Hiroshi really was no pushover.
His ace, Absol, possessed an unusual ability.
His command of the wind was second to none. Even a Flying-type Pokémon would have struggled against him.
But he had run into Xu Mu.
The blades of wind scattered. Hundreds of Spiral Water Shuriken struck Absol and sent him flying.
Seeing Greninja close in, Absol hurriedly used Protect on Hiroshi's command.
But was Protect really that simple?
There was one universal truth: under the right circumstances, certain moves could break through a Barrier!
And Greninja's Rozan Rising Dragon was one of them.
You could guess what happened next.
Greninja struck a pose, set his stance, and opened with an uppercut!
"Greninja!"
Rozan Rising Dragon!
With a fierce roar, Greninja launched himself upward and drove his fist straight into Absol's chin!
Boom!
After sending Absol flying, Greninja landed with effortless grace.
He tilted his head and gave Absol a cold, disdainful smile.
That's it?
Hiroshi was stunned!
What happened to the way this was supposed to go?
Absol was supposed to be stronger than Greninja!
So why was he getting beaten down after Greninja evolved?
"What's going on?"
Hiroshi stared at Xu Mu in disbelief. Only after a long while did he slowly lower his head.
Forget it. It was only one match.
"You're up next, Charizard!"
Charizard was Hiroshi's Starter Pokémon!
He was every bit as powerful as Absol.
And Hiroshi's Charizard had one striking feature: fiery red markings covered his body.
But wasn't a Charizard's skin naturally red?
Wrong!
Hiroshi's Charizard was a Shiny Pokémon. His skin was black!
"Pretty cool," Xu Mu said with a small smile.
"But that's all. Old Charizard, come get some practice!"
Xu Mu summoned his own Charizard and smiled calmly.
"Roar!"
Charizard roared!
*What's this? You dare stand there with