It was still May 13th.
Afternoon.
The weather was so-so.
By now, Fang Yuan had already agreed with Xiao Mai to set off early the next morning to go to the Temple of the Sea for special training.
Then, they'd take advantage of the temple's taxi service to head to Alliance Island.
He Xiaomai was naturally overjoyed.
However, apart from the highly anticipated special training, after chatting with Fang Yuan for so long, there was one more thing He Xiaomai desperately wanted to do with him.
After sitting in silence for a long time, He Xiaomai suddenly rose from the sofa.
"Teacher, do you have time now? Would you like to assess my strength?" she asked.
He Xiaomai looked at Fang Yuan, eager to show off her progress to him.
Although Fang Yuan had guessed the general strength of her team of Pokemon, He Xiaomai believed... her Pokemon's true combat power would definitely surprise him.
After all, there's a big difference in strength even among Pokemon at the Master Domain level.
And whether it was her Golduck or her Blastoise, their strength was definitely at the top of the Master Domain.
He Xiaomai's confidence arose naturally from battle after battle.
"Assess your strength?"
Fang Yuan, who had just been about to tidy up the table and then arrange a room for He Xiaomai, looked surprised.
He took out his phone and glanced at the time.
It was still a while until dinner, and since they had just finished afternoon tea and dessert, they probably wouldn't be hungry anytime soon.
They had plenty of time...
Fang Yuan looked at He Xiaomai, thinking it a good idea to assess her strength so he could better plan the special training.
"Sure," he replied.
Fang Yuan nodded, smiling at He Xiaomai and said, "How would you like me to check?"
"A battle!"
"I want to have a battle with you, Teacher," she said.
He Xiaomai's sunglasses sparkled. She had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
Even though He Xiaomai realized she was no match for Fang Yuan, it seemed she could get a sense of just how big the gap was between them.
"I remember you hatched a Rock Puppy after the World Championships, didn't you?!" she said with a hint of mischief.
He Xiaomai remembered the mischievous Rock Puppy that followed Fang Yuan around when he took her to Deep Sea Island to choose her Pokemon.
Her impression of the Rock Puppy was quite strong, mainly because it was so weak compared to Fang Yuan's other main Pokemon.
However, she couldn't blame the Rock Puppy back then since it had only been born a few months prior.
And He Xiaomai knew that the Rock Puppy was a new Pokemon hatched by Fang Yuan only after the World Championships.
It could be said that back then, the Rock Puppy was actually younger than the Squirtle and other Pokemon that He Xiaomai had captured on Deep Sea Island.
At that time, the Rock Puppy and Squirtle were on par with each other, both around the Elite Level.
So, if she wanted to challenge Fang Yuan without losing too miserably and still wanted to astonish him with her progress, He Xiaomai thought she had to pick the softest target.
That Rock Puppy was just right...
"The time I've spent raising my Squirtle and the time Teacher Fang Yuan has spent on that Rock Puppy should be about the same, we all started from the same point," she thought.
"With the same starting point and the same training time, this would clearly show how much of a gap there is between me and the Teacher..."
"For the past two years, I've worked so hard with Blastoise and the others, maybe... just maybe with our current strength..."
He Xiaomai clenched her little fists, even entertaining the thought that she might win the battle.
After all, Fang Yuan would undoubtedly focus most of his attention on his main Pokemon.
And the recently captured Rock Puppy, its progress in strength, might not be stronger than her carefully trained Blastoise and other Pokemon.
"Σ(°△°|||)︴Bwoo, Bwoo..."
Eevee, having had its phone confiscated and games banned, was preparing to take Victini out for special training.
Passing by the doorway, it accidentally overheard He Xiaomai and Fang Yuan's conversation and Eevee felt as if He Xiaomai was getting a bit cunning.
Ah, she used to be such a well-behaved child, how did the Prince of the Sea raise her to become more and more like Fang Yuan?
Now she even started to pick the softest targets... But the Puppy isn't simple either!!!
Eevee sighed as it walked out the door, its eyes filled with sympathy.
"Rock Puppy... Mane Rock Werewolf, huh," Fang Yuan remarked, his lips twitching.
Under normal circumstances, the Mane Rock Werewolf would indeed be a good choice for a challenge.
However, having received the gifts from the World Tree, the Super Ancient inheritance, and Groudon's teaching, the Rock Puppy, now a Mane Rock Werewolf, was anything but normal.
"Are you sure you want to challenge the Mane Rock Werewolf?" he asked.
"That one, that one!" He Xiaomai confirmed, nodding her head.
Even if Fang Yuan's training was better than hers, Water trumped Rock after all. Some differences in training could definitely be balanced out by type advantage.
In He Xiaomai's view, it would have been impressive if Fang Yuan managed to train the Rock Puppy to a top level, considering two years was such a short time.
"Alright, let's go find it then..." Fang Yuan pondered.
Sigh... Xiao Mai is still too young, time for a lesson.
......
He Xiaomai actually made a smart choice.
If Fang Yuan had to choose, the Mane Rock Werewolf would be the most suitable as well.
It was just a test for the disciple, after all; there was no need to use the main Pokemon, that would be too harsh.
So, he had to pick from the junior group and even there, it wasn't easy to find a suitable challenger.
Rotom and the Dragon type? No, they were still busy planting the technological tree acquired from the Pokémon World on Earth.