Chapter 266: The Shining Lei Wen Badge!

Xiao Juer’s invitation was something Guang Tai hadn’t anticipated, and the enthusiastic atmosphere in the venue left no room for him to refuse—even some spectators wore envy plainly on their faces.

“Ah! Miss Xiao Juer’s fashion battle show! Sometimes situations like this just happen!”

Zi Yu seemed quite familiar with these events; to her, whether it was battle subway or fashion shows, both were things she enjoyed, though battles took up a slightly larger share.

Guang Tai had no choice but to step onto the stage, where Xiao Juer had already completed her first runway walk and returned to the widest part of the stage.

This scene, this composition—suddenly gave Guang Tai a sense of déjà vu.

Ah. Isn’t this the exact sequence from the promotional video featuring the protagonists of Black and White 2?

Step onto the stage, then Xiao Juer sheds her outer gown, immediately transitioning into the battle segment!

This is the fashion battle show!

“Welcome to this dazzling stage!”

Xiao Juer placed one hand on her hip, her gown complementing her beauty as she tilted her head slightly to introduce Guang Tai:

“Battle isn’t just fighting—it’s a performance that reveals the entirety of a person! Changing outfits is the foundation of a fashion show, and in my show, Pokémon battles are essential! The battlefield is my stage!”

“My adorable Pokémon, and yours—who is the true shining star?”

“Let’s settle it here!”

As she finished speaking, the entire arena erupted in endless cheers; Xiao Juer’s fans shouted joyfully, though some in the audience recognized Guang Tai and stared closely:

Ah. Isn’t that…?

“Hey, isn’t he that genius artist? And a news celebrity too?”

“Come to think of it, Xiao Juer’s outfit was designed by him!”

“So the opponent wasn’t chosen randomly after all—it’s a showdown between designer and model! Good, good, let’s fight!”

“Sorry for the sudden invitation,” Xiao Juer smiled, “but I know you. Artist Yi Ti told me all about you—I’ve wanted to meet you.”

“Let me introduce myself—I’m Xiao Juer, Trainer of the Lei Wen Gym.”

“I’m amazed this outfit drew such a huge reaction!”

Guang Tai: “That’s because Miss Xiao Juer, as the model, is beautiful. A beautiful outfit paired with a beautiful person—that’s ‘adaptability.’”

“Ah, yes—‘adaptability’!” Xiao Juer seemed surprised he’d said that, but it only heightened her interest:

“Yet as a model, I can feel it—below, the crowd’s cheers are more intense than ever before. It’s not just because of me; the extra energy must come from your design!”

“So… the one who should feel honored is me! This battle has truly delighted me—I hope you enjoy it fully, and I hope you design even more uniquely colored outfits!”

Though Xiao Juer appeared like a cold beauty, she was in fact an extremely outgoing girl—even no one knew she was the queen of bad puns.

Guang Tai could see her emotions were soaring; her cheeks flushed red from the intensity of her feelings, and immediately afterward, she sent out her Pokémon!

Electrabuzz, Pachirisu, and… Luxray!

Hmm—this is the World Championship lineup!

Guang Tai wanted to say this was just a show, no need to be serious, but seeing Xiao Juer’s excitement, she clearly wanted to battle him earnestly.

Probably because she’d heard he defeated Yi Ti at full strength—she was eager to test him too!

If that’s the case—

Guang Tai opened his Poké Ball and sent out his first Pokémon!

Miss Skirt!

Will this be considered a “demonstration”? Probably—it is, after all, a battle with Xiao Juer wearing clothing he designed, even if it’s a replica of the original.

【Quest Connected: Complete Xiao Juer’s Fashion Battle Show!】

【Description: Your design captured the heart of the Unova supermodel Xiao Juer and drew massive attention. Now the Gym Leader herself has challenged you to battle!】

【Reward: Release Jade ×3, Electric Radiance ×1, Artistic Talent ×1, TM (Crazy Volt), Lei Wen Badge ×1!】

Xiao Juer’s eyes lit up:

“First out is Miss Skirt! I heard from Yi Ti—this is the Ancient Form Miss Skirt, right? Known for her elegant dance and kicking techniques! Then my first, go—Electrabuzz!”

Under Xiao Juer’s command and the surrounding cheers, Electrabuzz stepped forward first. Its four hooves gave it a speed advantage over bipedal Pokémon, and Guang Tai remembered this Electrabuzz knew a special move:

Xiao Juer: “Charge Flame!”

It really is that Electrabuzz!

And not only Charge Flame—it even knows Overheat!

Since Grass resists Electric, it learned two Fire-type moves to counter Grass types!

But!

“Yi Ti didn’t explain something clearly.”

Electrabuzz, wrapped in flames, charged toward Miss Skirt. Charge Flame covered its body in fire, boosting speed by 100% as it struck.

It slammed into Miss Skirt—but she blocked it with her leaves!

“Huh?!” Xiao Juer was stunned. In her eyes, the Ancient Form Miss Skirt’s leaves glowed with green blades—and then grew even brighter!

The Fire move failed? And that glowing leaf—could it be… Photosynthesis!

“My Miss Skirt has high resistance to Fire. Then, the battle is over.”

Miss Skirt’s twin leaves surged with power, launching Electrabuzz straight into the air!

Then—close combat! A storm of elegant, dazzling martial dance moves rained down; Electrabuzz cried out as it was slammed to the ground, and Miss Skirt pressed forward, lifting her slender, powerful leg in an unusual motion to form an icy whirlwind and kick with full force!

Ice Spin! Electrabuzz was blasted away at incredible speed. Guang Tai dared not let this high-quality Pokémon remain on the field—he ended the battle instantly with maximum power!

Because Electrabuzz’s hidden ability is Grass Eater, and Guang Tai didn’t recall this Pokémon’s ability, he couldn’t use Grass-type moves.

“Defeated…” Xiao Juer stood frozen, stunned for a long moment. She’d never lost so quickly—even though only her first Pokémon fell, this surreal feeling—what was it?

But it was fascinating!

“Come back, Electrabuzz. This loss isn’t your fault—it’s mine. You shone brilliantly.”

Xiao Juer sighed softly and recalled Electrabuzz into its Poké Ball. Below, N also heard Electrabuzz’s thoughts.

Losing in battle is common—everyone goes through it. To lose so quickly… strangely nostalgic.

“Nostalgic? Nostalgic for the self who trained hard in weaker days.”

“This Electrabuzz met the Electric Gym Leader on a rainy day. After finishing a shoot, it got lost on the way home. Then a sudden downpour began. Just as it didn’t know what to do, it heard a Pokémon cry—and Electrabuzz emerged from the grass.”

“Electrabuzz’s mane glowed brightly after being struck by lightning. This meeting was fate.”

“Mr. N!” Zi Yu tugged N’s sleeve and whispered, “If you’re listening to Pokémon’s thoughts, don’t say it out loud—it feels like peeking into someone’s past.”

“Ah, sorry,” N coughed lightly, holding the two trophies close.

He’d only listened longer because Electrabuzz was muttering inside its Poké Ball.

“Ha! That’s what makes it fun! Your Pokémon are truly shining—I’m already enchanted by her dance!”

Xiao Juer snapped her fingers, realizing now that the genius artist before her was no ordinary opponent. Yi Ti’s evaluation was correct: one moment of distraction in battle meant defeat. And Xiao Juer felt it wasn’t that Yi Ti had hidden Guang Tai’s strength—it was that:

In just a few days, Guang Tai had grown stronger than before!

The Ancient Form Miss Skirt’s dance—her martial techniques like a storm, yet graceful and dazzling—she’d become a superstar in no time if she entered a performance contest!

No, now wasn’t the time to be dazzled by the opponent’s Pokémon!

Under Xiao Juer’s command, her second Pokémon, Pachirisu, entered the field.

Pachirisu resembled a flying flying squirrel. Its body was mostly white, with black eyes, a tiny nose, and two yellow electric sacs. Its large round ears on top were black, with yellow and white interiors.

Type: Electric + Flying!

Flying had a 4x advantage against Grass + Fighting, but Guang Tai recalled Miss Skirt and sent out his second Pokémon.

Leafeon, clad in a spy cloak like a rogue, stepped forward.

To prevent additional effects from moves, the Spy Cloak was indispensable—and if Leafeon wore a hat, it could truly pass as the Wave Hero.

“Fighting type? A different strategy? Fighting is very weak against Flying… but I won’t make the same mistake again! Let me see how your Pokémon shines in battle!”

“I learned about this Leafeon from Yi Ti’s work—the Storm Hero refers to it, right? I know well: this Leafeon has a unique mimicry ability—it can copy any move.”

Xiao Juer had gathered plenty of intel from Yi Ti, mostly because she’d visited his art exhibition and seen several sketch drafts—drafts that would later become masterpieces, and Guang Tai’s Pokémon were all among them.

“Let me dazzle you! Pachirisu, Charm!”

Xiao Juer’s Pachirisu was female; she blew a flirtatious glance toward Leafeon, and pink hearts spun like stars toward it!

Move: Charm. Attracts the opposite gender, causing the target to become infatuated. The target struggles to use moves; ineffective against the same gender. Pokémon under infatuation have a 50% chance of being unable to act when choosing a move.

But in reality, once infatuated, a Pokémon almost never acts—Ash once made this exact mistake during his challenge against the Electric Gym.

Yet—!

“Wave Release.”

Leafeon ignored the flying pink hearts; three waves of psychic energy formed a powerful barrier, blocking Charm completely!

“Protect? No—that’s not… what is that? A Leafeon that uses Wave?”

For most, Leafeon was rare; a Leafeon that used Wave was rarer still. Xiao Juer had never seen such a Pokémon, and Pachirisu froze midair—when its eyes met Leafeon’s, a powerful aura made it panic!

What was this pressure?!

Guang Tai, watching Leafeon’s triple Wave, thought: if the Wave’s appearance were slightly altered, wasn’t this just the AT Field—Heart Wall?

“Wave is a psychic force with countless uses—it can create barriers or attack. Generally, all psychic-type moves are applications of Wave.”

“For example—”

Guang Tai’s words cut off as Leafeon closed its eyes, its thoughts drifting far into the sky, toward the heavens, toward the higher reaches of the cosmos—toward cosmic power!

Star Wave, Connect!

Brilliant blue-purple light surged from Leafeon’s claws!

Dragon Pulse!

“Protect!” Xiao Juer gasped, frantically ordering Pachirisu to use Protect—but Dragon Pulse was too fast; the pale green shield hadn’t even formed before Pachirisu was struck and blasted into the ceiling!

“Hmm, the ceiling’s durability is impressive—those steel beams and frames didn’t shake at all. Hard as if they were textures.”

Guang Tai complained again about the quality of the building materials, while Pachirisu flew out of the smoke in disarray, staring in shock at the handsome Leafeon below.

So powerful! I haven’t encountered such a strong Pokémon in so long!

Pachirisu’s battle lust began to rise too; though that last hit had inflicted heavy damage, she could still fight on!

“A Leafeon that uses Dragon Pulse? What kind of Pokémon are you?!”

“Quick Attack! Then Rub cheeks!”

Pachirisu became a streak of blinding speed, but so did Leafeon at that moment!

Quick Attack vs. Quick Attack!

Both collided at supersonic speed—Rub cheeks landed successfully—but nothing happened!

Immune to additional effects!

“That’s the Secret Agent Cloak?” Xiao Juer’s gaze sharpened; she’d already heard of this item from Ati, but she’d wanted to test it herself. Now it was clear: additional effects were nullified. So, status-changing moves would be blocked by the Psi Barrier—meaning—

“Acrobatics!”

Pachirisu carried the Flying Gem, an item that boosts the power of one Flying-type move, then becomes unusable afterward—yet at that moment, Acrobatics’ power surged even higher!

“A similar force of determination and resolve has appeared on Xiao Juer’s body too—though not as strong as Douzi’s. This must be the power generated when a trainer and Pokémon become one in spirit. It’s a capacity everyone possesses.”

“Humans in the Pokémon world are truly amazing.”

Guang Tai pondered silently, while Leafeon stood motionless as Pachirisu charged in with acrobatic aerial strikes.

Back in the training cave, when Leafeon was still wild, it had faced a similar predicament.

The cave was filled mostly with Bat families—Noctowl, Golbat, and Supersonic were everywhere.

They flew wildly, attacking from all directions!

And if one could dodge every single one of their assaults, the ability naturally mastered would be—Psi!

Psi detects the surrounding environment. Don’t bother using moves that aren’t guaranteed to hit!

Leafeon sidestepped lightly, evading Pachirisu’s attack, then swiftly twisted its tiny paw and seized its tail!

Throw—throwing not an item, but a Pokémon!

Leafeon’s strength was immense; this wasn’t a throw so much as a slam. Pachirisu was flung violently away, its HP flickering like a candle in the wind—but still, it rallied, rising again with Acrobatics!

I can’t let my Trainer down.

Absolutely not!

How could I fall from the stage in such a disgraceful way!

I absolutely, absolutely must beat that Leafeon—just enough to make it know I’m strong too!

N heard Pachirisu’s defiant thoughts. He watched the Pokémon, observing its final dazzling aerial dance—the violent air vortices swirling around it, combining Acrobatics with other moves!

Air Slash!

She fused with Air Slash, her tiny body unleashing immense energy as she surged toward the Psi emissary!

Xiao Juer didn’t issue a command—instead, she felt as if she could hear Pachirisu’s voice. Merely thinking it, she felt Pachirisu understood, executing this impossible combo as if reading her mind!

Yes! It’s the effect of this outfit! Ati said this garment calms Pokémon and lets trainer and Pokémon share hearts, transmitting feelings.

Though I wear a replica made by Ati, the fabric and method are exactly what this genius artist left behind—so even a copy should retain some of the original’s power!

It must be!

“Go!” Xiao Juer cheered, exhilarated and brimming with excitement!

To Pachirisu, Leafeon’s surroundings had become a dark, profound universe—intense malice surged around it, turning the hero into a demon, as a black, lightning-like Psi force erupted with terrifying force!

Star Psi · Dark Pulse!

The vile aura swept across the stage; spectators covered their eyes and raised their arms. Pachirisu’s Air Slash combo was blocked—and forcibly pushed back!

Xiao Juer’s heart rose in dread.

She saw the brilliant willpower her Pokémon displayed—that unyielding spirit—something she’d never witnessed in any Gym battle before!

Ati said Guang Tai is a psychic who manipulates minds—so could my own emotions have been unconsciously stirred?

My will and my Pokémon’s will have merged!

Wild Volt!

Whoosh! Pachirisu’s body erupted with powerful lightning, infusing Acrobatics with intense electric energy, tearing through the dark universe’s malice, pushing forward—striving, striving, never stopping!

Brilliant light clashed with the deep, dark malice of the universe, triggering a massive explosion—and in that instant, Leafeon used Quick Attack, dashing straight to Pachirisu’s side!

Earth Power!

An orange-yellow beam burst forth in a ring, hurling Pachirisu backward, slamming it to the far edge of the stage!

The dazzling electric light faded, leaving only Psi ripples. The smoke couldn’t hinder a Pokémon with Psi power—Leafeon could pinpoint its opponent’s exact location without error.

“The second one’s down.”

“Pachirisu.”

Xiao Juer stared blankly as her Pachirisu collapsed. The dazzling light and chilling malice still burned in her eyes—but the battlefield changed in an instant, and even the crowd’s cheers had dimmed.

Hey, things don’t look good—could Xiao Juer be about to lose?

Though rare, it’s not unheard of—but that battle was truly magnificent! Yes, that’s the word!

This battle fashion show was incredibly thrilling. That challenger—that genius artist—is incredibly strong!

“Yes… powerful radiance!”

“Like shining stars—so brilliant… we shine too, but our brightness pales next to theirs.”

“I haven’t felt this excited or joyful in so long!”

Xiao Juer had completely forgotten this was a fashion show. As a model, she usually cared only for her career and battles—but now, she suddenly realized: what she truly wanted was this battle itself!

I want to see more—more dazzling light! I want to win. This fierce desire to triumph—she’d never felt it before!

“Electrike!”

Electrike entered the arena—Xiao Juer’s secret weapon, one of her strongest Pokémon. This World Championship lineup was rarely seen by anyone!

Guang Tai recalled Leafeon.

The final contender had been decided.

When the strange Dream Ball first appeared before Xiao Juer, and the light within faded, the silhouette of Flareon appeared on stage.

“Mera~”

Flareon hummed contentedly, eyeing Electrike, already eager to fight.

“Since it’s a performance, let’s show even greater power.”

“This is Flareon’s first battle—we must shine!”

Guang Tai’s psychic power surged.

The Hero’s “Determination!”

The Hero’s “Resolve!”

The dual forces infused Flareon with enhanced strength, endurance, energy, and willpower!

Alongside them came overwhelming presence and overwhelming power!

And—the permanent enhancements: Wang Zhi’s “Rigid Bond,” and Zhu Lan’s “Willpower Bond!”

Fearless Boost, Willpower Boost, Critical Boost, Speed Boost, Endurance Boost, Luck Boost!

Finally, the power of the cosmos—Star Pulse—boosted all stats’ power!

Flareon’s body also glowed with GX Power Boost: Great Heatwave!

It carried the item—Fire Gem! A Fire-type gem. When held, it boosts the power of one Fire-type move by 30%.

“Me—ra!”

Flareon’s rootless antennae shot forth roaring flames of light. Now imbued with boundless spiritual energy, it became a dazzling, sunlike Pokémon, illuminating the entire arena!

At that moment, Xiao Juer felt she wasn’t facing just a Trainer—she was facing something more.

The fierce battle aura made her dizzy—but it also thrilled her even more!

“Electrike, Wild Volt!”

Electrike, wrapped in lightning, and Flareon, wrapped in flame—Electrike moved with incredible speed, while Flareon curled its body, gathering power, then shot forward with a “whoosh!” like a spring!

Flare Blitz!

The immense Flare Blitz became a blazing sun, its radiant light shattering Electrike’s lightning and sweeping past Xiao Juer, crashing straight into the screen behind!

Xiao Juer was blinded by the blinding light, unable to see what happened—until the glow faded, and she turned her head in disbelief.

Her Electrike lay collapsed amid the broken screen, while the chubby, fluffy Flareon wriggled out, lifting its head proudly, still radiating brilliant light!

“Meralala!”

It was proclaiming its first victory!

Xiao Juer stared at the Flareon blazing with fierce flame—her eyes held nothing but its dazzling, radiant light.

She fell silent for a long while. The hall grew quiet.

Then, softly, she murmured:

“Faster, stronger, more radiant sun… yes, electric light can’t compare to the sun!”

“Sorry, Electrike. Losing isn’t your fault—it’s mine. As a Gym Leader, I still have much to improve. You shone beautifully… but their light was even brighter.”

“Thank you! This battle fashion show has ended perfectly. Your Pokémon shone brighter than mine! Thank you all for coming!”

Xiao Juer’s confusion gradually turned to joy. She understood something—her eyes now held only admiration and longing for that Flareon.

And within her heart, she made a new resolve.

How dazzling!

If only I could become just as radiant!

I want to make my Pokémon even more dazzling than they are now!

The audience, who had been disheartened by Jun’er’s loss, were rekindled by her renewed passion!

Yes, losing happens from time to time, but that’s because the challenger’s Pokémon are also brilliant!

We should be grateful to the challenger and Jun’er for contributing to this battle! Let’s make the atmosphere even more lively!

“I meant to dazzle you, but ended up being dazzled by you.”

“As proof of your victory over me, please accept this Thunder Badge.”

“I will continue my training from now on! By the way,” Jun’er smiled playfully:

“I hope you’ll keep designing even more beautiful outfits. As you said, I’ll strive to become someone worthy of them—this is exactly what you meant by ‘adaptability,’ isn’t it?”

(End of Chapter)