"Roy, kid, let's exchange a few blows."
"Ah? Okay!"
Upon hearing Mustard's sudden invitation, Roy did not back down despite the defeat of the Annihilape by Mustard. After letting the Annihilape watch the battle from the sidelines, he stood opposite Mustard.
Roy's gaze was solemn. Although Mustard was just standing lazily in the Arena, he felt as if he were a mountain.
Roy hesitated at first, his fist poised to strike Mustard.
But adhering to the idea that "the first to strike wins, the last to strike loses," Roy shouted "Let's do it!" in his mind before throwing a punch and charging at Mustard.
Seeing that Roy dared to take the initiative to attack, Mustard nodded slightly.
Just as Roy's fist was about to land, Mustard casually deflected Roy.
Roy, who had been elbowed to the ground, felt a burning pain in his chest, but this also aroused Roy bloodlust, and he got up and charged at Mustard again.
He raised his leg and delivered a high roundhouse kick straight at Mustard's face. This attack was no longer a probing move, but a full-force strike.
Mustard changed his fist into a palm, neutralizing Roy's attack while simultaneously pushing Roy's waist and abdomen with his palm, knocking Roy back once again.
Mustard's counterattacks, though seemingly casual, were actually fierce and powerful, and he quickly brought Roy to the ground.
When Roy realized that Mustard could deal with him as easily as he could with the apprentices in the Gym, Roy was truly impressed.
Sitting on the ground, Roy found it hard to believe that he had lost to Mustard in terms of strength. Where did this man get such strength?
Just as Roy was about to sit up from the ground, a withered hand reached out to him. He recognized the hand as that of Mustard, the man who had just knocked him to the ground.
Roy reached out and grabbed Mustard's hand, and a tremendous force lifted him up.
Mustard looked at Roy with great satisfaction. He was young and energetic. The only pity was that he wasn't the first person to discover him, but reaching this level was already quite impressive.
Back when I was their age, I was still doing odd jobs at a martial arts school. With their current skill level, their future is absolutely limitless.
It's a pity that my apprentice isn't skilled in Fighting type...
"Young man, you're quite good, and your master's teaching is excellent. It seems I should go and meet the Elite Four of the Bruno Kanto Region."
"I can't compare to you. At your age, you could take me down in no time."
"Sigh... I'm getting old..."
When Mustard said this, he was facing Roy, but it also seemed as if he was speaking to himself.
"I can't tell at all that you're dressed like that; you look much younger than me."
Hearing Roy's slander, Mustard looked at Roy with admiration and said:
"You're much more interesting than Little Leon. This outfit of mine was personally endorsed by Kalos Region champion Diantha..."
Mustard has absolute confidence in his fashion sense.
Little Leon?
That must be the Leon, right?
It's estimated that only Mustard would call Leon"Little Leon" like that, and Leon would just silently accept it.
When Roy looked at the Annihilape, he found that his Annihilape was standing next to the Urshifu, who seemed to be teaching his Annihilape something.
Urshifu lowered his center of gravity, and his body suddenly surged with dark, Dark type energy, concentrating all his power into his right fist.
A dark, malevolent aura twisted into a condensed vortex at the fist's edge, creating a suffocating sense of Pressure simply by standing there.
The next instant, Urshifu charged forward in a straight line, his figure transforming into a black shadow, his fist carrying an evil aura of energy crashing down.
Although Urshifu 'Urshifu fist did not land on any physical object, the ground where it struck had a loud "boom!" and a large crater appeared.
Roy realized that Urshifu was using his exclusive skill, Wicked Blow.
Skill: Wicked Blow
Effect: A powerful strike honed to the pinnacle of Dark Style. It will surely hit a vital point.
After using his skill, Urshifu looked at Annihilape.
"Martial arts?"
"Abandoned?"
Seeing that the Annihilape didn't understand, Urshifu demonstrated the Wicked Blow again for Annihilape.
The Annihilape watched the Urshifu's movements with a thoughtful expression.
Mustard was quite surprised that his Urshifu was willing to teach the Annihilape, presumably because the Urshifu had also seen the Annihilape's talent.
Like him, he wants to give pointers to any Pokémon Trainer he sees who has some talent.
Roy watched quietly from the sidelines. Receiving guidance from a Champion level Pokémon could only benefit Annihilape.
"What? Roy and the others are back? And they brought an old man with them?"
"President Damaranch, didn't you say...?"
Chuck's boisterous voice rang out from outside the Arena.
Hearing Chuck's voice, Roy felt as if he had finally been rescued.
Being with Mustard, even though he didn't say anything about what he would do to him, the Pressure he felt was still too strong.
Then, Roy saw that Chuck had also brought an old man into the Arena.
The old man next to Chuck was none other than Chairman Damaranch, whom Roy had met a year ago.
When Chuck arrived at the Arena, he saw Mustard in the Arena.
He froze on the spot, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
Chuck rubbed his eyes, and after confirming it was Mustard, he rushed from below the stage into the Arena.
"Master Mustard!? You've arrived?"
How could Chuck not recognize Mustard? He was the former champion of the Galar region and a Pokémon -Fighting type Pokémon Trainer.
The opposing Urshifu, could be said to have suppressed an entire generation in the Galar region.
Legend has it that after winning the championship in Leon, Mustard established a Master Dojo on the Isle of Armor, but after teaching for a few months, he went on a journey to various regions.
He originally intended to go to Mustard to set up a martial arts school on the Isle of Armor for training, but it took too long; it required five ship transfers from Cianwood City to finally reach the Galar region.
But he also had a job as Gym Leader and a family, so in the end he had to give up.
Unexpectedly, Damaranch managed to persuade the other party to become a judge for the Martial Arts Tournament.
If he had known that the special guest was Mustard, he would have personally gone to the port of Cianwood City to welcome him, and sent Roy to Goldenrod City to pick up Damaranch.
Facing his enthusiastic fans, Mustard was clearly used to it. He pulled out a pen from somewhere and signed Chuck's white training uniform.
Chuck looked at the autograph on his chest, looking like a fanatical fan who had successfully met their idol.
Upon hearing Chuck's words, Damaranch turned to leave the Cianwood Gym. What happened to him?
In what ways is he inferior to Mustard?
Chuck then realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly apologized and begged for forgiveness, finally managing to coax Chairman Damaranch back to his senses.
Roy also learned that Damaranch had witnessed the match where Leon became champion, and that was when he met Mustard.
Looking at Chuck, this rough and uncultured man, Damaranch said with a look of impatience:
"So, what do you think? Isn't the guest I invited this time quite VIP?"
"Enough! Absolutely enough!"
Chuck's tone was certain; if Mustard couldn't do it, he really didn't know who could.
It's important to know that having high-profile guests is also key to elevating the prestige of an event.
Just like the Rookie Cup in the Pokémon Contest that Roy participated in in Rustboro City two years ago, the tournament was instantly upgraded to an official event because Professor Oak and Agatha were there as judges.
With former champion Mustard as a guest at this year's Martial Arts Tournament, the Martial Arts Tournament is sure to attract a lot of attention.
Seeing that his identity had been exposed, Mustard turned around and patted Roy on the shoulder.
"Young man, I didn't mean to hide it from you. Actually, I'm the former Galar region champion, and the current Galar champion Leon, is my apprentice."
"What!?"
Roy then feigned surprise, his exaggerated acting greatly pleasing Mustard, who picked up a pen and signed his name on Roy's training uniform.
Roy looked at the extra signature on his white training uniform, wondering if he had asked Mustard for an autograph.
Seeing that Chuck, the organizer, and he and Mustard, the two judges, were all present, Damaranch thought about discussing the matters of the Martial Arts Tournament.
Roy nudged Chuck, who was still looking at the autographs on his training uniform. Chuck, realizing what was happening, quickly invited them to his home to discuss the matter.
He invited Mustard and Damaranch to stay at his home that evening.
Because there weren't enough rooms, Chuck arranged for Mustard to stay in Roy's room.
"Where am I supposed to stay? The Pokémon Center are all full."
"Go sleep on the floor in Machamp's room."
Roy:...
If looks could kill, Chuck would probably be dead a hundred times over by now.