Looking at Pinsir, its body charred black and still steaming, Xin Ze let out a bitter smile.
He had considered surrendering.
But everyone who had made it this far was a Gym Leader representing their city.
His pride simply wouldn't allow him to give up.
"Go! Scizor!"
After seeing Xin Ze refuse to concede despite witnessing Ampharos's overwhelming strength—
Combined with the fact that Elite Four Bruno had completely ignored him—
Ma Zhiji had a belly full of frustration.
"Ampharos!"
"Thunder!"
"Wipe that bug off the field!"
At Ma Zhiji's command, Ampharos unleashed its full power.
Countless bolts of lightning twisted through the sky like raging thunder dragons.
Before long, Xin Ze's remaining two Pokémon also lost the ability to battle.
Because Ma Zhiji had shown no restraint, however...
They would probably have to spend several extra days recovering in the Pokémon Center.
Xin Ze sighed helplessly before stepping off the battlefield.
A loss was a loss.
His skills simply weren't good enough.
He had nothing to complain about.
But Ma Zhiji's deliberate brutality left both Xin Ze and the other Gym Leaders watching below with a chill in their hearts.
Ma Zhiji snorted and walked off the stage.
In his eyes...
Someone with his strength had no need to care what the other Gym Leaders thought.
After Ma Zhiji's battle ended, the next two Gym Leaders stepped onto the field.
Compared with Ma Zhiji's ruthless fighting style...
Their battle was far gentler.
It felt less like an official match and more like a friendly spar, with both sides exchanging experience as they fought.
After all...
Whoever won would have to face Ma Zhiji next.
For some reason...
Neither of them was particularly eager to win.
The match ended quickly.
In the end, the Fighting-type Gym Leader—the same one whom Sabrina had previously chased away—barely secured victory.
Judging from his rather forced smile...
Even he wasn't sure winning was worth it.
The following matches unfolded in much the same fashion.
Most of the Gym Leaders had already abandoned any dreams of becoming champion.
Instead, they treated the tournament as an opportunity to learn from one another.
Only Ma Zhiji's side remained different.
Apart from a crowd of businessmen eager to flatter him...
Not a single Gym Leader made any effort to approach him.
After all, they were all Gym Leaders themselves.
There was no need to curry favor with someone like Ma Zhiji.
By the fifth match, Bruno returned to the stadium together with Red.
Red respectfully bowed.
"Elite Four Bruno truly lives up to his reputation!"
"I've benefited enormously from your guidance today!"
Unlike Red, who was merely breathing a little heavily...
Bruno, one of the Elite Four...
Had practically collapsed into a chair, panting heavily.
The surrounding spectators were dumbfounded.
"Why does Red look like he's in better shape than Elite Four Bruno after training?"
"Surely Gym Leader Red isn't physically stronger than Bruno... right?"
"And why would Bruno rather train Red than Ma Zhiji?"
"Who knows..."
...
Meanwhile, Bruno wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered,
"What a gifted kid..."
"What a shame..."
He waved Red away impatiently.
"All right, get out there and fight."
"If you can't even beat Lorelei's disciple..."
"You'll embarrass me."
"The next time I see you, I'll make sure you regret it."
Red grinned.
"Yes, sir!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Elite Four Bruno!"
"I'll make sure to thoroughly beat Elite Four Lorelei's disciple!"
With that, he returned to the crowd.
After Red came back, Joy Xue poked him curiously on the shoulder.
"Gym Leader Red..."
"You and Elite Four Bruno trained together."
"So why do you look so much better than he does afterward?"
"Are you... physically stronger than Bruno?"
It was clearly the question everyone wanted answered.
Hearing it, Red's expression became rather strange.
His thoughts drifted back to what had happened at Bruno's dojo.
...
Inside the training hall...
Bruno assumed a fighting stance.
Then he beckoned—
Not to Red—
But to the Swampert standing behind him.
"Come."
"Let me teach you how to properly generate power."
The next moment...
To Red's utter disbelief—
Bruno and Swampert began exchanging blows.
Punches.
Kicks.
Elbows.
Their fight was so intense that Bruno actually held the upper hand for much of it.
He beat Swampert back again and again.
If Swampert hadn't possessed astonishing endurance and simply outlasted Bruno through sheer stamina...
Red genuinely suspected that his carefully raised ace would've been defeated...
By a human.
In the past...
Whenever people claimed humans could fight Pokémon head-on...
Red had always scoffed.
Only after personally witnessing Bruno today did he finally understand...
How ancient humans had once stood alongside Pokémon as equals.
So when Joy Xue asked whether he had sparred with Bruno...
Red felt nothing but disbelief.
Me?
Fight Bruno?
The man who can literally beat Pokémon bare-handed?
I'd like to live a few more years, thank you.
He sighed.
"Elite Four Bruno's strength..."
"Is beyond measure."
"No ordinary human could hope to match him."
Although Swampert had been thoroughly battered in today's training...
Nearly losing to a human...
Bruno's incredible combat experience had taught it countless things.
Moreover...
Swampert possessed extraordinary talent for close-quarters combat.
Any martial technique Bruno demonstrated...
Swampert could reproduce about seventy or eighty percent of it after seeing it only once.
That natural aptitude was exactly why Bruno kept saying "what a shame."
He genuinely regretted that a Pokémon with such phenomenal talent for martial arts...
Wasn't a Fighting type.
At that moment, the seventh Gym Leader match finally concluded.
The referee raised his flag.
"Next match!"
"Gym Leader Red of Songzao Gym!"
"Versus Gym Leader Miyuki of Snowfall Gym!"
Red took a deep breath and glanced at Swampert's Poké Ball.
"Swampert."
"Take a good rest."
"You've earned it."
"Leave this battle to Castform and the others."
Swampert nodded.
It truly needed some time to digest everything it had learned from Bruno.
On the opposite side of the battlefield...
The snow-white Miyuki gave Red a slight nod.
In her usual emotionless voice, she said,
"Go."
"Lapras."
Red also released the Pokémon that would serve as the main force in this battle.
It was none other than...
Castform, which had fully fused with the Dragon Orb and completely mastered thunderstorm weather.
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