But Xiaozhi wasn't really dumb. As soon as Fang Yuan finished speaking, he immediately put down his instant noodles and ran over to Dragonite and Charizard, trying hard to practice Elysium alongside them. Although he didn't yet know how to help Charizard get stronger, he could help Charizard with flirting. As long as he learned to dance before Charizard and then taught it in return, Charizard would surely be touched!
"Helping Charizard in this way counts as improving myself too, right?" Xiaozhi thought seriously.
"Charizard, I'll work hard with you!" Xiaozhi declared earnestly. Then one foot traced a circle behind the other, alternating between pigeon-toed and duck-footed postures, picking up the routine quite quickly.
"Um..." Watching Xiaozhi start dancing with the two Dragons, Kona and the others were taken aback.
It didn't seem very reliable.
"Let's just go with it," Fang Yuan said with an innocent expression... Letting the single dog Xiaozhi figure out how to teach Charizard to flirt was also a form of progress, right?
If Xiaozhi himself could become wiser through this, it wouldn't be too bad.
However, Misty, Little Yao, Xiao Guang, Serena... With so many female friends, Fang Yuan was quite curious... who it would be in the end.
.........
That night.
Since it was already late, Kona asked Fang Yuan, Xiaozhi, and the others to stay over at the villa, claiming there were plenty of rooms...
Misty and Brock immediately blushed and accepted!
As for Xiaozhi, he was too exhausted to respond by then, and fell asleep in the yard alongside Charizard.
"Pfff!"
Dragonite watched them with a disdainful look in its eyes.
Waste of space.
You can't even complete 1000 Elysiums in one night, and you still have the face to chase after Milotic?
Dragonite, who was dancing in the Hurricane to train its dance skills by using the strong winds to its advantage, expressed its contempt.
"Thank you, Master Kona, but I already have a hotel reservation, so I won't impose," Fang Yuan said after recalling Dragonite, declining Kona's offer.
"Is that so, well then, okay," Kona said with a smile.
Seeing Fang Yuan leave, Brock and Misty quickly said, "Mr. Fang Yuan, your match is in two days, right? We'll definitely be there."
The two had not forgotten Xiaozhi's plan to watch Fang Yuan's match.
Fang Yuan could even defeat Kona, so their interest in his upcoming match had grown even more than before.
"The championship match, huh..." Kona chuckled to herself when she heard this. She stayed in the Orange Archipelago precisely to watch the match between Fang Yuan and Lt. Surge. After all, she had arranged the match herself.
"Yes, in two days, on Citrus Island," Fang Yuan confirmed, utterly unaware that the person responsible for his early encounter with a King Level powerhouse like Lt. Surge was standing right in front of him.
But even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered, for Kona had suffered enough...
At the time, not a single video of Fang Yuan and Kona's battle had leaked out at the stadium filled with thousands of spectators. However, by word of mouth alone, in just one afternoon, trainers around the Orange Archipelago who were in the know had all heard about it.
For example.
Lt. Surge, who, like Fang Yuan, arrived early at the Orange Archipelago and was currently on Citrus Island.
Lt. Surge and A Xing, the father-daughter ninja pair from the Vermilion City Gym, had arrived three days early at the Orange Archipelago due to the upcoming battle. They weren't there for vacation but to undergo water ninja training at sea, practice treading water, and hone their will against the nearby waterfalls.
As for their gym, Lt. Surge had temporarily left it in his sister's care.
That evening, after a day of training, Lt. Surge was about to go to sleep when suddenly, a "thud thud thud" came from someone knocking at the door.
"A Xing?" Lt. Surge asked, puzzled.
"It's me, Dad. There's an important message—" A Xing said after entering in a rush.
Thud.
After entering, A Xing hurried up to her father and said, "Dad, your next opponent, his name is Fang Yuan, right?"
"Right," Lt. Surge responded calmly.
"I just heard some incredible news outside. At Master Kona's public lecture on Little Orange Island, a trainer named Fang Yuan... defeated Heavenly King Kona in a one-on-one demonstration battle!" A Xing said nervously, "It's not... the same person, is it?"
"What did you say?"
Upon hearing this news, Lt. Surge's expression froze, and he furrowed his brow.
The Ice Queen Kona lost?
Having battled and been soundly defeated by Kona himself, Lt. Surge knew Kona's strength all too well. That woman, could lose?
Speaking of which, his battle with Fang Yuan was arranged by Kona, so why did Kona end up fighting Fang Yuan beforehand? What was going on? Confusion washed over Lt. Surge.
"What happened in the battle?"
"Heavenly King Kona sent out Dumb Hippo, and Fang Yuan had Milotic. At first, Milotic was at a disadvantage, being suppressed terribly by Dumb Hippo. But, I heard that suddenly Milotic unleashed a great power, shattered Dumb Hippo's Ice with Dragon Tail, and turned defeat into victory..." A Xing relayed the information she had overheard.
"Dad... is this Fang Yuan very strong...?"
Initially, A Xing thought Lt. Surge had a sure win and couldn't possibly lose, but after hearing the rumors of Fang Yuan defeating Kona—even though it was unconfirmed—she suddenly became anxious.
"A Milotic strong enough to break Kona's Ice?"
Lt. Surge fell into thought, the first time he had heard of anyone training a Milotic in such a way.
But Kona sent out Dumb Hippo?