Chapter 525: House Of Dumb

"Arf!"

Arcanine growled at Magnezone.

This was its first battle since advancing to the Elite level—it had to make it spectacular, to show off in front of its trainer.

It had to let its Trainer know that compared to itself, that bird was nothing but a flashy show-off.

Its gaze subtly flickered toward Moltres in the sky, especially at Julian standing on Moltres's back. This filled Arcanine with jealousy.

A surging wave of fire engulfed Magnezone. The intense flames made the surrounding temperature rise sharply, and some trees visibly dried up and then burst into flames with a deafening sound.

Magnezone unleashed a strong electric current, trying to counter with Thunderbolt.

Unfortunately, it underestimated the power of Flamethrower. The Thunderbolt was swallowed the instant it collided with the flames.

Luckily, Magnezone reacted quickly and dodged the Flamethrower in time.

Arcanine's body was wrapped in red flames, and as it ran, it left behind a blackened trail on the ground.

With a loud bang, a Flare Blitz imbued with burning fire and Arcanine's brute strength smashed into the Magnezone that had just dodged the Flamethrower.

BOOM!

The sheer force sent Magnezone flying back nearly a hundred meters, smashing trees and rocks along the way.

---

Kartana: "Even with one arm, I'll still take your head."

Kartana placed its injured right arm behind its back, full of disdain.

Its opponent, Flygon, responded with a Dragon Pulse.

Kartana: "Pathetic. Watch me cut through it with a single slash."

It extended its left arm, a faint green light covering it. In the next moment, its body turned into a streak of light—Leaf Blade, with unmatched sharpness, sliced the Dragon Pulse in half.

But it didn't end there. After cutting through the Dragon Pulse, the Leaf Blade continued its momentum, slicing toward Flygon's neck.

Flygon was horrified—since when had its Dragon Pulse become so fragile? It frantically flapped its wings to evade.

With a tearing sound, its abdomen was slashed open by Leaf Blade, blood flowing instantly. Thankfully, its neck was spared.

Kartana: "What a pity."

The wound on its belly wasn't deep enough to hinder its movement much, but the pain still seared through Flygon's nerves.

Kartana: "This fight decides not just victory, but life and death."

With that, it charged at Flygon once more.

---

In the sky, Moltres watched the battle below and said, "Is that little Pokémon always so talkative?"

It was referring to Kartana.

The trash talk was relentless. Fortunately, it was strong—otherwise, Flygon would've taken it out long ago.

Julian explained, "That's just its personality."

"Strong Pokémon all have their own quirks."

To outsiders, this explanation would be utterly unbelievable—but Moltres was easy to fool, so it curiously asked:

"Then what's my personality?"

"You?"

Julian hesitated for a moment, as if deep in thought.

Then, under Moltres's expectant gaze, he replied: "You're… pure-hearted."

Pure-hearted = Dumb.

Unfortunately, Moltres didn't catch the underlying meaning behind Julian's words and thought Julian was genuinely praising it. Its eyes crinkled with joy.

Moltres: "You're pure-hearted too—even more than me!"

Feeling the need to return the compliment-since Julian had praised it. Moltres scrambled for words.

But with its limited vocabulary, it could only echo the same term back at him.

SMACK!

A loud slap landed directly on Moltres's face. "That "compliment" was for you only, got it?!"

Even more pure-hearted than you? Who the hell are you calling dumb?!

Moltres was baffled. It was just trying to compliment him—why was he angry now?

'This human is so moody.'

---

"Mel~"

Melmetal stretched out its arms, unleashing two Double Iron Bashes that sent Steelix reeling. The sheer force made the massive serpent's body shudder as if it might collapse.

Luckily, being a Steel-type, it could take a beating.

Steelix retaliated by slamming its tail into the ground, causing jagged stone pillars to erupt from the earth.

"Mel!"

Facing the Stone Edge attack, Melmetal drove its fists into the ground, channeling overwhelming power into the earth. The resulting shockwave rippled outward like a seismic tide.

As the ground caved in, the trajectory of the Stone Edge was forcibly altered.

Meanwhile, the tremors reached Steelix—and every other Pokémon on the battlefield.

After all, Earthquake is an area-of-effect move. Except for Pokémon flying in the air, any grounded Pokémon would be hit.

So Julian's team—Arcanine, Aggron, Lucario—all got caught in the blast. Naturally, Aso and Eguchi's grounded Pokémon were also affected.

"Mel…"

Under the collective "Are you an idiot?!" stares of its teammates, Melmetal scratched its head sheepishly.

Melmetal: "Oops. Forgot this was a team fight. My bad."

Moltres: "Your buddy's IQ is… concerning."

Julian defended: "It just got carried away in battle."

But let's be real—when it came to brains, Arcanine, Melmetal, and Steelix were the "Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger" of his team (i.e., the "genius" trio).

Arcanine was the "Hidden Dragon" (the supposedly wise but actually reckless one), while Melmetal and Steelix took turns playing the "Crouching Tiger" (the "brilliant" counterpart who's just as clueless).

---

Aso and Eguchi were shaken dizzy by the aftershocks of Earthquake. Luckily, they were far enough from the center—any closer, and their brains might've been scrambled.

Bronzong wanted to switch opponents.

Staring at the Aggron in front of it—the same Aggron that had tanked over a dozen of its attacks without a scratch—Bronzong felt emotionally drained.

The damn thing just stood there, letting Bronzong hit it, yet it still couldn't deal any damage. That was seriously messed up.

And fighting Aggron had practically turned the battle into a 'turn-based game'.

It would hit Aggron once, Aggron would stand still and let it hit, then Aggron would hit back. Of course, Bronzong would dodge—otherwise, it would've been knocked out long ago.

This Totem Aggron stood seven meters tall and had the Heavy Metal ability—meaning "agility" was a word that simply didn't exist in its dictionary.

What it did have was extreme defense and devastating destructive power.

Thankfully, Bronzong had kept its distance, giving itself enough time to react—otherwise, Aggron's attacks would've already flattened it.

The most effective moves against Aggron were Fighting and Ground types—those could deal quadruple damage.

But Bronzong didn't know any Fighting-type moves. It did have a Ground-type attack though, a particularly nasty one, Earthquake.

But using Earthquake now…

Bronzong glanced at its current trainer, Eguchi, standing not too far away. If it unleashed Earthquake now, that guy might be done on the spot.

'…Should I?'

Bronzong remembered how Eguchi had stolen it from its original trainer through underhanded means. It had long since accepted its fate.

But now, it saw an 'opportunity'.

Just as it was hesitating, Aggron had already picked up a big rock and hurled it its way.

Moltres, watching from above: "Hah! That big lug's kinda funny."

Julian: "You're all from the House of 'Dumb,' what are you even happy about?"

Moltres: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

*****

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