A wisp of sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the rocks, illuminating the cave still covered in green moss.

  Master Katsuragi and Torii searched for traces of Exploud and the others, plunging headlong into the cave.

  This was Torii's suggestion. He wanted to have a battle with Exploud. Even knowing that Exploud's strength was very strong and he had almost no chance of winning, some of the guesses in his head made him want to confirm them.

  In the cave, the Whismur curiously looked at Torii and the others in twos and threes. After a moment, Exploud walked out from the depths.

  It was a circle rger than the average Exploud, and its appearance was simir to Loudred. It had a particurly rge mouth, its entire body was basically purple, and it had many dents on its body, which could be used to make flute-like sounds.

  "We meet again, Exploud."

  "Let's have a battle?"

  Looking at Exploud with a smile, Torii could feel the aura on its body, which ordinary Pokémon, or most of the raised Pokémon, did not possess.

  "In exchange, we will take full responsibility for the Diglett matter, and you can live here in peace." Master Katsuragi said.

  "Oh ma~~~"

  Exploud's red pupils stared at Torii, and opened the mouth that occupied most of its body. Just a slight opening caused a sonic wave that stirred up the surrounding air currents.

  "Is that an agreement?" Torii asked.

  Exploud nodded and continued to roar. All the surrounding Whismur retreated to the back, and then it stretched out its hand and pointed outside.

  "I understand." Following Exploud, Torii and the others began to walk out of the cave, coming to a retively ft ground. There were no dangerous rocks or mountains around, which was very suitable for a hearty battle.

  "The rule is 1 on 1."

  "The one I'm sending out is Beautifly."

  Throwing the Poké Ball forward, Beautifly, whose body was gray and bck, followed a white light, waving its brightly colored and patterned wings, looking at Exploud full of fighting spirit.

  Beautifly looks very docile, but that's only to familiar people.

  Beautifly is warlike and full of aggressiveness. They will unch fierce attacks if they are slightly angered. Without the training of trainers, this kind of personality will be more obvious in the wild.

  Master Katsuragi stood aside, acting as an audience. He was also very curious about the reason why Torii wanted to fight Exploud.

  Exploud is very strong, and for Torii and Beautifly, it is an almost invincible opponent.

  ......

  ......

  In front, Exploud stood steadily on the ground.

  On the opposite side, Beautifly circled in the air, and Torii, with his eyes full of expectation and fists clenched.

  "Let's start! Beautifly, we attack first, give the opponent a greeting gift, Silver Wind—"

  The wind started, and the wind stirred by Beautifly's wings was more like a sandstorm, with white dots scattered in the wind, making it look turbid.

  By mixing scales into the wind to attack the opponent, Beautifly's actions became more flexible when using Silver Wind.

  However, Exploud didn't even think about dodging. With a long howl, it made a huge sound. With a buzzing sound, from Exploud's mouth, it was like causing ripples and vibrations, forming a wave. The Silver Wind that was swept up in front was directly blown away completely under this Uproar!

  "Very good!"

  "That's how sound is used." Torii's eyes lit up.

  As expected of a Pokémon that can cause earthquakes with just a shout, this Exploud perfectly demonstrated the power of sound to Torii.

  "Not enough, Beautifly, fly back into the air, use Air Cutter!"

  "Goo~~"

  Beautifly's movements were very fast. In the surrounding complex air currents, it seemed to be unaffected at all, perfectly using the surrounding environment, not wasting a trace of physical strength or time, and making the most coordinated actions.

  One... two... three... A total of nine Air Cutters were released from the high altitude by Beautifly, like sword lights falling from the sky, heading straight for Exploud's vitals.

  "What to do, continue to rely on sound?"

  Torii carefully stared at Exploud's actions until Exploud's feet stomped on the ground forcefully, and its tail and palms faced the incoming Air Cutters, and used the momentum to sp them hard!

  "Bang~~"

  "Bang~~"

  "Bang~~"

  Explosions sounded, and Exploud, who used the Smack Down move to resist the Air Cutters, was covered by dust stirred up by the collision of the moves, causing Torii to pause slightly, "Beautifly, take this chance, String Shot!"

  Buzz ~~~~

  Buzz ~~~~

  Beautifly swayed its body, and the Bug Strings it spewed formed a sea of silk, with golden light constantly fshing on it. With the crackling sound, the sea of silk was finally connected into one, turning into a golden net, rushing towards the dust that had not yet dissipated.

  Did it hit...

  Tensely looking at the constantly clearing field, Exploud's huge purple body reappeared in Torii's eyes.

  At this time, Exploud's body was covered with a yer of golden net, with current permeating it, constantly stinging Exploud's nerves.

  "Okay, how are you going to solve it? Beautifly's Bug Strings can't be broken so easily."

  Beautifly's Bug Strings are very strong. Thanks to the conditioning and tempering of food, it will be difficult to break free from the integrated String Shot without using sharp weapons!

  Torii has experimented with it. Just a few Bug Strings can make a Poochyena whose strength is growing get covered in dirt, and even with teeth, it will take a long time to regain freedom.

  "Oh ma——!!"

  "Oh ma——!!"

  What answered Torii was a deafening cry. Not only Exploud's mouth, but its whole body, all the holes on its body also vibrated. The sounds gathered together, like the sound of an explosion, producing even more amazing destructive power!!

  Boomburst!

  Torii's eyes narrowed, and he held his breath. Next, he saw the picture he had been waiting for—

  String Shot, using tough Bug Strings, with paralyzing current, formed a structurally complete and difficult-to-destroy net after a series of complex weaves. Being hit by this kind of move would definitely give most Pokémon a headache.

  However, from the mouth, from the holes, countless sound waves like explosions were emitted. With Exploud's feet as the center, the surrounding ground began to vibrate violently. Even Torii had to cover his ears, and his mind roared, almost unable to bear the impact caused by this huge sound.

  Beautifly's proud String Shot, the super-strong move that took a long time to practice, was... directly shattered under the sound waves!

  The carrier of the current, those Bug Strings, turned into powder from the inside out in an instant. The String Shot wrapped around Exploud's body disappeared completely in a short time!

  Seeing this scene, even Master Katsuragi let out a soft hmm.

  Beautifly in the sky, who was the main target of Boomburst, was directly blown to a higher pce, let out a scream, and slowly fell down.

  Torii knew that he and Beautifly had lost.

  However, this Exploud's fighting style made Torii feel very interesting!

  "Did you see it clearly?" After recalling Beautifly and taking out some wound medicine, Torii said to Swablu, who was watching the battle with Master Katsuragi.

  Swablu's cry, fright, and even the proud high-pitched voice after evolving into Altaria, were far behind Exploud.

  Uproar, Chatter, Uproar, Boomburst... and even the sound-type moves that were not used, this Exploud's combat style almost conformed to the "secret manual" conceived in Torii's mind.

  "Thank you for your hard work, Beautifly. And thank you, Exploud."

  After solving the Diglett matter, Torii was about to head to the Sinnoh region. Before that, being able to verify the thoughts in his mind, Torii was very satisfied. On the way back, he also expressed his gratitude to Master Katsuragi. Master Katsuragi did not ask Torii the reason for challenging Exploud. Everyone has their own path, and Torii's path also needs to be explored by himself.