Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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The Dining Hall.

The dining hall wasn't large, but two large, dark-red round wooden tables stood out, along with a low wooden table.

Duan Tianxing sat at one of the round tables, surrounded by various dishes.

The low wooden table nearby was filled with food for Pokémon. Only the other round table was empty.

Since the dining hall wasn't connected to a kitchen, Li Xiang had no idea if the dojo even had a cook.

Surely Duan Tianxing didn't cook all this himself? Li Xiang had only taken 20 minutes to shower. Preparing such a large spread would take at least half an hour.

Looking around, Li Xiang guided Litten to its designated spot, which was easy to identify—it was the only area in front of the low wooden table with a small wooden staircase.

Such a thoughtful design.

Watching Litten climb the steps and eat voraciously, Li Xiang couldn't help but marvel at the perfect arrangement.

Then he turned to the larger wooden table.

Martial arts training emphasized proper nutrition, and this was no exception here.

The food included nutrient-rich porridge, plain boiled vegetables, Moomoo Milk, and a sliced "egg."

—The egg of a Blissey.

Rich in nutrients and exceptionally delicious, it was the perfect top-tier supplement.

These items were placed before Duan Tianxing, divided into four portions.

"Finish it all—it'll help restore your energy and aid your growth," Duan Tianxing said, holding a bun in his hand while a plate of plain-looking side dishes sat before him.

Were the meals here really this good?

If so, just eating would be worth it!

Without a word, Li Xiang sat down beside Duan Tianxing, raised his trembling hand, and stuffed the food into his mouth.

After Duan Tianxing's initial instruction, he didn't say another word, and the same went for Duan Yu and the others when they entered.

When they finished eating, they got up and left.

Lu Chengfeng and the others visibly relaxed, while even Duan Yu seemed less tense.

Lu Chengfeng turned to Li Xiang with a smile. "Junior Brother, how do you find the food here?"

Li Xiang glanced at him, picked up a piece of bitter melon, and popped it into his mouth. "Not bad."

The stir-fried bitter melon was well-done, even better than the dried vegetable and bitter melon stir-fry he'd made before.

"You actually eat bitter melon?"

Wang Dong stared at Li Xiang in disbelief. "Unbelievable!"

Li Xiang: "???"

'It's your picky eating, so stop acting like others are the strange ones!'

After finishing the last bite in a few quick chews, Li Xiang stood up, steadied himself on the table, and said, "I'm full. You guys continue."

He realized he just couldn't connect with these three.

Litten, having already finished its meal and licking its paws clean, jumped down the steps and let out a soft "Meow~."

"Let's go."

Li Xiang nodded, and man and Pokémon left the room one after the other.

Duan Yu watched Li Xiang's back in silence.

....

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Despite the initial unpleasantness, Lu Chengfeng and the others did take good care of Li Xiang.

Especially Duan Yu, who quietly helped Li Xiang with all sorts of tasks, leaving him feeling a bit embarrassed.

But as for inheriting the dojo, Li Xiang refused to entertain the idea.

If even the senior disciples hadn't brought it up, what was the point of the younger ones discussing it?

Frustrated by Li Xiang's steadfast refusal, the trio even tried bribing him with a gaming console and other items.

Of course, it was useless.

—As if it could ever work!

Li Xiang barely had enough time for himself. If he could, he'd learn Double Team just to multitask! There was no way he'd waste time playing a black-and-white console.

For now, his focus was on learning Exploding Fist from Duan Tianxing, but Duan Tianxing had told him that before learning to run, he had to learn to crawl.

In other words, he needed to perfect his stance training to build a solid foundation.

Only then would he teach him new moves.

Li Xiang could only comply, patiently practicing his stances to improve his physical fitness.

One interesting thing was that he finally got a glimpse of Duan Tianxing's Pokémon.

As previously mentioned, the Dojo's founding master linked the origins of their martial arts to Pangoro. 

And coincidentally, Duan Tianxing's Pokémon was, in fact, a Pangoro.

Why hadn't Li Xiang seen it until now?

Because all the meals and dishes he had been eating over the past week were cooked by this Pangoro.

Unbelievable! A real-life version of Kung Fu Panda!

Li Xiang almost wanted to ask if its name was Po but wisely held back. Still, its cooking skills were genuinely impressive.

As for Litten, which had gradually faded into the background, it wasn't slacking off.

Apart from being trained nightly by an utterly exhausted Li Xiang, it had also been learning Bulk Up from Duan Yu and his trio's Pokémon.

Bulk Up, a Fighting-type status move, enhances both Attack and Defense stats.

Li Xiang thought this buff move was far more useful than Nasty Plot, especially since Incineroar was primarily a physical attacker.

Li Xiang even took the opportunity to battle with Lu Chengfeng and the others.

Unfortunately, Litten was no match for their Pokémon, such as Hakamo-o. The gap between their abilities was simply too vast.

After losing several matches in a row, Li Xiang decided to stop mentioning battles for the time being.

That didn't mean the four Pokémon spent their days idling around.

Generally, everyone trained together in the mornings.

While Li Xiang practiced his stances, Litten would sit quietly like the others, such as Monferno, cultivating patience.

When Monferno and the others sparred using only their physical abilities—no elemental energy—Litten would observe closely from the shadows.

Litten also darted around the dojo with Monferno, using the complex terrain to improve its agility.

From Hakamo-o, Litten learned to use intimidating roars to suppress opponents. However, it couldn't master it, as it wasn't compatible with its abilities.

It had initially wanted to mimic Hakamo-o's reckless strategy of trading blows with opponents, but it quickly abandoned the idea.

After all, Hakamo-o had protective scales. Litten? Fur wouldn't exactly cut it as armor.

Meanwhile, Litten learned from Gurdurr how to wield its strength more flexibly to maximize damage—or, in other words, its "home-wrecking" skills—and even used the dojo's steel bars to train its physical prowess.

"Muscles are justice!"

That's what Gurdurr had told Litten.

Justice?

What was justice?

Perplexed, Litten resolved to find the answer itself.

From that point on, Litten no longer relied solely on Li Xiang for its training. With Li Xiang's "suggestions," it proactively sought to learn from other Pokémon.

Like a sponge soaking up water, it absorbed knowledge and grew stronger.

Quietly and steadily, it advanced.

Such was the fearsome nature of a truly gifted Pokémon.

...

Although martial arts are a lifelong pursuit, that didn't mean spending 10+ hours a day on it, 365 days a year.

After all, everyone had lives to live—and meals to eat.

Just as Li Xiang was slowly adapting to the grueling training regimen Duan Tianxing had set, the latter suddenly told him that starting the next day, he could leave after lunch.

Why?

Li Xiang had no idea. His past assumptions about the human body didn't entirely apply in this world, either.

He asked Duan Tianxing if he could continue practicing stances at home.

Duan Tianxing replied that he could but advised doing it in front of a mirror to self-correct and limited him to four sets of five minutes each.

Physical conditioning could take a break—afternoon sessions were unnecessary.

Li Xiang understood. Perhaps this was the "rest" part of the work-rest balance.

It worked out perfectly.

With the afternoons free, he could visit the conservation center to test what the books said about fur enhancing firepower.

The center had professionals who could provide advice, as well as specialized facilities and equipment. More importantly, there was no risk of accidents.

Of course, he needed his mother's permission first.

Thankfully, she was usually open-minded about such matters and had confidence in the center's safety measures.

No one knew the center's security better than she did.

Overall, the conservation center was the safest place in Qingcheng, second only to the Pokémon Association Hall.

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