"Fool! Useless trash!"
Honki rushed to the bedside and delivered a sharp kick to Honmura's shoulder.
"My Blaziken! What kind of dog shit performance was that! You've lost all my face! From now on, don't tell anyone you're my brother when you go out!"
The kick carried considerable force, sending Honmura rolling off the bed like a tattered sack and crashing onto the floor.
However, the expected begging for mercy or rebuttal never came.
The kicked-down Honmura didn't struggle to stand up; instead, like a puppy, he sprawled on the floor, stuck out his tongue, and began licking the cold, smooth floor tiles stroke by stroke.
Indistinct gibberish spilled from his mouth.
"Hehe... tasty... so delicious..."
Honki froze completely.
He watched as his brother's tongue dragged a wet trail across the floor. Seeing that intoxicated expression, a chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull.
This... what was going on?
"You fucking..."
Honki looked on in disbelief, leaning in closer.
"Are you an idiot now?"
He bent down, grabbed Honmura by the collar, and hauled him up from the ground.
A close-up inspection made Honki's stomach churn.
A long string of drool hung from the corner of Honmura's mouth, mixing with the snot running from his nose, nearly flowing into his mouth.
His eyes were vacant and hollow, like two dull glass beads. No matter how Honki shook him, there wasn't a single ripple of awareness in those eyes.
"Holy shit! You really have gone stupid!"
"You're really not faking it!"
Honki suddenly let go, and Honmura slumped back down limply.
Now it was Honki's turn to be dazed.
His mind went blank. The all-consuming rage from a moment ago was instantly extinguished as if doused by a bucket of ice water from head to toe, leaving only cold shock and a trace of... fear.
What happened?
A perfectly fine person, how did he just become an idiot?
Could it be... because of that kick I just gave him?
No!
Honki immediately dismissed the thought.
Although his kick was heavy, it wasn't enough to kick someone into idiocy.
Besides, he had felt something was wrong when he called the kid earlier; his speech had been incoherent then.
So, the problem started before that!
Looking at his brother lying on the ground like a puddle of mud, still obsessively exploring the floor with his tongue, Honki's eyes turned red without warning.
He remembered when they were children, how this kid would follow him around like a shadow, always calling out "Big Brother, Big Brother." Though he was clumsy and annoying, he was his only brother after all.
"Waaah—!"
With a heart-wrenching wail, Honki, a man over 1.8 meters tall, actually sat on the ground, hugged his knees, and started crying.
"Brother! My dear brother! How did you become an idiot!"
"I will definitely heal you! Someone... someone must have plotted against you! Yes! It must be!"
The crying stopped abruptly.
It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Honki's brain, and a name surfaced in his mind.
Ariel!
"That's right! It's that guy named Ariel! You've been like this ever since you finished fighting him! It must be his doing!"
Honki's gaze instantly shifted from grief to ferocity.
He pulled out his phone, instinctively wanting to call his mentor, Master Yamato.
His master was one of the organizers of the Ever Grande Conference; finding him would surely solve the problem!
However, when the call went out, the receiver only emitted a continuous "busy" signal.
"What a piece of junk phone!"
After several failed attempts, Honki's patience was completely exhausted. He slammed the phone against the wall. It traced a parabola in the air before the screen made intimate contact with the wall and shattered.
Damn it! At the critical moment, I have to rely on myself!
I'll go report to Master after I've avenged my brother!
Honki leaped up from the ground, the flames of revenge burning in his eyes.
He glanced at his brother, who was still tasting the floor, and grit his teeth.
"Brother, wait for me. Your brother is going to avenge you right now!"
He was going to meet that Ariel personally!
...
Meanwhile, in a room in another building.
Ariel let out a loud sneeze.
"Achoo—!"
He rubbed his nose, feeling a bit puzzled.
"Who's talking about me?"
He muttered to himself and didn't take it too seriously. The room was very quiet, with only the faint whirring of the air conditioner's vent.
Outside, the night had deepened. The lights of Ever Grande City merged into a brilliant river of stars in the distance, shining through the glass window and casting mottled shadows on the floor of the room.
His Pokémon were all resting.
Ariel leaned against the headboard.
He naturally knew why Honmura had become like that.
Malamar's Confusion, after his special training during this period, was no longer a simple Psychic attack.
It was more like a precision surgical scalpel on a mental level, capable of acting directly on the opponent's cranial nerves.
Such a method was sinister, but effective.
Ariel never considered himself some virtuous saint.
In this world, even if you don't actively seek trouble, trouble will find you.
From the moment Honmura and Ayaka started playing tricks behind his back and tripping him up, they had already become Ariel's enemies.
When dealing with enemies, Ariel's creed had always been simple.
Either don't strike, or once you do, make sure to hurt them, scare them, and make them never dare to have any improper thoughts again.
As for whether that Honmura would be left with any permanent damage...
Ariel's gaze shifted to the window.
"Barring any accidents, there should be no risk of recovery."
"After all, it's an attack that acts directly on the brain. Unless he is also a Psychic, it's essentially the same as an ordinary person being hit directly by a Pokémon's skill."
However, Ariel felt he had been merciful. Although Ayaka was now a cripple and Honmura an idiot, they had both ultimately survived.
Even if Ayaka were treated with the most advanced medical technology, she would at most end up paralyzed, spending the rest of her life as a vegetable in bed.
As for Honmura, he would henceforth be an innocent child, without the wit or desire to harm others again.
Compared to the enemies Ariel had encountered before, this was a good outcome.
Though barely hanging on, they could still linger on and live.
He had merely administered a small punishment, a warning to those rats hiding in the shadows.
The room fell into a deeper silence.
He could feel an invisible net quietly spreading across this Ever Grande Conference because of his appearance.
Master Drake's side should have already helped him clean up all the loose ends.
Ariel naturally wasn't worried.
Sometimes, having a backer made things much simpler.
Next, he only needed to focus on the competition.
However, just as he was about to get up to wash...
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
A sudden, urgent, and violent knocking shattered the room's tranquility.
The sound didn't seem like knocking; it was more like someone was smashing the door with their fists, each blow carrying a ruthless determination not to stop until the door was torn down.
Ariel's gaze instantly turned cold.
He looked toward the door, then at the clock on the wall.
Eleven o'clock at night.
Who could it be?
***************************
Enjoying the story? Don't forget to drop a review, leave a comment, and smash that like button! Every Power Stone helps push the story further—thanks for reading and supporting! 🚀