While Zhang Tian, Bea, and Cynthia were waiting for their matches to begin, the internet was in an uproar over Zhang's exploits from the previous night. Photos of him riding his Lunagaron, his Astalos cleaving a Crobat in two, and his mountain-sized Seregios had spread like wildfire.
"Are these pictures real?"
"They're real. They've been verified. No signs of photoshop."
"These are truly wild Pokémon. They look much scarier than his Legiana."
"They're all Elite Four-level. I can't believe Zhang Tian is an Elite Four trainer. An eighteen-year-old Elite Four trainer... it's too perverse."
"If only my country had a genius like that."
"An eighteen-year-old king... he really might become a champion within a year."
"These three Pokémon are so big and powerful. Where did he catch them? I want one too."
"Don't dream. It's been analyzed that these Pokémon are pseudo-legendaries. If they really existed in the wild, they must have followed their parents. They're not something ordinary people can catch."
"So many pseudo-legendaries... Legiana, Barioth, Nargacuga, Anjanath, and now these three. A total of seven. It doesn't feel scientific. When did there get to be so many pseudo-legendaries?"
"I think they're not pseudo-legendaries, but exotic beasts similar to Ultra Beasts. Because of their unique characteristics, they have stats on par with a pseudo-legendary, but their actual base stats aren't that high."
"Makes sense, but not much."
"Please welcome to the stage for the first match of the quarterfinals, Zhang Tian and Bea!" Iris's voice boomed.
"Zhang Tian! I can't believe my luck! I get to face you right away!" Bea said, her face beaming with excitement. She had been wanting a real battle with him for a long time. "I'll use my trump card. You use your strongest Pokémon too. Let's have a one-on-one battle to determine the winner!"
"You really know how to make a plan," Zhang laughed. "You have one Elite Four Pokémon, and I have a dozen. You think you can win with a single battle? Beautiful idea. But I agree. Because I won't lose."
"Hehe," Bea smiled, a little embarrassed. She knew it was a long shot, but she wanted to win, to rely on her Urshifu to defeat him. Otherwise, no matter how powerful it was, it couldn't beat six Elite Four-level Pokémon.
"Please prepare, you two. I'm starting the countdown!" Iris announced. "30! 29..."
"Go, Seregios!"
"Urshifu, it's up to you!"
The two threw their Poké Balls. Bea's Dynamax Band lit up, and her Poké Ball grew to an immense size.
A huge Gigantamax Urshifu appeared before her. Before Zhang, a tall Seregios materialized. The two behemoths landed at the same time. The Gigantamax Urshifu was 26 meters tall, 16 meters taller than the 10-meter-tall Seregios.
Urshifu (Rapid Strike Style)
Level: 66 (Elite Four)Ability: Unseen Fist (Contact moves bypass protection moves like Protect and Max Guard)Item: Shell Bell
Seregios
Level: 69 (Elite Four)Ability: Sword SaintItem: Firium Z
The moment the two monsters appeared, the crowd went wild.
"A mythical beast! It's the legendary Urshifu!"
"What is this girl's origin? So cool!"
"Zhang's Pokémon is so big! It's almost as big as a Gigantamax Pokémon!"
"So its name is Seregios? What a cool name!"
"I feel like that Seregios is even more powerful than the Urshifu. Is it a legendary too?"
"This year's newcomers are something else!"
"Urshifu! G-Max Rapid Flow! All your might!" Bea roared.
"Seregios! Let's go too! Kinship Skill: X-Flame!" Zhang raised his left hand, and the Bondstone blazed with white light.
"Roar!" The Seregios leaped up, its huge tail instantly turning red-hot as it began to grind it with its Blade Grind skill. At the same time, the Urshifu took a horse stance, its muscles twisting as steam rose from its back. It kicked off its right foot and threw a punch.
RUMBLE! Countless streams of water appeared in the Urshifu's hands, coalescing into a ten-meter-wide fist that hurtled towards the Seregios.
"Roar!" The Seregios, its tail now glowing like magma, swung it in a fiery arc. The flaming sword collided with the fist of water.
Whirrrr! The water on the Urshifu's fist began to vibrate with thousands of tiny oscillations, a fighting technique from Bea's master, Mustard. It was called "Mountain Collapse," a skill utilization technique not unlike Bella's "Focus Punch Air Spiral."
The Urshifu tried to shatter the Seregios's tail with the vibrating water, but the moment they collided, its face changed. The terrifying heat of the Seregios's tail instantly evaporated most of the water, and an unstoppable, terrifying power slammed into its fist.
How is this possible? Why is it so powerful? The Urshifu stared at the Seregios in disbelief. It had only felt this kind of surging strength from a Dragonite that had used Dragon Dance six times. But the Seregios hadn't used any enhancement skills. How could its attack power be on par with a Pokémon at +6 Attack?
RUMBLE! The water flow shattered. The Seregios changed the direction of its tail at the last second, turning the blade so the flat of it struck the Urshifu's hand. If it had used the blade, the Urshifu's hands would have been scrap. The Seregios was holding back. Bea was Zhang's friend, and would likely become something more. The Seregios was not stupid; it would not go too far.
BANG! The Urshifu's right hand was sent flying up. Before it could react, the Seregios struck again, this time hitting its left shoulder with the side of its tail, knocking it back several steps. The two slashes formed two huge flames that coalesced into a massive, fiery "X" and slammed into the Urshifu, sending it flying out of the battlefield.
The Seregios had left its hand. Otherwise, that first strike would have cut off its hand and continued up to split its head open. The final flame eruption had also been changed from an explosion to a propulsion.
"How is that possible?" Bea stared at her defeated Urshifu, unable to believe it. "Is this Seregios really that strong?" Her Urshifu's G-Max Rapid Flow was her master Mustard's strongest secret technique. She knew her Urshifu wasn't as strong as her master's, but to be broken so easily was unbelievable.
"It seems I underestimated you, Zhang Tian," she sighed, forcing a smile. "You are much stronger than I thought. What a pervert. Unreasonably powerful."
"You didn't lose unjustly, Bea," Zhang comforted her. "The Seregios is currently the most powerful Pokémon in my hands. If I had used another one, you wouldn't have lost so quickly."
"The most powerful?" Bea looked at the ten-meter-tall, monster-like Seregios, deep in thought. "What are you trying to say?"
"Bea," Zhang said, his tone serious, "what I'm about to say might be a little ugly. Don't take it to heart. You are usually too slack, and you underestimate others. Your Urshifu is powerful, but not invincible. If I were you, I would not have attacked right away. Most importantly, you don't have a 'heart.' You are like a powerful swordsman holding a divine weapon, but you have no 'sword heart.' You are a powerful fighter, but you fight without purpose. Have you ever thought about what you're fighting for? You are like a tiger in a zoo. Strong, but untested by wind and rain. You lack the experience of fighting with a disadvantage, of being evenly matched."
"Only you can solve your own problems," he finished, shaking his head.
His words reminded Bea of her master. Mustard had once asked her, "What is your dream? Why do you punch?" She had replied, "To be a champion. To be the number one martial artist." But her master had shaken his head. "You dream of being a champion, but you don't do your best to chase it. You punch to be the number one, but you don't throw your fists to their fullest. To reach the top, you need not just hard work, but desperate hard work, desperately squeezing out the last glimmer of potential from yourself and your Pokémon. You and your Urshifu are geniuses. Even without working hard, you can surpass 95% of the world. But you will never reach the very top. You lack a goal to chase. Go out into the world. After you have learned what despair is, what desperation is, then come back. What is martial arts? What is a fist? You don't understand at all! To fight for everything! To bet on everything! That is 'Wu'! Even if there is no way back, even if the road ahead is a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, you must move forward! You lack the will of a true warrior!"
Thinking back on those words, Bea felt something click. She was close to poking through that final layer of window paper, but she was always just a little bit off...
She closed her eyes, falling into deep thought.
"An epiphany?" Zhang glanced at Iris and made a "shh" motion. Iris nodded. Bea was a genius of the Great Xia, an excellent junior. If she was on the verge of a breakthrough, she would not be disturbed.
The 'heart' that Zhang Tian spoke of, and the 'martial will' my master spoke of... they're the same thing, Bea thought. It's perseverance. The will to keep going, no matter what. The truly strong do not despair, do not collapse, do not fear. I need to find something that will make me not despair, not collapse, not fear, no matter what I face. I think... I know the answer.
She opened her eyes, and her aura had become colder, harder. "Thank you, Zhang Tian. I think I know the answer. I know how to find my heart, my martial will." She looked at him and smiled. "I need you to fight me again, with a quasi-Elite Four Pokémon. I want to see if my idea is correct." Her face was no longer playful, but serious.
"Yes," Zhang nodded gently. "Let me be your whetstone. I hope you can truly find your answer." He recalled his Seregios. Bea recalled her Urshifu.
"Please prepare for the next round," Iris said, starting the countdown again. "30! 29..."
"Machamp," Bea whispered, looking at the Poké Ball in her hand. "Remember our dream? Sorry, it was my fault before. From now on, we fight with desperation. No complaints!"
"Champ!" came the firm reply from inside the ball.
"Okay. Let's start here. Let's show Zhang Tian our true strength. I don't want to be underestimated by him anymore." A blazing flame seemed to rise in her eyes. In her hand, the Poké Ball began to burn with a translucent flame. It was the burning fire of her emotions, just like with Pidgeot yesterday.
The full story so far is available on Patreon!:
patreon.com/Zefyrus