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"Fine then, good luck to you all. Phil, let's go."
Hearing the blond man's words, Sato's expression didn't change at all. He immediately made his final decision, turned around, and left with Phil.
As a temporary teammate, Sato had already done the courteous thing by warning them. Since they didn't appreciate it, there was nothing more for him to say. After all, he wasn't their babysitter — it wasn't his job to worry about their life or death.
"You two sure you want to follow him? Come on, let's be honest — Brother Tyler has looked out for you two along the way, hasn't he? But that guy over there? He's selfish as hell. I've never seen him lift a finger to protect his teammates. You two better pray for yourselves."
Phil had no objections to Sato's choice. He shot the blond man a look full of disgust, then turned to the other two teammates with an expression that said, "Are you serious?"
After saying that, he turned to follow Sato, who had already walked a fair distance ahead.
The two Trainers looked uneasy at Phil's words. As Phil said, Sato hadn't just protected him — he had helped the other two several times during their journey.
Thinking back on it, while the blond man had always shown impressive strength, he had indeed done nothing but protect himself and ignore others.
For a moment, the two Trainers began to waver.
"Well, well. You little weakling, trying to sow discord, huh? Don't listen to his nonsense. You two are strong Trainers — not like him, who needs protection every step of the way. Do you really think you need someone else to protect you all the time?"
"If things really get dangerous, I'll lend a hand. Besides, if these two drop out, that just means more rewards for us. You know what they say — fortune favors the bold."
The blond man's expression darkened at Phil's words, especially when he saw the uncertainty flickering on his teammates' faces. Though he was furious, he knew he still needed their help for the next stage, so he forced himself to hold it in, sneering at Phil as he turned to leave.
Phil might not be that strong, but he worked hard — really hard — and wasn't above doing dirty or thankless tasks to grow stronger.
But there was one thing he could never accept: being called useless.
He'd become a Trainer to change his life as a poor kid from the countryside. If he admitted he was a failure, then all his hard work would be meaningless.
Every dragon has its Reverse Scale — touch it and you die.
Phil wasn't a dragon, but he had one too: he couldn't stand anyone calling him trash.
"You said I'm a waste, huh?! You're only a few years ahead of me as a Trainer — big deal! I'm only fifteen, started this spring, and I already have over two thousand League contribution points!"
"And you? You look like life's beaten the hell out of you. What are you, thirty? You're practically middle-aged and still not an official League Trainer! Man, that's just pathetic!"
The moment Phil heard the blond man call him a failure, he exploded, shouting at him furiously — completely forgetting the gap in their strength.
If Phil's reverse scale was being called useless, then the blond man's was being called old.
In truth, the blond man was only eighteen. But because of his prematurely aged face and the unshaven stubble he hadn't bothered to trim these past few days, he looked like a tired thirty-something.
"You—you're asking for it! Mightyena, Crunch! Kill him!"
Being mocked for his age and incompetence, especially being called "old man," was like a dagger to his heart. His face flushed red as he glared murderously at Phil.
"It's not fair! I'm only eighteen! Why the hell do I look so old?! Damn it, how come you, a weakling, get to look so young?!"
He roared in frustration at Phil's baby face.
"Grrr—woof!"
At his command, the Mightyena's eyes flashed red. Its fanged jaws opened wide as it lunged at Phil with a ferocious snarl.
"Ninjask, use Aerial Ace! Aim for Mightyena's waist!"
Seeing the attack coming, fear briefly flashed in Phil's eyes — but instinct took over. He quickly gave his order.
Phil had six Pokémon in total: Pelipper, Swellow, Pidgeotto, Noctowl, Ninjask, and Shedinja. Both Ninjask and Shedinja had evolved from his first Pokémon, Nincada.
Among them, Ninjask was his strongest — his main partner, currently at level 35.
And Ninjask didn't disappoint. The moment Phil gave the command, it became a blur, vanishing from sight in a flash of motion.
A second later, a streak of light slammed hard into Mightyena's waist, sending it flying.
Mightyena's body structure, like that of a wolf, had a relatively weak lower back — its "glass waist."
In a close-level battle, Ninjask's Aerial Ace — a same-type move that struck a weak point — nearly took down the blond man's level 38 Mightyena in a single blow. Though still conscious, it was gravely injured and barely able to stand.
Phil, who had seemed like dead weight since the start of the mission, suddenly pulling off such a precise and powerful counterattack, shocked the blond man and their other two teammates.
"Not bad, kid... looks like you were hiding your claws."
The blond man now looked at Phil with a serious expression for the first time.
"Don't stop — Fury Cutter! Finish it!"
Seeing Mightyena retreat in pain, Phil exhaled sharply. Remembering that the man had just tried to sic his Pokémon on him, anger surged within. He commanded Ninjask to attack again.
With a sudden flare of its nearly transparent wings, Ninjask's Speed Boost activated. It blurred forward once more, reappearing behind Mightyena, its claws flashing with cutting energy.
"Iron Tail! Now!"
The blond man's command came just in time. Mightyena's ears twitched; its tail gleamed with metallic light — and with a whip-crack motion, it struck Ninjask squarely across the body.
Ninjask was sent flying, smashing into the trunk of a nearby tree.
Though Ninjask was incredibly fast, its weakness was its frailty. Taking a direct Iron Tail from Mightyena was too much — it was knocked out instantly.
"Hahaha! You're still too green, kid. Mightyena, use Shadow Ball! Finish him off!"
Seeing Phil's Ninjask defeated, the blond man sneered, then ordered another attack.
A dark energy orb formed in Mightyena's jaws and shot straight toward the panicking Phil, who didn't even have time to summon another Pokémon.
But before the Shadow Ball hit him —
A yellow, crackling sphere of electricity suddenly shot past from behind Phil, smashing into Mightyena's attack mid-air and dispersing it instantly.
The yellow orb kept flying, slamming into a nearby tree.
BOOM!
A deafening crack of thunder echoed. Electric sparks surged across the trunk, charring it black in seconds as smoke rose into the air.