Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
In short, Li Xiang originally only had one opponent helping him earn merit points.
Now, he had two more.
To be honest, Song Jie's willingness to give his own points to Li Xiang had already moved him deeply. He had been thinking of ways to repay the favor, but he never expected Qu Sheng and Yang Tianwang to offer theirs as well.
None of them were fools. Everyone knew just how valuable merit points were.
Even with Qu Sheng and Yang Tianwang's family backgrounds, opportunities to consult top-tier Pokémon breeders were rare—maybe just occasional treats.
Reaching A-class earlier meant they could enjoy the benefits of a top-tier breeder's support sooner, which would undoubtedly bring immense value to their Pokémon's growth.
And yet, they still handed their points over to Li Xiang—just to help him exchange for that shiny Metang faster.
"..."
Li Xiang opened his mouth, wanting to say thank you, but the moment the words formed in his mind, they felt too distant, too formal.
So instead, he simply patted their shoulders firmly.
Regrouping, the four of them sat together and began discussing their next destination.
First, they needed to clarify the areas Qu Sheng and the others had already explored to rule out zones with few Pokémon.
"These should be the general partitions."
Li Xiang pulled out a crudely drawn map—one he had sketched shakily with a marker after riding Magnezone into the sky for reconnaissance, with the help of Solosis' psychic abilities.
Honestly, Magnezone's surface was way too slippery. If not for Solosis' psychic safeguard, he wouldn't have dared to go up there. Falling would have meant certain death.
Before this, they had been too focused on capturing Pokémon to spare the time for mapping, but now, they finally had a moment.
"We came from here, and you guys came from here."
Li Xiang marked two areas with an X, eliminating those zones, then continued crossing off paths they had already taken. There were still plenty of unexplored areas left.
"This region is a mountain. Aside from people who got teleported there, I doubt anyone would willingly go."
He circled the mountainous area.
People naturally grew weary of repetition. After climbing mountains every night for training, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, they were already sick of it.
Some had even skipped the night training sessions altogether, feigning illness.
Because of that, choosing this area might lead them to high-value Pokémon that others had overlooked.
The other three nodded in agreement.
From their own perspectives, climbing was something they'd avoid if possible.
Why choose an uphill struggle when there were smooth, even downhill paths available?
Just as the four of them were deep in discussion, planning their route, movement finally stirred in the deep pool.
The first to burst out of the water was Bronzong. True to its explosive nature, its ring-like red eyes glowed as it erupted from the surface with a boom, sending water droplets flying everywhere like rain.
Following behind were two Cloyster—purple, spiky-shelled Pokémon with black pearls inside—wrapped in a pink glow.
Clearly under Bronzong's control.
Behind them, something else emerged. The water surface thumped, but nothing was visible.
Li Xiang knew it was Greninja, but he wasn't sure what it had found.
Thud!
The two Cloyster were tossed onto the rocky shore, their dark "innards" spinning in defeat.
One was worth 1 point, the other 3.
Greninja silently revealed itself, holding two fish Pokémon in its hands.
One was a Lumineon—black and blue with wing-like fins.
The other was a Gorebyss—pink with a needle-like mouth and purple shell-like structures on its lower body.
Again, one 1 point, the other 3.
Total: 8 points.
"Ninja..."
Greninja dropped the two fish onto the ground. Its arms bore two long, narrow cuts, and it was breathing heavily, clearly exhausted.
Li Xiang immediately tossed four PokéBalls, capturing the fainted Pokémon, then hurried over with a potion, carefully applying it to Greninja's wounds.
"You were down there so long and still got hit? No way. Did you run into something?"
Given Greninja's strength, these four Pokémon shouldn't have been able to land a scratch on it, let alone hit it at all.
The other three also sensed something unusual and quickly gathered around, asking what happened.
Greninja gestured animatedly at Li Xiang, trying to convey something.
Bronzong floated closer as well—it had been with Greninja and must have seen the same thing.
Li Xiang watched for a while, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.
Greninja first mimicked a fish, then made a flowing motion with its hands, as if depicting a school.
Finally… it drew a big watermelon in the air?
Qwilfish?
A whole swarm of swimming Qwilfish?
This was way too abstract.
"Uh…" Li Xiang scratched his head, utterly lost.
He turned to Song Jie. "Can your Bronzong do telepathy? I'm lost here."
Not bringing Rotom along was a huge mistake. That guy was a walking translator.
"Wish it could." Song Jie shook his head.
Not every Psychic-type could project mental images into someone else's mind. Even if they could, it might not be coherent—more like a psychic attack than a message.
Telepathic communication was still far beyond Bronzong's current abilities.
'Now what?'
Li Xiang watched as Greninja grew increasingly frustrated.
Their bond wasn't strong enough. If it were, understanding Greninja's meaning wouldn't be so hard. After all, Greninja usually understood him just fine.
The trainer was the one falling short here.
"Ah!"
Yang Tianwang suddenly gasped. "I think I know what Pokémon it's talking about!"
The other three whipped their heads toward him. "What? Spit it out!"
"Is it the one in the river?!"
Yang Tianwang pointed at the deep pool, where ripples had begun spreading in concentric circles.
The three turned—but all they saw was a small, dark fish-shaped shadow, but for Li Xiang's sharp eyes, that tiny glimpse was enough.
If he wasn't mistaken, that palm-sized shadow with faint white markings had to be—
Wishiwashi.
A Water-type Pokémon from the Alola region (Gen 7), with two forms.
The first was its Solo Form—a small, sardine-like Pokémon with blue, white, and gray coloring, a tiny mouth, and teardrop-shaped eyes that evoked pity.
The second was its School Form—a massive, hulking beast composed of hundreds of individuals, glowing with blue bioluminescent dots, like a dancer of the sea.
Some superstitious folk even called it a sea demon.
That was why Greninja had first mimicked a fish, then flowing water (the school), and finally a watermelon (the assembled form).
"Is it worth 5 points?"
Li Xiang turned back to Greninja.
Greninja nodded solemnly.
The pool wasn't just as big as it appeared on the surface. A significant portion extended beneath the nearby rockface.
At first, when Greninja saw the 5-point tag on a tiny fish, it thought it had stumbled upon an easy target, but the moment it got close, the little fish's eyes began to flash—like emergency lights, flickering rapidly.
Then, more and more identical fish appeared.
In less than five seconds, they merged into a monstrous entity Greninja couldn't hope to defeat.
The terrifying creature seemed to have hundreds of brains, instantly pinpointing Greninja's general location and lashing out with its tail like a whip.
The attack's range was too wide.
Greninja, caught off guard, got grazed on the arm. It didn't dare stay any longer, grabbing its earlier catches and signaling Bronzong to retreat.
And so, they resurfaced.
Now, Greninja wanted Li Xiang to identify the Pokémon, learn its weaknesses, and then dive back down to take that 5-pointer out.
There was no way Greninja was letting this slide.
Since evolving, this was the first time it had fled from an enemy instead of finishing the fight.
It had to reclaim its pride—otherwise, how could it keep competing with Incineroar for the title of team ace?
"Wishiwashi, huh…"
Li Xiang's murmur finally revealed the mystery to the others.
Song Jie frowned slightly, while Qu Sheng and Yang Tianwang immediately started discussing.
"Knew it was Wishiwashi! I wasn't wrong!"
"A 5-point Wishiwashi… Who knows how many individuals make up this one?"
"Surely not nearly a thousand?"
"Don't be ridiculous. The current record is 667. I'd say 300 at most."
Their debate grew heated.
For Pokémon composed of multiple individuals, things got complicated. Since each Wishiwashi's level wouldn't be identical, the School Form's energy level became ambiguous.
The prevailing theory was that the core Wishiwashi's level determined the School Form's strength, but the others still influenced it slightly, causing minor fluctuations.
In the games, weight comparisons suggested that 262 Solo Form Wishiwashi equaled one School Form.
But in this world, the numbers weren't fixed. The School Form's size could vary, making its strength incredibly hard to gauge.
If Greninja dove back in recklessly, it might not be able to handle the creature.
Fortunately, they now had four against one.
This was as close to a guaranteed win as it got. After all, they all had Pokémon capable of underwater combat.
With the enemy identified, the group began strategizing how to take down this troublesome opponent.
Honestly, finding a massive Wishiwashi school in this small pond was absurd. Which genius decided to release one here?
Finally, the boss raid team was assembled:
Blastoise as the tank, shielding against the School Form's attacks.
Adaptability Crawdaunt as the main DPS, whose damage after a Dragon Dance would be terrifying.
Bronzong as support, using various moves to assist Crawdaunt.
Greninja as the wildcard, lurking at the edges to deliver sudden, massive bursts of damage.
The main attacker would draw the School Form's aggro, so Greninja would strike when least expected.