Shuppet had truly collapsed on the ground like a discarded rag, its incorporeal body drifting gently in the breeze.
"Hmph!" Kalami recalled Shuppet with a cold snort, then turned to leave.
Seething with anger, she ignored Bruce and the others taking part in the matches, shoving straight through the crowd to leave. In the end, though, she stopped and turned to stand by the entrance. She wanted to watch Xiao Ran's next battles and see just how strong he was.
Xiao Ran knew nothing of Kalami's actions. Waves of weakness kept washing through his body, and he desperately needed rest, but he still had to grit his teeth and keep fighting.
The Moon Flute was simply too important. Did its appearance at a time like this mean that the opening of the Ultra Wormhole had truly begun?
Lost in thought, Xiao Ran did not even notice that a tall Black man had stepped up opposite him. The man was leering at Xiao Ran and Gardevoir—clearly, he was not picky about whom he lusted after.
"Machooo!" Only when a roar rang out did Xiao Ran snap back to the present. Looking up, he saw a muscular Machoke standing before him, waving its arms to show off its muscles.
"Machoke?" Xiao Ran paused, then chuckled softly. "An interesting choice!"
A Fighting-type against Gardevoir? What on earth was going through this guy's head? As a Psychic- and Fairy-type, Gardevoir took only a quarter of the damage from Fighting-type moves. Even if Gardevoir stood still and fought at close range, Machoke might not win. Yet the opposing Pokémon Trainer excitedly sent Machoke charging forward.
"Machoke! Focus Energy, then use Low Sweep!" The Black Pokémon Trainer gave perfectly standard commands, but Xiao Ran really could not be bothered to waste time on him.
"Confusion. Just