Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Windward Dojo Challenge Match

“The upcoming match will be between Gym Trainer Feng Lu and the challenger Cheng Cheng. Both sides, please prepare.”

Under Cheng Cheng’s insistence, Feng Lu finally agreed to the battle. The two entered the gym for a very official match.

Standing opposite each other, the atmosphere between Cheng Cheng and Feng Lu was tense. Earlier, Cheng Cheng had forced Feng Lu’s hand and threatened her, which left Feng Lu furious.

“Cheng Cheng Kimu, I’ll show you that I’m right. Make no mistake, you can’t beat me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Cheng Cheng knew he’d gone too far, but what was done was done—he could only see things through. Still, he firmly believed he was in the right.

“Go, Swoobat!”

“Come out, Chimecho!”

“Chime, chime!”

Cheng Cheng decided to stick with the three Pokémon he’d just used. He wanted to prove to Feng Lu that his Pokémon could defeat hers, and that so-called ‘imaginary battles’ were meaningless.

“All right, both sides ready? Begin!”

“Swoobat, use Air Slash!”

Feng Lu made the first move, sending blades of wind slashing toward Chimecho.

“Chimecho, show her the results of our training.”

“Chime!”

Chimecho dodged easily—none of the wind blades touched it.

“Swoobat, use Supersonic!”

“Chimecho, use Psywave!”

“Bwee!”

“Chime!”

The sound waves collided, offsetting each other somewhat. Both Pokémon were affected and stopped to recover from the impact.

“Chimecho, use Confusion!”

Chimecho’s psychic power seized Swoobat, immobilizing it.

“Throw it!”

Chimecho hurled Swoobat to the ground.

“Swoobat, fly up and use Hurricane!”

Swoobat flapped its wings hard, struggling into the air, already badly hurt. Then it whipped up a series of violent winds.

“Chimecho, Protect!”

“Now’s the time—Air Slash!”

As Chimecho’s Protect wore off, Swoobat launched its attack.

“Chimecho, Teleport!”

Thanks to Cheng Cheng’s training, Chimecho’s speed and agility had improved greatly, and it had even learned Teleport.

Chimecho instantly appeared behind Swoobat.

“Chimecho, Bind!”

Chimecho wrapped around Swoobat tightly, rendering it helpless.

“Now, throw it down!”

“Chime!”

Chimecho, using its supple body, flipped itself and slammed Swoobat to the ground. Swoobat lost the ability to battle.

“Swoobat is unable to battle. The winner is Chimecho.”

“Return, Swoobat. Hmph, I expected your Chimecho to win, but you won’t be so lucky next.”

“Go, Unfezant!”

“Now I’ll use Unfezant to defeat your Chimecho and Mr. Mime.”

“Defeating my Chimecho won’t be so easy.”

“Unfezant, Air Slash!”

“Chimecho, dodge quickly!”

Chimecho nimbly avoided the attack.

“Chimecho, use Confusion!”

“Unfezant, break free!”

At the last moment before Unfezant was slammed to the ground, it beat its wings vigorously, escaping Chimecho’s hold.

“Now, use U-turn!”

“Chimecho, Psychic!”

Chimecho’s psychic force knocked Unfezant off course, though Chimecho still took some collateral damage.

“Unfezant, use Hurricane!”

Chimecho tried to withstand the hurricane, but its small body couldn’t stay stable.

“Now’s the chance—U-turn!”

“Chimecho, Double-Edge!”

Chimecho and Unfezant collided head-on, and ultimately Chimecho lost the ability to battle.

“You did great, Chimecho. Come back and rest.”

“Well then, next up—go, Lunatone!”

Feng Lu looked surprised when Cheng Cheng sent out Lunatone. Shouldn’t he have used Mr. Mime? Oh well, it’s all the same.

“Unfezant, Air Slash!”

Feng Lu wasted no time launching an attack.

“Lunatone, use Light Screen!”

Lunatone’s Light Screen blocked the Air Slash, bouncing it away.

“Lunatone, use Rock Slide!”

“Unfezant, Hurricane!”

“Now—Hypnosis!”

The Rock Slide was blown away by Hurricane, but Hypnosis followed immediately after. Unfezant couldn’t dodge and was hit.

“Finish it—Rock Tomb!”

A barrage of rocks fell from above, burying Unfezant. Unfezant lost the ability to battle.

“Unfezant is unable to battle. The winner is Lunatone.”

“Hmph, you’re strong, but I won’t lose. Go, Swanna!”

This time, Cheng Cheng studied Swanna’s stats carefully. Indeed, it was much more powerful than Unfezant and Swoobat, and even surpassed Lunatone in battle prowess.

“Very well. Swanna, Air Slash!”

Why always Air Slash? Is that the only move she knows?

“Lunatone, Protect!”

“Brave Bird!”

Swanna transformed into a blue bird of light and charged at Lunatone.

“Lunatone, use Stone Edge!”

Sharp stones struck Swanna, but Swanna seemed unfazed and crashed straight into Lunatone, landing a direct hit.

“Lunatone, Rock Tomb!”

“Swanna, Quick Attack!”

Swanna zipped away, dodging the falling rocks.

“Lunatone, Stone Edge!”

“Hurricane!”

“Lunatone, Hypnosis!”

“It’s useless—Aqua Ring!”

Rings of water formed around Swanna. Hypnosis struck the Aqua Ring, but it held firm, and Swanna took no damage.

Cheng Cheng was surprised by this impressive defensive move.

“Swanna, again, Brave Bird!”

“Come back, Lunatone.”

Cheng Cheng withdrew Lunatone as Swanna halted its charge.

“What does this mean?”

“Lunatone couldn’t take that hit. I’m forfeiting this round.”

Cheng Cheng knew Lunatone couldn’t withstand that attack—better to withdraw than risk injury.

“Fine, then send out your last Pokémon!” Feng Lu’s confidence was palpable.

“All right, today I’ll show you how I’ll defeat your Swanna. Go, Mr. Mime!”

“Mime!”

“Swanna, Air Slash!”

“Mr. Mime, Barrier!”

Layers of barriers rose in front of Mr. Mime, blocking the Air Slash. However, some barriers were blown away or shattered by the wind.

“Swanna, Brave Bird!”

“Mr. Mime, keep using Barrier!”

Mr. Mime conjured glassy barriers to shield against Brave Bird.

Swanna smashed through several barriers, charging straight for Mr. Mime.

“Mr. Mime, use Confusion!”

Mr. Mime halted Swanna in midair with psychic force.

“Mr. Mime, Double Slap!”

“Mime mime mime mime!”

The slaps landed on Swanna, inflicting significant damage.

“Swanna, back off!”

Swanna quickly soared away from Mr. Mime.

“Use Roost.”

Swanna began to recover its strength and injuries. Cheng Cheng didn’t interrupt, instead having Mr. Mime stack more barriers around itself, forming a fortified shelter.

“You think you’re safe? Watch me break through. Swanna, use Hurricane!”

A violent gale whipped up into a tornado and battered Mr. Mime. The barriers resisted, but many were blown away or destroyed. When the wind subsided, not a single barrier remained standing.

“Swanna, Brave Bird!”

Swanna transformed into a blue bird once again and charged.

“Now! Mr. Mime, use Confusion!”

“Mime!”

Mr. Mime’s eyes flashed blue as it summoned all its strength.

Psychic power lifted the broken barriers from the ground. Yes, Cheng Cheng was using his signature barrier strategy again.

The shards rose and hurtled toward Swanna. The collision interrupted the Brave Bird attack, inflicting heavy damage on Swanna.

“Swanna, Aqua Ring!”

Swanna surrounded itself with rings of water once again, but this time Cheng Cheng wouldn’t let up. This was Mr. Mime’s last burst of strength.

“Mr. Mime!”

Cheng Cheng gave the command.

Mr. Mime gathered all the glass shards shattered by Air Slash earlier and sent them swirling toward Swanna.

The shards slipped through the gaps in Aqua Ring, directly injuring Swanna. The bird was left battered and bleeding from countless small cuts.

“Swanna!”

“Stop! I surrender—stop it!”

“Stop, Mr. Mime.”

Mr. Mime ceased its attack, as Swanna crashed to the ground.

“Swanna, are you all right?”

Feng Lu rushed to cradle her injured Swanna.

“Take your badge and get out—I never want to see you again.”

Cheng Cheng caught the badge that Feng Lu tossed his way.

“I know you hate me, and you can’t understand what I’m saying. But trust me—you’ll meet someone who can change you.”

With that, Cheng Cheng gathered his Pokémon and left the Mistralton Gym.

He knew that nothing he said would reach Feng Lu now—this trouble would have to be left for Ash. He wondered if Ash’s journey would go as smoothly now, after all the changes he had caused.

After leaving Mistralton Gym, Cheng Cheng returned to the Pokémon Center. Once his Pokémon were healed, he set out for the next city.

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