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Tailwind was always so precise.
It ceased on both sides the moment Golurk fell.
The battle had lasted less than ten minutes. The Vice-Captain of Meicheng University had lost two team members consecutively.
But Li Xiang?
Only Rotom's HP was in an unhealthy state. The remaining Corviknight and Riolu still had plenty of stamina.
'...There's still a chance.'
Though he really didn't want to say it, the Vice-Captain still planted this flag for himself.
He knew the power of Alolan Marowak. If he could find an opening, he could use Stone Edge to finish off Rotom, then Flare Blitz to take down Corviknight, and finally handle the frail Riolu.
'We can win. Don't panic. We can win.'
He took several deep breaths and sent out Alolan Marowak.
"Swords Dance!"
Swords Dance upon landing!
Alolan Marowak brandished its bone, spinning it like a windmill. Two ghostly flames ignited at both ends of the bone club.
Its aura rose visibly!
"Stone Edge!"
"Marowak!"
Alolan Marowak shouted, thrusting its bone into the ground—actually changing the way the move was used!
On Rotom's side, after all the Substitute drain and taking a hit from Rollout, plus the intense battle with Golurk, its movements had inevitably slowed slightly.
When Alolan Marowak used Swords Dance, Rotom silently shot out countless web-like electric currents toward it.
Thunder Wave!
It expected Alolan Marowak to interrupt its move to dodge.
Unexpectedly, this guy stubbornly ignored the incoming electricity, shoving its bone club into the ground!
Seeing this, Rotom recalled the video it watched last night and immediately looked down, spotting a bunch of stone spikes sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain!
It hastily gained altitude!
But the Stone Edge that Alolan Marowak refused to interrupt even under Thunder Wave wasn't so easy to avoid.
In an instant, numerous stone spikes burst from the ground. Two accurately jabbed Rotom's body!
Thud!
The spikes shattered!
Rotom, clutching its smoking rear, flew high into the sky, glaring at Alolan Marowak not far away, full of shame and annoyance.
"Marowak!"
Alolan Marowak was extremely defiant. Even with electric sparks crackling over its body, its speech having a natural electric tone, it still mocked Rotom whose butt was smoking, as if laughing a bit more gave it an advantage.
But this successfully provoked Rotom.
Originally intending to keep its distance, it descended and charged toward Alolan Marowak!
Looking very much like it intended to replicate the earlier 'using minimal force to counter great force' tactic!
Perfect!
The opponent's eyes lit up. What he feared most was Rotom flying to a spot where Alolan Marowak couldn't hit!
Seeing Rotom flying straight over, he shouted decisively.
"Flame Wheel!"
The bone club, burning with flames at both ends, was hurled out, spinning rapidly like a shuriken toward Rotom!
Flames blazed on the bone club, looking at first glance like a giant will-o'-wisp!
Such a conspicuous attack; Rotom naturally wouldn't stupidly crash into it. With a sideways dodge, it evaded this bizarre Flame Wheel.
And, while continuing forward, it didn't forget to glance back, then abruptly hugged the snowy ground!
The returning Shadow Bone missed again!
'It really does know about boomerangs!'
Through this small action, the opponent keenly realized that Rotom was very familiar with his Alolan Marowak's tactics.
'But, if you dare get close, there's a way to hit you!'
The opponent watched Rotom getting closer and closer and shouted sharply, "Now! Shadow Bone! Show it what an ace batter is!"
"Marowak!"
Alolan Marowak, holding its bone club, shouted and swung at the approaching Rotom—
'Huh? Where's my bone club?'
'Where's my bat for hitting?'
Alolan Marowak looked at its empty hand... no, there was a clump of melted snow on it.
It was [Trick]!
Alolan Marowak stared incredulously at the approaching Rotom. In Rotom's hand was clearly a bone club burning with flames at both ends!
'Did it grab snow when it crouched down while the Flame Wheel flew past?'
'You—!'
Stealing other people's items!
Alolan Marowak glared furiously at Rotom, cursing it out.
The opponent, closely watching Rotom, also noticed this and his expression instantly twisted!
"It was Trick!!!"
He let out an unwilling shout, "Endeavor!"
But before Alolan Marowak could begin, Rotom was already swinging the bone club, using the Attack boost from Alolan Marowak's Swords Dance to give it a harsh lesson!
Thud!
The bone club made close contact with its head. It lifted off the ground, skidding on its back for five or six meters!
Crack!
A crisp sound came from its skull!
It cracked! Alolan Marowak's hard skull was cracked by Rotom!
Dropping the bone club, Rotom sneered at the guy who was nothing without its bone club and casually tossed a Shadow Ball over.
Alolan Marowak was just getting up, just in time to make close contact with the Shadow Ball.
Gray smoke and explosion sounds occurred together.
"Ga..."
The bone-helmeted dragon fainted on the spot.
Third match. Over.
The referee blew his whistle, the commentator roared, and the audience cheered.
Li Xiang touched his slightly damp scarf, thinking this should be in the bag.
It was a bit tiring. Three matches of high-precision movement, plus the nauseating snowy field environment. The Pokémon weren't tired.
He was exhausted. If he hadn't trained in martial arts for three years, he wouldn't have held up.
"I hate snowy fields."
Kicking the snow on the ground, Li Xiang recalled Rotom, ignored the Meicheng U Vice-Captain kneeling on the ground with vacant eyes, and quickly left the stage.
"Junior, junior, third match already."
A senior female senior pressed Li Xiang's shoulders, saying with a smile, "The fourth match is next. The opponent will send their captain!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Another senior skillfully squatted down, pinching Li Xiang's thigh muscles.
"Win the next one, and it's four consecutive victories! A first-year soloing an entire school! Our Mist City University will soar!"
The Junior World Tournament had prize money distributed to each school based on their performance, and the school had scholarships.
So, if Li Xiang could achieve five consecutive wins, everyone on the team would get a decent bonus.
Moreover, if Mist City University was this strong, they'd have bragging rights.
Anyway, if Li Xiang didn't lose, they wouldn't get a chance to play. They couldn't urge Li Xiang to forfeit just so they could play, right?
"I'll do my best."
Li Xiang smiled, declining their massage service.
There was a camera Magnemite filming from above. Too embarrassing.
"Tired?"
Song Jie came up to him and asked quietly.
"Running around in that crappy field for an hour, how could I not be tired? Dodging moves, positioning... sigh. My biggest enemy for a pentakill is myself."
Li Xiang shook his head, leaning on Gong Xu who sat down beside him. "Young man—"
"I can help with chores, but if you want me to battle for you, we're no longer brothers!"
Gong Xu righteously pushed Li Xiang's hand away. "You've been playing so dirty; you want me to clean up the mess? Dream on!"
"Then what use are you!"
Li Xiang angrily punched his kidney.
Nearby, Xu He walked over. "If you're really too tired, forfeit the next match. It's fine. I'll explain it to the school."
A pentakill was wonderful, but he was more concerned about Li Xiang himself.
This student, on whom he placed great hopes, showed obvious fatigue when he left the stage.
After all, three matches were almost forty to fifty minutes. Keeping nerves taut for that long was too much for an average person.
"No, no. I'll be fine after resting."
Seeing Xu He say this, Li Xiang quickly waved his hand. He was just joking with Song Jie and the others earlier.
Abigail, who had been silent, walked over and took out two black tea-flavored candies from her pocket.
"Eat these. Highly concentrated. They have a refreshing effect."
Abigail said softly, carefully unwrapping the candy and placing it by Li Xiang's mouth.
"Ah, thank you."
Li Xiang nodded dazedly, swallowing the candy.
Instantly, a rich black tea flavor welled up in his heart. The effect wasn't as good as imagined, but it relaxed him quite a bit.
"Go for it."
Abigail finished softly, turned, and walked back to where Zhao Jie and Lü Shu were. The latter two saw him and made serious cheering gestures.
"Junior, you're quite popular."
Su Qian's voice came from behind, followed by a pair of cool little hands pressing against his temples, gently massaging.
"Everyone is looking forward to you achieving greatness."
"I'll do my best."
Li Xiang suddenly felt that after this third match, he was almost becoming the team's center. "Senior flatters me."
"Don't be so polite all the time. Anyway, go for it. I believe in you."
Su Qian said this and left. Too much contact could be annoying.
In the distance, Meicheng University was shrouded in gloom.
The old coach covered his face, looking at the indignant students. "Looks like we have nothing to say. Two last chances.
"If we fight and win, we can salvage a bit of face. If we fight and lose, Meicheng University will fall harder than Hongcheng University."
At least Hongcheng U only lost two members. They had lost three directly, and all three were last season's starters!
'How do you play this? Play your mother!'
Before, they could say they had no way back. Now they had fallen into the abyss.
It was just a matter of whether they fell deeper or not.
"Captain..."
"Don't say it. We fight! Fight with everything! Even if we die, we pull that guy down!"
The Meicheng U captain glanced at the three teammates withdrawing into themselves in the corner, blood seeping from between his teeth.
He had no choice and no way back. Even if he finally beat Li Xiang, he'd be nailed to the pillar of shame.
But to be spat on less, he still had to try every way to take down that monster.
'Why! Why pick on our Meicheng University!? You should have gone for a pentakill against Hongcheng University instead!'
The Meicheng U captain clenched his fists, his PokéBalls restlessly shaking.
Seeing this, the old coach sighed but said nothing. Whether desperate soldiers win or desperate soldiers lose, depended on his performance next match.
But no matter what, as the coach, he would inevitably retire early, even have to bow and apologize.
However, being able to witness the birth of such a monster at this age might not be unfortunate.
Perhaps he could also leave his name in history. As the outline of where it all began.