"Sis, it's like this already, stop joking around. If I hand this kind of Xia Huanao over to Shen Yu, Shen Yu will have your two good friends kill me."
Hearing Yu Longdu use Tong Ruo and Zheng Xiaoxiao as shields, Yu Linglong wore a playful smile. "Is that so? You're right. Ruo Ruo and him have a very good relationship. I'll call them right now."
Seeing that his shield had turned into a death warrant, Yu Longdu quickly deployed plan B, deciding to take the wife route. "Sis, look at Yu Rui, your sister-in-law. She's a fan of Xia Huanao. You can't just watch your sister-in-law get upset, can you?"
Yu Linglong glanced at Yu Rui. "Is this kid telling the truth?"
Yu Rui nodded. Under Yu Linglong's powerful aura, Yu Rui felt a little uncomfortable. Yu Linglong leaned in and asked again, "Are both statements true?"
Yu Rui thought for a moment. "I really am a fan of Boss Xia."
Yu Longdu felt like an unlucky soul being pierced by ten thousand arrows yet refusing to die. However, it was understandable that Yu Rui didn't admit to being his girlfriend, as this was their first "meeting the parents." As long as Xia Huanao was okay, he wouldn't have to go through the agony again.
Yu Linglong nodded. "I see. For little Rui's sake, I'll tell you, Xia Huanao is fine. He's really fine."
Yu Longdu was confused. If he was fine, why did Xia Huanao look so miserable, like a lunatic?
"He's having doubts about himself. He thinks there's a problem with his strength and that all the battles he's won were fake. Once this doubt arises, it immediately destroys his entire psychological defense. However, he should be fine after he adjusts."
Yu Longdu nodded, half understanding. "Is that so? Why have I never had this kind of doubt, nor have I seen anyone else experience this?"
Yu Linglong pointed to the plate on the table. "Little Rui, could you get another plate of pastries? Yu Longdu will pay for it."
Yu Rui turned and went to the back kitchen, and soon returned with another plate of pastries. Yu Linglong moved aside. "Come, little Rui, sit next to me and eat together."
Yu Longdu reached out to take a piece, but Yu Linglong hit his hand with a Poké Ball. "Don't move. What does this have to do with you?"
Yu Longdu withdrew his hand, acting unusually obedient. Yu Rui, sitting opposite them, chuckled secretly. Seeing Yu Rui's smile, Yu Longdu felt it was all worth it.
"Did you watch this year's college student Pokémon competition? As a coach, Xia Huanao is clearly someone who enjoys thinking about tactics. And people who enjoy thinking about tactics have a characteristic: they overthink things."
Yu Longdu nodded. "Yes, that's right. Xia Huanao does overthink things, but is there a problem with that?"
"Well, overthinking can help you avoid many detours and problems. But once he encounters a problem that he can't solve within the scope of his overthinking, he will expand his thoughts again. And he will treat things that haven't happened but might happen as the truth. Take little Xia Zi, for example.
You told him that someone had the same thoughts as him, didn't you? So, if he didn't think of it within his usual scope of overthinking, and after you reminded him, he expanded his thoughts based on your suggestion. He feels that he can influence the game, so others can influence his game too. Once he starts thinking like that, he can't stop. He starts believing that his results in the 25-year-old group were fake, and then extends it to all his achievements being fake."
Yu Longdu asked, "Does that happen?"
"Yes, so he needs to sort out his thoughts again and rebuild his confidence. It's about breaking down to build up. This is his process of breaking. As for when he will build, I think with Xia Huanao's ability, it shouldn't take too long."
...
Although Yu Linglong gave Yu Longdu some confidence, Xia Huanao shattered it the next day.
Xia Huanao's current state made it difficult for him to compete himself, so Yu Longdu borrowed Yu Rui's Natu. He instructed Natu to use Teleport to bring Xia Huanao to and from the battlefield.
As the first match began, after Natu teleported him onto the field, Xia Huanao immediately sat down. When the match started, he took a Poké Ball from his waist, threw it out, and sat on the ground in silence.
Fortunately, Xia Huanao threw out Froakie this time. Without Xia Huanao's command, it could still fight back and forth with the opponent's Pokémon. In the end, he won the match.
The first match was not bad, but in the second match, Xia Huanao did the same thing. Facing a fire-type Pokémon, he directly sent out a Shedinja. In less than a few minutes, he lost the match and was teleported off the field by Natu.
In the subsequent matches, Xia Huanao completely let go. As soon as he entered the field, he sat down, randomly threw out a Poké Ball, and then went into a daze. This caused Yu Longdu, who was watching the match, to be dejected.
Soon, Xia Huanao's unique way of competing attracted everyone's attention. Xia Huanao himself already had considerable attention, as he was the youngest participant in the 25-year-old age group besides his other identities. Coupled with his previous winning streak, it was impossible for other participants not to have studied him.
However, the results of this string of matches left the participants who had studied him bewildered. The most bewildered was Huang Tianxiao. "What's going on with Coach Xia? Why are his wins today so hard-fought, and his losses, though glorious, are still losses? His opponents today aren't much stronger than before."
As the matches continued, Huang Tianxiao's doubts grew larger. Xia Huanao's matches had become overwhelmingly decisive wins and utter defeats. The strength of his opponents hadn't fluctuated much, so why was Xia Huanao's performance so volatile?
This was mainly due to Xia Huanao's "gacha" strategy. Originally, Xia Huanao's "gacha" was an active tactical approach. Now, it had become a "giving up" gacha strategy. He directly took a cloth bag and put all his Poké Balls inside. Then, in every battle, he would randomly pick one and throw it out. If he picked by hand, he could roughly tell what he had picked. Now, he didn't even know what he was picking.
The first stage of the qualifiers continued for a few more days. Xia Huanao's record had been soaring. The previously smooth preliminary rounds had now brought him to the edge of a cliff. Not only that, but the most infuriating match happened between Xia Huanao and a girl. They both flipped a coin to decide who went first, and Xia Huanao guessed heads, but the coin landed on tails. Xia Huanao glanced at the coin and directly forfeited, gifting a victory.
This left the girl he was competing against dumbfounded. What was going on?
A few more days passed, and on December 15th, the first stage of the preliminary rounds concluded. Because he had won all his matches in the preceding days, even with his bizarre performance in the later days, he ultimately managed to qualify for the second stage elimination round, set to begin on the 20th.
That evening, Xia Huanao sat by the table, listlessly eating dinner, with Yu Longdu and Yu Linglong beside him. Yu Longdu asked, "Sis, this 'breaking down to build up' seems a bit off. He's definitely broken down, but I don't see any signs of him building up. If he doesn't build up after breaking down, isn't it over?"
Yu Linglong shook her head. "I don't know about that either. Let's wait until tomorrow. Xiaoxiao and the others will be here then. We can ask Xiaoxiao to take a look. She's a Heavenly King, after all."
Yu Longdu sighed helplessly, but since there was nothing they could do, he sighed. "Alright, then let Sister Xiaoxiao handle this problem."
Although Yu Longdu thought this way, he had secretly decided that tomorrow, no matter what, he would find a way to stay away. After all, Xia Huanao had a very good relationship with Tong Ruo, and he, as the culprit who turned Xia Huanao into this state, couldn't escape.
Meanwhile, Xia Huanao's half-conscious, half-delusional state had been leaked online by other participants. Shen Yu and the others only then realized that Xia Huanao was not participating in the 20-year-old group, but the 25-year-old group.
"What exactly happened to Boss Xia? He performed so well at the start of the competition. Why did he suddenly turn into this halfway through? It doesn't make sense."
"Who says it does? A friend of mine who was in the same venue as Boss Xia told me that his performance in the latter half of the matches was a stark contrast to the first half, as if he were a different person."
"Could he have gotten arrogant? There have been cases like this before."
"I don't think so. Given Boss Xia's personality, do you think he would do something like this?"
"I don't think so either, but there's no more reasonable explanation."
"Do we still need an explanation? Of course, the person surnamed Xia didn't encounter any strong opponents at first, so he thought he was very capable. Then, he encountered strong opponents and couldn't win..."
Various comments filled the internet, making Shen Yu very anxious. She jumped out of bed and walked to the wall, knocking. "Sister Ruo, Sister Xiaoxiao, can I come over?"
Tong Ruo replied from the other side of the wall, "Wait a moment, we'll be right there."
Shortly after, Tong Ruo and Zheng Xiaoxiao jumped over from the windowsill and came to Shen Yu's side. "What's wrong, Xiao Yu? Is something the matter?"
Shen Yu held up her phone. "Sister Xiaoxiao, have you seen the comments online? What's wrong with Xia Xia? I'm so worried about him!"
Zheng Xiaoxiao had just learned about this news too, but she comforted Shen Yu. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Xia Xia is just reflecting. This is a good thing. I'll explain to you when we see Xia Xia tomorrow in Linglong City. Get some rest first."
Although Shen Yu was still uneasy, Zheng Xiaoxiao was more experienced than her. Being appeased by Zheng Xiaoxiao like this, she could only choose to go to bed and sleep.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after Zheng Xiaoxiao and Shen Yu had calmed Shen Yu down, they returned to their room. Tong Ruo looked at Zheng Xiaoxiao. "What do you think? Is Xia Xia really reflecting?"
"I don't know. We'll find out tomorrow after asking Linglong. I just said that to reassure Xiao Yu. Do you really want Xiao Yu to worry all night?"
"That's true."