Above Guangming Residential District, three massive birds collided violently in midair. The air itself twisted at the point of impact.
Terrifying shockwaves rippled outward, shaking nearby buildings. Many windows shattered instantly.
One of the three birds was Corviknight. The other two were demonized Skarmory.
Normally, Skarmory's body was covered in steel-hard armor—silver all over, with red inner wings, sharp teeth, and a deceptively light yet tough build.
But the demonized Skarmory radiated decay. Its once-solid steel body looked rusted and corroded.
Even so, its hardness hadn't weakened in the slightest. When it clashed with Corviknight, sparks flew everywhere.
Clang!!!
Crouched on Corviknight's broad, steel-hard back, Kael stared sharply at the two demonized Skarmory that had just been forced back.
He took a deep breath and roared,
"Corviknight!! Brave Bird!! Charge!!"
Corviknight let out a high, thunderous cry. Its steel body suddenly ignited in blazing flames—seven-colored fire that made it look like a sovereign born from an inferno.
"Whoosh!!"
With a shrill tearing sound, Corviknight became a streak of light—a blazing, multicolored meteor—charging straight at one of the demonized Skarmory.
The other Skarmory tried to intercept—but Kael wouldn't allow it.
In the blink of an eye, he condensed a glowing blue Aura Sphere between his hands.
"Go!"
He hurled it forward. The Aura Sphere struck the nearer demonized Skarmory squarely.
"BOOM!!"
The massive bird was blasted backward several steps—but the blow failed to inflict serious damage. Instead, it only enraged the monster further.
"SKREE!!!"
The demonized Skarmory screeched, claws flashing as it lunged straight for Kael.
"Whoosh!!"
It moved so fast it seemed to slice through space itself. In midair, Kael had nowhere to dodge.
Yet his expression didn't change in the slightest.
At the moment of impact, Kael's eyes flashed. A massive surge of Aura Power erupted from his body, instantly forming a spherical shield around him.
Boom!!
Kael was sent flying like a meteor, streaking through the night and smashing away at incredible speed.
At the same time—
CRASH!!
Corviknight slammed into the other demonized Skarmory, snapping it cleanly in half at the waist. The broken body plummeted toward the ground.
"Gah!!"
Corviknight's seven-colored flames burned even brighter. It spun sharply and charged at the Skarmory that had attacked Kael.
This was Kael's plan all along—using himself as bait to draw one Skarmory away, allowing Corviknight to focus and eliminate them one by one.
"BOOM!!!"
The sky erupted like a massive firework. The final demonized Skarmory was destroyed.
All of this happened in an instant—less than a minute.
Both demonized Skarmory were gone.
Corviknight immediately flapped its wings and flew toward the direction Kael had been blasted away, its blood-red eyes filled with worry.
If Kael hadn't insisted on this plan, Corviknight would never have allowed him to take such a risk.
To Corviknight, Kael was the most important person in the world.
"Whoosh!!"
It sped up, droplets of blood scattering from its steel feathers.
Facing a Gym-tier and an Elite-tier demonized Skarmory, even Corviknight had taken heavy damage—that was why Kael had gambled everything.
Meanwhile, inside a pink, girlish bedroom—
What should have been a warm and cozy room now looked like a ruin.
One wall had been smashed open, furniture lay in chaos, and cracks spread across the floor.
A figure lay half-slumped against a wall riddled with spiderweb-like fractures.
It was Kael.
He was in terrible shape—blood at the corner of his mouth, three deep gashes across his body.
"Tch… what rotten luck," Kael hissed, sucking in a sharp breath.
"Two Skarmory… I almost died because of bad intel."
He then looked toward the stunned girl sitting on the bed and said,
"Hey, miss—do you have a first-aid kit? Could you help me bandage my wounds?"
The girl, shocked out of her wits, snapped back to her senses.
"Yes—yes! I have one! I'll get it right away—just… just don't die!"
She rushed out of the room.
Watching her leave, Kael muttered,
"What a small world… I actually crashed straight into Iria's house."
He hadn't expected to run into one of Growing Pain's two female leads like this.
Hopefully he wouldn't have to pay for the damages.
He glanced around at the shattered walls and sighed inwardly.
At the same time, his thoughts drifted to his second Pokémon.
If he'd had a second Pokémon today, he wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.
Looks like once this is over, he'd need to hurry up and train Shinx.
As his thoughts wandered, his vision gradually blurred.
He knew it was blood loss—but he had no strength left to do anything. All he could do was wait.
Just before he lost consciousness completely, he heard several anxious voices.
"Young man! Hang in there! I'm going to bandage you right now!"
"Iria, what are you standing there for?! Go get hot water! Lin Dawei—get the hemostatic medicine and bandages!"
Kael struggled to lift his head, catching sight of three familiar figures. He murmured weakly,
"Thank you…"
Then darkness claimed him.
"Young man! Young man!! Wake up!" Lin Dawei shouted urgently.
"Stop shouting and help stop the bleeding!" Wang Shengnan snapped.
"He's lost too much blood—if we don't stop it, he'll really die!"
Lin Dawei forced himself to calm down.
"Mom, the hot water's here!" Iria rushed in with a basin.
"Good. Iria, call 120 and get an ambulance here," Wang Shengnan ordered.
"I got it, Mom!" Iria nodded and hurried out to make the call.