"Aerodactyl and Charizard are both unable to battle!"
Aside from the referee's voice, the entire arena was dead silent. On the main stage, the leadership of Silver Academy could hardly suppress the joy in their eyes. With Sato showing such strength, his victory seemed like a foregone conclusion.
Shino looked at Mizuki on the field. Mizuki was currently under immense pressure; he only had one Pokémon left, while Sato still had two. He wasn't certain if he could win, but he absolutely refused to give up.
"Go, Machamp!"
A powerful figure appeared on the battlefield. Opposite it, Sato also released his second Pokémon. A silhouette even more massive than Machamp materialized on the field. It was a bulky, yellow-and-black Pokémon covered in shaggy fur. It had two tails with red tips, and its head resembled a UFO with two spherical antennas.
Is that an Electivire?
A strange light flashed in Eichi's eyes. Electabuzz had evolved.
Many people in the crowd looked at the Electivire with curiosity. Very few people present knew what an Electivire was, as it had only recently been discovered that it evolved from Electabuzz. This included Akemi, who had only learned about it a few days prior. Asen was also intrigued, as he had never seen this species before; after all, Team Rocket's influence in the Sinnoh region was not very strong.
Beside him, Tetsu turned and asked, "Eichi, Eichi, what kind of Pokémon is that? Why haven't I seen it before?"
Eichi glanced at the Electivire and explained, "That's Electivire, the evolved form of Electabuzz."
The students sitting behind heard Eichi's words. Their expressions varied, but they all shared one thought: Electivire was definitely going to win.
Tetsu remarked with a sigh, "Man, Electabuzz was already amazing before it evolved. Now that it's evolved, won't it be even more terrifying? Eichi, you'd better be careful."
Eichi smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't lose, regardless of whether it's evolved or not."
On the main stage, Director Yanagi also saw the Electivire. He wasn't surprised, as he had heard about the species a couple of days ago from some teachers who had visited the Sinnoh region. Other leaders felt the same. Sato looked at his Electivire; a week ago, he had received a call from home informing him that Electabuzz had an evolution. He couldn't wait to evolve it. Right after the evolution, he had Electivire undergo a test using a simple Thunderbolt.
The digital screen of the move-testing machine displayed a number: 4000.
That power was incredible. Before evolving into Electivire, its Thunderbolt had tested at 2400. After evolving, its power increased by 1600. Sato knew it was particularly strong because it had just evolved; by the second day, a retest showed a power of 3500. Even so, that was an increase of 1100 over its previous form—a massive leap forward.
Eichi watched the Electivire on the field, knowing Sato was about to win. First, Electivire was at the Elite rank, while Machamp was only at the peak of the Experienced rank. Furthermore, Machamp lacked any type advantage over Electivire. Mizuki was destined to lose, and Eichi began preparing to take his turn on the stage.
Mizuki stared at Electivire with a solemn expression. He didn't recognize the Pokémon, but based on its appearance, it looked similar to Electabuzz. Could it be an evolution? While he was still thinking, the referee gave the signal, and the match began. Mizuki quickly cast aside his distractions and focused on the battle.
"Machamp, use Bulk Up!"
Machamp didn't attack immediately. Instead, it struck a series of bodybuilding poses. Eichi could clearly see Machamp's muscles tightening and bulging. Sato didn't take this opportunity to attack.
"Electivire, use Electric Terrain."
Electivire raised its hands and clenched its fists. Electricity began to crackle around its head before traveling rapidly through its body. Within seconds, currents of electricity spread across the entire battlefield.
Zzzzt!
Tiny sparks appeared on Machamp's body, though they were too small to cause actual damage.
"Machamp, use Karate Chop!"
"Ni-keh!"
Machamp kicked off the ground and charged. Electivire watched the approach with an expression that was hard to distinguish between excitement and disdain.
"Electivire, use Thunder Punch!"
Electivire let out a roar and charged forward with heavy steps, electricity gathering in its fist.
Thump, thump!
Electivire's massive frame caused the ground to vibrate with every step.
Bang!
Sensing an opening, Machamp used its hand like a blade to strike Electivire, but Electivire made its move as well. It swung a fist, releasing a burst of berserk electricity that filled the air with a crackling sound. Hand met fist, and the two were evenly matched; neither could overpower the other. Seeing this, the two Pokémon retracted their limbs and continued to trade blows.
Although they were equal in terms of attack power, Electivire was slightly slower than Machamp. Consequently, Machamp's attack frequency was higher. Initially, Electivire could block the hits, but eventually, it started to struggle. Electivire's body was soon covered in bruises, yet Sato didn't seem panicked at all. Mizuki, however, felt an ominous premonition. He still had no idea what Sato was planning.
The spectators were also confused by Sato's passive behavior; only a few realized what he was doing. Eichi, of course, noticed that the electrical current on the field was growing stronger and stronger. Mizuki, focused entirely on Machamp, hadn't noticed at all.
After a minute, Electivire was heavily injured. Mizuki saw this as the perfect chance and wanted Machamp to finish the fight in one blow.
"Machamp, use Dynamic Punch!"
Machamp paused, its muscles tensing as energy surged through its body. It threw a punch that caused the air to crackle with an explosive sound.
Bang!
Machamp's fist was caught. It felt something was wrong—its punch had actually been stopped. Mizuki froze and suddenly saw a smirk play across Sato's face. He finally sensed something was off and looked at the electricity surrounding them.
Oh no!
"Machamp, get out of there!"
But it was too late. Machamp tried to pull its fist back, but a massive force held it in place; it couldn't break free.
"Electivire, Thunder!"
Dark clouds gathered as thunder rumbled.
"Roar!"
A massive bolt of lightning struck down, hitting Machamp directly. Berserk currents exploded across the entire arena. Looking out, one could see nothing but blinding flashes of light. The sound of electricity mingled with agonized screams; it looked painful even from a distance.