The arena was in an uproar.
Corviknight's Sky Attack was terrifying.
Even though it lasted only a brief moment, the shrill cry that flashed by lingered in everyone's hearts. It felt like their hearts had been suddenly gripped tight. Many people felt their scalps go numb.
Most of them had assumed Corviknight was a tanky disruption type. The attack power it showed in the Spring Tournament was strong, but still within acceptable limits.
Now? What was this? With that kind of power, they'd believe it if someone told them Corviknight had been swapped out for a different one!
What kind of Pokémon could undergo such a massive change in just two months?
They watched the arena nervously, constantly wondering: Did it break the shield? Did Toxapex actually manage to withstand the attack? Just how powerful was Corviknight's move?
All the answers were hidden in the billowing grey smoke on the field. The audience craned their necks, hoping for a satisfying answer.
It wasn't just them whose hearts were in their throats—both school teams felt the same way.
In Pokémon battles, luck played a huge role. It was precisely because of luck that no one could grasp the full picture, and no one could accurately calculate how much damage an opponent could deal to your Pokémon.
There were too many factors determining a move's power, so even a veteran coach like Xu He couldn't be certain of the outcome.
Finally, from the swirling smoke, a dark shadow burst through. Sharp iron wings dispersed the grey haze, and a massive body filled everyone's vision as it let out a piercing screech toward the sky!
"Caw!"
The victor was decided.
No.
Corviknight flapped its wings, banking around, and dove again!
Its body ignited with sky-blue flames!
It wasn't over yet!
This action declared to the audience that Toxapex had not been taken down by Corviknight's Sky Attack! It was still standing!
"Look! It's Recover!"
Someone pointed out Toxapex in the hazy smoke, its body enveloped in white light. Around it was scorched black soil and a slightly sunken crater.
Such terrifying power—had Toxapex managed to survive by using Recover at the brink of fainting?
While the audience was still absorbed in the power of the first move, the second came right after!
The blazing iron bird crashed down, hitting Toxapex dead-on!
Thud!
The ground shook!
Sky-blue flames blazed brilliantly within the rising smoke! Countless clumps of earth shot out in all directions like bullets!
So fast!
There was no chance to breathe at all!
The Haizhou team members had cold sweat on their foreheads, feeling as if they were right there on the field, facing that transformed Corviknight!
This guy's reactions were simply too fast.
After Sky Attack, it immediately flew up to create distance, avoiding Toxapex's death throes while also mitigating its own move's recovery lag. When it saw the opponent couldn't counterattack in time, it decisively finished with Brave Bird!
The Haizhou captain didn't even get a chance to switch!
This combo—forget Toxapex, which was in poor condition after several battles. Even in peak form, it might not have been able to take it!
It's over!
That thought flashed through their minds as they looked worriedly at the somewhat blurry figure on the stage.
Yet in their hearts, they still hoped their Captain Zhang could create a miracle!
So what if he's a brilliant genius? Even if levels and training could be equalized with resources, Captain Zhang had six more years of battle experience! Six years of accumulation meant infinite possibilities!
They were full of hope.
In the end, it was not to be.
The referee's whistle sounded.
"Beeeep—"
Toxapex had fainted. Captain Zhang had only one Pokémon left.
The hopeful expressions on the Haizhou team members' faces froze, turning into sighs and helplessness.
How were they supposed to fight this? Against an opponent like this, it wouldn't matter who they sent out. It could tank, attack, and disrupt. Most people considered such all-rounders mediocre—seemingly impressive but actually useless.
But few stopped to think: "mediocre" was relative. Mediocre to others, but to you?
Sorry. That's called "all-purpose."
On the field, Corviknight flapped its wings, leaving the smoke behind and landing lightly on the ground. It spread its right wing and tilted its head to groom its iron feathers with its beak.
"Cluck cluck cluck."
Summer sunlight fell on its pitch-black body, reflecting a dazzling gleam that made many spectators squint.
Toxapex had struggled desperately.
It tried to use Pain Split to recover the health it had lost from Corviknight. But it was no use.
Corviknight, having been burned by similar tricks more than once, didn't give it the chance to act. Brave Bird knocked it out directly.
From the very beginning, flying up and diving down was aimed at the core hiding within its tentacles. A frontal collision would be cushioned by those thick tentacles, allowing it to retain some consciousness.
Toxapex was quite tanky.
Of course, the battle was already over. What remained was just a male Jellicent.
Corviknight watched its next opponent land, then immediately ran over and used Taunt on it!
Jellicent had just come out and didn't even have time to react before its status moves were sealed.
Li Xiang decisively switched in Rotom.
Jellicent countered with Energy Ball. Rotom took it head-on without flinching, then hit back with Discharge.
Blue electricity leaped across the field.
Surprisingly, it didn't faint in one hit.
Li Xiang was shocked. Rotom's Special Attack was high; it could hit hard even without Nasty Plot. Was this Jellicent that tanky?
Little did he know, his opponent was even more surprised.
His Jellicent specialized in Special Defense, with auxiliary Special Attack investment. It was tanky enough that, in the Youth Tournament, it could casually take unboosted special attacks from most special attackers.
It was enough to make anyone sick.
But just now, Rotom had nearly one-shot it.
What was that about?
And why was Rotom so tanky too? Jellicent's Special Attack wasn't high, and Energy Ball wasn't STAB, sure. But it was still super effective—there should have been some reaction!
The Haizhou captain hastily ordered Jellicent to use Giga Drain to recover some health.
But Rotom's start-up was much faster than Jellicent's.
No chatter, no fancy tricks—the second Discharge went straight out.
Even if it drained energy, it didn't matter. He couldn't give the opponent even a sliver of a chance.
Jellicent, Taunted and unable to use Destiny Bond, was naturally no match for Rotom.
With a soft plop, it fell to the ground like a deflated balloon.
The heavy final whistle pierced the clouds.
"Beeeep—!"
Amid the noise, the Haizhou captain slowly stepped off the stage.
His teammates crowded around him, draping a jacket over his shoulders, handing him water.
"Captain Zhang! Good work!"
"Good work!"
They didn't mention the result, just fussed over him like loyal subordinates.
Captain Zhang laughed. "What's with you all? Acting like you're tending to a patient. Think my mental state collapsed?"
The team members exchanged glances. That was exactly what they thought, because this match hadn't been "fair"—it was frustrating.
If Captain Zhang had been at full strength, he might not have lost.
With only two unhealthy Pokémon, unless Arceus himself blessed them, no one could beat an opponent like Li Xiang.
The vice-captain blamed himself the most. If he had beaten Abigail back then, how would Captain Zhang's condition have deteriorated so badly?
"Hahaha."
Captain Zhang took the water and gulped it down, then turned to look at the boy slowly walking off the stage in the distance.
"Actually, I had a lot of fun. After all, my opponent was the 'Child of the Gods'."
His smile was radiant.
But it gave everyone around him goosebumps.
"C-Captain Zhang? Are you okay?" the vice-captain mustered the courage to ask.
During the earlier team meeting, to boost morale, Captain Zhang had viciously mocked Li Xiang's nickname. He'd said no ten-year-old would come up with a name like that these days, and asked if Mist City University's marketing team was stuck in their chuunibyou phase or had gone to Sakura Island for training.
So why was he like this now?
It felt like Captain Zhang actually believed it.
That was just marketing! You were the one who told us that!
The team members felt that while Captain Zhang looked fine on the surface, he had actually broken down. Otherwise, why would he be talking nonsense?
"Don't look at me like that. Cherish it. The chance to battle the Divine Child—if you miss it this time, you might never get another in your entire life."
Captain Zhang didn't explain further. He knew what he had seen and heard couldn't be conveyed in words.
Honestly, the moment he saw Li Xiang, he truly felt that the other boy was the center of this world.
He couldn't help but touch his chest.
There, quietly resting, was a strange golden pendant shaped like a mathematical symbol.
Li Xiang stepped off the stage amid the audience's cheers.
A group of senior sisters surrounded him, fussing over him.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
He declined the water and towel and put on his jacket.
This match had actually felt unsatisfying.
Because, accurately speaking, it was a cleanup match. Two senior sisters had crippled the opponents, then handed them to him to finish off.
It was like a meal already cooked, placed in a bowl, chopsticks lifted, and brought to his lips. They even seemed ready to chew it for him.
The entire match was one-sided. The Haizhou captain never found his own rhythm.
But judging from the base quality of the Haizhou captain's Pokémon, if they had fought at full strength, he might not have won so easily. There would have been some twists and turns.
What a pity. His teammates were too reliable—there was no chance for him to shine. He could only look forward to the next match.
Haizhou's team hadn't had an ace position last year; the captain was the strongest. But this year, who could say?
Still, speaking of which, that thing in the Haizhou captain's chest... seemed to be called a Thousand Arms? Something like that?
Creationism?
Li Xiang knew well that the largest religious organization worldwide wasn't the Ho-Oh Temple, nor the Earth or Sea Cults, nor the Dragon Clan or Water People. It wasn't even the Original Church that worshipped the symbolic Pokémon of origins—Mew.
It was Creationism. A group of fanatics who believed in Arceus, considering it the god of creation who made all things.
And the reason they had become the world's largest religion was that some believers possessed something called "Nature's Power"—the ability to sense all things in the world, a power shared by Arceus.
Quite a few people in Zhu Xia believed in Creationism too.
As for Li Xiang...
He actually wanted to join too. After all, Arceus really existed, and besides—it was free anyway. Might as well believe a little.