A new badge

It was driven back again and again, utterly unable to fight back.

At least with moves silenced and the battle reduced to pure physical combat, it had lost.

Clad in Battle Armor, Shiny Cubone looked quite imposing. Its attacks came in an unbroken stream, giving its opponent no chance to catch its breath.

"Deactivate the Flash ability and start fighting it head-on."

Knowing her Pokémon was no match in a silenced battle, Misty simply lifted the silence.

Shiny Cubone felt its whole body relax as a strange sensation and power welled up within it. Perhaps this was the effect of having the silence lifted.

The two sides were no longer limited to simple brawling. They could use their moves now.

Shiny Poliwhirl struck first, drawing a deep breath before firing a thick Water Gun from its mouth.

Knock Off.

It was a simple, brutal attack. With Battle Armor still in effect, it dispatched the opposing Water Gun outright.

Then it charged toward Shiny Poliwhirl. Others would have kept their distance, but not this one. It closed in directly.

Hypnosis!

The pattern on Shiny Poliwhirl's belly had looked perfectly ordinary, but now it began spinning like a turntable.

Never mind Shiny Cubone standing right in front of it—even Liu Xin felt drowsy watching it.

Shiny Cubone swayed unsteadily, its mind growing hazy, looking as though it might lose consciousness at any moment.

Liu Xin shouted, "Don't fall asleep! Are you really willing to let it beat you that easily?"

The best thing about a hot-tempered Pokémon was how well Liu Xin's trash talk worked on it.

"Cubone, Cubone!"

Sure enough, Shiny Cubone whacked itself on the head with its bone club and instantly snapped awake.

Then it brought down a Knock Off, laden with heavy clods of earth, as though retaliating for the attack just now.

Sand Rush.

Sand swirled around them, causing Shiny Cubone's attack to miss and scatter the surrounding dust.

They faced each other from a distance, both proving equally difficult to handle.

Bubble Beam.

Countless bubbles gathered into a beam that shot straight toward Shiny Cubone.

It did not dodge, staring firmly at the incoming attack.

"Shiny Cubone, use Ground Spike to weaken that attack, then use Boomerang!"

Ground spikes rose from the earth before it and rolled outward with astonishing destructive force.

The leading bubbles of the Bubble Beam were instantly punctured, stopping more than half the attack.

Still, plenty pierced through the ground spikes and hurtled straight toward Shiny Cubone.

Boomerang.

It hurled the bone club in its hand with all its strength, sending the chunks of rubble wrapped around it flying as well.

Its power and destructive force increased dramatically as it collided head-on with the opposing attack.

Boom!

A powerful crash rang out. The Boomerang's destructive force was truly terrifying, shattering the entire Bubble Beam.

Without losing momentum, it flew straight toward Shiny Poliwhirl.

"Shiny Poliwhirl, use Pound!"

"Meet it head-on."

An enormous palm began forming around its little fist, then slammed into the incoming Boomerang.

Liu Xin shouted, "Charge straight in and use Tackle!"

Two attacks working in tandem?!

Neither Shiny Poliwhirl nor Misty had expected this. With Pound occupied blocking the Boomerang, it could not spare a hand.

A faint silver glow gathered around Shiny Cubone's body. It was an ordinary Tackle, something any Pokémon could use.

Although the damage was not particularly high, it was a different story when used in combination.

The hit landed squarely, tipping Shiny Poliwhirl backward. That opening allowed the Boomerang to drive straight through.

It shattered Pound outright and struck Shiny Poliwhirl hard in the belly.

"Poliwhirl!"

A scream rang out. It could not withstand the blow at all.

It flew roughly ten meters before coming to a stop. Once everything settled, the battle was over.

Shiny Poliwhirl lay on the ground, struggled a few times, then passed out.

Shiny Cubone retrieved its bone club and smugly taunted its opponent, challenging it to fight again.

"Cubone, Cubone!"

That was its way of celebrating victory. It really never changed.

Still, Shiny Cubone had exhausted plenty of its own strength. It had hardly been an easy fight.

Misty recalled Shiny Poliwhirl and said softly, "Thanks for your hard work."

"Not only do you have Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon, but you also have mutated Pokémon and Shiny Pokémon. You really are an extraordinary Trainer."

"You won this match. Here's your badge. Take good care of it."

It was a Cascade Badge, identical to Sen Anxiang's, and quite beautiful.

He had finally completed his challenge at the South China Gym.

Ito Hei was the next challenger. The previous battle had taken quite a while.

Seeing Liu Xin receive his badge, he congratulated him. "Looks like I can't beat you this time. You got your badge so quickly."

"But wait for me outside. I'll be out with my badge soon."

Liu Xin patted his shoulder. "Then give it your best. Misty is no pushover, after all."

Indeed, how could someone who could send out Pokémon like those possibly be weak?

Sen Anxiang hurried over, her eyes brimming with excitement. "You did it!"

"You really are amazing. You must be a master Pokémon Trainer, right?"

"Now we just need to wait for Ito Hei to come out. I can't wait for our next adventure."

They had agreed to set off for the next city once they earned their badges from the South China Gym.

An hour later, Ito Hei let out a long breath.

"It was a tough battle, but I finally got it."

"Apparently, my match was easier because you defeated all her strongest Pokémon."

"Now I'm starting to wonder just what Pokémon you faced."

Liu Xin gave him a brief account. When he heard about the Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon, Ito Hei winced.

Had he been the one facing it, he might have lost long before.

In the South China region, Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon were truly terrifying opponents.

And after that had come a Shiny Pokémon. This guy really could handle anything.

"I admit it. When it comes to Pokémon, you're far stronger than I am."

"You beat not only a Mewtwo-Powered Pokémon, but a Shiny Pokémon too. Impressive."

Ito Hei had only barely won this time. Had he faced that kind of Pokémon head-on, he would surely have lost.

He was beginning to understand the gap between their abilities quite clearly.

Misty glanced at Sen Anxiang and said with a light laugh, "Anxiang, you could try entering this Pokémon competition."

"There's a Pokémon Contest in the next city. It would suit you very well."

A Pokémon Contest?

It was a competition where Pokémon used their appearance and moves to create dazzling effects or scenes and earn high scores.

Liu Xin knew a little about it. It was extremely popular with female Trainers.

After taking a look, Sen Anxiang eagerly agreed. "Thank you, Misty! I'll definitely sign up when we reach the next city."

"I'm sure my Pokémon and I can get great results. After all, they're all so cute and pretty."

Clefairy would work, and so would Totodile. But Krabby...