Chapter 58: Versus a Thousand Miles!

Breaking the mold allowed one to ignore the opponent's special abilities and proceed with the attack. For example, the Long-Eared Rabbit possessed a captivating body capable of entrancing its adversaries. Now that Yaya's trait had been altered to "Breaking the Mold," the Long-Eared Rabbit's ability was rendered null.

In other words, Yaya could touch the Long-Eared Rabbit however it pleased, completely unaffected by its allure.

The battle continued.

Hu Yang called out, "Yaya, are you ready?"

Yaya's body brimmed with fighting spirit. Having defeated two opponents in succession, its confidence soared. "Yaya!"

A flash glinted across the bespectacled boy's lenses as he issued his command.

"Your Yaya's stamina is nearly depleted. Long-Eared Rabbit, bounce again! End the battle!"

The Long-Eared Rabbit gathered strength in its legs and its graceful form soared once more into the air.

Hu Yang looked up, as did Yaya, both keeping their gaze fixed on the Long-Eared Rabbit's movements.

At that moment, their eyes synchronized perfectly.

The Long-Eared Rabbit arched skillfully in midair, its fluffy feet leveraging momentum as it kicked toward Yaya's position.

The distance closed rapidly.

Hu Yang gave no command, nor did Yaya move.

The onlooking trainees were baffled. "What is he doing?"

"If Yaya takes this hit, it'll lose its ability to fight!"

Finally, as the Long-Eared Rabbit descended to a certain height, Hu Yang gave his order.

"Jump back!"

"Yaya!"

The command was issued. Yaya sprang into action, its little feet pushing off for a backward leap.

A tiny movement—just enough to evade the Long-Eared Rabbit's flying kick.

The fluffy rabbit feet missed Yaya's face by merely three centimeters.

The other trainees were genuinely astonished.

"It… it dodged!"

"His timing was impeccable!"

"Yaya, bite!" Hu Yang commanded in a deep voice.

Their turn had come!

"Yaya!"

Taking advantage of the Long-Eared Rabbit's uncollected leg, Yaya sank its teeth into its foot.

The spectators exclaimed, "It… it bit down!"

"Long-Eared Rabbit!" The bespectacled boy frowned. "Use Slap to break free!"

The Long-Eared Rabbit's oversized ears glowed with white light, raining blows upon Yaya like a storm.

"Yaya!"

Yaya winced in pain but refused to let go.

Hu Yang said, "Now, unleash Dragon's Fury!"

"Yaya!" With one eye squinting from the blows, Yaya summoned its dragon energy. Rage transformed into a violet shockwave that surged from its mouth.

Slap versus Dragon's Fury!

The next instant, both Yaya and the Long-Eared Rabbit were hurled backward.

The referee stepped forward to assess the situation and raised the flag. "Yaya and Long-Eared Rabbit have simultaneously lost their ability to fight! The challenger has defeated three trainees and earned the right to challenge the Gym Leader!"

Hu Yang gathered Yaya in his arms. "You've worked hard."

"Yaya…" Yaya opened its eyes weakly. Though it had lost the ability to fight, its excitement had not diminished in the slightest.

Did you see that?! It had defeated three opponents in one go!

Hu Yang couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, yes, Yaya is the best. Rest for now, I'll handle things with Duoduo next."

"Yaya~" Yaya closed its eyes contentedly, returning to its Poké Ball.

Once he was certain Yaya was unharmed, Hu Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed the modifier would not damage the Pokémon's brain.

But what about the Ancient Moonbird?

Could it have been influenced by the other three templates on the modifier?

As he pondered, the bespectacled boy approached, having witnessed the interaction between Yaya and Hu Yang. He exclaimed, "The bond between you and Yaya is truly enviable!"

Hu Yang replied amiably, "Your Long-Eared Rabbit has been well-trained, too."

To evolve a Curly-Eared into a Long-Eared Rabbit, much like evolving Eevee into a Sun Elf, required a certain level of intimacy.

The bespectacled boy asked, "Your Yaya's trait is Determination, isn't it?"

He had seen earlier that when Long-Eared Rabbit struck for the first time, Yaya fell under the spell of allure.

Hu Yang hesitated for a moment but nodded.

Then why, on subsequent hits, did Yaya ignore the Long-Eared Rabbit's ability altogether?

The bespectacled boy recalled the affectionate scene he had just witnessed, his gaze growing even more fervent. "Just as the teacher said, Pokémon are creatures with limitless possibilities!"

Hu Yang: "?"

The boy grew excited. "I never expected the bond between Pokémon and trainer could break through the limits of abilities…"

Hu Yang: "?"

Looking at Yaya's Poké Ball in Hu Yang's hand, he declared, "It must have sensed your feelings, which allowed it to overcome the effects of my Long-Eared Rabbit's ability. Amazing, absolutely amazing!"

Hu Yang: "..."

Ah…

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't find the words.

In the end, he could only lower his gaze to the Ancient Moonbird beside him.

The Ancient Moonbird seemed tired, yawning and squinting drowsily.

"Go on, the Gym Leader is waiting for you. Best of luck in your challenge!" The bespectacled boy offered his sincerest blessing.

Hu Yang thanked him and returned the Ancient Moonbird to its Poké Ball.

He pushed open the wooden door to the final arena.

The Gym Leader of Orange Blossom Gym, Senri, was already waiting.

Seeing him, Senri was somewhat surprised.

Last year, he had witnessed Hu Yang's battles and remembered this trainer who had his Pokémon perform combination moves.

Combination moves sounded simple, but for Pokémon, they were extremely difficult to execute in practice.

Even elite trainers might not manage it, and it required extraordinary energy control on the part of the Pokémon.

Even Senri himself had only managed to have his Slaking master one combination: Focus Punch plus Hammer Arm.

"The challenger is Hu Yang from Orange Blossom City's Pokémon School. The rules for today's Gym battle are 3v3. Each side may use only three Pokémon. When any side's Pokémon all lose the ability to fight, the Gym battle ends!"

The referee stood at the edge of the field, explaining the rules.

Hu Yang: "..." He only had Roserade left able to battle.

One against three, and the opponent was Senri. For a rookie trainer, this was an impossible feat.

However…

He was now certain that modifying Pokémon wouldn't render them mindless.

In that case, he could test its effects in the coming battle!

One versus three—a war of attrition.

Hu Yang's mind conjured Roserade's panel.

He activated move modification.

Roserade's available moves appeared before him.

The first page was a list of fire-type moves.

Most were blacked out, indicating attribute incompatibility and thus unusable.

Due to time constraints, Hu Yang skipped straight to the grass-type moves.

He added: Grassy Terrain, Leech Seed, Ingrain, Aromatherapy.

Grassy Terrain would restore Roserade's stamina every turn, while boosting the power of grass-type moves.

Leech Seed could drain the enemy's stamina to restore its own.

Ingrain was also a healing move.

Aromatherapy could cure abnormal status effects.

What could be better suited for a war of attrition?

He could stand there and take the hits—the damage might not even outpace what he recovered.

With these, one against three would suffice.

Of course, provided Senri didn't get angry and use his true Gym Leader strength to bully a rookie trainer.