Guagua Paopao's exit further disadvantaged Xia Hunao. He had struggled in a two-on-two battle, and the disadvantage was even greater now in a one-on-two.
Seeing Gloomoth use its Razor Leaf attack aimed at Rotom, Xia Hunao suddenly realized Gloomoth's potential offensive strategy: "Rotom, beware of Leech Life, retreat!"
Zheng Xiaoxiao glanced at Xia Hunao with admiration: "Not bad, you managed to guess this move."
"What else could I do? Leech Life is too threatening to Rotom. Besides, using moves like Scratch to lure me in is underestimating me too much."
Zheng Xiaoxiao nodded: "A few words of praise and you're losing your head? Don't forget, this is a two-on-two. Whimsicott, use Leech Seed!"
Whimsicott's Leech Seed landed perfectly on Rotom, directly in its retreat path.
"Rotom, use Confuse Ray."
This command was Xia Hunao's last desperate attempt to salvage the situation with a confused state, but it proved ineffective. Ultimately, Rotom was the first to fall.
"Battle ended. Zheng Xiaoxiao wins the battle."
After recalling Rotom to its Poké Ball, Xia Hunao walked to the center of the arena, only to find that Zheng Hongde, who had been watching from the side, had disappeared.
"Grandpa watches the news every night, and after the news, there's an 8 PM Pokémon comedy. He never misses it, you'll get used to it."
The woman serving as the referee walked over and said, "Your loss in this battle is not your fault. If Xiaoxiao hadn't specifically chosen two Pokémon to counter you, this match might have remained a stalemate for a while."
Zheng Xiaoxiao pouted and shooed the referee away: "Go on, go on, Tong Ruo, you've outlived your usefulness. Don't interrupt me and Little Xiazi."
Tong Ruo grabbed Zheng Xiaoxiao's hand and moved close, using a quick arm lock to subdue her: "What did you just say?"
Zheng Xiaoxiao quickly begged for mercy: "Ruo Ruo, I'm wrong. There are people here."
Only then did Tong Ruo release Zheng Xiaoxiao's hand: "Nice to meet you, I'm Tong Ruo, Zheng Xiaoxiao's best friend."
Xia Hunao also introduced himself: "Xia Hunao, I just met Sister Xiaoxiao recently."
"Little Xiazi, did you know that if you become a teacher at our Liuling University, you'll be colleagues with Tong Ruo?"
"Colleagues? She's also a teacher at Liuling University?"
"You wouldn't have guessed, would you? Tong Ruo is a teacher in the Battle department at Liuling Pokémon University."
Tong Ruo took a moment to process the information: "Xiaoxiao, you said he's going to be a teacher at the school? How old is he?"
Zheng Xiaoxiao explained the whole story to Tong Ruo in detail. Tong Ruo looked at Xia Hunao: "I didn't expect you to be quite capable. Not only did you pass that kind of assessment, but you also managed to get Grandpa Zheng's connection. You've truly impressed me."
"Sister Tong Ruo is also an instructor in the Battle department, so she must be extraordinary too."
"Alright, you two stop flattering each other. Let's move somewhere else to chat."
...
In the small lounge within Zheng Xiaoxiao's principal's office, Zheng Xiaoxiao said to Xia Hunao: "I promised to cook noodles for you after the battle, wait for me for a bit."
With that, Zheng Xiaoxiao took off her coat and hung it on the nearby rack. Tong Ruo quickly grabbed Zheng Xiaoxiao's arm: "Xiaoxiao, what exactly is your relationship? You're actually cooking for him. You promised that the food you make can only be touched by me besides Grandpa Zheng. Don't tell me you don't love me anymore..."
Before she could finish, Zheng Xiaoxiao covered her mouth: "What are you thinking? Little Xiazi didn't eat enough for dinner today, so I brought him out for a battle. That's why I promised to let him eat his fill after the battle. If you keep talking nonsense, do you believe I'll break up with you?!"
Xia Hunao, standing nearby, trembled, trying to minimize his presence: "System, do you think I've learned a secret about these two sisters? Will they kill me to silence me?"
The System pondered: "How bold you are, how productive you are. Don't be afraid. If you want, maybe I can conjure up a surveillance camera in this lounge out of thin air."
After silencing Tong Ruo, Zheng Xiaoxiao skillfully prepared two bowls of noodle soup, placing one in front of Xia Hunao and the other in front of herself. Tong Ruo, watching them eat with relish, asked: "What about mine?"
"I'm angry. None for you."
Although Zheng Xiaoxiao claimed to be angry, she eventually couldn't resist Tong Ruo's persistent pleading and made a bowl of noodle soup.
After this meal, which could be considered a late-night snack, Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo sat on one side of the table, and Xia Hunao sat on the other. The three finally began to discuss serious matters.
"To be honest, Little Xiazi, in my opinion, you are completely unqualified to be an instructor in the Battle department at Liuling Pokémon University."
Zheng Xiaoxiao secretly tugged at Tong Ruo's sleeve, thinking: "You should at least be a little more restrained. This child has only had Pokémon for how long? Can he handle you crushing him like this?"
Tong Ruo turned and brushed Zheng Xiaoxiao's hand away: "Stop fooling around, I have to say it even if you pull me."
Zheng Xiaoxiao cast a look of helplessness and good luck towards Xia Hunao, while Tong Ruo's subsequent words became unrestrained: "Your Pokémon's training level is insufficient, so even if you have many strategies in mind, you can't execute them, right? Using Uproar to dispel Hypnosis, using Bubble to affect Gloomoth, these are all fine. Your current problem is that you can't fully utilize your tactics, making it easy for your opponent to overcome skill with brute force."
Xia Hunao deeply agreed with Tong Ruo's assessment. His training was indeed too slow, causing his battles to often be like walking with one leg shorter than the other.
Tong Ruo continued: "In my opinion, if your Pokémon were a higher level today, you could have replaced one. If you had a type advantage today, you might have at least drawn. If you had both, it wouldn't be impossible to defeat Xiaoxiao. Then you could do whatever you wanted, like stripping..."
Mid-sentence, she was interrupted by Zheng Xiaoxiao again. In Xia Hunao's words: the two sisters engaged in friendly but meaningless deliberation, ultimately came to blows, and the scene became quite chaotic...
Fortunately, the two still knew what they were doing and didn't lose their composure in front of Xia Hunao, which left him quite disappointed.
Tidying her appearance, Tong Ruo asked Xia Hunao: "Where was I?"
"You were talking about stripping, stripping, raising my Pokémon's training level a bit more."
Xia Hunao almost said "stripping clothes," but under Zheng Xiaoxiao's killing gaze, he swallowed the last two words and changed his phrasing, which turned Zheng Xiaoxiao from a bristling cat into a stroked cat.
"Yes, raise your Pokémon's training level a bit more. Restricted by your Pokémon's strength, your current strength among first-year freshmen can at most keep you out of the bottom fifty. I'll explain trainer level divisions to you sometime, and you'll understand."
Perhaps feeling a bit dry, Tong Ruo picked up a teacup and took a long gulp: "Let's continue. If you absolutely must become a teacher, there won't be any procedural issues, but how can a teacher who can't even control their students teach?"
"However, I believe in your ability, and I believe in Grandpa Zheng's judgment, so I think you can start as a teaching assistant first."
Xia Hunao was stunned by this suggestion: "Teaching assistant?"
"Yes, I think so too. I'll arrange for you to be Ruo Ruo's teaching assistant. This way, you can also use the resources of Liuling University to grow rapidly. As long as you reach the level of an Advanced Trainer, you can transfer to become a formal teacher."
Xia Hunao didn't think for too long before agreeing. Although it wasn't his original plan, entering Liuling Pokémon University wasn't a bad thing.
After quickly finalizing this matter, in Zheng Xiaoxiao's principal's office, a teaching assistant certificate belonging to Xia Hunao was created. Holding his teaching assistant certificate: "Am I half a teacher now?"
"Yes, you are half a teacher now. According to the rules, you have to treat us to celebrate. But it's too late now, let's wait until tomorrow."
Zheng Xiaoxiao was very happy to have another promising teacher in her school, even if he was just a teaching assistant for now. However, Tong Ruo seemed a bit worried: "We'll talk about celebrating later, Little Xiazi, have you thought about how to deal with those students?"
"Students? What's there to worry about with students? Will they cause trouble for me?"
"Of course, they will, especially since you got in through special arrangements. Our school's teachers are all outstanding trainers with noble moral character, but students aren't easily convinced. Especially first-year students, who just came up from high school, and suddenly you, a teaching assistant who should be in the second year of high school, are above them. There will definitely be some troublemakers trying to stir things up, so you need to be prepared."
Hearing this, Xia Hunao suddenly felt immense pressure, but facing challenges head-on was his style. After racking his brains, Xia Hunao came up with a plan. He gestured for Tong Ruo and Zheng Xiaoxiao to come closer and whispered something to them.
As Xia Hunao explained his idea, Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo's expressions became increasingly strange, then quickly turned into mischievous smiles, and finally, they openly laughed and gave Xia Hunao a thumbs-up: "Your idea is absolutely brilliant, it will definitely subdue them. Let's go, I'll accompany you to borrow Pokémon now. There will be a good show tomorrow."
If anyone were observing, their first thought would be: None of these three are good people...
...
And so, on this ordinary night, the Pokémon breeder at Liuling Pokémon University became the first person to know about the new teaching assistant Xia Hunao's employment. And with the intentional promotion of Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo, a post quietly circulated on Liuling Pokémon University's internal website, and then instantly topped the trending list.
The title of the post read: Shocking, the new teaching assistant is seen walking alongside two campus beauties. ...