The following day, as soon as the very first match began, the atmosphere of a grand war settled over the arena.
For their openers, both Ethan and Calem sent out their starter Pokémon—Greninja and Typhlosion.
Although Greninja held the type advantage, it was immediately erased when Typhlosion blanketed the field with Sunny Day.
Greninja, a master of ninja arts, commanded a wide arsenal of versatile moves. Against a comparatively straightforward Pokémon like Typhlosion, it should have had the upper hand.
But Ethan and his Typhlosion clearly understood this. No matter how fast Greninja darted about or how tricky its techniques, Typhlosion locked on with Swift and followed up with relentless high-powered Fire-type attacks, battering Greninja until it collapsed.
In the end, the type disadvantage meant nothing—Typhlosion claimed victory.
Facing the raging Typhlosion, Calem countered with Charizard, hoping its aerial dominance would bring down the already battle-worn opponent.
To his surprise, Ethan's eyes lit up the moment he saw Charizard. He recalled Typhlosion and instead released his own Charizard—the black-scaled, shiny Charizard he had once captured in the Charicific Valley.
In a flash, a black Charizard and a red Charizard took to the skies. From the very start, the match had turned into a duel of dragons.
Calem and Ethan exchanged glances—then, as if rehearsed, both revealed their Mega Bracelets. Simultaneously, the two Charizard underwent Mega Evolution.
When the light faded, two Mega Charizard X faced off—one black and blue, the other cyan and blue—clashing in the air.
The dragons knew nearly identical moves. Guided by their Trainers' commands, they slashed with Dragon Claw, breathed gouts of draconic fire, and hurled boulders in aerial combat, each striving to knock the other from the skies.
But the clash ended in mutual destruction.
With both Trainers shouting "Dragon Claw!" the Charizard collided head-on, like moths into flame, and crashed to the ground together.
Barely, Ethan's shiny Charizard X dragged itself upright—winning with just a sliver of strength left.
Down two Pokémon already, Calem's composure cracked. He immediately sent out Absol, finishing off the weakened Charizard X with a swift Quick Attack.
Yet before the blow landed, Ethan recalled Charizard—forcing the attack to whiff.
After a moment's thought, Ethan chose Raikou. With thunderous power, the Legendary Beast sought to annihilate Absol.
But Absol weaved through the endless lightning with Detect, Sucker Punch, and Quick Attack, darting close and finally slashing Raikou across the head with a critical Night Slash.
Caught off-guard, Raikou staggered back with a roar of pain.
When it recovered, Absol had already multiplied into dozens of afterimages, all charging from every direction, its scythe-like horn glowing an eerie violet.
Raikou bolted with Extreme Speed, barely breaking free of the encirclement before discharging electricity that obliterated the clones.
But once again, Absol's Detect carried it through the thunderstorm, and another Sucker Punch drove Raikou back.
"Scary Face!"
Ethan tried to cut its speed.
"Taunt!"
Calem countered without hesitation. Absol shut down Raikou's debuff attempt and roared loudly, sapping its power before lunging in once more.
Poor Raikou. For all its legendary stature, only its endurance held up against Absol's cunning.
After a grueling exchange, Raikou managed to fight to a draw, trading blow for blow until both were spent.
Ethan withdrew Raikou, swapped in Typhlosion, and forced a mutual knockout against Absol.
Next, Calem chose Meowstic, while Ethan surprisingly sent Raikou back out despite its battered state.
A fresh Meowstic against a worn Raikou. It opened with Fake Out, hoping for a clean finish.
But the strike wasn't strong enough. Raikou endured.
The battle flipped instantly. Raikou now fought like a war god, crushing Meowstic with Extrasensory as though it, not Meowstic, were the Psychic-type.
Generations of spiritual power boiled within the Legendary Beast. Against Dark-types, it had needed reckless trades, but against Meowstic, Raikou reigned supreme.
With Eerie Impulse weakening Meowstic's offense, Agility to outpace its moves, and a relentless combination of Extrasensory and Thunderbolt, Raikou clutched victory on a sliver of health.
Meowstic, however, did not go down quietly. Its final act was Mean Look, trapping Raikou in battle.
Calem's fifth Pokémon—Chesnaught, entered next. Its Spiky Shield shrugged off Raikou's bolts before an Earthquake finished the exhausted beast.
Unfazed, Ethan brought back his Charizard X, now partially healed to unleash Sunny Day and rain fire from above: Fire Blast, Fire Spin, and more.
Chesnaught staggered under the inferno until cornered, it gambled everything—using Belly Drum to max its strength, then combining Rock Tomb and Stone Edge to unleash a meteor storm. Rocks rained from the sky, finally dragging Charizard down for the win.
Ethan now faced a problem: both his remaining ordinary Pokémon were weak to Chesnaught.
After a brief thought, he sent out Donphan. It used Defense Curl and Rollout, building unstoppable momentum as it thundered across the field.
Calem, wary of Chesnaught's maxed strength, played cautiously—restoring health with Synthesis and striking with Earthquake, intending to wear Donphan down.
But then came the twist.
While rolling, Donphan summoned rocks with Rock Tomb, vaulting itself into the air. It rolled across the sky, completely avoiding Earthquake.
When Chesnaught had nearly recovered, Donphan plummeted from above like a meteor, Rollout power fully charged.
Chesnaught swung back with a devastating Wood Hammer.
The clash sent Donphan crashing down—but thanks to its earlier Defense Curls, it survived the blow.
One hammer hadn't finished it. Calem commanded another.
But before Chesnaught could strike, the ground split wide beneath them both.
Fissure.
Donphan had baited its foe in close and dragged Chesnaught down with it. A double knockout.
Calem was forced to his final Pokémon, while Ethan still held two at full strength.
"…So it's come to this. Good thing I was prepared."
Calem's eyes gleamed with newfound confidence. From his belt, he drew an Ultra Ball.
With a flash, a majestic stag appeared—its body was dark blue and black, eight rainbow antlers stretching to the heavens, its form shaped like an X. The battlefield filled with pink aura as Fairy Aura surged.
The Legendary Pokémon—Xerneas.
"…So everyone has a trump card after all." Ethan murmured.
He raised his own Ultra Ball and threw.
"It's your turn—Silver!"
With a cry, Lugia spread its silver-white wings as it soared overhead.
"Gravity!"
Wasting no time, Calem commanded.
Xerneas bent the field's forces at once. Gravity dragged Lugia from the sky, stripping it of flight, speed, and agility.
"Silver, Dynamax!"
Knowing that Lugia would be grounded under Gravity and could never match Xerneas in a normal fight, Ethan recalled it, activated his Dynamax Band, and hurled the Poké Ball back out.
In the next instant, a towering Lugia emerged, standing in the arena and radiating crushing pressure across the battlefield.
Calem, unwilling to be outdone, also Gigantamaxed Xerneas.
"Max Steelspike!"
"Max Guard!"
Drawing on Iron Head, Lugia launched Max Steelspike.
Xerneas countered with Max Guard.
The strike was blocked, but Lugia's defenses rose.
Calem's plan was straightforward: stall out Dynamax.
Once Lugia shrank back down grounded by Gravity, Xerneas would control the match completely.
"Max Airstream!"
Beating its colossal wings, Lugia unleashed a cyclone like an Air Blast straight at Xerneas.
"Max Starfall!"
Xerneas gathered radiant Fairy energy into a pink beam. Empowered by Fairy Aura, its attack shone brighter than ever.
The two blasts collided, birthing a raging storm—but the contest was brief. Max Starfall overwhelmed Max Airstream and slammed directly into Lugia's body.
Lugia reeled in pain, badly wounded.
Still, it gained speed from Max Airstream, while the battlefield shifted to Misty Terrain under Max Starfall's effect.
"Max Starfall again!"
Seeing its advantage, Xerneas fired another brilliant beam, flooding the arena in a dazzling light.
"Max Guard!"
Lugia raised a barrier just in time to endure the strike.
With Dynamax exhausted, both Pokémon shrank back to normal. Instantly, both Trainers shouted new commands.
"Imprison!"
"Earth Power!"
Lugia glowed, sealing moves like Thunderbolt or Psychic to prevent Xerneas from exploiting type coverage.
But Xerneas instead tapped into the land itself. Its body resonated with the ground, unleashing Earth Power.
Amplified by both Misty Terrain and Fairy Aura, the attack's force was devastating, slamming Lugia hard and leaving it reeling.
"Recover!"
Faster now, Lugia restored its strength on the spot.
But Xerneas gave no quarter, dropping rocks with Rock Slide.
By then Lugia had already healed most of its injuries, and with its superior defenses, it weathered the barrage.
Xerneas shifted to Aurora Beam.
"Light Screen, then Recover!"
Under Ethan's orders, Lugia stalled shamelessly—erecting Light Screen and restoring itself from near collapse back to full health.
As Legendary Pokémon, both possessed immense stamina. One-hit knockouts were impossible. With Light Screen and Recover, Xerneas' advantage couldn't break Lugia down.
But Lugia, in turn, had no means to finish Xerneas—the very embodiment of life.
Had its Imprison not sealed certain moves, Xerneas would likely have crushed Lugia with ease.
Round after round, the two clashed, neither able to claim victory.
"Geomancy—then Psych Up!"
Switching tactics, Calem commanded Xerneas to power up.
It drew pure energy from the earth with Geomancy, then mirrored Lugia's boosts with Psych Up—raising both its defenses and speed.
When the transformation finished, its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed all skyrocketed.
Immediately, Xerneas loosed a Dazzling Gleam, effortlessly dispersing Lugia's cyclone.
"Geomancy again—Earth Power!"
Energy surged into Xerneas once more as it struck with another ground-shaking wave.
"Psych Up—Aeroblast!"
Not to be outmatched, Lugia copied the boosts and countered with Aeroblast.
If this were a game, trading blows evenly, Lugia's greater bulk would have prevailed.
But in reality, Xerneas' overwhelming offense crushed Lugia's counterattacks outright.
The two powers collided—Aeroblast shattered under the force, and Earth Power tore through, slamming into Lugia.
Lugia's pupils widened in shock, unable to stop the oncoming blast.
And then, with more energy absorbed, Xerneas' stats soared even higher. A second Earth Power erupted, hammering the battlefield.
Even shielded by Light Screen, Lugia faltered, forced to throw up Protect in desperation.
"BOOM!!"
"Sky Attack!"
Bursting from the smoke in a blaze of azure light, Lugia transformed into a divine bird and hurled itself at Xerneas with overwhelming force.
If it couldn't win at range, then it would gamble everything in close combat.
"Protect!"
Just before impact, Xerneas raised a shield, stalling the blow.
The instant Lugia's momentum waned, Xerneas' eyes flashed. Its rainbow antlers dimmed, then lunged forward—slamming into Lugia with a vicious Night Slash.
A critical hit. Super effective!
The strike dropped Lugia instantly.
"Play Rough!"
Xerneas seized the moment, rearing up to pummel Lugia with brutal strikes, then unleashed a finishing Aurora Beam that left the great sea guardian crumpled on the ground.
Silver was not weak—but against Xerneas wielding Gravity, victory had been impossible.
Watching Lugia fall, Ethan's mouth tightened. Then, he exhaled heavily.
With Silver defeated, the advantage he had built earlier was gone. Worse, Xerneas now stood transformed into a fully boosted final boss.
Even if Ethan sent out his last Pokémon—Entei, it would not change the outcome.
The match was over...
(To be continued...)
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