The cannon on Genesect's back gave off a mechanical hum as it spun up, rapidly charging while brilliant Normal-type energy frantically gathered at the muzzle.
Boom!!!
With an explosive roar, that blinding white beam tore through the air and blasted toward Landorus with unstoppable force!
Landorus did not even have time to react before Techno Blast completely swallowed it.
"Lando!"
Inside the blinding white light, Landorus doubled over in pain, driven backward again and again by the terrifying impact as the ground beneath its feet cracked apart inch by inch from the shockwave.
Techno Blast had no drawbacks, high power, and perfect accuracy. It was an incredibly well-rounded move.
Now that it had landed cleanly on Landorus, it dealt heavy damage.
"Lando..."
Landorus panted heavily. After taking several moves in a row, it was clearly not feeling good.
Legendary Pokémon had tremendous stamina, but Genesect's Special Attack had already been boosted, making its moves much more powerful.
Rounded off a little, this was not all that different from an ordinary Pokémon battle anymore.
"Genesect, use Lock-On!"
The instant Grey gave the order, countless targeting points appeared across Landorus's body.
Landorus had been locked on!
Barring an accident, Genesect's next move would hit for sure!
"Landorus, use U-turn!"
N did not dare take it lightly and immediately ordered Landorus to pull back.
"Lando!"
Landorus understood. Bright green Bug-type energy burst from its body as it transformed into a streak of light and shot straight at Genesect!
"U-turn, huh? Interesting."
A sharp gleam flashed in Grey's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a confident smile. He flicked his fingers forward slightly.
"Genesect, let's give Landorus the full treatment. Use Blizzard!"
The cannon on Genesect's back armor snapped open, and a fan-shaped torrent of bone-chilling cold surged out.
Landorus darted left and right through the storm of ice crystals, its green aura cutting several afterimages through the blizzard.
But in the end, there was nowhere to dodge.
Its body suddenly jerked to a stop as thick ice sealed its legs in place!
The Blizzard's momentum did not weaken. In the blink of an eye, it froze Landorus into a gleaming ice statue, with only the unwilling light still flashing in its eyes.
"Oh no, this is bad! Landorus has actually been frozen solid! Paralysis, sleep, burn, and poison are all troublesome enough if they land, but freezing, that's the kind of status that really makes your heart jump into your throat!"
"Unless the Pokémon has a move like Flame Wheel, there's a very high chance it could stay frozen for quite a while!"
"So what kind of answer does N have for this situation?"
Commentator Slowking quickly shifted the focus to N.
With Landorus trapped in the frozen status, it was basically at Genesect's mercy.
"Landorus, can you use Stone Edge to smash a hole open?"
N tried to think of a way for Landorus to break itself free with a Rock-type move.
"Lan... do..." (No. My whole body is frozen. I can't use any of my elemental energy at all right now.)
For the first time, Landorus understood what it meant to feel truly helpless. It wanted to break the seal with a move, but no matter what it tried, it could not do it.
The energy inside its body had been completely sealed off. This was a real disaster now.
"Genesect, finish it with one last Blizzard!"
Grey issued the final command.
"Gene!"
Genesect's cannon let out a mechanical hum as the cold energy it had been gathering for so long burst forth.
Blizzard roared out and completely engulfed the half-frozen Landorus.
Amid the violent spray of ice crystals, Landorus's struggling form gradually stopped moving, until at last, with a crisp crack, it became a complete sculpture of ice.
Thud...
With the heavy sound of something massive hitting the ground, the frozen Landorus crashed onto the shattered battlefield, sending ice fragments flying everywhere.
Genesect slowly lowered its cannon, its eyes completely emotionless.
As if victory in this battle had always been the only possible outcome.
"Landorus, you worked hard."
N stepped onto the field and hoisted Landorus up.
There had been no real training or coordination between him and Landorus. It had just come over as a friend to help support the occasion.
He really had not expected Landorus to lose that quickly. It had not even been half an hour before Genesect defeated it.
Of course, a major reason was that Genesect knew Blizzard.
Those two precise Blizzards, added to the moves that had already landed earlier, had hit Landorus with a relentless combination that left it completely overwhelmed.
"Landorus is unable to battle. N, please send out your next Pokémon."
After the referee spoke, Commentator Slowking followed up.
"N may have lost the first battle, but he still has two Pokémon left. And in that last fight, Genesect actually took a fair amount of damage too."
"If Grey does not recall Genesect for the next battle, he may very well lose one of his own as well."
"Stealth Rock is currently on the field. If Gym Leader Grey switches Pokémon, then whatever comes in next will also take considerable damage."
Commentator Slowking analyzed the current state of the match, and viewers across the stream were doing the same.
[Even a second-tier Legendary like Landorus lost? Just what kind of monster is that Genesect?]
[Can any viewers from other regions explain? I'm from Sinnoh, and we definitely don't have any Pokémon that look that high-tech.]
[I'm from Unova, and that Genesect kind of looks like one of our ancient Bug Pokémon. But even ancient Pokémon shouldn't look like that, right? Covered in armor down to its toes?]
That viewer from Unova was actually not wrong. Genesect had indeed been artificially recreated by Team Plasma from the fossil of an ancient Bug Pokémon.
It was just that almost nobody knew that.
And even if Team Plasma openly announced the truth, probably not many people would believe it.
To this day, most Trainers still treated the existence of artificial Pokémon as pure nonsense.
After all, it completely overturned everything people thought they knew about the origins of Pokémon.
And yet, that was the truth.
Team Rocket had long since succeeded in creating Mewtwo, a Legendary Pokémon altered from Mew's genes whose destructive power shook the entire Kanto region.
Team Plasma had not only restored Genesect, they had even intended to establish a full production line for it.
"My next partner is you. Go!"
N's second Pokémon was "Zekrom."
Boom!
Lightning crashed down from above.
A pitch-black figure emerged in the electric blaze. Zekrom spread its wings, and an overwhelming dragon aura swept across the entire field in visible waves.
Even a being like Genesect was forced back several steps by the pressure.
Grey narrowed his eyes, a smile of complete understanding touching his lips.
Beneath that realistic Dragon-type energy fluctuation, he caught a faint trace of Dark-type energy.
Clearly, this was one of Zoroark's signature illusion tricks.
"No matter how I look at it, it still feels incredibly realistic. To perfectly imitate even a Legendary Pokémon like this, that kind of talent would be top-class even among Zoroark."
Grey muttered softly to himself, his hand already resting on the Poké Ball at his waist.
"But an illusion is still just an illusion."
He did not even need the system to know that the "Zekrom" in front of him was really Zoroark, so he was already thinking about calling Genesect back and sending in Annihilape to start throwing punches.
"I want to keep fighting."
Genesect sent several telepathic messages straight into Grey's mind.
"Huh? You want to stay in?"
Grey frowned.
N's Zoroark knew two Fire-type moves. If Genesect got hit twice, it would probably go down right here.
"That's right. This Zoroark is very strong. I want to see whether I can endure fighting two Champion-level Pokémon in a row."
Genesect nodded firmly. This was its first real battle. Even if it lost, it wanted to go down fighting all the way, not get sent back into a Poké Ball after just one match.
"Alright, alright. I want to see how far you can go too. This is a good chance to see what condition you're really in."
Grey glanced at Genesect's panel again. He vaguely remembered hearing someone say that because Genesect had been artificially created, its body was packed with data, completely unlike Mewtwo, which had been produced through biotechnology.
In other words, Genesect supposedly could not level up on its own like other Pokémon.
But when Grey checked its panel, his brow lifted.
[Pokémon: Genesect]
[Type: Bug, Steel]
[Level: 71]
[Ability: Download]
[Moves: Techno Blast, others omitted.]
That was right. Genesect had reached Level 71!
Which meant Genesect was not actually stuck and unable to level at all.
"Could it be because of the system?"
The word system popped into Grey's head.
His system did not have many functions, but one of them was visible experience.
Genesect might supposedly be unable to level up, but because it still counted as a Pokémon, it was also benefiting from the visible experience effect inside his system panel.
That was the only explanation Grey could think of.
[No way, he's sending out Zekrom as the second one? Is this supposed to turn into a stomp?]
[Hurry it up, hurry it up! I love watching stomps. That guy N, you'd better beat Gym Leader Grey!]
[No, something feels off. Every time N sends out Zekrom, it happens in a different way. Sometimes it drops from the sky, sometimes it just pops out of a Poké Ball. And now this time it came out of the Poké Ball and then fell from the sky?]
[Place your bets, everyone. How many moves can this Genesect survive against Zekrom?]
[Hard to say.]
Everyone was trying to figure out the situation. With that much steel all over its body, Genesect ought to be the kind of Pokémon with really high physical defense... probably?
"Zekrom, use Night Daze!"
The battle had already resumed. "Zekrom" threw back its head with a dragon's roar, its black wings spreading wide.
It crossed both claws before its chest as Dark-type energy gathered wildly between them, forming a pitch-black sphere that seemed to twist space itself!
Then "Zekrom" slammed the energy sphere into the ground.
In an instant, countless cracks of shadow spread across the battlefield like a spiderweb!
The attack looked spectacular, but quite a few people present noticed the slight inconsistency in the energy behind it.
Mustard and Alder in particular both knew that the "Zekrom" before them was really Zoroark in disguise.
After all, a true Legendary Pokémon could never produce pressure this weak.
"Genesect, use Flame Charge!"
Jets of fire burst from the gaps in Genesect's mechanical body, and its red armor began glowing brightly under the intense heat.
Vrrrm... boom!!!
With a roar like a rocket booster firing, it transformed into a flaming meteor and charged low across the ground, weaving between the cracks of shadow!
Every trace of Dark-type energy in its path was instantly burned away by the heat, leaving a streak of scorched darkness behind it.
And Genesect itself, carrying the full force of that blazing momentum, slammed into "Zekrom" like a cannonball!
Bang!!!
The instant its burning steel body collided with the black dragon scales, a distortion rippled outward like a shattered mirage.
"Zekrom's" body peeled apart piece by piece like a broken mirror, revealing Zoroark's true form underneath.
Zoroark staggered backward several steps. The backlash from its shattered illusion made it bare its teeth in pain, its crimson mane whipping wildly in the energy aftershock.
"Just as I thought."
Grey smiled as if it had all gone exactly as expected.
"No illusion stays perfect once it has to endure a real impact."
"Zoro..." (Damn it. You saw through my disguise that easily...?)
A vicious light flashed in Zoroark's eyes as it threw its mouth wide open.
A blazing stream of fire erupted from its throat and shot straight at Genesect!
Genesect twisted sharply to dodge, its mechanical joints screeching harshly.
But the flames came too fiercely, and the heat still grazed its steel left arm, turning the armor a dangerously hot orange-red.
Flamethrower, a Fire-type move with a four-times type advantage!
"Gene..." (I got careless. I didn't think you'd still be able to defend yourself after taking that hit from me...)
Genesect could clearly feel its stamina plummeting. That was all because of the Flamethrower just now.
The damage from a four-times weakness was simply too high.
"Zoroark, Burning Jealousy!"
When the enemy was wounded, you had to press the advantage. That phrase fit the current situation perfectly.
N believed this was the best possible moment to finish off Genesect.
"Zoro!" (You man-made little steel bug, fall already!!)
Dark purple fire burst from Zoroark's raised mane, and twisted envy coiled into a towering pillar of flames.
It was as if countless anguished faces were screaming inside the fire, staining the very air with a burning malice.
Grey swung his arm decisively and answered with a powerhouse move.
"Genesect, Zap Cannon!"
Genesect's back cannon locked onto the target. Superconductive coils lit up with a blinding blue glow as it condensed a massive electric shot and fired it forward!
The enormous electric sphere, several meters across, collided head-on with Burning Jealousy!
Boom!!!
The two attacks exploded in midair, and electromagnetic turbulence mixed with dark fire into a violent storm.
The shockwave blasted a crater ten meters wide into the center of the battlefield. Zoroark was thrown back several meters by the force, while Genesect's mechanical limbs were driven deep into the ground by the recoil.
The embers from the collision still drifted through the air, but Zoroark's figure had already vanished into the smoke.
"Flamethrower!"
In the next instant, a black blur tore through the smoke at Genesect's flank.
Zoroark burst out and spat a twisting snake of fire from its jaws. The blazing stream burned a clean path through the haze as it shot straight toward Genesect's exposed side!
"Genesect, Protect!"
A dark green barrier sprang up around Genesect, completely sealing out Zoroark's Flamethrower.
Only then did Grey shift his gaze to where Zoroark had been thrown earlier.
There, sitting quietly, was a doll.
A Normal-type Substitute!
If he had not kept his guard up just now, Genesect really would have been knocked out by that Flamethrower.
[Holy hell, that was sick! Wasn't this N guy kind of dumb-looking when he fought Mustard yesterday? How did he improve this much overnight?]
[That's what it means to be a genius. One little bit of guidance, and he improves like crazy.]
Everyone was stunned by N's play.
Substitute into a position swap and then straight into Flamethrower, very few Trainers could pull that off in such a short time.
"Not bad. To improve this much in only one day, your talent really is impressive."
Grey nodded lightly as he considered his next move while Protect was still active on Genesect.
"Grey, I learned a lot for this battle today."
N let out a long breath. Genesect's Protect still had a little time left, and he needed to think about what came next.
There were not many chances left for an effective offensive. That last sequence had already been the best tactic he could come up with.
"Zoro." (N, go all out. That little steel bug on the other side is nothing special.)
Zoroark took a breath and began gathering fire in its mouth again, clearly planning to end it with the next shot.
"Alright, Zoroark, use Flamethrower directly!"
Protect only lasted for a limited time, and Genesect's version would only hold for a few seconds.
Now the green protective barrier around Genesect was already flickering on and off. Zoroark whipped its head, its mane dancing wildly.
Then a terrifying beam of fire erupted from its gaping jaws!
The wave of flame roared in, while Genesect tilted downward and sparks of lightning gathered in the cannon on its back.
"Thunderbolt!"
A violent bolt of lightning shot out and collided with Flamethrower, setting off another explosion.
Familiar smoke and dust spread across the battlefield again, swallowing both Zoroark and Genesect from sight.
"Trying the Substitute tactic again?"
Grey narrowed his eyes, Aura already ready to spread.
Genesect had used up a lot of stamina already. If this dragged on any longer, it really might fall.
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