Chapter 958: Terrifying Free-for-All

'Battle.'

'What does that mean to me?'

Within the overgrown Grayrock Canyon.

The chestnut-haired youth sprinted forward, flanked by a fox-like and an old-man-like Hypno.

'Don't run!'

'Stop right there!'

Continuous shouts came from behind.

Occasional sharp winds howled past his ears, striking the rocks beside him and shattering them into pieces.

Boom!

Shards of rock slammed into his back like bullets.

Shan Ren kept running, still carrying the Hypno suspended by psychic power.

He had terrible luck.

The moment he landed, five Trainers were visibly nearby.

Three of them he didn't know but clearly knew each other; the other two he'd seen before in Silicium City…

Team up in three-on-three?

No!

Those two shouted in unison, 'He's the strongest—take him out first!'—causing all five to focus fire on him!

Had Shan Ren not recently trained his reflexes and immediately sent out Hypno to use 【Protect】, he'd have taken most of it.

His League Challenge journey would've ended before it began.

Five against one—he had no confidence he'd survive.

But.

Rules permitted Trainers to flee.

Just as rules forbade Trainers from teaming up but allowed them to gang up on one person.

As the architect of the plan, Shan Ren generously left a lifeline for those unlucky Trainers.

He never expected it to benefit him so soon.

Swiftly passing through the canyon flanked by towering rock cliffs, Shan Ren and Hypno didn't look back—they plunged into the dense forest.

In an instant.

Behind them came frustrated cries from Trainers and Pokémon.

None had expected him to run so fast—five Trainers and five Pokémon had blocked a single pair, yet he slipped away.

'Hahahaha...'

Shan Ren ran while laughing, grateful he hadn't questioned All All Baimu's training methods.

By the way, where was he now?

How many had he already taken out?

As he daydreamed, Shan Ren confirmed no enemies remained nearby and gradually slowed to a stop.

'Fur?'

Hypno looked at his Trainer with confusion.

Shan Ren smiled: 'Go back! Counterattack!'

Why let those five go so easily?

This was his League tournament.

It shouldn't begin with flight and panic!

Don't let outsiders think the Ore Region has no strong Trainers besides All All Baimu!

Why rely solely on legs when fleeing, not on Hypno's psychic power?

Because he didn't want it to exhaust too much—counterattack would be too slow!

'Fur!'

Hypno nodded firmly.

The pair retraced their path—this time, they became the hunters!

Main Arena.

A massive 3D image projected battles across every zone.

Shan Ren, being chased and cornered, was clearly visible—even granted the honor of appearing on one of three large screens by multiple cameras.

Many spectators erupted in noise.

'Five against one is so unfair!'

'Run! They're catching up!'

'Such agile movements! But why doesn't he counterattack once?'

'He's out of the canyon! Amazing, this commentator!'

Since Shan Ren had never introduced himself during the opening ceremony, everyone called him 'the commentator.'

But when they saw him turn around, many were puzzled.

Why go back?

Yet some smiled knowingly, understanding Shan Ren's plan—including Team Magma's Pyroar.

He chuckled: 'Though the nobleman didn't get a good start, his slow counterattack is not without merit.'

'Hahahaha, Chief Pyroar speaks truly.'

Dines laughed in agreement.

Watermelon grunted: 'In my view, he should've moved the moment he saw those five—just five people!'

The two villain leaders greatly admired Shan Ren's administrative skill—but his combat ability?

One could only say that martial virtue was the baseline for being a villain.

But.

Shan Ren on the battlefield probably hadn't expected that even his escape would earn him a good reputation.

He'd been worried his performance was too weak, tarnishing the Ore League's name.

In truth, it wouldn't.

While other regions' preliminaries saw weaklings brawling, the Ore Region showed audiences worldwide one monster after another.

For example:

'The Legendary Pokémon Darkrai? So strong! All Pokémon near it are swallowed by black spheres!'

In a forest clearing, a young man with dark gray hair remained calm.

Before him, a humanoid Pokémon continuously fired black orbs, swallowing every approaching Pokémon and leaving them collapsed as if drained of all energy.

【Dark Void】.

Darkrai's signature move—a group-targeting Dark-type hypnosis technique.

In the game, it was nerfed due to a Normal-type Pokémon's abuse, causing accuracy to plummet.

But on this canyon battlefield, it was a god-tier tool for crushing weaklings.

Unless a Pokémon was already asleep or immune to sleep, none could stand against Darkrai.

Less than ten minutes into the match.

Darkrai had already eliminated over twenty Pokémon, achieving a twenty-kill streak all by itself!

Another example:

'What's that? A Pokémon I've never seen! Also terrifying!'

On a high slope, Gragio crossed his arms, striking what he thought was a cool pose.

His silver companion, with black-tipped feathers, slashed down hard on a Ruby Sea Star—CRACK! —shattering the crimson gemstone within!

【AR System】 Silver Companion!

Gragio held memory discs of every type—he simply tossed whichever one he needed onto his Silver Companion.

Its ever-changing types made every opponent hesitate to challenge him!

Another example:

'Master Bartholos! We adore you!'

Deep in the forest.

A two-meter-tall giant sat cross-legged; a contestant crouched behind shrubs, commanding a Crobat to stealthily seek his Pokémon.

Suddenly, a brilliant white light flashed—like a blade slicing through air.

Without a sound.

The Crobat collapsed inexplicably to the ground.

The contestant, stunned, noticed a giant stag beetle with jade-colored wings perched on a tree trunk, sipping sap.

Mega Heracross!

A powerful flying predator!

Even more so:

'Director Director Zhengyi! Director Director Zhengyi! Absolute justice! Invincible under heaven!'

Before a rocky beach, a handsome youth stood proudly.

A massive, bluish-green beast bristling with thorns slammed its feet down, and countless jagged stone pillars erupted like blooming flowers, hurling away the Pokémon surrounding it!

Before they could struggle to their feet, boulders and gravel the size of heads coalesced into a mudflow, sweeping them and their Trainers away together.

BOOM—!!

The scene was truly terrifying!

Mega Banette, a mobile disaster! The Rock Emperor of Destruction!

Aside from these four.

The elegant, sword-wielding White Knight—Mega Alakazam battled amidst the shattered rocks; Mega Camerupt roared and rained down molten lava; Mega Sharpedo shot out of the water like a missile, dragging a Pokémon beneath the surface, and more.

Mega-evolved Pokémon had become commonplace even in the Orre region!

Only at the Kalos League Championships in the past could one ever witness Mega Pokémon battling each other!

Even setting aside these Mega Pokémon, strong ones were everywhere.

For instance, the charming and cute Sunflora used psychic power to control three Pokémon;

The clumsy Blissey swung its fat fists to shatter mountain rocks, sending Pokémon fleeing in panic; Magmar unleashed towering heatwaves;

Roserade summoned thick, massive tree roots; Espeon called down lunar power; Scizor's pincers instantly decapitated opponents; Flygon's dragon claws were razor-sharp.

One stunning scene after another unfolded on the 3D projections and giant screens.

Who could have imagined this was merely a tournament to test the strength of the region's new Trainers?

Talented individuals flowed like fish crossing a river, endless and unceasing!

But what puzzled everyone was:

Why was there a vast, completely black region in the center of the canyon arena?

In the holographic 3D projection, the organizers had deliberately withheld the image from the critical central area!

Was this a mistake?

Many spectators stared at the three giant screens, hoping to catch a glimpse of the actual situation through the live cameras.

Yet, aside from occasional flashes of sandstorms, nothing appeared.

The audience erupted; some contacted the organizers, only to learn the black region had been deliberately created.

Deliberately created?

A region that large!?

Just as the audience was buzzing with speculation, a long, narrow strip suddenly extended from the central black zone in the 3D projection!

Very fast!

And it recovered just as quickly.

Within seconds, the black strip reverted to its original form, reappearing in the viewers' sight.

No.

It was not "original form."

Some viewers remembered that spot had once been dense woodland.

But now, one patch had become two!

A vast, deep chasm, like a dried-up riverbed, had split it cleanly in two!

Even sharper-eyed viewers noticed the scoreboard listing remaining contestants had instantly dropped by three names.

"What on earth just happened?"

"What was that? A trap set by the organizers? Is the affected area too large?"

Too large?

That was precisely the organizers' own thought.

They grimaced as they watched the backstage, where one after another Multicam tried to charge higher above the sandstorm zone.

Thanks to the Multicams' unyielding determination, the sandstorm was finally breached.

The blacked-out central area was now exposed to all viewers.

Main arena.

The roar from the audience surged toward the heavens!!

The mystery was solved!

At the very center of the canyon arena was not some trap set by the organizers.

But a colossal monster, towering like a mountain, level with the pillar-like stone peaks—even within the holographic projection, viewers could sense its immense size.

Mega Gigalith!

It spun its four brilliant, horizontal bones, stirring the ground's gravel into endless torrents of sand, hurling them skyward to create a colossal, sky-piercing sandstorm!

A Trainer stood atop its head, tiny as a speck of dirt.

"How can there be such an absurdly huge Gigalith!"

"So that's it! The canyon's center is a vast desert—Mega Gigalith used the sand to create an unprecedented sandstorm!"

"I'm thinking of those two ancient Pokémon from Hoenn…"

"Not that extreme. Primal Groudon's 【End of the World】 isn't something any ordinary Pokémon can compare to—it can affect entire cities and regions!"

"You kid! You're from Team Magma, aren't you? Blowing up Groudon in front of me?"

"Kyogre is supreme!"

Audience chatter grew off-topic due to some discordant voices.

But it didn't matter.

Everyone was too lazy to join the empty debate; their eyes were locked on the Mega Gigalith at the center of the 3D image.

On the internet, live-stream chatboxes flooded with messages—the most repeated line was a single question:

'Who is he?'

The organizers, considerate as ever, directed the Multicams to zoom in remotely.

On the three giant screens in the main arena,

the face of the young man radiating a chilling aura atop Mega Gigalith was now clearly visible.

He was none other than the leader of Team Rainbow, the Chosen Champion—

All All Baimu!

Cheers erupted across the world!

While other contestants fought or hid, strategizing to defeat their enemies,

he, teleported nearby, discovered the desert.

He immediately seized the very center of the canyon arena and unleashed a sky-piercing, colossal sandstorm to declare to all:

Come if you dare!

Heaven's timing, earth's advantage, human harmony—all were in his hands!

And every contestant approaching this direction, let alone facing All All Baimu directly,

couldn't even break through the terrifying outer sandstorm.

Even the Multicams had to struggle for a long time to penetrate the sandstorm from a high, weak point in the sky.

They nearly caused a broadcast disaster!

Waiting, waiting.

All All Baimu seemed to grow bored, feeling the rate of contestant elimination was too slow.

So he ordered Mega Gigalith to the edge of the sandstorm and randomly unleashed 【Heavy Impact】 in one direction.

That was the origin of the elongated black streak seen earlier in the 3D projection.

The energy blast was too swift.

Nearby Multicams were blown away; their processors nearly crashed.

Fortunately, Unit Zero rushed in personally and restored the 3D projection successfully.

All All Baimu wasn't worried about killing Trainers or Pokémon.

Team Magma and Team Aqua provided top-tier technical support—every participant wore specially designed, high-strength impact-resistant, fireproof, insulated gear!

These outfits, capable of allowing a human to break through the atmosphere and withstand crushing deep-sea pressures, were black-tech in safety engineering!

Therefore,

All All Baimu had the luxury to be reckless.

Otherwise, he'd never dare blast around like this—he wanted to be Regional Champion, not a Murder Champion.

His superior should be the League President, not the Blood God of Khorne.

Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!

Cough, cough.

In short,

While his actions caused an uproar, Mega Gigalith efficiently cleared out contestants.

Whether his actions might harm teammates? All All Baimu never considered it.

He only needed to answer to Shanren—and Shanren, having experienced it before, would never approach the sandstorm.

He'd already been through it on Platinum Mountain—blown away by Mega Gigalith's Heavy Impact alongside a Pokémon.

Thanks to Rayquaza handling security, Dinis might've had to consider having another child.

Would Shanren, haunted by that trauma, dare approach?

The answer is—

No.

He had just sent his Mega Gengar to eliminate the last opponent; his unfamiliarity with Mega Evolution left him panting.

"It's definitely that kid—so frustrating, so strong."

Shan Rian gazed at the massive sandstorm rising on the horizon; he was close enough to the center to see it clearly.

Undoubtedly.

He was using an authentic Mega Evolution; the Kalos Alliance, when distributing Mega Stones, had gifted his father an Key Stone as a symbol of friendship between the two regions.

His father gave him the Key Stone, because Denis had little interest in Pokémon battles.

Is this abuse of power for personal gain?

Strictly speaking, yes—but Shan Rian didn't care. Having entered the inaugural tournament, he had already considered many things.

The negatives outweighed the positives.

Yet he still came.

The dream wasn't finished.

Shan Rian didn't want to run.

"Well done! Let's go again!"

He fist-bumped his Mega Gengar and searched for his next opponent.

In this chaotic free-for-all, where some fought, some fled, some hid—he would fight until his final moment.

To bring his battle career to a perfect close!