Chapter 906: The Psychic Heir

The vast arena.

Sai Bao Li's heart churned with agitation.

Though he had reconciled smoothly with All All Baimu, he had lost face before his fellow disciples.

As a scion of a renowned psychic family, whose ancestors had long operated Psychic Gyms, this weighed heavily on him; his fierce pride forced him to find any way to restore his honor.

Just then, fortune arrived at his door.

He would serve as the first challenger in the trial match, facing All All Baimu.

"I must erase this shame!"

Sai Bao Li adjusted his glasses and ordered: "Move closer! Psychic Strong Thought!"

In midair.

The bat-winged Psyduck swiftly closed in on the gemlike Galarian Sunflora.

Its bright eyes gradually glowed blue, pouring forth endless psychic energy like countless tentacles stretching downward!

"Sang…"

Sunflora looked dejected, its eyes brimming with the resentment of a tired worker.

In an instant.

A shimmering blue light enveloped its entire body, as if an invisible hand had seized Sunflora, turning it into a blazing firework that suddenly streaked across the sky!

Chiu!

The sharp whistle of wind cut sharply through the air.

Everyone's gaze rose with Sunflora; the glowing-eyed Psyduck did too, though the difference was that Sunflora was being forced upward by its control.

Within mere seconds, the opponent had reached the maximum distance it could control.

"Moli!"

Psyduck did not hesitate.

It yanked Sunflora, no larger than a black speck in its vision, back down.

Hu!

The wind grew muffled.

As if falling too fast, Sunflora's surface ignited with bright flames—though strangely, they were a deep violet-purple.

Seeing this, Sai Bao Li's half-open smile vanished; he cried out in shock:

"Will-o'-the-wisp!?"

Dong!

The ground trembled!

Sunflora crashed violently onto the flat arena, like a bomb dropped by a drone, sending up a cloud of dust.

Yet most onlookers fixed their eyes on Psyduck.

Its neck fur blazed with fire, spreading rapidly across its whole body—appearing at first glance like a flying ball of flame.

"Moli!!"

Psyduck shrieked in agony; the searing pain drove it to flap its wings desperately, yet it could not extinguish the flames.

Sai Bao Li shouted repeatedly, trying to restore Psyduck's sanity.

But it remained unable to adapt to the 【Burn】 status.

The onlookers were stunned.

Could a Pokémon under Psychic Strong Thought still counterattack?

When had the command been given?

They turned toward the dissipating smoke—and saw Sunflora in the shallow crater, its eyes glowing with a chilling violet-red light.

A strange eyeball, wreathed in black mist, slowly rose above its head.

"Misfortune never comes alone."

Om!

Waves of deep purple light continuously spread toward the writhing fiery Psyduck; unable to dodge, it stiffened—then, after the waves faded, plummeted like a cut kite.

Pong.

Psyduck's twitching body kicked up a puff of dust.

Sai Bao Li's cries cut off abruptly; his eyelids trembled uncontrollably.

Ma Ma Shide chuckled: "Oh~ What a fierce Misfortune Never Comes Alone! Psyduck is unable to battle! Sunflora wins! The match continues!"

The martial arts hall's disciples murmured among themselves.

Clara smirked inwardly, yet couldn't help marveling at All All Baimu's strength.

It was common knowledge that Pokémon usually froze in place when using moves.

Sunflora had exploited this precisely—enduring Psychic Strong Thought long enough to unleash Will-o'-the-wisp, using the pain of Burn to control Psyduck, then finishing with Misfortune Never Comes Alone.

The entire battle flowed cleanly and efficiently.

Who is this guy?

They stared at All All Baimu's calm face and felt an inexplicable sense of depth; Sunflora, too, moved with effortless ease.

"Return!"

Sai Bao Li used psychic power to recall Psyduck into its Poké Ball, thinking: This was only one Pokémon lost—far from reason to despair!

He shouted: "Go! Galarian Rapidash!"

Pong!

A flash of light.

The elegant two-toned mane hung gracefully, the Galarian Rapidash, pure white with black horns, landed in the arena.

"Yuu~!"

The majestic white horse neighed loudly.

All All Baimu did not hesitate: "Strange Light."

"Sang."

Urgent Sunflora rolled swiftly toward the nearby Rapidash, its body's holes bursting with colored light, flashing continuously as it rolled.

Rapidash had just entered, preparing to assess its opponent's position and condition.

But then a glowing orb, like a disco ball, rolled toward it; after a few glances, it felt dizzy and disoriented.

It was hit!

"Yuu!!"

Rapidash began thrashing in place, kicking its hind legs wildly at the air.

Sai Bao Li, as the Trainer, was not spared—he clutched his head, slapped it several times, then snapped back, frantically shouting:

"Use Meditate to calm down!"

As a scion of a psychic family, he naturally knew secret techniques—such as Meditate, which could instantly calm a confused Pokémon.

But All All Baimu, hearing the command, had no intention of granting him that chance.

"Paralysis Seal."

The instant Rapidash began its Meditate.

Sunflora, having stopped rolling, opened its blood-red eyes; strange blue light erupted from its body, forcibly interrupting the opponent's Meditate.

The move, interrupted mid-execution, produced no effect.

Meanwhile,

The confusion status remained unbroken.

Rapidash's clear eyes were still clouded, and now, under the effect of Paralysis Seal, it stood frozen in place, unable to escape this loss of control.

"R-return!"

Sai Bao Li frantically pulled out a Poké Ball, trying to swap it out.

All All Baimu said: "Absorb Power."

"Sang."

Sunflora swiftly extended smoke-like tentacles toward the nearby opponent.

Cii.

The tentacles pierced in.

Rapidash became motionless again.

Continuous streams of green luminescence flowed from its body into Sunflora's, swiftly repairing the minor damage from Psychic Strong Thought and the energy cost of its moves.

Sai Bao Li's swap failed; his expression darkened further. He closed his eyes silently, attempting to awaken Rapidash with psychic power.

But this was no easy task for him.

Rated by his family as "backward," Sai Bao Li currently possessed only Telekinesis as a psychic ability; all others remained undeveloped.

Seeing this, All All Baimu said: "Meditate."

"Sang."

Sunflora closed its eyes.

Orange-red light glowed steadily beneath it.

Fortunately, freed from the tentacles' control, Rapidash gradually emerged from confusion.

"Magic Shine!"

"Whoa!!"

Countless beams of colored light, as it raised its hooves high, transformed into countless long needles stabbing toward Sunflora. Its weight of less than a kilogram could not withstand the energy impact—it was instantly blasted away!

Boom!

Dust and smoke surged upward.

Saiboli, drenched in sweat, finally gained a moment to catch his breath.

The onlookers at the martial arts school also exhaled in relief; All All Baimu's attack rhythm had been too relentless, leaving them tense, with a few nearly forgetting to breathe.

But upon closer thought, Flareon had only changed its state throughout—never truly taken direct damage.

What had Sunflora accomplished with that entire sequence of moves?

The next second.

They got their answer.

A massive Shadow Ball burst through the mist!

The terrifying energy within it caused the air to ripple, as if resonating—and before Flareon could react, it slammed into its face at blinding speed.

Boom!!

Purple flames rose amid rolling smoke.

"Flareon!"

Saiboli cried out.

But it was too late to change the outcome.

When the smoke cleared, Flareon lay on its side, unconscious—strikingly visible.

The martial arts school onlookers sucked in a sharp breath; even Clara had no energy left to mock Saiboli, utterly absorbed in the battle they'd just witnessed.

"K. O.! Instant K. O.!"

"No, he used Meditate."

"All those moves before were just to Meditate?"

No.

It was to prevent Saiboli from switching out or using some special ability to turn the tide—and to set up for the next match, ensuring the fastest, most secure way to take down Flareon.

All All Baimu said nothing, his ears precisely catching the murmurs of the onlookers.

After all, the valley was extremely quiet, with no background noise.

They probably didn't realize how desperately Sunflora wanted to finish off all opponents just to get off work early.

There was no help for it.

At level seventy, it still faced the persistent problem of insufficient offensive power.

Sunflora's fighting style—troublesome and irritating—wasn't suited for crushing weak opponents, unless even the weaklings were seedlings; then it could crush them blindfolded.

"Next match!"

Ma Ma Shide chuckled as he announced the result, his gaze toward All All Baimu now tinged with curiosity.

Though retired for years after being champion for over a decade, his eye for talent remained unchanged—he believed All All Baimu hadn't even unleashed one-tenth of his true power.

And Sunflora, too, hadn't gone all out; strangely, it seemed eager to finish.

Eww!

I really want to fight!

Ma Ma Shide's long-dormant fighting spirit stirred.

Inside the arena.

Saiboli gritted his teeth: "I won't lose to you!"

He threw out a Poké Ball and shouted:

"Now! I'll awaken the true power of Psychic!"

Pop!

A flash of white light.

Galarian Slowking entered, its upper body pale purple, its head mostly swallowed by a snail shell.

Its ability was 【Own Tempo】—immune to Intimidate and Confusion.

This unwavering self-assurance, regardless of others' opinions, was precisely what Saiboli admired and aspired to—hence he chose Slowking as his flagship Pokémon.

Come on!

Show me what else you've got!

"Mystical Spell!"

Saiboli barked the order swiftly, his eyes fixed intently on Sunflora, waiting for it to repeat its old trick—only to hit a wall.

But.

No strange light appeared. Instead, a Shadow Ball far larger than before emerged.

The Sunflora that created it looked exactly like its satellite.

Boom!

The air warped; the bright sunlight above dimmed.

"Yaduo—"

Slowking felt as if dark clouds had swallowed the sky; its expression matched the pale, terrified face of Saiboli behind it.

But it wouldn't just wait to die.

As it chanted, strange patterns erupted from black ripples spreading beneath its feet, forming a deep purple energy vortex rushing toward the incoming Shadow Ball!

【Mystical Spell】.

Its signature move, capable of reducing the opponent's remaining type energy.

Slowking resolved to fight to the death—

A naive idea. Reality was brutally cruel.

Sunflora's base Special Attack was indeed low—but after Meditate, crushing it was no problem at all.

Boom!

The deep purple vortex exploded violently, as if crushed under immense weight.

Slowking, hooves raised, froze in place, helplessly watching the Shadow Ball grow closer, silently accepting its fate of being swallowed whole.

Boom—!!

The ground trembled.

Ghost-type energy erupted fully; deep purple flames shot skyward!

A visible, translucent shockwave swept across the entire arena, whipping the clothes and hair of onlookers—including Ma Ma Shide's long eyebrows.

"Another K. O.? No way?"

"Meditate boosted Special Attack, plus type advantage—K. O. is normal!"

"Don't forget Slowking's Special Defense is excellent!"

The martial arts school members began arguing; most still refused to believe Slowking fell so easily.

Though Saiboli was new and low-ranking, his Pokémon's strength ranked at least mid-to-upper tier; losing so easily to All All Baimu made them all feel embarrassed.

Ma Ma Shide said nothing, smiling as he watched the arena.

Dust swirled.

It took over ten seconds before it slowly cleared.

There, in a shallow crater marked by residual energy scorch marks, Slowking sat slumped on the ground, as if using the recovery move 【Slack Off】.

Only the twin circles of its snail-shell helmet proved it had fallen to the Shadow Ball.

"—Huh."

All All Baimu, about to order Sunflora to finish it, fell silent.

Weaker than expected.

In memory, Galarian Slowking had excellent HP and Special Defense—he'd assumed Sunflora's output, even after Meditate, would struggle to K. O. in one hit; a follow-up Night Shade might be needed.

But the result…

Unexpected?

He saw Saiboli gaping in shock, Poké Balls falling from his floating belt, and wondered if he'd just broken the guy's spirit.

In the games, Saiboli was weak—when fighting him in a second playthrough, his Pokémon hovered around level sixty-five.

In the anime, he seemed even weaker.

At least All All Baimu and Sunflora hadn't felt any opponent Pokémon above level sixty-five.

Ma Ma Shide announced loudly: "Slowking is unable to battle! First round over—do you wish to continue, or rest?"

"Send out your next fighter."

All All Baimu nodded.

So.

Ma Ma Shide turned to the martial arts school disciples; many instinctively averted their eyes.

Clearly, the battle had frightened them, making them forget this was merely a restricted match—there was nothing to fear.

"Hohoho, truly surprising, old man!"

He wasn't angry; his gaze landed on Clara standing at the back. "Little Clara~ you're up?"

Clara widened her eyes, then saw all her fellow students turning to look at her. Not wanting to ruin her popular image at the school, she said: "I know, I know!"

She walked toward the arena smiling, but once out of others' sight, her face darkened halfway, ignoring even Sabally, who wandered dazedly out of the arena step by step.

Normally, she would have.

Clara would never have passed up such a perfect chance to mock Sabally.

But now she was barely holding on herself, and she couldn't help wondering whether she had to lose gracefully—at least without ruining her adorable image.

"All All Baimu~ This humble girl is unskilled; please go easy on me!"

She waved her hand.

All All Baimu's face remained expressionless.