“That was… aura?” Lorelei’s red hair fluttered in the wind as she glanced in surprise at Bruno beside her.
Bruno nodded solemnly, eyes filled with admiration.
Unlike his own preference for close-range straight punches, Lu Ye, as a Fighting-type Trainer, specialized in long-range aura strikes.
This, too, was the difference between physical and special moves in the Fighting-type category.
Bruno murmured, “I just didn’t expect… that he’d train Squirtle’s Aura Sphere to this level…”
The blast subsided, and silence fell over the battlefield. A long pause later, the referee’s whistle finally sounded.
“Mienshao is unable to battle!” “Contestants, please send out your next Pokémon!”
The crowd suddenly stirred.
“I didn’t even see what happened… how was that an instant KO?” “That Aura Sphere… probably blasted Mienshao’s stomach out, huh…” “He’s really got a knack for fighting female Pokémon.”
Lu Ye’s expression was complicated.
Was that just now… the “Obliterating Mega Aura Sphere”?
That wasn’t Squirtle. That was straight-up Mega Turtle.
“Seriously though…” Lu Ye muttered,
“Who opens a match with their super ultimate move?”
You already charged your energy bar before the match even started?!
This turtle… too damn steady!
Brawly wiped sweat from his brow. Even though he got KO’d in one round, he didn’t lose heart.
To a fighter, this kind of suffocating intensity in a clash with a strong foe was the ultimate motivation!
“Charge forward—Machamp!”
He threw a Premier Ball.
“Unleash the tidal wave—use Dynamic Punch!”
In the guest stands, Lorelei smiled.
“Your junior’s got guts.”
“The spirit of a fighter is to charge ahead, no matter what.”
Bruno crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, a memory flashing in his mind—sparring with Red atop an Onix’s back.
Bruno felt a surge of long-lost excitement.
“I kind of… want to fight him myself!”
Machamp lunged forward, all four fists radiating a white-hot glow!
Bea’s breath caught in her throat. Even my own Machamp wouldn’t match this one.
Master… Bea looked anxiously toward the field.
If Dynamic Punch landed, it could throw Squirtle into confusion! A nightmare!
“Raargh!!” Muscles bulging, Machamp roared as all four fists punched out at once!
Lu Ye frowned. “Withdraw into your shell!”
With terrifying power, Machamp’s punch slammed Squirtle backward, carving a trench across the battlefield.
“Why didn’t you dodge?!” Brawly shouted.
“I could have,” Lu Ye said coldly. “But there’s no need!”
Squirtle, having taken a serious hit, bared its teeth, a cold glint flashing in its eyes.
Now was the time—Torrent was activated!
Snowflakes drifted down, instantly melting in the aura’s heat.
“Rocket Headbutt!” Lu Ye ordered.
Brawly froze for a second.
That shell withdrawal earlier— wasn’t just for defense, but to set up Rocket Headbutt!
Squirtle wasn’t confused at all— BOOM! Like a missile launching, it shot toward Machamp!
“Machamp—Seismic Toss!” Brawly shouted.
The two Pokémon collided mid-air.
Machamp roared, gripping the shell tightly with two powerful arms.
Squirtle popped its head out—Thunk!—smacking Machamp right in the forehead.
“Use Focus Punch!” Lu Ye commanded.
While not as strong as Squirtle’s usual special attacks, at close range, this was the best choice!
Squirtle’s eyes sharpened. Its fist lit up with a fierce white glow.
Brawly shouted as well, “Machamp, Focus Punch!”
The two clashed in a furious close-range exchange, creating shockwaves in the air.
Squirtle blocked Machamp’s incoming punch with its left hand, sidestepped, and let the other two Karate Chops fall harmlessly on its shell.
Then—wham!—its right fist smashed Machamp’s punch aside and struck it square in the abdomen!
A tremendous force ripped through Machamp’s core.
Its body bent backward, then choked violently— and was sent flying!
It hit the ground hard, cracks spiderwebbing across the arena.
Brawly wiped his brow—then let out a relieved smile.
The referee’s whistle blew. The crowd roared with excitement.
“Uppercut!!” “Even a Fighting Gym Leader got wrecked?” “D*mn, I told y’all—Teacher Lu is a Fighting Master!”
Squirtle bared its teeth and walked back toward Lu Ye.
This was easily the most brutal match Squirtle had endured in a while.
That shell… had really taken a beating.
“I get it.” Lu Ye gave a helpless smile:
“I’ll get you a Max Potion… and a Mystic Water too.”
“Squirtle!” Squirtle gave a big thumbs-up and grinned goofily.
At that moment, both Lu Ye and Squirtle looked down at the Everstone hanging from its neck.
A visible fracture had appeared on it.
A few more battles, and even that stone might not be able to suppress Squirtle’s evolution.
Lu Ye twitched at the corner of his mouth.
You’re seriously gonna force a level-skip evolution?!
“I’ll… go buy you a new Everstone later.”
Lu Ye massaged his temples.
Always bottling up power might not be a good thing either.
Maybe it really was time to talk to Professor Oak about Squirtle’s evolution.
“Squirtle!” Squirtle nodded in satisfaction.
Lu Ye returned it to its Dive Ball.
Brawly walked up and extended a hand with a smile:
“Teacher Lu… thank you for the incredible battle.”
“By the way, this is Dewford Town’s badge. If you’d like—”
“Teacher Lu!” Brawly waved cheerfully behind him.
“If you ever visit the gym, I’ve always got a badge waiting!”
Even though he didn’t take it—
Why did it still feel like he’d set another flag?
To buy healing items for Squirtle, Lu Ye made a special trip to the Poké Mart.
“No Max Potions?” Lu Ye frowned.
“Right,” the shopkeeper apologized. “Since we’ve got a medical team on-site, we didn’t stock such pricey items.”
“Then where can I find them?”
“Try checking the vendor stalls. You might get lucky.”
Walking through the market stalls, Lu Ye suddenly thought of something.
He headed over to Blue’s booth and cleared his throat.
“I’ll buy all your Max Potions.”
“And give me an Everstone, and a Mystic Water too.”
Blue blinked—then her eyes lit up with dollar signs.
They’re back! All the sales I missed over the past few days are back in one go!
Lu Ye had a complicated expression.
Why does competing always cost me money?
Blue happily cleared out her Max Potion inventory and beamed:
“Thanks for your business!”
“No big deal.” Lu Ye thought silently: Never coming back to buy again.
You're on your own from here!
Blue smiled sweetly and thought,
Since Teacher Lu was so generous with my business… I should give him a little thank-you gift, right?
Blue’s eyes sparkled, and she quietly tucked a TM for Focus Energy into the shopping bag.
It wasn’t super rare…
But hey—just a little surprise gift, after all!