Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
As the opening verse was uttered, Doublade seemed to get a surge of adrenaline, its attack power climbing rapidly. It understood that Li Xiang intended to finish the opponent in a single strike.
What was the key to a one-strike finish?
The key was to completely ignore defense and go all-out on offense!
To that end, it had planned to first shatter the Protect with one strike, then land a direct hit with the second. But it never expected the opponent, after using Iron Defense, would choose to clash head-on with an attacking move.
What was the reasoning behind that?
Absolute confidence in its own defense?
Doublade didn't understand, nor did it want to. Because the moment this sword fell, it knew it had secured the win. No one could withstand its super-effective move when Li Xiang pumped it up with its favourite lines!
Smoke swirled. Doublade picked up the scabbard from the ground and slowly put it on.
Although it wasn't as tanky as it would be in its Aegislash form, it still offered some protection.
The blades themselves were quite fragile.
Behind it, Li Xiang slowly let out a breath. He had felt a sudden surge of excitement upon realizing the opponent was tough and could potentially trap Doublade.
But it wasn't entirely unexpected; testing the power of the dual Sacred Swords was part of the plan anyway.
He watched as the figure of Duraludon gradually became visible through the swirling smoke.
Without a doubt, the two slashes had taken it down instantly.
Duraludon was slumped over with its toilet lid-like rear end in the air, two sharp eyes replaced by spirals.
Although it cost double the attribute energy, the power was also doubled. It was equivalent to hitting twice in one go.
Many Pokémon could do something similar, but it was easier for Pokémon like Doublade, which could naturally separate.
A natural advantage, nothing to be done.
"This…"
The opponent looked at Doublade, then at the fainted Duraludon on the ground.
'My Stealth Rock and Tailwind are still active? But… what's the use?'
'Why didn't I dodge just now and instead chose to take it head-on Because of Iron Defense?'
He was questioning his life choices.
Only after the referee's announcement did he silently recall Duraludon and look up to ask, "How much energy does your Doublade have left?"
Li Xiang was momentarily stunned, surprised this person had the nerve to ask, but then remembered this was an exhibition match.
An exhibition match.
How you fought didn't matter; the focus was on learning something.
This person clearly wanted to know just how energy-consuming that "ultimate move" was.
"About one-third? That light cannon earlier used up too much energy."
After confirming with Doublade, he replied.
"Damn impressive."
The person gave a thumbs-up. "That move is something else. Learned something new today."
'Learned something new… Ah, right, this person is only Rank 10 in the Poké Ball tier, just starting out, probably hasn't played many matches. It's normal for him to say he learned something.'
Li Xiang waved his hand. "Let's continue."
Only one Pokémon left, and Doublade's attribute energy was almost depleted from his experimentation. It was about time to wrap things up.
The opponent nodded and released his final Pokémon.
—The Bug/Steel-type Forretress.
This guy had a rugged, uneven shell like a meteorite, with a reddish central part, hard as steel. Four cannon-like protrusions grew around it, and its eyes were two white circles in the shadows.
Overall, it resembled a Tridacna (giant clam) Pokémon.
It was quite large, mysteriously hovering in mid-air, and didn't look easy to deal with.
'A hazard setter followed by a hazard remover? You're way too predictable.'
However, this guy was another notoriously tough Pokémon, only 4x weak to Fire, with many other resistances.
Doublade could fight it, but it needed to be careful.
Li Xiang's breathing gradually slowed.
On the other side, the moment Forretress landed, it charged forward with Drill Run!
Ground-type energy transformed it into a gleaming, earthy-yellow spiral, driving relentlessly forward.
Drill Run was actually one of the few moves that, with some training, could hit airborne opponents, but the nullification of attribute energy meant that when Drill Run hit Flying-type, Levitating, or Pokémon using Magnet Rise, it only dealt impact damage without the attribute energy damage.
Therefore, it was often used against Pokémon that couldn't immune Ground-type energy but could briefly "fly," like some Ghost-type and Steel-type Pokémon.
Unfortunately, Doublade knew Magnet Rise.
So, facing the oncoming Drill Run, Doublade simply summoned Magnet Rise's electrons and, instead of retreating, advanced, actively throwing the Leaf Shield forward!
Simultaneously, both Swords Unsheathed!
Shing! Shing!
Thud!
Two crisp sounds of blades leaving their scabbards, and the sound of Forretress hitting something.
The dropped scabbard was slammed against the wall by Forretress, while the two Honedge descended upon it simultaneously!
Aerial Ace Quick-Draw Slash!
Schlick! Schlick!
The sound of blades cutting into something hard.
Forretress's vision swam, intense pain erupted from its head, and its whole body involuntarily crashed downward!
'So fast!'
It hit the ground, body swaying constantly, in immense pain, but its mind clearly replayed those two words.
'Really fast! Tailwind… Tailwind is still active! Need to find a way to counterattack!'
"Gravity!"
Forretress's eyes lit up, an invisible heavy pressure enveloped the area around the field, directly creating a no-fly zone!
Doublade, which had been hovering in the sky, clattered to the ground.
'Gravity Grounding!'
Li Xiang threw the Leaf Shield in his hand; as the trainer, he was responsible for retrieving the equipment. Doublade, now on the ground, keenly jumped up and sheathed itself.
Unlike in the games where the move just ground all Pokémon, here, Gravity grounding limited flight altitude, usually to four meters.
Below four meters, free movement was possible, but Magnet Rise, Levitate, Telekinesis, and the Ground-type immunity of Flying-types would vanish, as if affected by a special Foresight.
Pressing the altitude lower consumed more attribute energy and could easily affect one's own agility. After all, jumping was sometimes necessary.
Doublade hovered at low altitude, coldly watching its opponent.
Without a doubt, this guy was very troublesome, but it didn't mind. In fact, it already had an idea.
An idea for a one-hit KO.
"Sand Tomb!"
The opponent used another Ground-type move, clearly lacking other ways to secure victory.
From Forretress's four cannons, a continuous stream of sand poured out, forming a violent storm!
Wild sand swirled, surging toward Doublade with even more intimidating force than a Sandstorm!
The surroundings were engulfed by the roar of the storm. The attack covered a vast height, almost every inch from the no-fly zone down to the ground!
Doublade knew the opponent wanted to trap it inside, but it couldn't think of a good way to counter for the moment.
Aerial Ace Quick-Draw Slash?
It would just get sucked into the sand tornado sooner or later.
Only exposing its vulnerable true form for nothing.
'What to do? Reveal the hidden card, Phantom Force?'
'But Li Xiang said to avoid using it if possible…'
"Dummy! We practiced the windmill yesterday! Go in and let it spin you a few times!"
Li Xiang's shout was drowned out by the storm, but Doublade still heard it.
'Right! The Windmill!'
Its eyes lit up. Instead of dodging, it charged straight into the Sand Tomb!
Thud!
Sand scattered, countless grains needling Doublade's body like acupuncture.
Undoubtedly, upon entering the Sand Tomb, the storm tried to trap it inside. But in doing so, it also provided the force to throw it outward!
Enduring the physical pain, Doublade spun itself like a top within the storm and slapped itself using its own shadow!
Shadow Sneak!
Slap!
Super effective!
Doublade's two eyes trembled, clearly in even more pain, but it gained the rotational force to spin outward!
'Perfect!'
By deliberately controlling it, the direction it was flung was precisely where the large Forretress was located!
"Holy crap!"
The opponent's jaw dropped in surprise, unsure if it was his first time seeing the "I hit myself" tactic or this method of escaping Sand Tomb.
Probably the former; spinning to escape sand traps was relatively common.
"Protect!"
He shouted sharply, trying to activate the move before Doublade's attack landed!
But it was already too late!
The blades had long left their scabbards, the sound swallowed by the storm; only an empty shell was still spinning.
Two sharp longswords descended upon its head!
...
After testing, Doublade could generally win against opponents around Rank 8 in the Poké Ball tier. It only lost occasionally to a few special cases.
In terms of pure combat power....
Not great.
The dual Sacred Swords were cool, but the charge-up was too long. It only worked well against reckless fighters like the last one.
The Aerial Ace Quick-Draw Slash was fast, but it wasn't a same-type attack, so its power was truly disappointing.
Phantom Force wasn't dared to be used; it was the ultimate trump card, probably unique to this Doublade in the world. Exposing it here would definitely let people know before the Junior World Tournament.
Through Huo Li, Li Xiang learned that every club had information brokers who made a living by selling detailed data on trainers' Pokémon.
He had been at the Wintercrow Club for so long; his information had long been leaked.
His friend Song Jie even specifically called to ask how things were at the Wintercrow Club.
While saying that, it was really to remind Li Xiang not to reveal too much.
It was fine to play around, but don't treat the club as a secret base.
Only when he opened his own club someday could he truly keep his Pokémon's secrets.
Everything else, not even VIP training rooms were trustworthy.
Truly terrifying.
But terrifying as it was, Li Xiang wouldn't give up this great spot for grinding rewards. The quality of trainers here was high, making it ideal for improving his Pokémon's strength.
And so, December drew to a close.
January arrived.
There was only a little over a month left until school started.
Speaking of which, the New Year was very early this year, around mid-January, causing the start date for higher institutes to be earlier as well.
A rushed five months had passed just like that.
Li Xiang marveled at how fast time flew, realizing he had grown another year older.
Fifteen years old.
During the New Year, gazing at the fireworks outside the window, he looked forward immensely to the trip to Mist City.
"The Junior World Tournament.…"
He murmured the abbreviation that drove countless people crazy.
The "brief" vacation thus came to an end.