Boom!
Rubble exploded outward.
Cofagrigus's Shadow Claw smashed into the ground, while Mu Xue's Primarina narrowly dodged and countered with Moonblast.
This Fairy-type move was something Mu Xue had refined after being inspired by Oliver's Fairy-type research paper. With guidance from Gardevoir—who had already mastered Moonblast—the technique had been perfected. Under the night sky of the secret realm, its power was even greater.
Cofagrigus had never encountered a Fairy-type attack like this before. Caught off guard, it was struck head-on.
Yet Mu Xue felt no relief.
This wasn't a regulated match—it was a fight to the death.
The battlefield had fractured into six separate combat zones.
A total of nine Champion-level Pokémon were pressing down on Mu Xue's six main Pokémon.
Meanwhile, the Creation Society's quasi-Champion spy—along with three Champion-level Pokémon—had tied down the remaining four League quasi-Champions and the severely injured Champion trainer.
Mu Xue had no reinforcements.
Against relentless rotations and continuous pressure, her Pokémon running out of stamina was only a matter of time.
The two Creation Society commanders exchanged glances and simultaneously ordered their Pokémon to intensify the assault.
Mu Xue's team was forced to retreat while fighting.
Then—
She realized something was wrong.
Her gaze sharpened.
The only reason she had lasted this long was because she had split the battlefield, leveraging her Pokémon's superior individual strength to fight multiple opponents separately.
But now, her Pokémon were being pushed closer together.
If they fully regrouped, they would have to face all nine enemy Pokémon at once.
That would be disastrous.
Sure enough, as her Pokémon drew closer, their reaction speed dropped sharply.
Before, each Pokémon only needed to track one or two enemies.
Now, they had to monitor nine.
Even with teammates supporting each other, six Pokémon—no matter how experienced or coordinated—couldn't act with perfect unity.
The result was inefficiency.
When an enemy attack came, even if only one Pokémon needed to respond, multiple Pokémon would instinctively react at the same time—wasting focus and energy.
This was the curse of the disadvantaged side.
Forced to defend, unable to counterattack effectively.
If the roles were reversed and Mu Xue were on the offensive, the Creation Society commanders would be the ones suffering.
Then—
Gengar silently emerged from the shadows and launched a Shadow Ball.
Mu Xue's Milotic, stranded on land and far from water, couldn't evade in time.
The dark sphere was about to strike.
Mu Xue's heart leapt into her throat.
"Not good!"
She was barely holding on as it was.
If Milotic went down, the rest of her Pokémon would collapse one after another at an even faster rate.
All eyes locked onto the attack—
But the Shadow Ball suddenly curved midair, tracing an unnatural arc before slamming into the Salamence behind it instead.
"Roar!"
Salamence howled in pain, snapping its head toward Gengar with murderous intent.
Gengar shrank back instantly, waving its hands frantically as if to say it had no idea what just happened.
Salamence's trainer immediately turned on Gengar's trainer, fury blazing in his eyes.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Don't look at me!" Gengar's trainer snapped back. "How am I supposed to know?!"
He spun on Gengar and shouted,
"Can you aim properly for once?!"
Gengar whimpered.
Considering the situation, Salamence's trainer forced himself to swallow his anger and turned back to the fight.
That brief interruption, however, gave Mu Xue precious breathing room.
She quickly adjusted positioning and managed to spread her Pokémon apart again.
Moments later—
Gengar popped out once more and fired another Shadow Ball, this time aimed at Mu Xue's Slowbro.
Having learned from last time, Gengar took extra care to aim.
Yet halfway through its flight, the Shadow Ball bent sharply again—accelerating as it streaked straight toward Salamence.
"ROAR!"
Salamence whipped around, crimson eyes locked onto Gengar.
The base of its massive wings and its back were now blackened and frostbitten.
Once might be tolerable.
Twice?
That was unforgivable.
Gengar's trainer's face twisted as he screamed,
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Salamence's trainer grabbed him by the collar with his one remaining hand, roaring:
"Stop pretending! Who are you fooling?
You think I don't see through this?
The boss crippled my arm—now you're trying to finish me off and eliminate a rival, aren't you?!
Let me tell you something—if you mess up the boss's plan, you won't survive either!"
Gengar's trainer exploded in rage.
"How would I know this would happen?!
You think I'm that kind of person?!
The priority is killing Mu Xue!"
Salamence's trainer shoved him away violently.
"Salamence—finish the enemy first. I'll deal with him later!"
"Damn it!"
After hesitating, Gengar's trainer recalled his Pokémon.
Something was clearly wrong—Gengar hadn't landed a single attack properly.
Unseen by anyone—
A small, pale-green Pokémon hovered in the shadows, covering its mouth as it giggled.
Celebi.
At Oliver's request—and irritated by the devastation these Champion-level battles were wreaking on the forest—Celebi had decided to intervene.
The environment here had been nearly ruined.
That irritation, combined with Oliver's plea, pushed Celebi to act.
Unwilling to reveal itself to humans, Celebi could only assist covertly.
And with its high-Champion-level power, manipulating the trajectory of Gengar's Shadow Ball was effortless.
Mu Xue didn't know what was happening—but she seized the opportunity instantly.
She ordered Primarina to relentlessly bombard the wounded Salamence with Moonblast, while her other Pokémon went all out to block the remaining Creation Society Pokémon.
"This is bad!"
Though resentment still lingered between them, the two commanders had no choice but to cooperate.
They exchanged a look and simultaneously recalled the Pokémon assisting the quasi-Champion spy.
That spy, supported earlier by three true Champion-level Pokémon, had been overwhelming the League's remaining quasi-Champions.
Now—
He suddenly found himself alone, facing four trainers of equal rank.
"Hey! Don't leave me!"
No matter how he shouted, the three Champion-level Pokémon didn't even glance back as they sped away.
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