Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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"Thank you!"

Li Xiang removed his helmet, wiping away the sweat inside, and smiled at the spectators.

Litten lowered its head, licking its paw to clean the soot off its face.

The ever-lazy Purugly yawned, utterly indifferent to the excitement around it.

Xiao Zhang marveled, "I was just saying the success rate for this would be low, but you nailed it on the first try! Truly worthy of being Sister Tao's son!"

"Just lucky, that's all. You flatter me," Li Xiang replied modestly.

The test wasn't over yet.

Li Xiang wasn't sure if Litten had completely expelled all the furballs from its stomach—there might still be some left.

Moreover, it needed to learn how to cough up furballs on its own without relying on cat grass.

—This was entirely feasible.

Li Xiang had done his research. Litten naturally possessed the ability to expel furballs, but it required regular practice to refine this skill.

As expected, just as he'd predicted, Litten hadn't cleared out all the fur from its stomach. Some remained, and after consuming another serving of cat grass from Li Xiang, it transformed the leftovers into an even larger fireball that slammed into the unfortunate training dummy with a 

BOOM!

The power had increased again.

Was it because the furball's size had increased?

Squinting, Li Xiang removed his helmet and opened his mouth wide with an "Ah—," signaling for Litten to imitate him.

At first, Litten didn't understand and sniffed at Li Xiang's mouth curiously. Only after Purugly impatiently batted it did Litten catch on, opening its mouth.

Li Xiang crouched down and sniffed cautiously.

The smell wasn't the usual acidic stench of vomit mixed with stomach bile. Instead, it was more akin to the scent of sulfur soap he once used to kill mites—slightly pungent but tolerable.

Indeed, the bodily composition of Pokémon differed greatly from that of humans.

The closest matches were likely Normal-type and Fighting-type Pokémon.

Using a flashlight, Li Xiang inspected Litten's mouth carefully.

There were no signs of blistering or burns.

Still uncertain, he carried Litten to Xiao Zhang, who confirmed that everything looked fine.

"Does this mean... it's mastered it?"

Li Xiang felt a bit dazed. He had been repeatedly overestimating Litten's potential, only to realize time and again that he'd completely underestimated this formidable little feline.

Books warned of how dangerous this process could be; Online searches suggested that this could potentially harm Pokémon.

Even Xiao Zhang, a specialist in Fire-types, had said it was difficult to master.

Yet here it was—a success on the first try.

If someone claimed it was sheer luck, Li Xiang might believe it, but he felt it had more to do with Litten's innate talent.

"Looks like we'll need to try again..."

Li Xiang gently scratched Litten's chin. He disliked being unprepared and believed that using furballs to enhance Ember as a trump card required improving both its success rate and accuracy.

Since it was still early, they could afford another attempt.

"Meow~"

Litten had no objections.

This time, it decided to try expelling the furball on its own without relying on cat grass. If it couldn't manage, then it would eat the grass.

The basic move would still be Ember—Heat Wave was too advanced for Litten for now.

Li Xiang figured it would be safer to wait until he had enough candies to improve Litten's physical condition before transitioning to Heat Wave.

Even with today's test, he felt he'd been a bit reckless.

Litten began to concentrate.

It recalled the retching sensation from the previous two attempts, contracting its abdominal muscles and rolling its throat. Its body tensed as it tried to replicate the motion.

Minutes passed.

Whether the furball had already been expelled or Litten was just struggling, nothing came out despite its repeated attempts. Even the lunch it had eaten an hour and a half ago seemed fully digested.

Seeing this, Li Xiang approached with a few tender green blades of grass. "Want some?"

Litten glanced at the grass, then backed up two steps, making its reluctance clear.

Did it no longer like eating it?

Li Xiang tilted his head and exchanged a glance with Purugly.

"Meow."

Purugly didn't need Li Xiang to say a word; it understood his meaning just by looking and shook its head.

That meant Litten still liked the grass.

Was it just unwilling to eat it?

Li Xiang stroked his bare chin, noticing how hard Litten was trying. It hadn't given up on learning to expel furballs independently.

In contrast, he had quickly lost patience after a few failures, opting for the shortcut of cat grass.

This realization filled Li Xiang with a sudden sense of guilt.

As an adult, he felt ashamed that a less-than-two-month-old kitten had a stronger sense of determination.

Moreover, he should have more faith in Litten. After all, Litten had never once let him down—not even once.

Just as Litten always trusted him unconditionally, he needed to learn to trust Litten in return.

The relationship between a Trainer and their Pokémon wasn't as simple as master and servant or superior and subordinate.

It was far more intricate, something beyond ordinary labels.

Ash called Pikachu his partner. Red saw his Pokémon as companions. Yellow treated them as friends, while Gold thought of them as comrades-in-arms.

Every Trainer had their own perception of their bond with Pokémon.

Li Xiang was no exception.

"Come on!"

He encouraged Litten softly before moving to a safe distance. "I'm ready! Show me your awesome fireball!"

Nothing motivated a Pokémon more than the encouragement and praise of its Trainer, igniting its fighting spirit.

Spurred by recognition, Litten's belly muscles twisted furiously, and its throat worked even harder!

Finally.

The familiar acrid taste filled Litten's mouth in an instant.

Its pupils flashed with determination as its cheeks puffed out. A ferocious blaze erupted from its mouth, spreading like a fiery net and roaring toward the dummy!

The term "fire net" aptly described the scene, as the sheer coverage and intensity of the flames were leagues ahead of the previous attempts.

"Heat Wave—wait!"

Li Xiang froze in place, his breath fogging up the reinforced glass of his helmet. He quickly pulled back, opened the visor, and squinted through the haze at the spectacular sight unfolding before him.

The power behind this Ember was at least ten times greater than before!

This wasn't the "limited power boost" described in the textbooks.

Flames of this scale usually required a Pokémon of at least level 30, sometimes level 40 to execute!

For context, a level 40 Pokémon is classified as low-risk, capable of causing injuries (without moves) comparable to sharp edged weapons or small-caliber firearms in Li Xiang's previous world. These Pokémon must be registered, undergo annual checkups at Pokémon Centers or other official facilities, and have their abilities documented—similar to how cars undergo inspections.

The idea that Litten could unleash such a powerful attack was far beyond Li Xiang's expectations.

But then his expression shifted. He rushed forward, scooping up the now-trembling Litten to examine its mouth closely.

As expected.

The once-bright red hue of its small mouth had turned slightly charred, accompanied by a faint burnt smell that lingered near Li Xiang's nose.

Zhang and the other two caretakers hurried over, surrounding the visibly pained Litten to inspect it carefully.

Within ten seconds, Zhang delivered his assessment.

"It's nothing serious—just a minor burn inside the mouth caused by excessive heat. A quick spray of medicine in the infirmary, and it'll heal in about half an hour."

Li Xiang finally let out a sigh of relief, gently stroking Litten's now-relaxing jaw.

The burn Zhang referred to wasn't the Burn status condition but a physical injury, akin to scalding water or a surface burn from an open flame.

It might seem odd that a Fire-type Pokémon could hurt itself with its own flames.

However, whether due to elemental interactions or physical reality, no Fire-type Pokémon is completely immune to high temperatures. They merely have significantly higher resistance than other types.

Normally, the flames Litten produced wouldn't harm itself.

But this time was an exception.

The explosive flames generated a burst of heat far beyond Litten's current tolerance level.

It was reminiscent of the recoil from Flare Blitz, but distinctly different in nature.

.....

Infirmary

Sector Three – General Ward

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Li Xiang entered the ward carrying two catnip lollipops.

A chorus of faint whimpers immediately greeted him.

Li Xiang blinked, glancing around at the various Pokémon sprawled on the white beds. His expression remained composed.

The care facility often received injured Pokémon, whether they were brought in by outsiders or hurt during free play. Disputes and scuffles were common.

As a result, the infirmary was one of the liveliest spots in the facility.

"Blissey~"

A pink-and-white Pokémon, with curled tufts on its head, small wings on its arms and waist, and a chubby egg-like appearance, wheeled a cart past him.

Unable to resist, Li Xiang reached out to pat its head.

"Blissey!"

Blissey adjusted its nurse's cap with an indignant twist of its head, then poked Li Xiang's arm in mild reprimand for his behavior.

"Apologies, my bad," Li Xiang said with a smile, clasping his hands in a sincere gesture of apology.

Sensing his genuine remorse, Blissey magnanimously forgave him and waddled off with its cart, its footsteps making soft squishing sounds that added to its cuteness.

Li Xiang watched the Blissey leave before continuing deeper into the ward.

At bed number four, he spotted two Pokémon sprawled together, paws tucked close, snoozing peacefully.

One was large, the other small, completely occupying the bed.

"Seriously, I asked you to look after it, and you made yourself comfortable instead?"

Li Xiang helplessly tugged on Purugly's ears and rubbed Litten's chin.

The two cats slowly woke up, with the latter immediately fixating on the catnip lollipop. It sprang up with a flicking tail, eyes brimming with anticipation.

The former, however, huffed disdainfully, turning its head to hide the faint gulp that betrayed its interest.

"You've both worked hard today. Here's your reward."

For once, Li Xiang didn't tease them. Instead, he handed over the lollipops directly.

Litten, unable to hold back, pounced forward and clutched the lollipop with its paws, eagerly licking it with its now-healed tongue. Its tail flicked wildly, betraying its excitement.

A soft, contented purr began to hum.

Meanwhile, Purugly, who had feigned indifference, huffed again before opening its mouth wide to swallow the entire lollipop in one bite.

With its larger size and mouth, consuming the small lollipop was effortless. It preferred to let the catnip dissolve slowly in its mouth, savoring the flavor.

"Mmm~"

In no time, the catnip took effect.

Purugly, succumbing to its intoxicating influence, rolled around on the bed, its body wriggling in delight.

The contrast with Litten, who lay calmly and focused on its lollipop, couldn't have been starker.

Watching this, Li Xiang's expression turned thoughtful.

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