The moment Pei Jingguo spoke, the Pokémon beside him sprang into action.
Just like their Trainer, these Pokémon had never been afraid of a challenge!
Freshly evolved, Kingambit strode forward in several decisive steps, swiftly closing the distance between itself and Zacian.
As it approached the silently standing Zacian, its head suddenly swung violently.
The blade mounted atop its head came crashing down toward Zacian.
Clang!
The sound of blades colliding rang out.
Kingambit's vicious surprise attack was blocked without the slightest suspense.
A powerful aura was one thing, but there was no way a Legendary Pokémon's illusion could be struck so easily by Kingambit.
At the same time, however, a blazing mass of fire came roaring in from Zacian's blind spot!
Zacian's brows furrowed slightly. A metallic sheen suddenly spread across its masked head.
Rather than dodge, it raised its head without hesitation and slammed straight into the attack!
A Steel-type move—Iron Head!
Charcadet's Bitter Blade crashed into Iron Head and was immediately sent flying backward.
Even though Steel-type moves were weak to Fire-type attacks, the difference between the King of Swords, Zacian, and Charcadet was still like the gap between heaven and earth.
With such an overwhelming difference in strength, Charcadet's attack couldn't even break through Zacian's defenses!
BOOM!
Charcadet's entire body was sent crashing into the nearby forest.
Yet Zacian didn't even spare the Pokémon a glance. Instead, it silently raised its head.
The blazing sunlight above was suddenly blocked by a descending figure.
And beneath that shadow, a cold glint flashed!
Pei Jingguo came diving down headfirst, feet in the air, clutching a longsword with a simple design.
Except for one thing—
There was a single eye embedded in the hilt.
Aegislash…
had drawn its blade!
After facing attacks from two Pokémon in succession, the Legendary Pokémon's attention had inevitably been divided.
By the time Zacian looked up, it was already too late to adjust its position!
Pei Jingguo descended like a falling meteor, unbelievably fast!
He had waited until now to strike precisely because he was waiting for this one and only opening!
He had complete confidence in both Kingambit and Charcadet, and he believed neither of them was weak.
But against a Pokémon like Zacian…
There was only one chance!
Pei Jingguo poured every ounce of his strength into this decisive strike. Once the sword was unleashed, there was no stopping it.
Amid a deafening rumble, the power of Aegislash fused with the force behind his strike.
Under everyone's incredulous gazes—
The sword "passed straight through"
Zacian, cleaving the Legendary Pokémon in two!
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, Pei Jingguo's strike blasted a massive crater into the ground.
The earth around it collapsed inward, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.
..............
"P-Passed… passed through?!"
Liu Yunlan stared at the screen in utter confusion. Pointing at the television in disbelief, she exclaimed, "Did you guys see that? That Zacian… it looked like that sword went straight through it! And it even split it in half!"
"When did Pei Jingguo get this strong? He can actually cut a Legendary Pokémon in half?!"
Liu Yunlan frantically rubbed her eyes, seriously doubting what she had just seen.
That was a Legendary Pokémon!
Even if it was only an illusion, could all those previous battle scenes really have been fake?!
"And that sword in Pei Jingguo's hand—isn't that Aegislash?! Can Aegislash actually draw its blade?!"
Su Bai stroked his chin.
"Aegislash was always capable of drawing its blade…"
"Its true body is that eyeball."
"Pei Jingguo's sword was broken, so it's perfectly normal for Aegislash to fight alongside him…"
For people who didn't know much about Pokémon, seeing a scene like this could indeed seem rather strange.
But Pokémon were mysterious creatures. Ghost-type Pokémon in particular often defied common sense.
The most important part of Aegislash's entire body was actually that single eye.
As long as the eye remained unharmed, Aegislash could survive.
So there was nothing particularly strange about it drawing its blade.
In fact, in the Special series, the Team Flare scientist Celosia had once used an Aegislash with its blade drawn.
"As for what you said about it passing straight through…"
"Do you really think a Legendary Pokémon like Zacian—even if it's only an illusion—would be that easy to deal with?"
As Su Bai spoke with a hint of meaning behind his words, a majestic roar suddenly came from the television.
"Awoooo!!"
The imposing howl echoed through the scene.
And the Zacian that Liu Yunlan had mistakenly thought had been cleaved in half was already standing somewhere else.
Behind it, a full moon slowly rose into view, clearly visible even beneath the bright sunlight!
Moonlight spilled over Zacian's body, reflecting a soft glow.
In the next instant, that radiance gathered together and shot toward the place that was still shrouded in swirling dust and smoke!
"Moonblast, huh…"
Su Bai watched Zacian's movements, rubbing his chin with an amused expression.
............
BOOM!
A heavy impact erupted from within the clouds of dust.
A gigantic figure was sent flying backward like an arrow released from a bow.
Kingambit's massive body was hurled through the air by the terrifying force as if it were nothing more than a child!
The violent shockwave from the exploding Moonblast instantly swept away the surrounding dust.
Revealing the look of disbelief on Pei Jingguo's face!
"Why… why aren't you using your sword?!"
For the first time, anger appeared on Pei Jingguo's face.
He pointed Aegislash toward Zacian and shouted, "Why aren't you using your sword?!"
"I already made you move! Why the hell aren't you using your sword?!"
The instant his sword came down, Pei Jingguo had already realized that he hadn't actually struck Zacian.
That light, almost weightless sensation—
No matter how he looked at it, that couldn't possibly have been what it felt like to hit a Legendary Pokémon.
Su Bai had once mentioned when discussing Zacian that its speed was so fast that the naked eye couldn't even track it.
It could weave across the battlefield like the wind, moving as gracefully as if it were dancing.
Its slashes were so swift that its opponents could fall before they even had time to feel pain.
For a Pokémon like that, leaving behind an afterimage was hardly surprising.
The fact that Pei Jingguo had managed to catch Zacian off guard and force it back was already an incredible achievement.
But even so…
For the first time in battle, Pei Jingguo felt something he had never experienced before.
Anger.
The power of Moonblast was certainly not weak.
That much was obvious from Kingambit's current condition. Even after struggling repeatedly, it still couldn't get back on its feet.
But what truly infuriated Pei Jingguo was that the Legendary Pokémon standing before him clearly had a sword.
Yet it had chosen to fight him in this way instead!
For Pei Jingguo, whose heart was devoted entirely to the sword, this battle had already become something closer to seeking guidance from a senior swordsman.
And he simply could not accept this!
...................
"Holy crap! Pei Jingguo is pointing at a Legendary Pokémon and cursing at it!"
Wang Tao exclaimed in shock. "That's way too damn bold! I've never seen Pei Jingguo like this before!"
"Neither have I!"
Xiao Zhang, who had been watching the television without even daring to blink, clenched his fists as he stared at the screen.
"This guy is always so calm and composed whenever he fights."
"Anger… I don't think we've ever seen that emotion from him before!"
"Has his sword heart become unsettled?!"
Su Bai shook his head, looking as though he wanted to say something but couldn't quite find the words.
He didn't know much about
swordsmanship. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that he knew absolutely nothing about it.
When he first fought an S-rank Death Beast, he had to resort to a damn wrestling throw.
When it came to martial arts, Su Bai was weak—and unapologetically so.
He might not understand all that complicated stuff about swordsmanship and sword hearts.
But he understood Pokémon!
"Actually… maybe this isn't necessarily a bad thing?"
He looked at the Zacian on the screen, which seemed to have reacted to Pei Jingguo's words.
"Pei Jingguo is still a young man, after all."
"Perhaps being too calm and composed all the time means he's missing something important?"
"I think… this might be exactly what Zacian is thinking…"
As Su Bai spoke, the corners of the Zacian illusion's mouth suddenly curled upward.
Then farther.
And farther still!
That guy…
was smiling!