Whoooosh!
The wind roared as the sphere advanced, lifting sand and rocks with terrifying power.
Boom!
Medicham launched the move Psychic. But when it struck the spinning sphere... the psychic wave was crushed!
With devastating force, the sand sphere swept across the field, struck Medicham directly, and hurled it violently against the protective wall.
The spectators were left speechless.
Just a moment ago they had been certain of the outcome... and now reality had slapped them in the face.
Sandslash, using a method no one understood, had unleashed a terrifying long-range attack and defeated Medicham.
"We did it... By imitating Ice Ball, and thanks to the secondary development of Defense Curl and Rollout, we completed the Sand Sphere."
Seeing that scene, Ethan smiled.
The principle of this technique was actually very simple: it completely imitated the functioning of the move Ice Ball. First it used the move Defense Curl to condense a sphere of sand, and then applied the power of the move Rollout onto it, thus creating a "sand ball" similar to the one formed by the move Ice Ball.
Moreover, thanks to mastering the move Sandstorm, Sandslash also integrated the power of the storm within the sphere, achieving an effect comparable to the combined move: Spin Drive. In this way, the power of the sand sphere reached its limit in an instant, thus completing a long-range attack of terrifying power.
In terms of power, although this Sand Sphere did not surpass a fully accumulated Rollout, it was still an extremely strong long-range technique. The fact that it directly crushed Medicham's Psychic move and defeated it proved that clearly.
In a sense, it also compensated for Sandslash's lack of long-range attacks, greatly elevating its combat capability.
"Medicham has lost the ability to battle! Sandslash obtains the victory!"
With the referee's announcement, the stadium fell silent for a moment.
With this, Stefan had already lost three Pokémon consecutively, while Ethan had only lost Meltan.
From the perspective of the overall situation, Ethan—whom no one saw as the favorite—had obtained an absolute advantage, leaving everyone stunned.
"Stefan... isn't going to lose, right?"
Some spectators of the Federal League began to worry.
If even Stefan, whom they had praised to the heavens, lost, the Federal League would be completely humiliated.
"Lose?"
"How could I lose?!"
Stefan gritted his teeth while another Poké Ball shone in his hand.
Then the figure of Metagross appeared floating in the air, staring fixedly at Sandslash.
"Return, Sandslash."
"Metagross, use Psychic!"
Just as Ethan was about to withdraw Sandslash, Metagross attacked first.
A powerful materialized psychic energy shot out and struck Sandslash directly.
Boom!
A violent explosion occurred.
Sandslash, already without strength, immediately lost the ability to battle.
"Phew... now Ethan has also lost two Pokémon..."
A spectator secretly sighed; for a moment he had truly believed that Stefan was going to lose, which had even frightened him.
"He beat me in speed again..."
Ethan shook his head slightly. Eliminating an opponent's Pokémon was already a great achievement for Sandslash.
"Good work, Sandslash. From now on, leave it to your teammates."
After returning it gently, Ethan observed Metagross thoughtfully.
Then he opened another Poké Ball.
Charizard appeared in the air.
"Charrzz!"
The moment it came out, it activated its temperature control, releasing intense waves of heat.
"Metagross, use Gravity and bring it down!"
Seeing Charizard flying, Stefan gave the order without hesitation.
Metagross roared and struck the ground with its limbs.
Instantly, a terrifying gravitational force descended upon the field and crushed down on Charizard.
"Charrzz!"
Charizard immediately felt its body grow heavy.
A gigantic pressure pressed on it, forcing it to descend rapidly.
Boom!
It landed heavily, stepping on the ground with an unpleasant expression.
It had not expected Metagross's Gravity move to be so powerful; it even seemed to compress space, preventing it from maintaining flight.
Interestingly, upon touching the ground, the gravitational effect disappeared.
It seemed that the gravity zone was maintained at a certain height; once outside it, the effect ceased.
Boom!
At that moment, Metagross launched the move Psychic again.
Charizard instinctively tried to rise to dodge it.
But upon reaching a certain height, the Gravity move activated again, its body froze for an instant, and it was struck directly, being blasted backward.
"Has it set up a gravity field in the air?"
"It wants to force Charizard to fight on solid ground..."
Ethan frowned. With the field already established, Metagross no longer needed to divide its attention to maintain it.
Although gravity also slightly limited Metagross, for Charizard—accustomed to fighting while flying—the restriction was much greater, as if its wings had been cut off.
While Ethan reflected, Metagross floated close to the ground and rushed directly toward Charizard.
Deprived of flight, Charizard's speed was also affected and it could only defend itself.
Boom, boom, boom!
The two began a head-on battle.
"Sunny Day Fire, push it back!"
Ethan reacted instantly.
If the air was restricted, then they would fight on the ground.
Before evolving, Charizard had also received training in ground combat.
After briefly adapting, it adjusted its stance and began facing Metagross head-on.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Under Ethan's orders, Charizard covered its fists with fire and attacked.
For a moment, thanks to the flames, it managed to slightly suppress the Steel-type Metagross.
However, Metagross's strength was truly astonishing. In several frontal clashes, Charizard was pushed back by its brutal power.
"Fire Dragon's Wing!"
After the fists, its wings also became weapons, wrapped in blazing flames.
Although Metagross had four limbs to fight with, Charizard used wings and tail, intensifying the battle even further.
The close-combat fight reached a climax, unleashing cheers from the audience.
"It's a complete set of combat techniques, and at a high level!"
"Who would have thought Charizard had trained in this as well!"
Lucas and the others were surprised.
Especially Lucas, who after capturing Lucario had learned something about fighting techniques. He immediately recognized Charizard's combat style.
It seemed familiar. After thinking for a moment, he realized: that style that made use of every part of the body was the secret technique of the Multitype Martial Dojo.
Moreover, those attacks seemed to have been developed specifically for Charizard, with power greater than usual.
"Fire Dragon's Horn Charge!"
At that moment, Ethan gave the order again.
Charizard stomped the ground and executed the move Dragon Dance.
Under the boost of Dragon Dance and wrapped in flames, it transformed into a fiery dragon and charged at Metagross.
Metagross, surrounded by electricity, surprised Ethan by executing a technique similar to an electromagnetic cannon, turning into a beam that collided head-on with Charizard.
Even after launching its most powerful attack, reinforced by Dragon Dance and Sunny Day Fire, Charizard gained no advantage at all.
Both collided violently and, with the resulting explosion, were thrown into the air.
Both were breathing with difficulty, clearly exhausted.
"What incredible close-combat capability this Metagross has... no wonder it forced the close encounter."
Ethan's face became more serious.
Moreover, this Metagross's ability was probably Clear Body, which granted it astonishing physical resistance and allowed it to withstand something like an electromagnetic cannon.
"In these circumstances... it seems there's only one option left: use that technique."
With a grave expression, Ethan looked at Charizard.
"Charrzz!"
Charizard nodded.
It abruptly opened both hands.
A flame appeared in one hand and a green energy sphere in the other.
Under everyone's confused gaze, it fused both energies.
Boom!
The flames erupted violently.
Like dry firewood encountering intense fire, a shocking fiery wave surged between its hands, quickly transforming into a peculiar golden fire.
"What powerful golden fire!"
Some Fire-type specialist trainers showed astonishment.
Special flames were supreme techniques, mastered only by elite trainers and clans, such as the Sunny Day Fire of champion Leo Cross, far more powerful than ordinary flames.
But now, on the basis of Sunny Day Fire, Charizard seemed to have brought that special flame to a new sublimation, transforming it into an even more powerful golden flame.
(End of chapter)