Shocking! Greninja Wins a Stunning Victory

Ignoring the strange looks around him, Chen Qi shamelessly turned his attention to the battlefield.

Hmph. If I'm not embarrassed, you're the ones who should be!

After landing, Greninja made no attempt to put distance between himself and Charizard.

Instead, he hurled several Water Shuriken in quick succession, then slammed a Water Pulse into the ground.

Under cover of the surging water, he launched a Night Slash straight at Scarred Charizard.

The combination flowed effortlessly, without the slightest hesitation.

Charizard smashed every incoming Water Shuriken with Thunder Punch in one hand and Fire Punch in the other.

Then he snapped his wings wide. Air Slash!

Blades of air swept from Charizard's wings like scythes.

The Water Pulse was dispersed in an instant!

At the same time, the barrage of Air Slashes forced Greninja, dark energy swirling around him, to abandon his attack and dodge again and again.

Seeing Greninja scrambling to evade his attacks, Scarred Charizard pressed his advantage.

He spat a Dragon Rage at Greninja, who was still struggling against the blades of air.

Once again, Greninja found himself in dire straits.

At the critical moment, he pulled out a handful of foam from who knew where.

Mat Block!

A Fighting-type status move!

It worked much like Protect, except that it could not block status moves.

Against Dragon Rage, it was just what he needed.

"Roar!"

[You bastard!]

Seeing Greninja block his attack yet again, Scarred Charizard roared in fury and charged, intent on fighting him up close.

Greninja did not hesitate. He darted backward, throwing Water Shuriken to keep Charizard at bay.

Their moves clashed repeatedly, setting off one explosion after another.

By now, the onlookers were stunned!

Who would have thought Xu Mu, a rookie Trainer, had the strength to contend with a Pokémon at the peak of the Master rank?

Greninja seemed to be barely hanging on and had come close to defeat several times.

But they could not forget one thing!

Scarred Charizard had been poisoned by Toxic, and his strength was steadily draining away.

"Kid, hang in there! You can win this!"

Lin Haiyuan shouted encouragement to Xu Mu.

Xu Mu had not said a word throughout the battle, but anyone could see that Greninja's performance was closely tied to him.

Sweat beaded at Xu Mu's temples as he gritted his teeth and held on.

Using Battle Bond for the first time was taking a heavy toll on him.

But he could not stop. If he gave out, Greninja would face the full force of Scarred Charizard's endless rage.

"Fight!"

"Greninja!"

Trainer and Pokémon roared together, and water instantly engulfed Greninja.

Surf!

Without a moment's hesitation, Greninja used Surf to meet Charizard's Flare Blitz head-on!

Boom!

Another deafening crash rang out!

The force of the explosion drove Scarred Charizard back several steps.

Greninja was blasted dozens of meters away as well.

He flipped gracefully through the air and landed, then leaped high again without pausing for even half a second.

Surf—again!

Scarred Charizard was just as fired up. Without a word, he launched another Flare Blitz, despite the damage it would do to him!

Boom!

They collided again and again!

Boom!

Boom!

Each time, Greninja was thrown back a shorter distance, while Scarred Charizard's strength gradually failed him.

Between the recoil from Flare Blitz, his natural weakness to Water-type attacks, and the effects of Toxic, Scarred Charizard was taking far more damage than Greninja.

Realizing he could not keep this up, Scarred Charizard let out an angry roar.

A Solar Beam suddenly shot toward Greninja.

The surprise attack gave neither Greninja nor Xu Mu time to dodge.

Fortunately, Protect activated in the nick of time.

Once again, the danger passed.

"Bastard! Fighting dirty?"

Xu Mu cursed, then immediately directed Greninja in his mind: Greninja, run circles around him!

Use the guerrilla tactics the great leader taught the people!

Advance when the enemy retreats, retreat when he advances, and strike when he tires!

With Xu Mu's help, Greninja grasped the essence of guerrilla warfare and began circling Scarred Charizard relentlessly.

He dodged Scarred Charizard's attacks time and again while harassing him with all sorts of Water-type moves!

Scarred Charizard finally had enough. He flew into the air, preparing to use Roost to recover his strength.

But how could Xu Mu let him?

"Now!"

"Greninja!"

Trainer and Pokémon shouted together!

Greninja surged skyward on a wave, heading straight for Scarred Charizard!

And in his hand, a gigantic Water Shuriken was taking shape!

Boom!

Another tremendous explosion rang out!

Smoke filled the air.

In the distance, Lin Haiyuan, Chen Qi, and Yu Hailong were so tense they scarcely dared breathe.

When the smoke cleared, Scarred Charizard and Greninja stood facing each other.

Both had reached the limits of their strength.

Neither could so much as lift a finger!

"Roar!"

Scarred Charizard let out a low growl, trying to intimidate Greninja with the force of his kingly presence.

But he had forgotten one thing.

Greninja was exhausted. Xu Mu was not!

"Damn it, you old lizard! Get down already!"

"I'm telling you, surrender now and I might forgive you. Otherwise, I'll have my Greninja move into Charizard Valley!"

"He'll charm every female Charizard there!"

"I'll make sure you stay single for the rest of your life! Don't believe me?"

"You're standing there roaring with a cuckold's horns on your head! What are you roaring for?"

"You're ugly, you're weak, and you're still acting tough? Get down already!"

Xu Mu's words were outrageous enough to leave everyone speechless.

Scarred Charizard was so furious he nearly coughed up blood.

Greninja, too, turned back in alarm!

"Greninja!"

[What horns? What female Charizards?]

[Young Master, have you got the wrong idea? I'm not interested in lizards!]

Pfft!

Scarred Charizard could not take it anymore. Greninja's words struck him right where it hurt.

He coughed up blood toward the sky and collapsed in bitter defeat.

"He won! Holy shit, he won!"

"Did you see that? The kid won! Xu Mu won!"

"Hahaha! Our genius from Fengcheng No. 1 High School won! He took down a Master-rank Pokémon!"

Yu Hailong had completely lost it. He stood there shouting wildly with the people around him.

Whatever anyone else thought, he was too excited to care!

Chen Qi dropped onto his backside, his back soaked with sweat.

"He actually won!"

Lin Haiyuan stared at Xu Mu in the distance, equally unable to believe it. He rubbed his eyes, then slowly smiled.

"That kid really pulled it off!"

Farther away, the contestants had watched the entire battle.

One girl stared at Xu Mu, her mouth hanging open. She could hardly believe what she had just seen.