Level 52—Hala's ace Pokémon.
Just from numbers alone, Bai Chen and Nergigante had no chance.
But hunters—
from ancient times to now—
had always fought beasts stronger than themselves.
And Bai Chen was a hunter.
He had never once bowed to fear.
He spun his blade; emerald fire erupted along the edge.
"Nergigante," he said, his voice steady but burning with thrill.
"Let's begin our hunt."
He charged first.
"It's useless—Hariyama, Fake Out!"
Smack!
Hariyama clapped its hands together, catching Bai Chen's flaming blade between its palms.
But Bai Chen had been waiting for this.
He let go of the weapon mid-grab.
"Skill—Quick Attack!"
His left hand darted down, drawing Venom-Eater from his waist.
The black blade whistled as it carved a line across Hariyama's shoulder.
"Close Combat!" Hala commanded.
"Hunting Art—Diagonal Slash!"
Bai Chen kicked backward, twisted midair, and swept his blade in a heavy cross-cut.
Venom seeped into the muscle.
Hariyama's massive frame shuddered under the toxin.
"Now—Heavy Slam!" Hala's tone hardened.
Silver-grey light flared around the fighter's body.
"Hunting Art—Piercing Counter!"
Bai Chen sidestepped the rush, his sword flashing.
Steel met flesh—then Bai Chen pulled back, not greedy for more hits.
Hala's eyes narrowed in surprise.
"Without that armor, he's even faster than before…"
Speed—Hariyama's greatest weakness.
If Bai Chen kited him long enough, exhaustion might do the work for him.
Bai Chen widened the gap—four meters, five—then closed his eyes.
Sight abandoned.
He let his battle sense and enhanced smell guide him, danger-sense sharp as lightning.
"If he won't attack, we will! Hariyama—Chain Push!"
The beast lunged, palms blazing with force.
Each blow could crumble stone.
If any strike landed, Bai Chen would be finished.
But he moved like flowing wind, evading every strike by hair's breadth.
Each miss slammed into the ground, leaving deep prints in the stone.
Twenty-six blows.
Twenty-six perfect dodges.
And then—
something felt wrong.
"...Wait. He's not missing. He's aiming for the ground?"
Almost as if to answer his thought—
"Hariyama, use Whirlwind on the ground!"
The air exploded.
Dust shot up like a sandstorm.
All scent vanished at once.
"Now—Chain Push!"
From the storm, a massive orange hand thrust for Bai Chen's shoulder.
"Skill—Quick Attack!"
Bai Chen's twin blades flashed within the haze.
A grunt of pain echoed.
"Again! Quick Attack—chain it!"
Shff—shff—shff!
Eight strikes in the chaos—each clean, each punishing.
"Hariyama, Whirlwind again!"
A shockwave blasted through, sweeping the dust away.
Clarity returned to the battlefield.
And Hala froze.
His tactic—brilliant in theory—had backfired completely.
The dust had blinded his own Pokémon, but not Bai Chen.
From the stands, Lillie blinked in confusion.
"Mother, what happened? Why did Mr. Hala stir up all that dust?"
Lusamine sipped calmly, eyes bright with analysis.
"He must have realized Bai Chen's sense of smell was tracking his Pokémon. He tried to block it with the dust and wind combo. But what he didn't know—"
"—was that Bai Chen has more than one way to perceive his opponent."
"So… the dust storm actually gave him an opening," Lillie realized.
"Exactly," Lusamine said. Then, softly: "But don't celebrate yet. Their level gap is too wide. Even eight clean hits won't drop that Hariyama."
Indeed, Hariyama stood firm, bruised but far from beaten.
"Then how can Mr. Bai possibly win?" Lillie whispered.
Hala's brows furrowed.
He had seen enough to respect his opponent.
And so he changed strategy.
"Hariyama—keep using Chain Push! Don't stop!"
This time, Hariyama pursued Bai Chen directly.
Palm after palm, unstoppable.
Five pushes.
Ten.
Fifteen.
And still Bai Chen didn't attack.
"He's trying to exhaust me," Bai Chen thought.
From the audience, Lillie frowned.
"Is Hala trying to wear him down with stamina?"
But Lusamine only smiled faintly.
"If so, it's a poor plan. That boy trains twenty-two hours a day—his endurance borders on absurd."
Hariyama pressed on.
Twenty pushes.
Still relentless.
But then—
The giant stumbled.
A broken tile—one it had shattered earlier—caught its heel.
Its weight shifted.
A perfect, fatal imbalance.
"Now!"
That crimson line between them—taut as a bowstring—snapped straight.
"Skill—Bulk Up."
"Skill—Quick Attack."
"Hunting Art—Iai Slash!"
Shing!
Bai Chen drew.
But so did Hala.
"Detect!"
The move—akin to Protect—reads every incoming strike.
Hariyama's right hand caught the black blade.
Its left glowed pure white.
"Close Combat!"
Five strikes—six—
each one detonating like thunder.
Bai Chen was thrown back again—
But this time, he flipped midair, landing on his feet in a skid that gouged twin lines through the dirt.
Hala's eyes widened.
He was certain he'd seen it—
"He blocked it? He used Protect himself…?!"
Bai Chen had used a Pokémon skill—Protect—
and lived.
He exhaled slowly, sliding backward several meters before stopping.
Then he smiled.
"Hala, did you forget—"
"This is a double battle."
He raised his hand toward the sky.
"Nergigante—use Blade Storm!"
The black dragon roared, wings spreading wide.
Dozens of razor quills shimmered with wind and energy.
And then—
They fell like a rain of blades.
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