r18novel Chapter 389 Interlude 3: May the Master of Victory and Defeat be able to leave the stage.
Chapter 389 Interlude 3: May the Master of Victory and Defeat be able to leave the stage.
Chapter 391 Interlude 3: May the Master of Victory and Defeat be able to leave the stage.
When N pushed open the top-floor door of the tallest building in Feiyun City, Lanju was standing with her back to the entrance.
The Dark Elite Four member of the Unova Alliance was standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window 540 meters above the ground, with the cityscape below him appearing as insignificant as an ant colony.
Tempered glass perfectly isolates the air pressure and cold at high altitudes, leaving only a dizzying panoramic view.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a long, thin shadow at the feet of the Heavenly King.
The young man glanced past the female bodyguard with sunglasses standing motionless at the door and stepped straight into the deliberately cleared, spacious area.
"Did you know I was coming?"
The nominal king of Team Plasma asked calmly, in his characteristic tone, as if he were talking to a Pokémon.
Without turning around, Lingju gently tapped the glass with his slender right index finger. "Look, this view. It's like a magnified version of that transparent gambling room on the Royal Navy." His voice was filled with intoxication.
"I borrowed this observation deck from my business partner in that gambling game; it cost me a lot of favors. The view from here is truly amazing. The entire city of Feiyun looks like a giant roulette table. It seems that neither the gamblers nor the smoke can escape the fate of drifting upwards."
N surveyed the arena-like space: "By making the interior so spacious, you probably already know why I'm here, right?"
"Of course, of course." Yueju finally turned around, revealing the dangerous smile commonly seen at gambling tables.
"After all, you have already defeated Lian Wu and Wan Long and taken the spoils from them, so I naturally know why you have come."
With a scrutinizing gaze sweeping over the green-haired youth, the gambler said sharply, "Leaving aside that novelist who made a fool of himself in the exchange battle with the Carlos Alliance because of his emotional low, I'm not so sure I would miss the missing boxing gloves on my old friend's hands."
"That wasn't what I asked for," N shook his head. "They insisted on giving me some kind of 'symbol of failure.' Aside from Lian Wu's gloves..."
Wanlong Tianwang also gave me a signed novel. I still don't understand what your criteria are for choosing a keepsake.
"Hehehe." Lingju smiled nostalgically. "Of course you wouldn't understand, because this is a 'rule' Mr. Aldeck taught us—like using chips instead of cash in a casino, it's etiquette that losers must follow."
"Since that's how it is, I have nothing more to say."
N took a step forward, his eyes sharp and determined, but his voice remained calm—"I formally challenge you—the Dark-type Champion of the Unova League, Mr. Blueberry."
"Haha, you're in great spirits! You're a young man after all."
Yueju smiled slightly, shrugged lazily, but a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.
"Since Lianwu and Wanlong are willing to keep your secret after your defeat, it seems that you didn't make this challenge for any evil reason. As the Unova Heavenly King, I certainly have no right to refuse your reasonable request. However, I don't really like this kind of conventional approach."
As the Gambler King spoke, he suddenly swung his arm down.
Outside the room, the silent female bodyguard in sunglasses took out a remote control and quickly pressed the button on it.
"Click, click, click-click-click-click!"
In an instant, countless heavy metal gates crashed down from the ceiling, completely sealing off the entire floor-to-ceiling window.
The sunlight was instantly swallowed up, and the entire space was plunged into absolute darkness, where even the sound of breathing became clearly audible.
From the darkness, Yueju's voice drifted out, carrying the unsettling laughter characteristic of a gambler: "I admit, the current Unova Champion is a rather unreliable guy in terms of fighting ability. Mr. Alder's defeat at his hands is, by any measure, a disgrace in his later years. But..."
The evil king paused for a moment before saying, "Hugo is the champion I acknowledge."
"That guy faced seemingly impossible challenges head-on, betting his chips where victory was within his grasp—as a Champion of the League, and as a trainer who lives by his beliefs, I approve of this outcome."
In the darkness, something seemed to flow silently. Yueju's voice grew closer, carrying a chilling warning: "So if anyone thinks it's much easier to challenge the declining champions during Mr. Ardek's hiatus, I advise them to give up on that idea. Although you seem to have defeated Lian Wu and Wan Long, and are only two steps away from a resounding victory, I will make you understand that the real gamble has only just begun."
A blinding spotlight suddenly shone, precisely locking onto the blueberry.
A gambler with an exaggerated hairstyle stood in the center of the pillar of light, a confident smile on his lips, his fingertips lightly stroking the surface of the Poké Ball.
"You seem determined not to use human-made Poké Balls. It must be very inconvenient to have Pokémon follow you without these modern gadgets, right? It's time to taste the bitter fruit of being out of touch with the times."
He pointed to the steel plates sealing the windows. "These special steel plates have been treated by psychic Pokémon; ordinary spirits can't penetrate them, and 'Teleport' will be ineffective. The ceiling and floor here have undergone similar treatment. I've heard you summon wild Pokémon to fight, but how can you fight in a completely enclosed man-made building like this?"
The Elite Four member narrowed his eyes provocatively: "Without any wild Pokémon answering your call, can you fight alone to the level of that detective?"
Before she could finish speaking, Cranberry flung the Poké Ball out of her hand—
"Bang!"
The deep red crocodile crashed to the ground, its ferocious teeth gleaming coldly under the light.
It let out a low growl, its fierce gaze fixed intently on N.
"Unlike the two Heavenly Kings you've already defeated, I'm a bit harsher. When dealing with opportunistic guests, I'll repay them with an even more opportunistic fighting style."
Lingju walked slowly forward, her leather shoes making a clear tapping sound on the floor.
"Mr. N, as the king, I have an obligation to accept your challenge. But as the challenger—" he sneered, "are you truly prepared to step into this game?"
"...I see. So this is what your inner stage is like?"
Looking at the blueberry standing under the spotlight, N merely squinted slightly and spoke softly.
In the blink of an eye, the darkness shattered like a torn curtain!
The heavy metal gate vanished into thin air, and blinding sunlight poured in like a tidal wave, illuminating the entire space. The rogue crocodile was bewildered, while the blueberry's pupils suddenly contracted—
The female bodyguard who had been standing outside the door was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a red and black fox Pokémon appeared. It sat lazily in place, its blue vertical pupils gleaming with a playful light.
"Zoroark."
The Dark-type Elite Four member struggled to utter the name of this Dark-type Pokémon.
For the first time, his voice wavered under the "phantom" created by Zoroark.
Everything that just happened was actually an illusion created by that Dark-type Pokémon, merely a projection of Cranberry's own mind.
"Please rest assured, the security guard was not injured; she simply fainted from Zoroark's 'Strange Light.' I've already taken her to a room downstairs to rest."
N slightly raised her head, her eyes beneath her green hair staring directly at the lingonberry.
At this moment, the aura between the two had reversed—the young man remained calm and composed, while Yueju's eyes were filled with suspicion.
"Your actions of luring me to follow you on the street were too deliberate, which made me realize something was wrong. In addition, the building's structure is a bit unusual, so I had Zoroark make some necessary preparations in advance."
He paused, his tone still gentle, yet carrying an undeniable firmness: "Furthermore, you seem to believe that I defeated Lianwu and Elite Four member by relying on an attack from wild Pokémon, or some other opportunistic means. But that is not the case."
Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a faint golden hue over this king of plasma clusters.
"As a challenger, I have never underestimated the strength of any of the kings, just as I have the same respect for the current champion."
"Therefore, I will not win by despicable means. What I will do is to defeat the United States Alliance in the most honorable way possible."
Before he finished speaking, the king of the Plasma Group slowly closed his eyes.
In an instant, a cacophony of flapping wings and howling wind came from outside the building.
Cranberry suddenly turned her head and saw five figures floating outside the French windows: a wind fairy as light as a feather, a dancing swan with elegant wings, an electric flying squirrel flashing with lightning, a cold and stern iron-faced ninja, and an artificial cell egg emitting a mysterious light.
Then, as the artificial cell egg triggered a fluctuation of mental energy, space slightly distorted.
The next second, the five Pokémon had already passed through the tempered glass without any steel plate protection, "teleported" into the room, and lined up neatly behind N.
With the addition of Zoroark, which entered the battle arena, there are exactly six Pokémon in a full-scale battle at the Elite Four level.
N opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing.
"Now—let's begin an equal battle."