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Inside the drying room, the warm air hummed softly as clothes tumbled.
Li Xiang and Jiang Shangrong sat facing each other.
The latter began her critique of his earlier performance.
"Too greedy. And your prediction skills are lacking."
Her expression was calm, almost relaxed. "I don't know how your Incineroar used to fight before, but recklessly choosing to tank hits before counterattacking without a solid grasp of your opponent's damage output is foolish."
Predicting an opponent's offensive capabilities.
In real life, this was nearly impossible—too many variables existed, from strike placement to energy output, attack force, even wind direction.
But for elite trainers, it was a fundamental skill.
And the only way to achieve it?
More battles.
Fight enough, and even against unfamiliar Pokémon, you could gauge their threat level based on your own Pokémon's condition or the scale of the opponent's energy.
Experience bred intuition.
"As for Riolu—its speed and power are decent, but it relies too much on the breathing technique. While it's a useful force-generation technique, it's ultimately a human martial art."
Jiang Shangrong glanced at Li Xiang. "Humans and Pokémon have different reaction speeds. Do you understand?"
When using the technique, the moment of attack was devastating—but before that, the user had to draw in a sharp breath.
And it was during this brief intake that Golisopod had struck. Its massive claw, laced with venom, shot out like a cannon, instantly disrupting Riolu's momentum.
After all, if there was one thing Golisopod had mastered, it was timing.
"Understood." Li Xiang nodded.
Jiang Shangrong continued, "Using Agility to match speed against faster opponents isn't wrong, but you must consider the Pokémon's limits. Double Agility clearly exceeds Riolu's current control—you saw it yourself during the match. It couldn't stop cleanly, letting momentum drag its body."
She raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Master teach you from day one about the importance of stability?"
Stat-boosting moves no longer scaled by percentage but by fixed values—basic knowledge from long ago.
Double Agility's speed was simply too much for Riolu right now.
Casual sprints were fine, but trying to race at full throttle left it unable to brake, at the mercy of inertia.
The core issue? Its body coordination and reflexes weren't sharp enough to defy physics.
"Uh, yeah."
Li Xiang scratched his cheek awkwardly. Truthfully, he rarely used Double Agility.
Today had been an exception—he'd been too desperate to keep up with Golisopod's rhythm.
And it had backfired spectacularly.
"Finally, Greninja. The invisibility-and-substitute mind games are creative, but also extreme."
"Against average opponents, your tactics would dominate. But the moment you face someone with sharp perception or overwhelming area attacks—"
She took a breath, her gaze steady. "Your Greninja becomes useless. Do you see the problem?"
"I do."
The proof had been right in front of him.
During their battle, Greninja had layered substitutes, shadow clones, and its real body beneath a veil of smokescreen, with its natural camouflage and stealth further muddying the field.
Even Li Xiang, its trainer, had lost track of which was which.
Yet Jiang Shangrong and her Dragalge saw through it effortlessly. No need for Hurricane to clear the field—just a single, precision Hydro Pump, its accuracy leagues beyond a certain "friendly fire" specialist.
And according to Jiang Shangrong, this level of skill was commonplace among top-tier academy teams.
Honestly?
Li Xiang was skeptical. But the seriousness in her eyes told him that maybe she wasn't exaggerating.
"Watching from the stands or on TV might not give you the full picture. But once you're on that stage, facing those people in person, you'll understand."
Her voice was low, weighted with experience. "Never underestimate others just because you're strong. The world is vast, and talent is everywhere. No one is invincible."
As someone who'd been there, her words carried authority.
Li Xiang nodded silently.
The Solutions?
First—Li Xiang himself needed to change.
In Jiang Shangrong's eyes, while his Pokémon were powerful, their flaws were numerous.
His strength far surpassed his peers, yet he struggled against older opponents of similar caliber.
Crushing weaker foes had ingrained bad habits: overcommitting, letting opponents dictate the pace.
Pokémon battles weren't just about moves. Predictable turn-based exchanges might work at lower levels, but higher tiers were all about opportunity.
And what defined opportunity?
Action advantage.
Whether in games or reality, losing the ability to act meant losing everything.
(Note: Action advantage is not the same as first move advantage. The former is about control; the latter, mere speed.)
At elite levels, both sides fought ruthlessly to strip away their opponent's options.
Li Xiang's earlier match against Gong Xu—where he'd aggressively buffed to one-shot the Umbreon, allowing his opponent time to strategize—was, in Jiang Shangrong's eyes, a fatal mistake.
Even defensive Pokémon had to pressure foes into wasting moves or switching.
Stalemates? Those were last resorts, not strategies.
Never give the enemy room to breathe. No matter the opponent, eliminate them as fast as possible.
The longer a fight dragged on, the more variables piled up, the more chances the enemy had to turn the tables.
Li Xiang understood completely.
In higher tiers, moves like Taunt and Safeguard were standard. Most stall tactics had dedicated counters.
Unless a Pokémon had an extremely shallow movepool, time-wasting strategies simply didn't survive.
To break his habit of coasting against weaker foes, he needed to become the weaker foe—to get crushed repeatedly, adapting to Jiang Shangrong's level of play.
In short?
More battles.
...
Incineroar's Adjustments.
The tanky brawler build wasn't wrong—but its approach was.
Waiting to counter after eating a hit might look cool, but it was just handing the opponent free damage.
The correct method? Attack first. If outsped, rely on bulk to tank the hit mid-strike, ensuring its own attack landed uninterrupted.
This demanded far greater endurance and willpower from Incineroar.
Standing still to defend was one thing; maintaining offense while under fire was another.
Its training would now focus on taking hits while dishing them out.
Milotic and Dragalge would be its new sparring partners—both hard counters, one a bulky Competitive wall, the other a Swift Swim special sweeper.
Exactly the types Incineroar struggled against.
It didn't need to beat them. It just needed to survive long enough for Li Xiang to switch.
...
Riolu's Adjustments.
Overdependence on the breathing technique had eroded its natural striking instincts.
That couldn't continue. The technique wasn't a cure-all; some situations demanded alternatives.
The priority? Learning when to use it and not defaulting to it every time.
Second? Sharper body control and reflexes.
These couldn't be boosted by vitamins. Only effort would suffice.
The solution was simple: Deeper mastery of the Threefold Blind Perception Method.
"Once Riolu reaches the intermediate stage, both aspects will improve," Jiang Shangrong said.
Yet two years had passed since they'd begun training it.
Aside from Incineroar's breakthrough last summer and Li Xiang's near the year's end, none of his other Pokémon had come close.
An invisible barrier seemed to loom before them—thin yet unbreakable. If even Riolu, with its solid martial arts foundation, struggled this much…
Li Xiang shuddered to think how long he'd have been stuck without last year's epiphany.
"It's about the fateful opportunity," Jiang Shangrong said.
"Talent in martial arts doesn't guarantee enlightenment. Sometimes, the leap from beginner to intermediate hinges on a single spark of insight."
She patted Golisopod beside her. The armored Pokémon struck a pose.
"It's not about clarity of purpose or ambition. It's a step—you lift one foot onto it, then pull the other up after."
…What a mystifying analogy.
Li Xiang sighed internally. No wonder he was the weakest in the dojo.
"It's up to you now."
He gently rubbed Riolu's cheeks and paws.
The head was off-limits—Riolu had principles. No one was allowed to ruffle its fur there, trainer included.
And Li Xiang respected that. Having individuality was good; no need to suppress it.
"Riolu!"
The Emanation Pokémon raised a paw determinedly. Truthfully, it had already sensed a hazy thread leading toward the next stage.
All it needed was to follow that thread.
Once it succeeded, it planned to surprise Li Xiang.
...
Greninja's Adjustments.
Only one thing needed fixing: Learning to fight normally, not relying solely on camouflage tactics.
If invisibility failed, it couldn't just flounder helplessly. It had to master frontline combat.
And for that?
Scizor would be its teacher.
When it came to raw, explosive close-quarters combat, few Pokémon matched the red-armored blur's ferocity.