At Li Yuan's signal, Huanhuan stepped onto the battlefield. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her gaze lazy and bored as she faced the Blaziken. She clearly didn't think this opponent was worth being serious about.
Blaziken caught the look of disdain and felt her blood boil. She had intended to greet her old friend properly, but seeing Huanhuan look at her like she was trash made her furious. Sure, people change, but how could she become this cold? Did their old friendship mean nothing?
Actually, Blaziken was right—Huanhuan didn't care. But the reason wasn't what most would expect. Huanhuan remembered the past, but her personality had fundamentally shifted.
As a Sprigatito, she was a pure Grass-type. Now, she was part Dark-type. It was a well-known fact that a Pokémon's typing often influenced its personality. Dark-type Pokémon were naturally more inclined toward "wicked" or arrogant traits. It wasn't that she didn't value the past; she just couldn't help being a haughty bitch now.
"Meow~ (Little Zhizhi, hurry up and move. I want to get back to my nap,)" Huanhuan yawned, beckoning the Blaziken with a casual wave of her paw.
"Charmo! (In that case, I'll just knock you out here. It'll save you the walk back!)" Blaziken snapped.
"Meow? (Oh? Since when did such a goody-two-shoes chicken become so arrogant? Please, show me how you'll make me lie down~)" Huanhuan remained completely unimpressed.
"CHARMO! (DAMN YOU! You're the one who's a chicken! Your whole family are chickens!)" Blaziken's face turned bright red with rage. What was with this Master and Pokémon? Why did they both love giving people insulting nicknames? And calling her a "little chicken"—after all the treats she had shared with the cat back in the day!
In a fit of rage, Blaziken lunged. With a powerful kick off the ground, she vanished, reappearing instantly in front of Huanhuan. A Blaze Kick, wreathed in intense, spiraling flames, aimed straight for Huanhuan's face.
Blaziken wanted to end this in one shot. She could sense that Huanhuan's raw energy was roughly on par with her own—both were around the "Elite+" rank. Huanhuan might be slightly stronger, but not by much. After all, they were the same age and Blaziken had been raised on premium nutrients.
Furthermore, Blaziken had the type advantage and her "Super Blaze" state. If she could land a clean hit before Huanhuan could react, the battle would be over. If she let the Meowscarada activate Protean and use whatever "cheat" moves the Demon King had taught her, it would be a nightmare.
Blaziken was a seasoned fighter; she had analyzed the situation in a heartbeat. But she had made one fatal mistake: she still underestimated Huanhuan.
Li Yuan possessed Aura. As the Pokémon who literally slept in his bed and shared his life, Huanhuan's Aura was perfectly synchronized with his. This meant Huanhuan also possessed the "God's Eye" perspective. In this state, everything moved in slow motion. Any sneak attack or blitz was laughable.
Huanhuan could have used a simple Protect to block the kick, but that wouldn't make her opponent submit. To truly crush someone, you have to overpower their strengths with your weaknesses.
So, faced with a Fire-type kick, Huanhuan chose to meet it head-on with a Grass-type move.
An energy dagger materialized in her hand instantly. She stepped back slightly to absorb the impact, then swung the blade horizontally to intercept the heavy kick.
The sheer force and heat of the Blaze Kick collided with the energy blade. With the Super Blaze multiplier, the heat was indeed terrifying. Combined with the type advantage, the first energy blade shattered under the strain, surprising Huanhuan for a split second.
But Huanhuan was a dual-wielder. As soon as the first dagger broke, the second one was already there to meet the strike. Having already diverted much of the momentum, the second blade easily held the kick at bay.
"Is that... Leaf Blade?" Sapphire, watching from the sidelines, was stunned. How could a Leaf Blade stop Zhizhi's Blaze Kick?
The base power of Blaze Kick was 85. With the type advantage and Super Blaze, the effective power should be at least 340, not even counting the Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB). Leaf Blade had a base power of only 90. It shouldn't be able to touch that kick!
"Who told you that was Leaf Blade?" Li Yuan rolled his eyes.
"Then what was it?" Sapphire was completely lost. Her man was mysterious, but his Pokémon were just as freakish.
"That was Solar Blade," Li Yuan said calmly.
"What?" Sapphire froze. She thought back to how the energy dagger formed. It was Solar Blade. Leaf Blade was formed from the Pokémon's internal energy, while Solar Blade required gathering solar energy, which usually had a distinct "gathering" animation.
But the move had formed so quickly she hadn't recognized it. She had never seen a Solar Blade charge that fast. And it wasn't even sunny outside! How did she gather the energy?
"But even if it's Solar Blade, it still shouldn't have stopped that kick!" Sapphire frowned. There was a secret here Li Yuan wasn't telling her. Solar Blade had 125 power—better than Leaf Blade, but still nowhere near 340.
"You didn't think Blaziken was the only one with a 'Super' ability, did you? My Huanhuan has 'Super Overgrow,'" Li Yuan said.
"But... she doesn't look like she's in an Overgrow state," Sapphire said, even more confused.
Usually, when Overgrow activated, the Pokémon's body would glow with a green light. Huanhuan looked completely normal, her fur appearing exactly as it always did.
"Heh, as they say, true power is natural. Why waste energy by letting it leak out? Haven't you noticed that my Huanhuan's fur is much more vivid than a normal Meowscarada's?" Li Yuan's lips curled into a smirk.
"You mean..." Sapphire's eyes widened as she realized what he was implying.
Huanhuan had indeed activated her Super Overgrow, but she didn't release the energy as an aura. Instead, she had internalized it, her body absorbing the raw power. She had refined the essence of the ability into her physical form. Her "base" state was now effectively always in an Overgrow state.
This was exactly like the concept of "Super Saiyan Full Power"—maintaining the transformed state as if it were the natural form to eliminate energy waste and strain.
This is cheating! Sapphire thought. How can his hacks be this broken?