Chapter 536: Probably
Meanwhile, far away in the Kubfu Alliance, in a typical university dorm room.
One student was glued to his computer, watching a livestream.
His roommate walked in. "Yo, Wei, still watching the desert livestreams? But most of our famous Kubfu players probably haven't even gotten off the plane yet, right? Watching a bunch of nobodies isn't that interesting."
The student called Wei kept his eyes on his laptop screen, replying in a faint voice without turning his head.
"Actually, there is someone I recognize. Probably..."
The roommate paused. "What do you mean, 'probably'?"
Wei hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's just... I'm not entirely sure if he's the person I think he is anymore."
The roommate was confused by his cryptic words. "What are you even talking about? Don't all pro players have Super Accounts in this event? How could you mistake them?"
The roommate stomped over to take a look.
"Whoa, isn't that Arthur?! He finally showed up! I was just talking to someone about how weird it was that there was no news of him even after the official commendation. I wondered if some rich lady had picked him up.
"Holy crap! Who is he fighting? So reckless? Charging in person?"
Due to the slight delay in the satellite livestream signal, they were just now seeing Arthur leave Mismagius and Greninja to guard the defeated Tauros while he charged alone toward the distant Sirfetch'd!
Leaving his Pokémon behind was to prevent the opponent from recalling Tauros. Or at least to stall until Haze removed all of Tauros's stat buffs before letting the opponent recall it.
In real combat, recalled Pokémon could be healed and given potions. As long as they weren't comatose or near death, they could recover quickly.
Just like Little Eevee, who had taken a heavy hit from Tauros's Rock Slide but was now recovering with Synthesis.
Of course, there was a permanent solution: kill the Tauros. But in this first battle, Arthur wasn't familiar with the current situation in the desert, so he chose not to kill immediately. Otherwise, that strike would have been with a sword, not a fist.
However, for this charge, he did summon his sword.
The Sirfetch'd he was facing didn't have a convenient weak point like Tauros. He had to break through head-on, and his fists probably wouldn't be enough.
In the dorm room back in the Kubfu Alliance, the roommate was shouting excitedly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's Doublade! I remember this Pokémon! Even though Arthur never uses it in official matches, it's always on his roster for the Captain's Match. I remember seeing it fight in the All-Star game last year. It evolved from that... 'Evil Sword' Honedge.
"If you ask me, all that talk about the 'Evil Sword' was ridiculous. It was just a Honedge. Fans blew it way out of proportion.
"Huh? Why is Arthur reaching for the hilt? Holy crap! I heard that Pokémon in the Honedge line drain the life force of anyone who grabs their hilt!
"F*ck! Wait a minute, what is he doing?! That's impossible, right? It's not what I think it is, is it? The 'Evil Sword' thing was just a joke, right? He couldn't possibly—"
But in the next second, before the roommate could finish his rapid-fire commentary, on the screen, Arthur had already charged right up to the opposing Sirfetch'd!
The Braviary Sirfetch'd had been riding was currently pinned down by Specter's Shadow Tag, unable to fly high. To dodge Specter's relentless attacks and allow Braviary to fight freely, Sirfetch'd had been forced to jump off its mount.
And right at that moment—
Arthur sprinted up to it!
Sirfetch'd's nerves were tighter than ever before!
Foresight hadn't worked, but it couldn't jump to the conclusion that this was just a human. After all, the glimpse it had caught earlier was too shocking, shaking its worldview to the core.
Its master's command hadn't come yet—because Anderson was frantically trying to recall his Tauros, but the recall beam was repeatedly blocked by Greninja and Mismagius using their bodies.
While Poké Ball recall was magical in real combat and had a high strategic ceiling, it had a flaw: the beam couldn't curve. Facing an opponent determined to block him with Haze and body-blocking, Anderson couldn't retrieve his Tauros. He was sweating buckets.
Helpless, Sirfetch'd had to rely on its own judgment.
Just treat it like facing a top-tier Machamp buffed with Bulk Up, Sirfetch'd told itself.
Against such an opponent, there was only one chance. So—
Signature Move Activate: Meteor Assault!
It didn't hesitate to use the Fighting-type signature move only Sirfetch'd could learn! Gathering all its strength, it charged fearlessly like a knight, its assault thundering like a meteor!
However, after the burst, it would suffer from exhaustion and a long recovery period.
This was an ultimate move with power and drawbacks comparable to Hyper Beam!
Normally, a Sirfetch'd would execute this move by pointing its lance forward and charging. A point of cold light arrives first, then the lance strikes like a dragon! This maximized the damage output!
But this time, out of caution and respect for Arthur, Sirfetch'd was prudent enough to retract its leek lance and instead thrust its leek shield forward, using it as the point of impact for the charge!
It didn't even dare to use its lance against Arthur, opting for a shield bash instead! To maximize its own safety.
It was so cautious!
Yet, it couldn't change the inevitable outcome.
Arthur calmly gave the order at the last moment. "Little Lapras, use Helping Hand on Doublade! Doublade, use Sacred Sword!"
Even facing a signature ultimate move, Arthur chose to meet it head-on without fear!
He widened his stance into a lunge, lowering his center of gravity to avoid being knocked over by the momentum. He took a deep breath, filling his chest, then with a shout, he swung his sword as he exhaled!!
Thousands of miles away in the Kubfu dorm, even with the low resolution and the noise of the wind and sand, the sword strike on the screen delivered an unparalleled shock to the two students!
The roommate, who had been ranting non-stop, suddenly fell silent, unable to speak for a long time.
BOOM!
After the strike, the light faded, the wind stopped, and the explosive energy wave kicked up sand several meters into the air!
And amidst the flying dust, two pieces of a shattered leek shield flew up into the sky...
In the dorm room, the roommate gulped loudly, forcing out the words, "Is... is that really the Arthur we know?"
Wei replied faintly, "That's why I said at the beginning: probably..."
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