"Gengar is unable to battle!"
The referee stepped forward and called, "Zeke, please send out your next Pokémon!"
Zeke reluctantly recalled Gengar and gritted his teeth. But the thought of his last trump card eased his anxiety a little.
"Go, Salamence!"
"ROAR!"
A deafening roar rang out as a four-legged Dragon/Flying-type Pokémon appeared. It had a pair of magnificent blood-red wings and a long tail. Its body was mainly dark blue, with red on the inner sides of its head, neck, limbs, and tail. Three shell plates covered its lower jaw and belly.
"A pseudo-legendary! Another pseudo-legendary!"
"Holy crap, how strong is Zeke? He has a second pseudo-legendary on his team?"
"So what if it's a pseudo-legendary? Slowking's already beaten one!"
Salamence's appearance sent the crowd into an uproar.
With a light beat of its blood-red wings, Salamence shot up to a height of 100 meters, putting plenty of distance between itself and Slowking.
Then it fixed Slowking with a menacing stare.
Its Intimidate Ability activated!
Slowking's Oblivious Ability blocked Intimidate, leaving its Attack unchanged.
That didn't help Salamence.
Slowking didn't specialize in physical attacks anyway. And even if it decided to fight that way, Belly Drum could still raise its Attack to the maximum.
After all, Belly Drum could be called the strongest stat-boosting move of all!
"Picking on my Slowking because it can't fly?"
Caster frowned at Salamence, which kept circling 100 meters overhead without coming down.
In real Pokémon battles, flight was a considerable advantage, especially in an open-air stadium like this one.
The battlefield on the ground had fixed boundaries, but the space in the air was practically limitless.
Salamence had deliberately put 100 meters between them. Slowking's psychic power weakened with distance, leaving it almost useless at that range.
Most other moves had the same problem. After traveling 100 meters, they would be less accurate, slower, and weaker. They posed no threat to a pseudo-legendary like Salamence.
Thunder might be the only move that could threaten it.
But Salamence was both Dragon and Flying type, so Electric-type moves dealt neutral damage.
Meanwhile, Salamence could boost its stats freely up in the sky, then come down to fight the earthbound Slowking once it was ready.
Even if Slowking knew Haze, that wouldn't help. Salamence could easily scatter it with a single Hurricane.
"Come back, Slowking!"
After a moment's thought, Caster recalled it.
"Oh? Recalling Slowking?"
Zeke raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Who will you send out, then? Pikachu?"
Caster had so few Pokémon that his team was practically public knowledge. Zeke knew what his options were.
Pikachu was an Electric type that excelled at Thunder, one of the few moves that could threaten Salamence right now.
It could also take to the air with Magnet Rise.
But that was a crude form of flight. It would be hopelessly clumsy compared with a true Flying-type Pokémon.
"ROAR!"
With a thunderous roar, a huge, powerfully built Gyarados appeared.
A sparkling gemstone was attached to the crest on its head.
Most people paid it no attention.
Decorating a Pokémon for an important match wasn't unusual.
Some Pokémon even wore accessories all year round. There was a Meowth that wore boots, for example!
But when Lance and Lorelei saw the gem on Gyarados's head, both shot to their feet in the guest seats.
"That's a Mega Stone!"
They spoke in unison, then looked at each other, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
Could Caster and Gyarados really use Mega Evolution already?
Lorelei was stunned. She still found it hard to believe.
She knew Caster had a Key Stone, and she knew he understood Mega Evolution well. But she hadn't known about Gyarados's Mega Stone.
"Hmm? Gyarados?"
Zeke clearly didn't recognize the Mega Stone. He was simply surprised that Caster had chosen Gyarados.
Gyarados specialized in close combat and normally couldn't fly. How was it supposed to match Salamence?
"Gyarados!"
As Zeke puzzled over the choice, Gyarados let out a series of deep roars in the rain. Its power kept rising.
Royal Authority of the Sea activated!
Then Zeke witnessed something he would never forget.
Gyarados raised its head and looked up at Salamence a few times. Then its body began to twist, and it slowly floated off the ground.
"Oh my God! What am I seeing? Gyarados is... it's flying!!!"
"Am I hallucinating? How can a Gyarados fly?"
"But it's doing it right now!"
The moment Gyarados took flight, the tens of thousands of spectators in the stadium and over a million livestream viewers were dumbfounded.
Even Lorelei was astonished.
Only Lance had known about this already. Instead of looking surprised, he smiled.
He was wondering whether he should raise a new Gyarados that could fly too.
Clair had told him that the Gyarados she'd recently started raising could already fly, though it was still slower in the air than Caster's.
"Gyarados is a Water and Flying type. With its power active, it can fly. What's so surprising about that?"
Caster spread his hands with a smile.
By then, Gyarados had risen to 100 meters, facing Salamence across the sky as its opponent spread its blood-red wings.
"Taunt!"
"Taunt!"
Caster and Zeke gave their orders almost simultaneously as the battle continued.
Taunt was too great a threat. Neither Gyarados nor Salamence had a counter such as Magic Coat, and neither Trainer wanted to suffer the consequences of acting second. They had to strike first.
Hum! Hum!
The two Taunts went off at almost the same instant and both hit.
Both Pokémon suffered for it. Their status moves were now sealed.
"ROAR!"
The two Pokémon threw back their heads and roared. After briefly gathering power, they launched their attacks.
Now it was time for a direct fight, a test of raw strength!
But first, they had to size each other up.
BOOM!
Two dragon-shaped waves of energy collided in a violent explosion.
Salamence clearly had the upper hand. Its Dragon Pulse was at least 30% thicker than Gyarados's.
"My Salamence is a Dragon/Flying-type pseudo-legendary! You think some lowly, impure-blooded Gyarados can match it?"
Zeke felt a little relieved when he saw Salamence gaining the advantage.
They were both using the same Dragon-type move, but Salamence received a same-type boost. Of course it would come out ahead!
Growing bolder, Zeke pressed the attack.
"Salamence, Dragon Rush!"
"ROAR!"
Salamence beat its wings and shot forward with a furious roar. A thick layer of Dragon-type energy wrapped around it, taking the shape of a huge, ferocious dragon as it charged straight at Gyarados.
"Just what I wanted!"
Caster was delighted.
"Gyarados, Waterfall!"
Gyarados could fly, but it had no wings. It had to rely on its control over Flying-type energy to keep itself airborne.
Salamence, by contrast, had both excellent control over wind energy and a pair of enormous wings. Its flying ability was far superior.
If Salamence used its flight and speed to dart in and out of range, Gyarados would have a hard time handling it.
But a direct clash? That was exactly what Gyarados wanted.
With the rain and Royal Authority of the Sea strengthening it, its attack power had already more than doubled.
"ROAR!"
Gyarados roared back. Huge torrents of water surged over its body, turning it into an enormous water dragon as it charged to meet Salamence.
BOOM!
The two dragons collided in midair again with a deafening crash.
To Zeke's despair, Salamence didn't have the upper hand this time. It couldn't even hold its ground. Gyarados completely overwhelmed it.
The enormous water dragon was unstoppable. It slammed into Salamence and forced it down.
Driven by the water's force and pulled by gravity, the two Pokémon plunged from 100 meters up like falling meteors.
Gyarados was on top, pinning Salamence firmly beneath it.
BOOM!
The two Pokémon struck the ground, blasting a second huge crater into the field.
At its center lay Salamence, barely conscious and covered in injuries. It could no longer put up any resistance.
Whoosh!
One Icy Wind later, Salamence finally passed out, its eyes spiraling.