo Shuang'er, and I can guide them into making mistakes."
Everyone was silent. They found this kind of off-field strategy difficult to come up with. At most, they would send a honey trap or a male charm to gather intelligence, but they never expected something like this.
Xia Huanao looked at the ongoing second match. "So, my move has already been half successful. At least in the second match, they have already started using coin tosses to decide who attacks first and the venue."
Xia Huanao turned around. "Alright, there are no other matches today. You all can go back. Those who need to rest should rest, and those who need to train should continue training. I'll be fine here with Wei Chiting. We'll take a taxi back by ourselves after all the matches are over."
After sending the school team back, Xia Huanao accompanied Wei Chiting in frantically analyzing the tactics of each team. Wei Chiting looked at Xia Huanao, who was observing the stage with binoculars. "Uh, Coach Xia, there's a big screen at the venue. Why do you insist on using binoculars?"
"Nonsense. The big screen's perspective is fixed, and it sometimes doesn't capture the expressions of the players. This way, you can't tell if it's a tactical misdirection or genuine incompetence."
Xia Huanao said righteously, but Tong Ruo, seeing the smile playing on Xia Huanao's lips, snatched the binoculars from his hand. "And the big screen doesn't capture the female players' skirts and their stockings, right?"
Xia Huanao turned his head and saw Tong Ruo staring at him with a frosty gaze. He quickly explained, "Sister Ruo, how can you slander me like that out of thin air!"
"Slander? Do you think the drool you left behind is clean or dirty?"
Xia Huanao subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth and found nothing. "Sister, you tricked me!"
"And you still say you weren't staring at those girls?"
…
After some minor mishaps, Xia Huanao finally got serious and began analyzing tactics with Wei Chiting. "Purely speaking of the second match, it was quite standard. The Pokémon were trained to an average level, nothing much to say. However, the third match is interesting."
The third match Xia Huanao was referring to was the one currently in progress.
"Speaking purely of tactics, this team has used some new ones, but the tactics are good, with execution errors. They should have sent out the captain earlier, not saved the captain for the grand finale."
Wei Chiting nodded. "Indeed, using self-destruct skills for mutual destruction in the first four rounds and then relying on the strongest captain in the final round to seal the victory is too risky."
Tong Ruo also agreed. "Yes, if the captain wins, they get one point. If they lose, they get nothing. That's too much of a gamble."
Seeing that the match's outcome was decided, Xia Huanao sighed. "Exactly. If the captain were arranged at the front, the subsequent tactics could be adjusted based on the captain's match results. But putting all the winning and losing stakes on the captain is too much of a gamble. Regardless, Wei Chiting, make a note of this team in Group C. If the overall strength of Group C isn't particularly strong, we might have to face them."
Wei Chiting silently took out his tablet and marked this team with an asterisk.
Xia Huanao and the other two finally took a taxi back to the accommodation arranged by the officials after all the matches concluded.
In the taxi, Xia Huanao was resting with his eyes closed when his phone rang. He took out his phone, glanced at it, and pressed the call button. "Hello, Xiaoyu, is there something you need?"
"The school organized a Pokémon competition viewing this afternoon, and I saw you. You're appearing, but how did you become a coach?"
Xia Huanao laughed. "Of course, it's because I'm handsome. Someone as dashing and suave as me, if not chosen, would be a loss."
"Stop joking. So, are you working at Six Spirits University now?"
Xia Huanao paused. "Yeah, I originally wanted to surprise you, but plans can't keep up with changes. You found out anyway."
"No, I'm quite surprised. I'll definitely work hard to get into Six Spirits University. You wait for me, Teacher Xia."
Xia Huanao was momentarily stunned when his girlfriend sweetly called him Teacher Xia. It was only after Shen Yu hung up that he came back to his senses and put his phone away.
Tong Ruo, sitting in the front seat, turned around. "What's wrong? Whose call was it? Your little girlfriend?"
Xia Huanao nodded. "Yeah, the school organized them to watch the Pokémon competition, and I got exposed. But it's fine, she's not angry, which is good…"
Upon returning to the Six Spirits University compound, Xia Huanao saw his classmates sitting in front of the television watching the broadcast. "What are you all doing here?"
Lu Bingming pointed at the television. "Watching the broadcast replay! Look how well I performed in my match."
Xia Huanao nodded. "Indeed, your performance in this match was good. So, to encourage you, I'll give you a day off. You don't have to play in the group stage."
"Damn it, Coach Xia, don't!"
Xia Huanao looked at Li Qiufeng. "Is this kid trying to show off in front of that girl?"
Li Qiufeng nodded. "Yeah, he said his girlfriend and her sister are both watching, so…"
"I see. In that case, I'll try my best to arrange some matches where you can shine. If you lose in those matches, I'll deal with you."
He let his classmates continue watching their brilliant performances and returned to his room. The group stage wouldn't be difficult, and they should qualify with ease.
As Xia Huanao had predicted, Six Spirits University had a smooth run in the group stage, encountering no overly strong resistance. They won every group stage match, and what's more, Chu Xiaodie and Guo Shuang'er also performed well. Although they lost more than they won, they were still first-year members, and slightly outmatched by the participants who were mostly third-years.
Xia Huanao's coin toss strategy also proved highly successful with Guo Shuang'er's assistance. In twelve group stage matches, Guo Shuang'er, with her exceptional talent, guessed correctly consecutively. Many people who were following Guo Shuang'er, upon learning that she was the "Radiant Star" of the first Rose Cup, gave her a new nickname: Coin Goddess.
Of course, Guo Shuang'er was quite dissatisfied with this nickname, which always gave her the feeling of playing claw machines or coin-operated arcade games.
Six Spirits University's group stage ended on the third to last day of the group stage schedule. Although there were still two days of group matches left, they had little bearing on them anymore. After all, no matter which team qualified, they would have to find a way to defeat them.
However, Xia Huanao and Wei Chiting continued to stay on the front lines of the competition. Xia Huanao was focusing on schools that had employed tactics he considered somewhat novel, while Wei Chiting was purely trying to glean some insights from Xia Huanao.
"Old Wei, is that the last match in Group C on stage? Is it that explosion team's match?"
Wei Chiting looked at the schedule. "Yeah, that's right, it's them. Their tactics have actually changed a bit, just as we predicted. They've made the captain the key to leading the victory or defeat, and then using that kind of suicidal attack later on."
Xia Huanao nodded. "Yes, as expected. So, what's their record? Will they advance to the next stage?"
"They will. They've only lost their very first match so far, winning all the subsequent matches, and all by a narrow score of one to zero."
"Troublesome. I hate opponents like this the most. If it were an elimination match, we'd have to modify our tactics when facing such an opponent. But they've only revealed this one tactic so far. Are they really planning to rely on a single trick?"
After a brief struggle over the choice of tactics, Xia Huanao turned his gaze back to the match. "Are there any other pieces of intel? The qualification situation for each group should be quite clear by now, right?"
"Yeah, the vast majority of the top thirty-two teams are familiar faces from before, with very little fluctuation. However, there's a school called Jiangling Pokémon Technology University that I've never seen before, and they're on a strong surge, topping Group G."
"Is that the team with all mechanical-系的 members? I have an impression. Their matches are too absurd."