The morning sunlight pierced through the heavy cloud cover above Magic City, turning into lances of gold that stabbed through the tranquility of the Kudo family manor.
To Shiba, that light was not just the start of a new day.
It was an omen.
An omen that a brand-new power was about to bloom.
Inside the members' lounge of the "Glory Battle Club," the air was filled with a distinctive scent, a blend of high-grade perfume and Pokéblocks.
Yuko sat on a plush sofa, her beautiful eyes full of curiosity, never once leaving the custom Poké Ball at Shiba's side.
Inside that Ball slept a silver giant that had just completed its metamorphosis.
"Shiba, Metang… it really is going to be okay, right? I heard that right after evolving, a Pokémon's power can be really unstable."
Her voice carried a hint of concern.
Shiba lifted the hot drink on the table, feeling the warmth seeping through the ceramic cup wall, and the corner of his mouth curved up slightly.
"If it's unstable, that just means it needs to be tested."
His calm tone contained an unquestionable confidence.
With the privileges of a Diamond-tier member, booking one of the club's top sparring partners was nothing more than a phone call.
Shiba's target was very clear—Psychic type, peak Gym tier.
He needed a target sturdy enough to measure the absolute upper limit of Metang's psychic power.
Eguchi Kinji was exactly the one he had chosen.
The high-spec central battle stage blazed with light, illuminating the entire arena as bright as day. On the suspended spectator stands, many club members who had heard the rumor were already seated.
Kinji stood at the center of the field. He looked to be around thirty, his expression steady. The neatly pressed Trainer uniform on his body displayed his meticulous nature.
His gaze fell on Shiba on the opposite side, carrying the appraisal and scrutiny of a senior.
This kid was too young.
So young it made him doubt whether the file he'd seen was real.
"Kudo Shiba, right? I've heard of you. Champion of the rookie tournament. Very talented."
Kinji spoke, his voice even, betraying little emotion.
"But Psychic-type battles are about more than just raw power."
His eyes subtly shifted, sweeping over Shiba's overly handsome face.
"They're more about the clash of mental strength. The collision of wills. I hope you can bring me a few surprises."
On the surface, those words sounded like advice.
In truth, they were a declaration from on high.
A declaration of his absolute authority in this particular field.
"Please guide me, senpai."
Shiba dipped his head slightly, posture humble, his heart clear as still water.
Surprises?
You'll see them soon enough.
Kinji said nothing more. He raised his right hand and, with a crisp, decisive motion, threw out his Poké Ball.
"Come out, my ace—Kadabra!"
White light flashed.
A slender, sharp-eyed Kadabra appeared, floating in midair. The silver spoon in its hand was no ordinary utensil—its surface rippled with visible psychic radiance, even making the surrounding air distort slightly.
This was a powerful Pokémon scarred by countless battles. Its mental power had long since been honed to a state of pure refinement.
A low murmur rippled through the spectators. Many of them recognized this Kadabra—it was the absolute core of Kinji's rampage through Gym-tier matches.
Then it was Shiba's turn.
He didn't make any extra motions. He simply raised his hand calmly and tossed the custom Poké Ball into the air.
"Metang, I'm counting on you."
The instant the Poké Ball opened, there was no blinding white light.
Instead, the temperature in the arena plummeted!
A cold, heavy metallic aura swept across the entire field in an instant!
A massive silver-white beast crashed into reality with overwhelming pressure!
It had no legs—its huge body floated half a meter above the ground, supported by four thick metallic arms. Its entire body gleamed with a cold silver-white metallic sheen, like a war machine forged from moonlight and black steel.
Its two crimson eyes, devoid of the slightest emotion, swept indifferently across the battlefield.
"Whoa! A Shiny Metang! That looks insane!"
"Holy crap! Shiba even has a rare Pokémon like that!?"
The spectator stands erupted.
Shiny Pokémon were already one-in-a-million, and a Shiny Metang from a pseudo-legendary line was nothing short of a dream-tier prize out of myths.
Kinji's pupils shrank sharply.
A Shiny form!
Yet the shock lasted less than a second before being forcibly suppressed by his professional discipline.
The corner of his mouth hooked up in a trace of disdain he himself did not notice.
Steel/Psychic dual type, huh?
Interesting.
Steel type could indeed resist Psychic-type attacks, but that did not mean immunity. As long as the difference in mental strength was great enough, the type disadvantage could be completely erased.
And in his Kadabra's psychic power, Kinji had absolute confidence.
That was pure, tempered psychic force, forged through countless sessions of high-intensity meditation and real combat.
By contrast, this Metang—so large and heavy at a glance—screamed "physical powerhouse." How subtle, how powerful could its psychic energy really be?
At best, it was just a rare showpiece with looks but no substance.
He was confident he could crush this seemingly cumbersome opponent outright with the mental strength he was proudest of.
The referee raised his flags high.
"Battle start!"
"Kadabra, show them our true strength! Use Psybeam!"
Kinji's voice carried piercing force. He wanted to seize the initiative and use his most gorgeous, most powerful move to establish victory in one stroke.
The instant the command fell, Kadabra's eyes flared with dazzling blue light!
Terrifying psychic power surged before it, warping the air as countless twisted lights and shadows appeared out of nowhere. A prismatic Psybeam, pulsing with chaotic and destructive energy, was rapidly taking shape!
The disturbance of that power made the front-row spectators feel a pang of fear in their chests!
And then, at that exact moment—
Right in the split second before the Psybeam was fired—
Something happened.
On the opposite side, Shiba had not so much as moved his lips.
He simply stood there, calm and quiet, like a bystander watching from outside the scene.
That Shiny Metang, as if it had received some soundless command—or perhaps, acting entirely on its own will—
Its two cold red eyes suddenly exploded with psychic radiance many times more intense than Kadabra's, so dense it felt almost tangible!
It struck later, yet landed first!
Before Kadabra's Psybeam had fully formed—
An even purer, even more overbearing, even more brutally unreasonable mental force had already crossed the distance between them!
It bore no flashy color, no gaudy light-show.
It condensed into an invisible war hammer of will, impossible to dodge, which crashed down with pinpoint accuracy into Kadabra's sea of consciousness!
Psychic-type physical move—Zen Headbutt!
"Vwooom—!"
A dull, heavy shock echoed—not in the air, but directly in everyone's minds!
The confident smile on Kinji's face froze completely.
On the field, Kadabra's body went rigid.
The brilliant blue light gathered in its eyes went out in an instant, replaced by emptiness and confusion.
The nearly completed, high-powered Psybeam it had been charging, like a soap bubble poked by a needle, shattered at once into a flurry of harmless motes of light.
"Kada—…"
It let out a short, pained cry that cut off halfway.
Its eyes rolled up, losing all semblance of awareness.
That thin body, like a puppet whose strength and soul had been ripped away, dropped straight out of the air.
"Thud!"
With a dull crash, Kadabra slammed into the hard battle platform, losing its ability to fight on the spot.
One move.
It had been knocked out before its own move was even unleashed.
The noisy, boiling atmosphere in the entire Glory Battle Club was snuffed out in an instant, like a giant invisible hand had closed around it.
The whole place fell silent.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the battlefield.
At that silver-white giant still hovering calmly in midair.
It seemed to have done nothing at all—just quietly existed there—and that alone was enough to make all opponents tremble.
Those crimson eyes slowly swept across the stands, finally settling on Kinji, who had turned to stone where he stood.
That gaze was like that of a god looking down upon the mortal world.
This…
What kind of terrifying mental power was this?
This wasn't a battle.
This was, in the realm of Psychic types, a complete, absolute, reasonless, crushing domination of the mind!
(End of Chapter)
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