The newfound strength was ultimately limited. As Charizard felt that power ebbing away like a receding tide, a crushing wave of exhaustion hit it—like a mountain pressing down on its body.
In that instant, Kartana seized the opportunity and appeared above Charizard, raising its blade-like arm and slashing downward.
The air was torn apart, and a wave of impending death made Charizard's entire body freeze.
In its current state, it couldn’t even fight back.
It could only close its eyes and wait for the end.
A sharp metallic clash rang out, and the crisp sound made Charizard instinctively open its eyes.
There was no pain. It could breathe. It could still see.
Recalling the sound of metal colliding, Charizard looked up—
—and saw the familiar figure of Metagross, who had once crossed paths with it, blocking Kartana’s deadly strike.
Charizard: "I owe you my life. I shall repay this kindness with my body."
Metagross: "F**k off."
Metagross thought this Charizard must be mentally ill. It had just saved its life, and now it was talking about repaying the favor romantically? Besides, Metagross didn’t even have a gender.
It didn’t need a partner.
Kartana looked at Metagross, stunned that its blade had not only been blocked but had even bounced back, sending it flying over ten meters. Meanwhile, Metagross hadn’t taken a scratch.
Its blade could slice a skyscraper in two-
'The blade must be dull. I need a sharpening stone.'
Kartana shifted its gaze back to Metagross.
Compared to using Charizard’s head as a whetstone, Kartana now wanted to cut off Metagross’s head even more—because it was clearly the more suitable target.
“Keep flying forward. Ember is on her way,”
Julian said, floating mid-air with the help of Advanced-level Psychic. He glanced at Charizard’s injuries—pretty serious. A huge hole had torn through its left wing. Without proper treatment, it could leave lasting damage.
Charizard: "That thing’s strong. I’ll stay and help."
This Charizard was surprisingly loyal.
Julian: “Get lost—don’t be a burden.”
Too bad Julian didn’t appreciate the gesture. In Charizard’s current condition, he could knock it out with a single punch. 'Help?' Yeah right.
If it stuck around and made one wrong move, its head really might end up getting sliced off by Kartana.
Charizard looked deeply aggrieved. 'Why does everyone keep telling me to get lost?'
The flame on its tail dimmed even further from its gloomy mood.
Still, in the end, it flew off.
Now that the hindrance was gone, Julian turned his gaze toward Kartana. He had been wondering—if this Top-tier secret realm really mirrored the Alola region from the anime.
So could it possibly have Ultra Beasts?
Turns out, it really did.
And this one—Kartana—just happened to be the one he most wanted to capture.
Pokémon: Kartana (Grass/Steel)
Moveset: Fury Cutter, Vacuum Wave, Razor Leaf, False Swipe, Cut, Air Cutter, Aerial Ace, Detect, Night Slash, Synthesis, Laser Focus, Swords Dance, Defog, Leaf Blade, Sacred Sword, Guillotine
Beast Boost was a signature ability exclusive to Ultra Beasts, and every single Ultra Beast had it.
[Beast Boost: When this Pokémon knocks out any other Pokémon (including its own teammates), its highest stat (other than HP) increases by one stage.]
Simply put, each time it defeats an opponent, it gets stronger.
Charizard was level 75. Kartana was level 73. On top of that, Charizard had a type advantage. And yet—it almost got its head chopped off by Kartana.
That alone proved Kartana’s true strength was far beyond what its level suggested.
Wild Pokémon rarely fight and win against higher-level opponents—especially ones that have been carefully trained by a trainer. That made this Kartana even more exceptional.
Julian’s eyes burned slightly with desire as he looked at it.
Kartana: "What are you looking at?"
It raised its bladelike arms and pointed them at Julian. It didn’t like the way Julian was looking at it. The glint at the tip of its sword-like limb made Julian squint slightly on instinct.
Julian: "I’m looking at you."
Metagross turned to Julian: "You’re not even trying to hide it anymore, huh?"
It was still right here, and Julian was openly 'flirting' with someone else?
Julian gave an awkward smile and hurriedly said: “Future teammate, that’s all. You’re about to gain a new little brother.”
Metagross looked over at Kartana—so tiny.
Kartana stood just 0.3 meters tall and was paper-thin, weighing only 0.1 kilograms. Its appearance gave off a major 'fragile' vibe.
But underestimate it, and your head might get chopped clean off.
Kartana: "I’ll cut you first, then it."
This strange creature in front of it was garbage. Under normal circumstances, Kartana wouldn’t even let something that dirty touch its blade. But that 'look' in Julian’s eyes—it just rubbed it the wrong way.
Julian smiled, if Kartana wanted to cut him, it had to get through Metagross first.
Just as the smile formed on Julian’s lips, Kartana vanished from its spot—along with Metagross.
“Metagross, test its strength a little,” Julian said.
Although Kartana was excellent, there was no way it could beat Metagross. Julian wanted to see just how strong Kartana truly was. So of course, he couldn’t let Metagross end the fight too quickly.
Kartana swung both of its arms—dozens of Leaf Blades shot out, not many in number, but each razor-sharp leaf carried enough power to instantly take down a peak pseudo-Elite Pokémon.
But against these blade-sharp leaves, Metagross only needed a single second—its Metal Claws became a blur, shattering them midair into harmless falling scraps.
Watching the deadly Leaf Blades get turned into fluttering leaves, Kartana’s expression grew serious—but inside, it was thrilled.
Only by cutting down such a powerful opponent could its blade become sharper.
Kartana’s whole body turned into a streak of light, its limbs transformed into four gleaming blades. Each slash tore through the air, causing sharp whistling sounds to echo around them.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!!!
Metagross’s arms, head, torso—more than a dozen spots on its body were struck by Kartana’s Fury Cutter. Sparks flew, and the sound of metal-on-metal filled the air.
This ultra-high-speed assault lasted nearly a full minute.
Kartana had slashed over 2,000 times—meaning it averaged more than thirty slashes a second.
When it finally stopped, Kartana was panting heavily. It wanted to keep going, but its stamina just couldn’t keep up.
It looked at Metagross again—not even a scratch. Then it glanced down at its own limbs—glowing red from overuse due to the relentless, high-speed strikes.
For the first time ever, Kartana began to doubt the sharpness of its own blade.
Metagross: "Not bad."
Although Kartana hadn’t broken through Metagross’s defense, it had made Metagross feel the pain.
If Kartana had focused all its strikes on a single point, it might actually have broken through Metagross' defense.
Upto 30 chapters ahead on :-