The sky, which had originally been filled with swirling yellow sand, had now become clear once again.
A gigantic figure could be seen lying on the battlefield.
It was the young Trainer's Hippowdon.
At this moment, it had already lost consciousness.
It lay completely motionless on the ground, spiral patterns filling its eyes.
It had fainted completely.
It had lost the ability to battle and could no longer stand.
The young Trainer stared blankly at his Hippowdon.
The stunned expression on his face remained frozen for fifteen full seconds before finally showing the slightest change.
He had lost?
He had actually lost that easily?
The young Trainer swallowed with great difficulty.
His face had turned frighteningly pale.
The battlefield conditions had clearly been overwhelmingly favorable to Hippowdon.
Despite that, it had still suffered such a crushing defeat.
Furthermore, just like before, it had been defeated by Salamence in a single attack.
Only when this painfully obvious reality appeared before his eyes did he finally understand just how powerful Salamence truly was.
He now realized how vast the difference between Salamence and his own Pokémon actually was.
His body trembled slightly from the enormous shock.
The next moment, the young Trainer unintentionally raised his head.
His gaze happened to meet Salamence's in the sky.
The instant he looked into those blood-red dragon eyes, he felt the intense ferocity and violence radiating from Salamence's body.
What a terrifying creature!
The young Trainer's heart sank heavily.
A chill spread throughout his body.
How was he supposed to defeat something so powerful?
No.
There was absolutely no possibility of victory!
The young Trainer's body continued trembling.
Faced with such an overwhelming difference in strength, he experienced an intense sense of fear and helplessness.
While he struggled internally, the hundreds of thousands of spectators in the stands finally recovered from their shock.
Once they realized that Salamence had once again achieved a dominant victory with a single attack, thunderous cheers and applause immediately erupted throughout the arena.
Excited shouts echoed from every direction.
The atmosphere within the entire venue instantly reached its peak.
Salamence's performance perfectly matched everyone's expectations of a powerful pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
That was why they reacted with such overwhelming excitement.
Meanwhile, amid the deafening cheers, the dazed young Trainer finally managed to steady himself.
He took a long, deep breath.
His body gradually stopped trembling.
The confusion in his eyes disappeared, replaced by sudden determination.
It was as though he had finally made an important decision.
"I already know that there is no possibility of me winning this battle!"
As he spoke, the young Trainer reached toward his waist.
His final Poké Ball was attached there.
"But I still want to see exactly how great the difference between us is!"
After saying that, his entire demeanor changed.
The immature bravado he had displayed earlier disappeared completely.
"Come out, Rhydon!"
"Let's bring this journey to a proper end!"
The moment his voice fell, red light flashed from the Poké Ball.
Another gray, rock-like Pokémon appeared upon the battlefield.
This was the young Trainer's final Pokémon.
This time, he carried an all-or-nothing resolve, determined to move forward without retreat.
Shiko sensed the change in the young man standing before him and nodded slightly.
He really was an interesting kid...
Since that was the case, he would allow Salamence to fight at full strength!
With that thought, Shiko silently gave Salamence a meaningful glance.
Salamence immediately understood.
The next moment, it released a vicious roar.
The aura surrounding its body began climbing rapidly with every breath.
When its power finally reached its limit, intense Dragon Might and suffocating pressure spread outward in every direction.
Only then did the young Trainer realize that Salamence had not used anywhere near one hundred percent of its power during the previous two battles.
It had treated the battles as though they were merely games, yet it had still defeated both of his Pokémon with a single attack each.
Damn it!
This thing was absurdly strong!
The young Trainer cursed inwardly.
His body began trembling once again.
However, this time, he was not trembling from fear.
He was trembling from excitement and exhilaration.
"Come on, Rhydon!"
"Let's give it everything we have!"
Sensing its Trainer's emotions, Rhydon released a deep roar.
It forcibly endured Salamence's overwhelming pressure without suffering any significant effects.
Its enormous body began charging across the battlefield.
Every step caused the ground to tremble violently.
It was as though a small earthquake had erupted beneath the arena.
Salamence moved as well.
It violently flapped its blood-red wings.
Then it descended in a perfectly straight line like a falling meteor.
Salamence and Rhydon collided head-on!
Boom!
A deafening impact resembling an explosion echoed across the battlefield.
A powerful wave of air swept dust and debris into the surroundings, obscuring everyone's vision.
Within the thick cloud of dust, only the indistinct outlines of the two massive figures could be seen.
(End of Chapter)
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