"Gym Leader Morty, you flatter me," Zhang Tian laughed softly. "But if it's a Pokémon battle, I think I can still do it." In a same-level Pokémon battle, Zhang was qualified to say: "I am invincible. You are free to do as you please."
Zhang Tian, the first day of the Great Xia, Fantina thought, looking at him. I didn't expect to meet him here. It would be better to make a friend of him. He is very powerful. Being friends with him can only be a good thing. Zhang was famous, even abroad. He had just won the junior competition and had been evaluated as a future legend.
"Rookie King, come with me," Morty smiled. "Many people want to learn my sword technique, but not many can pass the test." He led them to a huge open space in the center of the cemetery.
"It's the Rookie King!" the cameraman who was debugging the camera said with surprise.
"Turn on the camera, quickly! Today's ratings are here!" the female host of the Elf Channel urged.
"Welcome back, everyone!" she said to the camera with a smile. "Audience, there is a good show today. The famous Rookie King has come to challenge the Ghost Gym!" She pointed to Morty and Zhang as they walked in.
"It's Zhang Tian! There's a good show to watch!"
"Yesterday, I regretted that I didn't watch the battle between Zhang Tian and Iris. I didn't expect to see him challenge the Ghost Gym as soon as I came up today. It's really heaven helping me."
With Zhang Tian's appearance, the originally lifeless live broadcast room instantly became lively. The previous challenger had been a big man to ordinary people, but he was only at the level of a gym leader. The difference between him and Zhang Tian, the young heavenly king, was like heaven and earth. As soon as Zhang Tian came, Morty, the famous "Divine Dragon who can't see the end" of the Ghost Gym, appeared. It was understandable that the audience was excited.
Zhang Tian and Morty stood on the battlefield, facing each other.
"Rookie King, if you are here to challenge the gym, I will send three Elite Four-level Ghost Pokémon. You will get the gym badge whether you win or lose. But if you want to learn my sword technique, you must defeat my three Ghost-type Pokémon. Didn't you say you have three Pokémon who want to learn my sword technique? Then let them fight. Let me see if they are qualified," Morty said with a sunny and kind smile, like a friendly old neighbor, completely at odds with the gloomy Ghost Gym.
"No problem," Zhang Tian nodded.
The referee began announcing the rules, which were similar to those of the Dragon Gym.
"Little fellow, let me see your strength," Morty thought, an extremely strange momentum, like a sword, rising from his body. It was like an ominous sword of destruction being unsheathed. The people around the battlefield felt their hair stand on end.
"It's terrible!" Bea hugged her arms and took a few steps back. Fantina and Cynthia were also uncomfortable.
An icy, murderous aura rose from Zhang Tian's body, pushing back against Morty's, and the two auras collided in the middle of the field.
"Very strong momentum. Not bad. Worthy of the name of the first day of the Great Xia," Morty nodded, very satisfied. "Rookie King, I hope you will make me more satisfied next. In that case, I can teach you my trick at the bottom of the box. This is something that only the true disciples of my gym can learn!"
"Then I have to trouble Gym Leader Morty. I think I should be able to get your trick," Zhang smiled confidently.
"Begin!"
"Go! Terra Shogun Ceanataur!"
"I'll trouble you, Aegislash!"
A relatively tall Aegislash appeared before Morty.
[Aegislash - Shield Forme]
Level: 64 (Elite Four)Ability: Stance ChangeItem: Weakness Policy
Before Zhang, the Terra Shogun Ceanataur, with the Seregios skull on its back, appeared.
"I know! It's a huge Pokémon that I've never seen before! Awesome!"
"That seems to be the skull of a Seregios!"
"It's a bit like a Marowak, wearing the skulls of other Pokémon."
[Terra Shogun Ceanataur]
Level: 69 (Elite Four)Ability: OverbearingItem: Float Stone
The moment Zhang saw the Aegislash, he thought of Leon's, and that move of Destiny Bond that had been so disgusting.
"Terra Shogun Ceanataur, Taunt!" he commanded telepathically. He did not want to feel the nausea of Destiny Bond again.
At the same time, Morty ordered calmly, "Aegislash, Sword Dance!"
The Aegislash's Sword Dance was twice as fast as other Pokémon's. The Ceanataur's Taunt was not yet complete when the Aegislash finished, its Attack now at +2.
"Such a fast Sword Dance. He deserves to be called a Sword Saint," Zhang thought, slightly surprised, but he quickly calmed down.
"Use Foresight, and at the same time, Rigid Blade Grind!" he ordered.
"Psychic powers? It's really convenient," Morty thought, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The Aegislash changed into its Blade Forme. Its attack was now higher, but its defense was lower.
"Shadow Sneak!" The huge shadow behind the Ceanataur elongated into several huge spears and stabbed at its back. But the Ceanataur did not defend. It quickly moved sideways, its speed boosted by its ability and the Float Stone. It was like teleportation to ordinary people. It easily dodged the attack, and while doing so, it put its arm blades into the teeth of the Seregios skull and quickly ground them, at the same time using Foresight.
After completing the Rigid Blade Grind, its attack power was boosted by 100%, and it would now ignore 80% of the enemy's defense.
"Rampage!" Without waiting for Zhang's order, it attacked. It appeared before the Aegislash like a blue light, its sharp double-edged claws slashing in a cross-cut.
"Sacred Sword!" The Aegislash raised its sword body and blocked the attack with a technique similar to Tai Chi, guiding the Ceanataur's arm blades to the ground. BANG! They were stuck.
"Similar to the 'four ounces to move a thousand pounds' of Tai Chi," Zhang analyzed. "The Aegislash blocked the attack not by its own power, but by skill."
"High-Pressure Water Gun!" Since its arms were stuck, the Ceanataur opened its mouth and spat out a water gun. The Aegislash, which had been about to cut off the Ceanataur's arms, was forced to deflect the attack, and the Ceanataur pulled its arms free.
"Terra Shogun Ceanataur, Gyro Rush!" Zhang commanded. "The 'four ounces to move a thousand pounds' skill is very powerful, but it can only deflect once or twice at most. It's impossible to deflect a dozen times. As long as you turn fast enough, it can't deflect."
"Heh!" The Ceanataur spun up like a top, its huge arm blades spinning as they slashed at the Aegislash.
"Such a powerful young man. He found a way to crack it in an instant," Morty sighed. "This Terra Shogun Ceanataur's knife technique may be rubbish, but it has extremely rich combat experience and very strong combat ability. Of course, this young man's command ability is not bad either. But to defeat me so simply would be too trivial."
"Aegislash, swing wildly and use your power to fight!" he ordered.
BRUSH! The Aegislash transformed into its Shield Forme, its defense greatly increased. It kept swinging its body, colliding with the Ceanataur's arm blades with its own shield. WHILE! WHILE! WHILE! It kept retreating, but it blocked all the attacks.
Borrowing my strength? Zhang's brow furrowed. This Aegislash was much more difficult than he had expected. Except for the first collision, it had not been injured. Its shield was like a spring, absorbing the power of the first attack and using it to block the second, and so on. The faster the Ceanataur attacked, the faster it absorbed.
"The Sword Saint of the Great Xia," Zhang suddenly understood the weight of the title. This kind of skill development was too terrifying.
The full story so far is available on Patreon!: patreon.com/Zefyrus