Aura Sphere was a Fighting-type move. While it wasn't impossible for non-Fighting-type Pokémon to learn it, it was absolutely not something Blastoise was known to use.
At least, not according to any database Conway had ever studied.
How could Blastoise use Aura Sphere? There wasn't a single record of it.
For a moment, Conway's brain nearly stalled.
But Blastoise didn't pause for his confusion. The Aura Spheres forming at the ends of its arm cannons continued to expand, swelling into two massive spheres of condensed blue energy.
Blastoise had always shown exceptional affinity for Aura, but after MEGA Evolution, that talent had surged to another level. In this state, it could even fire three Aura Spheres at once.
The energy stabilized.
Shuckle was still airborne from the recoil of its failed Gyro Ball when Blastoise locked on.
With a sharp burst of air, the two Aura Spheres shot forward.
In midair, Shuckle had no footing, no way to change direction. Trick Room reversed speed priority, but it couldn't give wings to something that couldn't fly.
"Shuckle, use Gyro Ball to deflect them!" Conway snapped out of his shock at the last possible moment.
Shuckle's body began spinning again at terrifying speed, its rotation slicing through the air just as the first Aura Sphere arrived.
The impact rang out.
The rotational force knocked the first sphere aside, sending it exploding harmlessly in the distance. But that deflection cost momentum. By the time the second Aura Sphere struck, Gyro Ball's spin had already weakened.
The second sphere slammed straight into the rotating shell.
A violent explosion erupted in the sky.
Smoke engulfed the battlefield, and a small figure fell from the cloud, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Theoretically, Shuckle's Special Defense was monstrous. Power Trick only swapped its Attack and Defense; its Special Defense remained untouched. And Aura Sphere wasn't even super effective.
It should have survived.
The referee rushed forward to confirm, then raised the flag.
"Shuckle is unable to battle. Blastoise wins!"
One hit.
Conway's eyes widened. "That's impossible. My Shuckle's defenses are among the highest at this level. How could it fall in a single strike?"
Then it clicked.
This wasn't ordinary Blastoise.
This was Mega Blastoise.
Evolution didn't just change appearance. It altered abilities, enhanced stats, and fundamentally raised combat output.
He had been too shaken by the unexpected. That lapse in composure had cost him.
Conway adjusted his glasses, regaining his usual cold composure. "I allowed the surprise to cloud my judgment. That won't happen again, Ash."
Ash blinked at him.
Was this guy talking to himself again?
"Return, Shuckle. You did well."
Conway recalled it and immediately threw another Poké Ball.
"Go, Aggron!"
A massive steel-armored figure landed heavily on the field. Steel and Rock type, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Its towering frame made even Mega Blastoise look slightly smaller by comparison.
In the stands, Misty quickly scanned the Pokédex. "Aggron. It can smash boulders with its horns and feeds on iron ore."
"It's huge," she muttered. "It's even taller than Mega Blastoise."
Gary snorted. "Size doesn't equal strength. If that were true, Pikachu would never win a single battle."
Brock nodded. "We know how strong Ash's Blastoise is. He won't lose."
Misty clenched her fists. "Ash! Blastoise! You've got this!"
Back on the field, Ash quietly read Aggron's data through his Eye of Insight.
Ability: Heavy Metal.
That doubled its weight.
On one hand, it amplified the power of weight-based moves. On the other, it made Aggron even slower than it already was.
There was a saying about "agile heavyweights," but in most cases, the greater the mass, the slower the movement. In a normal battle, that was a disadvantage. Under Trick Room, however, it became a weapon.
"It looks like you hid a lot during the preliminaries, Conway," Ash called out. "You never used a single Trick Room core Pokémon before today."
A so-called system team was built around a single concept: a specific Pokémon, a certain tactic, or even just one move. Conway's was a Trick Room team, every member deliberately slow, built entirely around that spatial reversal. If Trick Room failed or expired, the team's combat strength would drop drastically.
Weather teams like sun or rain squads also relied on field conditions, but they weren't as singularly dependent on one move as Trick Room. If Trick Room couldn't be set up, the entire structure collapsed.
"This Trick Room team was meant to carry me to the Championship," Conway said coldly. "I planned to unveil it in the finals. But since I've met you now, I have no choice. Aggron, Heavy Slam!"
Aggron roared as silver light enveloped its body. Its massive frame distorted under crushing gravitational force.
Heavy Slam's power scaled with the weight difference between user and target. If the attacker weighed five times more than the defender, the move reached maximum output.
A normal Aggron weighed 360 kilograms. With Heavy Metal, that doubled to over 720 kilograms, and well-trained specimens could exceed even that.
Blastoise, by comparison, was around 80 kilograms in its base form. Even after MEGA Evolution, it wouldn't surpass 150.
If Heavy Slam connected cleanly, the impact would rival ultimate-tier moves.
"Protect!" Ash shouted.
Under Trick Room, dodging was nearly impossible. Direct defense was the only rational response.
Conway's glasses glinted. "Exactly what I expected. Aggron, Stealth Rock!"
The silver aura dissipated instantly. Instead of charging, Aggron scattered sharp stones across the battlefield. In seconds, jagged rocks spread across the arena.
Ash's expression darkened.
Heavy Slam had been a feint.
Conway had been baiting Protect from the start, waiting to steal a turn and punish it. By forcing Protect early, he made Ash hesitant to rely on it again.
And now Stealth Rock was set.
Every time Ash switched Pokémon, they would take damage, damage that factored in type effectiveness. Flying-types would suffer double. Fire/Flying-types would take quadruple.
For Charizard, this was catastrophic.
"Blastoise, Water Pulse!"
If defense was a trap, then offense was the answer.
Three cannons fired at once. The streams merged midair into a spiraling torrent aimed straight at Aggron.
"Heavy Slam!" Conway commanded sharply.
This time, it wasn't a bluff.
Silver light flared again. Aggron stomped forward with impossible speed under Trick Room's reversed rules, bypassing the incoming Water Pulse and slamming into Blastoise's side.
"Hold steady, Hydro Pump!" Ash barked.
Under Trick Room, trying to outrun Aggron was pointless. The only viable path was to endure the hit and counter the instant it landed.
It sounded simple.
But it depended entirely on whether Blastoise could take the blow.
The collision shook the stadium.
Heavy Slam crashed into Blastoise with brutal force. Steel-type energy and sheer mass combined, cracks forming along Blastoise's shell. The Water Pulse faltered mid-cast. Pain flashed across its face.
Blastoise was knocked backward, but only a few meters.
Its feet dug into the ground. The next instant, blue light surged across its body. Water coiled around it like armor as it lunged forward.
Hydro Pump erupted at point-blank range.
Blastoise's physical impact barely mattered against Aggron's overwhelming mass. But Mega Launcher–boosted Hydro Pump was another matter entirely.
Water detonated across Aggron's body in a violent explosion. Pulsing energy tore through steel and rock alike.
Aggron's roar echoed through the arena as the torrent engulfed it completely.