Chapter 29: Aura Sash, Prepare for Battle!

Poliwhirl used “Roar!”

The attack and special attack of Cloyster decreased!

“Why is there a Poliwhirl in the Burned Tower? This doesn’t make sense—someone’s framing me!”

Are the people of Violet City this strong? Or did Ho-Oh send a message to the Legendary Beasts to gather at a location—but accidentally sent it to the wrong target, causing Poliwhirl to show up?

If Suicune represents the calm side of water, then Poliwhirl is its ferocious side!

Guang Tai didn’t realize this was a dream, so he was extremely tense; Cloyster had never seen this Pokémon before and was dazed by the Roar, glancing at Guang Tai with confusion.

“Huh~?”

Oh, so this is Suicune? Looks so fierce?

Feels like we can’t win—just give up.

Cloyster tried to quit, sensing the power gap, but the opponent attacked immediately!

“Go, Cloyster!”

Guang Tai’s voice pulled Cloyster back to reality; it instantly turned its blade, glaring at Guang Tai with extreme confusion!

“Huh? Huh~?!”

Wait, I’m fighting Poliwhirl? Is this real? Do we go for it?!

Strange shimmering crystals, like glass, also appeared at the base of the Burned Tower!

It’s the “Crystal Cave” environment!

“Shadow Sneak!”

Guang Tai quickly ordered; Cloyster’s shadow shot out, forming a blade-like shadow that slashed directly from behind Poliwhirl!

But this level of attack had no effect on Poliwhirl—it didn’t even wobble, only slowed its step for an instant, then opened its mouth and unleashed a massive wave of blue water energy!

The water wave slammed into Cloyster, blasting it away, but Water-type moves are only average against Steel-type; Guang Tai glanced at Cloyster and found luck was on their side—it wasn’t confused!

Then we can still fight!

Water Pulse has a 20% chance to confuse the target; if unlucky, it might keep attacking itself until it loses without the opponent needing to strike again.

The unknown Pokémon E that floated in had been stunned, its large eyes filled with confusion!

What… what is this thing?

Isn’t this Suicune? It looks so similar—is it Suicune’s brother?

That’s not right—I was fulfilling this human’s wish, and the words it formed from stones were clearly “Suicune”—why did its appearance change?

You’ve got crystals, you’ve got Suicune, it uses Water Pulse so its type is correct—how can you say this isn’t Suicune?

Oh. It’s a nightmare?

Unknown Pokémon E thought it had found the answer.

Among wild Pokémon, Ghost-types like Haunter, Misdreavus, and others sometimes disrupt dreams, altering appearances to scare innocent dreamers—thanks to the move Nightmare, they can do as they please within dreams.

Nightmare isn’t exclusive to Darkrai—it’s a skill many Ghost-type Pokémon use.

A Ghost-type Pokémon must have sneaked in!

Unknown Pokémon E prepared to search the dream for a Ghost-type Pokémon that didn’t even exist, while Guang Tai and the dream Poliwhirl’s battle reached a critical point.

In terms of base stats, move pool, and typing, Cloyster had no chance of winning.

Poliwhirl is a Water/Dragon-type Pokémon with only two weaknesses: Dragon and Fairy.

Cloyster also has the ability “No Guard,” meaning even if it tried to dodge, becoming a “Master of Dodging” would be useless!

“Reflect!”

There’s no choice now—just set up a wall, better than nothing.

Cloyster activated Reflect, a move learned from an ancient bracelet that halves physical damage, but Poliwhirl’s lips curled into a mocking smile as it began charging fierce flames in its mouth!

It’s “Flamethrower!”

Cloyster was shocked, eyes nearly popping out, frantically turning to beg Guang Tai for help!

“Huh huh huh!!!!”

Hey! Isn’t this thing Water-type? How is it using Flamethrower?!

I’m Steel-type—getting hit by Flamethrower is like walking straight into a forging contest!

Guang Tai rummaged through his bag, his scalp prickling at the scene—Reflect was useless; it only blocked claws and tails, offering zero defense against special attacks.

But suddenly, Guang Tai’s hand brushed against an item in his bag.

“It’s my Aura Sash!”

A red sash streaked with yellow was pulled out!

When held, if the Pokémon’s HP is full, it survives one attack that would otherwise knock it out, leaving it with exactly 1 HP.

But Cloyster’s HP wasn’t full, so Guang Tai pulled out a Full Heal!

The rational thought—“I never made or bought this potion”—flashed once in his mind, then drowned under other thoughts!

Who cares—just use it!

Useful item: Aura Sash. Prepare for battle!

“Catch!”

A massive Flamethrower engulfed the Burned Tower’s lower level; Cloyster grabbed the tossed Aura Sash as Guang Tai used the Full Heal. After the inferno, though its blade was charred black, it still stood firm!

“Huh!”

Cloyster felt incredibly powerful, glaring at the ancient dragon before it.

Guang Tai’s body was also scorched, but subconsciously he believed humans in the Pokémon world were tougher than Pokémon—they could endure any move even without an Aura Sash.

“Hrr?”

Poliwhirl was stunned to see the human and blade still standing—though Guang Tai was even more stunned.

As he kept rummaging through his bag, Guang Tai realized—he could pull out any item from it!

Did his bag turn into Doraemon’s fourth-dimensional pocket?

Wait… is this a dream?

As this thought arose and he began doubting reality, Guang Tai had no time to confirm further!

“Lighten your body! Catch this, then use Rapid Spin!”

Following Guang Tai’s command, Cloyster dropped its shell, its speed skyrocketing as it caught the new item Guang Tai threw.

It was a small, gray-blue triangular device—a Metronome!

Metronome: When held, if a Pokémon uses the same move repeatedly, its power increases by 20% each time; after six uses, power reaches 200% of original!

Cloyster soared into the air and unleashed Rapid Spin, its blade whirling and slashing Poliwhirl repeatedly, while Poliwhirl violently whipped its tail and the crystal crown on its head, trying to knock Cloyster down!

Remote sword attack?

Guang Tai’s mind flashed another strange déjà vu—he felt that striking a dramatic pose right now might look cool.

“Rapid Spin’s power keeps growing—combined with Metronome, the effect is incredible!”

Since real-time battles differ from turn-based systems, a normally useless move like Rapid Spin can stack its power rapidly in real combat; paired with Metronome, its power becomes unimaginable!

“Hrr!”

Poliwhirl was struck repeatedly; each slash grew stronger, and Cloyster clearly trained deeply in “Rapid Spin”—it eliminated all lag between strikes, making its attack speed appear blindingly fast!

Soon, the crystal crown on Poliwhirl’s head was covered in sword marks, shedding countless shards; its body took repeated blows—but this attack pattern finally enraged it!

It shook its head violently, roared, and a phantom sun appeared in the Burned Tower’s lower chamber!

“Sunny Day!”

Simultaneously, its stats rose—its ability, “Ancient Power,” activated: when Sunny Day is active, its highest non-HP stat increases by 30%; if that stat is Speed, it increases by 50%!

The base of the Burned Tower glowed brilliantly; Poliwhirl whipped its tail, and purple-blue Dragon-type energy surged along its two whip-like tails!

Wide Slash!

A move that affects the entire opposing side!

A powerful horizontal sweep sent Cloyster, still airborne, crashing to the ground!

(⊙(#)☆☆!

Cloyster was blasted away, and Poliwhirl immediately began charging again!

A boiling cauldron of steam erupted!

Signature move: “Steam Eruption!”

It blasts boiling water at the opponent; under Sunny Day, its power doesn’t drop—it increases to 1.5x!

“Substitute!”

Guang Tai urgently ordered Cloyster to create an invincible Substitute; Cloyster twitched twice, then formed another Substitute!

The surging steam slammed into Cloyster—by the time Poliwhirl realized, the blade before it was fake!

Cloyster began swaying side to side.

HP too low!

“Catch! Full Heal!”

Guang Tai pulled out another Full Heal; though he didn’t know why his bag held every item, this battle seemed to awaken memories from his past life—the history of the Item Master, stuffing bags with potions to make every Trainer in every Pokémon game feel despair!

“And there’s an ‘Evolution Stone’ and a ‘Cheri Berry’!”

A pale purple stone was thrown, caught perfectly by Cloyster; a slot appeared on its hilt, it equipped the Evolution Stone, then used the Full Heal to restore its HP fully!

The Evolution Stone’s effect needs no explanation; the Cheri Berry, shaped like a red cocoa bean, reduces the power of super-effective Fire-type moves.

Now we don’t have to fear Flamethrower anymore!

“?”

On the other side, as a paradoxical variant of Suicune, Pōdàngshuǐ was suspected to be an ancient Pokémon from another timeline, so it had never encountered these bizarre moves or items and felt intense confusion.

Why doesn’t the opponent fall down no matter how hard I hit?

At the base of the Burned Tower, it unexpectedly encountered Zhi Jian and the Medic King, and despite giving its all, it could not defeat them.

“Although the level difference is huge, it’s about to lose! Screech!”

Guang Tai continued pulling items from his backpack and commanded Dujianqiao to attack, while Pōdàngshuǐ, on the verge of losing the battle, noticed Guang Tai’s actions—initially ignoring them, but now!

I am an ancient Pokémon; I have no need to follow any Pokémon battle rules!

Attacking the Trainer is the true path!

(End of Chapter)