The Master of Playing Dirty, Liu Xin

"Quick, I see the first treasure!"

"That thing glowing red is it. Move!"

At the center of the second floor, a treasure glowing red lay quietly, waiting for everyone to arrive.

But could it really be that simple?

Twister.

Gusts of wind swept through the area and merged with the air currents, forming a terrifying tornado attack.

It struck indiscriminately, with frightening destructive power.

Liu Xin took one look and knew it was Giant Dragonite's attack.

He had thought they could simply pick up the treasure. Apparently, there was a trial after all.

With the wind raging before them, Ito Hei sent out Metang.

Metang was a mechanical life-form made from two Beldum.

Its body was blue-green and disc-shaped, with two arms bearing massive iron claws much like Beldum's.

Its eyes were red, with a silver spike on its face and another on its back. Two pairs of silver blades extended diagonally backward from either side of its body.

This was one of the Pokémon Ito Hei had recently caught.

"Use Confusion and dodge those attacks!"

Metang rose into the air.

Liu Xin and Ito Hei stood on its head together. It was a strange feeling.

Floating felt surprisingly good. Liu Xin fell in love with it at once.

Confusion held Liu Xin and Ito Hei firmly in place as Ito Hei shouted, "Hold on! This is going to get rough, but it's the fastest way!"

Whoosh!

Metang charged straight ahead, completely ignoring the tornadoes.

To be fair, they really couldn't hurt it. It could simply barrel through.

Liu Xin and Ito Hei were another matter. By the time they burst through the ring of wind, their hair was a mess and both looked dazed.

"That was fast, but I'm definitely not used to it."

Luckily, Liu Xin didn't get motion sickness. Otherwise, he would have been throwing up by now.

They were fast, but others weren't far behind. The two sides spotted each other at once.

"Go, Giant Onix! Stop them!"

"Metang, use Confusion to bring that treasure over!"

Thud!

Giant Onix swung its body across the passage, sealing it off completely.

That bought Metang enough time to take the treasure.

"Damn it, it's that Giant Onix!"

"Spearow, use Twister!"

"Charmeleon, use Ember!"

"Starmie, use Swift!"

The attacks converged, and their combined force was terrifying.

Harden.

A metallic sheen spread over Giant Onix's body as it withstood the barrage.

Ito Hei wasn't about to leave Giant Onix to fight alone. He ordered Rapidash forward to cancel out most of the attacks.

Boom!

When the clash ended, Giant Onix had suffered only minor injuries. They had secured the first treasure.

That was too much.

Liu Xin and Ito Hei had become everyone's targets.

"Come back, Giant Onix."

They recalled Giant Onix, mounted Rapidash, and sped away.

The two of them certainly knew how to make a quick escape.

"After them! As long as they're still in the lighthouse, I can still get that treasure!"

A huge crowd surged after Liu Xin and Ito Hei.

"Quite a turnout. I doubt I'll ever have this many people chasing me again."

Ito Hei was joking, but a wicked idea came to Liu Xin. He grinned.

Looking at the stairs ahead, he said, "They're already after us. Why don't we go all the way?"

All the way?

What did that mean?

What they did next had everyone cursing.

"Mutant Phanpy, use Flame Burst! Turn this whole area into a sea of fire!"

"Giant Onix, use Rock Slide! Build a wall dozens of meters high!"

As soon as Mutant Phanpy finished creating the sea of fire, Giant Onix began building the wall.

Shiny Cubone and Super Gible helped out too.

They were all Ground Type Pokémon. Building an earthen wall was right up their alley.

A wall dozens of meters high rose with a crash, then gained layer after layer of reinforcement.

That was downright vicious.

Ito Hei couldn't help applauding. "Damn, you really are the master of playing dirty."

There was only one route up the lighthouse, and Liu Xin had sealed it off in just one minute!

The Armor-Breaking Fire would not go out, making it an effective deterrent.

Then came the earthen walls—at least a dozen layers, reinforced by Metang's Confusion.

There was no way their pursuers could break through in less than a few minutes.

"Come on, keep chasing us! We've got the upper hand now!"

Liu Xin was certain of victory, and the other Trainers soon began to despair.

At first, they paid the obstacle little mind and took a deep breath.

They thought it was part of Dragonite's trial. "We're still unhurt! They might be on the other side of the fire. Hurry!"

"Let's charge through and catch them!"

"Huh? Why won't these flames go out?"

"Whoa, that's pretty hot! What do we do?"

Liu Xin hadn't made the flames dangerous. They were just meant to scare people; apart from the heat, they did no harm.

But after rushing through the fire, the Trainers stared at the stone wall that nearly reached the ceiling, dumbfounded.

"Did they break through a wall this thick and get to the other side?"

"We can't waste any more time. Let's work together and smash it!"

Even their combined attacks failed to break all the way through. Just how sturdy was this thing!?

It took another round of attacks to break it.

They had spent more than two minutes on it—twice as long as Liu Xin's group had taken to build it.

The wall had done its job.

"All right, let's keep going! We're almost at the next treasure. See that glow?"

"Damn it, why is a wall blocking the light?"

"It was Giant Onix and Shiny Cubone! Damn it, Liu Xin's group built this wall!"

They turned the corner and found another earthen wall waiting for them.

And after they broke through this one, there was another!?

How many walls were there!?

Every Trainer started cursing. "Liu Xin! Ito Hei! Just you wait!"

"When we catch you, we'll teach you a lesson!"

"Why don't you wall off the whole floor while you're at it?!"

Unfortunately for them, Liu Xin really was willing to go that far.

Every few dozen steps, another earthen wall stood in their way.

And these were no ordinary walls. Their thickness was almost beyond belief.

Hearing the curses, Ito Hei shook his head. "You really are something else. Good thing I'm on your team, or I'd be cursing you too."

"There's a little ball of light up ahead. Looks like we have to pass through it to get the treasure."

The second trial had begun.

Liu Xin recalled his other Pokémon, and Ito Hei did the same.

They each kept just one out: Shiny Cubone and Rapidash.

As they entered the ball of light, a ripple spread across it.

Then a terrifying pressure descended.

Boom!

An unprecedented weight slammed down on them, catching them all off guard.

"Dragon Pressure! This is Giant Dragonite's second trial for us!"

"We have to push through it to reach the treasure!"