Chapter 580: A Single Punch Beyond Words

"What a massive Water Vortex!"

Vivian's voice drew the audience's gaze.

The enormous tidal vortex, controlled by the Shiny Milotic's tail fin and occupying nearly a third of the stage, drew exclamations from countless people.

"Chitoru…"

Mega Lopunny looked up at the vortex that blotted out the sky, then at the Shiny Milotic, whose body seemed veiled in a hazy glow under the sunlight filtering through the watery swirl.

The latter's pale blue hair-like fins stirred of their own accord, radiating a captivating charm born of intense concentration.

But more than that—

it cared more about the gaze the Shiny Milotic sent its way.

Those beautiful eyes seemed to be shouting—shouting their unwillingness at having lost so many points, their guilt at failing to meet the expectations of their trainer and companions, their resolve to defeat their opponents in one decisive strike—

How deafening.

Mega Lopunny's gaze trembled, ripples spreading across its already unsettled heart-lake.

That's right.

Obsessing over the points lost a moment ago is childish.

They, who held the overall advantage, should defeat their opponents with a more gorgeous and graceful bearing—why let such a small loss of points make them so anxious and emotional?

They must show a lady's poise.

But—

This was because of the points they had lost.

It was no coincidence.

Nor was it some disaster fallen from the sky.

It was simply because of their own immaturity that Togekiss and Piplup seized the opening with their strength and took those points away!

The failure of the Water-Fire fusion technique was never solely the Shiny Milotic's fault!

What lady's reserve!

That was clearly just an excuse for being unable to perfectly combine gorgeousness with strength, having to reduce power for the sake of sufficient visual spectacle.

Mi Ke Li's Pokémon never needed to "weaken themselves" just to participate in a Pokémon Contest!

Clench…

Mega Lopunny's fist tightened, and a voice suddenly rose from the depths of its heart.

Then what are you waiting for?

It turned its head in astonishment and saw its trainer pointing a single finger toward the Togekiss and Piplup hidden behind the wall of the tidal vortex, his eyes full of gentleness and affirmation.

Right.

Since they couldn't do it in the past, they would start doing it now!

Go!

Real combat is the best teacher!

Its body leaped up of its own accord, both fists wreathed in icy-blue freezing air as it swung at the enormous tidal vortex atop the Shiny Milotic's tail!

Sss—

The cold current spread rapidly!

A strange thing happened—the enormous tidal vortex merged with the bone-chilling freezing air without immediately solidifying into a funnel-shaped Bingshan, but merely gained a layer of icy-blue halo on its surface, making it even more dazzling and colorful.

In an instant.

The brilliant vortex of cold current blazed so brightly that even the sun's radiance seemed suppressed.

Not a single spectator present was unmoved, and Vivian shouted loudly:

"Lopunny and Milotic have once again displayed their teamwork! This is what Doubles battles are about! The coordination between Contest Trainers and their Pokémon! The coordination between Pokémon and Pokémon!"

As it descended.

Mega Lopunny's gaze met the Shiny Milotic's, and their long training meant they needed no excessive words.

The latter cried out at length!

"Mii~loh!"

Transforming the unwillingness and longing in its heart into power, breaking through the wall that blocked the path ahead!

"Shatter it!"

The trainer's voice made the Shiny Milotic's movements even more resolute.

It was seen violently lashing its tail, and the enormous cold-air tidal vortex began to contract and extend upward, transforming in the span of a single breath into a terrifying ice tornado dozens of meters tall!

Dawn's expression suddenly changed. "Not good—"

But the ice tornado had already plunged downward like a frigid ice peak towering in the polar regions!

Boom!

The tidal vortex before Piplup and Togekiss instantly collapsed, like waves easily torn apart by a storm.

And the two behind the vortex had no time to react before the piercing ice tornado used the powerful rising cold current at its tip to fling them skyward!

"Jisii—"

"Pokaa—"

The two Pokémon cried out in panic and pain.

The ice tornado slowly dissipated.

"Chitoru…"

Mega Lopunny felt a sudden whoosh, and before its eyes the scene cleared like it had been washed with water—no longer any wall formed by the tidal vortex.

Under the sunlight, the expressions of Togekiss and Piplup were exceptionally clear; they flustered, trying to regain their balance, yet their movements slowed in a strange way.

A straight path of light, pointing straight at its opponent, appeared before its eyes.

The chance had come!

A familiar voice rang out in its mind.

"Chii-doo~"

Mega Mawile shifted its right foot slightly back, lowering its center of gravity, and its gradually solemn expression showed that its spirit was in a state of intense focus.

It was going to perfectly fuse power and beauty!

On the other side.

"Piplup! Togekiss!"

Baimu raised her head, shouting as she tried to confirm the condition of the two.

Although she hadn't been able to fully use Feather Rest, they should have recovered quite a bit of stamina; the strange-colored Milotic's cold-air tidal vortex shouldn't have been enough to knock out both Pokémon together.

Sure enough, she quickly discovered that Togekiss and Piplup were both trying to regain their balance.

"Hang in there! Fly up just like that!"

Baimu quickly gave her command; she had already caught a glimpse of the dawn of victory, and as long as she held on, she would surely achieve final victory.

Baimu was stronger than the last time they battled—strong enough that she could barely keep up.

But as long as there was hope, she absolutely would not give up!

Baimu thought this, but when the corner of her eye caught Mega Mawile striking a certain fighting stance in the distance, a chill immediately surged into her heart.

Something was coming!

Years of gorgeous battle experience and sixth sense were frantically stimulating Baimu's nerves; she even forgot to pay attention to the countdown and the deducted points.

Thus, as Togekiss smoothly adjusted its posture and caught Piplup, who was flapping its wings desperately to keep itself from falling too fast.

Relieved, she couldn't wait to shout:

"Show them our strength! Drill Peck! Sky Attack!"

"Pippa!"

"Jisii!"

The two Pokémon responded instantly; having sensed something was wrong, they didn't dare hesitate in the slightest and unleashed their strongest moves!

Togekiss's body swayed; dazzling incandescent-white energy appeared before it and rapidly spread over its entire body, transforming it into a sacred great bird radiating white light.

Piplup on its back leapt onto its face, barely managing to sit on its forehead to make sure it wouldn't fall off; while crying out, its small beak suddenly grew slender and radiated golden light.

Then the two began to spin rapidly around themselves as the center point.

The two surging energies actually merged into one, combining gold and white into a breathtaking vivid red!

"It appears! Contestant Baimu's special ultimate move! An ultra-powerful gorgeous technique fused from Sky Attack and Drill Peck! What dazzling incandescent-red light!"

Vivian's voice was exceptionally loud.

But soon a tremendous roar drew her attention.

She cried out in shock: "This is—"

She saw Mega Mawile erupt with intense flashes all over its body, the ground cracking with irregular fissures, rings of white shockwaves constantly spreading outward, and the giant jaws behind its head, like rocket launchers, madly spewing out colorful stars and pale-pink air currents!

What a dazzling and brilliant 【Play Rough】!

Vivian couldn't suppress her urge to praise Mega Mawile, and the judges also couldn't help but have their eyes lit up; this was absolutely the most astonishing method of using Play Rough they had ever seen.

The audience was overjoyed, craning their necks in anticipation.

However, none of this affected Mega Mawile.

It gazed up at the vivid-red spiral diving from the sky above, its eyes steady, completely unmoved by its beauty.

Until.

The Trainer's command rang out!

"Go! Disarming Voice and…the final Play Rough!"

A siren-like sharp cry rang out beside Mega Mawile's ears, and several pink halos suddenly appeared around it, spinning ceaselessly.

Mega Mawile at this moment was simply like a shining star in the heavens, or like a deity bearing brilliant divine light on its back.

It took a deep breath.

Then it suddenly vanished from where it stood.

Vivian, who had been staring fixedly at it, flashed a look of bewilderment on her face; just as she was about to speak, a terrifying explosion and frantic tremors suddenly reached her ears!

Boom!

The stage exploded centered on where Mega Mawile had just been standing; within the giant spiderweb-like cracks, countless large and small pieces of rubble disintegrated and flew up!

Under the gaze of countless spectators.

Mega Mawile suddenly appeared in mid-air, facing head-on the vivid-red spiral descending from the heavens.

Hum!

It saw the ring behind it suddenly transform into a light wave and blast forward; the vivid-red spiral was instantly stripped of its "outer coat" within the surging sound waves, revealing Piplup and Togekiss inside.

Then Mega Mawile raised its right fist.

All the light on its body, including the pink air currents and colorful stars erupting from behind its head, gathered into it in an instant, like swallows returning to their nest, forming a shining pink cross-star.

"Chii—doo!

Within the resounding cry, the heavy fist was thrown!

The next instant.

The pink cross-star suddenly expanded!

At a speed that simply couldn't be reacted to, it swallowed everyone's field of vision!

Dong—!

A tremendous roar rang out just like a bell!

Countless stars hurtled in every direction amid the terrifying shockwave; the blinding light left everyone unable to see clearly what was happening in the arena, only able to feel the warm breeze brushing against their faces.

And after the great roar, a faint yet unmistakably real, pleasant chiming drifted over.

In a daze.

Many people pictured in their minds the sacred image of the shiny Milotic singing beneath the moon.

The scene, unlike an ordinary battle, made many spectators look expectant; some, like the shiny Gengar and Hu Pa, even tried to head straight to the site, desperate to know the final result.

Amid the shattered stage.

Xiaoguang shielded the piercing light with one hand; the scene before her brought back some unpleasant memories, and the dazzling performance of the Mega Mawile deepened the unease in her heart.

But at this moment, all she could do was trust Piplup and Togekiss.

Trust that they would not let her down.

Finally.

The light dimmed.

Mega Mawile stood panting amid a stretch of broken ground, the shiny Milotic circling around it like a beautiful serpent deity standing guard.

All Baimu's expression was calm, as if he did not care about the match's outcome.

Togekiss and Piplup stood unharmed on the other side, no scorch marks on their bodies from the type-energy bombardment, which made Xiaoguang involuntarily feel a surge of joy—

Ding!

A loud whistle cut short her joy.

Xiaoguang lifted her head in disbelief, and clearly saw on the big screen a countdown with only sixteen seconds left, while the ring-shaped score meter beneath her portrait had turned completely black.

As for the meter beneath All Baimu, at least half of it still remained yellow.

Not long after the whistle sounded.

Togekiss and Piplup swayed and collapsed; their two pairs of spiral eyes proved they had lost the ability to battle.

Vivian gripped the microphone and announced loudly: "The match is over! Let us congratulate contestant All Baimu! He advances to the final Grand Festival finals!"

Wah!

The spectators burst into waves of cheers.

Xiaoguang took a deep breath, showed a slightly helpless smile, and stepped forward to embrace Piplup and Togekiss.

The two briefly fainted Pokémon quickly came to.

"Pip..."

"Jis..."

They called out somewhat guiltily.

"It's okay, Piplup, Togekiss, you were already amazing! Really amazing! Thank you both!" Xiaoguang said with a smile, softly comforting the two Pokémon.

The three held each other closely.

On All Baimu's side.

He stepped forward and picked up the Mawile that had returned to its original form, smiling: "Beautifully done! That final Uproar and Hyper Voice were stunning!"

"You too, your support was excellent—everyone will be proud of you both!"

He scratched the shiny Milotic under the chin.

"Chiro~"

Mawile snorted and turned its head away, unwilling to act overly affectionate with its trainer in public.

The shiny Milotic, however, had no such reservations; it called out happily and used its cheek to unleash a 【Nuzzle】 attack on All Baimu, smearing his face with water.

A moment later.

The two sides shook hands amicably.

Compared to Coach Ge Man, who could not bear the defeat, Xiaoguang came across as far more magnanimous.

Not only could she smile and talk with All Baimu, on the way back she even began a self-review on the spot.

"I finally realized exactly where I'm lacking."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"So many move combinations were easily broken through, but when faced with the combination of Extreme Speed and Ice Beam, your reaction was clearly a beat slower—was it because it was your first time seeing it?"

"... You could say that."

"I knew it. But what truly made me realize where I fall short was the very end. Back then I lost to Xiaowang with this same move and failed to win the championship; now I've lost to it again. It made me realize I haven't really changed much over these years..."

Xiaoguang sighed.

She was not the type to dwell on the past; her temperament, better suited to charging silently toward the future, often made her fall into the same pit several times.

Simply put, she only remembered the taste, not the beating.

This sudden awakening was proof enough of the spiritual impact the defeat had dealt her.

All Baimu, however, shook his head and said: "The fact that you can realize this already shows you've begun to change. To be honest, I had thought about helping you earlier, but later I realized I myself still had so many shortcomings—too busy with my own problems, my thinking was too arrogant.

"What you've just said confirms this—you truly don't need my help; you can figure it out on your own."

Xiaoguang smiled: "Although the price was a bit high?"

He asked back: "Then do you think it was worth it?"

Xiaoguang pulled her gaze away from him and shouted into the empty contestant corridor ahead, "So worth it!

I just can't accept it!

Her voice echoed through the corridor.

... This kid, surely hasn't lost her mind.

All Baimu looked at Xiaoguang with pity.

The latter waited for a while, then turned her head in a daze and said, "Huh? Why aren't you shouting along with me?"

"Watch fewer morning dramas. The plots Miss Liuqi acts in are basically all made up. Also, I'm already an adult." Baimu gave her head a light pat and walked briskly forward.

Xiaoguang covered her head aggrievedly. "What! Is being an adult something to be proud of? And! This isn't childish at all!"