The Mettle of Old Friends

The three watched the battle in the arena. The clash between the two Pokémon had already reached its most intense stage, with their moves colliding ever more fiercely.

Makuhita, a unique Pokémon classified as the Guts Pokémon, displayed astonishing resilience in battle.

This kind of Pokémon never gave up no matter how many times it was knocked down. It would stubbornly rise again, and every time it did, its attack power would increase to a certain extent.

Though the Makuhita in the arena was badly injured, the muscles beneath its chubby-looking body were tense like knotted steel. Near-mad fighting spirit burned in its narrowed eyes, and every punch tore through the air with a sharp whistle, as if it wanted to rip the air apart, displaying its determination never to admit defeat.

The Electrike facing it was like nimble lightning, constantly darting and shifting around the field with an agile, swift figure.

It skillfully evaded Makuhita's fierce attacks while seizing every opportunity to fire off Thunder Shocks, continuously draining Makuhita's stamina.

Makuhita's trainer watched the battlefield nervously, fine sweat beading on his brow. His eyes remained fixed on Makuhita as it relentlessly chased its opponent, throwing punches or hurling large clumps of mud and rocks.

Electrike's trainer keenly noticed his opponent's fatigue, while also knowing that his own Pokémon had little stamina left. He roared, "Electrike! Full-power Thunderbolt!"

In an instant, Electrike's fur stood on end like an exploding hedgehog's spines. Golden electricity spread wildly across its body like a spiderweb, bursting with a brilliance even more dazzling than before.

Makuhita's trainer refused to be outdone, roaring with bulging veins, "Makuhita! Charge in and use Endure!"

Makuhita's muscles tightened all over, blood beading from its already charred wounds. Yet it still marched forward with heavy, resolute steps, charging bravely into the Thunderbolt.

The instant Endure activated, a faint white glow spread over its body. Though it had no defensive power whatsoever, Makuhita forcibly withstood Electrike's full-power Thunder Shock and kept advancing.

Seeing this, Makuhita's trainer's eyes reddened as he repeatedly called out to Makuhita in his heart.

Makuhita, hold on!

However, fate did not seem to favor the pair. At the crucial moment when it was about to reach its opponent, the fierce current exploded over its body like a surging tide, and the enormous force hurled it several meters away.

Makuhita carved a long charred trail across the ground like a sorrowful mark before crashing heavily to the floor.

"Makuhita!!!" Makuhita's trainer watched the scene in grief and shouted for his Pokémon.

Electrike and its trainer both heaved sighs of relief. They had clearly been badly frightened just now, thinking their opponent might actually break through.

At that moment, the referee began the count. "One, two..."

Makuhita's trainer desperately called to his Pokémon, his voice filled with pain and urgency.

Unfortunately, Makuhita only managed to lift one arm slightly before losing consciousness again, completely losing its ability to battle.

"...Nine, ten. Makuhita has lost its ability to battle. Electrike wins this match!" the referee announced.

With tears in his eyes, Makuhita's trainer ran to Makuhita's side, recalled it into its Poké Ball, and hurried off the stage.

Shali watched the scene with regret and murmured, "What a shame. It was so close—there was a good chance it could have won!"

Yingnan felt the same way and nodded. "Yeah! That was a real shame!"

Xinhai watched the two new trainers entering the field and said seriously, "That's how battles are. Makuhita and its trainer may have shown tenacious fighting spirit and calm command under pressure, and both deserve respect."

"But a loss is a loss. The loser has to leave the stage. That's why we have to train desperately and keep getting stronger, so we can keep winning."

Hearing that, Yingnan rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "Hey, hey, hey, Xinhai! Can you stop applying that whole 'the victor is king, the loser is a bandit' philosophy to battles? Strength is important, sure, but even if you lose, you can just win it back next time."

Shali and Eevee both nodded in agreement with Yingnan, joining him in condemning Xinhai's warped reasoning.

Listening to the lecture from the two humans and one Pokémon, Xinhai sighed helplessly to himself. Of course he knew they were right too, but this world upheld the principle that the strong were revered. They had to become stronger.

That was also his problem. He knew the course of the future but could not tell anyone, while his own strength was too weak to make much of an impact. Fear of what might happen in the future left him restless from time to time.

As Xinhai listened to the lecture from the two humans and one Pokémon, he did not think these words would affect Yingnan and the others anytime soon. Still, he could not help thinking, Steven hasn't become the League Champion yet, which means the timeline is still early. Team Magma and Team Aqua probably haven't fully developed yet. When these two dark forces of the Hoenn Region rise, how can we manage without strength? Groudon is soaking in the lava inside Mt. Chimney right now! When it emerges, Verdanturf Town will definitely be affected. The League is strong, but the Legendary Pokémon in reality are even stronger! I have to become stronger as quickly as possible!

Thinking that, Xinhai sighed and said, "All right, all right! I won't say any more, okay? The battle's starting. Hurry up and watch!"

Only then did Yingnan let it go. "I'll let you off this time."

Xinhai looked at the two humans and one Pokémon, his heart full of helplessness, though he had never intended to rely on anyone else.

Part of the reason he said those things was because Yingnan was his best friend in this world. Besides, Yingnan was also from Verdanturf Town, so if something like that really happened, he could help ease some of the pressure on Verdanturf Town.

When he turned his attention back to the battles in the arena, the matches progressed quickly. The remaining two battles were finished in less than ten minutes.

The referee on the field announced, "Next match: Trainer Sugimoto versus Trainer Miura! Please take the stage!"

Yingnan said excitedly to Xinhai and Shali, "It's my turn. Wait for me—I'll be back soon!"

Shali smiled and encouraged him. "Good luck! You have to win!"

"Don't worry!"

Yingnan gripped his Poké Ball and walked onto the platform with confident steps.

Trainer Miura, standing opposite him, was a broad-built young man who gave off a very steady impression.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon!" the referee told them.

Yingnan and Miura exchanged a glance, then simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.

"Come out, Mudkip!" "Go, Meditite!"

Two flashes of red light appeared, and a Mudkip and a Meditite emerged in the arena. They stared sharply at one another, quietly awaiting their trainers' commands.

The referee stepped outside the field and lowered his flag. "Begin!"

"Mudkip, use Water Gun!" "Meditite, block it with Confusion, then charge in!"

Mudkip puffed out its cheeks and fired a powerful Water Gun straight ahead like an arrow released from a bow.

Blue light flashed in Meditite's eyes as invisible Confusion quietly surged through the air, twisting the water's trajectory and diverting the Water Gun to the side, neutralizing the attack.

After deflecting Mudkip's attack, Meditite rushed swiftly toward Mudkip.

Watching Meditite charge at Mudkip, Yingnan murmured, "The Pure Power Ability?" Without hesitation, he gave Mudkip an order.

"Mudkip, use Mud Shot on its feet!"

Mudkip pressed its hands together against the ground, kneading the dirt and sand into muddy projectiles before hurling them at Meditite's feet.

Trainer Miura frowned and swiftly ordered, "Meditite, use low-power Force Palm to break them apart!"

Meditite did not slow down. Red light flared from its palms as it fired shockwaves at the mud projectiles, precisely shattering the Mud Shots heading for its feet and preventing them from lowering its speed.

Yingnan was not surprised by this. By now, the two Pokémon were extremely close, and he decisively ordered, "Use Rock Slide, then meet it with Rock Smash!"

Mudkip slammed its right paw against the ground. Broken rocks and mud shot skyward with the motion, gathering in midair into seven or eight fist-sized boulders that crashed down toward Meditite.

Trainer Miura's gaze sharpened as he shouted, "Swift, then Confusion for defense!"

Meditite clapped its hands together, firing golden starlight from either side of its palms. The stars collided explosively with the falling rocks. At the same time, blue Confusion light spread around its body, forming a sturdy Barrier that shielded it from the aftermath of the moves' collision.

Amid the fierce explosion, the Barrier formed by Confusion protected Meditite as it passed through the center of the blast. At the same moment its trainer gave the command, Spark wrapped around its right hand as it viciously struck toward Mudkip.

Trainer Miura stared intently at the center of the explosion. When he saw Meditite charge out unharmed, he shouted, "Meditite, use Thunder Punch!"

Meditite's right fist, wrapped in electricity, tore through the air toward Mudkip. Mudkip did not retreat in the slightest, throwing its own fist as the two launched into a fierce exchange.

"(σ;Д)=3⁼³₌₃⁼³₌₃⁼³₌₃ Meditite, Meditite, Meditite!"

"(งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)=3⁼³₌₃⁼³₌₃⁼³₌₃ Mudkip, Mudkip, Mudkip!"

The spectators below erupted into enthusiastic cheers at the intense brawl, but Xinhai wore a strange expression as he watched.

Xinhai: ∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll); Shocked JPG

He had actually seen the shadows of two old friends in these two Pokémon.

The two Pokémon exchanged seven or eight fierce punches like this. Because Mudkip was disrupted by the electric current, its movements slowed by half a beat.

Meditite seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and viciously punched it in the face. The tremendous impact forced Mudkip back two and a half steps, nearly knocking it to the ground.

Trainer Miura frowned, feeling somewhat regretful. The Electric-type energy attached to Thunder Punch had been mostly depleted during the repeated collisions. Otherwise, that strike would have been enough to heavily injure Mudkip.

He seized the opportunity and shouted, "Meditite, Force Palm! Chase it down!" Upon receiving the order, Meditite charged toward Mudkip once more like an arrow released from a bow.