The Next Day.
April 28th.
Owen felt his timing was impeccable. Today was Friday—if he just toughed out one more day of school, the Labor Day holiday would begin!
A perfect streak.
However, attending school at this point was mostly a formality for Owen. Whether he showed up or not didn't really matter anymore.
As the champion of the Province High School League, he had already received "guaranteed admission" offers for Pokémon Battle majors from numerous prestigious universities.
This included Magic Capital University and Imperial Capital University.
The only question remaining for Owen was whether to choose a Battle major or a Research major. His acceptance into a top-tier university was already a foregone conclusion.
"Let's go, time for school."
Owen packed his gear, called Eevee and Magnemite, and headed out.
Upon arriving at school, Owen didn't head to his classroom. He wasn't there to listen to lectures or even to train; he had something specific to discuss with Mr. Lee, the Professional Breeder.
Creek—
Inside the Comprehensive Building, at the Fairview No. 1 Psychology Club room.
Owen held his keys, Eevee draped over his shoulder (looking noticeably rounder after their recent trip), and prepared to unlock the door, only to find it already open.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The sound of rapid keyboard typing echoed from within. The person typing was so focused they didn't even notice Owen and Eevee enter.
Owen looked over. A student sat at a desk, fingers flying across a laptop. It was a girl wearing a Grade 10 school jacket, unzipped to reveal a grey T-shirt. Owen didn't recognize her, but he could guess her identity.
"Vee!" Eevee asked Owen who this girl was and why she was occupying their turf. Moreover, why did Eevee only get to play on a phone in the club room while this girl got a whole laptop? Unfair!
The girl finally realized someone was in the room. She looked up and saw Owen and Eevee.
Eevee...
The moment Xia Xiaowei saw the Eevee, she knew exactly who was standing there.
"President Owen..." she murmured, stopping her work and standing up.
"You must be Xia Xiaowei, right?" Owen asked with a smile.
The girl nodded. Leo had mentioned her—she was one of the five junior members Mr. Lee had recruited for the Psychology Club. A Grade 10 student with a natural gift for computer science and data: .
"I'm here to see Mr. Lee," Owen explained.
"Oh... okay." Xia Xiaowei nodded quickly, then glanced back at her laptop. Should she leave?
"What are you working on?" Owen asked, curious. It was morning study time; instead of being in her classroom reading, she was in the club room on a computer... This girl is even bolder than I am!
"Homework," she replied.
Homework??
"It's a data analysis of our school's participants' matches." Xia Xiaowei turned the laptop so Owen and Eevee could see the screen.
"Our Pokémon class teacher asked us to write an essay analyzing a specific battle from the tournament... but Mr. Lee told me to do a detailed data analysis instead. This is the assignment he gave me."
"Your teachers really know how to make life difficult," Owen thought. Back when he was in Grade 10, they didn't have to deal with complex battle analysis. Has the curriculum changed that much?
And Mr. Li was giving her private assignments. That was unusual. Owen looked at the screen, and his expression quickly turned serious.
"Is this... my match against Jean?"
"Yes..." Xia Xiaowei explained softly. "I used a model to reconstruct the field and the battle process."
"And these?" Owen asked, pointing to a graph.
"Based on the physical data Eevee displayed, I calculated several potential paths. If you had pivoted here, and then transitioned to here to attack, there was a statistical window to strike Haunter during the pursuit after being cursed," she said.
"Of course... this is all just theoretical. Data calculations can't account for the unknown variables of a real battle..." She spoke quickly, fearing Owen might be offended.
Owen stared at the screen, deep in thought. He remembered that fight well. During the pursuit, he had Eevee "fake" an opening to lure Haunter into a counterattack—partly to lower the opponent's guard and partly because he didn't have a reliable way to hit a Ghost-type that was so skilled at hiding.
However, Xia Xiaowei's data analysis suggested a sliver of a possibility. If he had given the command exactly like that, and Eevee had executed it perfectly, they could have cornered Haunter.
While it was "armchair generalship" after the fact, Owen couldn't deny that Xia Xiaowei was a genius. And she was only a freshman. At that age, Owen was still grinding in video games.
Just then, Mr. Lee entered. He looked at the two and said, "Oh, you're both here."
"Xiaowei, go get ready for class. It's almost time."
"Okay, Mr. Lee." Xia Xiaowei closed her laptop, waved goodbye to Owen and Eevee, and left.
Left alone with Owen, Mr. Li gave him a look of admiration. "You really gave me a massive surprise... the Rookie King of Su Province."
"That title is so cringey. I don't know which reporter started that..." Owen said awkwardly.
"Vee-vee!!" Eevee nodded. Was it the girl from Dawn Platform? Actually, cringey or not, it had a certain prestige to it. They'd take it.
"Haha, so what brings you here? Surely not just to check on me?" Mr. Li laughed.
"I have a question about breeding..." Owen scratched his head.
It was about Magnemite. Owen remembered an episode from the anime where a trainer "ranched" Magnemite by letting them absorb natural lightning. In the real world, there were similar rumors.
Some said a Magnemite raised on natural lightning had far more potential than one raised in a charging room. Owen couldn't verify this himself, so he came to the expert.
For the rest of the semester and the summer, he planned to focus entirely on Magnemite. If the rumors were true, he needed to consider it.
As Owen explained his idea, Eevee trembled in fear. Letting Magnemite get struck by lightning??
Demon Owen!! Eevee vowed to be on its best behavior. If it was Magnemite today, it could be Eevee tomorrow.
Mr. Lee was silent for a moment after hearing the question. Then, he spoke firmly: "I will not allow you or Magnemite to go near a lightning storm. It is far too dangerous."
Owen blinked. So, it was dangerous... but Mr. Li didn't deny the breeding value.
Mr. Lee continued, "That method is viable, but it's not as simple as you think. Have you ever heard of the Electric Wilderness?"
Owen shook his head.
"Then, do you know the difference between a Secret Realm and a Danger Zone?"
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