“Bang!” With a muffled thunder-like thud, the entire battlefield seemed to tremble slightly.
The poor Mudkip, like a projectile forcefully launched, arced through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
At this moment, the battlefield fell into a deathly silence. Zhang Heng stared intently at the Mudkip lying on the ground, his heart filled with worry and tension.
Although this Rapid Spin caught Zhang Heng off guard and caused some damage to Mudkip, it wasn't fatal. Mudkip shook its small head and stood up again.
“Mudkip, are you alright?”
“Grah Grah~” Mudkip responded easily to Zhang Heng, indicating that he was fine and could continue.
The huge stone hanging in Zhang Heng’s heart finally fell. He let out a long sigh of relief, but before he could fully exhale, his relaxed brows were suddenly furrowed tightly again, as if an invisible hand had yanked them.
For a moment, his mind felt like a tangled mess, unable to figure out the true nature of this strange rule.
Why could Wartortle use a Normal physical attack move—Rapid Spin? One must know, according to the previously understood rules, this layer of space should have strict restrictions on skill usage.
Didn't they say only Fighting-type, Evil-type, and Water-type moves could be used? Then what was going on with this Wartortle?
What made Zhang Heng even more frustrated was that he had clearly given the command for Mudkip to use the Normal status move—Protect—to counter the opponent's attack, but it ended in failure.
This series of unexpected situations caught Zhang Heng off guard. He began to wonder if his understanding of the rules here was wrong, or if there was some unknown secret hidden within?
Before he could think further, Wartortle’s body, which had been retracted into its shell, extended out again. Its mouth gathered the rich Water-type energy within the trial tower.
With a “Puff~” sound, like a muffled thunder, it was the sound of water being extremely compressed and then rapidly ejected.
Immediately after, a water column as thick as a bowl, like an arrow released from a bowstring, shot straight towards Mudkip’s face, carrying immense impact.
Facing this sudden attack, the trainer Zhang Heng shouted, “Mudkip, we’ll counter with Water Gun!”
From the moment he hatched from his egg, Mudkip had been carefully nourished by Zhang Heng using Hydro. Long-term immersion and influence from this power made Mudkip's control over Water-type energy far surpass that of other Pokémon.
Furthermore, being inside the Water Tower, surrounded by extremely rich Water-type energy, these energies continuously flowed into Mudkip's body, further enhancing his strength.
Mudkip opened his mouth, and Water-type energy quickly gathered within it, as if a small blue vortex was constantly spinning. In the blink of an eye, a powerful Water Gun attack, comparable to the water column launched by Wartortle, shot out from Mudkip’s mouth.
“Bang~” With a loud crash, the two Water Guns collided fiercely. Instantly, water splashed everywhere, like countless sparkling pearls scattering.
The two powerful forces countered each other, making it difficult to determine a winner for a moment. The entire space was filled with surging water waves, forming a hazy world of water mist.
Wartortle, with extremely high battle intelligence, decisively abandoned the Water Gun skill for a direct attack. Instead, he retracted his head, limbs, and his massive tail completely into his shell, using Rapid Spin again. The rapidly spinning shell sped towards Mudkip.
“Still using that move? Mudkip, stop him with Water Gun!”
In fact, Zhang Heng already had an excellent way to break through, but this method could only be used at a critical moment, as it was related to the outcome of this trial. He couldn't easily reveal this trump card; for now, he could only conceal his true strength.
Mudkip, still gathering Water-type energy, spat out a Water Gun attack as thick as a bowl towards the direction Wartortle was charging from.
Strangely, Wartortle, while retracted into his shell, still possessed extremely high sensory abilities. As if he knew a Water Gun was about to shoot at him, he controlled the spinning shell, then made a turn in the air, dodging the Water Gun attack. He continued to charge towards Mudkip.
Mudkip continued to control the Water Gun, sweeping it sideways, the Water Gun skill continuously pursuing the shell's trajectory.
However, Rapid Spin has another effect: it can break free from restraints and increase the user's speed by one stage.
Wartortle had already gained a speed boost when he used Rapid Spin for the first time. Now, the speed of Rapid Spin was not something Water Gun could directly hit.
In a flash, Wartortle, controlling his spinning shell, was already diagonally above Mudkip, attacking Mudkip's body at a 45-degree angle.
“Mudkip, seize the opportunity and use Water Gun on the ground.”
Mudkip didn't hesitate, spitting a Water Gun skill towards the ground. The recoil of the Water Gun skill propelled him into the air. Mudkip cleverly used the Water Gun skill to dodge Wartortle's Rapid Spin.
Boom~
Wartortle’s Rapid Spin skill missed, striking the solid ground, which caused some recoil. It was like being inside a hard shell and someone hitting it hard with a hammer; although seemingly safe inside the shell, it's easy to suffer internal injuries from the shock.
Looking at Wartortle, who had crashed to the ground and was somewhat dizzy from the recoil, he exited the retracted-into-shell state.
Zhang Heng, as if to test something, commanded, “Mudkip, use Tackle.”
Mudkip, without doubt, charged down from the air using gravity, crashing heavily onto Wartortle, pushing Wartortle's body further into the ground. Mudkip used the recoil to do a somersault in the air, landing steadily in front of Zhang Heng.
Tackle, a Normal physical attack move, 40 power, hits the opponent with the entire body.
Zhang Heng drew a conclusion from Mudkip's use of the Tackle skill, and his doubts were dispelled. He said, “Sure enough! It’s another rule designed for Kubfu.”
Normal physical attack moves, rather than being skills, are more like a Pokémon's natural battle instincts, because they don't even need to be powered by Normal energy; they only require the body and strength to be trained to a certain level to be executed.
Wartortle's Rapid Spin and Mudkip's Tackle are both like this; they are their own battle instincts and not part of a skill.
So, the goal of this layer is to stimulate the trial-takers' battle instincts, and Kubfu has always been known for his diligent training. Passing this stage should not be difficult.
In fact, as early as the battle between Walking Wake and Urshifu, Urshifu, without using his fists or feet, repelled Walking Wake several meters with a single headbutt, demonstrating the advantage of battle instincts in actual combat.