Battle Is an Art (Please Add to Your Favorites)

Dian's face darkened. What the hell was this? He had just been mocked by a mere Goldeen. How was he supposed to live that down?

He decided on the spot that he would make that Goldeen disappear from the face of the earth. That was right—he would catch it!

He might not have a Poké Ball, but that did not mean he could not catch a Pokémon.

He would knock it out and stuff it into his backpack. When it woke up, he would knock it out again. Then back into the backpack it would go, until his humiliation was washed away.

"P-please wait!"

A voice called down from above the waterfall.

"As if I'd wait just because you said so."

Dian pretended not to hear and prepared to have Misdreavus launch an all-out attack.

"I'll compensate you!"

The girl, who seemed remarkably good at handling people, called out again. "That Goldeen is mine. I'm sorry for the trouble it's caused. I'll give you ten thousand yuan in compensation."

As she spoke, a beam of Red Light shot toward the pool. Goldeen flicked its tail and dodged, then fired an immensely powerful Hydro Pump straight up at the top of the waterfall.

Dian's eyes sharpened. He was not trying to catch this Goldeen over a petty insult. It really was exceptionally talented.

Goldeen could not learn Water Gun, which meant the move it had used could only be an inherited Hydro Pump.

And it had likely hatched not long ago, since its Hydro Pump was not very powerful yet.

But a Goldeen so young could already use Waterfall. Either it was extraordinarily gifted, or someone had trained it.

He had seen no one nearby, so he had planned to catch it first and worry about the rest later.

Now, though, it was clearly a Goldeen someone had raised.

And that someone probably came from a well-off family.

Then Dian saw something that left him stunned.

A girl in a white hat and white dress came falling out of the sky.

She really did fall out of the sky.

The pretty, rich girl had jumped off the waterfall.

Dian started, but then he thought that if she had dared to jump, she must have had a plan. Otherwise...

The girl plummeted past Beedrill.

Beedrill glanced at her, then went right back to training.

Fine, Beedrill could ignore her, but Dian could not.

Only when he saw that she was about to hit the pool did he realize, speechless, that he had been wrong. She really was someone who would jump off a waterfall without a plan.

"Misdreavus, Shadow Sneak!"

He covered his face, struggling to take it in.

As someone with a temporary weakness for cute girls, what could be more shocking than watching one jump off a waterfall?

Misdreavus, meanwhile, had taken a keen interest in the girl. She had even forgotten her grudge against Goldeen.

Even when Dian was high in the air, she could sense a trace of fear from him.

But she could sense none at all from this girl, as though the girl had no idea what fear was.

A black whirlwind suddenly appeared beneath the girl, carried her to shore, and set her down on the grass beside the pool.

Half-reclining on the grass, the girl slowly blushed. Her eyes sparkled. "That—that was amazing!"

Then she seemed to remember something. She stood and straightened her clothes.

Holding the edge of her skirt, she gave an elegant curtsy. "Thank you. My name is Haya. May I ask yours?"

"Dian. Trainer."

As concise an introduction as ever.

Dian had an image of coolness to maintain.

He looked the girl over and realized he had misjudged her age. She was past the little-girl stage. Fair game, then.

The girl tucked a stray lock of black hair behind her ear, her smile never fading. "Mr. Dian, was it? I'm sorry my Goldeen caused you trouble. As her Trainer, I apologize again."

With that, she hurriedly bowed once more. "But if you're willing, could we have a battle?"

Dian was about to refuse. He did not do things that offered him nothing.

The girl's knack for handling people showed itself again. "Win or lose, I'll pay you for your time afterward, on top of the ten thousand yuan I mentioned."

"Sure. No problem. We can start right now."

Dian immediately fell at the girl's feet—not for her charms, but under the barrage of money she had thrown at him.

Misdreavus had been circling the girl, tilting her head now and then as if she could not make sense of her.

To Misdreavus, this girl was a rare two-legged creature indeed.

"Misdreavus."

Once Dian had agreed to battle, he grew calm and focused.

At his call, Misdreavus grew serious too.

"Okay!"

The girl took a deep breath and clenched her fists.

"Goldeen, use Water Gun!"

Water Gun?

What Water Gun...?

Dian froze for a moment. Misdreavus kept her full attention on Goldeen and noticed that Goldeen looked just as baffled.

"Goldeen!"

Goldeen's gaze sharpened. With a flick of her tail, she leaped straight out of the pool.

Bzzzz!

An invisible vibration radiated from her body, making everyone dizzy. It was Supersonic.

Misdreavus gave a strange grin. Without waiting for Dian's command, she used Astonish.

Her piercing cry collided with Supersonic, stirring ripples through the air.

But a black spike suddenly shot up from beneath the water and sent Goldeen flying while she was wholly focused on using Supersonic.

Talented as Goldeen was, she had too little battle experience.

Dian's eyes flickered, but he held off on pressing his advantage.

He had accepted the girl's money. She had said she would pay him regardless of the outcome, but he had his own standards. At the very least, he wanted her to learn something from this.

She needed to overcome her nerves in battle, if nothing else, so she would not call out the wrong move again.

"What are you waiting for?"

Dian addressed the bewildered girl. "This is a battle between you and me, not between me and a Pokémon."

"Ah!"

The girl finally came to her senses. A rare look of resolve appeared in her eyes. "Please, Goldeen! Use Hydro Pump!"

Goldeen glanced at her hopeless Trainer. She had not intended to do as Haya said, but something about that look of resolve struck her.

For once, the proud Goldeen stayed beneath the water and used Hydro Pump, a move she had not yet mastered.

A jet of water surged toward Misdreavus.

Even Dian, standing to the side, could feel the tremendous power behind it.

"Psywave!"

Strangely, Dian did not tell Misdreavus to dodge. Instead, he had her use the relatively weak Psywave.

An eerie wave struck first, hitting Goldeen in the water. Three shadows followed, lashing her and forcing her out of the pool before binding her in midair.

Misdreavus, whom the jet of water had struck directly, vanished without a trace. It had only been an afterimage—or rather, a decoy created by an illusion.