BOOM!
The torrent of energy from Fiery Wrath finally came to an end. Having been relentlessly battered by that furious power, Inteleon crashed heavily onto the ground, its face twisted in pain.
Although it was not being directly countered by a Dark-type weakness, taking a full-force Fiery Wrath head-on from start to finish still dealt it tremendous damage.
"Sky Attack!"
Lucas cast a glance at the Inteleon that had yet to struggle back to its feet and, without the slightest hesitation, ordered Galarian Moltres to continue the assault.
"SCREEE—!"
Galarian Moltres let out a sharp, sinister cry as it beat its wings and shot toward Inteleon at high speed.
Blue radiance rapidly gathered around its body, taking on the shape of a divine bird.
"Inteleon!"
Leon's expression tightened. If this Sky Attack landed as well, Inteleon would truly be finished.
Gritting its teeth, Inteleon propped itself up with its arms and forced its body into a powerful leap, narrowly dodging Galarian Moltres' frontal charge.
"Still struggling?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Moltres."
At his call, Galarian Moltres adjusted its trajectory. The Sky Attack aura did not dissipate as it continued its pursuit of Inteleon.
"Inteleon, Surf!"
Leon frowned deeply. The situation was extremely unfavorable, but he still had to find a way to break through.
Splash—splash—
The sound of surging water rang out as a massive wave rose beneath Inteleon's feet, completely towering over Galarian Moltres.
Surf!
The wave slammed directly into Sky Attack, but in less than an instant, the momentum of Surf stalled—pierced and shattered by the divine bird's charge.
"Snipe Shot!"
As Surf collapsed, Inteleon dropped down from the dissipating wave, its fingers forming a gun-like gesture as aqua-blue light flared brilliantly.
Bang!
A massive pillar of water blasted straight toward Galarian Moltres!
Galarian Moltres moved swiftly to evade, but the speed of Snipe Shot was terrifying—and it had perfectly predicted Moltres' movement.
The water column struck its left wing squarely. Galarian Moltres cried out sharply in pain, its gaze toward Inteleon turning even more vicious.
"So, its special defense really is exceptional."
Seeing that Galarian Moltres merely cried out in pain, Leon finally confirmed just how terrifying its defenses were.
His brows knitted tightly. It seemed his battle plan had been flawed from the start—Inteleon, a Pokémon that excelled in special attacks, simply had no real advantage against Galarian Moltres.
"Dark Pulse!"
Taking a hit without retaliating was never Lucas's style.
Galarian Moltres flapped its wings and surged toward Inteleon, black-and-purple waves of sinister energy firing from its beak.
"Blizzard!" Leon shouted sternly.
Landing on the ground, Inteleon slid backward using the accumulated water on the battlefield, unleashing a violent ice storm to meet the incoming Dark Pulse.
Blizzard and Dark Pulse collided head-on, but a corner of the Blizzard was quickly forced back by the Dark Pulse.
Clearly, a hastily cast Blizzard was unable to stop it!
At the same time, a dark shadow tore through the blinding snowstorm at incredible speed. Before Inteleon could even react, wings swung down violently!
Sucker Punch!
The strike sent Inteleon flying backward with brutal force!
"So, the low visibility of Blizzard ended up becoming cover instead?"
Leon's expression shifted as he stared at the faint frost marks clinging to Galarian Moltres' body.
Damn it—charging straight through Blizzard like that, was that really necessary?
No matter what, even if the Blizzard wasn't particularly strong, Galarian Moltres was still weak to Ice, wasn't it?
"Fiery Wrath!"
Lucas, however, didn't care in the slightest. As long as Inteleon could be taken down directly, losing a bit of stamina was nothing to Galarian Moltres.
"SCREEEE—!"
Galarian Moltres spread its wings, which looked as though they were burning with flames, as a terrifying black-and-red aura poured from its body.
"Hydro Pump!"
Leon's pupils contracted. If Fiery Wrath landed again, it would be disastrous!
Knocked away by Sucker Punch, Inteleon rolled across the ground before barely managing to stop. Black-and-red ominous energy seeped up beneath its feet.
Enduring the pain wracking its body, Inteleon gathered water-blue energy nonstop, forming a massive spiraling sphere of water.
Hydro Pump!
The spiraling water sphere blasted toward Galarian Moltres—but Fiery Wrath was even faster!
BOOM!
Like a volcanic eruption, surging black-and-red energy burst forth from the ground, completely engulfing Inteleon as it was violently battered by the raging power.
Leon's face darkened. At this point, Inteleon was basically… done for.
On the other side, because it was controlling Fiery Wrath, Galarian Moltres was unable to evade the incoming Hydro Pump.
The massive spiraling water sphere struck it directly, exploding with tremendous force alongside Moltres' furious, pained shriek.
Galarian Moltres was blasted far backward. Although Inteleon hadn't had enough time to fully charge, the power of Hydro Pump was still immense—far more painful than that earlier Snipe Shot.
After being flung a considerable distance, Galarian Moltres finally stabilized itself and took flight again, the "firelight" burning in its eyes growing even more intense.
As the black-and-red energy of Fiery Wrath dissipated, Inteleon collapsed limply onto the ground, utterly unable to rise again.
"Inteleon is unable to battle. Galarian Moltres wins."
The referee stepped forward, carefully examined Inteleon, sighed inwardly, and raised his flag as he solemnly announced the result.
"OHHHHHH—!"
At the announcement, a wave of astonished cries erupted throughout the stadium.
Or rather, the majority of the audience was utterly stunned.
Although people had already anticipated trouble when Inteleon was being suppressed during the battle, when it truly fell…
The impact was still overwhelming.
This was Leon, after all!
"Oh wow~ your strongest Leon has already lost a Pokémon first. Oh dear, the situation doesn't look too favorable, does it?"
"Are you seriously being sarcastic right now? It's just the first Pokémon going down, what does that even prove?"
"Broken already? Hahaha, I'm dying, after one match, Lucas's Moltres is still in pretty good shape."
"This is honestly ridiculous. He even captured a legendary Moltres, this guy is insanely strong!"
"Lucas oppa is the strongest! Galarian Moltres is so cool!"
"Looks-only fans get out—…wait, damn it, I'm kind of becoming a fan too."
As the result of the first battle was decided, the forums instantly erupted into another storm of heated debate. Still, far more people were simply in awe of Lucas's strength.
Being able to decisively defeat Leon's ace Inteleon was more than enough to prove that Lucas was at least on the same tier as Leon himself!
Absolutely outrageous.
On the battlefield—
"You did well, Inteleon."
Leon recalled Inteleon and offered a quiet word of comfort, then lifted his gaze to Galarian Moltres, frowning slightly.
It seemed Lucas had no intention of switching Pokémon—but even without switching, this Galarian Moltres was still extremely difficult to deal with.
"Not using Xurkitree?"
Seeing Leon deep in thought, Lucas smiled and casually suggested it.
The Electric-type Xurkitree was quite suitable for fighting Galarian Moltres, especially since it excelled in special attacks.
Even though Galarian Moltres had outstanding special defense, Electric still countered Flying.
"Xurkitree hasn't been fully trained yet," Leon shook his head, giving Lucas a strange look.
Good grief—this guy was his opponent, yet he was actually giving him advice? What the hell…
Thankfully, Leon considered himself even-tempered. If Lance were in his position, he would probably already be furious.
Wasn't this just blatant mockery?
"That makes sense. After all, time was too short," Lucas nodded. Even Leon couldn't possibly fully train a Pokémon so quickly.
"In that case, I suppose you're up next."
Leon didn't dwell on it any further. He decisively pulled out a Poké Ball and threw it.
"Dragapult!"
The Poké Ball opened midair, and the eerie, silent Dragapult floated into view, its cold triangular eyes locking onto Galarian Moltres.
The pseudo-legendary Ghost/Dragon Pokémon—Dragapult!
"So, he's going with Dragapult after all. Among Leon's team, Dragapult really is the most suitable choice against Galarian Moltres," Raihan said, letting out a breath of relief.
Galarian Moltres' special defense had already been clearly demonstrated.
Although Mr. Rime also countered it, in terms of combat style, it was definitely not as suitable as Dragapult.
"Dragapult is actually countered by Galarian Moltres. The outcome is still hard to say," Steven shook his head. Dragapult was Ghost/Dragon, and Ghost was countered by Dark.
If one were to predict the result, it was still very uncertain.
"A battle between a legendary bird and a pseudo-legendary, it's definitely worth looking forward to," Iris' eyes sparkled.
Despite having just lost to Red yesterday, she showed no trace of dejection now, instead eagerly anticipating the clash between Dragapult and Galarian Moltres.
A legendary bird versus a pseudo-legendary Dragon-type Pokémon!
"As expected, Dragapult. Now this is getting interesting."
Lucas studied Dragapult, a faint smile lifting the corners of his lips.
"Let's greet our opponent properly, Moltres."
"Dark Pulse!"
"SCREEE—!"
Galarian Moltres let out a piercing cry as its wings snapped together, firing a massive black wave straight at Dragapult.
"Dragon Dance!" Leon commanded solemnly.
With flight capability, incredible speed, and strong physical attacks, Dragapult was well-suited to fighting Galarian Moltres, but it was still countered by Dark-type moves.
Careful tactics were necessary.
Dragapult's triangular eyes remained calm as its ghostly serpentine body began to move in a strange, ancient rhythm.
Dragon Dance!
Its power and speed surged simultaneously.
The incoming Dark Pulse was smoothly evaded by Dragapult's fluid movements.
"Fast, as expected."
Lucas wasn't surprised. This was merely a probing attack—landing it would have been the real miracle.
"Hurricane!"
Galarian Moltres slammed its wings downward, and a violent gale rapidly formed, surging toward Dragapult.
"Dragon Rush!"
Leon swung his arm down forcefully.
As the storm gathered, Dragapult narrowed its eyes slightly and moved in an instant.
Dragon-shaped energy wrapped around its body as it charged forward like lightning, forcibly pushing through Galarian Moltres' Hurricane!
Before the stunned eyes of the entire audience, the raging winds were torn open by sheer force, allowing Dragapult to close the distance!
BOOM!
Dragon Rush smashed into Galarian Moltres, drawing a shrill cry of pain.
Terrifying force continued to surge as Galarian Moltres was sent flying uncontrollably.
"Hurricane wasn't enough to suppress Dragapult?"
Lucas's eyes flickered slightly, though he wasn't truly surprised. After a Dragon Dance boost, it wasn't strange for Dragapult to break through Hurricane's suppression.
And in any case, a single Dragon Rush was far from enough to defeat Galarian Moltres.
Besides—
"Dragon Claw!"
Seizing the advantage, Leon immediately ordered a follow-up.
Dragapult shot forward again like lightning, its speed still astonishing.
"Don't get carried away, Moltres."
Lucas glanced at Dragapult, the smile on his lips unchanged.
That was enough.
"Dark Pulse!"
Galarian Moltres struggled to stabilize its balance. The firelight in its eyes now burned fiercely as it let out a shrill, furious screech.
A Dark Pulse blasted straight toward Dragapult!
Dragapult met it head-on with Dragon Claw!
BOOM!
Dragon Claw and Dark Pulse collided violently, exploding apart.
The shockwave forced Dragapult backward, preventing it from continuing the pursuit.
"Hm?"
Leon frowned slightly, sensing something off.
Logically speaking, after just stabilizing itself, Galarian Moltres' Dark Pulse shouldn't have been strong enough to block Dragapult's Dragon Claw.
Hovering in midair, Galarian Moltres slowly beat its wings, coldly staring at Dragapult.
The furious "firelight" blazing in its eyes was unmistakably terrifying.
Berserk: When its HP is reduced to half or less by an opponent's attack, Galarian Moltres' Special Attack rises by one stage!
Yes—this was Galarian Moltres' ability!
(End of Chapter)