I'll Teach You a Lesson

"Greninja, Water Shuriken!"

Now that the battle had begun, Xu Mu held nothing back and gave the order.

Raichu might have looked stronger than Greninja, but appearances were deceiving!

Before tactical master Xu Mu, there were ten thousand ways to beat this Raichu without taking a scratch...

All right, ten thousand was an exaggeration.

Using the flying Water Shuriken as cover, Greninja closed in on Raichu at high speed.

Before anyone could react, a Night Slash struck Raichu in the back.

"Raichu, Iron Tail!"

Master Dongfeng had never expected Xu Mu to have the strength of an Elite Four trainer. He froze on the spot!

By the time he ordered Raichu to counterattack, he had no idea Xu Mu had already anticipated it.

In short, I predicted your prediction.

"Extrasensory! Hold him there, then hit him with Dark Pulse!"

Greninja reacted swiftly. Before Raichu's Iron Tail could land, he used Extrasensory to pin Raichu in place.

Then a Dark Pulse struck Raichu head-on!

"Not enough! Hit him with Water Pulse, then follow up with Aerial Ace!"

Greninja's attacks never paused.

The moment Xu Mu gave an order, he acted. Every command was carried out without hesitation!

In the blink of an eye, another combination landed, leaving Raichu completely dazed.

Water Pulse obscured Raichu's vision just as he tried to fight back. Then Aerial Ace struck a vital spot, compounding his injuries.

Raichu went down.

"Master Dongfeng, is that all?"

Seeing Raichu knocked out in seconds, Xu Mu smiled and shot Master Dongfeng a mocking look.

Master Dongfeng had not expected his Raichu to be beaten without landing a single hit.

His side had held the advantage in strength!

"Damn it, kid. You've made me angry!"

"I'm getting serious now. You're dead! Even if you apologize, I won't forgive you!"

After that threat, he recalled Raichu and sent out another Pokémon.

"Pidgeot, go!"

A Pidgeot at the peak of the Elite Four level!

Xu Mu's gaze sharpened when he saw Pidgeot's imposing entrance.

This would be a tough fight, but not an impossible one.

"Greninja, leap!"

"Pidgeot, follow with Aerial Ace, then use Air Slash!"

Master Dongfeng was a Master Class trainer, after all. Raichu had lost because he had underestimated Xu Mu.

Now that he was taking the battle seriously, the man showed some skill.

Greninja saw Pidgeot flash behind him like lightning, yet he showed no sign of panic.

Xu Mu had not given his next command.

"How naive. Did you think I made Greninja leap just to attack you?"

Xu Mu gave a cold laugh.

It was hard for a Pokémon to dodge attacks while airborne.

And since Greninja could not fly, he had to jump high to reach Pidgeot.

Many novice trainers made that mistake. They had their Pokémon jump to attack Flying-type opponents, forgot how vulnerable that left them, and gave their opponents an opening to counterattack.

Clearly, Master Dongfeng thought Greninja had leaped for a simple close-range attack.

Believing he had spotted Xu Mu's mistake, he felt a surge of smug satisfaction.

In reality, Xu Mu had already laid his trap.

"Greninja, use Aerial Ace too! Then ride Pidgeot!"

Though at a disadvantage in midair, Greninja abruptly doubled back and appeared above Pidgeot!

Gravity then carried him down onto Pidgeot's back.

With one hand he grabbed Pidgeot's head, and with the other he clutched his feathers.

Greninja had unlocked a new achievement: frog jockey!

"Shake him off! Use Gust!"

Master Dongfeng panicked. He had never expected Xu Mu to predict his prediction. In this clash of tactics, he had barely taken the first step while Xu Mu was in the stratosphere.

Gust required a Pokémon to beat his wings repeatedly. Pidgeot seized the chance to try to throw Greninja off.

"We've come this far. Do I still need to tell you what to do?"

Unfazed by Pidgeot's struggle, Xu Mu ordered Greninja to attack.

"Gren!"

[No need. I understand!]

After answering Xu Mu, Greninja showed no mercy.

Clinging firmly to Pidgeot's back, Greninja unleashed a relentless assault.

Water Shuriken, one after another.

No matter what flying maneuvers Pidgeot tried, Greninja used his incredible flexibility to stay plastered to his back, head down and attacking.

In less than three minutes, Pidgeot was finished.

He plummeted from the sky.

Greninja landed smoothly and gave the bright red scarf around his neck a proud flick.

That scarf was his tongue.

"Cheap tricks!"

Though Master Dongfeng was panicking inside, he refused to admit it.

After taking a jab at Xu Mu, he recalled Pidgeot and sent out his next Pokémon to be knocked out...

"Venusaur!"

An Early Master Venusaur!

"Venu!"

Upon entering the field, Venusaur had no idea how much danger he was in.

With a loud cry, he looked at the little figure ahead of him—Greninja.

"Venusaur, Sunny Day!"

Now more cautious, Master Dongfeng chose to use Sunny Day first.

The already pleasant weather grew stiflingly hot, and the sun seemed to shine even brighter under the move's effect.

"Work Up, then Double Team!"

So far, Xu Mu had revealed neither ninjutsu nor Battle Bond. He had let Greninja fight with his own strength.

The main reason was that Master Dongfeng still had three Pokémon after this one—four counting Venusaur.

If Xu Mu revealed his trump cards now, Master Dongfeng would be prepared for them later, making the remaining battles much harder.

"Energy Ball!"

"Water Pulse!"

The moment Venusaur finished using Sunny Day, Greninja completed Work Up.

Xu Mu and Master Dongfeng gave their attack orders almost simultaneously!

Boom!

A tremendous explosion rang out.

The Grass-type power of Energy Ball collided with the Water-type power of Water Pulse.

Greninja had boosted both his physical and special attacks with Work Up.

But Sunny Day was active, weakening Water-type moves.

Sure enough, when the moves collided, Energy Ball smashed through Water Pulse and hurtled toward Greninja, still carrying plenty of force.

"Dodge it! Extrasensory!"

Seeing Greninja's move broken through, Xu Mu hurriedly gave the order.

Greninja sidestepped Energy Ball, then struck back with Extrasensory, dealing tremendous damage.

Psychic-type moves were strong against Poison-types. Greninja's blow hit Venusaur hard.

"Not enough! Keep him busy with Water Shuriken, then close in and hit him with Ice Beam at point-blank range!"

As he spoke, Xu Mu cast Master Dongfeng a disdainful glance.

They'll let anyone call themselves a master these days. Never mind. I'm a generous man, so I'll do a good deed and teach you a lesson myself!