A Clash of Dragon and Tiger, Chi Hong Becomes a Target

Beside Sea God Lake.

Chi Hong studied the beautiful crimson orb in his hand.

[Life Orb]: When held by a Pokémon, it increases the power of its moves by 30%, but each use automatically reduces its HP.

"Professor Oak really sent me something good. And any Pokémon can use it. Fair's fair—this one goes to you, Greninja."

Greninja happily flicked its pink scarf and gave Chi Hong a vigorous Lick.

"Don't smear spit all over my face!"

Chi Hong grimaced, wiped the slime from his face, and casually tossed over the Life Orb.

Greninja caught the orb with its tongue and swallowed it.

Before long.

Greninja sensed the change. Its control over life energy had grown stronger. It could now expend some of its own life energy to boost the power of its moves.

The vitality radiating from its body seemed no weaker than Charizard's.

Charizard folded its claws across its chest. It had no objection to Chi Hong's decision.

Now that it had awakened Solar Power, its confidence was through the roof. What difference could one lousy orb make?

A little brother for a day was a little brother for life. Charizard would always be the boss!

Several days passed, and the Freshman Assessment entered the Knockout Stage.

Chi Hong swept through every match. No opponent had threatened either of his Pokémon, and he had not even needed to activate their abilities once.

It left Chi Hong disappointed.

This year's freshmen are terrible!

He reached the Final Four with barely an obstacle in his way.

Huo Yuhao's team had also advanced through every round. Their Final Four opponents were Ning Tian, wielder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and her team.

That left the team from Class Five, led by Dai Huabin, to face Chi Hong.

In the viewing stands.

Zhou Yi watched Chi Hong on the field through gritted teeth.

"You're bound to lose now. This will be the lesson you remember for the rest of your life!"

"Oh my. Did I just hear something remarkable?"

Mu Jin came over, smiling with open delight at her misfortune.

Zhou Yi's face hardened. "Mu Jin, what's a loser like you doing here?"

Mu Jin smiled.

"Am I a loser? I certainly can't compare to you. You were lucky enough to get a few good students, and both your teams made the Final Four."

"But I heard your students don't exactly listen to you. Didn't you even lose to one of them? Chi Hong, was it?"

"Enough." Zhou Yi glared at him. "This is none of your business. Get lost."

"How small-minded."

Mu Jin covered his mouth as he laughed.

"You're a teacher, yet you don't want a student you dislike to win. All you dare do is silently hope his opponent beats him. I can't help laughing."

"Don't worry. Neither of your teams can beat my students or the Hell White Tiger. You can have a little laugh to yourself then."

Zhou Yi's face turned scarlet.

Because that was exactly what she wanted. She hoped Dai Huabin's team would defeat Chi Hong and teach him a painful lesson. But she had high hopes for Huo Yuhao's team and believed they could beat Mu Jin's class.

As for Chi Hong, the sooner he lost, the better. A student who refused to follow her teaching methods deserved to fail.

On the battlefield.

Dai Huabin activated his White Tiger Martial Soul. Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple ring circled his body.

That combination would have marked him as one of the greatest talents among the freshmen of any previous year.

Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie each released their two yellow Soul Rings as well.

In any other year, the three of them would have been the final bosses of the freshman class.

But this time, they faced an even more formidable bully.

Across from them, Chi Hong revealed his two purple thousand-year Soul Rings. He threw his Poké Balls, summoning Charizard and Greninja.

"Young master of the White Tiger family, you can't hide forever. Sooner or later, you have to face me."

Chi Hong folded his arms and smiled.

Charizard roared on cue and blasted out a gust of hot air, forcing all three opponents to raise their arms to shield themselves.

It put them under crushing pressure from the start.

Dai Huabin's gaze was cold. Chi Hong had challenged him before, but he had refused.

He knew he was no match for that fire dragon. Fighting it would only disgrace the duke's household.

As the son of the White Tiger Duke, he bore his family's honor on his shoulders. Not a single defeat was acceptable. Today, he had to win.

The referee announced the start of the match.

Chi Hong pointed with one hand. "Charizard, use Dragon Claw and crush them head-on. Greninja, use Smokescreen and cover Charizard from the shadows."

Charizard beat its wings and surged forward, black smoke pouring from Greninja behind it.

As the massive dragon bore down on them, Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie shrank back in fear. Dai Huabin stepped in front of them, his first and third Soul Rings lighting up together.

"You two, move! White Tiger Vajra Transformation! White Tiger Body-Protecting Barrier!"

The White Tiger apparition around Dai Huabin grew clearer. A golden barrier formed around him, blocking Charizard's incoming Dragon Claw.

Violent energy burst outward.

For a brief moment, tiger and dragon stood at a stalemate.

In the stands, Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up.

"What a clash of dragon and tiger! Dai Huabin's talent is no worse than his brother's. There's another promising candidate for the Shrek Seven Monsters."

Xuan Zi kept eating his Chicken Leg and said mildly,

"Not bad. Holding his own against a dragon-shaped Soul Beast for even a moment is impressive. And from the look of things, that beast-taming kid is about to suffer a major setback."

Smokescreen spread across the battlefield. Greninja's nimble figure disappeared into the haze as it fought Zhu Lu with a shuriken formed from water.

As the wielder of the Hell Spirit Cat, Zhu Lu could match Greninja's speed, and the black smoke barely impaired her vision.

But Greninja attacked harder and faster. She was struggling to hold it off.

Yajie, hurry! I can't hold out much longer.

Anxiety crept into Zhu Lu's thoughts.

That instant of distraction did not escape Greninja.

Greninja melted into the shadows, its presence vanishing completely.

The next second.

It emerged silently from the shadow behind Zhu Lu and slashed down with claws wreathed in dark energy.

"Ahhh!"

Zhu Lu screamed and collapsed. A black wound appeared across her back, its darkness steadily eating into her flesh.

[Greninja used Night Slash. It's super effective!]

"Zhu Lu!"

Dai Huabin's pupils contracted. Furious, he tried to charge at Greninja.

But Charizard seized the opening and slammed him into the ground, pinning his furious, handsome face beneath a massive dragon claw.

Greninja glanced around for the remaining enemy, but she was nowhere nearby.

Then it realized what had happened and sprinted toward Chi Hong.

Chi Hong had been watching the battle all along. He had already realized that Cui Yajie was targeting him.

Cui Yajie's mature figure emerged from the black smoke, her fox tail swaying slowly behind her. Her laugh was thick with temptation.

"Your biggest mistake was letting your Soul Beasts stray so far from you. This time, we win."