The sky shuddered.
Several stars of Fairy-type energy came plunging down from above, cutting through the dark night in streaks of pale pink light. They slammed into the beach one after another with heavy, earth-shaking impacts.
"Boom!"
Each impact carved out a large crater in the sand. Fairy-type energy scattered outward in pink waves, washing over the opposing Pokémon. However, the Steel-type Pokémon on the field resisted Fairy-type moves, and the damage they took was minimal as a result.
"Boom!"
Immediately after the Fairy-type stars, a bolt of blue lightning cracked down from the sky and struck the ground. In an instant, the beach lit up with flashing sparks and surging electrical energy. Ferrothorn and Duraludon both staggered — the lightning had left them confused.
This was the secondary effect of G-Max Freefall. The move carried a chance to inflict confusion on any Pokémon it struck.
Jacob noted the result with a hint of disappointment. Out of all the Pokémon on the field, only Ferrothorn and Duraludon had fallen into confusion. He had hoped for more.
Still, it was the reason he had pushed for Gigantamax Hatterene to use G-Max Freefall in the first place — even with Steel-type Pokémon on the field. That confusion chance was the whole point.
"Butler, take everyone and go ahead. I'll handle Hatterene and Grimmsnarl!" Jacob said, his voice calm and focused. Then he turned slightly. "Whitney, take Hell and fall in behind them. Get ready to break through. I'll cover the rear."
"Got it!"
"Trying to run?" Meyer's expression turned colder. He had seen what the Gigantamax Pokémon could do, and that only made him more determined. If he could get his hands on a Trainer with that kind of power...
He had to stop them.
"Swampert, Waterfall — cut them off!" Seeing Jacob and the others moving toward Gigantamax Corviknight, Meyer understood their plan immediately. But first, he had to deal with the two Gigantamax Pokémon standing in his way.
Swampert was Peak Champion level. Its Waterfall, boosted by Same-Type Attack Bonus, hit with terrifying force. Grimmsnarl had barely managed to block it with Max Guard before — but Max Guard was no longer an option. Grimmsnarl had no defensive moves left.
Jacob made his call without hesitation.
"Grimmsnarl, G-Max Snooze — skip Swampert, target the others! Darkrai, Dark Void!"
He had no intention of wasting Grimmsnarl's last move on Swampert. The pokemon was too fast, too powerful — there was no guarantee the attack would land, and even if it did, putting Swampert to sleep would be nearly impossible. Better to aim where it would count.
Gigantamax Grimmsnarl swept its arm in a wide arc. Dark-type energy surged from its body and condensed into two massive black orbs, blazing like dark flames. They shot outward from behind it, crossing each other in the air and trailing long black tails as they arced toward Metagross, Klefki, and Gliscor.
At the same moment, Darkrai launched Dark Void at the same targets.
With G-Max Snooze and Dark Void hitting together, Jacob figured that — barring terrible luck — at least some of those three would fall asleep. Combined with Ferrothorn and Duraludon already being confused, that would leave only Gholdengo and Swampert at full fighting strength.
Meyer's eyes narrowed the moment he heard the move's name. He had never seen it before, but the name alone told him enough.
Sleep.
The veteran Trainer reacted instantly.
"Klefki, Crafty Shield — now!"
Klefki's Prankster Ability allowed it to act almost immediately, bypassing normal priority. Psychic-type energy flared from its keys and spread into a shimmering purple barrier that wrapped around all nearby allies. Crafty Shield is a Protect-type move designed specifically to block status moves targeting allies — though it offers no protection against direct attacks, and repeated use raises the chance of failure.
Meyer did not know what G-Max Snooze was. He guessed, reasonably, that it was a status-inducing sleep move — and if so, one Crafty Shield should handle both it and Dark Void at once.
What he did not know was that G-Max Snooze was not a status move at all. It was a damaging move. And standard Protect-type moves generally cannot block Gigantamax moves. Beyond that, Klefki was only king level — a full tier below Gigantamax Grimmsnarl in raw strength, making a successful block even less likely.
"Boom!"
The two black orbs of G-Max Snooze crashed down near the three Pokémon and detonated with a massive explosion that swallowed them whole.
The move dealt its damage — and triggered its secondary effect.
Gliscor and Klefki, both at King strength, were put to sleep on the spot. Only Gholdengo, the strongest among them, managed to shake off the drowsiness and stay standing.
At the same moment, Mega Swampert drove forward and landed a direct hit on the unguarded Gigantamax Grimmsnarl.
Violent Water-type energy surged across Mega Swampert's fist like a crashing wave, erupting with the force of a tsunami. The blow hit clean, and Gigantamax Grimmsnarl crumpled.
Jacob's breath caught. He recalled the fainted Grimmsnarl without a word, jaw tight.
Meyer pressed immediately. "Gholdengo, Encore — Gold Rush!"
Steel-type energy gathered around Gholdengo, and in moments, it burst outward in a storm of metallic light. Gold Rush was an absurd move in many ways — enormous power, wide area coverage. Its only drawback was that it lowered the user's Special Attack after each use.
But Gholdengo had opened the battle with Nasty Plot, which had sharply raised its Special Attack. Even after using Gold Rush twice in a row, its stats would only drop back to where they started — and most Pokémon simply could not survive two Gold Rush hits in a row.
"Hatterene, Max Guard!"
Jacob's face was grim. He had no clean answer for this, so he called the only option available — Max Guard to shield all allied Pokémon from the blast.
He used the brief window to check on Gigantamax Lapras.
It was not good. Lapras was holding against four Champion-level Pokémon, but the pressure was clearly mounting. The battle lines were shifting in the wrong direction. They had to move now.
"Lapras, Max Guard! Hold on just a little longer!"
Then, seizing the window while both Gigantamax Pokémon were protected behind Max Guard, Jacob moved.
"Go — now!"
He climbed onto the back of Metagross and launched into the air, heading straight for Gigantamax Corviknight. Behind him, Whitney swung onto Salamence's back. Edwin released his Noivern and took to the sky as well.
Together, they flew toward Gigantamax Corviknight and the way out.