A ten-level gap.
In a Pokémon battle at this level, it was practically an insurmountable chasm.
On top of that, this Mightyena had clearly been raised exceptionally well.
Taking a win from it would be extremely difficult.
But fortunately—
Mightyena was Dark-type.
And Lopunny knew quite a few Fighting-type moves, which could deal very effective, substantial damage to it.
All these thoughts flashed through Himeko's mind in an instant, and her brows furrowed again.
That didn't make sense.
If that was really the case, then with how desperately Joji craved victory and the championship, how could he have left such a small flaw?
This Mightyena…
Awooo!!
Mightyena bared its sharp fangs, lowered its body, and showed Lopunny an incomparably vicious expression.
Lopunny's body stiffened.
The powerful aura surrounding her visibly weakened.
As expected!
This Mightyena had the Intimidate Ability!
It directly cut Lopunny's Attack by a huge chunk.
"Mightyena! Howl!"
"Lopunny! Swords Dance!"
Seeing Joji open with a boosting move, Himeko naturally wasn't going to just stand there and watch.
She responded with a boost of her own.
"Awoooo!!"
Mightyena howled to the sky.
The sonic energy seemed to become tangible as it fell onto its body, making its aura and pressure even stronger.
Lopunny finished her battle dance as well.
Inside her body, an inexplicably powerful force began to surge.
"Close in! Sucker Punch!"
Mightyena moved at the command.
All four paws kicked up as it sprinted forward, its gray-white fur streaming in the wind as it rushed straight at Lopunny.
"Agility! Dodge!"
Himeko gave her orders calmly.
Lopunny's speed spiked sharply.
Before Mightyena's Sucker Punch could reach her, she had already left her original position.
"Mightyena! Lock onto her—Take Down!"
Joji's command was simple and brutal.
Only one characteristic stood out:
Relentless offense!
He was confident that with the huge level gap—
and with his Mightyena already having boosted its Attack once—
even brushing Lopunny would heavily injure her!
"Lopunny! Double-Fist Barrage!"
Double-Fist Barrage!?
What kind of move was that?
All the spectators, and even the VIPs on the main stand, were stunned by Himeko's command.
They had never heard of such a skill.
But from the name, it sounded like continuous left-right punches?
Wasn't that just basic fighting technique?
Could it even count as a Pokémon move?
"Chubi!"
Lopunny crossed her fists in front of her.
A red glow lit up on one hand.
A blue glow lit up on the other.
Inside the red light, there was a fierce wave of Fire-type energy.
And within the blue light, there was a chilling, spine-prickling cold.
This…!?
Fire Punch and Ice Punch?
And she could use both at the same time—one in each hand!?
The VIPs in the front rows all showed astonishment.
Boom!!
Mightyena's Take Down slammed hard into Lopunny's crossed arms.
"Chubi!"
Lopunny cried out.
Tanking the hit head-on dealt her no small amount of damage.
She braced her arms and forced Mightyena a step forward.
Once she created enough space to throw punches—
Lopunny unleashed Fire Punch and Ice Punch in rapid succession, striking Mightyena continuously at extreme speed.
Even the venue's high-speed cameras couldn't capture her movements clearly.
All they could see were red flashes and blue flashes hammering into Mightyena again and again.
"Aaaargh!!"
Mightyena howled in pain.
"Damn it! Dodge, Mightyena!"
Joji panicked and shouted.
Enduring the pain, Mightyena seized the moment when Lopunny pulled back her fists and tried to break away from her range.
But the instant it tried to force itself free—
it felt an enormous strength binding its body, making it impossible to move.
Looking again—
it was Lopunny's long ears.
They were wrapped tightly around Mightyena's body!
"Lopunny! Triple-Fist Barrage!"
Himeko intended to finish this Mightyena right here!
"Chubi!"
Between the blue and red afterimages of her fists—
a third, yellow afterimage joined in.
Ice Punch, Fire Punch, and Thunder Punch rotated in a flowing cycle as they slammed into Mightyena.
Electric arcs, ice shards, and sparks scattered everywhere.
Mightyena was beaten into a miserable state.
It could only scream wildly in agony.
"Fight back! Hurry and fight back!"
"Bite! Bite her, Mightyena!"
Joji was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.
He never imagined the very first battle would fall into this kind of predicament.
"Awo!"
Mightyena let out a pained cry.
It forced its head up—
and at the moment Lopunny's next Thunder Punch came down—
it opened its mouth and bit down on her arm.
Its sharp teeth sank in.
Lopunny frowned from the pain.
Then—
the next second, her other fist shot out with a Fire Punch, smashing fiercely into Mightyena's head.
"Awo…"
Mightyena's vision went black.
It fainted on the spot.
Lopunny yanked her arm free from its mouth, glanced at Mightyena coldly, and kicked it back to Joji's feet.
The entire stadium fell silent.
So silent you could hear a pin drop.
After several seconds of stunned quiet—
the place erupted into roaring cheers and thunderous applause.
"Holy—holy—HOLY!"
"That Lopunny is insane! This is ridiculous!"
"Triple-Fist Barrage—this move is so damn cool!"
"Awesome! Himeko is this strong—maybe she really can go 3v6!"
The crowd chattered excitedly, their eyes shining with excitement and admiration.
Such a clean, decisive victory—
it felt unbelievably satisfying to watch.
Up in the stands, that row of vice presidents from the Pokémon universities—
their gazes toward Himeko and Lopunny were filled with appreciation.
"Excellent! That Triple-Fist Barrage is so imaginative!"
"She really is a great prospect—she'll have a bright future."
"Her analysis of the situation and her grasp of timing are outstanding. If only this kid would come to our school…"
"As if you'd get her. If she's choosing, she'll come to ours first!"
The vice presidents offered their evaluations.
From that single battle just now, they had already seen Himeko's powerful talent as a Trainer.
An S-rank evaluation—
well deserved.
But by comparison—
Joji's performance was hard to be satisfied with.
You could even call it outright terrible.
On the battlefield, Joji's expression turned dark and ugly.
Without a word, he took out a Poké Ball and recalled Mightyena.
He lifted his head and looked at the big screen above, where the two trainers' portraits faced each other beside the Poké Ball icons.
The Mightyena icon had dimmed.
Joji took a deep breath, then pulled another Poké Ball from his waist.
"Next, I'll turn this around."
"Go—!"
(End of Chapter)
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