Chapter 92: The Crossing: Damn, the dirty stuff is real.

Du weighed the bottle in his palm, realizing this was a private treatment Zhu Suihan had sent him to give the Poliwhirl.
“Thank you.”
“No need. The cost goes to your Yulong clan.”
Du let out a brief laugh, then returned to a calm, severe expression.
“Kori, Kori!”
The Poliwhirl squad came back. Du opened the bottle and fed the energy cubes to them, then patted them in approval.
“So that’s it—you’ve bulked up, and they’re much larger than ordinary Poliwhirl.”
Du did not understand science, but he could plainly see they were different; with two kinds of extraordinary power in their blood, they looked unlike the common stock.

“Next is the move demonstration. Do you want to see it in a more practical way?”
Zhu Suihan said, “That’ll cost extra.”
Du nodded. “No problem—use my Dragon…”

“Poliwhirl, Water Gun!”
Boom.
A constant stream of Water Gun slammed into Zhu Suihan. Du, watching beside him, was shocked—by the Poliwhirl’s raw power and by Zhu Suihan’s calm in the face of it.
Is this the “practical way” you meant?
I thought you wanted a target to run tests on, and I didn’t expect the target to be yourself.
“Rawr.”
Dragonair, with its usual good sense, reminded him: “If your target is a trainer, don’t expect the force to be clearly visible. It’s hard to read.”
“Right.”
“You just said let your Pokémon test the power, didn’t you?”
Du nodded slowly. “I can tell from speed and intensity, but I’d still like Dragonite to try it.”

Du had long heard stories of fighters whose ordinary appearance hid ferocity in flesh and bone. So Joy Academy had one of those men.
Someone like this would definitely know how to raise Pokémon. Du admitted he was eager for a real fight.

“Dragonite, come out.”
“Kairu—”
After a long cry, the warm, plump dragon stepped to Du’s side and immediately fixed its gaze on the Gyarados.
“Gara.”
The Gyarados narrowed its eyes.
So strong.
A match worth having.
Du ordered, “Poliwhirl, target Dragonite, and use your strongest technique.”
“Kori!”
A flood of techniques struck at Dragonite: besides basic Water Gun, there were Water Pulse, Whirlpool, and driving body attacks.
Dragonite merely extended a hand and blocked them with ease, though when the lead Poliwhirl used Ice Fang it did dodge slightly.

“The move set is broad,” he observed, “but individual variation is obvious.”
Du now understood what Zhu Suihan meant by opening a blind box. Every Poliwhirl had a different skill pool, probably down to bloodline.
In short, even inherited techniques are different.
Though it was far from Digaes, who bragged, “Any pose is fine—if I can’t use a move, I lose,” the Poliwhirl’s power had changed beyond expectation.

“Want to fight the Gyarados?”
With hands in his pockets, Zhu Suihan said, “The elixir works on Poliwhirl, and it benefits Gyarados too. Your big one has had a huge boost.”
“Gara.”
The Gyarados gave a look full of anticipation. If his old opponent—the Electric Beast—hadn’t improved, or if it had only evolved into some kind of Thunder Monster, he would have won easily.
He knew Earthquake, but before, he had to pound the ground with his tail to maximize elemental energy.
That left him open, and the electric beast could seize an opening and finish him up close.
Now he only needed to roar in flight. If his elemental charge were higher, he could quake twice, then rush forward with Dragon Dance and finish with a close-range Aqua Tail.

“Kairu.”
Dragonite’s expression grew serious. This Gyarados was a troublesome opponent, and even he had to take it seriously.
By the eyes, Du could tell this one had seen many battles, and its striking range could definitely hurt him.
This was a truly fierce, physical kind of fighter—one of those Dragonite finds hardest to handle.
“Let it be. If they start fighting, the impact range will be too wide.”

Du shook his head. “More than that, I’d rather have a match with you.”
The dean had read him well.
“Milu!”
Milu bounced onto Zhu Suihan’s head twice.
Battle, then. I’ll do it. I’ll do it!
“I expected this. Standard battle.”
Zhu Suihan said, “I’ll take you to the field. Liu told me you’ve mastered a powerful system, but you may be disappointed—my party is too small for you to unleash it fully.”
Du glanced at Milu on Zhu Suihan’s head. “Aren’t you going to bring Dragonair out?”
Among the elders there are strange sayings: only after defeating Liubo’s Dragonair and the White Sea Lion can one meet the Little Boar and the Messenger Bird.
But even those two aren’t fighters any ordinary person can beat.
Du had thought Zhu Suihan’s trump card was Dragonair.

“My Dragonair doesn’t like to fight,” Zhu Suihan said. “Milu is the one interested in this sort of thing.”
He added, “By the way, do you have a Pokémon close to my level?”
“Yes,” Du said. “I still have an unevolved Dratini. It’s an important partner in completing my system.”
Du spoke plainly: “Even if your types are the better side, I don’t think I must lose.”
Even without my natural system, I don’t feel weak. Those all-consuming systems are only for high-level battles.

“Mm,” Zhu Suihan said, studying Du with an odd look.
A pity, thought the dean: no wild brawls. Otherwise he could have tested what it feels like to fight the future head of the Yulong clan.

Du:……
As expected, it was you again.
That nameless malice has returned.

On the field, Dragonair and Dragonite took their judging spots at the two sides of center. Since this was a friendly sparring match, no teacher was called to officiate.
“Single Pokémon. Standard battle.”
Du’s hand stayed on his Poké Ball. “Are you ready?”
“Milu!”
Milu jumped into the arena and raised her little short arms in a fierce stance.
Come on, my first fight!
The first corpse under the Great Emperor’s road!

As battle neared, Du ignored Milu’s odd phrases as quirks of her trainer.
“Go, Dratini!”
“Niliu!”
As expected of a Pokémon raised in the Yulong clan, this Dratini wasn’t a big-eyed darling; it had a cruel, hard-eyed stare.
Alice’s social Dragonite must have looked like that when young.
“Roar.”
“Kairu.”
Battle, begin!
“Dratini, Dragon Dance!”
“Niliu!”
A strange dance began. Behind Dratini, a dragon-shaped phantom of elemental energy took form, and a surging combat will seemed to emanate from it.
The apparition looked like a rough prototype of a diving dragon-god technique, a half-finished combo.
For Dratini’s level and age, it was already formidable.
“Pressure, now.”

Zhu Suihan’s eyes changed. A strange force spread through the field, imposing pressure on Du’s side while he gave another order.
“Milu, Tackle!”
Milu screamed in a savage tone and a scent spilled from her body—the Sweet Veil ability had triggered.
Could a mere Tackle from Milu’s body stand against Dratini?
Though puzzled, Du chose respect; one must never underestimate an opponent before they fall.

“Dratini, move!”
Dratini’s speed rose. While keeping Dragon Dance, it began making small dodging shifts, slipping out of Milu’s lock.

Then what came next shattered Du’s assumptions.
“Milu!”
A cream projectile struck with a hard crack where Dratini had just been, blasting out a sizable crater. The fairy energy it released made Dratini frown.
Du made a slow, silent question in the air.
That was a Tackle, wasn’t it?
Caution is indeed useful.
“Continuous Hit!”
Continuous Contact—like a Pin Missile spread across the field, right?
Even a boar-headed fool would know what that means. Du immediately used Dragon Force, amplifying strength and forging a powerful telepathic link with Dratini.
“High-speed movement, then Aqua Tail!”
Don’t let him kite you forever. Close the distance and hit face-to-face.

“Niliu!”
Dratini’s speed surged again, charging forward almost in a ground-skimming run, thick water energy gathering on its tail.

“Milu!”
Cream machine gun!
Endless cream shots covered Dratini, and the fairy energy in them constantly drained his stamina.
Yet Dratini’s resilience was no small thing. He endured Milu’s sustained attack and closed the gap.
It worked.
Du did not relax and ordered again through the link:
“Maximum output, Aqua Tail!”
“Milu, Charm!”
Pressure rising!
Suddenly, silent terror forced Dratini to break its mental link with Du. When it fixed its target again, Milu was already there, winking playfully.

“Milu~”
Join my command, and in time one’s single attainment lifts all beneath them to heaven!
The fragrance spread, and Dratini’s expression softened at once.
“Niliu~”
How sweet. How beautiful…

Du grew completely serious. He had not expected Zhu Suihan to have a special ability as well, and one of a kind he could hardly name.
Charm must be a blend of sweet scent and allure, the former quietly released beneath Milu’s Sweet Veil.
It was insidiously clever, and he really had not seen this sweet-fragrance technique often.
Combined with Zhu Suihan’s fearsome, oppressive pressure, it became a mental tactic.

Cooperative secret technique—Bridge Effect!
“Success.”
Zhu Suihan smiled. “Milu, our coordinated move worked.”
Charming makes an opponent of the opposite sex struggle to execute their strongest moves.
With Zhu Suihan, that “struggle” meant certainty.
That alluring scent, drastically lowering evasion, is almost a subtle hallucinogen.
It’s like seeing people as if through poisoned mushrooms—one strange perspective among many.

“Give him the final hit!”
“Milu!”
Milu raised both hands, and a huge cream sphere glowing pink formed over the swaying Dratini, then crashed down hard.
Cream Spirit Bomb!
Boom.

As the dust cleared, Dragonair and Dragonite at the judging stations spoke at once, signaling that Dratini had lost fighting capability. Zhu Suihan won.
Du:……
This battle… seems to have been won by foul means.