The story of Xia Huna o and the Gua Gua razor ends here. After all, they couldn't have Gua Gua expend all its PP just to shave Xia Huna o, although if it were for a haircut, that might be another story.
Training without the razor story was dry and tedious, filled with nothing but basic ability drills and simulated matches. Of course, with Xia Huna o newly returned, two-on-two simulated matches were also on the table.
Xia Huna o wasn't too keen on these two-on-two matches. It was him and Mu Zhi Shui against Yu Long Du and Chu Xiao Die. Forget two-on-two, even if they treated doubles as two singles matches, there was no reason for them to lose.
However, Xia Huna o didn't have much to do lately, and it was Zheng Xiao Xiao's arrangement, so he had to brace himself and play a two-on-two with them.
Unexpectedly, what was supposed to be an internal team simulation match drew the attention of everyone in the training base. Xia Huna o looked at the onlookers sitting around him: "What the hell is going on? Even the cleaning lady is here."
Meng Tian Ya also frowned. While internal training matches weren't strictly secret, they weren't meant to be broadcast to just anyone. Even though they had signed non-disclosure agreements, there was always the risk of unforeseen circumstances.
Meng Tian Ya, disregarding the complaints, shooed everyone out, deciding to investigate the matter later. Only after everyone had left did Xia Huna o and Mu Zhi Shui begin their match.
"A'Du, to show our sincerity, how about we go first? Going second would be too much of a disadvantage for you."
Given Yu Long Du's personality, he would normally have taken the bait of a challenge, especially Xia Huna o's. But since he was partnering with Chu Xiao Die for the two-on-two, he turned to seek Chu Xiao Die's opinion.
Chu Xiao Die understood Boss Xia well: "If you go first, Boss Xia will definitely send out Gua Gua. As for Sister Zhi Shui, I'm not sure."
Yu Long Du gritted his teeth: "Alright, you go first then."
Xia Huna o nodded: "Go, Gua Gua."
As Chu Xiao Die had guessed, Xia Huna o indeed sent out his ace, Gua Gua, while Mu Zhi Shui directly deployed her ace, Magearna. Xia Huna o sat on the ground: "Come on, hurry up. Bring out Charizard. Besides Charizard, what else can counter Magearna?"
Yu Long Du took out a Poké Ball from his bag: "What do you think? I have this."
Saying that, Yu Long Du threw out a Poké Ball. A cute Dragonair emerged, looking at Xia Huna o and the others. Chu Xiao Die, on the other hand, sent out Butterfree for support.
"Beautiful! Dragonair, aren't you asking for trouble?"
Yes, if it were truly as Xia Huna o said, and they had sent out Charizard, even though it would be weak to Gua Gua's Aqua Jet, Magearna couldn't do anything to it. But with Dragonair on the field, not only Gua Gua but even Magearna could easily defeat it.
"I've been outplayed again. Never mind that, Dragonair, strike first and take down Gua Gua!"
Yu Long Du understood that if they wasted time trying to wear down Magearna, Gua Gua's type advantage could easily cripple both of them.
Seeing Dragonair heading towards Gua Gua, Xia Huna o didn't intend to defend: "Gua Gua, ignore him. Take down Butterfree first."
While generally prioritizing the elimination of offensive threats over support Pokémon, Xia Huna o knew that the true strategic core of their partnership was Chu Xiao Die.
"Gua Gua, Ice Beam!"
Xia Huna o was confident that Dragonair wouldn't dare to block his Ice Beam, and Butterfree's fragile body could only dodge. This way, Magearna could stall Dragonair, buying Xia Huna o time.
"Magearna, let's advance as well."
As Gua Gua attacked, Magearna walked forward behind Gua Gua. Butterfree quickly climbed higher to dodge Gua Gua's attack, while Dragonair opened its mouth from the side towards Magearna.
"Dragonair, use Flamethrower!"
Mu Zhi Shui also made a decisive move: "Magearna, use Dazzling Gleam!"
The intense flash caused everyone present to squint. However, Xia Huna o and Mu Zhi Shui were shrewd and immediately pulled out sunglasses. "Gua Gua, Aqua Jet!"
Although Dazzling Gleam had a blinding effect, Yu Long Du and Chu Xiao Die had encountered this status effect before and quickly recovered. By the time they had, they saw a sky full of Aqua Jets flying towards them. On the ground, Xia Huna o's Gua Gua had already created over a dozen shadows using the Shadow Clone technique.
The widespread shurikens had become area-of-effect attacks, which Butterfree and Dragonair couldn't simply dodge with their speed. They could only gamble on which one was a fake clone.
"Gua Gua, press the advantage and engage in close combat!"
Xia Huna o only mentioned one "him," making it unclear who he was referring to. But with a large number of Gua Gua charging forward, they had to have some way to deal with it.
Chu Xiao Die quickly commanded Butterfree to hide behind Dragonair. After all, Dragonair was sturdier than Butterfree. Dragonair then used Surf against the charging Gua Gua.
"That's a clever move, bringing in a Water-type AOE. But it's no use. Gua Gua, Ice Beam!"
Gua Gua instantly blocked the incoming Surf with its Ice Beam. Chu Xiao Die then had Butterfree fly rapidly from behind Dragonair to above Gua Gua, intending to control it with Twin Powder.
However, the area frozen by Ice Beam not only obscured Gua Gua but also Magearna. Butterfree, as it flew over, was directly hit by Magearna's Aurora Beam and shot down.
Mu Zhi Shui sighed: "I used this move last year. Don't you remember at all?"
Indeed, previously, during the post-match duel between Xia Huna o and Mu Zhi Shui at the college Pokémon tournament, Magearna had used Aurora Beam once. But that day, the protagonist was Xia Huna o's Mega Diancie. Although Magearna was a rare Pokémon, it couldn't steal the spotlight from Diancie.
Seeing Butterfree hit by Aurora Beam, Chu Xiao Die ordered Butterfree to retreat. But Xia Huna o pursued the advantage, directly commanding Gua Gua to follow up with an Ice Beam, defeating Butterfree.
Chu Xiao Die recalled Butterfree with its Poké Ball. Now it was down to Gua Gua and Magearna against a single Dragonair, and the troublesome part was that both Pokémon had Ice-type moves.
"Dragonair, accelerate and charge! If they want close combat, we'll give them close combat!"
Although Dragonair's speed was slower than Gua Gua's, Gua Gua had just finished battling Butterfree, and it wasn't afraid of close combat. The two Pokémon began to brawl. Yu Long Du had a good plan: since it was close combat, Gua Gua couldn't just use Ice Beam freely. His Flamethrower against Gua Gua's Ice Beam, with comparable power, he had a type advantage and couldn't lose. Another benefit was that Magearna would be tied up, and he doubted they would dare to hit both Dragonair and Gua Gua.
Unfortunately for Yu Long Du, Xia Huna o and Gua Gua were truly willing to go all out. Gua Gua clashed with Dragonair using Water Sword, while on the other side, Xia Huna o nodded to Mu Zhi Shui.
"Magearna, use Aurora Beam!"
Yu Long Du was startled and quickly ordered Dragonair to retreat, but Xia Huna o wouldn't let Gua Gua escape. "Gua Gua, entangle him. Use Shadow Clone."
Over a dozen clones rushed towards Dragonair, slowing its movements, while Aurora Beam directly hit both Gua Gua and Dragonair.
"You're truly willing to inflict damage!"
Xia Huna o nodded: "We have more numbers. I'll trade one for one with you. Besides, Zi Shui is still here. But it's a shame..."
Xia Huna o glanced at the two Pokémon that had created distance. It was understandable that Gua Gua wasn't defeated since it wasn't weak to the attack. But why wasn't Dragonair defeated? Was it surviving with critical health again?
"I don't care if you're at critical health or not. Gua Gua, chase him down and finish him!"
Even if Dragonair wasn't defeated after taking an Aurora Beam, it wouldn't have much fighting power left. Gua Gua was confident it could finish him quickly. However, unexpectedly, Dragonair's STAB move was Dragon Tail. With a flick of its tail, it swept Xia Huna o's Gua Gua back into its Poké Ball.
Xia Huna o clicked his tongue: "If you were going to sweep, why didn't you do it from the start? What's the point of this now? It's your turn, Rockruff."
Yu Long Du also exclaimed his mistake. He really thought a Dragon Tail could knock back Gua Gua, and at least he would switch out a Pokémon. But instead, he switched in a Pokémon that could head-on confront them.
Xia Huna o thought to himself, you can survive with critical health, do you think I can't? Besides, why would an Aurora Beam and a Dragon Tail instantly defeat me?
"Rockruff, use Rock Tomb."
Looking at the rocks thrown by Rockruff, Dragonair retaliated with Surf again. Rockruff disliked water intensely. Seeing the surging tide of Surf, it turned and ran, its speed no slower than when it went for lunch.
"Magearna, use Mirror Shot!"
Magearna couldn't rescue Rockruff, so it had to defeat Dragonair first. Once Dragonair was defeated, Surf would naturally dissipate. But as the waves and Rockruff got closer, Xia Huna o quickly commanded: "Rockruff, use Protect!"
Using Protect, it blocked the attack of Surf. Xia Huna o frowned: "I thought it could dodge it. It seems Rockruff's legs are still a bit short. But it's okay, it's not a big problem."
On the other side, Magearna had already suppressed the severely weakened Dragonair with Mirror Shot. Mu Zhi Shui glanced at Xia Huna o, asking if he wanted to land the final blow. Xia Huna o shook his head: "Forget it, I'm afraid of messing up. You do it. I've already gotten an assist. Rockruff, another Rock Tomb!"
Finally, with the cooperation of Xia Huna o and Mu Zhi Shui, Dragonair was defeated by Rockruff and Magearna. Rockruff's body flashed with a white light, then immediately disappeared. Xia Huna o quickly recalled Rockruff into its Poké Ball: "Alright, alright, everyone disperse, the battle is over."