"Bisharp"

    Kaide watched in disbelief as Bisharp''s helmet was dented by a single kick from Lucario. He simply couldn''t understand—why was the opponent''s strength this overwhelming?

    In reality, every single one of Julian''s Pokémon were far stronger than others of their kind.

    After all, any Pokémon—regardless of type—could find itself forced into close combat at some point. And in such situations, sheer strength could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

    Not to mention, Lucario was a Fighting-type. If it wasn''t strong, it would be an embarrassment to its own type.

    Bisharp struggled to stand up, shaking its head. After taking a full force Kick, it felt as if a dozen Pidgey were flying circles around its head.

    "Aura Sphere," Julian ordered.

    "Dark Pulse!"

    was a guaranteed hit, meaning Bisharp had only two options—block it with a defensive move or counter with an attack.

    A deep purple-black  clashed head-on with the glowing blue .

    Julian was a little surprised. Even though Bisharp''s head was still spinning from the previous hit, it had managed to fire off  with pinpoint accuracy. That was impressive.

    However,  began pushing  back, steadily advancing toward Bisharp. Even when Bisharp poured more power into , it couldn''t slow down the .

    "Use Slash!"

    Just as  completely shattered , Bisharp''s right-arm blade extended in an instant. With a downward slash, it cut through the air, leaving behind a silver-white arc.

    With a sharp tearing sound,  was split in two.

    Bisharp remained in its slashing stance, slowly raising its head. It was just about to act smug and say something like, "Is that all?"

    Bisharp:

    However, Lucario was nowhere in sight.

    A moment later, Bisharp heard its trainer''s urgent voice.

    "Behind you!"

    But it was too late.

    Feeling a wave of intense heat at its back, Bisharp''s face was filled with despair. It didn''t even need to turn around—it already knew what was coming.

    "Use Swords Dance!"

    Julian:

    Lucario''s  was already less than ten centimeters away. The flames licked at Bisharp''s armor, and at this distance, there was no way it could activate  in time.

    And yet, somehow… the impossible happened.

    Most Pokémon used  by spinning their bodies to gather momentum. Bisharp was no exception.

    However, unlike most Pokémon, every part of Bisharp''s body was a weapon—even its waist had a ring of blades.

    And by sheer bad luck, Lucario''s  had struck that exact spinning blade.

    If Lucario had aimed at any other part, Bisharp wouldn''t have been able to complete its . Julian would have shattered its momentum before it could even finish.

    But because of that spinning waist blade, Lucario''s  was deflected away to the side.

    The attack had failed, and in turn, the opponent''s  successfully activated.

    After , Bisharp''s attack power increased significantly, and it suddenly felt like it could fight again.

    Confidence was a good thing, but blind confidence was another matter entirely.

    "Lucario, Close Combat!"

    "Bisharp, Fury Cutter!"

    Lucario lunged forward, using every part of its body—hands, fists, knees, elbows, palms—each becoming a weapon of destruction, launching a relentless assault against Bisharp.

    Surprisingly, this time Bisharp held its ground. Its arm blades gleamed silver, slashing through the air with incredible precision, blocking every single one of Lucario''s strikes.

    Spectators gasped in amazement.

    At this speed, the movements of both Pokémon had become a blur—so fast that the human eye could barely follow.

    But defense never lasts forever.

    As Lucario''s  grew even faster, Bisharp began to struggle to keep up. Its arm blade swung upward, attempting to block Lucario''s incoming punch.

    But it was just a fraction of a second too late.

    Bisharp:

    And just as it feared—its defense crumbled.

    In the very next second, Lucario''s fists rained down like a storm, pummeling Bisharp relentlessly.

    Lucario: "Ora Ora Ora Ora------!"

    Bisharp''s body became nothing more than a punching bag, absorbing the full force of Lucario''s furious onslaught.

    With one final, devastating punch, Bisharp was sent flying over a hundred meters, crashing heavily into the ground.

    This time, it didn''t get back up.

    "Luca…"

    Lucario panted heavily, its breathing slightly labored. Maintaining such high-speed combat was incredibly draining.

    Had Bisharp held out for even three or four more seconds, Lucario wouldn''t have been able to sustain that level of attack any longer.

    With this victory, Julian took the first round, igniting a wave of excitement among the Drakorian audience.

    They all knew Julian was strong, but Kaide was no weak opponent either.

    After all, Kaide wasn''t just any trainer—he was the Crown Prince of Gallia, and like Julian, he was considered the strongest of his generation in his country.

    Though they continued to support Julian, many had felt a sense of unease before the match.

    But now, with Lucario defeating Bisharp, even if they couldn''t predict the outcome of the next rounds, at least they had a solid start.

    "Wait… was Bisharp really this weak? I''ve seen its battle footage before—it even defeated a mid-rank Elite as an early Elite!"

    "That mid-rank Elite was from Gallia, right?"

    "Yeah."

    "Well, that explains it. In Drakoria, even a peak pseudo-Elite can destroy a early-rank Elite from Gallia."

    "Don''t believe me? Look at King Julian—he did exactly that!"

    "Lucario: You fell, before I even Mega Evolved."

    "Don''t listen to that guy—Bisharp is actually really strong. If we were both early Elites, I wouldn''t be able to beat it."

    "Everyone, come quick! We found an honest guy here!"

    As Julian secured the first victory, the livestream chat exploded with excitement. sea??h thё Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Meanwhile, at the scene, Hannah clutched the arm of the woman beside her, shouting excitedly.

    Kaide silently retrieved his fallen Bisharp, his expression unreadable, his teammates stood behind him, silent, not daring to utter a word.

    Among them, Richard'' eyes gleamed with mockery.

    Julian, on the other hand, also recalled Lucario, although Lucario could still fight another round, there was no need to push it further.

    After all, it wasn''t often that he found a worthy opponent his age—it only made sense to let his other Pokémon have a chance to battle as well.

    Kaide was indeed strong. Even though they had only fought one match, Julian could already tell—Kaide was capable of battling above his rank, a peak pseudo-Elite able to defeat an early Elite.

    That alone made him a true genius.

    At the same level, even Max probably wouldn''t be able to beat him.

    Max himself knew this, too. After all, he had faced Kaide before—and lost, that was why he had warned Julian to take this match seriously.

    It''s just that he had underestimated Julian, Lucario hadn''t even Mega Evolved, and yet it had defeated an early Elite stage Bisharp, that fact alone left Max truly stunned.

    Julian''s Pokémon… were getting more and more ridiculous.