Noctowl and Decidueye crossed paths again and again in midair, colliding, separating, then clashing once more.
With the enhancement from Evergreen Power, Oliver could barely keep up with their movements—but only just.
After several exchanges, Decidueye's posture was clearly growing unstable. Fine cuts had appeared all over its body.
That shouldn't have happened.
Even if Decidueye was slightly weaker, the gap shouldn't have been this large.
Noctowl hadn't truly broken through to Champion level. At best, it stood between Gym Leader tier and pseudo-Champion.
Meanwhile, Decidueye itself was at the peak of Gym Leader–high rank.
Oliver shouted without hesitation,
"Decidueye, stop holding back! It's absorbed too much Dark-type energy. Even if the source of the malice is destroyed, it will never return to normal!"
There was something Oliver didn't say out loud.
Even if Noctowl did recover, after killing so many humans and Pokémon, the higher-ups of the League would never allow it to live.
Decidueye's gaze swept across the battlefield.
Pokémon and humans lay scattered across the ground—some motionless, some soaked in blood. The air was thick with death.
Oliver's voice remained calm and steady:
"If Noctowl still has even a trace of consciousness left, it would want you to end this suffering.
What kind of Pokémon it used to be—you know that better than anyone."
Decidueye stared into Noctowl's crimson eyes.
For a brief instant, it seemed to see struggle… and a plea.
"Deci…"
Old friend—
then let me grant you release.
Oliver's eyes lit up.
"Razor Leaf! Phantom Force!"
Decidueye moved at once.
With a powerful sweep of its wings, razor-sharp leaves shot forward. In the next moment, its body slipped into the shadows, vanishing from sight.
Noctowl shattered the incoming Razor Leaves with Air Slash, but—
The attack from behind landed.
Ghost-type moves were resisted by Dark-types, but unlike Psychic-type moves, they weren't completely nullified.
Noctowl was knocked out of the sky.
This was the first time since appearing that it had taken real damage—despite facing an entire investigation squad earlier without a scratch.
Enraged, Noctowl screeched and locked onto Oliver.
It was this human.
This human was the one giving the commands.
"Brave Bird!"
Noctowl dove straight toward Oliver.
Decidueye immediately followed, forcing Noctowl to face its aerial charge instead.
A dark sphere—Dark Pulse—shot out.
The explosion filled the air with smoke and shockwaves.
Then—
Decidueye burst out of the smoke, feathers scorched, sparks dancing across its wings, and slammed violently into Noctowl!
The force of the collision was no weaker than the earlier Dark Pulse explosion.
Thankfully, no humans or Pokémon were caught nearby—or it would have been another catastrophe.
Oliver pressed down on the brim of his red-and-white cap to keep it from being blown away by the wind.
"Spirit Shackle."
Noctowl stabilized itself midair. It was panting heavily now, injuries covering its body.
Even so, its gaze burned with hatred.
Even if it died—it would take this human with it.
The black glow on its wings intensified as it dove again.
Sky Attack.
It rushed closer and closer, searching Oliver's face for panic, for fear—
But from beginning to end, Oliver's expression remained calm.
One meter away—
Noctowl stopped.
No matter how it struggled, it couldn't move forward even a single centimeter.
Under the flickering firelight, its shadow on the ground was completely immobilized.
The scene was eerie beyond words.
Spirit Shackle—Decidueye's signature move.
An attack that binds the opponent's shadow, rendering them unable to move.
Carrying Decidueye's final resolve—
Noctowl collapsed.
Rest now, my old friend.
Decidueye landed silently on the ground.
Memories surfaced in its mind—
And finally froze on one image:
When the malice surged forth, Noctowl had summoned a violent gale, forcing Decidueye into Celebi's protected zone—saving it at the cost of its own sanity.
The investigators who were still conscious had witnessed the entire battle.
Their minds were blank.
They were stunned by Decidueye's overwhelming strength—
and even more stunned by Oliver's composed, flawless command from start to finish.
Oliver sensed that the black feather—the source of everything—was very close now.
After giving Decidueye some basic treatment, he turned to leave.
With so many eyes watching, he naturally avoided using Evergreen Power.
The squad leader struggled to his feet and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, young man. Without you, none of us would have survived."
Oliver shook his head lightly.
"No need. We're all human. Anyone would have done the same."
"Anyone…" The squad leader smiled bitterly.
He had seen too many so-called rogue trainers in secret realms—people who killed for loot without hesitation.
"Young man, were you sent by Gym Leader Zhu—"
When he looked up again, Oliver was already gone.
"…Forget it. This place is dangerous. He's probably still rescuing others."
That was the excuse the leader chose to believe.
He gathered the remaining investigators who could still move and ordered them to rest in place.
Only then did they realize—
Five people had died in that attack alone.
The rest were all seriously injured.
While bandaging his wounds, Wang Chengzhou muttered,
"I really want to thank that kid properly once we're out."
"He looked young, but his strength was terrifying. Probably a top genius from Chang'an University."
"When have you ever seen a university student with Gym Leader–level combat power?"
"I think he's from that place."
"…You might be right."
At that moment, four Pokémon appeared in the sky.
It was Zhu Qianwei and her team.
They had noticed the firelight and gathered figures below—and were rapidly approaching.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage