The experiences of countless upright individuals tell us that while a final burst of energy can allow a person to briefly defy fate and alter their destiny, it alters the fate of *others*. The final burst of energy itself cannot be interrupted, but after it concludes, death is not far away.
Hearing Song Shuangyu claim he was experiencing a final burst of energy, Xia Henao chuckled. "A final burst of energy? What are you talking about? Do you think that's what this is?"
Song Shuangyu glanced at the students who had already retreated. "Isn't it? Even with evolution, the gap can't be bridged. It's just prolonging life, what's the difference from a final burst of energy?"
Xia Henao took off the backpack from his shoulders. "Is that so? I don't think so. I think I just played my trump card. Besides, I've been chipping away at your health since the battle began. Guagua is completely unharmed."
What Xia Henao said was the truth. From the very start of the battle, only Guagua had been slowly wearing down Charizard's HP. Charizard's attacks had essentially missed Xia Henao's Guagua. The only time Charizard's unavoidable barrage of attacks occurred, Guagua was protected by an evolution aura, rendering it largely ineffective. Guagua had probably not even lost ten percent of its health. In a way, both sides were still at the starting line.
Xia Henao opened his backpack and took out a needle-less syringe. "Song, do you know what this is?"
Song Shuangyu was startled by the syringe in Xia Henao's hand. "Isn't it just a syringe? What's so strange about it? Are you planning to inject your Froakie with some illegal substance? You don't actually think that would work, do you?"
Shen Yu, standing beside Xia Henao, quickly grabbed his hand. "No, injecting Pokémon with stimulants is illegal. While the other students here won't report you, this Song guy is different."
Song Shuangyu took out his phone. "Go on, if you dare, inject it. I'll let you. I'll wait until you're done before calling the police. Don't worry about your woman. Whether you lose or go to jail, I'll take good care of her for you."
Xia Henao looked at the syringe in his hand and very kindly took out the liquid inside, shaking it. "Is that so? Have you ever seen a banned substance of this color?"
Seeing the liquid Xia Henao produced, even the students who had retreated a bit further looked over. "What is that stuff?"
"I don't know. I've never seen medicine of this color before."
"Forget medicine, have you ever seen a drink that's pink and glows? What is this?"
Xia Henao merely showed the liquid before putting it back into the syringe. "So, Song Shuangyu, you've never used a banned substance like this before, have you?"
Song Shuangyu instinctively replied, "I haven't."
As soon as he spoke, Song Shuangyu realized the mistake and quickly shut his mouth. But everyone else had already heard him. "Did you hear that? Song Shuangyu has used banned substances before."
"Yeah, it turns out he's even worse than we thought."
Xia Henao laughed, a very happy laugh. "I knew it. Besides Song Ruusi, you used banned substances to get your Elite Trainer certificate. No wonder your coordination with Charizard is so poor, not even as good as mine and Guagua's."
Xia Henao's words were meant to provoke. Although Song Shuangyu's coordination with Charizard was indeed not great, and there was a gap compared to Xia Henao and Guagua's synergy, Xia Henao was pulling himself down to the same level as his classmates. This was a real stab to the heart.
"Heh, so what if I used banned substances? I'm an Elite Trainer of Minglong Nation. After I deal with you, I'll just leave Minglong Nation. But what about you? Aren't you also using banned substances on your Pokémon?"
Shen Yu tightened her grip on Xia Henao's hand. "This Song guy has gone mad. You can't be like him."
Hearing Shen Yu say this, Song Shuangyu didn't get angry but smiled. "Mad? Yes, I've gone mad. I went mad the moment he killed my father!"
Xia Henao was stunned for a moment, then made a judgment. "Why do you only mention Song Ruusi and not Song Zifu? Does that mean Song Zifu isn't your son?"
Xia Henao's tone was casual but hit the mark. "You're right. Song Zifu isn't my son. He's the child of that slut in my family and someone else. His life or death doesn't matter to me at all. It's just one son, you can have another!"
At this point, Xia Henao seemed to understand Song Shuangyu's thinking. "I see. As long as Song Ruusi was alive, you had him as your backing, right? But Song Ruusi suddenly died, and you couldn't be the spoiled second generation anymore, is that why you're like this? However, I have some bad news for you."
Saying this, Xia Henao looked at Song Shuangyu with pity. "Actually, your relationship with Song Zifu should be that of half-brothers. This is something I worked hard to find out."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"It's the truth. You have no relation to Song Ruusi at all. On the other hand, Song Zifu does have a blood relation to Song Shuangyu. I don't think I need to say the rest, do I?"
Shen Yu was confused by the sudden revelation of the Song family's complicated relationships. "So, what you're saying is..."
Xia Henao patted her head. "Alright, you don't need to think about it. It'll corrupt your brain. If you're going to learn to be bad, learn it somewhere else."
Song Shuangyu was a bit stunned by this sudden news, but things had already escalated this far. Xia Henao had coaxed him into admitting to using banned substances, something that couldn't be mentioned. He couldn't let him get away with it. "Who is whose son doesn't matter. I can't let you go today. You have banned substances too, don't you? Use them!"
"You can't be like him. He's gone mad, but you can't. If you go mad, what will I do?"
Xia Henao gently pried Shen Yu's hand away. "Mad? Then let's go mad. This battle has already come to this. Since only a madman can win, let's see who is crazier."
Saying this, Xia Henao directly injected the syringe into his own wrist. "Song, although the league strictly prohibits the use of banned substances on Pokémon, they can't control it if the trainer injects themselves. Besides, this isn't a banned substance, it's a serum."
Seeing Xia Henao inject the pink, strange liquid directly into his veins, everyone present was stunned. Even the system was dumbfounded. "You, where did you get this stuff? You can't eat whatever you want, and you can't just inject whatever you want!"
Xia Henao chuckled. "This is a tube of blood I drew from Mew last time at the Man Ying Shrine. Mew told me that if I diluted this and took it, it could increase the coordination between Guagua and me. But there's no time now, so I've taken a slightly more aggressive approach."
"A bit more aggressive? Aren't you afraid of rejection reactions or something? Oral consumption and injection are two different things. Besides, even if nothing happens to you, you directly drew blood from Mew! Aren't you afraid of your Mew sister retaliating?"
Xia Henao curled his lips. "We'll deal with that when it comes. Anyway, Mew and I are accomplices. I don't care anymore."
As he spoke, Xia Henao felt the blood in his entire body begin to ache. He slowly began to feel what Guagua felt. "Heh, this, is this the 'Bond Phenomenon' approaching completion? Xiao Yu, get back."
Shen Yu obediently took two steps back. Xia Henao stomped his right foot heavily. "Guagua!"
Guagua cried out in response to Xia Henao's shout. A rapidly rotating water sphere appeared around both the human and the Pokémon. Guagua had entered the Bond Phenomenon state again.
"Damn it, did I overestimate my physical condition? My heart is beating so fast... Guagua, Water Shuriken!"
As he spoke, Xia Henao drew his right hand from bottom to top in a circle up to his eyes. Guagua's movements synchronized with his. The only difference was that a Water Shuriken rapidly condensed in Guagua's hand.
Seeing the two water spheres of Xia Henao and Guagua, Song Shuangyu instinctively felt a sense of unease. "Charizard, fly up and create distance, use Flamethrower from the air!"
Xia Henao's eyes locked onto the Charizard in the sky. "Does flying up help? Go, Shuriken!"
As he spoke, Xia Henao waved his right hand. The shuriken in Guagua's hand shot out, piercing through the fine rain and hitting the Charizard in the sky. While a single Water Shuriken couldn't directly tear Charizard's wing, the high-speed rotation still caused pain in Charizard's right wing. Unable to flap its wings, Charizard naturally couldn't fly and had to fall to the ground.
Looking at Charizard on the ground, Xia Henao sneered. "What's the difference between a Charizard that can't fly and a lizard on the ground? However, to prevent you from flying up quickly, I'll take this wing of yours. Guagua, Double Team."
Guagua, as instructed, split into dozens of clones and rushed towards the grounded Charizard. Xia Henao lightly clapped his hands together in front of his chest. "Dark Pulse."
All the Guaguas simultaneously placed their hands in front of their chests, and dark purple spheres condensed in front of them. Xia Henao gently brushed his left hand over his right and then thrust his right hand forward. The Guaguas also placed the Dark Pulse spheres in their right hands and pushed them towards Charizard's wing.
Dark Pulse tore at the dragon's wing, which had just been hit by the Water Shuriken. Charizard directly swatted with its left claw. Xia Henao's toes lightly tapped the ground, and he and Guagua retreated two steps, looking at Guagua whose water sphere had slightly faded. "Reacting really fast."
Another clap of thunder exploded between the two. This farce of a battle was finally about to enter its climax.