"What was the final result?"
Everyone turned their gaze toward the field covered in smoke.
At that moment, the dust slowly began to disperse.
Before the audience's eyes appeared a devastated battlefield, riddled with cracks that made anyone shudder.
And the ones responsible for it—the two Pokémon—were lying on the ground, unable to continue fighting!
"Garchomp and Sandslash have both lost their ability to battle at the same time!"
The referee announced the result, causing the spectators to widen their eyes slightly in surprise.
Garchomp, Adrian's second-strongest Pokémon, had been defeated... and by a Sandslash that had previously been almost unknown!
With Garchomp's fall, Adrian only had two Pokémon left capable of fighting: Gastrodon and Gallade.
Meanwhile, Ethan still had four Pokémon in reserve. The advantage was enormous!
Since it couldn't be determined which of the two had fallen first, both trainers simultaneously sent out their next Pokémon.
Two Poké Balls were thrown at the same time, and two figures appeared on the field.
On Ethan's side, Charizard returned to the battlefield.
On his opponent's side, Gallade appeared.
"He didn't catch it!"
The audience exclaimed when they saw the scene.
Charizard had been intended to counter Gastrodon. When they saw that Adrian had sent out Gallade, many people immediately reacted.
"Well, it's not exactly a total miss. After all, Gallade is a Fighting-type, and it's also countered by Charizard."
Some spectators shook their heads. As for Ethan's command ability, they were completely convinced.
So far, the strength of the Pokémon on both sides could be described as evenly matched, but in terms of strategy, Ethan clearly had the advantage.
"So it's Charizard, huh?"
"Gallade, use Stone Edge!"
As soon as they appeared on the battlefield, Adrian gave the command without giving Ethan time to switch Pokémon.
Immediately, Gallade's figure disappeared and reappeared behind Charizard. With a swing of his arm, countless sharp rocks formed and were fired toward him.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
But Charizard's reaction was just as fast.
The instant he noticed Gallade's disappearance, a current of air began to swirl around him.
He activated Fire Spin!
Flames roared and spread in all directions.
If Gallade had chosen his usual close-range attack after teleporting, he would have been swallowed by the flames instantly.
However, this time Charizard miscalculated.
Gallade did not teleport close enough for a short-range attack. Instead, he appeared at some distance and launched Stone Edge.
Sharp whistles cut through the air!
Several rocks pierced through the Fire Spin.
Although many melted due to the high temperature, some still managed to strike Charizard, shaking his body.
Just as Charizard endured the blow and prepared to counterattack, a brown sword-shaped light tore through the air, slicing apart the flames surrounding him in a single stroke.
In an instant, a sharp pain pierced through him. His vision darkened, and his body fell from the sky.
BOOM!
With a loud crash, the stadium fell silent for a moment.
In the air, Gallade slowly descended, the blade of his elbow wrapped in Rock-type energy, forming a stone sword more than a meter long.
"What was that... Stone Edge?" a spectator murmured.
He had condensed the move Stone Edge onto his blade to turn it into a rock sword... and with a single strike he had defeated Charizard!
"Stone Edge is also known as Rock Blade, right?"
"They fooled us... a Rock-type slash executed by Gallade, combining the move's power with his own cutting skill. And with Charizard's quadruple weakness to Rock... it was an instant KO!"
Ethan took a deep breath. It had been a moment of carelessness.
After repeatedly forcing the Solar Power ability, Charizard's endurance had already been greatly reduced.
"What a powerful Gallade!"
"It was just like when Charizard knocked out Golem in one hit with Solar Beam!"
The audience erupted in cheers. Both combatants were trading blows without giving any ground. The final was simply spectacular!
"Return, Charizard. You did very well."
Ethan recalled him to his Poké Ball and looked up at Gallade, who had just landed.
Charizard now joined Cacturne and Sandslash among the fallen.
Now he had three Pokémon left.
Slowking had defeated Alakazam, but it was severely injured and its fighting ability had been greatly reduced.
As a result, he only had Tyranitar and the Pokémon he had not yet revealed.
"Which one should he send?"
Not only Ethan wondered that; the audience was thinking the same.
If he sent Tyranitar, Adrian would undoubtedly respond with Gastrodon.
Gastrodon's Water typing countered Tyranitar, and its Ground typing made it immune to sandstorm damage.
Moreover, Gastrodon had mastered Muddy Water, capable of turning the battlefield into a muddy swamp. On that terrain, Tyranitar would be at a clear disadvantage.
If he sent Vibrava, something similar would happen. Without being able to manipulate the sand to form a sand dragon, its strength was only at a standard professional level; it was not guaranteed that it could face Gastrodon.
"Has the situation completely reversed?"
Someone in the audience murmured it, and the atmosphere grew tense.
Just the defeat of Charizard... and everything seemed to have changed.
"What a headache..."
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
Then he threw a Poké Ball.
"That Pokémon is... Meltan?"
The audience was stunned.
Many had thought his final card would be Vibrava.
"Is that Meltan?"
"Although its attack is strong... doesn't it only have one decisive strike?"
Adrian was also surprised.
If Meltan fell, there would remain Tyranitar—perfectly countered by Gastrodon—and a severely injured Slowking. The situation would become extremely difficult.
"Meltan, Burst ammunition!"
Ethan's face was surprisingly calm.
Meltan's liquid silver body rippled. Using the move Substitute, numerous steel spheres condensed.
Under magnetic control, they began spinning rapidly around its body like a magnetic field.
"Gallade, use Fire Slash!"
Gallade responded immediately.
Just like before with the rock blade, he used Fire Punch and channeled the flames into the blade of his elbow, forming a sword of fire.
Then he began running toward Meltan, this time without teleporting.
"Let it begin... Electromagnetic Cannon!"
One steel sphere detached from the magnetic field and shot forward.
BOOM!
It struck the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
But Gallade, a Psychic and Fighting-type Pokémon, had extraordinary reflexes.
With a simple movement of his body, he dodged the shot.
Whoosh, whoosh!
More projectiles whistled through the air.
Sensing with his telekinesis that he could not dodge them all, Gallade used Teleport and vanished.
The ability to manipulate space made Teleport one of the most formidable moves.
If someone managed to systematize its training, it would become one of the most valuable secrets.
"But... although it's powerful, it's also easy to counter!"
The instant Ethan finished speaking, Meltan fired an Electromagnetic Cannon... directly into empty space!
The shot was so fast that the audience barely had time to be surprised.
Suddenly, Gallade's figure appeared exactly at that point.
BOOM!
The projectile struck him head-on.
His body was sent flying and slammed into the protective wall.
Crack, crack!
Spiderweb-like fractures spread across the barrier.
"Gallade... was hit?"
The audience finally reacted.
They remembered the crucial detail: after Gallade used Teleport, Meltan fired at the exact location where he would reappear.
In other words, Meltan had perfectly predicted the reappearance point and attacked in advance!
When they realized it, everyone gasped sharply.
But a question flooded their minds:
How had Meltan managed to accurately perceive the exact point where Gallade would reappear after using Teleport?
(End of Chapter)