After listening to Daniel's account, Cole looked at the senior across from him and asked, "Senior, I'm already here, so you wouldn't mind adding one more match, would you? Why don't we battle too?"
The senior said disdainfully, "You want to stand up for them too? I advise you to know your limits."
"Oh my~ Not at all! Everyone else has had a match with you — you can't just leave me out. That would make me lose face, as if I'm being ostracized by everyone in the dorm!" Cole waved his hand dismissively, his expression completely serious.
"Since you insist on overestimating yourself, don't blame me for not being polite!" The senior clearly didn't believe him.
"No need for politeness, no need for politeness. If you're polite, even if I win, people will say my victory wasn't fair!" Cole replied with a "stop joking around" expression.
"Huh? You think you can win?" The senior reacted as if he'd heard the funniest joke ever.
Cole ignored his words, "There's no law against dreaming, right? Senior, can we start now?"
"As you wish!" The senior replied coolly.
"Great!"
With that, Cole gave Keith a look, and Keith quickly grabbed Dewott and ran out of the battle area.
Looking at Greninja across from him, which wore the same cool expression as its trainer, Cole asked, "Senior, don't you want to switch Pokémon? Otherwise if I win, people will really say my victory wasn't fair!"
The senior was finally provoked, "Are you going to battle or not? If not, I'm leaving!"
"Okay, okay, let's battle!" Cole quickly said, "Since the senior is using a Water-type Pokémon, I'll use a Water-type too."
As he spoke, he took out a Poké Ball, and with a flash of red light, Brionne appeared on the grass.
"Hmph~" Seeing Brionne, the senior's gaze became even more contemptuous, "Another Pokémon that hasn't even evolved to its final form. I don't know where this courage comes from..."
Obviously, the senior considered Brionne to be at the same level as Keith's Dewott.
Brionne also heard these words. In the past, it would have exploded with anger, but now, as a composed lady, it simply returned the senior's gaze with an equally contemptuous look.
The senior: (╬◣д◢)
Infuriated by Brionne's gaze, he commanded, "Greninja, Double Team!"
Following its trainer's order, Greninja began running at high speed and, after a flash, split into seven or eight identical images.
At this moment, Brionne's beautiful song filled the air. As the melodious notes reached Greninja, it suddenly felt dazed.
The daze lasted only an instant. When Greninja regained its senses, the field was already filled with countless transparent bubbles, reflecting beautiful rainbow light in the sunshine. All of Greninja's copies vanished immediately upon contact with these bubbles, and in the blink of an eye, only one Greninja remained on the field.
Seeing this, the senior maintained his composure and calmly instructed, "Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
With a slight movement of its hands, several shurikens materialized in Greninja's grasp. It threw them forcefully, sending them flying toward the bubbles with a whooshing sound.
When the shurikens hit the bubbles, instead of popping, the bubbles flexibly dented inward and bounced the projectiles back. The rebounding shurikens ricocheted wildly, hitting other bubbles and being deflected again, bouncing back and forth several times before finally disappearing as their energy dissipated.
"Wow!! That's amazing, so amazing!"
While everyone else was too stunned to speak, one person hiding in the crowd clapped enthusiastically, jumping up and down with excitement.
Cole hadn't expected Ash to be here, so he instinctively looked over, and their gazes met. Ash gave him a bright smile and waved enthusiastically. Cole could only respond with a smile.
After the initial shock, the senior quickly regained his composure.
"Greninja, jump onto the bubbles and use them as stepping stones."
For most Pokémon surrounded by so many bubbles, movement would be difficult, but Greninja was different. It was agile and nimble, adept at maneuvering in tight spaces.
Hearing its trainer's command, Greninja leaped up and jumped onto a bubble.
Seeing this, Cole smiled: Jump onto the bubbles? How dare you!
Not only did he smile, but Brionne did too.
Greninja, what you're stepping on isn't a bubble, it's a bomb!
After landing on the bubble, Greninja was about to start running when a loud boom erupted beneath its feet. The bubble exploded, and the blast wave sent it flying.
"Grenin!!!"
Greninja cried out in pain.
But the explosions were far from over. The first bubble's explosion triggered a chain reaction, and the other bubbles began exploding one after another. Greninja was soon engulfed in countless explosive blasts.
When all the explosions subsided, it fell to the ground like a rag doll, already unconscious.
"How... how is this possible?" The senior was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected such a sudden turn of events, with his Pokémon being defeated so quickly.
"Oh, I won by accident, I'm so lucky!" Cole said with an exaggerated expression and a slightly smug tone, "I hope people won't say my victory wasn't fair. This is troubling. No, Senior, let's have another match!"
The senior finally came to his senses and stared intently at him, his thoughts unclear.
"Senior, you're not afraid of losing, are you? I'm just your junior!"
Hearing this, the spectators couldn't help but laugh quietly. Although Cole was indeed the other's junior in terms of school years, he was actually older, which was obvious from his height.
The senior fumed at Cole's words. Despite using the most basic form of provocation, Cole had successfully baited the senior, who was too young and impetuous to resist.
"Who's afraid! Just you wait!" With that, he took out a second Poké Ball and released a Hawlucha. "Hawlucha, use Flying Press! Teach that Brionne a lesson!"
"Lucha~"
Hawlucha stomped the ground with one foot, flapped its wings, and soared into the air. Its body emitted a white light as it descended toward its opponent with tremendous force.
Brionne remained calm and collected. Watching the approaching attack, it unhurriedly opened its mouth and sang a mysterious, prolonged melody that resembled a lullaby.
Hawlucha, in the middle of its rapid descent, suddenly felt its eyelids growing heavier, and remarkably, fell asleep mid-attack.
So... beautiful...
That was its last thought before succumbing to sleep. Brionne's singing ability was as powerful as ever!
As Hawlucha was about to crash beside Brionne, the Water Pokémon gracefully raised its little flipper and used Pound, slapping its opponent hard across the face.
With a loud "slap", Hawlucha spun two and a half times in the air before being smacked away.
Thud~
Even after hitting the ground hard, Hawlucha didn't wake up.
"Hawlucha, Hawlucha! Wake up, wake up!" The senior called desperately, but to no avail. His Pokémon remained sound asleep.
Finally, under his shocked gaze, Hawlucha was engulfed by a Hydro Pump.
Hawlucha fainted!
"Another win. What can I say? I guess I'm just having an incredibly lucky day." Cole said nonchalantly, "Senior, let's have another match so I can experience what a three-win streak feels like too. Doesn't a three-win streak feel amazing?"
His words grated on the senior's ears.
"So amazing, big brother is so amazing! Go, go!"
From outside the battlefield came Ash's cheers once again. Perhaps because he had met Cole first and didn't understand the situation, he had instinctively taken Cole's side.
This made the senior even more furious. While everyone else outside the battlefield remained silent, the little kid's enthusiastic cheers stood out conspicuously.
"Fine! You've successfully angered me. Now let's see if you can really get that three-win streak!" the senior said through gritted teeth.
Cole looked surprised, "I'm only making you angry now?"
Finally, under everyone's astonished gaze, the senior released an Electivire.
Electivire was a rare Pokémon — Cole was seeing one in real life for the first time. But to be fair, this senior definitely had skills. Despite his young age, all his Pokémon had been raised to their final evolutionary forms — no wonder he was so arrogant.
"Elec~"
The Electivire looked fierce, letting out an angry roar as soon as it appeared, then glaring menacingly at Brionne.
"Electivire is my ace Pokémon. I don't believe your Water-type Brionne can beat it!" the senior said confidently.
"Is that so? My Brionne is actually looking forward to being defeated by your Electivire!" Cole replied with casual indifference.
"Brii~ Brii~" — That's right, that's right.
Brionne nodded repeatedly in agreement, but its expression looked utterly punchable from any angle.
The senior: (╬￣皿￣)
That infuriating casual tone again! Every time he heard Cole speaking like that, he felt an inexplicable surge of anger.
"Electivire, Thunderbolt! Teach that ill-mannered Brionne a good lesson!" He hadn't forgotten Brionne's disdainful look from earlier.
Outside the battlefield, Daniel and Keith fumed at the senior's words. Whose Pokémon was ill-mannered?!
"ELEC!!!"
With an angry cry, Electivire shot a golden lightning bolt from the two antennae on its head, striking directly toward Brionne.
"Brionne, Hyper Voice!" Cole commanded.
"LA LA LA!!!"
Sound waves erupted from Brionne's mouth, gradually dissipating the lightning bolt in their intense vibrations.
"Brionne, Rain Dance!" Cole instructed next.
"Brii~"
Brionne tilted its head and shot a blue orb of light into the sky. The previously sunny sky quickly filled with dark, gloomy clouds, and soon a light drizzle began falling.
Seeing this, the students surrounding the battlefield quickly ran away from the rain.
Brionne had precisely controlled its Rain Dance to cover only the battle area — one needed only to step slightly away from the battlefield to stay dry.
Everyone retreated except for Ash, who continued watching the battle intently until a young lady forcibly pulled him away.
"Hahaha... You're using Rain Dance with a Water-type against an Electric-type? You're clearly from the Breeding Department — you don't even understand battle basics. This is hilarious..."
The senior laughed uproariously at Cole's command, holding his stomach as if witnessing the funniest joke ever.
"Electivire, use Thunder!"
In rainy conditions, Thunder was a move that never missed.
"ELEC!!!"
Electivire's body instantly lit up with golden light. Countless lightning bolts gathered to form a lightning dragon that roared as it lunged toward Brionne.
"Brionne, Hyper Voice!"
"La la la~~~"
Brionne's song rang out, but this time its Hyper Voice lacked its previous explosive power, its tone much gentler.
As the sound waves spread across the field, the raindrops in the entire space seemed to pause in mid-air. Had time stopped?
No, all the rainwater was being controlled by Brionne's voice!
The water droplets converged, forming a mirror-like barrier in the lightning dragon's path. As the dragon plunged into this watery shield, it transformed back into scattered electrical currents that flowed inside the mirror.
Splash!
The electrical current gradually slowed against the water's resistance. When the water mirror finally shattered, the current dispersed with the flow and vanished completely.
"How... how is this possible?" The senior stood dumbfounded.
"Brionne, Hyper Voice!"
While the senior froze in shock, Cole remained focused.
"LA LA LA!!!"
Brionne's voice — once gentle and smooth — suddenly became rapid and urgent. The water vapor in the air vibrated violently, creating ripples visible to the naked eye.
Pop~ Pop~ Pop~
The falling raindrops burst in mid-air, unable to withstand such intense vibrations.
"ELEC!!!"
Electivire let out a piercing shriek and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
"Electivire, Electivire! What's wrong?" The senior called out worriedly.
Spectators outside the battlefield exchanged confused glances, baffled by Electivire's sudden collapse.
Only Cole understood what was happening: Brionne was using its Hyper Voice technique and Liquid Voice ability to control the water falling on Electivire's body. The intense vibrations in the water were causing Electivire's pain.
The senior had mocked Cole for using Rain Dance against an Electric-type, not realizing that once the battlefield was covered in rain, it had become Brionne's domain!
Even as Electivire fell, Brionne's attack continued relentlessly.
"Elec~ Elec~"
After a series of painful wails, Electivire finally lost consciousness. Only then did Brionne stop singing.
✲✲✲
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