After the bond evolution was completed, Pheromosa's appearance underwent a tremendous change.
Just a simple look into its eyes was enough to make Lacey's lead Pokémon, Whimsicott, tremble all over.
But Lacey didn't blame Axel in the slightest.
Everything Axel had just done, she had seen clearly and kept in her heart.
At such a crucial moment, he willingly released only two Pokémon, and one of them was even a Fairy-type's natural counter.
After being viciously threatened by her own father, he still forced himself to complete the legendary bond evolution without relying on any items.
That in itself was an unbelievable act.
Lacey was suddenly moved.
She glanced at her father in the audience, and in her eyes flashed an emotion called "rebellion. "
When she looked at Axel again, there was something different in her gaze.
"Axel, ravage me mercilessly!"
Axel froze, mouth opening and closing, completely not knowing what to say.
'Girl… I really do intend to ravage you, but isn't there something off in the middle here?'
If, after the battle was over, Lacey then said, "That felt great," Axel could still understand. It's normal for people to have different tastes.
But he hadn't even made a move yet, so why was the other side already feeling good?
"Senior, are you sure you're okay?", Axel asked with some concern, looking at Lacey.
If her mental state really had developed some strange issue, he could wait a day.
After all, with Cynthia's strength, even facing gods she wouldn't fall into danger easily.
But in Lacey's heart, Axel's words were undoubtedly an expression of care.
"Don't worry, junior, I'm fine!"
"Fight me with your full strength, winning or losing doesn't matter."
"Alright then, I won't hold back," Axel nodded, letting out a deep breath.
Although there had been some small twists in between, things had finally gotten back on track.
In that case, let the battle begin.
"Junior, be careful. My Whimsicott has the 'Prankster' ability."
"It can use status moves before anyone else, making it extremely difficult to guard against."
"Even though I really want to lose to you right now, I won't go easy on you."
"Got it…", Axel answered softly, not saying more.
He had a feeling that if he kept chatting with Lacey, some unexpected situation would definitely happen.
In that case…
"Pheromosa, use Bug Bite!"
Axel and Pheromosa were linked in heart and mind; he didn't need to speak the words out loud for Pheromosa to act as he intended.
Before Lacey could even open her mouth, Pheromosa's body had already moved.
Even in her normal state, Pheromosa's speed stat was outstanding, ranking among the top in the entire Pokémon world.
After bond evolution, Pheromosa's speed had once again received an epic boost.
Her figure was like a ghost. Almost no one in the arena could catch her movements.
When she appeared again, she was already between Whimsicott and Lacey.
A massive bug-shaped phantom appeared, viciously biting into Whimsicott's body.
The Weak Point Sniper activated, and Whimsicott immediately felt pain shooting through its vital points. Before it could react at all, it collapsed limply to the ground.
A light ring flashed across Pheromosa's body. The Beast Boost ability triggered, and her speed increased again.
One-hit KO!
"Please send out your next Pokémon, senior," Axel said with a smiling gaze at Lacey.
Everything had finally gotten back on track.
At this pace, today's Blueberry Challenge should end very quickly.
"Oh… alright!"
With Clay's divine assist earlier, Lacey's heart had already begun to see Axel as one of her own.
How could she even think of resisting him now?
She instinctively responded to Axel's words and released her second Pokémon.
It was a Primarina, the evolved form of Popplio, a Water-type Pokémon.
She had long sea-blue curly hair tied into three sections with pearl hairbands.
Standing in front of Lacey, she added a touch of enchantment to Lacey's serene aura.
Legend has it that this Pokémon can control water with its singing voice and is adept at battling through sound.
But Pheromosa's entire fighting style relied on extreme speed to evade attacks, ensuring her fragile body didn't get hurt.
The most dangerous opponent for her was one who used wide-range sound-based moves that were nearly impossible to dodge.
Axel grew more serious.
Absolutely, absolutely cannot let the opponent make a move.
"Senior, are you ready? I'm going to strike."
Lacey nodded gently.
Once again, before she could speak, Pheromosa had already moved.
An Electro Web slammed onto Primarina, temporarily robbing it of the ability to move.
The next moment, a Fighting-type energy filled with destructive aura gathered in Pheromosa's hand.
Focus Blast!
Seeing Pheromosa's starting stance, Lacey's flushed face instantly went pale.
She recognized this move.
Although its hit rate was notoriously low, its power was overwhelming to the extreme.
Judging from Axel's Bug Bite that had instantly taken down Whimsicott, even though this move was not very effective against Primarina, it was still enough to one-shot it.
"Primarina, quick, use Protect!"
"It's too late, Senior Lacey."
Axel spoke casually, while the Focus Blast in Pheromosa's hand had already shot forward with unstoppable momentum.
BOOM!
Before Primarina's Protect could fully activate, Pheromosa's Focus Blast had already slammed viciously into her body.
A ring of light rose from Pheromosa again, her ability triggered once more.
Another one-shot KO!
After two instant kills in a row, the students in the arena were all stunned.
They knew that mega-evolved Pokémon would be strong, but they had never imagined it could be this overwhelming.
Even Lacey, one of the academy's Four Heavenly Kings, was utterly crushed without a chance to fight back.
What's more, Axel was battling at a type disadvantage.
Everyone's gazes toward Pheromosa changed, becoming filled with disbelief, and even some fear.
They couldn't imagine anyone in the school who could defeat Axel's Pokémon.
"So this is what real strength is?"
"No wonder he came here with dark circles under his eyes, his eyes pale, it turns out he was working this hard."
"From the look of him, he must've been battling with Pheromosa all through the night, right?"
"If even someone like him works this hard, what excuse do we have not to?"
"Decision made, Machamp, tonight we're going out to train too!"
While the audience whispered among themselves, Lacey took a deep breath, her beautiful eyes falling on Axel.
Thanks to their reminders, she too recalled how Axel had looked when he first arrived.
He had clearly trained all night, had clearly come here with dark circles under his eyes.
But when he faced her, he still unhesitatingly sent out only two Pokémon.
Was it because he had seen her fear just now, and wanted to hold back for her sake?
If not for the harsh words her father had said earlier, Axel might already have lost by now.
And yet… he clearly wanted so badly to win.
Lacey felt she had to do something to be worthy of Axel's efforts for her.
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