Chapter Thirty-Four: I Take a Strand of Spring Breeze and Gift You a Face Full of Blooming Peach Blossoms

Young people these days have no sense of honor in battle—they attack by surprise! As he lay dazed on the ground, Hoopa’s Shadow, somewhat lost in thought, found this phrase echoing inexplicably in his mind.

He stared blankly at Chen Ou, whose body danced with crimson flames, confusion written all over his face.

“Chen Ou... what exactly is he?”

On the other side, Diantha and Kyurem both withdrew their attacks at the same time. Diantha gazed at Chen Ou and couldn’t help but ask.

Red, standing closer to her, smiled and replied, “Whatever he is, he’s certainly not a Pokémon!”

Diantha recalled the enormous fist forged from fire she had just witnessed.

“...Really? He’s not?”

If Chen Ou knew what she was thinking, he would have emphatically confirmed: he truly wasn’t, absolutely not.

Unfortunately, Chen Ou had neither the chance nor the time to question Diantha’s thoughts. He was exhausted, and, more importantly, in grave danger.

He could sense that Hoopa’s Shadow’s once unfocused fury was now firmly directed at him.

Ah, Chen Ou, ever the unlucky one.

Sure enough, a Shadow Ball hurtled directly toward him. At the sight of this attack, Regigigas hesitated, providing Cynthia with the perfect opening for a fierce counterattack.

Anyone who had ever taken a Shadow Ball from Hoopa at full power knew just how devastating the move could be—Regigigas, having suffered that fate in the past, was keenly aware of the danger.

Naturally, so was Chen Ou, who was now the target.

The massive energy orb blasted forward, driving the air before it in a howling gale. The dust that had barely settled was swept up once more, scattering wildly, as if a herd of Tauros were stampeding across the battlefield—an awe-inspiring, perilous sight.

Chen Ou swallowed hard at the sight of the attack, which was easily wider than his entire body. He realized that even turning into an elemental form might not allow him to dodge this time, so he wisely chose to evade outright.

Transforming into a great fireball, he dropped swiftly to the ground and spread out into a blazing carpet of flames.

With the Shadow Ball fired straight ahead at the airborne target, it naturally missed Chen Ou in his current form—he had narrowly escaped disaster.

Everyone else continued their battles methodically, each focused on their own opponent. Those familiar with Chen Ou knew that such minor setbacks would never be enough to bring him down.

Once the dust finally settled again, Chen Ou stood tall and unscathed.

Hoopa’s Shadow’s anger only grew more intense, the provocation from this insignificant insect before him having driven him past the brink of reason. In close combat, there is nothing more satisfying than trading blows, regardless of the outcome.

And so, Hoopa’s Shadow charged headlong at Chen Ou.

Chen Ou watched him approach with a faint smile.

“Strong, perhaps, but he’s traded all his wits for power.”

It was no joke—though Hoopa’s Shadow’s strength had increased dramatically, his intellect seemed to have plummeted. Whether it was his skills or the power to summon through dimensional holes, everything felt magnified several times over; it seemed as if he could now even take on Arceus for a few rounds. Yet, Chen Ou sensed that Hoopa’s Shadow was now far less intelligent than before...

Even the little Hoopa seemed smarter; all these years of battle must have rattled his brains into a Growlithe’s belly.

(Growlithe: Who ate it? Not me! Don’t slander me!)

For Chen Ou, however, this was good news. Whatever the purpose of the force granting these powers, one thing was certain: they now stood on opposing sides.

Facing the half-mad but still methodical assault from Hoopa’s Shadow, Chen Ou didn’t dare let his guard down for a single instant, retreating toward the riverbank as they clashed.

Wherever the forces capable of restricting such power had gathered, if he could just draw Hoopa’s Shadow into their midst, he might yet mire him down.

But just then, as Chen Ou faced off against Hoopa’s Shadow, a sudden beam of freezing energy shot toward him.

“Watch out!” came the simultaneous cries of Cynthia and Diantha.

Cynthia had gained the upper hand, thanks to Regigigas’s moment of distraction; her advantage grew with every exchange, giving her the edge in the battle.

Diantha, meanwhile, was in an awkward position—she realized that Kyurem seemed to still be slowly increasing his strength, showing none of the signs of being controlled by Hoopa’s Shadow, acting more as if he were simply toying with her. Only that sudden Ice Beam had seemed to be fired under compulsion. At this moment, Kyurem also glared with some anger at Hoopa’s Shadow.

Hearing the warning from Cynthia and Diantha, Chen Ou wasted no time—flames gathered at his feet, propelling him into the sky and allowing him to evade the pincer attack.

He cast a deep look at Hoopa’s Shadow, feeling as if the red in the creature’s eyes had faded slightly. He couldn’t be sure whether it was just his imagination or something more.

Chen Ou didn’t dwell on it. Observing the battlefield, he saw that his side—particularly Diantha—was still locked in a desperate and even losing struggle. He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for a decisive act.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Ou flew toward the battlefield where the Three Legendary Beasts and Lugia were fighting. He was no longer willing to stick to the original plan. Although it seemed that his side had successfully held off many legendary Pokémon, the battle lines continued to creep inexorably toward Darkgray City. Chen Ou wished it weren’t so, but facts were facts, only slightly different from what he had anticipated.

As a scholar, Chen Ou had underestimated the power of the Legendary Pokémon, and even more so the gap between Champions. While Diantha might not be called “weak” among champions, she was still no match for Kyurem.

In addition, Chen Ou had realized that after summoning two more Legendary Pokémon, Hoopa’s control over them had diminished considerably.

In his memory, Hoopa had always kept these creatures under strict control—they would do whatever he wished. But here, Kyurem and Giratina both seemed to be holding back, and Lugia, with its psychic abilities, even more so.

Chen Ou quickly reached the battlefield where Entei fought. Lugia was clearly not using his full strength; otherwise, could the Three Legendary Beasts alone hope to hold him off?

What nonsense! Suicune, who had been taken down with a single blow, didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

“Entei, lend me your strength,” Chen Ou said solemnly to the beast, who had temporarily withdrawn from the fight.

Entei’s gaze was deep—he understood what Chen Ou meant. There was no official bond between them, no Trainer and Pokémon relationship. Entei had entered the Poké Ball only to protect Chen Ou.

It was because of this that Chen Ou had discovered a further limitation to his special power: without a clear bond of ownership, capturing meant nothing.

In other words, Chen Ou’s own abilities had not increased with Entei’s “joining,” nor had Entei benefited from Chen Ou’s power over fire.

Lend me a breath of spring wind.

And I’ll send you ten miles of peach blossoms.

Entei nodded in agreement.

P.S. Thank you, Youhao! And thanks to my classmate for the 100 Qidian coins—much appreciated!

P.P.S. The original title for this chapter was, “I’ll take a breath of spring breeze, and send you peach blossoms for ten miles.” Just a little inspiration from today’s outing.