Faced with Su Qingxue's curious inquiry, a rare, bitter smile appeared on Guo Yi's face.
The reason he lived secluded in Yangliu Village was simple enough—when he had transmigrated, his predecessor had already been living here.
It was difficult for him to explain clearly.
As for the reason his predecessor had come to this village…
Well, that was quite the melodramatic story.
Simply put, he had been dumped by his girlfriend, challenged her new boyfriend to a Pokémon battle in a moment of jealousy, and suffered a crushing defeat.
Humiliated, he'd hidden himself away in Yangliu Village.
As for parents or relatives, his predecessor was an orphan, with no family to speak of.
When Su Qingxue saw her teacher's hesitation, noticing a fleeting sadness in his eyes, she quickly formed her own assumption.
It seems Teacher has suffered heartbreak!
Throughout history, nothing was more painful than lost love.
In her mind, only heartbreak could have led someone as talented as Teacher Guo to choose a life of seclusion at such a young age.
Thus, she sighed sympathetically, offering consolation, "Teacher, please don't be too sad."
"With your talents, there must be countless girls who would chase after you. If not, I can always introduce my aunt to you."
The aunt Su Qingxue referred to was naturally her mother's close friend, Tang Rong.
Although Tang Rong and her mother, Ye Qing, addressed each other as sisters, in truth, Tang Rong was only four or five years older than Su Qingxue herself.
As the saying went: Marrying a woman three years older is like gaining a treasure.
Her aunt and Teacher Guo seemed to be a perfect match age-wise.
"Eh?"
Guo Yi was startled, not expecting such an offer.
Indeed, just now, he'd briefly felt sadness due to his predecessor's memories of heartbreak.
Unexpectedly, this led to him being offered a potential girlfriend on a silver platter.
Cough, cough.
Guo Yi cleared his throat, speaking gently, "No need to trouble yourself too much, Qingxue… But as for your aunt, um… please send me her contact details."
"If there's an opportunity later, maybe you could introduce us."
Initially, Guo Yi intended to politely refuse his student's kind offer. But after catching a glimpse of Tang Rong's glamorous photos in Su Qingxue's phone—
He wavered.
Ahem—let me make it clear. It's not because I'm shallow; I simply wouldn't want to hurt my student's goodwill…
"Okay!" Su Qingxue beamed.
"My birthday is on the fifteenth of next month. If things with the Flying Eagle Gang have settled down, Mom should be bringing Aunt Tang along to celebrate."
In fact, through her recent calls home, Su Qingxue had learned that her mother's leadership had significantly strengthened the Azure Dragon Society's position. Ye Qing had also mentioned she wanted to express gratitude to Guo Yi personally. After all, it was thanks to his strategy that Ye Qing had managed to gain an advantage over Ying Tou.
After chatting casually for a while longer, both teacher and student returned to their tents to rest.
Tonight, Guo Yi didn't ask Beedrill to stand guard again.
Instead, he released the pair, Nidoking and Nidoqueen.
Beedrill had been on guard duty all day; it deserved a proper rest tonight.
...
The next day.
Guo Yi and Su Qingxue continued onward according to their original route.
Along the way, they encountered numerous wild Pokémon.
But none were particularly strong, allowing Su Qingxue and Nidorina to easily handle them.
Through these continuous battles, Nidorina had made significant progress, earning Guo Yi another 1,500 points through incremental rewards for guiding his student.
Before long—
Guo Yi and Su Qingxue finally reached the valley where the Weedle would endure its lightning tribulation.
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed as countless bolts of lightning crashed relentlessly onto the ground, splitting open the sky.
For a Weedle destined to have Champion-level Potential, even the valley it lived in had an extraordinary aura.
To put it simply—
The frequency of lightning strikes here was several times greater than outside.
"Teacher, you're sure this is the right place?"
"Looking around, this really doesn't seem like somewhere a Weedle could survive…"
Su Qingxue's gaze swept doubtfully over the barren surroundings.
Although there were many trees around, each was scorched and blackened from lightning strikes.
The area was aptly filled with "Thunderstruck Wood"—completely burnt and charred.
The environment clearly wasn't suitable for raising a Pokémon like Weedle.
Facing his student's skepticism, Guo Yi chuckled lightly and explained, "If it were a normal environment, how could a Weedle with Champion Potential possibly appear?"
"For other Weedle, Thunderstruck Wood is something they'd naturally avoid. But for this particular Weedle, it's exactly the opposite. What's poison to others is honey to her."
Three years ago, this Weedle had accidentally swallowed a fragment of a [Lightning Crystal]. Because of this, ordinary plants no longer satisfied her hunger.
Only Thunderstruck Wood—
Not only could it fill Weedle's stomach, but the residual lightning energy in the wood could also ease the pain caused by the [Lightning Crystal] shard lodged in her body.
[Lightning Crystal] fragments were used in creating the legendary Pokémon Regieleki.
Even pure Electric-type Pokémon would find it incredibly difficult to absorb one completely, let alone a mere Weedle.
Frankly—
For Weedle to endure three entire years after consuming such a shard was already a miracle.
And tomorrow, when the lightning tribulation finally arrived, she would fully integrate the shard's power, transforming into a Pokémon possessing true Champion Potential.
It was fair to say that fortune and misfortune often went hand in hand!
Whoosh!
Suddenly—
A thread of white silk shot from the darkness, attaching itself firmly to the cliffside.
Following the swinging thread, a small, dark figure landed deftly onto a nearby tree, freshly charred by lightning.
"Speak of the devil, and it appears."
That shadowy figure on the tree was precisely the Weedle they'd come for.
[Weedle (Bug/Poison-type)]
[Gender: ♀]
[Level: Lv30 (Excellence Tier)]
[Ability: Run Away (Always able to escape from wild encounters)]
[Moves: Electroweb, Bug Bite, String Shot, Poison Sting (commonly used moves)]
[Egg Move: None]
[Held Item: Poison Barb (Veteran-tier)]
[Potential: Pseudo-Elite Four]
"A level 30 Weedle—that's definitely a first!"
Seeing Weedle's stats through his [Data Eye], Guo Yi was genuinely astonished.
Normally—
A Weedle evolved into Beedrill at around level ten or so.
Seeing a Weedle beyond level twenty in the wild was incredibly rare.
Of course—
The reason this Weedle hadn't evolved wasn't due to stubbornness.
Rather, the [Lightning Crystal] shard inside her prevented her from evolving.
However, precisely because of this shard, this Weedle now possessed Pseudo-Elite Four potential.
Once she survived tomorrow's lightning tribulation, she would be reborn anew.
Truly a Pokémon destined for greatness!