Scizor and Froakie collided, but in a pure test of strength, Scizor held the advantage. After a single clash, Scizor was unfazed, while Froakie retreated several steps. Scizor's punch had shattered the Bubble Beam and struck Froakie's hand.
"Froakie, Bubble Beam!"
Froakie expertly launched bubbles from various angles towards Scizor, but Scizor, with a punch for each, rejected them all. After swatting away the bubbles, Scizor struck a victorious pose with its pincers.
"Little Xiazi, while Froakie is capable, it's still far too weak to stop Scizor! Scizor, use Iron Head!"
Xia Hunan reacted quickly. He sidestepped to the right, saying, "Go, Shedinja, block this Iron Head, and use Mud-Slap on Scizor!"
Shedinja emerged from its Poké Ball and directly blocked Scizor's attack in front of it. Scizor felt as if it had crashed into a gust of wind and stopped. Shedinja, dazed, flapped its wings and hovered in mid-air.
"I'm truly sorry, I know Scizor is strong, so I never intended for this to be a one-on-one fight. Shedinja, use Shadow Sneak, Froakie, use Ice Beam."
Facing the combined assault of Shedinja and Froakie, Tong Ruo commanded Scizor to jump and dodge. Shedinja's attack missed, while Froakie's Ice Beam struck Shedinja.
"Shedinja, Froakie, pursue! Carbink, use Rock Throw!"
Seeing that his two Pokémon couldn't contain Scizor, Xia Hunan decisively sent Carbink into the fray. Three Pokémon surrounded one Scizor. However, Tong Ruo, a trainer on the cusp of becoming a Frontier Brain, wasn't fazed by the encirclement. She withdrew her second Poké Ball, seemingly preparing for a two-on-three battle.
"Carbink, Dazzling Gleam, Froakie, use Water Pulse to knock away the Poké Ball!"
Carbink's Dazzling Gleam instantly illuminated the entrance of the small hall as if it were broad daylight. Tong Ruo narrowed her eyes, and in that moment, the Poké Ball in her hand was knocked away by Froakie. Xia Hunan lunged and secured it.
Xia Hunan lacked effective counters against the Bug/Steel typing. He had no Fire-type moves at all. The level difference meant Froakie's attacks had little effect on Scizor.
While the three Pokémon couldn't defeat Scizor, Scizor also couldn't do much against them. Whenever Scizor attacked, Xia Hunan would have Shedinja take the hit, making Tong Ruo feel quite frustrated.
"Little Xiazi, what kind of Pokémon is that? Is it a bit too resilient! It's taken several attacks and shows no reaction."
Xia Hunan felt proud that he had Tong Ruo stumped. "Let me introduce you: Shedinja, the evolved form of Nincada, Bug/Ghost type, with the ability Wonder Guard. As long as it's not a super-effective weakness, it's basically immune to most moves."
Hearing Xia Hunan's explanation, Tong Ruo said, "Oh, so there's such a Pokémon. But is it okay to tell me?"
"It doesn't matter. It's in the Pokédex, and its evolution conditions aren't difficult. As long as you want it, most people can get one. It's not like our little princess here, who's a particularly rare Pokémon."
As they chatted, Xia Hunan suddenly thought of a solution. It was a popular saying from his previous life: what do you do if you can't solve a problem? Solve the person who posed the problem. This was widely applicable in situations other than crucial exams.
Applying this now, since Xia Hunan couldn't defeat Scizor that insisted on breaking in, he decided to find a way to deal with the instigator, Tong Ruo.
"Sister Ruo, although it's June, the evening breeze is quite cold," Xia Hunan said, shivering exaggeratedly.
Tong Ruo, surprised by Xia Hunan's sudden and inexplicable concern, asked, "So?"
Xia Hunan smirked. "So, if Sister Ruo gets wet and then the wind blows, you'll catch a cold. Froakie, aim at Sister Ruo, Water Pulse seven times!"
Tong Ruo was wearing a thin dress tonight. Hearing Xia Hunan's nonsensical rambling, her anger flared immediately. "Scizor, hit back the Water Pulse! I'm going to teach this kid a lesson!"
Xia Hunan was stunned. Hit back Water Pulse? That sounded utterly ridiculous.
Scizor extended its claw and directly caught the water sphere containing the Water Pulse. Xia Hunan's eyes widened in disbelief. "That works too? I've never heard of Scizor being able to open its pincers like that."
"That's why you're still too young. Scizor, throw it back!"
Scizor swung its pincer, turning the two water spheres into jets of water and throwing them back. However, it was a second-hand Water Pulse, so the speed was a bit slow. Xia Hunan retreated several steps and dodged it. But in his haste, the back of his head thudded against the door of the small hall.
"I don't believe you can catch this one too, Froakie, use Water Pulse!"
"Scizor, catch it again!"
Although Scizor successfully caught this water sphere, Water Pulse was different from a regular Water Pulse. It maintained an unstable balance. Scizor's catch disrupted this balance, and the erupting Water Pulse, while not dealing fatal damage, caused Scizor to hit its own head with its pincer.
"Beautiful! Press the advantage, Froakie, Water Pulse, Shedinja, Mud-Slap, Carbink, Dazzling Gleam!"
The three Pokémon split into two groups. Shedinja and Carbink continued to attack Scizor, while Froakie bombarded Tong Ruo with Water Pulse, seemingly intent on getting her wet.
However, Tong Ruo was a skilled trainer and dodged Xia Hunan's Water Pulse with a few simple steps.
"Little Xiazi, you can't stop me."
"Sister Ruo, where did you learn that villainous line? That's a bad habit."
As they were talking, Xia Hunan heard the door of the small hall behind him open. Qin Huanhuan's small head popped out. "Teacher Xia, could you come in for a moment?"
Xia Hunan and Tong Ruo froze in surprise. "What? You want me to come in?"
Qin Huanhuan nodded. "Yes, Teacher Xia, please come in."
Just as Xia Hunan was about to turn, Tong Ruo stopped him. "Wait, a girl asks you to come in, and you just go? Are you that obedient?"
"What's wrong with that? It's better than me refusing to let you in, and you stubbornly insisting on coming in."
Qin Huanhuan followed Xia Hunan's words and looked at Tong Ruo. "Teacher Tong is here too? Then let's all go in together."
Now it was Xia Hunan's turn to be caught off guard. He could only silently pray for the girls, hoping this swimsuit dance wouldn't turn into Tong Ruo's nude festival.
The two teachers put away their Pokémon and entered the hall, closing the door. The hall was spotlessly clean. There wasn't a single swimsuit in sight. In fact, as far as Xia Hunan could see, there wasn't an extra piece of clothing anywhere.
Xia Hunan blinked. "Didn't you say we were going to change into swimsuits? You liars."
Yan Chunyu rolled her eyes at him. "You were fighting so fiercely outside, did you think we didn't know? So, we just held them up briefly in front of us and put them away. We won't give anyone a chance."
Xia Hunan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Tong Ruo, a hint of pride in his eyes. "See? My plan to delay time ultimately succeeded."
Tong Ruo, unaffected by Xia Hunan's smugness, asked them, "So, why did you call me and Little Xiazi in?"
The girls crowded around. "Teacher Xia, may we borrow Diancie?"
Xia Hunan looked at the girls. "You're not planning to get a swimsuit for the little princess too, are you? The little princess is Rock type."
The girls were taken aback. "Oh, we overlooked that. Diancie can't play in the water."
As they spoke, Diancie hopped out of its Poké Ball and began to act cute, holding Xia Hunan's hand. Xia Hunan crouched down slightly. "Little princess, do you want to try on a swimsuit too?"
Diancie nodded. Xia Hunan had no choice but to hand her over to the girls. "I'll leave our little princess to you. Don't do anything reckless."
The girls swarmed over. By the time they were done with the little princess, she was adorned in a new outfit.
Since Pokémon didn't need swimsuits, Diancie was simply given a straw hat adorned with pink rhinestones and a flower crown.
Xia Hunan looked at the attire. "Is this what you call a swimsuit?"
"Uh, we couldn't do anything else. This is all we could manage for her."
Xia Hunan looked at Diancie. "How is it, little princess, do you like it?"
Diancie reached up and adjusted the pink hat on its head, then waved its hands, producing a cascade of sparkling diamonds that scattered in the wind.
"Seeing our little princess scatter diamonds shows she's very satisfied. Thank you all."
Saying this, Xia Hunan released Froakie and Shedinja. "Then, could you trouble everyone to dress up our Froakie and Shedinja too?"
Seeing Froakie and Shedinja, the girls excitedly rushed forward. Xia Hunan stepped back. "Sister Ruo, you don't seem to be in a very good mood."
Tong Ruo glared at him. "If you hadn't stopped me, I would have seen the swimsuits."
"Sister Ruo, you should be grateful. If Froakie's attack had hit, it would have been a different story."
Hearing this, Tong Ruo's mind seemed to wander. She twisted Xia Hunan's ear and whispered to him, "What, you want me to lose my virtue that badly? Even if I were to lose it, it wouldn't be at your hands. I've already lost it to Principal Zheng."
Xia Hunan: ...