Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof

-----------------

The next day.

Since Litten required a period of observation, it had to stay at the conservation center, monitored in real-time with professional medical equipment.

This left Li Xiang to head to the dojo alone for training.

As for the tournament, the next rounds were scheduled two days later. Apparently, the number of participants was significantly higher than the competitions Lin Feng had attended in Xiangcheng, several times larger, in fact.

However, despite the increased participation, the top rewards were nowhere near as enticing as those in the neighboring city.

What's the deal? Budget cuts?

Regardless, if there were any issues with Litten's condition, Li Xiang wouldn't even think about competing in the tournament anymore.

"Good morning, junior! Where's your cat?"

Lu Chengfeng, with a bun in his mouth and a laid-back demeanor, stood in the small square. Not spotting Litten, who usually stuck to Li Xiang like glue, he couldn't help but ask.

"Good morning. It ran into a little issue, so it's staying at home," Li Xiang replied with a smile.

With that, he turned and stepped into the main hall.

Inside, Duan Yu—the most focused among the three in their martial arts training and the one most determined to become a doctor—was using a wooden staff to strike at a contraption made of wires and sticks. The apparatus seemed almost alive, counterattacking with every hit.

"Good morning, Brother Duan."

Li Xiang greeted Duan Yu mid-practice and, without waiting for a response, put down his bag and began warming up.

Lu Chengfeng edged closer to Duan Yu from a safe distance, out of reach of the swinging contraption, and whispered, "Junior brother seems in a bad mood today."

Thud!

A light sound echoed as one of the wooden sticks hit Duan Yu in the chest.

Duan Yu glanced at the staff in his hands and then at the contraption, clearly annoyed. He had actually lost focus during training.

Sigh...

"…Do you know why? Did you ask?"

Adjusting his grip on the wooden staff, Duan Yu asked calmly.

Lu Chengfeng shrugged. "Probably something to do with his ridiculously pampered Litten."

Everyone in the dojo, from Duan Tianxing to Wang Dong the Machop-like trainee, knew how much Li Xiang depended on and doted on his Pokémon.

Duan Yu frowned briefly but quickly let it go.

Everyone has their own path. For a trainer like Li Xiang, relying on his Pokémon was entirely reasonable.

"Go ask him directly what happened," Duan Yu instructed without thinking.

But Lu Chengfeng wasn't having it.

"If I had the guts to ask, do you think I'd be here talking to you?" he muttered under his breath. "You know how stubborn Junior can be."

From what Lu Chengfeng had learned about Li Xiang over these past days, if he didn't want to talk about something, no amount of questioning would get the truth out of him. He'd either change the subject or deflect with another story.

Besides, even though Li Xiang had repeatedly assured them that what happened on the first day was in the past, Lu Chengfeng could never forget the strange expression on his face back then. It was a normal look on the surface but sent shivers down Lu Chengfeng's spine.

Who knows if it was just his imagination?

Even after sparring with Li Xiang countless times on Duan Tianxing's orders—pummeling him over and over—Lu Chengfeng still couldn't shake the unease.

"At this rate, you're going to end up calling Junior Brother 'Senior Brother,'" Duan Yu sneered, tossing the wooden staff to Lu Chengfeng and striding toward Li Xiang with an air of confidence.

And then…

Not even half a minute later, Duan Yu returned with the same air of confidence.

"Did you find out?"

Lu Chengfeng looked at him expectantly.

"Nope."

Duan Yu shook his head unapologetically, snatched the staff back from Lu Chengfeng, and resumed his practice as if nothing had happened.

"…Damn it!"

Lu Chengfeng couldn't resist flipping him off.

Why act so high and mighty then?

Incidentally, this particular "international gesture" was something he'd picked up from Li Xiang. The time he'd learned it, Li Xiang had been directing it at his Purugly.

….....

Not long after, Li Xiang finished his warm-up.

Wang Dong, the dojo's bottomless pit of an eater, finally emerged from the cafeteria, spring roll in hand. Upon seeing Li Xiang, he promptly tossed it at him.

"Master Xiong saved this especially for you."

Master Xiong referred to Duan Tianxing's Pangoro, affectionately nicknamed "Master Xiong" by Duan Yu and the others.

Li Xiang didn't stand on ceremony, grabbed the spring roll, and wolfed it down in a few quick bites.

He enjoyed eating these things, and Master Xiong often prepared them for him.

Outside the dojo hall.

Duan Tianxing strode in with the aura of a dragon and the stride of a tiger. When he spotted Li Xiang, he announced, "I've already heard about it."

His tone was akin to a superior delivering a routine briefing to a subordinate.

Li Xiang paused briefly, then nodded in acknowledgment, guessing his father must have informed him.

Mrs. Yin rarely called the teachers directly.

Duan Tianxing's words, however, piqued the curiosity of the other three.

What kind of situation could prompt their master to make such a statement? Unfortunately for them, no one was willing to enlighten them.

....

After nearly a month of rigorous training, Duan Tianxing declared that Li Xiang's body had gradually adapted to the Beng Quan stance. Building on that foundation, it was time for him to learn something new.

—Taking a beating.

Duan Tianxing firmly believed that to effectively land hits on others, one must first master the art of receiving blows.

To understand where and how it hurts, you have to be hit first.

He referred to this practice as "feeding techniques," essentially a controlled sparring session where the student was the receiving end of attacks.

It was said to improve Li Xiang's reaction time and resilience.

Crude logic, perhaps, but not without merit.

After some thought, Li Xiang admitted Duan Tianxing's reasoning made sense.

What he hadn't realized, however, was that just because taking hits was beneficial didn't mean it wasn't excruciating.

And so, his three senior brothers took turns "feeding" their junior brother with reckless abandon.

These three were remarkably skilled at dishing out pain: they knew exactly where to hit, where not to hit, when to go hard, and when to ease up. Their expertise was evident.

Li Xiang didn't need to ask to figure out that they had been on the receiving end of similar treatment. Only by experiencing pain themselves could they achieve such precision.

Today, it was Duan Yu's turn to "feed" Li Xiang.

After issuing his instructions, Duan Tianxing, as usual, retreated to the rear hall for his own morning routine.

Before Duan Yu could land too many punches on Li Xiang, however, two women entered the dojo.

One was tall, the other short.

The taller one had light chestnut-colored, wavy, long hair, while the shorter one sported a sleek, jet-black bob. Both wore casual summer outfits.

Youthful, vibrant, and stunningly attractive, they were entirely out of place in the traditional and ancient atmosphere of Zhenxing Dojo.

"Well, well! A new little junior!"

The taller, long-haired girl beamed at Li Xiang, who was sprawled on the ground with a slightly swollen cheekbone.

"A pleasure to meet you, Junior Brother," the short-haired girl said with a polite nod.

Seeing the two, Duan Yu and the other two senior brothers couldn't help but light up. They set aside what they were doing and eagerly approached the women, chattering away.

Li Xiang slowly got up and joined them, greeting the two in a low voice.

These two were none other than his second and third senior sisters.

The taller one, Qi Sunsun, was a star student among breeders, much like Mrs. Yin. She had a stunning figure and an equally striking personality—rebellious to the core.

The moment she left for college, she grew out her hair, dyed it, got manicures, wore makeup, and almost went the whole nine yards—just short of getting a tattoo.

Her bold transformations gave Duan Tianxing, with his deeply traditional values, endless headaches... or so he claimed, at least on the surface.

The short-haired girl, Jiang Shangrou, was pale, slightly slender, and doll-like in appearance. Her personality was even quieter than Duan Yu's, who was already known for being reserved.

According to Lu Chengfeng, Jiang Shangrou was the one most similar to Duan Tianxing in temperament: serious, methodical, and not fond of talking.

Once upon a time, Duan Tianxing had placed high hopes on her.

But in the end… she opted to attend an elite trainer's academy.

Talk about a tragic master (cue tactical recline).

Both of their universities were technically branch campuses of Yuzhou University, though in reality, they were on par with cultural universities.

Their presence here today meant their summer training program had ended.

Li Xiang knew the reason he hadn't seen his senior sisters earlier was that the eldest was in seclusion, preparing for her bar exam, while the second and third were off in the wilderness attending an isolated "summer camp" for advanced training.

Apparently, top-tier academies loved these activities, taking students to remote areas that were not overly dangerous yet far from completely safe.

The goal?

To hone their wilderness survival skills.

-------------------

Read up to 35+ (previously 25) advance chapters of [Pokemon: The Legendary Trainer] and up to 25 (previously 20) chapters of [Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!] exclusively on my Patreon!