Yue Zhonghua pointed at the people on the water. They were wearing the Huoyan Team's uniforms, yet at a glance anyone could tell they were actually members of the Shuihua Team. He turned to the Shuihua Team's leader and said:
"Zhongli Kong, do you take me for a fool?"
Zhongli Kong chuckled.
"How could I, Elite Four Master Yue? I never said that."
"Then why stage something like this?"
Zhongli Kong kept that same old-fox smile.
"Elite Four Master Yue, we need to speak with evidence. They're Huoyan Team people—what does that have to do with me, the Shuihua Team's captain?"
"Besides, they came to snatch that kid's Shiny Charmander. You know our Shuihua Team hates Fire-type Pokémon the most."
Yue Zhonghua was speechless.
"So I'm going to wipe out the Huoyan Team now. Are you going to stop me?"
"Ah, listen to yourself. How could I stop you? We're old friends—we haven't seen each other in ages. Can't we catch up a little?"
Yue Zhonghua waved his hand, signaling Dragalge to head for the battlefield, and said to Zhongli Kong:
"I don't have time to reminisce. You sure you want to stand in my way?"
Zhongli Kong's expression didn't change, but he also directed Gyarados to slide two steps to the right, blocking Dragalge's path.
"Honestly—Elite Four Master Yue, you do love to joke. How am I blocking you? I'm just in a good mood after seeing an old friend and thought I'd spar with you a little, that's all."
Yue Zhonghua's eyes narrowed.
"You're… sure you want to spar with me?"
"Danger!" Seeing Yue Zhonghua like this, Zhongli Kong's heart lurched; cold sweat trickled down his temples.
Only then did he remember: the man before him was the Poison-type Elite Four. He was known as one of the most dangerous among Longguo's Elite Four.
And his danger wasn't merely the kind that came from overwhelming strength—it came from what it meant to be the Poison-type Elite Four at all.
"'Poison'-type Elite Four" wasn't just about the type's toxins.
Zhongli Kong forced a laugh twice, yet kept himself planted in Yue Zhonghua's way.
"It's been a long time, old friend. The dignified Elite Four of Longguo wouldn't go all out on an ordinary guy like me, would he?"
"Heh. Really now."
Yue Zhonghua actually laughed in anger. The man had such shamelessness—captain of the Shuihua Team, a high-ranking villain by any standard—yet he could say something like that with a straight face.
"Fine. Since you want to spar, then let's spar. Relax—I'll be very gentle."
Yue Zhonghua took out a Poké Ball, smiling as he looked at Zhongli Kong.
He truly was angry now. And he had already prepared a failsafe—something that would protect Auron Vale and the others should a crisis break out. So he didn't mind giving Zhongli Kong a proper lesson.
"Come on, then."
As Yue Zhonghua spoke, he tossed the Poké Ball. "Nidoking, [Ice Beam]!"
Nidoking burst from the Poké Ball and loosed [Ice Beam] at the surface of the water. Before it could sink, it successfully froze that stretch of ocean, turning it into a floating ice platform.
"How about the stage I set up?" Yue Zhonghua laughed, then took out another Poké Ball.
"Go, Toxtricity."
The moment Toxtricity landed on the ice, Zhongli Kong admitted he was truly spooked. He spurred Gyarados into a rapid retreat and shouted,
"Yue Zhonghua—is this your idea of 'gentle'? Who opens by sending out their ace?!"
"Heh. Running now—don't you think it's a bit late?"
Yue Zhonghua gave a low chuckle and had Nidoking fire [Ice Beam], freezing the seawater around Gyarados solid.
"Don't run. If you run, we'll start discharging~"
Zhongli Kong had no choice but to stop where he was; he didn't dare have Gyarados break the ice.
"That's better. Weren't you the one who said you wanted to spar? What are you running for?"
Zhongli Kong clenched his teeth and threw a Poké Ball.
"Fine, then. Let's go!"
"Seismitoad, [Earthquake]!"
Seismitoad had barely touched down on the ice before it triggered [Earthquake].
The intent was clear: shatter the ice underfoot and leave Toxtricity with nowhere to stand.
"So dirty. Toxtricity, go all out!"
Toxtricity sprang up in a flash, evading the damage from [Earthquake] and also avoiding a plunge into the sea.
"Seismitoad! [Mud Shot]!"
Seismitoad immediately spat a mass of mud up at the airborne Toxtricity.
Fueled by battle fervor, Toxtricity gathered Dark-type energy in its hands, then spun rapidly, cutting cleanly through the mud barrage.
[Throat Chop] struck the unprepared Seismitoad, and Toxtricity landed on its back, releasing a point-blank [Boomburst] right by its ear.
"Send out your next Pokémon."
Yue Zhonghua watched as Toxtricity—showing off—stood atop Seismitoad's body, which was floating on the water with spiraling eyes. Brimming with fighting spirit, Toxtricity fixed Zhongli Kong with its gaze as Yue Zhonghua spoke.
Seeing Zhongli Kong slow to act, both Yue Zhonghua and Toxtricity frowned.
"Hurry up. Toxtricity's getting impatient."
"Look, meeting an old friend—one round of sparring is enough, isn't it? How about we just… chat for a bit?"
Zhongli Kong's voice went small as he schemed inwardly: "I've dragged this out for a while. They should be done over there by now."
He wasn't wrong that things were nearly over on Auron Vale's side—except it was the Shuihua Team that was about to be finished.
In the end, Auron Vale and the others had overestimated the Shuihua Team's strength.
Remember, the Shuihua Team wasn't a villain outfit based in Longguo. They were from that island nation.
And they didn't dare launch a truly large-scale incursion into Longguo's territory. So apart from Zhongli Kong—a single Elite Four–class trainer—the Shuihua Team had brought only two officers, and those two were merely quasi–Elite Four–class.
Those two quasi–Elite Four Pokémon were ambushed by Lucario and an ever-elusive Gengar, toppled one after another the moment they hit the field. It was downright miserable.
(A person's concentration is limited. Ordinary people can command only one to two Pokémon at the same time. Even Elite Four–level trainers without specialized training can, at most, command three simultaneously—Psychic specialists aside.)
One [Aura Sphere] from Lucario, one [Shadow Ball] from Gengar—usually enough to end it. If the target wasn't down, Gengar would follow up once more and that would do it. The opposition simply couldn't withstand the slaughter wrought by those two Pokémon.
They'd thought they were only dealing with a few brats; sending two quasi–Elite Four officers felt like overkill. They hadn't expected two Elite Four–class Pokémon to appear out of nowhere—and both of them were the kind whose offensive power was off the charts.
One of the officers, as Gengar slipped from the shadows and put him to sleep, even cried out in aggrieved fury:
"The captain has doomed me!!"
With an officer captured, the Shuihua Team members were thrown into a panic. Without leadership, they scattered in all directions.
Auron Vale looked at the Shuihua Team's rout and then over at the still-quiet beach in the distance. He sighed.
"Man, what a waste. If the police were here, we could've scooped up the lot of them. Watching them run off like this hurts."
Just as Auron was lamenting, a towering wave surged up from behind the Shuihua Team and crashed down, slapping all of them flat onto the sand in one sweep.
Curiously, that massive, high-impact wave slammed into Auron and his companions as well, yet did them no harm at all. Their clothes just got wet—but since they were in swimsuits and beach shorts anyway, it hardly mattered.
Out in the sea behind the Shuihua Team, a certain little Pokémon patted its chest in relief and thought:
"Whew, good thing I made it in time. These people are awful—how dare they lay hands on my people!!"
(End of this chapter)