"...Amazing!"
"How did she even do that?"
"That Kirlia is way too strong!"
"Such a terrifyingly dazzling talent… who knows how far she'll grow in the future!"
"An S Rank might not even be her limit!"
"..."
In the VIP seats, the vice principals from the various Pokémon universities—suited and dressed to the nines—sucked in a sharp breath when they saw what had just happened, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.
They had never seen anything like this before.
And the less they understood how Kirlia had done it, the more horrified they felt.
The impact on the audience was even stronger.
The entire plaza fell silent for nearly a full minute.
Then, thunderous applause erupted.
So good!
This Kirlia…
She was as strong as ever!
Once again, she shattered everyone's expectations!
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Joji clenched his fists, his face darkening.
That bizarre, inexplicable method of attacking made him feel a strong sense of danger—like he was dealing with something extremely troublesome.
"Use Magical Leaf!"
After thinking it through, Joji realized he didn't have any better option.
Magical Leaf, which could home in on a target, was the only move he could find in Victreebel's move set that could reliably hit Kirlia right now.
Pure Grass-type energy condensed again, slowly forming a massive leaf.
Then it began spinning rapidly as it shot toward Kirlia!
"Break it!"
Himeko calmly gave the order.
That enormous green leaf was halted again by Kirlia's strange power.
Then the pure Grass-type energy on it began to be dismantled and dispersed bit by bit!
Seeing this, Miyazato Aisa in the VIP seats finally caught on to something.
She understood how Kirlia was pulling off something this shocking.
This Kirlia, for some unknown reason, was constantly releasing her Psychic-type energy outward—every moment, without pause.
And that energy didn't dissipate.
Like iron filings drawn to a magnet, it circled around her.
Vast Psychic-type energy piled up together, and under her will, it could be driven freely.
Earlier, she had used that energy to stop and crush those Razor Leafs.
But to do what she was doing…
It wasn't just a matter of having an enormous supply of Psychic energy.
Her control and mastery over that energy also had to be honed to absolute perfection.
Aisa could say with certainty—
Kirlia's kind of special talent was something even many Elite Four-level Psychic-type Pokémon couldn't achieve!
"Another monster of a Pokémon…"
Aisa chuckled softly.
"Finish it. Confusion!"
After shredding Magical Leaf, Himeko felt there was no need for this battle to continue.
In the face of Kirlia's uniquely blessed talent, Victreebel's attacks couldn't even break through the Psychic defense in front of her.
The massive Psychic-type energy around her gathered together.
Under Kirlia's control, even a low-powered move like Confusion was unleashed like roaring waves—layer after layer, surging in repeated stacks as it slammed into Victreebel.
Victreebel was already weak to Psychic-type attacks.
Under that torrential Confusion assault, it instantly lost consciousness.
It collapsed to the ground, completely out cold.
"Awesome!"
"Another one down!"
"Too strong! Way too strong!"
"Hahahaha! Maybe Himeko-san can actually win!"
"Who cares if she wins or not—Himeko-san is the champion in my heart!"
"..."
After another victory, the audience erupted in cheers.
Himeko's wins always left people feeling exhilarated and satisfied.
Especially when the opponent was Joji—
that just made it feel even better.
Joji raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and recalled Victreebel.
On the giant screen, among the six Poké Ball icons behind his portrait, the two Pokémon he'd already sent out were now grayed out with X marks.
Looking at it this way…
The situation had shifted from an extremely unfavorable 3 vs. 6 at the start—
to 3 vs. 4 now.
But Joji also understood:
that Lopunny, badly hurt and nearly out of stamina, probably wasn't coming back out.
So next…
To make absolutely sure he could defeat that irritating Charmeleon—
he had to go all out and take down this Kirlia first.
At that thought, a flash of viciousness and madness passed through his expression.
"Go! Exeggutor!"
A red flash of light—
and a long-legged palm tree loaded with coconut-like heads appeared on the battlefield.
"Bulldoze!"
Joji snapped into battle mode instantly.
Exeggutor lifted a leg and stomped down hard.
RUMMMMMBLE!!!
A massive sound rolled out.
Cracks split the ground beneath it, deep fissures spreading outward in every direction.
The earth trembled from the impact.
That shockwave traveled to Kirlia's feet, making her lose her balance in an instant.
Even her movements slowed by a beat.
"Sludge Bomb!!"
The dazed faces on each of Exeggutor's heads opened their mouths wide—
and spat out clumps of purple, sticky fluid straight at Kirlia.
This time, Himeko didn't even need to speak.
Kirlia herself halted those globs in midair.
Psychic-type had a natural advantage against Poison-type—
and those Sludge Bombs were immediately worn away and erased by her Psychic power before they could reach her.
"Future Sight!"
Joji seized that exact timing and decisively issued the command.
Exeggutor raised its head and fired a murky Psychic-type ripple into the sky.
In that instant, Kirlia keenly sensed that something had locked onto her.
As if in the near future, an attack was destined to strike—
like an inescapable chain of cause and effect.
Then—
Joji's expression began twisting strangely.
The way he looked at Kirlia and Himeko filled with an intense, frenzied madness.
This is bad!!!
The moment Himeko saw Exeggutor, she understood what Joji was thinking.
Every nerve in her body tightened.
"Quick—Reflect!!"
(End of Chapter)
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