Chapter 104: Flying Mantis VS Abirang

Goldenrod City lies on the main thoroughfare between Cerulean City, Yuhong City, Vermilion City and Ziyuan Town, and as the largest, busiest hub city of the Kanto Region, its northeast corner houses two League‑certified Gyms.

The Fighting Gym is Goldenrod City's second Gym.

Several years ago, Gym Leader Binli led his Pokémon and Natsume's Psychic Army to contest the title of "Goldenrod's First Gym", but ultimately lost, and the Gym has since gradually declined.

Nevertheless, it remains a League‑approved official Gym, and trainers coming and going have never ceased.

Huo La, upon reaching the Gym entrance, was stopped by two disciples dressed in white karate gis.

"Good day, I am trainer Huo La from Pallet Town, here to challenge the Gym; please notify the staff," he said with a slight bow, his tone courteous.

"Another trainer from Pallet Town…" the female disciple at the door muttered softly, her eyes showing a hint of complexity.

The other male disciple gave her a quiet nudge, and when he turned to Huo La his expression had become courteous: "Please wait a moment; I'll go inform the Gym Leader right away."

Huo La nodded in agreement, watching the male disciple stride quickly into the Gym. The female disciple, however, sized him up from head to toe, and after a while couldn't help speaking: "Are all you people from Pallet Town this idle? In the past two months, you're already the third to come challenge."

"Oh? The third?" Huo La understood instantly— the first two were likely Ash and Green, and he hadn't expected them to choose the Fighting Gym rather than clash directly with Natsume. He smiled and replied, "Perhaps in a while you'll see a fourth trainer from Pallet Town."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the male disciple who had gone to report returned briskly, gesturing "please" to Huo La: "The Gym Leader is waiting; please follow me."

Huo La gave the female disciple a nod and smile, then followed the male disciple into the Gym.

Calling it a Gym, "dojo" would be a more fitting term.

Upon entering, his eyes fell on wooden couplets bearing "Surrounded by Songs of Defeat" and "Karmic Retribution", exuding a fighter's rugged aura.

Passing the foyer, the spacious arena opened up, where dozens of karate students were punching and kicking, sweat soaking their clothes; nearby stood several lithe Shawalang and Abirang, occasionally mirroring the students' punches and kicks, their movements oddly synchronized.

On the raised platform at the arena's center, an elder with a pair of silver‑streaked sideburns stood with arms crossed, his expression as cold as a chisel.

Beside him stood a middle‑aged man with a red ribbon tied around his head, and to his left and right respectively stood an Abirang and a Shawalang.

"You're the trainer coming to challenge? I heard you're also from Pallet Town," the elder Binli said, his voice deep and resonant, tinged with curiosity, though his tone was less severe than his expression.

"Yes, Leader," Huo La nodded in reply.

Binli slowly nodded, turned to the male disciple who had shown the way, and instructed, "Damo, go inform everyone to gather at the rear arena—another trainer from Pallet Town is coming to challenge."

"Yes, Teacher!" Damo shouted, turning and hurrying away.

"Come, Wude, you'll fight this battle," Binli said, leading the way toward the outdoor arena at the back.

"Yes, Teacher!" the man beside him answered, following the elder toward the rear.

Huo La hurried to keep up, unable to hold back a low comment, "Gym Leader Binli, no need to be so grand; it's just a routine challenge."

"Sigh."

Wude sighed, his steps faltering briefly, his eyes lingering with a hint of reminiscence, then turned to Huo La and explained, "The previous two battles between the Teacher and Pallet Town trainers were, for us fighters, truly a 'art of combat.'"

"One dared to use a Fire Dinosaur to hard‑block a flying kick—hard clash; another relied on a Kamek's defense to resist Abirang's punches… meeting you, another from Pallet Town, the Teacher naturally wants the disciples to watch and learn more."

He raised his hand, patting Huo La's shoulder, his tone becoming solemn: "You needn't be nervous; treat it as an exhibition match. But one thing— you must give it your all; if you lose perfunctorily, the Teacher won't give you a Badge."

Huo La forced a helpless smile, and could only nod in agreement.

Moments later, all the karate students were neatly arrayed around the outdoor arena, and even the female disciple at the entrance squeezed into the crowd, watching the center with curiosity.

"Damo, you'll be the referee," Binli instructed.

"Understood!" Damo moved to the side of the arena and loudly announced the rules, "This Gym Challenge is a 2v2 battle! Challenger: Pallet Town Huo La; Defenders: Fighting Gym Wude! Both sides may use any Pokémon, items are prohibited during battle, and a side loses when all its Pokémon lose the ability to fight."

With the rules announced, Wude stepped forward, raised his hand toward the arena's center, and said, "Abirang, you go first."

"Abir!" the Abirang behind him responded immediately, marching into the arena with steady steps, fists slightly clenched, knuckles whitening, eyes sharply fixed on Huo La.

Huo La looked at the lean Abirang in the arena, tapped the Pokéball lightly with his fingertip, and said, "Since it's Abirang, I'll leave this to you, Flying Mantis."

The moment the red light struck the ground, the Flying Mantis flapped its wings, its emerald insect wings leaving a after‑image, twin blades crossed over its chest, the blades shimmering with a cold metallic sheen.

It tilted its head toward the Abirang, its body tensing slightly, exuding a poised, lively energy.

"The match begins!"

As soon as Damo's voice ended, Wude's command followed immediately: "Abirang, Mach Punch!"

The words barely left his mouth when the ground beneath Abirang's feet suddenly caved in, the hard surface forming a shallow pit.

It surged forward like an arrow released from a bow toward the Flying Mantis, its right fist wrapped in pale gold energy, emitting a sharp, tearing wind sound as it slammed the face— the punch's speed nearly tearing the air, leaving only a blurred after‑image, truly worthy of a Fighting‑type Pokémon that has mastered its punching art.

"Flying Mantis, high‑speed dodge!" Huo La's command rang in sync with Abirang's assault.

The Flying Mantis's form became a green streak of light, deftly weaving through the dense barrage of fists.

Each of Abirang's Mach Punches missed, and when the fist struck empty air it produced a dull "sonic boom", shaking the hem of the surrounding students' clothing.

"Just dodging? Abirang, Rock Block!" Wude's eyes narrowed, his voice a low shout.

Abirang abruptly retracted its fist, slamming its left fist heavily onto the ground, a light brown energy seeping into the soil.

The next second, dozens of sharp rock fragments rose from nowhere, hurling like arrows toward the Flying Mantis's evasive path, instantly sealing all its escape routes.

"Flying Mantis, Air Blade through the rocks!"

Huo La's command and Wude's overlapped almost exactly.

The Flying Mantis ceased its evasive maneuvers, its wings flapped sharply, lifting half a foot, and the blade edges on its arms instantly gathered wind blades, slashing horizontally at the incoming rocks.

Several crescent‑shaped Air Blades whistled away, precisely cleaving the rock fragments— the "crack" sound rang repeatedly, the hard rocks pulverized into dust, the debris scattering to the ground.

"Now! Million‑ton Heavy Punch!" Wude seized the opening and instantly changed tactics.

Abirang leveraged the momentum to close in, its right fist swelling rapidly, the fist surface nearly double its usual size, bearing a crushing momentum as it slammed toward the Flying Mantis.

The punch gathered its entire body's force, even the air being slightly warped by the pressure.

"Electric Flash, create distance!"

The Flying Mantis's silhouette suddenly turned into an emerald bolt, and at the instant the fist was about to make contact, it abruptly shifted half a meter sideways, the Million‑ton Heavy Punch striking the ground, raising a cloud of stone dust.

Before Abirang could recover, Huo La's new command rang out: "Cross Cut!"

The Flying Mantis flapped its wings, reversed its trajectory, its arm blades crossing into a sharp cross, glinting with cold metallic light, thrusting at Abirang's exposed side waist.

Abirang reacted swiftly, its left arm immediately blocking; a crisp "clang" rang as blade met fist, sparks flying, it was jolted back two steps yet used the moment to steady itself.

"Brick Break!" Wude commanded gravely.

A cold flash flickered in Ai Bilang's eyes, and his right fist slammed down hard on the Flying Mantis's blade—this move is specialized for cutting through hard objects.

"Brick Break, huh? Then let's Slash it!" Huo La's gaze was sharp, and he countered decisively.

The Flying Mantis didn't retreat but advanced, its twin blade arms surged forcefully, and it somehow endured the heavy Brick Break strike.

"Clang!" The sharp metallic tremor pierced the smoke, and the Flying Mantis leapt upward by the recoil, its blade's energy growing denser.

"Air Blade rapid fire!"

The Flying Mantis hovered mid‑air, its wings beating in succession, and dozens of Air Blades rained down on Ai Bilang like a storm.

"Bad, Ai Bilang, block quickly!"

Ai Bilang swung his fists, but couldn't fend off the barrage; several Air Blades struck his abdomen, and finally his legs gave way, crashing heavily to the ground, completely losing his combat ability.

"Ai Bilang has lost combat ability! Flying Mantis wins!" Damo announced loudly.

A chorus of amazement rose from the sidelines; Binli looked at the fallen Ai Bilang, clapped his hands and praised, "What a fast blade, such a precise timing for borrowing force! Pallet Town Trainer, truly impressive."