Chapter 255: Hero? A 54-Level Warrior Eagle at the Start?

【Task Completed!】

【Reward: Released Jade ×2, Overwhelming Aura ×1, Fighting Spirit ×1, Victory Fragment ×1, Free Pass ×1!】

【Overwhelming Aura: An oppressive aura will manifest on you and your Pokémon, causing opponents to become flustered or fearful during battle, leading to misjudgments.】

【Fighting Spirit (from Douzi): Transmit your fighting spirit to your Pokémon, temporarily boosting its strength and endurance, granting partial immunity to negative status effects—though negative statuses still apply!】

【Victory Fragment: A fragment of Pikachun’s power, said to summon victory and greatly enhance the strength and physical capacity of Pokémon or humans.】

【Free Pass: A ticket for the ferry to Free Garden Island. Board at Feiyun City. Valid indefinitely.】

“Ah! I lost—that move, what was that?!”

Douzi stared blankly at his Darmanitan lying on the ground, lowering his hat brim, then quickly revealed a helpless expression.

“Hmm, one day I’ll win! Thank you for the lesson!” Douzi said, then pulled out prepared medicine and gave it to Darmanitan.

“Sorry!” Heilian suddenly spoke, looking at Guang Tai with confusion: “Your Pokémon is Steel-type, right?!”

“Why did Flame Wheel and Charge Beam seem completely ineffective against it?! Even a highly evolved Pokémon can’t completely ignore a type advantage!”

Ah, this question.

Guang Tai nodded.

“You noticed—it’s because my Shieldon is unusual. It was blessed by a much stronger Pokémon, so it can ignore attacks that are super effective against it. In other words—”

“My Shieldon has no weaknesses.”

“Shieldon—that’s the name of that Pokémon? No weaknesses? Blessed by a powerful Pokémon...”

Heilian muttered to himself, as if beginning to construct a model in his mind: how to defeat a Pokémon with no weaknesses, using unconventional traits.

Guang Tai smiled:

“Don’t overthink it. There’s only one Shieldon with this ability. All others still fear Fire. And you won’t encounter such a Pokémon in Unova.”

“And ‘no weaknesses’ only means it’s immune to super effective moves. My Shieldon is Steel/Ghost-type, so Water and Electric moves—those still deal normal damage—are its true weaknesses.”

He then nodded to Douzi: “I gained much valuable power from you too. That force just now—was Fighting Spirit.”

Douzi: “Huh?”

Guang Tai: “Your Fighting Spirit transferred to your Pokémon, making it suddenly much stronger. You’re not ordinary. I saw it with my psychic power.”

Douzi laughed: “I just didn’t want to lose! That’s all I felt when I started the battle!”

Guang Tai: “That’s normal. Victory brings joy; defeat brings sorrow. But defeat is often the true test of spirit. The world is vast—different people, different Pokémon, different worldviews. Confirm them all through your own experience.”

“The smallest unit of strength is to uphold your own will.”

Douzi nodded, his eyes brightening, the disappointment from defeat now vanished.

“That’s right! The world is vast! You’re right! Upholding your will—that’s all it takes!”

“An unbeatable opponent... upholding your will...” Douye lifted his hat brim slightly, and Guang Tai suddenly looked at Douye: “Would you like a battle too?”

Since I’ve already gained Douzi’s power, why not seize the chance to obtain Douye’s power as well?

But Douye laughed first:

“I love Pokémon battles because I want to feel the joy of victory—to strategize, train Pokémon, predict opponents’ moves... When you win after mastering all the elements, the feeling is incredible.”

“Conversely, if I fight recklessly and lose, I’d be deeply disappointed.”

“Hmm, after watching Douzi’s battle, I realized—you’re not the kind of opponent who wins just by aura.”

This made Guang Tai pause slightly.

So this Douye is a Pokémon Master’s type—calm, cautious, the complete opposite of Black!

The Special Edition Black is a pure brute—he’s the type who shouts on the roadside, “I’ll win the Pokémon League!” and even annoys passersby.

“Hey, don’t overthink during battle, Douye! All tactics emerge naturally once the fight starts!”

“Ahahaha, Douzi is still so straightforward. True—sometimes you just can’t plan a perfect strategy.”

Douye thought briefly: “I want a one-on-one battle.”

【Festival Task: Challenge from the Hero.】

【Reward: Released Jade ×2, Overwhelming Power ×1, Determination ×1, Life Droplet ×1, High-Tech Modification ×1.】

A potential hero has issued a challenge. Is the one entrusted with great hope a real person or an idealized figure? Your words have been recorded by two heroes—their determination may grow stronger, their ideals more steadfast, turning them into reality.

Good. Douye’s task has appeared too. The Entree Tree has been watching him all along.

Guang Tai thought to himself, and Douye sent out—Heroic Eagle!

Battle!

No lengthy preamble. After both sides prepared new items, Douye focused entirely on the battle, his gaze sharpening.

“Wing Attack!”

He immediately chose close-range combat—perhaps out of fear of Iron Head. But Shieldon, after taking medicine, had fully restored its HP. Its massive dark-gold shield opened again, blocking Wing Attack and lowering Heroic Eagle’s Attack stat!

Yet Douye lifted his hat brim, a faint smile on his lips.

True Qiangzhe always smile during battle.

“Continue Wing Attack!”

“Huh—?”

Shieldon swung its shield, glowing with Rock-type energy!

Double-Edge!

If this hit, Heroic Eagle would be defeated instantly. But Heroic Eagle didn’t dodge—it took the blow with its own body!

“Block it with Bulk Up and Brute Force!”

Douye’s command left Douzi, Heilian, and Bailu confused—only Shieldon felt it: something strange had attached to it...

Zzzt! Like a lightning strike—it felt sharp pain, and its HP began draining instantly. Not from the opponent’s Pokémon—from a held item!

On its blade, stuck like a thorn or a Vitality Block, was a strange item!

“Huh, that’s—” Guang Tai stared at the item, it looked familiar!

“Adhesive Needle! A rare item. Seems even you’ve never encountered one,” Douye smiled. “When held by a Pokémon, it causes continuous damage—but sometimes sticks to the opponent upon contact. First discovered on Nutsy, it’s hard to remove, especially for Steel-types!”

“I just thought of this. Your Shieldon is only weak to Water and Electric moves. Luckily, my Heroic Eagle can’t learn either. So I had to use an item.”

“Now, the Adhesive Needle is stuck to your Pokémon. Its HP drains continuously. All I need to do is... Air Slash!”

Heroic Eagle flapped its wings, unleashing countless air blades that rained down like bombs. Shieldon raised its shield to block—but the piercing pain kept draining its HP!

This had nothing to do with blocking or not—it was HP loss based on maximum HP!

Ah... damn Grass/Steel types. Guang Tai silently grumbled. Heroic Eagle’s plan was clearly to keep using Air Slash to wear down Shieldon’s HP—Douye’s strategy.

Excellent... but the item I just gave Shieldon was—

At that moment, Guang Tai noticed strange energy rising from Douye’s body!

“Hero’s Determination”?

That power transferred to his Pokémon too—Heroic Eagle’s energy surged dramatically!

Shieldon’s eyes glowed with psychic light. Countless psychic blades, like threads, spread across the battlefield. Heroic Eagle startled—those blades formed a “cage” around it!

Douzi: “Can moves be used like this?! This is—”

Heilian: “Psychic Blades! Right?!”

Bailu: “So impressive!”

They watched the trapped Heroic Eagle, realizing for the first time: moves don’t have to follow standard usage. When mastered, they can be manipulated into unconventional tactics!

“Sky Attack! Break free!” Douye wouldn’t sit idle. He ordered Heroic Eagle to tuck its wings, gathering power for one of its strongest Flying-type moves to shatter the psychic cage!

“A brilliant light surrounded [Heroic Eagle]!”

But as it gathered power, a dark shadow shot straight upward from the ground!

Mighty Shadow Sneak!

The shadow blade became a spear, striking Heroic Eagle directly. Then Shieldon surged upward, gathering a devastating move!

Sky Attack also finished charging—brilliant Flying energy illuminated the entire land, then plunged down with unstoppable force toward Shieldon!

The psychic blade cage shattered. The sacred giant bird soared, majestic and fierce!

Now.

Guang Tai gave the silent command.

As expected, Heroic Eagle predicted Shieldon’s move. As Shieldon raised its shield, Heroic Eagle shot skyward at high speed—keeping Sky Attack active, then circling back during Shieldon’s post-shield vulnerability!

Sky Attack, second time!

But Shieldon was ready.

Power Swap!

Using psychic power to swap its Attack and Defense stats!

Even in blade form, it retained immense Defense!

The giant bird struck the blade—but caused no effective damage. Then Shieldon slammed its rock-hard shield into Heroic Eagle!

Double-Edge!

This time, it landed solidly. Shieldon immediately switched forms again!

Could a move used in shield form still deal massive damage?

Because Power Swap had exchanged Attack and Defense values!

The move used now, at this moment, exploited the Adhesive Needle’s HP drain—but it also benefited Shieldon, because the move being used now was—

Reversal!

And Shieldon had entered the special “Holy Swordsman” state!

Holy Swordsman state—Critical Hit rate +2!

"Why is this happening!"

Douye was stunned as his Bravebird was struck, crashing to the ground with a thud and losing its ability to fight!

Guang Tai: "Ah, because I gave Shieldon this time a Life Orb."

"Reduce HP to deal higher damage, and also pair it with moves like Revival to counterattack—though I never expected the Needle Arm to stick."

"Phew, failed again. The joy of victory slipped away."

Douye sighed helplessly.

"But I’ve stayed true to my own will. My tactics are proof of that will. Yes, this loss will make me stronger next time."

"Mr. Guang Tai, how do you view battles?"

What Douye didn’t know was that Guang Tai was the one who really wanted to complain.

The new Trainer from Unova was just a bit too intense.

I mean, isn’t this what you’d expect from a hero of the new era? Starting with a level 54 Bravebird? The more he thought about it, the more absurd it became.

In response to Douye’s question, Guang Tai paused to think:

"Of course you should reflect after a loss, but winning doesn’t mean there were no flaws in the battle. We’re the same—we’re still newcomers in battle. I didn’t begin my journey for the sake of battling. In short, I’m not a Trainer particularly skilled in combat."

Guang Tai’s self-deprecation made Douye chuckle: "If someone like you isn’t particularly skilled in battle, then—"

"The highest mountain, the longest river—I know such a person, atop that snow-covered peak. So where is the most skilled Trainer? And why strive for strength? A Trainer must possess more than power. The secret to true strength lies in the spirit of pressing forward. That’s how I believe."

"I once knew a Champion who said, battles are meant to let you and your Pokémon shine with the light of life on a grander stage. In short, your futures will surely be brilliant."

"And... don’t forget the time spent living with your Pokémon. Memories are the greatest treasure. That’s my answer."

Douye savored these words, while Heilian wore a thoughtful expression.

In truth, Heilian had always pursued strength relentlessly, combining theory and practice to become a stronger Trainer—he had begun calculating and planning even before becoming a Trainer.

But everything he encountered in the Black and White story changed him, including his meeting with Alder, making him realize strength was not the ultimate end.

"Helping each other at critical moments is what matters most. That’s why humans and Pokémon live together. Rather than defeating others, it’s better to climb as high as you can."

Guang Tai’s quiet words jolted Heilian awake. He looked ahead again and saw the item craftsman smiling warmly at him.

So that’s how it is.

Heilian felt a small revelation.

At that moment, Guang Tai received his reward from the Linking Tree.

【Mission Complete!】

【Reward: Release Orb ×2, Overwhelming Power ×1, Determination ×1, Life Droplet ×1, High-Tech Modification ×1!】

【Overwhelming Power: Overwhelming power will manifest on you and your Pokémon, greatly increasing the power of critical hits!】

【Determination (from Douye): Transmit your determination to your Pokémon, temporarily boosting their energy and willpower, making them resistant to status conditions and preventing confusion.】

【Life Droplet: A strange droplet that stabilizes a Pokémon’s condition, restores its HP, enhances its growth, and grants immunity to one attack.】

【High-Tech Modification: Douye has some expertise in mechanics—this is knowledge regarding technological modifications.】

【Craftable Item: High-Tech Light Cannon!】

(End of Chapter)