Chapter 701: Ending That Mistaken Secret Crush
The next day.
On the plateau.
A battle between a warrior and a mage was about to unfold.
Even Snorlax, who had just joined the Nebel Plateau, uncharacteristically maintained a high-spirited state, enthusiastically munching on berries while watching the battle.
Except for Volcanion.
She was the only Pokémon present who believed Pangoro would definitely lose.
After all...
She was also the only Pokémon who had fought against both Kazuya and Pangoro.
Others might not know the gap in strength between these two.
How could Snorlax not know?
She didn't come today to see who would win or lose; she came to see how Kazuya planned to deal with Pangoro.
If he could kick that Pangoro fiercely, that would be great.
Snorlax believed that after seeing that scene, she would definitely have a good sleep today.
The battle was imminent.
Pangoro raised his hand.
Meaning for Kazuya to make the first move.
Kazuya didn't hold back either, throwing out two Aura Spheres right off the bat.
Normally.
He wouldn't open with this kind of ranged move.
Because it was too easy to dodge.
Any Pokémon with even slightly faster speed.
Could easily dodge it.
If speed wasn't fast enough, moves like Quick Attack or Agility could be used to assist in dodging.
In short, it wasn't very cost-effective.
But this trick could be used against Pangoro.
The speed of their species wasn't much faster than Snorlax's, it's just that the former was a heavy warrior and the latter was a straight-up tank.
Moreover.
Unlike Snorlax, who had various defensive moves.
Pangoros were a species born for battle. Not to mention no one taught them; even if someone did, they wouldn't learn any defensive moves.
Their move pool could be described in a few simple words—Combat, exhilarating!
"Ra-da!"
Facing the incoming two Aura Spheres.
Pangoro had no intention of dodging.
Seemingly to show off his manliness, he directly threw two Bullet Punches, actually forcefully shattering the Aura Spheres.
The spectating Pokémon couldn't help but exclaim, all intimidated by Pangoro's move.
Only Kazuya smiled and shook his head.
Only he knew.
Pangoro must be feeling very uncomfortable right now.
Countering a move with a move isn't impossible; using an attack for defense is also a tactical skill when facing an unavoidable move.
But facing a move like Aura Sphere, Pangoro shouldn't have tanked it with his body.
Because...
Pangoro is doubly weak to Fighting.
And.
Quadruply weak to Fairy.
Kazuya's Aura Sphere, under the effect of the [Black Belt], already had its base power boosted by 20%, and then with the type advantage, the power was doubled.
With a mere Steel-type Bullet Punch, how could Pangoro offset the damage of the Aura Sphere?
Kazuya's eyes narrowed.
He could even see Pangoro's fists trembling secretly.
"Ra-da!!"
Pangoro roared loudly to boost morale, taking heavy steps and charging towards Kazuya.
Kazuya pursed his lips.
Pink light suddenly bloomed from his body.
Dazzling Gleam!
The blinding intense light made Pangoro lose his vision for a moment, and he bent over in pain, covering his eyes.
Seeing this scene from the sidelines, Snorlax couldn't help but grin.
She had already imagined what would happen next.
She saw Kazuya conjure a golden Rasengan in his hand, then hurl it towards Pangoro.
A flash of golden light.
Pangoro was immediately sent flying backward.
Before he could land.
Kazuya's figure had already appeared below his landing spot, raising a hand and pushing upwards.
Vacuum Wave.
Boom!
An invisible shockwave blasted outwards.
Pangoro was sent flying even higher.
With this move finished.
Kazuya turned and walked away, his long dress fluttering in the wind, looking incredibly elegant.
Bang!
Pangoro crashed heavily onto the ground.
Completely losing his ability to battle.
From the very beginning, this was a battle with no suspense.
Any creature with some understanding of Kazuya's strength knew he couldn't possibly lose this match.
Setting aside the fact that Kazuya had the Dread Plate, granting him immunity to Dark-type moves.
And that he himself was a Fighting Grandmaster, highly adept at dealing with Fighting-type Pokémon.
Just consider this.
Pangoro lacked speed, was completely crushed in terms of type matchup, and the level difference wasn't significant enough.
How could he win?
Moreover.
This was without factoring in Pangoro's lack of resistance towards Kazuya.
If Kazuya really wanted to use cheap tricks to defeat Pangoro.
A Double Team followed by a Draining Kiss would suffice.
He was certain.
Facing his Draining Kiss.
Not only would Pangoro not dodge, but he might even lean in to take it directly, pulling off some "100% catch-the-flying-kiss barehanded" stunt.
But saying all that was meaningless now.
Everything was over.
Pangoro is a Pokémon that keeps promises and values honor.
Since he said he wouldn't pester Kazuya anymore after losing.
Then he would definitely do it.
This mistaken journey of a secret crush was time to come to an end.
In the afternoon.
Pangoro woke up.
He lay on the soft grass, staring blankly at the sky for a long time.
For a moment.
He actually didn't know what the meaning of his hard training over the past few months was.
Thud.
A bamboo shoot was tossed beside him.
Pangoro blankly turned his head to look.
Only to see that Snorlax sitting beside him, munching on bamboo shoots.
"Ra-da?"
Why are you even eating bamboo shoots?
Pangoro sat up, grabbed the bamboo shoot beside him, and threw it into his mouth to eat raw.
"Snorlax?"
Can't I eat them?
Snorlax turned her head and looked at Pangoro in confusion.
Everything could be on a Snorlax's menu.
Even the poison on a Muk's body was just seasoning to a Snorlax's tongue.
"Ra-da."
Pangoro didn't really pay attention to her.
He turned his head and looked around, searching for a certain beautiful and moving silhouette.
"Snorlax?"
Snorlax looked at him with a smile, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
"Ra-da."
Pangoro shook his head.
Since he had made a promise, he had to keep it properly.
However.
The figure in his mind wasn't that easy to forget.
It did feel a bit different, though.
Yeah.
A feeling.
Deep down, what Pangoro liked was that tiny little Ralts.
Although the current Gardevoir was also exceptionally beautiful and elegant, and his charm was even many notches above before.
But that heart-throbbing feeling was indeed much weaker, the obsession of "it has to be him" was gone.
Pangoro didn't understand the concept of a "white moonlight" (an unattainable first love/ideal).
But when he truly let go of it all.
He felt it was seemingly easier to accept than he imagined.
His mistaken first love seemed to have gradually come to an end the moment that tiny Pokémon evolved.
"Snorlax!"
Snorlax stood up from the ground.
Her food was almost gone, but she wasn't quite full yet.
She was going to the forest to find food.
Snorlax turned to look at Pangoro beside her and reached out her hand, meaning to invite Pangoro to go together.
Pangoro accepted the invitation.
The two four-meter-tall behemoths walked together.
Even in the Allearth Forest, full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, there probably weren't many Pokémon who dared to cause them trouble.
As for Kazuya right now.
He was training in the Allearth Forest.
Watching him fight one Pokémon after another, simply like a tireless machine, Volcanion couldn't help but feel admiration: "Why are you in such a hurry to get stronger? Aren't you tired of fighting others? Doesn't it hurt?"
Volcanion's gaze fell on Kazuya.
The pure white dress also had times when it was stained with mud and blood.
Even Kazuya, occasionally fighting one against many, would inevitably get hurt.
"Didn't I tell you before? The three-way war between the human kingdoms will inevitably affect the Allearth Forest."
"The Nebel Plateau is located deep within the Allearth Forest. It might not be directly affected, but indirect effects are probably unavoidable."
"The number of Pokémon wandering into the Nebel Plateau has been increasing lately, haven't you noticed?"
"Being a bit stronger myself will allow us to be better prepared for sudden situations."
"I have a premonition that something big is about to happen."
Kazuya shook his head, his brows tightly furrowed.
Ever since training his Psychic power.
His intuition seemed to have been upgraded; he was more or less aware of impending events.
Even though he hadn't developed "Future Sight" yet in this life.
Kazuya trusted his intuition.
In this Kalos region.
A major event was bound to happen recently.
As for what kind of major event, he couldn't say for sure.
Kazuya kept feeling his brain was missing some major event, but he couldn't recall it, so he had to train himself first to accelerate his strengthening.
"Making more preparations in advance for impending major events is called 'taking precautions'. Learn from it."
Kazuya reached out and patted Volcanion's head.
Having just finished a battle.
He was drenched in sweat right now.
But he didn't know if it was an illusion.
His sweat seemed to smell fragrant.
"Taking precautions? What nonsense. By the way, should I also train hard for a bit?"
Volcanion pushed Kazuya's hand away with His head in disgust, then asked.
"You? Forget it. In this Allearth Forest, there probably isn't a single Pokémon that can be your opponent. Fighting those weaklings won't bring you any improvement."
Kazuya shook his head.
Advising Volcanion not to waste His time.
In this Magical Beast Era.
The strength of wild Pokémon couldn't match the ancient era, and the frequency of battles and finding opponents couldn't match the League Era.
It happened to be in a very awkward middle ground.
For Volcanion to improve at this level was extremely difficult.
Unless He went into the ocean.
There would definitely be no shortage of opponents there.
"Oh."
Volcanion wasn't disappointed after hearing this.
Instead, He was quite happy inside.
He could continue to slack off openly and honorably.
See.
It's not that I'm not training hard.
It's that I can't find an opponent!
Invincibility.
Is so lonely.
While Kazuya focused on training and Volcanion acted as his bodyguard accompanying him.
Two groups of troops from the Azoth Kingdom and the other two countries.
Actually brought their battlefield deep into the Allearth Forest.
Although this battle ended very quickly.
However.
At the bottom of a certain lake in the Allearth Forest.
A giant cocoon resembling a heart was stimulated by the commotion of this war and the aura of death permeating the earth, and beat once.
He seemed to be a bit angry.
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