Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 578: A Real Man Never Looks Back at Explosions!

The battle began!

Cynthia stood with one hand on her hip, calm and confident, seizing the initiative without hesitation.

"Gastrodon, Rain Dance!"

"Wochuuu—!!"

A thin sheen shimmered around Gastrodon's body as it lifted its head. Above the battlefield, swirling dark clouds gathered in spirals, unleashing a torrential downpour.

"The weather has turned to rain!" the announcer cried out.

In the audience, many were puzzled.

"When did Miss Cynthia start playing weather strategies?"

"She's going to battle Mr. Johan in weather wars? Even Raihan the 'Weather Child' got wrecked and renamed 'Weather's Abandoned Son.'"

"Plus, Urshifu is in Rapid Strike Style right now—rain benefits it too, doesn't it?"

...

Unlike the audience's confusion, Lucian and the others quickly saw Cynthia's plan.

"Rain doesn't just boost Water-type moves—it drastically reduces the power of moves like Solar Beam and Solar Blade," Lucian explained seriously, crossing his legs and adjusting his glasses.

Even though Johan didn't have any Grass-types, that didn't mean his Pokémon lacked Grass-type moves. Ceruledge's Solar Blade and Armarouge's Solar Beam were notoriously strong.

But in the rain, Fire-type Ceruledge would struggle. It was already weak to Water and Ground, and even if it made it out, rain heavily nerfed its Grass-type attacks—making it hard to threaten Gastrodon.

Flint leaned forward, chin in hand. "When it comes to dealing with Fire-types, the Queen's a pro."

That comment from a Fire-type specialist carried weight.

Aaron blinked. "You gave her, what—90% of that experience?"

Out of 149 matches, he challenged her 149 times and lost every single one. Cynthia probably learned everything about countering Fire-types from battling Flint.

Flint grimaced.

Still, Cynthia's strategy here strengthened her own field while keeping Ceruledge at bay.

On the field—

As Cynthia gave her command, Johan acted in sync.

"Urshifu, Wicked Blow!"

"Garruu!! zzZ"

The moment the words left his lips, the once wide-eyed, snarling Urshifu began snoring—yet its movements didn't slow. It stomped forward with force.

It had shifted to Single Strike Style!

Some spectators were confused.

Isn't it raining?

Wouldn't Surging Strikes hit harder with the rain boost?

Clearly, those viewers hadn't paid attention to Cynthia's past matches.

Her Gastrodon had the Storm Drain ability!

Water moves wouldn't deal damage—they'd power Gastrodon up. That's also why she opened with Rain Dance.

Even if both sides benefited from rain, Gastrodon's Storm Drain ensured it came out ahead in any Water-type exchange.

And Thunder?

As a Ground-type, Gastrodon was immune to Electric-type moves.

So Rain was perfect for Gastrodon—and choosing it as her opener showed serious forethought.

"That's a punch cutting through the downpour!" the announcer roared.

Even while asleep, Urshifu charged forward swiftly. Its fist was wreathed in dark energy as it swung it hard at Gastrodon.

"Gastrodon, take it head-on!" Cynthia said, still smiling.

Take it?

Johan's Urshifu's punch—just tank it?

Gastrodon growled low, then braced its body. It thrust out its soft underbelly to absorb the blow.

Boom!!

The punch struck hard. Water burst outward behind Gastrodon, and the ground beneath cracked with massive fractures.

"Wochuuu!!" Gastrodon whimpered in pain.

But—

It didn't get knocked back!

More importantly—

Urshifu felt off. Though the punch landed, it felt like... punching into a pillow. Something was off with the impact.

Then the audience saw Gastrodon's body melt down, going limp like slush.

"Oh ho ho—it's Acid Armor! A surprising tactic!" explained Alder from the commentator's box.

Yes, the League invited Champion Alder again despite fears he might fall asleep mid-match. Thankfully, he was in good shape today and offered solid insight.

[Acid Armor: Liquefies the body structure to drastically boost physical defense!]

Though Gastrodon looked soft, it was incredibly resilient. With Acid Armor, it used flexibility to withstand brute force.

"And it looks like Miss Cynthia knows a thing or two about martial arts," Alder added.

In the stands, Flint rubbed his face.

Using softness to counter strength?

Johan's brow twitched. Gastrodon could be used like this?

Normally a balanced Pokémon with decent bulk and low speed, Gastrodon had just turned its defensive weakness into a wall.

Plus, this tactic compensated for its slowness—using soft counters rather than speed.

"Gastrodon, distance yourself—Muddy Water!"

Even Cynthia was surprised—not because Gastrodon had taken the hit, but because it had still cried out in pain.

Had Johan's Urshifu gotten even stronger?

"Wochuuu!!"

Whoosh—

A swirling tide of muddy water rose around Gastrodon, pulling it backward while rushing toward Urshifu.

Boosted by rain, the muddy wave was like a landslide.

Against a "crit master" like Urshifu, lowering its accuracy wasn't a bad strategy.

But—

"Urshifu, split the water!"

"Garruu!"

Eyes snapping open, Urshifu met the wave with a fierce gaze and prepared to strike.

Whoosh—

The muddy torrent parted down the middle!

"Urshifu has split the Muddy Water!!" shouted the announcer, electrified.

Just as nobody expected Gastrodon's soft-belly counter, nobody foresaw Urshifu punching through a wave.

"Garruu!!!"

Urshifu roared with intensity.

Ash might've said: "That's a punch full of spirit!"

"Wicked Blow!" Johan barked, eyes flashing blue.

"Garruu! zzZ"

Having cut through the wave, Urshifu lunged forward.

"Block it, Gastrodon!" Cynthia grew more serious.

Was Urshifu immune to Water-type moves? It felt like it was.

Boom!!

The dark punch hit Gastrodon's belly again.

"Same move again?"

"Didn't work last time. Plus, Gastrodon already boosted its defense. This should do even less, right?"

"What's Johan thinking?"

The crowd buzzed.

"Wochuuu!!"

Gastrodon groaned once more.

Lucian furrowed his brow. "Wait—Gastrodon took more damage this time."

Same attack. Same defense. One extra Acid Armor boost.

So why more damage?

"Oh?"

Alder narrowed his eyes, then realized the truth.

"Urshifu's Wicked Blow isn't just a Single Strike Style signature..."

What did that mean?

Cynthia and Gastrodon, who took the blow directly, understood best.

That punch—was stronger.

Had Johan merged Rapid Strike and Single Strike styles?

Cynthia was stunned.

Just as Johan understood her, she knew his team well too.

His Urshifu mastered both styles—but could only use their special moves in the correct state: awake or asleep.

But after repeatedly switching between sleep and awareness...

Was he fusing the two styles?

If so, even though he used Wicked Blow, it was infused with Rapid Strike's principles—each punch getting stronger!

Gastrodon's defense boosts became irrelevant.

Still—

Gastrodon endured the attack and started to liquefy again.

Acid Armor!

A second use—stacking up to +4 Defense.

Against most physical attackers, this setup would be nearly untouchable—especially combined with recovery.

But against Urshifu...

"Gastrodon, Scald!"

Cynthia frowned slightly.

Whoosh—

Scalding hot water burst forth, steam rising into the air.

Hiss— freewebnoveℓ.com

The heat turned the battlefield into a sauna. Even if Urshifu split the wave again, it couldn't counter the mist.

This time, Gastrodon didn't back away—the distance between them was too short for Urshifu to dodge effectively.

So Johan had Urshifu charge straight through the boiling water again.

"Wicked Blow!"

The attack tore through the wave, splitting it.

But—

Luck wasn't with Johan.

The heat from Scald inflicted a Burn!

Burn = halved physical attack.

Finally!

Cynthia exhaled. With +4 Defense and Urshifu's attack halved, its damage output should—

Boom!!

The thought barely formed before Urshifu's Wicked Blow landed hard on Gastrodon.

Bzzz—

"Garruu..."

Urshifu opened its eyes, exhaling a puff of white breath.

Then turned around, silently.

Behind it—

Gastrodon groaned softly. The swirling water and falling raindrops exploded into mist.

BOOM!!

Its eyes widened, and it collapsed with a whimper.

A real man never looks back at explosions.

Dead silence.

"G-Gastrodon is unable to battle!!" the referee finally shouted.

The crowd slowly came back to life.

"Urshifu's turn... was so cool..."

"But why? It was burned!"

"What kind of punch was that?!"

"I want to learn it—but I can't!"

...

Alder squinted, then his face lit up in understanding. He muttered:

"So it was... Aura."

Aura?

Cynthia had realized it too.

Johan's Urshifu hadn't merged styles—yet.

The reason Gastrodon's defenses failed was because Urshifu used Aura!

Aura flows like water—its multi-hit nature akin to Rapid Strike Style's barrage.

And since Aura is Special Attack—it ignores the Burn's physical debuff!

Johan had hidden this well.

"So Johan was shouting Wicked Blow... but actually using Aura Sphere?!"

"Damn! That's dirty! Using tricks on Miss Cynthia!"

"No wonder it hit so hard—Johan's ruthless!"

Lucian and the others finally understood.

"Wicked Blow on the outside, Rapid Strike in the flow... This is a 'Martial Arts Master' indeed," Lucian murmured.

So underhanded!

He even shouted "Wicked Blow" on purpose!

Who'd expect a physical specialist to throw Special moves?

It's like expecting Gengar to punch.

This was one of Johan's theories.

In his original world, martial arts had inner styles, chi, and internal energy.

Both styles of Urshifu were forms of martial arts—but what if Aura was the chi?

Technically, it was Wicked Blow—but infused with Aura.

Like Armarouge's "Arm Cannon" could be fused with Aura too.

But Urshifu's mastery of martial arts made it harder to detect.

"Well done. Return, Gastrodon."

Cynthia recalled her fallen Pokémon and looked at Johan.

She smiled faintly.

So that's your hidden card, huh?

Waiting until now to use it?

Johan shivered. A chill ran down his spine.

Did I just piss her off...?

Well...

Urshifu had won, but now it was burned.

It would struggle to keep up its strength.

So while Johan took the lead, the advantage wasn't huge...

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Powerstones?

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