Chapter 462: Left Punch High Damage, Right Punch Critical
The short, irritable man watching the screen was Shinji Oda, one of the four
regional Elite Four of the Neon League.
Shigesuke Matsumoto glanced at him with a frown. While Matsumoto represented the
faction that favored peace and cooperation with the Huaxia League, Shinji was
the polar opposite—an extremist who harbored deep-seated resentment toward their
continental neighbors.
"Shinji, we are currently in the middle of a World League sanctioned event,"
another Elite Four member warned sharply. "Watch your tongue and your conduct."
Shinji opened his mouth to snap back, but he caught Matsumoto's gaze. Though the
Champion usually appeared approachable, his eyes now carried a heavy,
authoritative warning. Realizing he was overstepping, Shinji swallowed his
words, though his face remained flushed with spite.
Meanwhile, Kenji had already tossed the dossiers of the Neon team back onto the
table. He hadn't been studying their rosters; he had been gauging their
attitude. After a quick look at the intelligence reports on their recent press
conferences, Kenji let out a cold snort.
Initially, he'd thought Rio was a beautiful woman and considered showing a bit
of "mercy" on the field.
Now? Forget it.
Kenji rose from his seat, one hand in his pocket while the other absentmindedly
tossed a Poké Ball into the air and caught it. He strolled toward the waiting
area with an air of total indifference.
Ten minutes later, the previous match concluded. Kenji and Rio entered the arena
from their respective tunnels.
Kenji walked with a casual, almost bored gait, never once making eye contact
with Rio. His opponent, however, spent every second of the walk-out scrutinizing
him. Seeing that he didn't even deem her worthy of a glance, her irritation
flared into a silent fury.
Kenji was the undisputed star of this tournament. The moment he stepped into the
light, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar of cheers and applause.
The two trainers stood opposite each other. Once the referee confirmed they were
ready, the flags snapped down.
"Go! Slaking!"
"I'm counting on you! Beartic!"
Two flashes of red light hit the floor.
BANG!
The moment the light cleared, a blur erupted across the arena. The movement was
so fast it bypassed the human eye's ability to track it; all the audience heard
was a sudden, violent sonic boom of displaced air.
The next second, the snowy-white, massive frame of Beartic was launched across
the field like a cannonball. It slammed into the reinforced containment barrier
with enough force to make the entire stadium vibrate.
Rio froze. The spectators from every League in the stands were equally stunned.
The... the Pokémon hadn't even fully materialized yet. How is the match already
over?
The massive overhead screens immediately switched to a super slow-motion replay,
finally allowing the world to see what had happened.
In the first microsecond of appearing, Kenji's Slaking had been coiled like a
high-tension steel spring, its knees bent in a low-profile power stance.
The next microsecond, it "snapped." The explosive power of its leg muscles
propelled it across the gap, appearing in front of Beartic before the Ice-type's
eyes had even focused. Beartic's pupils were still dilated, its combat instincts
hadn't even proc'd yet.
Then, Slaking swung. Its right fist was wreathed in a roaring inferno.
Fire Punch!
Even in slow motion, the impact was terrifying. The punch buried itself deep
into Beartic's chest, the physical force actually compressing the Pokémon's
torso like a piece of modeling clay hit by a sledgehammer. Beartic's eyes
bulged, nearly popping from their sockets as the internal trauma registered.
Then, it was gone—launched backward by the kinetic feedback.
The fire had scorched a black, fist-sized crater into its white fur.
"Beartic! Get up! Snap out of it!" Rio screamed, her voice cracking. She glared
at Kenji, internally cursing the "Huaxian trash" for using a cheap ambush
tactic.
But Slaking hadn't been "cheap." He was just being efficient.
THUD.
Beartic's body skittered along the floor and came to a rest. It didn't move. It
lay face-down, its consciousness completely erased.
One shot? A Champion-tier Beartic... one-shotted?
The arena descended into chaos. No one expected this kind of brutality. This
Beartic was an Elite Four's primary team member—it was a Tier-1 combatant. And
it had been deleted in less than a second.
The global database had records of Kenji's Beedrill, his Darkrai, and his Arbok.
But there was almost no data on this Slaking.
This thing... isn't even his ace? the crowd whispered in collective horror.
"HOU…"
As the world reeled in shock, Slaking let out a slow, lazy growl. It stood with
a slouched posture, its dead-eyed, half-lidded stare fixed on Rio.
Unbidden, a thought flashed through Rio's mind as she locked eyes with the
beast: He's telling me to hurry up.
"Come back, Beartic." Rio's hand trembled as she recalled her fallen partner.
[Pokémon Status]
Name: Slaking (4-Star) Level: 87 Type: Normal Abilities: Truant, Iron Fist Base
Stats (Total 850):
- HP: 190 / Atk: 210 / Def: 125 / SpA: 120 / SpD: 80 / Speed: 125 Items:
Mithril Dawn, Radiant Infinity Edge, Radiant Hand of Justice. Potential: S+
Over the last two years, Slaking had reached Level 87. While it had technically
fallen out of Kenji's "First-String" lineup, that was only because his starters
were literal Gods. On its own, Slaking was a walking disaster.
"Go! Ninetales!"
Rio's second Poké Ball burst. An Alolan Ninetales landed on the field. The
moment it appeared, the temperature in the arena plummeted. Thick, grey clouds
gathered under the stadium roof, and a fine powder of snow began to drift down.
Ability: Snow Warning—Activated!
As the hail began to fall, Slaking blurred again. He didn't care about the
weather. He was in front of the fox in a heartbeat, his fist cocked back.
"Substitute!" Rio yelled.
POOF!
The Fire Punch slammed into Ninetales, but the body dissolved into a cloud of
white mist. The real Ninetales reappeared several meters behind Slaking.
Rio didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief. Before she could shout a
counter-order, Slaking pivoted. His right punch had missed, but his left fist
was already ignited, swinging in a savage, horizontal arc.
WHAM!
The punch caught Ninetales squarely in the ribs. The fox was sent flying like a
discarded ragdoll, skidding across the frozen earth until it hit the far wall.
"This... Is this even a Slaking?!"
"Where is the Truant ability?! Why is he moving every turn?!"
In the stands, the international trainers were in an uproar. A Slaking's
greatest weakness was its laziness—it was supposed to move once every two turns.
But Kenji's monster was attacking with the frequency of a Weavile.
Kenji watched his partner with satisfaction. Over the last two years, they had
focused entirely on "The Neural Bypass." Through intense discipline and the
System's unique training modules, Slaking had learned to suppress its biological
urge to loaf. It hadn't "deleted" Truant, but it could now ignore it for short,
high-intensity bursts.
Combine that with a Level 87 stat-line, an Iron Fist boost, and a Radiant
Infinity Edge?
Against a Master-tier, it might be a struggle. Against a standard Champion? It
was like hitting a glass ornament with a wrecking ball.
Alolan Ninetales didn't get up.
"Ninetales is unable to battle! Slaking wins!"
The High-Sovereign Battle Arena was eerily silent. Two Pokémon defeated. Total
fight time: less than thirty seconds. The gap in power wasn't a "tier"—it was a
different dimension of existence.
"BAKA! That arrogant Huaxian bastard doesn't know the meaning of restraint!"
Shinji Oda screamed back in the lounge, slamming his fist onto the table until
it rattled.
This wasn't just a loss. Rio was their "Goddess." To see her dismantled so
casually was a humiliation for the entire Neon League.
Matsumoto, however, remained calm. He was looking at Slaking's eyes. He saw the
"Boredom" there. He realized then that Kenji wasn't trying to be cruel. He was
simply so much stronger that "fighting normally" looked like a massacre.
In the arena, Rio's face was beet-red with shame and rage. Her lips trembled as
she reached for her third ball.
"Go! Mamoswine!"
"YAAAAA!"
The massive prehistoric beast landed, let out a thunderous roar.
This time, Slaking didn't move immediately. He stood in place, his breathing
steady. The "Overclock" on his Truant ability was reaching its limit. He needed
a few seconds to let his nervous system cool down.
Rio saw the pause and seized it.
[Pokémon Status]
Target: Mamoswine (Champion Tier) Gender: Female Level: 97 Type: Ice / Ground
Ability: Thick Fat (Reduces Fire and Ice damage by 50%) Potential: S-
"Mamoswine! Use Ice Fang Charge!"
"YAAAAA!"
The mammoth lunged, its two massive tusks erupting in a jagged, sub-zero frost.
In the absolute cold of the Absolute Zero environment, its tusks grew longer and
sharper, glowing with a lethal blue light. It lowered its head, aiming to impale
the stationary ape with its full, multi-ton momentum.
♧♧♧
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you