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It was clear that Marvin held absolute confidence in his Trump Card.
Besides the Fairy type, the attributes that counter Zoroark include Fighting and Bug types. It wasn't that he didn't have Pokémon with these two attributes. However, he still sent out Blastoise despite its neutral type matchup—neither advantageous nor disadvantageous.
Chris could sense Marvin's confidence and pride as a champion radiating from him.
There were many legends surrounding his Trump Card Pokémon, Blastoise.
It was said that the Unown marking on Blastoise's shell was connected to an adventure from Marvin's childhood, when he had helped the Unown. When it came time to part ways, the Unown granted power to his childhood partner Squirtle as repayment for Marvin's kindness.
This gift supposedly gave Squirtle an innate ability to avoid disasters and transform misfortune into good fortune.
It sounded almost mythical, like something from a legend about Legendary Pokémon.
However, Chris knew something more substantial than mere rumors.
The famous Trump Card Blastoise had once battled against an ancient Blastoise in the Pacific Ocean.
Some people speculated that the ancient Blastoise from centuries past had ascended to godhood. They believed that Marvin's Blastoise fought against it to compete for the divine position of Blastoise.
Whether Marvin's Blastoise had truly won and claimed that divine status remained a mystery.
"Maybe it really is a Blastoise who holds Divine Authority..." Chris murmured to himself, suddenly noticing movement at his waist.
When he looked down, he discovered that one of his Poké Balls was trembling, eager to be released.
Chris had planned that when he reached the championship finals, he would give his main team members their moment in the spotlight.
"That's right, it's your turn to battle," Chris said as he took out the Poké Ball to recall Zoroark.
The moment Zoroark returned to its Poké Ball, the Spear Pillar altar crumbled away, and the phantom illusion vanished into nothingness.
The two deities of time and space that had been standing imposingly on the battlefield were also stripped of their disguises, revealing only the thick and heavy Ghost-type energy that had formed their bodies. The energy collapsed instantly, falling to the ground like a spring waterfall pouring down.
Seeing this scene, those viewers who had still questioned whether Chris was using three Pokémon fell silent.
Apparently, those two intimidating Pokémon were nothing more than elaborate illusions.
However, for those Trainers who had already guessed—or already knew—that the essence of the two deities was merely an energy construct, their expressions grew even more serious.
"This Zoroark is much stronger than before..." Roy couldn't help but marvel. He had watched Chris catch this Zoroark from the very beginning.
Back then, it had been a powerful and extraordinary Pokémon, but not nearly as frightening as it was now.
The phantoms that once shattered at the slightest touch had now become extremely powerful combat assets.
Originally, Roy had speculated that the two summoned Pokémon might be Zoroark's substitutes created through the move Substitute, but he never imagined they were pure energy constructs. This realization made him reconsider everything.
If Chris's Zoroark could construct any Pokémon at will and coat it with that layer of energy, did those constructs possess genuine fighting power?
Marvin was also watching the energy dissipating on the ground. He too was shocked to learn that the time and space deities had been energy constructs rather than real Pokémon. But what captured his attention even more was the type of energy scattered across the battlefield.
"Damn it... Ghost-type..." Marvin couldn't help but curse under his breath.
This Pokémon of Chris's was definitely not a normal Zoroark—at the very least, it wasn't an ordinary Dark-type Zoroark.
No wonder Ninetales had fallen after taking just three attacks. It turned out that what had struck Ninetales wasn't Dark-type moves at all, but Ghost-type moves.
Finally, the truth had been revealed!
Chris didn't care what others thought. He had already chosen his third Pokémon.
"Please, take the stage."
A Poké Ball soared toward the sky.
Between flashes of silver light, white thunderbolts crashed down!
Where the lightning struck, a large white feline stood on the battlefield. The moment it appeared, countless Trainers rose from their seats without exception—whether they were novices, veterans, or Gym Trainers—all looking up at the battlefield in stunned silence.
"Wait, is that Zeraora? The Legendary Pokémon?"
"No way, isn't Zeraora supposed to have yellow fur?"
"So... I have a wild theory here. It can't be... it couldn't possibly be—"
"It's a Shiny Zeraora!"
Someone revealed the truth, and the announcement sent shockwaves through the crowd!
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Shiny Elite really lives up to his name!"
"Damn it, having normal Pokémon as Shinies is one thing, but why do even Legendary Pokémon come in Shiny forms? I don't understand, I can't accept this!"
"Seeing him with a Shiny Zeraora feels worse than dying!"
"I suspect the gods themselves are playing favorites, but I have no evidence to prove it!"
"I object to this with every fiber of my being!"
The reactions throughout the auditorium varied wildly. Some people were consumed with envy, others were driven mad with jealousy, some were deeply moved by the sight, and others were genuinely happy for Chris.
For ordinary Shiny Pokémon, the public's reaction was mostly limited to envy, and since the owner was an Elite, it seemed appropriate. Even a Shiny pseudo-legendary wasn't entirely unacceptable.
But taming a Legendary Pokémon... and having it be Shiny on top of that?
Please, don't joke around like that.
The number of Legendary Pokémon known to be caught by Trainers in the entire world could be counted on one hand. And now they were being told that someone had tamed a Shiny Legendary Pokémon?
This wasn't just good fortune from having ancestors smile down from above—this was like relocating the entire ancestral burial site to a crematorium and having it blessed by divine fire!
In the Elite's VIP lounge, reactions were equally strong.
"What an enviable kid," Victor muttered, puffing on his pipe with a disgruntled expression. Why hadn't he possessed such luck when he was young? If he could have tamed a Zeraora back then, he might have become Champion long ago.
"No matter how many times I see it, I'm still envious of Elite Chris," Tate said, shaking his head in disbelief.
As Chris's opponent, what Marvin focused on wasn't whether Zeraora was a Shiny Pokémon, but rather Zeraora's strength.
The moment Zeraora had appeared on the battlefield, the entire arena became shrouded in a layer of faint white electricity. Even standing in the trainer's box, Marvin could feel the slight prickling sensation in the air.
Marvin could draw a very simple and direct conclusion: the electric power of the Zeraora before him likely exceeded that of all the opponents he had faced before.
Even in the World Pokémon Contest, he had never encountered such a powerful Electric-type Pokémon.
The world's strongest Electric-type?
But his own Blastoise was directly weak to Electric-type attacks.
Should he switch Pokémon again?
No, he couldn't change now.
Switching at this point would cost him all his momentum. Besides, Chris would likely switch his Pokémon in response as well, and the result would end up the same.
"Then let's battle!" Marvin gritted his teeth and declared firmly.