Chapter 672: Source Zhi, One of the Four Emperors?

Gravity field.

A psychic-type divine technique that forces all Pokémon to the ground.

Even Source Zhi's Togekiss is no exception.

As a bird Pokémon, it clearly lacks the well-developed hind limbs of Togepi and Togetic; its movement speed is dismal, even worse than that of Nightshade Spirit.

But its combat power has not diminished by even a fraction.

First, it used Cotton Defense to inflate its Cotton Cloud wings to five or six times their original size, surrounding itself like a ball.

Then, as Nightshade Spirit used Bind to seal Cotton Defense and immobilize its body, Togekiss unleashed Feather Dance, releasing the swollen cotton-like feathers!

In an instant.

The cotton feathers surged like a tidal wave, engulfing the closer Nightshade Spirit; strands twisted and entwined, displaying astonishing elasticity and resilience, clinging tightly to Nightshade Spirit and trapping it rigidly within thick feathers, unable to extend its limbs.

When Nightshade Spirit tried to burn off the feathers with Flame Punch, Togekiss's long-awaited Meteor Swarm plummeted from the sky.

Boom—boom—boom!

Its power remained consistent with Source Zhi's identity as a six-stat Pokémon Trainer.

The saturation bombing of Meteor Swarm also devastated Nightshade Spirit, whose HP had already been halved by Curse; it rushed toward Togekiss, trying to restore its health by sharing pain.

Source Zhi naturally would not let Fuyou succeed; he ordered Togekiss to retreat while using Sing.

Through the speaker.

The song came in broken, faint bursts, like the fluttering of desert dragonfly wings during a sandstorm; Nightshade Spirit, desperate to share pain, had no chance to defend and collapsed on the spot.

Togekiss let out a piercing cry, releasing lunar power to complete the final strike.

A Saint Warrior is not defeated twice by the same move; Source Zhi would not be hit twice by Share Pain, especially since Nightshade Spirit's speed was severely reduced by its depleted HP.

But.

Fuyou certainly had a noticeable power gap with Source Zhi, yet as Hoenn's youngest Elite Four member, her Pokémon were not so easily defeated.

As the audience cheered for Togekiss, blue light waves flickered from top to bottom across its body.

Stat reduction?

"A parting gift?"

Baimu suspected: in that state, few moves could be used; the only move in Nightshade Spirit's movepool that could silently lower Togekiss's stats was undoubtedly Parting Gift.

Why not use Destiny Bond?

He found it strange: as a Ghost-type Elite Four member, given the chance to use Parting Gift, why not gamble with Destiny Bond to swap out Togekiss?

Inside the arena.

Fuyou recalled Nightshade Spirit, raised her last Poké Ball as if in prayer, and after several seconds, reverently opened it.

Bang!

A hunched Haunter landed on the ground.

Around its neck hung a massive pearl necklace, the lowest end dangling a Super Stone; its prism-shaped gem eyes paired with a mouth full of sharp teeth gave it a mischievous, eerie charm.

The ace appears.

Though Baimu thought Nightshade Spirit, having accompanied Fuyou longer, seemed more like the ace, clearly Haunter's power surpassed it.

Power is a major factor in determining the ace.

As Fuyou had planned, Haunter swiftly launched its first disruption: black rays shot from its prism gem eyes, engulfing the advancing Togekiss.

Ability: Trickster Mind.

It releases status moves faster, meaning all its status moves have nearly negligible startup and recovery time.

High above, a phantom moon cast a brilliant silver column—but missed.

Haunter moved with great agility, constantly shrieking and clawing at Togekiss to provoke it, inevitably stirring in Togekiss an anger too deep for willpower alone to dispel.

Influenced by rage, Togekiss immediately transformed into a grenade of Bright Light, unleashing a barrage of colorful needles in all directions toward Haunter.

However.

A pale blue energy shield blocked the needle assault.

Trickster Mind so fast?

Baimu was astonished: Haunter's provocation and Protect flowed together as if a single move; in peak condition, Togekiss was being toyed with at Haunter's whim.

But at this moment.

A blue flash cut through the air inside the arena, and immediately Togekiss spread its cotton wings and soared upward.

Gravity field ended!

Fuyou remained calm, even smiling; she ordered Haunter to use Thunder Wave, and the electric current swiftly wrapped around Togekiss's body.

Magic Guard had been activated before Gravity Field; in her past battles with Source Zhi, their durations were nearly identical.

High above.

Togekiss, now covered in electricity, struck Haunter again with Magical Leaf; the colorful needles pierced through its body as if piercing a phantom.

Yet from Haunter's slightly pained expression, it was clear it had been hit—

Fuyou still had not used Mega Evolution; her next command was 【Taunt】.

Raise Togekiss's Attack, then induce confusion.

After the colorful light faded.

Haunter showed no change in expression, proudly displaying its unharmed body; Togekiss's fury burned hotter, its body glowing with rolling orange-red light.

The next second.

Togekiss, now confused, went berserk; sporadic electric currents surging from its body made it stiff and immobile.

Only now did Fuyou initiate Haunter's Mega Evolution.

Her Key Stone holder was an ankle bracelet—not the spiral bronze one worn by Miss Xijiana, but an ordinary modern-style ankle bracelet.

Compared to other Pokémon that undergo dramatic physical changes, the Super Evolution of Gengar is as rudimentary as that of Kangaskhan—

Its chest ruby flew out of its body, expanding until it fully obscured the Pokémon, forming a shield-like shape.

Its original aqua-blue eyes became as large as gemstone shields, crimson as blood, and a spike resembling an antenna sprouted from its forehead.

Beyond this, no other changes occurred.

But fewer changes did not mean Super Gengar's power was weak—its Trickster ability transformed into Magic Mirror, and the massive crystal shield possessed terrifying defensive power capable of blocking all attacks.

It summoned a purplish-red wave of Bad Luck, shaping it into a serpent-like form that surged toward the skyward Latios.

At the same moment.

Under Shi Yuan Zhi's prolonged gaze, the Latios, which had been attacking erratically, gradually regained its senses and swiftly shed its Confusion status.

The Taunt status was also removed simultaneously.

Latios withstood the incoming Bad Luck, bathed in purple flames, and unleashed a 【Roar】 at Super Gengar.

Since Super Gengar's ability was Magic Mirror, it reflected certain stat-changing moves targeting itself—and 【Roar】 was among those reflected.

Thus, Latios was forced to withdraw.

Its Paralysis ability also vanished under the influence of the Natural Cure ability.

More crucially, Shi Yuan Zhi successfully sent out his trump card—

Flygon.

He pulled the trigger on his gun; the Key Stone embedded in the firearm resonated with the Super Stone on Flygon's body, completing Super Evolution in an instant.

The bloodstained crescent reappeared before Baimu's eyes.

The battle dynamics shifted once again.

Just moments ago, when ace faced ace, Furong still had a chance to execute her strategy—but upon Super Flygon's entrance, the battlefield instantly tilted into one-sided domination.

"Flying Skin… this ability is terrifying."

Baimu silently mourned for Furong.

Unlike the frustration of battling Super Gargana, Super Gengar did have Taunt and could boost its Special Attack and Special Defense through Calm Mind.

But this thing had abysmal mobility—it was nothing but a stationary target.

Super Gargana's mobility was countless times greater, and its Steel-Fairy typing gave it overwhelming advantages.

One could even call it a type advantage.

How could Super Gengar possibly compare?

Super Flygon itself was a highly mobile Pokémon, unleashing a relentless barrage of 【Hyper Voice】 and 【Payback】 upon it.

Amid the fierce exchange.

Super Gengar blocked with 【Recover】 and 【Protect】, and held its crystal shield before it to absorb attacks, barely managing to hold on for a while.

Until Super Flygon began using the more powerful 【Hyper Beam】 and 【Giga Impact】.

The crystal shield could absorb all attacks, but each block caused it to shrink—when it shrank to the size of a palm, Super Gengar swallowed it back, automatically ending its Super Evolution state.

Re-Super Evolving could restore the crystal shield.

But the gap during restoration gave Super Flygon a direct opening for a one-hit breakthrough.

When the crimson and azure storms pierced the entire battlefield.

Gengar's hunched body shot high into the air, then crashed heavily down.

It was over.

Baimu shook his head, "The main Pokémon have a gap… but the gap between aces is even greater…"

He personally felt Shi Yuan Zhi's strength in the previous era would have easily made him Champion—but this era had too many monsters, and with his age advancing, he had lost his place among them…

Hm?

Why does he give me a white-bearded vibe?

"I'm a remnant of the old era—there's no ship in this new age that can carry me!"

Combined with Shi Yuan Zhi's desire to find a successor, the resemblance grew even clearer.

Clap-clap-clap-clap—

Loud applause echoed above the arena.

The audience was thoroughly entertained; Baimu also felt deeply inspired, rising to wildly applaud for Furong and Shi Yuan Zhi, and when he turned to Xiang Dawu, the man had also stood up to clap.

The first day of the Hoenn Champion League ended here.

After the match.

The Four Guardians reviewed the afternoon's match mistakes in the preparation room—they were rivals, yet also close allies safeguarding the Hoenn League.

Debriefing was perfectly normal.

Baimu was fortunate to join under Xiang Dawu's guidance; through discussion, he learned Furong still had hidden cards she hadn't played, but unfortunately Shi Yuan Zhi's offense was too fierce, leaving her no time.

"A Medium's strength isn't just about traversing the spirit world and the real world!"

She angrily punched the air, one cheek puffed out, looking childishly petulant.

Only now did she seem to shed her Four Guardian identity, reverting to a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl from the southern lands.

Shi Yuan Zhi said nothing, but Xiang Dawu chuckled, "A strategy never used is meaningless. Fixating on this isn't your style, Furong."

"I know!"

Furong turned her head and pouted.

Huayue was angry at himself for falling just short—he had spent the entire past year cultivating his Absol's Fire-type moves, aiming to land one decisive blow against Queen Boni's Froslass.

"Meaningless. Even if you doubled the firepower tenfold, Froslass would still take out your Absol," Queen Boni said confidently.

Ice Skin Explosion is unbeatable!

She didn't say it aloud, but her face screamed it.

All Baimu expressed his agreement with this.

Tomorrow afternoon is the Four Heavenly Kings' final match, still in the six-pick-three singles format: Queen Boni versus Shi Yuan Zhi.

Evening.

All Baimu went to the Raging Waves and found that Otsuka and the others had already gotten quite familiar with the sailors like Liang Guang.

They were even arm-in-arm, drinking together.

He set his mind at ease.

The Orei people's survival ability really is remarkably tenacious—they can adapt quickly anywhere—well, that's putting too fine a point on it.

The living conditions aboard the Raging Waves weren't harsh either, far better than the old Iron Town.

—

The following morning.

All Baimu came to test Otsuka and the others' battle strength.

He confirmed they were still a bunch of rookies, not even a match for Xiao Sheng who had obtained his Pokémon several months later than them, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It was understandable.

After all, he had simply left, taking the mission to search for Lugia and running off to travel outside.

The people who stayed in Iron Town, like Otsuka, still had to develop the wilderness, normally planting trees and building houses, so they probably couldn't spare much time to train their Pokémon.

They also weren't like the teenagers from the main-series regions, going around looking for wild trainers to battle.

They could also challenge Gym Leaders to quickly raise their own strength.

"Take it slow."

All Baimu briefly offered them some comfort.

Otsuka and the others' mindset was as usual—if they were strong, they wouldn't have agreed to be sailors in the first place; besides, is losing to your own boss really that embarrassing?

It's perfectly normal for a boss to have the strength to crush his underlings.

The stronger All Baimu got, the happier they were!

Time quickly arrived at the afternoon.

All Baimu asked them again whether they were going to watch the match; the answer was still no—they firmly believed that rather than watching others battle, it was better to train a bit more themselves.

A very obvious difference in mindset: because of their own lack of knowledge and having never developed an awareness of learning, they found it hard to easily pick things up from others.

To change this, they would have to continue going to school, or properly find a battle teacher.

He thought this silently, having already arrived at the venue with Champion Dawu.

Next to where they sat yesterday were Furong and Hua Yue; Darmani had been arranged to sit elsewhere.

"The view here is as broad as ever! Kid—no, wait, All Baimu! When the Champion League is over, come visit me at my place?"

Hua Yue, very much the hail-fellow type, draped an arm over his shoulder.

All Baimu was about to refuse when Furong protested loudly: "No! He should go to Shenshan first! All Baimu! You promised to come visit before, so why haven't you come?"

Too enthusiastic!

Forcing people to come visit!

He helplessly explained to the two of them that he had to return to Orei, and sincerely thanked them both for their kindness.

Fortunately, Hua Yue and Furong weren't the overbearing, take-no-nonsense type either—their roughness was limited to their mouths; once Queen Boni and Shi Yuan Zhi entered the arena, the two of them quickly fell silent.

Ice-type versus Dragon-type.

The type-advantage edge was in hand.

Queen Boni still had a slight chance of winning—before seeing Porygon-II's statistics on the Four Heavenly Kings' internal matchups over the past ten years.

'Queen Boni versus Shi Yuan Zhi, win rate is: zero.'

Porygon-II's tone was slightly odd.