Chapter 1406: The Ferocious Pang Yan Guai

Day two of the Masters Eight Tournament.

The spring sunshine was bright and beautiful.

Today was truly the main event all over again: the third round, Zhulan versus Elise in the morning, and the fourth round, Champion Dawu versus Baimu in the afternoon.

Whichever match it was, it had the audience's appetite thoroughly whetted.

Could Elise win?

If not for yesterday's match, most people thought her probability of winning might be less than thirty percent, but Ash's feat of defeating Lance had begun to make more people feel that perhaps Elise was the one who could laugh last.

That is the so-called "the back waves push the front waves"!

In the competitor preparation room, only Baimu, Carnet, and An Xier remained watching through the window today.

The remaining Champions had either gone to parts unknown or were in other places.

An Xier was very happy about this, really liking the feeling of it being just the three of them; she was more relaxed than yesterday, frequently acting spoiled toward Baimu and Carnet.

By the way.

Carnet slept together with An Xier last night; perhaps because her spiritual energy got a large replenishment, her spirits were exceptionally full today, the whole person looking as if she had been revitalized.

Someone who didn't know would think she was the one who won the match yesterday!

Baimu sprawled lazily on the sofa, took a drink from the top of the disgruntledly roaring Houhoutail's head, sucked on it, then casually put it back.

The overly casual posture made the glass sway left and right; Houhoutail was frightened and hurriedly stretched out its short hands to steady it, glaring at him angrily, "Yiya!"

"Yell again and I'll add another cup on top of your head."

"..."

Houhoutail stopped talking.

Perhaps because it was mistaken for a Jigglypuff too many times last night, Houhoutail's continuous frenzy simply wouldn't stop.

To punish its excessive reactive behavior, today it had to serve Baimu all day.

Not convinced?

Beat it into the ground!

Compared to reasoning, dealing with an Ancient Species is indeed more suitable with fists; the poor Jigglypuff that couldn't endure the violence indeed became much more obedient.

Down below.

As the audience continuously took their seats, solemn symphonic music reverberated throughout the vast Palace Gate Stadium.

"Audience friends! Welcome back to the Masters Elimination Tournament live venue; about to be performed is the first round, third match, presented by Sinnoh Champion Zhulan and Unova Champion Elise!"

The host's voice made the stadium gradually boil over.

As Elise and Zhulan each appeared from the competitor tunnels, the cheers and shouts resounded through the universe, the air of the entire stadium continuously vibrating.

"Everyone! Thank you very much!"

Elise laughed heartily, waving wildly in all directions; Zhulan also smiled and gestured to the audience stands.

Ash and Pikachu screamed non-stop, "Elise! Lady Zhulan! Do your best!!"

"Pika-chu!!"

Their excited postures drew a sidelong glance from Hop, "They look even more excited than when they're the ones competing..."

When the competing players entered, Deng Pei began announcing the match rules and raised his hand to signal.

"Both sides, please send out your first Pokemon!"

Two Poke Balls flew into the arena.

Bang bang!

"Go! Dragonite!"

"Tremble, soul! Pang Yan Guai!"

Accompanying the two's shouts, the sharp-eyed Dragonite and a massive rock each landed in the arena.

Thud!

The rock shook the ground; deep purple mist drifted out from within, condensing into a twisted ghost face, "Gagaga..."

It let out a cry that made one's back turn ice-cold.

Elise's expression was solemn, "It's actually a Pang Yan Guai."

In the world of the Pokemon anime, Pang Yan Guai is undoubtedly a very rare existence; even Baimu has only seen it with his own eyes three times.

Once was at a construction site in Huang Tie City, a wild Pang Yan Guai rampage caused by the Spirit World entrance being blocked; once was Wangluo of the Xicui era.

The last one is Zhulan's Pang Yan Guai.

The audience also generally held apprehension toward it; even though it was a Champion's Pokemon, after all the Pokedex introduces it as being composed of one hundred and eight evil souls.

The livestream barrage unanimously began spamming 【Scary】; especially when the camera aimed at Pang Yan Guai, the barrage density was even higher.

Last time when it battled Baimu, it didn't get this treatment; one can see how high the Masters Eight heat is.

Carnet in the preparation room couldn't help but laugh, "Worthy of Zhulan; with just one Pokemon she has suppressed the entire venue's atmosphere."

"Mm!"

An Xier nodded her little head nervously.

Baimu's brows raised slightly, but what he thought of was the original plot—

When Zhulan and Ash battled in the semifinals, the selection was exactly the same as right now.

Some kind of omen... no way!

The difference between six-on-six and three-on-three is still very large; moreover, Zhulan now possesses a new Mega Evolution.

Huh?

Baimu suddenly caught sight of Elise's wrist; on the slender arm that was empty yesterday, a Dynamax Band now appeared.

"Finally enlightened, huh."

He smiled.

Since when does a Champion not use a special system!

Although the Unova region indeed has no native system, as a regional Champion one must know how to align with international standards!

Inside the arena, the flat, hard rocky foundation stretched to the horizon.

Pang Yan Guai and Dragonite gazed at each other, waiting only for the command to engage in a head-on clash without reservation.

They weren't made to wait long.

Deng Pei's raised hand swung down swiftly, "Battle begin!"

The words had barely fallen.

Alice's long-prepared words burst out.

"Flamethrower!"

"Oh!!"

Dragonite's wings spread fully, orange scales tightly arrayed, tracing a smooth arc under the sunlight.

As it suddenly inhaled deeply, blazing flames rapidly condensed deep in its throat, releasing scorching orange-red light, rotating and shifting color at visible speed.

From orange-red turning to bright yellow, then transforming into terrifying white-hot!

Hiss!

Temperature spiked sharply, moisture in the air instantly vaporizing, forming distorted heat-wave halos.

The next second, Flamethrower roared forth——

"Sucker Punch!"

"Gya gya gya!"

An eerie shriek suddenly rang out, but faster still was Pang Yan Guai's suddenly extending rotating spirit body; it crossed most of the arena at lightning speed, slamming into Dragonite's chin.

Striking later but arriving first is Sucker Punch!

Thud!

The muffled sound was heavy; Dragonite, its chin struck hard, was forced to rear its head, the surging pillar of fire sweeping fan-shaped into the sky, white-hot flames rolling like surging magma, lighting up the entire sky.

Alice gasped in disbelief, "So fast!"

"Oh!"

Flamethrower missed; Dragonite, nearly toppling backward, quickly steadied its swaying body, wings beating as it flew into the air.

It realized that against a Pokemon like Pang Yan Guai, it had to maintain high mobility.

Alice silently recalled Baimu's decisions when facing it...

No!

Felt completely useless as reference!

She gritted her teeth, "Ice Beam!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite high above inhaled deeply, energy circulating again within, rapidly condensing into a condensed, rounded pale-blue orb of light before its mouth.

Zhulan snapped her fingers, "Sucker Punch."

"Gya gya!"

Pang Yan Guai shrieked, driving Evil Spirit toward the sky, but this time Dragonite was prepared, keeping constant watch on its opponent's movements, so it dodged to the side at the first moment.

Who knew Pang Yan Guai's Evil Spirit could turn corners; thanks to Alice and Dragonite's sharp reactions, one shouting "behind", the other swiftly turning back, they unceremoniously spat pale-blue lightning.

Crackle crackle——

The air along the path emitted faint condensation sounds, yet the lightning failed to collide with the Evil Spirit radiating blood-red energy; the latter, seeing the Sucker Punch fail, retracted instantly, at inconceivable speed.

The pale-blue lightning struck elsewhere; the ground immediately froze over with a thick layer of ice, cold breath sweeping the arena.

The announcer shouted, "Consecutive Sucker Punches thwarted Dragonite's offensive momentum! Worthy of a Sinnoh Champion's Pokemon!"

In the waiting room Baimu raised an eyebrow; Pang Yan Guai's Sucker Punch was unexpectedly swift, why didn't it use it when battling him back then?

Little did he know that at the time Zhulan feared Sucker Punch couldn't interrupt Magic Shine.

After all, his family's Pokemon are famous for tanking hits, not easily controlled like Alice's Dragonite.

And Alice, two moves in a row failing against Pang Yan Guai, felt an inexplicable pressure rise.

She discovered Zhulan still had no intention of attacking proactively, and hardened her heart: "In that case——close combat! Dragon Rush!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite threw back its head and let out a dragon's roar that shook the whole arena, muscles tensing, deep-blue dragon flames surging wildly from within, wrapping its entire body like a tangible substance, forming a blazing shell.

Immediately after, it plummeted like a falling meteor, carrying irresistible force, dragon flames condensing into a ferocious dragon head at the top, wind pressure sweeping the entire arena, blowing away all gravel on the ground!

Repeated attacks thwarted, the Dragonite nicknamed Little Tyrant also had a belly full of suppressed fire; precisely because of this this strike was exceptionally fierce, concentrating the vast majority of its focus, power astonishingly high!

Once it connects head-on, even with Pang Yan Guai's solid defense, it would likely suffer severe damage.

Zhulan remained calm, smiling, "Took the bait, Skill Swap."

Hum!

A ring of faint purple energy instantly rippled around Pang Yan Guai, carrying irresistible traction, like an invisible vortex, directly enveloping the rapidly charging Dragonite.

The announcer cried in surprise, "Skill Swap!"

Alice's Dragonite's Ability is the rare Multiscale, now swapped onto Pang Yan Guai, equivalent to giving it an extra layer of resistance at full status.

At this moment, even if Alice wanted to take it back it was too late.

Boom!!

Dragonite slammed heavily into Pang Yan Guai, furious dragon flames soaring skyward, as if to burn this vengeful spirit composed of sinners to ashes.

The tremendous impact made the ground tremble violently, rocks cracking and sinking over a large area, debris and dust filling the sky, quickly shrouding most of the arena, even triggering the defensive barriers of the spectator stands.

"Oh!"

Dragonite swiftly withdrew from the smoke, but the Pang Yan Guai's speed was likewise not slow; it followed close behind, bursting through the smoke, nearly face-to-face with its opponent.

It had waited a long time to lure its opponent into the trap, and naturally would not let the other party leave easily.

Zhulan: "Hypnosis!"

"Godspeed!" Alice's voice grew even more shrill and urgent.

There was no time to lose; Dragonite was about to be unable to dodge!

Alas, it was ultimately in vain; strange light waves were released by the Pang Yan Guai, white light coiled around Dragonite's body, and it retreated swiftly like a bolt of lightning.

Alice looked up at Dragonite expectantly, until its expression visibly turned sluggish, as if struck by a heavy object it abruptly lost consciousness, plummeting from the sky and crashing heavily onto the ground with a boom.

Dust and smoke billowed, snoring sounds slowly emerged from Dragonite's mouth, its violent temperament completely dissipated, its massive body exposed defenselessly before its opponent, completely losing the ability to resist or move.

She fished out a Poké Ball in a flash, but the return beam struck the Pang Yan Guai's retractable head.

"Dream Eater."

Zhulan gave the order without mercy.

The Pang Yan Guai floated above the sleeping Dragonite, its rotating evil soul suddenly swelled, and it bit down in one gulp.

Bang!

Pink smoke billowed out, swallowed bit by bit into its body — this was Dragonite's continuously draining stamina, now completely reduced to the Pang Yan Guai's food, used to recover the damage it had suffered from Dragon Rush.

"Dragonite, wake up!"

Alice screamed; Dragonite's brows furrowed tightly, as if about to awaken from the nightmare, but in the end there was not much change.

Its vitality and mental strength drained away rapidly together, the aura on its body growing weaker and weaker.

Zhulan still did not stop: "Once more! Dream Eater!"

"Gahaha!"

The Pang Yan Guai let out a maniacal laugh, venting all the stifled frustration it had tasted from the Shiny Gengar onto Dragonite.

Its condition was completely restored, and the Multiscale Ability would take effect again — truly killing two birds with one stone.

"Dragonite!!"

Alice was frantic with worry, continuously shouting Dragonite's name loudly, trying to wake it with her voice.

Dragonite was also desperately resisting in the depths of its consciousness; finally, its eyelids trembled slightly a few times, its lashes quivering lightly, as if about to awaken from its slumber.

Its body also began to show obvious struggling movements; it looked like it was about to break free of the control.

Right at this critical moment, Zhulan issued the final command, completely cutting off Dragonite's chance of a comeback.

"Nightmare."

"Gahaha!"

Eerie blood-red light leaped from the Pang Yan Guai's eyes, rushing straight into Dragonite's body; intense pain made it howl incessantly, and the moment it opened its eyes, it glared dead at the Pang Yan Guai.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Bang.

Dragonite's barely raised head drooped again, its sturdy body shuddered violently, letting out a weak cry almost too faint to hear, then completely lost the ability to battle.

"Dragonite—"

"Dragonite is unable to battle, Pang Yan Guai wins!"

Deng Pei ruthlessly announced the match result, making Alice bite her lip tight, then let go powerlessly.

"Gahaha!"

The Pang Yan Guai flew back happily, causing countless spectators to show expressions of physical revulsion.

Hepe couldn't help but hug himself: "What a scary guy!"

Ash's eyes moved: "Yeah, incredibly strong!"

Pikachu: "Pika..."

He also has a Dragonite as a partner; seeing Alice's miserable state now, he couldn't help but empathize.

And in fact, this set of tactics was originally meant for him.

Who told Alice to have better luck; her Dragonite became the Pang Yan Guai's first sacrificial offering.

The Team Rocket trio's expressions were all different.

James felt the Sinnoh Champion's reputation was well-deserved, truly formidable; Jessie and Meowth were covered in cold sweat: "So vicious."

"Dragonite's every move was completely predicted, too horrible to watch, meow." Meowth sweated for Alice, "What a waste, that wild brat!"

Regardless.

The Elite Four's second match, first day, first battle, began with Zhulan's crushing seizure of the initiative.