Chapter 553: Teaching Guzma a Lesson (Physically)

Led by Lillie, Luo Mu and Kukui, who had just arrived at the school playground, happened to hear Guzma's speech in its entirety.

"."

Luo Mu fell silent.

Compared to his silence, Kukui's reaction was far more intense.

In the voice of Kukui, who always appeared as a kind man to the outside world, seemingly never angry and constantly maintaining an optimistic and cheerful smile, there now mingled a fury that made one clearly aware of his rage.

"Guzma, what exactly are you trying to do!"

Kukui questioned his former colleague in a sharp tone.

His gaze fell upon Kiawe's Turtonator, groaning in pain in the large crater nearby; without needing to guess, it was obvious that Guzma was the culprit.

Kiawe was the first batch of students Kukui had taken charge of after becoming a teacher.

Generally, Kukui disliked conflict with others, but Guzma's act of attacking a student had undoubtedly touched his reverse scale.

In response to Kukui's anger-laden question, Guzma wore an expression of complete indifference and instead countered, "How cold, Kukui."

"Is this how you treat an old acquaintance you haven't seen in a long time?"

Kukui, however, was completely unmoved by his act; he helped Kiawe, who had knelt on the ground due to his crushing defeat, to his feet and said coldly to Guzma, "After doing such things to my student, you actually have the nerve to claim familiarity with me."

Then, Kukui handed Kiawe and Turtonator over to Mallow, Sophocles, and the others who had gathered around, and using his own body as a wall, he blocked Guzma's line of sight to them.

"That truly hurts my feelings; I, the great me, wouldn't do anything to them anyway."

Guzma spread his hands helplessly, but his words obviously lacked any persuasiveness.

"Alright, the time for chatting between old acquaintances is over. Although those idiots misunderstood my meaning, which caused that farce."

"But since someone bullied my worst and best brothers, if I, the strongest, don't step forward to completely destroy that person, what face would I have to call myself their boss?"

Guzma's slightly chilling gaze swept across the crowd behind Kukui before finally landing on Luo Mu.

Only his characteristics matched the description.

But Kukui once again stepped in front of Guzma, pulling a Poké Ball from his pocket.

"If you want a battle, I'll accompany you."

Kukui did not wish for a conflict arising from his past affairs to affect Luo Mu's vacation mood.

As fellow disciples of the same master, only he could stop Guzma at this moment.

Behind them, Mallow and the others, who had already helped Kiawe and Turtonator away to rest, returned; seeing this scene, Sophocles displayed a worried expression.

"Professor Kukui is a Pokémon Professor, right? That person is so strong; won't something happen to him?"

Mallow and Lillie, like Sophocles, also showed expressions of worry on their faces.

Having only spent a few days with Kukui, they did not understand his strength, regarding him merely as an administrative worker who did not engage in battles.

Lana, however, looked at Luo Mu's back, lost in thought.

"Hehe, don't rush; let me first destroy the thing you care about, and then I'll come to destroy you."

At this moment, Guzma did not wish to battle Kukui; he could prove he was right at any time and could destroy Kukui at any time.

There were plenty of opportunities to prove that one didn't need to follow the rules of the Island Challenge and could become stronger without Z-Moves.

Today's actions were merely to vent some anger for his brothers.

Flattening the Pokémon School was also a misunderstanding by those idiots; having just occupied Po Town, Guzma had no interest in ending up in jail.

Just as Kukui was about to say something more, Luo Mu, who had been watching the grudge match between the two with great interest, stopped slacking off; he stepped out from behind Kukui and patted his right shoulder.

"It's fine; if he wants to fight, then let's fight."

Stepping out from behind Kukui, Luo Mu looked at Guzma and asked in a calm tone, "So, how do you want to fight?"

"I, the great me, don't dislike straightforward people."

Guzma revealed an arrogant smile, looking Luo Mu up and down as if appreciating him.

"After I, the strongest, crush you, if you cry and beg, I, the great me, might permit you to join Team Skull."

". That won't be necessary."

The corners of Luo Mu's mouth twitched.

Although he had mentally prepared himself, seeing Guzma acting with such an arrogant, cool, and domineering demeanor as if he ruled the world still made one unable to help but sigh at the importance of vision for a person, for a Trainer.

Not to mention himself, but even Kukui, who had returned from his training, could thoroughly beat Guzma; after all, Kukui was at least a Trainer who had stood before Lance.

And what about Guzma himself? Due to his outlook on life, he refused the Z-Move and Z-Ring given by Hala and felt aversion toward the Alola region's tradition of the Island Challenge.

Believing he didn't need these external forces and could become strong in his own way, he chose to break ties with Kukui and leave Hala's school.

And the result?

Although he still had some ability, because he had wasted several years and his vision was not broad, he ultimately never even saw Kukui's face before being sniped by Ash.

Perfect; today, he might as well wake him up through a battle.

Luo Mu directly turned around and moved to the other side of the open ground.

The corners of Guzma's mouth lifted, and he made as if to stand opposite Luo Mu.

But before that, Kukui suddenly spoke up: "Then I will serve as your referee."

"Whatever you like~"

Guzma waved his hand indifferently and walked with his hands in his pockets to the spot opposite Luo Mu.

It was just that before leaving, for some reason, he always felt that the way Kukui looked at him was very strange.

Although they were verbally at odds, Guzma still understood something about this former "rival" of his.

That look seemed as if he were pitying him.

Kukui is pitying me, the great me? Guzma sneered, completely disregarding it.

He couldn't wait to see what expression Kukui would show after he destroyed Luo Mu.

"In accordance with the wishes of both parties, the battle will be a three-on-three singles match."

"When all of one's Pokémon lose their ability to battle, it means defeat; there's no problem with that, right?"

Kukui, reciting the crude rules, looked at the two of them.

Though framed as a mutual agreement, it was actually Luo Mu's unilateral demand.

Guzma agreed to Luo Mu's request with the reply, "Whether I destroy one or three, it's all the same for the strongest me."

In his view, no matter how the rules changed, the outcome would remain unchanged.

By now, a considerable number of students had gathered on the playground, but thanks to Professor Oak and other teachers keeping them in check, they were merely watching from a distance.

Kiawe, who had already handed over his Turtonator to the teacher in charge of treatment, also returned to the playground.

"Will that person be okay?"

Gazing at Luo Mu's retreating figure, Kiawe's worried voice rang out.

"He'll be fine."

Lana, who had hardly spoken until now, suddenly said.

She didn't know if her intuition was accurate; perhaps it was just a misjudgment brought on by Dragonite's excellent performance just moments ago.

The few of them held their breath and concentrated, fixing their eyes on the battle about to unfold.

"Feel free to use Z-Moves if you want; such things cannot influence the course of battle, nor do they have any effect on the invincible me." "Of course, that presupposes you actually have one."

Sneering, Guzma threw the Poké Ball in his hand.

"Vikavolt, it's your turn to appear."

A red light flashed.

An Electric- and Bug-type Pokémon featuring characteristics of a stag beetle, crocodile clips, a fighter jet, and a railgun appeared.

It possessed the ability to maneuver with superior agility in complex forest terrain and suppress Flying-type Pokémon by releasing overwhelming electric beams from its large mandibles, defying heaven and earth.

The moment it appeared, dazzling currents of electricity began to flicker across Vikavolt's pair of powerful mandibles.

Clearly, it was in a state of maximum electrical charge.

On Luo Mu's side, he also sent out his Pokémon.

"Luxray."

These three simple words left Kukui, acting as referee, utterly stunned.

He couldn't help but wonder if Luo Mu was the type who, even when angry, showed little sign of it on the surface.

Otherwise, why would he send out his ace without a second word! Kukui further felt that before he could kindly correct things, Guzma was about to suffer a heavy blow.

The moment Luxray appeared, its aura restrained.

Seeing that Luxray shared the Electric type with Vikavolt, Guzma raised an eyebrow and murmured, "Fell Stinger."

Immediately, Guzma had Vikavolt unleash its killing move at a speed no one could react to.

Vikavolt rushed toward Luxray at a dazzling speed, its jaws opened to nearly their maximum extent, wreathed in a glaring Bai Guang that made it impossible to look directly at them.

"This is bad! If that move hits, it will immediately be knocked out!"

Lillie, rich in theoretical knowledge, changed color and cried out in a low voice.

"So terrifying!?"

Mallow covered her mouth in surprise, looking worriedly at Luxray, which remained motionless in place.

Unlike the worried students, Luo Mu stated expressionlessly, "Dodge."

Just before Vikavolt could "snap" it with those large mandibles, arcs of electricity flickered within Luxray's fur, and amidst several astonished gazes, its figure instantly vanished from its spot and reappeared behind Vikavolt.

"So fast!"

Seeing Vikavolt miss its target, Guzma's expression changed, and he quickly reacted to issue a command.

"Being fast alone isn't much; Sticky Web!"

For Guzma, every method could lead to victory.

Whether achieving victory through an absolutely dominant crushing posture or, when necessary, combining moves to seal the opponent's actions before pressing the advantage, he would do it all.

From Vikavolt's mouth, viscous threads instantly wove into a large net, casting down directly over Luxray.

Luxray simply flashed aside, dodging the Sticky Web, whose flight speed seemed like slow motion to it.

Undiscouraged, Guzma laughed loudly and continued to command Sticky Web.

Within a short while, Sticky Web had spread throughout the marked battle area, sticking firmly to the ground; even walking through it would restrict movement.

This had no effect on the flying-capable Vikavolt; only the non-flying Luxray could have its movements restricted.

"Now let's see what tricks you have left to utilize your speed; discharge with all your power!"

Revealing a cruel smile, seeing his setup complete, Guzma began to display the origin of his title, "The Destroyer Emperor."

"Kuuwa!"

Having already accumulated electricity during the interval of setting up Sticky Web, Vikavolt hovered in mid-air, releasing the electrical power within its body at full force.

In an instant, golden Lei Ting surged forth wildly, attacking Luxray like an overwhelming tide.

The hearts of the Pokémon School students nearly jumped into their throats.

Fairly speaking, the power of the Discharge accumulated by Vikavolt was substantial, truly worthy of the title "Pokémon of Kukui's former rival."

But that was all.

"Boring—"

Luo Mu, who had thought Guzma might have some kind of setup, shook his head.

"Let's do it too; Discharge."

Crack—

Hiss! Centered on Luxray, Electric-type energy flowed ceaselessly like a surging sea; the sky-filling Lei Ting seemed to form vein-like branches, like a colossal heavenly tree, extending everything it had to the fullest.

Although both were using the move named "Discharge," in the face of Luxray's "Discharge," Vikavolt's "Discharge" collapsed at the first touch, ruthlessly torn apart.

Boom!!! A fierce energy explosion erupted, mingling with dust kicked up from the ground and a shockwave that swept outward.

Together with the intense light bursting forth from the electric current, it forced the students to momentarily shut their eyes; Guzma was no exception.

His sunglasses seemed to be nothing more than a mere decoration—

When Guzma opened his eyes again, an unbearable scene slammed into his vision with overwhelming impact.

The Sticky Web, carefully laid out through much effort, had been entirely burned away; as an Electric-type Pokémon, Vikavolt should have resisted Electric attacks, yet its body was charred black, faintly emitting wisps of black smoke as it fell to the ground without any reaction, clearly having lost the ability to battle under the previous ravages of "Discharge."

This meant Luxray had easily one-shot Vikavolt with a single "Discharge," while also clearing away all the Sticky Web in the process! Guzma was completely stunned.

Luo Mu looked at Kukui, reminding him with a glance that it was time to make the call.

No matter how many schemes Guzma devised, faced with an absolute gap in strength, it was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

The current Guzma could not even force him to think up strategies or tactics; all that was needed was to simply crush him with raw power.

It might sound somewhat cruel to say so, but this is the truth.

Nowadays, with the Pokémon on the farm growing stronger and stronger, and main forces like Luxray and Swampert improving at a divine speed, Luo Mu rarely laid such cruel truths bare before others anymore.

Apart from evenly matched battles, he would more or less hold back a little.

But since he had decided to let Guzma understand just how fragile his arrogance was, Luo Mu didn't mind showing his true strength.

"Sigh."

Letting out a sigh, silently lamenting that things had indeed turned out this way, Kukui raised his hand and announced:

"Vikavolt has lost the ability to battle. Trainer Guzma, please send out your next Pokémon."

Only then did the nearly stagnant air around them begin to flow again.

A clamor erupted from the direction of the Pokémon School.

Lillie and the others, their cheeks flushed with excitement, grabbed their classmates' hands and let out soft gasps of astonishment.

Out of place in this atmosphere, Guzma finally came to his senses and clenched his fists tight.

Now, how could he not realize he had kicked an iron plate?

Those underlings, who only knew how to sing his praises, had caused him to misjudge Luo Mu's strength! But he obviously could not flee in disgrace before his arch-rival Kukui; no matter what, he had to seize victory!

Golisopod's type was disadvantaged, Yanmega's type was also disadvantaged, and if even Vikavolt couldn't withstand the Discharge, it would be even more dangerous for them; even though Guzma believed Luxray had only accumulated electricity to create such a shocking effect in an attempt to intimidate him.

There were not many Pokémon left to choose from for battle.

"You really think you've got me cornered? It's your turn to appear, Scizor!"

In Guzma's view, Luxray's electricity must have decreased by now; he would use a fast attack to settle the match in one go! (End of Chapter)