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Whoosh!
Swampert's thick arm, wrapped in reddish-brown Fighting-type aura, chopped down toward Kael with terrifying force.
The only thing standing in its way, that thin, powerful stream of crystalline Water Gun, had already been shattered into useless sprays of water under its immense strength.
The fierce wind from the palm brushed across Kael's face like sharp steel blades, scraping his skin with stinging pain.
At that moment, he could already see the bulging veins on Swampert's rock-hard fist, as well as the terrifying muscles that carried enough power to smash stone with ease.
"I'll die."
A blaring death alarm rang through Kael's mind.
Beneath that enormous shadow, the sharp wind breaking through the air seemed ready to swallow his small water-blue body whole.
But Kael did not care.
At this moment, his reason had already been burned away by the blazing fire surging in his heart.
If the other side did not intend to let him live, then even if he died, Kael would still tear a chunk of flesh from his enemy.
Buzz.
His slender hands suddenly came together in front of his chest.
Ignoring the blade-like palm strike already close enough to touch him, Kael closed his eyes.
Complete focus.
Including the Water Stone hidden in his broad tail, every trace of Water-type energy in his body was violently squeezed out under his reckless pressure. It surged and roared through his internal pathways, gathering toward his chest.
Countless glowing blue points of pure Water-type energy appeared like stars across the night sky. Pulled in by the invisible black hole before Kael's chest, they rapidly spiraled together.
Splash.
Clear water seeped from the surface of his skin, spinning at high speed and wrapping those blue lights within it, forming an almost perfect ring.
Water Pulse.
This was a move Kael had only recently learned, yet under the advantage of his resilient soul, it had already become the strongest offensive pulse-type move he currently possessed.
At this final moment that would decide life or death, he used it as his trump card.
Kael's hands, originally closed before his chest, suddenly pulled apart.
Then he pushed forward toward the rapidly spinning blue water ring in front of him.
Smack.
At the edge of the field, Evan abruptly took a step forward.
His eyes widened, and his gaze, fixed tightly on the battlefield, was filled with shock and disbelief.
"Madman."
"This Sobble is an absolute madman."
As a top Trainer with one foot already across the threshold of the Elite level, Evan had never seen such a wild, fanatical battle style in nearly twenty years as a Trainer.
Trading one's own life to inflict a minor, almost meaningless wound on the enemy.
Even the brutal, bloodthirsty evil Trainers of the underworld would never raise their Pokémon in such a way.
At that moment, Evan, the Gym Leader of Azure Bay's Water-type Gym, was completely stunned by Kael's performance.
On the battlefield, Swampert was also clearly surprised by Kael's madness.
Those round orange eyes, which had remained absolutely calm since the start of the battle, finally rippled slightly.
But surprise was only surprise.
A stirring of emotion did not mean it would stop here and turn back to defend.
Its fighting style might not be as aggressive as the Sobble before it, but giving up victory when it was already within reach was not Swampert's way.
The muscles in its arm swelled again. A terrifying force like a collapsing mountain erupted from it, and the speed of its palm rose to another level.
Its enormous hand, wrapped in reddish-brown Fighting-type aura, swung with full force toward the small water-blue figure in front of it.
Buzz!
The water ring Kael released spun rapidly through the air.
A clear, ethereal whistle like jade striking jade rang across the field.
Strands of light like drifting tassels stretched and flowed behind it, mixing with brilliant star-like motes scattered by the halo as it flew. It was dazzlingly beautiful.
Perhaps because it combined both energy and matter, the blue ring's firing speed was extremely fast, far faster than even Swampert's punch.
Half a second, perhaps even three-tenths of a second.
In an instant, under Kael's full-force eruption, Water Pulse reached Swampert's chest.
Swampert's rubbery skin, tempered to the limit through countless battles and possessing astonishing defensive ability, should have been where the ring vanished.
But it was not.
Because at that moment, Lady Luck smiled on Kael.
Critical hit effect triggered.
The Sniper Ability he had obtained through the Ability Converter caused the damage of critical hits to become 2.25 times that of normal attacks. Added to that was the 10 percent critical damage bonus provided by the legendary badge from his previous life, [Curse-Dream Dawn].
The two effects stacked together, pushing the power of Kael's Water Pulse to the highest level he had reached since being born into this world.
Bang!
The blue water halo blasted into Swampert's rubber-tough skin like a human laser weapon.
The bonus damage from the critical hit caused Swampert's skin, which should have been impossible for Kael to break through, to be torn open by the ring of Water Pulse.
Rip!
A dull, resilient sound rang out, like thick leather being ripped apart.
Scalding crimson blood gushed from the wound like a fountain in an artificial garden.
Swampert's massive body brought with it a blood volume several times greater than that of ordinary Pokémon.
Its huge dark-blue body was like a fragile water balloon. Once its tough surface was pierced, the vast amount of blood hidden within surged outward with every beat of its heart.
The sharp smell of blood spread through the air, and red covered Kael's vision.
Seeing that his final strike had successfully wounded Swampert, Kael could not help revealing an extremely satisfied smile.
At that moment, even the huge palm swinging toward him, the palm that was about to crush his skull, seemed to matter no longer.
The wound torn open in its chest made Swampert's swinging fist seem even more powerful. A hint of furious blood-red appeared in its orange pupils.
Whoosh.
The air was crushed apart, turning into chaotic gale-force winds that carried the scent of death straight toward him.
Kael had an extremely clear premonition in his heart.
If that punch hit him, there would be no chance of survival.
Only death on the spot.
The reaper's scythe was about to fall.
At the edge between life and death, the world in Kael's eyes seemed to slow down.
The enormous hand descending toward his head became like a frame-by-frame animation, inching toward him one moment at a time.
"Come on."
Kael closed his eyes and calmly faced his approaching death.
The next second.
Bang!
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
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