Chapter 91 – One Punch

This scene immediately drew surprised reactions from some of the spectators.

"Energy Ball? No way! I thought that was a Grass-type move?"

"That's right, Energy Ball is indeed a Grass-type move. But there are a few non-Grass-type Pokémon that can learn it. Still, I don't think Pangoro is one of them."

"Exactly. So, what's going on here? Could this be some kind of lucky encounter or special technique?"

Several instructors exchanged puzzled looks, clearly shocked.

But the next moment left their mouths wide open in disbelief.

Pangoro raised its hand and… actually swallowed the Energy Ball in one gulp?!

"What the hell? Is that Pangoro trying to kill itself?" Sam couldn't help but jump up and shout.

But just a second later, it became clear what was happening.

Pangoro's body began to swell, becoming even more burly and imposing, and a terrifying aura erupted from it.

"Rooaaar!"

With Pangoro's roar, a shimmering green glow began to surface across its skin.

"Samurott, attack first! Use Scald!" Julian didn't understand what was going on, but he had a bad feeling and quickly gave the command.

Samurott obeyed immediately, opening its mouth and firing a stream of steaming hot water toward Pangoro.

Seeing this, Nathan smirked. "Let's end this. Pangoro, go all out! Use Swords Dance to dodge, then get in close and hit it with Thunder Punch!"

"Roar!"

Pangoro nodded, its figure suddenly disappearing from its original spot. In the blink of an eye, it had sidestepped the Scald attack with surprising finesse.

"So fast!"

Julian's pupils contracted. He was stunned by Pangoro's speed.

Then, sparks of lightning crackled around Pangoro's right fist. The sound of electricity buzzing filled the air, and dazzling arcs of lightning shot down its arm, wrapping it in electric power.

Pangoro vanished again.

Its terrifying speed exploded forth, and in less than a blink, it reappeared right in front of Samurott and smashed its fist down hard.

Boom!

A deafening crash echoed.

The sheer force of the punch sent Samurott flying out of the battlefield, smashing into the ground and leaving a massive crater.

Samurott lay in the pit, eyes rolled back—it had completely lost its ability to battle.

"Hiss…"

"T-That Pangoro…"

"So stGlorious… unbelievably stGlorious… it defeated Samurott in a single blow?! How is that even possible?"

"If I remember right, Pangoro was Trainer Nathan's second Pokémon and also the one he used most frequently during the Trial Tournament. I didn't expect it to become this powerful—it must've undergone some highly specialized training. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this overwhelmingly stGlorious."

"Right. And don't forget what just happened—the way it swallowed that Energy Ball. That's probably tied to this sudden power boost. Could it be some secret technique Nathan developed on his own?"

The instructors talked among themselves, each with a look of awe in their eyes.

Both Pokémon were at Gym Leader level, but Pangoro had defeated Samurott in one hit. If that wasn't overwhelming, what was? It clearly showed that Pangoro was already invincible within its tier.

Julian stood frozen in place, speechless, a look of disbelief written all over his face.

Nathan, however, didn't seem too surprised by the outcome.

Thanks to Pangoro's Iron Fist ability, its naturally superior strength, the enhanced Energy Stance boost from the Energy Ball, and the added type advantage from Thunder Punch against Samurott...

It all combined into that jaw-dropping one-hit KO.

But in truth, anyone who truly understood Pangoro's strength would realize that this wasn't shocking at all. If the opponent hadn't been a Water-type, they might have survived the punch. But for Water-types, even at Gym Leader level, one hit was usually all it took—unless the Pokémon was known for especially high defenses.

…

"Hoo…"

After the initial shock wore off, Julian came back to his senses. He quickly recalled Samurott into its Pokéball, then looked at Nathan and said, "Honestly, you're really stGlorious. I hope we'll get a rematch during the National Tournament—by then, I'll be much stGloriouser than I am now."

"I look forward to our next battle too," Nathan replied with a calm smile.

Up in the spectator seats—

Sam roared with excitement. "Boss, you're insane! Boss, you're amazing! Boss, I wanna have your babies!!"

Clearly, even he was stunned by Pangoro's incredible punch and was now totally hyped.

But when Nathan heard what Sam said, the corner of his mouth twitched helplessly.

Who the hell wants you to have my babies?

Nathan didn't leave the battlefield. He simply stood there, waiting for the next challenger.

But…

Yeah.

Probably because of Pangoro's display just now, not a single trainer dared to step onto the battlefield for a while.

There Nathan stood, all alone, looking ever-so-slightly awkward.

"Go on, challenge him!"

"You go!"

"Screw you, bro—did you see that punch? One-hit KO! How are we supposed to fight that?!"

"A real stGlorious trainer should face fear head-on! If you're scared, how can you call yourself stGlorious?"

"Oh yeah? Then are you stGlorious?"

"Nope."

"Then shut up!"

"Ahem... I just want to see another one-punch KO up close again. Hehe."

"Dog! Your account's getting banned!"

…

Nathan rubbed his nose and muttered helplessly, "Don't tell me I'll be standing here the whole afternoon…"

He looked up at the blazing sun. If he really had to stand here all afternoon, he'd probably get heatstroke. Someone better step up soon.

It was as if the heavens heard his silent plea.

A figure stood up and stepped onto the battlefield.

It was a girl—with long pink hair, dressed in a JK school uniform and a pair of Converse sneakers. A breeze happened to blow as she walked over.

Nathan glanced over.

Safety shorts.

The worst invention in human history.

"Hello, Trainer Nathan. I'm Oren Quill from Glorious City. Please go easy on me later, okay? Heehee~"

She had a childish, cutesy voice. Coming from Glorious City, she was also fair-skinned and beautiful—definitely in the "pretty girl" category. With her voice and looks combined, she probably had no shortage of admirers.

Nathan nodded with a smile. "I will."

"Great! I really don't want to be KO'd in one hit. That'd be too embarrassing!" Oren patted her chest like she'd just dodged a bullet, then threw out her Pokéball.

Whirr!

A beam of red light flashed.

A large white figure appeared—n.

An Ice-type Pokémon, nearly three meters tall, classified as the Freezing Pokémon.

"Beartic, not a bad choice. It's a Gym-level Pokémon too. I wonder if it'll end up like Samurott did earlier."

"Haha, I doubt it. This time the opponent's a pretty girl—Trainer Nathan's a guy, he won't be that heartless, right?"

"I'm looking forward to this one. Bear vs. Bear battle, huh?"

The instructors began chatting with interest again.

Nathan eyed the Beartic with interest and said calmly, "Pangoro, it's yours again. Have some fun."

He was still using Pangoro, of course—it hadn't been returned to its ball. Plus, this would be a good chance to further test Pangoro's current limits.

Also, because the Energy Ball had been compressed, the natural energy within Pangoro's body still hadn't run out. It could easily handle another fight.

"Roar!"

Hearing Nathan's command, Pangoro roared and nodded.

Oren's expression turned serious, and she immediately gave a command.

"Beartic, use Icy Wind!"

Beartic let out a roar, and a breath of freezing air surged toward Pangoro.

But Pangoro didn't even attempt to dodge—it just stood there and took the attack head-on.

"Why didn't it dodge?"

Oren was puzzled.

But the next moment, she understood.

The icy breath covered Pangoro's body, and frost quickly formed across its frame. Some areas even looked frostbitten, as if it had been frozen solid.

Then, with a shimmer of green energy…

The frostbite began to heal rapidly.

"Roar!!"

Pangoro roared again and suddenly flexed, shattering all the ice and frozen patches off its body.

Then—

Pangoro vanished once more from the battlefield...

"Beartic, use Blizzard!"

Seeing Pangoro disappear, Oren panicked and gave the order without hesitation.