Chapter 676 - 676: 676. That Shouldn’t Be Possible…

After several seconds, the beam of Hyper Beam finally faded.

As expected—

Scizor was still standing.

Its crimson armor was cracked and scorched in places, but thanks to its steel body and sheer willpower, it had endured the devastating blast.

Kai quietly released the breath he had been holding.

"Good. Scizor—Quick Attack!"

Scizor exhaled a puff of dark breath, then burst forward in a flash of speed toward Slaking!

Despite taking that heavy hit, it had successfully completed Swords Dance.

Now, empowered, its gleaming blade-arms sliced in from two different angles.

Norman responded immediately.

"Block it!"

Slaking swung up its massive palms to intercept—but once again, Scizor used Double Team, splitting into multiple afterimages and disrupting Slaking's judgment.

Slaking glanced left, then right.

Just like before, it couldn't tell which was real!

With a furious roar, it began wildly clawing at the nearest figures, trying to destroy them all at once.

Two phantoms vanished—

But before it could deal with the others, a sharp pain exploded in its lower back.

It twisted around.

The real Scizor had appeared in the exact same position as before.

It had guessed wrong again.

But this time was different.

Under the boost from Swords Dance, the attack finally broke through.

And Scizor wasn't done.

"Fury Cutter!"

Its blades blurred into streaks of silver, slashing repeatedly across Slaking's body.

Slaking cried out and staggered backward, retreating to regain space.

Norman frowned slightly.

That reaction was unexpected.

Even with boosted power, Slaking's defensive bulk should not have allowed it to feel that much pain—unless…

He looked up at Kai.

"Your Scizor's Ability… It's Swarm, isn't it?"

Kai nodded.

"That's right."

Swarm was often misunderstood. Many assumed it enhanced perception—but in truth, when a Pokémon's HP dropped low enough, it greatly amplified the power of its Bug-type moves.

Just like Blaze, Torrent, and Overgrow.

And thanks to that earlier Hyper Beam, Scizor had entered that threshold.

The battlefield fell quiet again as the two Pokémon faced each other.

Both were visibly worn.

The next exchange would decide everything.

In the stands, Misty swallowed nervously.

Among all the Gyms Kai had challenged so far, this one in Petalburg City was easily the toughest.

Partly because Metang still needed refinement—

But mostly because Norman was simply that strong.

From Vigoroth earlier to this Slaking now, his team clearly surpassed most Gym Leaders—including Brawly of Dewford.

Kai narrowed his eyes.

This would be decided now.

Simultaneously, both Trainers shouted:

"Scizor—X-Scissor!"

"Slaking—Hammer Arm!"

They charged.

Crimson energy blades clashed against the glowing fist.

The attacks canceled each other out.

Scizor followed with twin blade strikes—but Slaking grabbed both arms mid-swing.

With overwhelming strength, it lifted Scizor and hurled it away.

Scizor flapped its wings, stabilizing itself midair before landing and immediately counterattacking again.

The exchange was so fast that even Kai struggled to track every motion.

In just seconds, they had traded blows multiple times.

But such ferocity drained stamina rapidly.

Both Pokémon began slowing.

That was when Kai saw it.

An opening.

"Double Team!"

Scizor split once more.

Slaking's eyes widened.

Twice now it had been deceived. Twice it had suffered for it.

This time, it clenched its fist, spun suddenly, and punched diagonally behind itself.

You won't fool me again.

The punch connected—

And passed straight through.

An illusion.

Slaking froze.

Impossible… It attacked from that position the last two times!

How could it change now?

Before it could recover, a sharp slicing sound cut through the air.

The real Scizor struck from above.

A brutal X-Scissor landed squarely across Slaking's back.

Slaking's eyes rolled back.

It collapsed forward with a heavy thud.

The referee raised the flag.

"Slaking is unable to battle! The winner is Scizor!"

It was over.

Kai exhaled slowly.

That had been exhausting.

Without holding back, Norman was terrifying.

Few Trainers could likely claim the Balance Badge under such pressure.

But that was exactly why Hoenn's overall Trainer level felt higher—when they reached the Ever Grande Conference, the competition would be fiercer than Indigo or Silver.

Norman approached, smiling warmly.

"That final Double Team trap… beautifully executed. Was that deliberate training?"

"Yes," Kai replied. "All of my Pokémon that know Double Team train variations like that."

"Deception layered within deception… no wonder you're a Champion."

He handed over the Balance Badge.

Kai accepted it with thanks.

Its twin-scale design resembled a pair of connected balance plates—an unusual aesthetic.

After brief farewells, Kai and Misty left the Gym and headed toward the coast.

---

Toward the Sea

With five badges secured, the next destinations were either Fortree City or Sootopolis City.

Traveling by land across central Hoenn would take far too long.

Kai studied the map.

"We'll sail to Sootopolis first. From there, it's easier to reach the other cities."

Misty agreed without hesitation.

They purchased tickets for a luxury liner bound for Sootopolis. Since departure was scheduled for the following morning, they stayed overnight near the harbor.

After dinner, they walked along the moonlit shore.

Waves shimmered beneath the night sky.

Kai looked toward the sea.

"Once we board, it'll take several days. During that time… help me train, will you?"

Misty blinked. "Me?"

"Yes. Feebas."

Her eyes lit slightly.

"You want to train Feebas?"

Kai nodded.

"My available roster is still limited. It's been with me a long time, but terrain constraints kept it from proper training. I'd like to see it evolve soon."

Into Milotic.

Not only for beauty—

But to expand his team beyond constantly relying on Combusken and Metang.

Misty smiled confidently.

"If it's Water-type training, leave it to me."

Under the vast Hoenn night sky, the next stage of their journey quietly began.

◉◉◉◉◉

~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter

◉◉◉◉◉

For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:

P-atreon/iamxeno

(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)

Thank you so much for your support and for reading!