"ROOOAR—!!"
Gyarados let out a low growl. In the next instant, a funnel-shaped Whirlpool materialized out of thin air directly above Machamp's head before crashing down like an enormous lid.
Whoooosh—!!
"MAAAACH—!!"
Engulfed by the Whirlpool and submerged in churning water, Machamp was instantly overwhelmed by a terrifying sense of suffocation.
For the first time in its life, the muscular and immensely powerful Pokémon experienced true helplessness.
Two of its arms desperately covered its nose and mouth to keep from inhaling water, while the other two flailed frantically, trying to swim out of the Whirlpool's grasp.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a normal Whirlpool rising from below.
It had descended from above and trapped Machamp underneath like an overturned bowl.
No matter how hard it struggled, everything it did was completely futile.
"Blastoise!!"
BOOM!!
Meanwhile, after struggling for quite some time, Blastoise finally managed to dig its way out of the battlefield.
Panting heavily, it shook dirt from its head and gasped for breath.
"Blastoise, hurry and help Machamp! Use Rapid Spin!"
Trainer Daizumi immediately shouted the moment he saw Blastoise free itself.
"Blas—!!"
Blastoise responded loudly.
The next second, its body began spinning at high speed like a giant grinding wheel as it charged straight toward the Whirlpool imprisoning Machamp.
This was a Double Battle.
No Pokémon was ever truly fighting alone.
Whether ally or opponent, everyone had teammates supporting them.
If one Pokémon couldn't break free from a difficult situation, it could always rely on its partner's assistance.
However—
"It's not like you're the only one with a teammate."
Watching the rapidly approaching Blastoise, Ash maintained the same confident smile on his face.
Just as Blastoise was about to crash into the Whirlpool surrounding Machamp, another command rang out from beside him.
"Chansey, intercept Blastoise! Use Protect!"
Clarissa shouted decisively.
"Lucky~!"
Chansey answered immediately.
Its tiny paws pushed forward as a pale green barrier appeared before it.
Then it leaped into the air and charged directly at Blastoise.
CRASH!!
Blastoise possessed tremendous strength, and its higher level only widened the gap.
The moment the two collided, Chansey was blasted backward.
It hit the ground, rolled several times, and only stopped after tumbling across the battlefield.
Even so—
Its mission had been accomplished.
Blastoise's advance had been stopped.
"Blastoise—!!"
The spinning turtle was forced to halt its charge.
At the same time, Machamp's situation became increasingly dire.
"Mach—!!"
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Unable to escape the Whirlpool and deprived of air for far too long, Machamp finally began swallowing water.
Its face turned bright red.
Its four arms flailed wildly in panic, looking more miserable with every passing second.
"Machamp!!"
Across the field, Machamp's trainer, Hideo, shouted anxiously.
In Pokémon battles, when faced with a difficult situation, the key to turning things around often came down to a trainer's intelligence and combat experience.
Quick thinking depended largely on talent.
Battle experience, however, could be accumulated through countless matches.
If a trainer had encountered a similar situation before, they could often draw from past experience and quickly find a solution.
Earlier, when facing Machamp's advancing Revenge attack, Ash had provided a third answer besides simply tanking the hit or surrendering resistance.
But now, facing Gyarados's suffocating Whirlpool strategy—
Hideo clearly couldn't find a way to rescue Machamp from its predicament.
"Valor, that's enough. Use Water Tail repeatedly on Machamp!"
Seeing that the Whirlpool was beginning to lose stability and would soon dissipate, Ash immediately issued his next command.
"ROOOAR—!!"
Gyarados threw back its head and unleashed a thunderous roar.
Its steel-like tail became wrapped in the overwhelming force of crashing waves before swinging violently toward the trapped Machamp.
BOOOOM!!
The Water Tail smashed into the Whirlpool.
Water exploded everywhere.
Spray and foam filled the air.
Countless droplets reflected the stadium lights, scattering dazzling rainbow colors throughout the arena.
From a visual perspective, it was breathtakingly beautiful.
For Machamp, however—
It was pure agony.
BANG!!
The powerful strike sent Machamp flying out of the collapsing Whirlpool.
Its massive body crashed heavily onto the battlefield and rolled several times before finally stopping.
At that moment, Machamp felt as though it had been struck by a speeding truck.
Pain surged through every part of its body.
It felt like its entire frame was on the verge of falling apart.
But the battle wasn't over.
Ash had absolutely no intention of stopping there.
In fact—
Now that Chansey had temporarily occupied Blastoise and prevented it from providing support, Ash immediately seized the opportunity without the slightest hesitation.
"Valor, use continuous Water Tail attacks!"
Ash swung his arm forward and shouted powerfully.
"ROOOAR—!!"
Gyarados answered with an earth-shaking roar.
Its battle spirit was burning hotter than ever.
Receiving Ash's command, it charged forward like a runaway locomotive.
BANG!!
Its tail, carrying the might of raging tides, slammed into Machamp's body.
Machamp had only just escaped the Whirlpool.
Before it could even regain its bearings, it was launched into the air again.
"Machamp, dodge it—quickly!"
Across the battlefield, Hideo shouted desperately.
Unfortunately—
BANG!!
BANG!!
BANG!!
BANG!!
One strike after another.
Relentless.
Merciless.
As one of the core members of Ash's carefully cultivated second team, Gyarados possessed an extraordinarily precise sense of offensive rhythm.
On top of that, Clarissa was a trainer with exceptional battlefield awareness and timing.
Water Tail had long become Gyarados's signature move.
As a medium-range physical attack, it perfectly suited Gyarados's massive body and brute-force battling style.
Back when Valor had still been a Magikarp, Ash had already begun training this move extensively.
Now, its proficiency had long since reached the Mastered level.
Although repeatedly using Water Tail consumed a significant amount of energy, its activation speed had become so refined that it was practically indistinguishable from a normal attack.
There was no noticeable charging time whatsoever.
Furthermore, at the very beginning of the battle, Gyarados had already used Aqua Ring.
The continuously restoring energy from Aqua Ring constantly replenished its stamina and move consumption.
As a result, Gyarados could practically use Water Tail as a basic attack without worrying too much about exhaustion.
At least for now—
The pressure on Gyarados's side was minimal.
BANG!!
BANG!!
BANG!!
The attacks continued without pause.
Machamp never found an opportunity to recover.
It couldn't counterattack.
Couldn't escape.
Couldn't even properly stand up.
The moment it touched the ground, another Water Tail would arrive.
Little by little, it was dragged completely into Ash's battle tempo.
Finally—
"Wait... I surrender!"
Hideo clenched his teeth tightly.
His heart was filled with unwillingness.
But as he watched Machamp being helplessly battered around the field, completely unable to fight back, he knew the outcome was already decided.
Continuing any further would only result in more injuries for Machamp.
And defeat.
Nothing else.
His concern for his Pokémon ultimately overcame his desire to keep competing.
"The Red-side trainer, Hideo, has chosen to surrender. Machamp is declared defeated and eliminated from the battle!"
The moment the surrender was announced, Gyarados immediately stopped its assault.
At the same time, the referee's voice echoed throughout the stadium.
The battle had finally come to an end.
And once again—
Ash's terrifying control of battle tempo had completely crushed his opponent.
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