Gongping's words grated on Yin's ears, making him lose even more face. His gaze grew fiercer. "Feraligatr, use Water Gun to catch Piloswine!"
Feraligatr spat out a Water Gun. Though Piloswine looked rather dim, it reacted quickly, deftly vanishing into the snow whenever the Water Gun landed. But the stream from Feraligatr's mouth did not stop when Piloswine disappeared. Instead, it swept toward wherever Piloswine reappeared.
After several exchanges that resembled hide-and-seek, Feraligatr gradually got a grasp on where Piloswine would reappear. Increasingly taking the initiative, it began posing a certain threat to Gongping's Piloswine.
Yin's Feraligatr had been raised fairly well. Even after taking a Freeze-Dry, it could still suppress the bitter cold inside its body and produce a reasonably threatening Water Gun. This fellow did have some potential.
Facing another fierce Water Gun, Piloswine finally grew serious. Rather than dodging again, it met the attack head-on and breathed out another Freeze-Dry.
Under the blast of dry, cold air, the Water Gun froze solid. Feraligatr did not seem to stop its assault. Instead, it seized the opportunity to charge forward and bite at Piloswine.
With a boom, Piloswine spun rapidly, whipping up the lingering force of Freeze-Dry. Countless flakes of Powder Snow swirled around its body, blocking Feraligatr's advance. The moment Feraligatr touched the Powder Snow, the damage it had taken from Freeze-Dry earlier made its face turn blue again, though its face had already been quite blue to begin with.
While Feraligatr grimaced, all the hair on Gongping's Piloswine stood on end, and its eyes shone with an increasingly proud fighting spirit. Activating its Snow Cloak Ability, it vanished into the ice and snow once more without leaving a trace. Only the whooshing sound of falling snow could be heard.
"Piloswine, use Hail with Freeze-Dry again."
"Quick, dodge it, Feraligatr!"
Looking up, they saw great quantities of snowflakes swelling in the sky before finally pouring down in a torrent. Like an avalanche on a snowy mountain, silver-white particles filled the air and came crashing down under Piloswine's control, all of them slamming into Feraligatr.
Compared with the first Hail, the second was far more imposing. Feraligatr was swept up on the spot and driven into the ground. Freeze-Dry combined with Blizzard left its entire body completely frozen for a time.
Badly injured, Feraligatr was encased in ice, looking as though it truly could no longer battle. Just as Piloswine was about to turn its attention back and leap toward Gongping for some affection, Yin suddenly shouted, "It's not over yet! Feraligatr, use Aqua Tail!"
Pale blue light enveloped Feraligatr. Taking advantage of Piloswine's inattention at that final moment, Feraligatr had fired a Water Gun to form a thin film around itself, keeping out the freezing air. Water now erupted from its entire body, rapidly melting the ice. A massive surge of water enveloped Feraligatr, and it lunged fiercely at Piloswine.
Its Torrent Ability erupted, accompanying an assault like towering, raging waves. Gongping looked up at Yin, who was grinning deviously. "Piloswine, use Ice Shard."
Just as the attack was about to hit Piloswine, a six-pointed snowflake appeared out of thin air. At the critical moment when the water rushed in, six-pointed snowflakes blossomed all around and exploded against Feraligatr one after another.
The priority move Ice Shard was highly effective as a surprise attack, capable of blasting an opponent away before it could strike first. Amid a succession of booming explosions, Feraligatr let out a cry of pain. Unable to withstand the exploding snowflakes, it finally lost the ability to battle.
Though Feraligatr had unleashed its Torrent Ability, its scant remaining stamina was its most fatal weakness. Just one ordinary priority Ice Shard had successfully crushed Yin's final chance to counterattack.
On the surface, this battle had been a back-and-forth exchange. In reality, Gongping had been using Piloswine as a sparring partner to see how much potential Yin could unleash under these circumstances.
"Who exactly are you? You don't seem like an ordinary old guy."
Recalling Feraligatr, Yin finally took a serious look at the unremarkable-looking older man before him. Gongping raised an eyebrow and was just about to speak when Yin strode over, picked up the test papers from the ground, and walked away coldly.
"I'll attend the opening ceremony. But when I beat you then, I'll trouble you to let me graduate early."
"No problem. But if you don't have enough credits, you'll only get a certificate of completion, not a graduation certificate."
After Yin left, Giovanni called again. Only after learning that neither of them had come to any harm did Giovanni breathe a sigh of relief. "Sorry. I never kept this boy by my side, so he's a little rebellious."
"Since I've accepted your sponsorship, I'll put my heart into teaching him properly. If he has any academic problems in the future, I'll arrange some additional coaching for him."
Besides the regular courses I set up earlier, I'll have to add some politics classes so these children can develop morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and through labor. They need more education in sound thinking and moral character, instead of calling me an old guy all day long.
Leaving aside Gongping's busy schedule, the Indigo League finally drew to a close after more than a week of competition. A gifted young female Trainer from the Hoenn Region had swept through her rivals with overwhelming force, taking first place in this season's Kanto Region competition.
Under the Indigo League's rules, the winner had the right to challenge any one King or the Champion Leader as the tournament's closing battle.
Generally, the winners of these Regional Conferences would challenge the Champion Leader in a three-on-three format. Thus, at the venue, the Dragon-type King Lance was already walking toward the podium with a smile.
"Lu, whom would you like to challenge next?"
The little girl named Lu had long, straight black hair and an indifferent gaze, as though everything around her had nothing to do with her. Something in her bearing resembled Gongping from the previous season.
In terms of fighting style, the girl was famous for her ruthless, decisive attacks. Her Venusaur had even beaten Ash's formidable rival Hiroshi's Pikachu until its head was bloodied, making the battle almost unbearable to watch for a time.
Some even considered this girl more ferocious. After all, Gongping still showed a gentle side when caring for Pokémon. Judging by her matches, however, this Lu was simply a bloodthirsty female monster.
"I want to challenge Sandstorm King Gongping."
Lu spoke coldly. She had entered the Kanto Region tournament this time precisely for that bastard who had framed her big sister Rosa. She would utterly defeat him on this stage and avenge her big sister Rosa.
The girl's words plunged the venue into silence.
The host was a little embarrassed and did not know how to respond. Lu turned her dark gaze toward him. "Is that not allowed?"
Lance, who had already come up, helped the host out of his predicament. "It's not that it isn't allowed. It's just that King Gongping is still attending to business on Cinnabar Island."
"That's fine. I'll wait here for him."
With no room left for discussion, the entire venue was caught in an extremely awkward situation. No one had expected the regional champion to bypass Champion Leader Lance and challenge Gongping directly.
Lance, who was already onstage, could neither advance nor retreat. After a brief silence, the audience burst into enthusiastic cheers.
"We support Lu!"
"Go, Lu! We're behind you!"
"What a cute little girl! You can't lose!"
Cuteness reigned supreme. In their eyes, Gongping's fighting was brutal, while Lu's fighting was frank and sincere.
"What the heck? This girl really rubs me the wrong way."
In the stands, Misty held Togepi and grumbled in displeasure. From the bottom of her heart, she disliked this girl's attitude toward Gongping.
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