Shadow Team's base camp.
Raven was currently inspecting the training results of these nine Trainers.
Tetsuya silently walked over and lightly leaned against the iron fence.
"…Hm? You're here?" Raven said.
"I'm here."
After Tetsuya finished speaking, he could already hear the whistle of the huge ship. Looking into the distance, it was precisely Shadow Team's huge ship.
Three years, and he could finally leave...
The Shadows were even more jubilant, because this time they could also follow the huge ship to the main island. If Mew was in a good mood, they might even go enjoy themselves on the mainland~
Under everyone's expectant gazes, Kurusaki Sō's ship finally docked. This time, he did not bring any supplies. What he brought was only some old sake to share with Raven.
"Raven, when are you preparing to set off? This time I roughly helped you inquire about the situations on the other islands. Your first place should no longer be a problem," Sō said.
"Many thanks, but I still have a little matter to handle."
After speaking, Raven walked before Tetsuya and said, "Can we begin?"
Actually, Raven also really wanted to know just how much progress Tetsuya had made during this year. For someone who spoke with such arrogance, did he truly possess genuine ability, or was he merely blindly overconfident?
"Let's begin," Tetsuya said.
"Heh… not going to ask how we'll fight?"
"As you wish."
"Raheh…
Raven coldly laughed, unexpectedly left speechless. "The nine of them will all use their strongest Pokémon to battle you. Prepare the Pokémon you will send out. Two battles a day."
"Mn."
Tetsuya swept his gaze across the nine with the corner of his eyes. Although they all looked familiar, the only names he could call out were Jacky and Ben.
Tetsuya had already decided on the Pokémon he would send out. Golett was about to evolve. He had focused on it for more than a year, and now it was time for Evolution.
"Who's first!?" Raven asked the nine people behind him.
"I'll go first! Come out, Machamp!" Ben stepped forward first, wanting to avenge his previous defeat against Tetsuya.
The same Machamp that had lost to Gengar a year and a half ago. The moment it appeared, it assumed a battle stance. At the very least, its impetus was not inferior, and Ben also looked very confident.
"Golett."
Tetsuya threw out a Poké Ball, and it was Golett appearing before Machamp.
"Kusooo! Why is it another Ghost-type Pokémon? Can't you change types for once!? So irritating!" Ben was also very helpless. Fighting-type moves had no effect on Golett. It would already be good enough if Machamp could display half of its strength.
"Tcht. Machamp, use Foresight!"
It seemed Ben had indeed learned to "behave". He had made Machamp pick up this seemingly useless move.
"Charge over and attack it however you want."
However, using Foresight required concentration. How could Golett possibly give it such an opportunity? Golett, covered in five layers of energy, almost instantly appeared before Machamp.
Golett threw a punch, precisely Ice Punch, striking Machamp's upper left arm directly. A chill instantly invaded, causing Machamp to involuntarily shiver.
Another punch struck out. Fire Punch hit Machamp's upper right arm as scorching flames burned its shoulder. One second it was freezing cold, and the next second it was being burned until it cried out repeatedly.
The third punch swung out, Thunder Punch, targeting Machamp's lower left arm. Threads of electric sparks triggered every cell in its body, making its entire body feel numb and powerless.
The fourth punch struck out, Shadow Punch. It directly hit Machamp's lower right arm. It was as if shackles from Ghost World had locked onto its arm, while waves of mournful wails unexpectedly echoed beside its ears, making one's hair stand on end.
Following that, Golett leaped upward, and Hammer Arm directly smashed onto Machamp's head.
From beginning to end, Golett's entire sequence of actions only took four seconds. Forget using a move like Foresight that required concentration, Machamp could not even accomplish something as simple as throwing a punch. Within four seconds, Golett had already defeated Machamp.
In the blink of an eye, Machamp crashed heavily to the ground!
Looking at the fallen Machamp, Ben swallowed hard.
"U-Um, excuse me... has it started yet?"
"It's already over." Tetsuya recalled Golett, preparing for the afternoon's battle.
Even Raven could not help drawing in a cold breath. Although Golett had the type advantage, Ben's combat power was still among the top five. Yet he had actually lost so quickly. Even Raven himself could not accomplish such a thing.
'Could it be that this Tetsuya's strength has already surpassed mine…?' Raven began muttering inwardly.
"…ven! …aven…! Raven! What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"
Kurusaki Sō interrupted Raven's thoughts.
"N-No, it's nothing…" Raven said.
Sō smiled and softly said, "Don't worry, Raven. No matter how strong this Tetsuya is, he's still your subordinate. At that time, you can completely tell Yamamoto-sama that you personally trained him yourself. Then won't your future naturally be smooth sailing~?"
"…Oh? That's right, that's right, rahahaha!"
---◓---
For four consecutive days of battle, Tetsuya had sent only Golett onto the battlefield. This made it even more impossible for people to discern Tetsuya's true strength, and it inevitably caused people to speculate about the power of his other Pokémon. Was Golett his strongest or weakest Pokémon? Opinions differed greatly, and no one could reach a conclusion.
During the four days of battle, he defeated eight people, all of whom had their strongest Pokémon at their disposal.
Among them were Dark-, Ground-, Water-type, and others that restrained Golett, but all were defeated by Golett. The one that lasted the longest only persisted for five minutes. Their level weren't even close to Tetsuya's.
On the morning of the fifth day, the final opponent, Jacky.
He was also the strongest among the nine. He was also their final hope. After all, if all nine people lost, it would be truly humiliating.
From what Tetsuya knew, the Pokémon Jacky had were Pidgeot, Pikachu, Marowak, and Breloom. It just depended on which one he would use.
Jacky fixed his gaze on Tetsuya. Tetsuya had already sent out Golett, while the Ground-type Marowak and Grass-type Breloom both possessed ways that restrained Golett.
"Breloom!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Jacky threw out Breloom's Poké Ball.
Upon seeing Jacky's Breloom, even Raven could not help nodding in approval. This Breloom had already become Jacky's strongest Pokémon.
Originally, Breloom was the last Pokémon Jacky had caught, and in the beginning its combat power had also been the weakest. However, this fellow was exceptionally hardworking, and coupled with its own fairly good potential, it had gradually surpassed Jacky's other Pokémon.
Just a year and a half ago, after Jacky lost to Tetsuya, Breloom began training frantically. Even Jacky himself could not understand why Breloom had suddenly become so frenzied. Now it had already become the strongest Pokémon among all the Pokémon owned by these nine people, and even Raven gave it high recognition.