In an instant, a thunderous roar echoed—"Rumble!"—and the entire battlefield trembled.
Kubfu's powerful punch landed squarely on Blastoise's shell.
The impact generated was so astonishing that the surrounding water was pushed away, creating a waterless vacuum.
Kubfu used one of the Fighting-type’s high-power moves, Focus Punch, which has 100 power and involves striking with full force.
It is guaranteed to leave the target confused.
In the game, this move only has a 50% accuracy rate, meaning whether it hits or not depends entirely on luck, but in a real battle, judging a move's hit rate based on game mechanics would be unreasonable.
In real combat, this move has a somewhat long wind-up, giving the opponent ample time to react, making it relatively easy to dodge.
However, a stationary fort like Blastoise finds it very difficult to dodge attacks from a nimble, speed-oriented Pokémon like Kubfu; normally, it would either counter-attack or withdraw into its shell to mitigate some damage.
Kubfu seemed to have touched the threshold of activating its battle instincts, honed by the Detect move and the barrage of Water Gun attacks it endured earlier.
As soon as it landed a hit, Kubfu did not slow its offense; instead, it pressed its advantage, launching another swift strike.
Its figure flashed, followed by an incredibly fierce Low Kick, like lightning streaking across the night sky, striking directly at the lower right side of Blastoise's shell!
With a loud "boom," Blastoise's massive body instantly lost balance, and its entire shell, like a falling meteor, slammed heavily onto the ground.
Blastoise, already confused from the powerful impact of Focus Punch, was now in an even worse state.
Although both attacks were through its hard shell, the immense impact still left Blastoise disoriented.
After a while, Blastoise slowly and with difficulty extended its head, tail, and limbs from its shell.
It endured the pain on its body, swaying as it tried to stand up from the water again.
However, Blastoise was not only confused but also suffered multiple injuries, as if the energy body also felt anger and pain, which made it fall into a complete rage!
Suddenly, accompanied by a deafening roar, the two giant cannons on Blastoise's shoulders extended sharply.
In an instant, countless Water Gun attacks burst forth like a breaking dam, spraying aimlessly in all directions.
"Puff, puff, puff…"
A series of dense water jets crisscrossed in the air, spraying wildly in all directions, as if to submerge everything in the surrounding area within this curtain of water.
Kubfu was panting heavily; its originally slender body now seemed to have lost most of its strength, appearing somewhat shaky.
However, facing such a difficult situation, Kubfu showed no signs of retreat.
It kept its eyes fixed on Blastoise, who was raging and spraying moves not far ahead, silently pondering a counter-strategy.
Suddenly, it fiercely mobilized the last bit of strength within its body and unleashed its most practiced and efficient move—Detect!
With the activation of this move, Kubfu's movements became even more agile; it skillfully dodged left and right, successfully evading Blastoise's continuous powerful Hydro Pump attacks.
Not only that, but Kubfu also used the brief moments of dodging to continuously close the distance with Blastoise.
At the same time, its sharp claws gradually came together into a palm shape, and it began to furiously absorb Fighting-type energy from the surrounding air.
In the blink of an eye, a powerful surge of Fighting-type energy, like a surging torrent, continuously gathered onto Kubfu's palm.
Finally, Kubfu seized the opportunity and rushed in front of Blastoise with lightning speed.
Then, it leaped high and, with all its might, brought down that energy-infused palm heavily onto Blastoise's head.
This was Brick Break!
Previously, Urshifu had used this attack to directly shatter Drednaw's hard shell, but the current Kubfu is not yet capable of such power.
With a loud "bang," Blastoise let out a painful wail after suffering this heavy blow.
And it was at this moment that something astonishing happened: under Kubfu's powerful strike, Blastoise's previously confused and hazy eyes instantly regained clarity.
Subsequently, its massive body also began to slowly decompose, transforming into countless tiny blue Water-type energy particles.
These energy particles, like twinkling stars in the night sky, scattered and drifted in the air, eventually dissipating completely into this trial space, along with the stagnant water that had previously covered the entire field.
Kubfu was breathing heavily, and with a "whoosh," it exhaled a murky breath, then wiped the sweat from its forehead with its arm.
At this moment, Kubfu was extremely happy.
It had passed the second floor of the Water Tower trial by itself and had begun to master its battle instincts, which offered an undeniable advantage for a Fighting-type Pokémon.
Just then, this space underwent a new change; the Water-type energy that had previously dissipated suddenly reappeared out of thin air, then began to intertwine and rotate, forming a white-blue portal that rippled throughout the space.
Kubfu was not surprised by this, as it had already passed the second floor of the trial.
It stepped lightly, quickly passing through this portal to arrive at the third and final trial scene.
His expression was the same as Zhang Heng's first arrival at the final trial ground.
The vibrant surroundings made him wonder if he was in a tower, but a glance revealed an area not far ahead that had been scorched by something unknown, leaving only yellowed earth and withered vegetation.
Mudkip, who had been observing, also caught sight of Kubfu entering this trial ground.
It happily waved its small pink paws and trotted over to Kubfu, nudging Kubfu's body forward with its head.
Kubfu was pushed forward by Mudkip and looked at Zhang Heng, who was wearing a z-ring, and Walking Wake, who was controlling Twister to blow Azumarill into the air, with an expression full of surprise.
It seemed surprised by the strength of Zhang Heng and Walking Wake; shouldn't trials involve give-and-take, a punch from you and a kick from me, with fists meeting flesh?
How could the guardian be "abused" like this?
"Fairy-type, huh? Resisting all my offensive moves, huh? Fine! Let's see if you can take this, Walking Wake!"