Boom!
With a loud boom, Darkest Lariat and Dragon Rush, two incredibly powerful moves, violently collided! In an instant, light exploded and energy splattered, shaking the entire independent space. It seemed as if space itself was trembling violently from the impact of these two terrifying forces.
The shockwave spread out like surging waves, distorting and nearly shattering the void in its path.
Even Uncle Zou and Xia Yong, who were outside the independent space, could clearly feel the strong and heart-pounding impact of the colliding moves, despite being separated by a spatial barrier.
Xia Yong’s expression changed drastically as he asked the captain, “Captain, what’s going on? Should we enter that space to investigate?”
Uncle Zou was also surprised. Why was there such a fierce collision of moves, as if a intense battle was taking place inside? But since he intended to wait for them, he had to be patient.
“No rush. Perhaps they want to lure us in, and they might have already set up traps at the entrance. If you really can’t wait, you can go alone.”
“No, no, Captain, I think I’m not strong enough to appear before a Champion-level Pokémon. Only you have a chance to capture it,” Xia Yong said, waving his hand with a hint of fear.
“At least you’re sensible.”
About thirty to forty meters away, in a dense forest, Qi Shu lowered her voice, like a thief, and quietly asked Zou Tianwang next to her, “Uncle Zou, how long do we have to wait here? Aren’t we going to go down and catch them all?!”
Zou Yi put down his binoculars and looked at the young Gym Leader beside him with a bit of helplessness, asking, “Do you have the strength to defeat or kill that Drapion with near-Champion level strength?”
Qi Shu was a bit anxious and replied, “Then what should we do? And I haven’t even found any trace of Xiao Heng.”
Zou Yi replied, “If nothing unexpected happened, Zhang Heng should have entered that independent space. Uncle Zou and that ordinary member should be waiting for them.”
Qi Shu: “Then what should we do? Are we just going to keep waiting here?”
Zou Yi: “I’ve already sent the location information to the Alliance via the communication device. If nothing unexpected happens, a Trainer with the title of strongest Elite should arrive this time.”
“Uncle Zou, haven’t you received any news from the outside world for a long time?”
Zou Yi looked puzzled. “Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“The eight regional Elites were all swept by my master alone. Their main Pokémon probably haven’t recovered from their injuries yet…”
Zou Yi: “…Then we can only pray that the one who comes to support us is a Champion!”
………………
Inside the independent space
The huge dragon head illusion formed by Walking Wake’s Dragon Rush lasted less than two and a half seconds before being shattered by Urshifu’s single punch from a standing position.
If one were to evaluate Walking Wake’s performance in this battle, it could only be described as utterly helpless.
Urshifu’s fist was pressed against Walking Wake’s cheek, but the punch didn’t actually land, indicating that Urshifu had held back a lot of power.
Although Urshifu had not yet recovered to full health, his combat power, spirit, and energy had all returned to their peak.
Some settings in the Pokémon world already reveal clues. Under normal circumstances, abnormal statuses cannot stack. If Urshifu were still poisoned, burn could not be applied. However, in Walking Wake’s Flamethrower attack just now, Urshifu was burned, which indicates that Urshifu had already gotten rid of the poisoned status.
This battle, coupled with the scorching from a Flamethrower, caused Urshifu’s blood to churn, making the antidote Zhang Heng injected into him volatilize faster and neutralize the toxins in his body.
Walking Wake looked at the fist so close to him, licked his dry mouth, stiffened his neck, and slowly retreated.
Zhang Heng walked over and patted Walking Wake’s hind leg, comforting him, “It’s okay, we’ll keep getting stronger. The level difference is too great right now, and we can’t fully utilize our advantages and strength.”
“We lost. Thank you, Urshifu. I know you showed us mercy in this match. You made us aware of more of our shortcomings.”
Urshifu nodded, then retracted his fist, extending both arms and looking at them in front of him. Then he clenched his fists tightly and swung them a few times in the air. The wind from his punches whistled, making crackling sounds like popping beans, all indicating that he had recovered from the poisoned status.
Since Urshifu had recovered, Zhang Heng had no more worries. Next was to enter the Water Tower! Complete the trial!
Urshifu’s telepathy slowly echoed in the depths of Zhang Heng’s mind: “Standing before the Water Tower, the one who can gain the Water Tower’s recognition will naturally be drawn by its power and enter it.”
Zhang Heng and Walking Wake walked side by side directly towards the Water Tower standing before them. A small pink creature was still perched on Zhang Heng’s shoulder.
At this moment, Zhang Heng couldn’t help but ponder. Previously, he had heard from Urshifu that only Water-type Pokémon and their exclusive Trainers were qualified to participate in this trial.
However, what accompanied him now was Mudkip, which was not a traditional Water-type Pokémon. Zhang Heng’s Mudkip was very interested in red objects.
Sure enough, just then, Mudkip suddenly leaped from Zhang Heng’s shoulder, happily scampering towards the red lacquered wooden door, and extended its pink little paw, eager to tap on the door.
“Hey! Mudkip, don’t go!”
But it was too late. The seemingly solid red lacquered wooden door rippled in layers, like the subtle waves created on a calm lake by a gentle breeze.
Even more miraculously, the door seemed to instantly become transparent, and before Mudkip’s pink little paw could truly touch the door, it was already pulled by an invisible, powerful force, and its entire body instantly vanished from everyone’s sight.
Zhang Heng was anxious and had no time to think too much. He immediately took large strides and, together with Walking Wake beside him, rushed into the mysterious wooden door at the fastest speed. At the same time, Kubfu, who had been closely following them, also leaped in without hesitation, and its figure instantly disappeared into the strange world behind the door.