The aftermath of the collision swept away all the dust on the surrounding ground.
Kommo-o staggered back a few steps.
Bam!!
The second hit!
Kommo-o retreated even further, struggling to keep its footing.
"Awu!!"
Ono, whose eyes used to be bright, were now red, as if not only Kommo-o was using Nirvana, but she was too!
The "Dragon Power" was poured in completely.
The third hit!!
Boom——!!
The ground burst open with a roar, Kommo-o and Ono rolled frantically, only stopping when Alakazam appeared to block them.
Both Kommo-o and Ono had passed out.
But Hydreigon was not doing well either, barely stabilizing itself while its head shook uncontrollably, feeling dizzy.
The scales on its forehead were completely shattered.
It struggled to maintain flight, each beat of its wings bringing intense pain.
The scales all over its body were in a dire state.
While it clashed with Kommo-o, neither Super Beedrill nor Togekiss paused for a moment.
Exhaustion, a deep-seated exhaustion welled up from within.
Hydreigon never thought it would find itself in such a pitiful state.
Having just unleashed "Nirvana," its chaotic consciousness had not fully cleared, but the stinging pain brought it back to reality.
"This is the last one."
Natsuhiko calmly whispered, taking a deep breath.
This battle could truly be described as fierce. Snorlax, Hatterene, Steelix, and Kommo-o had almost all lost their fighting capability.
Audino's "Foggy Arena" had dissipated and couldn't be maintained, with most of its energy used for healing.
Even Oranguru's eyes were filled with fatigue, assisting Togekiss constantly with "Command" had drained its spirit considerably.
Yet, even so, it seemed Hydreigon still had the strength for a last-ditch effort.
Natsuhiko endured the throbbing pain in his head, a warning from his brain due to overusing his psychic abilities to command his Pokémon.
But now wasn't the time to worry about that.
"Hya!!"
Aegislash was the first to strike, the massive spectral sword of the "Holy Sword Slash" swept across.
Bang!
One of Hydreigon's heads, resembling a hand, raised up and bit the sword's shadow.
Super Beedrill circled from afar, converting speed into power with all its might, striking with both needles simultaneously.
Bam!
Hydreigon's other hand, summoning its remaining Dark Energy, blocked Super Beedrill's attack.
It let out a heavy breath, throat quivering, Dragon Energy seeping out.
But in the next moment.
Hydreigon suddenly felt its body out of control, crashing heavily to the ground.
Gravity!
Alakazam appeared in front of Hydreigon.
The "Eye of Miracles" on its head tightly locked onto it.
The spoons crossed, the "Freezing Technique" immobilizing Hydreigon, sealing off its impending move.
Its body, crashing down, shattered the power Hydreigon had painstakingly accumulated once more.
It still struggled to rise, swinging its tail to try to dispel the stalemate between Aegislash and Super Beedrill.
However.
Before the tail could move, Bewear appeared behind it somehow, sitting directly on its tail and holding on tightly.
What remained.
Now depended on Togekiss!
Togekiss took a deep breath, its body brushed by psychic energy.
Audino.
It used "Play" and "Trait Swap" to change Togekiss's trait from "Celestial Grace" to Super Beedrill's "Adaptability."
It transformed into a white light, descending vertically, head down like a meteor.
During its descent, Fairy Energy pulsated wildly, turning the white meteor into a pink one.
Pu-tz——
The sharp Zerunias' Horn among its feathers forcibly pierced through the tattered scales of Hydreigon.
Under Hydreigon's wide eyes, a fierce blast of Fairy Energy erupted inside its body.
The earlier consecutive "Power of the Moon" had already reduced Hydreigon's Special Defense to the point of being unable to weaken further.
This time, the "Power of the Moon" that erupted from inside out, the blast of Fairy Energy dealt a terrifying degree of damage that could secure victory.
Boom!!
The ground sank layer by layer, cracking in multiple places.
With a near wailing cry from Hydreigon, it completely lost the ability to resist, lying silently on the ground.
Silence.
Three seconds of brief silence, followed by no thunderous cheer.
The Pokémon, one by one, sat back as if drained, their chests heaving heavily.
Natsuhiko also sat down, pressing against his throbbing temples.
This battle.
Was won very brutally.
The reason why it was so difficult, one part lay in Hydreigon's powerful strength, but it's mainly because Natsuhiko miscalculated one element, leading to such a situation.
"Unlimited Defense Swap" had a loophole!
Even though it was because they were fighting a stronger Pokémon and were caught due to Attribute Suppression, if they were fighting a Pokémon at the same Elite Candidate Level as Hydreigon, even with Attribute Suppression, they couldn't sever Alakazam's Superpower Threads.
But encountering and experiencing it showed that there really was a loophole.
In fact, all strategies have loopholes; there's no such thing as a perfect strategy.
For example, "Sandstorm Team" fears "Intimidation Team," or there's the competition for Weather Hand, "Rain Team" has even more loopholes, like encountering a "Fake Rainy Day" to steal the weather, etc.
No strategy is truly invincible, but knowing a loophole is one thing; someone else trying to formulate a strategy against it, whether they can execute it is another.
However, since Natsuhiko discovered a loophole in his strategy, he naturally needed to find a way to fix it.
And the way to fix it.
Is either for the Pokémon's strength to continue to grow until no Pokémon can overpower them.
Or... develop the second core.
In this battle, if Latios had also reached the Elite Candidate Level.
When Hydreigon desperately repelled Snorlax and attacked Hatterene, if Snorlax successfully swapped places with Aegislash, with Aegislash using "King's Shield" to block the attack, the subsequent battle would certainly have been much more orderly.
But fortunately.
Even with unforeseen errors, ultimately, the battle was won.
After taking a few deep breaths, Natsuhiko staggered to his feet to treat the Pokémon's injuries.
The Pokémon which had lost battle capacity, some had injuries that if not treated in time, could leave lasting consequences.
And the most important...
To capture this Hydreigon!
——————
PS: Two chapters have over 10,000 words, a request for some monthly tickets, please~~