Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 760 Luo Mu VS Zhu Lan, The Reversing Immobilization Technique! (10,000-word update, please vote!)
"Hidden strength."

I carefully and repeatedly pondered these two words.

Luo Mu never expected that he would hear words similar to those found in the martial arts novels and other literary works he read before his transmigration in this world.

But think about it carefully.

Some people in this world are quite extraordinary.

Let's not even mention those psychics who can turn people into dolls, forcibly infuse Psychic-type Pokémon with their powers to induce evolution, and then regress afterward.

There are also fighters who can physically withstand the attack of a giant Onix.

A karate dojo master who practices punching and sparring with his own superhuman strength.

A charlatan astrologer who mutters incantations.

Fishing can catch a ten-year-old girl named Georka.

Superhumans who survive at an extreme altitude of 10,000 meters.

A super rookie who forced Mewtwo to activate his psychic shield with a single punch.
Not to mention the loquat that Luo Mu witnessed just yesterday, who single-handedly wrestled down his own group of energetic Tauros.

With so many outrageous examples before us, a mere "hidden strength" doesn't seem like anything to be surprised about.

Luo Mu simply stepped forward, patted Nemo on the shoulder, and said in a comforting tone, "You've already done very well."

Unfortunately, he still underestimated Nemo's personality.

She felt absolutely no disappointment; on the contrary—

"Sesbarashi!!"

Nemo suddenly shouted, her clenched fists pressed against her chest, and her toes tapping the ground repeatedly in her excitement.

How to describe her expression? It was like a starving man who had been suffocating for a long time, suddenly enjoying a large amount of delicacies.

Despite her bright and sunny smile, it inexplicably sent a chill down your spine.

"Cynthia and Lucario, you two are amazing!"

"That's it! That's how it should be! That's the right way! This is the fun of Pokémon battles!"

"Ahhh—it was all worth it after all the hard work and patience I put in until today!"

These words stunned Zhu Lan, who also wanted to comfort Nemo, as well as Alice and Gua Shilang, who were watching from the sidelines.

Alice and Gua Shilang stared blankly at Nemona's excited back, not understanding why someone could laugh happily after losing a match.

Even Zhu Lan's usually calm and composed expression showed a rare crack due to Nemo's actions.

Although there had been some vague signs before, after all, that statement about gravity had left a very deep impression on Zhu Lan.

But isn't this girl's obsession with battles a bit too outrageous?

What kind of apprentice has Luo Mu taken on?

This is the first time in Zhu Lan's life that she has ever seen someone so completely absorbed in a battle.

Even someone as composed as her was somewhat surprised at this moment.

Nemo's excitement lasted for several minutes before it subsided.

But Luo Mu knew very well that this did not mean she was satisfied today.

Instead, this was merely fuel to enhance the "main course" she was waiting for.

The thought of having to fight Nemo's Pokémon until Nemo couldn't fight them anymore, instead of Nemo not fighting them anymore, gave me a terrible headache.

No! We need to accelerate the training of Pipa and the others.

Even if they can't be expected to take away most of Nemo's fighting spirit, they should at least share some of her burdens.

Otherwise, Luo Mu strongly suspects that before his "Nemo and Arcanine not allowed" ecological dome is even built, he will be forced to run away by Nemo.

After sighing, Luo Mu took Nemo's place and stood in front of Zhu Lan, meeting her smiling face.

"Hehe, I can finally play against you."

Zhu Lan covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

It could be said that ever since the time of the Dragon Clan in Yanmo City, she had been looking forward to the day when she could fight Luo Mu.

"That's a clash of titans?"

Even when facing the powerful Zhu Lan, Luo Mu raised an eyebrow and asked in a relaxed tone.

"No more."

Zhu Lan shook her head, her gaze falling on Nemo, who was looking on excitedly.

"It seems that the child has been looking forward to today for a long time, so I'd better not spoil the fun."

"Besides."

Zhu Lan paused, her gaze, filled with fierce fighting spirit, fixed on Luo Mu, her voice as clear and cold as spring water.

"Shouldn't the real main course be saved for a formal occasion?"

"I look forward to the day when we can have a full-scale battle. Wouldn't it be a shame to experience part of that experience now?"

Luo Mu: "."

Should I say thank you now?

"as long as you are happy."

After a dry laugh, Luo Mu quickly calmed himself down and got into the zone.

Even without fielding their ace, Cynthia is still one of the top players among the current league champions, and she's not someone you can just take on easily.

We must be extremely careful.

"Please release your Pokémon!"

Nemo's excited voice rang out.

She acted as the referee, and the battle between Guava and Alice did not take place, because neither of them wanted to miss the battle between Luo Mu and Zhu Lan.

"The wings of grace unfold here, Tokiss!"

Cynthia flung the Poké Ball out.

A flash of red light appeared, and a large, white bird with an egg-shaped body, a crest of red, white and blue feathers divided into three tufts on its head, its whole body covered with white downy feathers, its broad triangular wings spread out, and some red and blue triangular patterns distributed on its lower abdomen stretched its body freely in the air.

Bless Pokémon, Togekiss!

The attributes are Fairy and Flying!

At the same time, the moment Cynthia threw out the Poké Ball, Luo Mu's gaze also fell on a corner of the Pokémon watching.

"Azure Flame Blade Demon, it's time to test the results of your recent hard training!"

The moment he called out, the Azure Blade Ghost, which was quietly waiting in the Pokémon group, was stunned for a second.

It thought that Romulus would give the opportunity to Swampert, Dragonite, Mimikyu, or Serperior.

After all, besides practicing his sword skills diligently, the gap between him and his companions, who had each made their own progress, had widened considerably.

But he only hesitated for a second before Azure Flame Blade Ghost leaped and stood in front of Luo Mu, its fierce sword intent mixed with an unwavering belief in victory.

—No matter what, now that it has taken the stage, as the guardian swordsman, it will surely bring victory to Luo Mu!

"The sword energy is so strong that it feels like your skin is being cut."

Zhu Lan also made no attempt to hide her praise for the appearance of the Azure Flame Blade Demon.

As expected of Luo Mu's main Pokémon, its imposing presence alone exudes a powerful sense of pressure.

—That's really exciting!

A clear fighting spirit appeared in Zhu Lan's eyes. She licked her lips almost imperceptibly, spread her fingers, and gave a stern command.

"Descend, invisible blade that tears the sky!"

"Air Blade!"

Whoosh whoosh!
The mournful sound of the wind accompanied the sudden flapping of Tokkis's wings.

As the air currents surged, a series of semi-transparent wind blades, under Togekiss's control, slashed towards the Azure Flame Blade Demon!

Azure Flame Blade Demon was all too familiar with this move.

Back when it was training with Dragonite, it faced a barrage of "air blades" every day.

Just this quantity—

Nothing to fear!

Flames flickered in the eyes of the Azure Flame Blade Demon, and the blades that grew on its arms suddenly expanded along with the burning flames of resentment.

The flaming greatsword, capable of easily splitting mountains and cleaving rocks, was wielded with impenetrable force, and any air blade that came within the length of its blade was instantly cleaved in two!
"Hiss!" (Not enough, more!)

Azure Flame Blade Demon let out a low shout and lowered his upper body to begin his running start.

It intends to use its jumping ability to reach the Togekiss hovering in the sky!

When the run-up reached a certain point, the Azure Flame Blade Demon suddenly exerted force with both legs, and the ground cracked with spiderweb-like patterns under its powerful push.

It shot into the sky like a cannonball, its flaming greatswords trailing a dazzling, dark purple tail of flames behind it!
"Don't let it get close, magic flash!" Zhu Lan waved her right hand, her voice resounding.

As Togekiss circled gracefully in the sky, the feathers on its wings suddenly shimmered with a pink light—

"Magic Flash!"
A blinding and scorching fairy light instantly enveloped the Azure Flame Blade Demon's ascent path! Whoosh!
The Azure Flame Blade Demon reacted extremely quickly, crossing its two swords into a cross shape, and the dark purple azure flames surged, forming a barrier in front of it.

The magical light caused countless tiny beams of light to explode on the barrier of flames, bursting forth with dazzling light.

Using the recoil from the explosion, Azure Flame Blade Demon performed a backflip in mid-air and landed steadily on the ground.

This exchange can only be described as evenly matched.

"Don't stop attacking!" Luo Mu's eyes sharpened. "If it's hard to get close, then launch a ranged attack, Mental Blade!"

A faint purple light flashed in the eyes of the Azure Flame Blade Demon, and the flaming greatswords on his arms crossed.

As mysterious pinkish-purple energy surged into the greatsword, it swung it out fiercely, and a solidified pinkish-purple sword aura, resembling a crescent moon, roared and cleaved into the sky!

Zhu Lan remained calm and composed: "Block it, triple attack!"

Beneath Togekiss's outstretched wings, three orbs of light of different colors converged and shone brightly, then released beams of electricity, fire, and ice from them!

The pinkish-purple spiritual blade and the tri-colored energy beam collided violently in mid-air, unleashing a deafening roar.

The turbulent energy created a small storm in the air, scattering the debris from Lucario's previous battle across the field.

"Now's the chance!" Luo Mu seized the opportunity created by the energy clash, opening a blind spot, and shouted, "Shadow Claw!"

Swish!
The figure of Azure Flame Blade Demon suddenly disappeared from the spot.

In the next instant, it flashed behind Togekiss and slashed down with its twin swords burning with dark purple flames!
"Hold on!" Zhu Lan's command came like a timely rain.

Tokiss instantly erected a pale green barrier around itself, solidly withstanding the attack.

But the impact of the blow still knocked it back several meters, and a few white feathers slowly drifted down from the air.

"Tsk, I should have chosen the stealth attack."

Luo Mu clicked his tongue softly, but he didn't think he had made a mistake in his choice.

For those fleeting opportunities, "Shadow Claw" is already the fastest attack that Azure Flame Blade Demon can make.

On the contrary, "Sneak Attack," although it has the effect of piercing through "Guard," can, given Cynthia's demonstrated ability to control the battlefield, allow Togekiss to enter a high-speed flight state before Azure Blade Demon sneaks into the shadows to prepare for an attack.

In that case, Azure Flame Blade Demon's attack would miss.

"Interesting." Sensing this long-awaited, evenly matched battle, Zhu Lan's fighting spirit intensified. "However, it's our turn now!"

After being knocked back, Togekiss spun around on its side before suddenly climbing rapidly, drawing a beautiful arc in the air.

Its tricolored crest shone with an eerie light.

—The trait "Heavenly Grace" has been triggered!
"Air Blade!"

This time, the wind blades that Togekiss swung were clearly tinged with a faint golden light, as if they had been blessed by the heavens.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but it seemed that the speed, power, and quantity had all increased significantly.

The trajectories of some of the wind blades were even somewhat unpredictable, making it difficult to anticipate their landing points.

The Azure Flame Blade Demon, which was falling, quickly swung its twin swords to parry, but a tricky wind blade still broke through its defense, leaving a clear wound on its chest.

This slight pain would not affect the Azure Flame Blade Demon's condition in the slightest.

Whether it's Xeno'jiiva's electric shock, Swampert's punch, Dragonite's dragon claw, Serperior's vines, or Mimikyu's shadow claw, all of them are a thousand times heavier than this wind blade.

Can--

As the Azure Flame Blade Demon landed smoothly and was about to make a move, its body suddenly froze, standing motionless.

A state of cowering!
Regardless of whether Azure Blade Demon felt any hesitation, this was merely an additional effect of Togekiss's "Air Blade".

Furthermore, with the added benefit of Togekiss's "Heavenly Grace" ability, its "Air Blade" has become a trump card that can potentially turn the tide of battle if it is hit even once.

To the astonishment of Nemo and the others, even as Azure Flame Blade Demon struggled to control its movements, several semi-transparent wind blades managed to interrupt its actions as "air blades" continuously slashed down from the sky.

When you make it move, it's like a parody video on some video websites—it's incredibly bizarre.

The movements of the once superb swordsmanship became disjointed.

Seeing this, Luo Mu also wore a wry smile.

He spent all his time hunting geese, only to have his eyes pecked by one.

I'm always making others feel disgusted, but I never thought I'd be disgusted by the simple combination of "Heavenly Grace" and "Air Blade" from Zhulan.

To be honest, Togekiss's "Air Blade" isn't actually that powerful; it's practically a scratch on the armored Azure Blade Demon.

However, when scraping therapy is performed in large quantities, the quantity may overshadow the quality.

That wouldn't be called Gua Sha.

It should be called "scraping the bone" now.

the other side.

Beside the speechless guava, Alice covered her mouth in surprise.

"My goodness, it turns out Miss Zhulan has the upper hand?"

"Yes."

Nemo nodded slightly. Although she didn't want to admit it, the current situation clearly gave Orchid a significant advantage.

Her expression was very serious. To be honest, this was the first time she had ever seen her teacher, who had always seemed to be in complete control since their first meeting, fall into a disadvantageous position in a battle.

If the teacher doesn't do something soon, the battle will end with the "Air Blade".

Luo Mu was unaware of Nemo's worries.

But he wasn't going to just stand by and watch the rhythm of the battle be controlled by Togekiss and Cynthia.

My common advantage over these trainers is that I have a thorough understanding of the Pokémon's move pool and have different opinions on some unpopular and overlooked moves.

Fortunately, in this situation, there is a move in Azure Flame Blade Demon's skill pool that can resolve the current predicament.

"Hold on and look for opportunities!"

Luo Mu narrowed his eyes and shouted at the Azure Flame Blade Demon who was persevering amidst the torrential "Air Blades".

The Azure Flame Blade Demon, thoroughly disgusted by Togekiss, also chose to trust Luo Mu completely without hesitation.

It was like this before.

Even before they had become fully powerful, Luo Mu always managed to lead them out of danger and secure victory, no matter what difficulties they encountered.

Azure Flame Blade Demon believed that this time would be no exception.

And so, that agonizing minute passed.

Azure Flame Blade Demon still did not give up trying to escape the attack range of "Air Blade" through movement, even though it was almost futile.

Luo Mu's gaze was fixed on the figure of the Azure Flame Blade Demon, searching for an opportunity.

Finally, that moment arrived.

When two consecutive "Air Blades" struck the Azure Flame Blade Demon's battered armor, neither of them triggered the additional effect.

Luo Mu immediately shouted to Azure Flame Blade Demon, "Azure Flame Blade Demon! Use the Immobilize Spell on Togekis!"

Now, the path before Azure Flame Blade Demon has split into two.

One option is to take advantage of the current gap and try to break out of the "Air Blade's" attack range.

The other one was to test the effect of a move that even the Azure Flame Blade Demon couldn't quite remember.

—As always, it chose the latter without hesitation!
The purple flames flickering in the Azure Flame Blade's eyes suddenly burst forth with light, and eerie light waves pierced the air, surging toward Togekiss at terrifying speed.

next moment.

The light wave passed through Togekiss's body, but nothing happened.

Tokiss continued to fly and hover in the sky, unharmed and not in any abnormal state.

"This was a mistake—?"

The guava man, his face pale, spoke instinctively.

"No, that's not right!"

Alice looked excitedly in the direction of the Azure Flame Blade Demon, her outstretched fingers trembling slightly.

"The air blades have stopped!"

The three of them immediately looked over.

In the area where the Azure Blade Demon stood, before it could unleash its attack, all of Togekiss's "Air Blades" fell.

That hideous, sky-blue, semi-transparent blade of air mysteriously vanished.

Did Cynthia take pity on Togekiss and stop its attack?

Or was Tokiss tired and thus slowed its attack?

No, neither.

Brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and gazing at Togekiss in the sky with a somewhat bewildered expression, Cynthia smiled on her delicate profile.

She murmured softly, "So that's how it is. There's another trick to it."

"As expected. Asking to fight you today was the most decisive and correct choice I ever made."

(End of this chapter)