Lucario's left leg was injured, compromising its speed.
Yet it still transformed into a streak of light, appearing swiftly behind Dragalge.
It raised its chilling, frost-coated fist and swung toward Dragalge.
"Smokescreen!"
Dragalge suddenly whipped its head around and expelled a cloud of black smoke from its snout.
The sudden obscuring smoke caught Lucario off guard. Its eyes stung painfully, forcing them shut.
Its punch deviated from its intended trajectory, missing the target entirely.
Dragalge used its powerful tail to propel itself backward.
"Bone Rush!"
Whether Lucario's eyes were open or closed made no difference to the Aura Pokémon.
Lucario slapped the ground with one paw, and five glowing bones instantly materialized.
As Lucario swung its arm, the five bones flew rapidly toward Dragalge.
"Hydro Pump!"
Dragalge took a deep breath and expelled a thick column of pressurized water, engulfing all the incoming bone projectiles.
"Lucario!"
Lucario leaped high into the air, and a blue bone condensed between its paws.
It raised the weapon high and brought it down with tremendous force.
Bang!
Dragalge reeled from the descending bone strike, still shaking its head groggily after falling back to the ground.
"Good! Again, Bone Rush!"
Lucario landed steadily, though the pain in its left leg made it grimace.
Clap!
It struck the ground with one paw, summoning five rotating bones from the earth that flew toward Dragalge.
Bang! Bang! Bang—
All the bones struck Dragalge's body in rapid succession.
The pain snapped Dragalge back to its senses.
"Hydro Pump!"
Dragalge furiously expelled a powerful column of water.
"Detect!"
Lucario used its Aura to perceive the Hydro Pump's trajectory and slid low to evade.
The water column grazed Lucario's forehead—it would have been a direct hit had it been even a moment slower.
Lucario quickly recovered, surrounding itself with several bones that it commanded to fly toward Dragalge.
"Muddy Water!"
A turbid yellow wave suddenly surged toward Lucario, swallowing all the bone projectiles.
Lucario attempted to dodge, but its injured left leg caused it to stumble.
The next instant, the murky water engulfed Lucario completely.
Lucario was swept away by the current and crashed to the ground.
"You fought well."
Steven quickly recalled Lucario and sent out his next Pokémon.
"Aggron!"
Aggron roared upon entering the battlefield, its expression solemn as it fixed its gaze on the opposing Dragalge.
As a Steel-type, it would struggle to withstand Dragalge's Water-type attacks.
"Earthquake!"
Its thick tail slammed into the ground, and the entire arena began shaking violently!
"Hydro Pump!"
Dragalge immediately expelled a water column, but its power was noticeably diminished compared to when it had battled Lucario.
This might have been due to the hasty release, or perhaps it had expended considerable stamina fighting Lucario.
Bang!
Dragalge was struck by a suddenly protruding rock and sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground and falling unconscious.
Aggron shielded itself with its arms, enduring the Hydro Pump's assault.
Because Dragalge's Hydro Pump was interrupted prematurely, Aggron didn't sustain the full damage.
Drake expressionlessly recalled Dragalge and swiftly hurled a Poké Ball skyward.
Bang—
A flash of white light appeared, and a Pokémon resembling an elegant seahorse emerged.
It had dragon-like horns atop its head and a pair of fins. Its scales shimmered with a refined and profound luster.
Kingdra!
"Surf!"
Water surged continuously outward around Kingdra's body, forming a towering wave.
Upon seeing that Drake's Pokémon was Kingdra, Steven removed his brooch.
"Aggron! If you win this battle, I'll give you all the ore you can eat!"
Steven called out urgently while simultaneously extending his arm. The Key Stone on his brooch emitted a radiant glow.
"Aggron!" Aggron roared, and the Mega Stone on its body simultaneously emitted brilliant light.
White energy enveloped Aggron as its form underwent a slight transformation.
Whoosh!
Mega Aggron enters the battle!
"Aggron!"
"Stone Edge!"
Aggron slammed its tail on the ground, its arms trembling slightly as it exerted tremendous force.
It completely ignored the incoming Surf from Kingdra.
Swish—
The Surf washed over Aggron's body, and Aggron roared defiantly, enduring the assault.
Countless jagged stones surged from beneath Kingdra, leaving numerous marks across its body.
Kingdra released a cry of pain.
However, Aggron's offensive didn't stop there.
"Earthquake!"
Rumble, rumble—
The earth began quaking violently as powerful Ground-type energy surged beneath the surface!
Kingdra had no time to recover before being launched by protruding rocks.
With a heavy thud, it crashed to the ground.
"Surf!"
Since specific information about Mega Evolution had not yet been publicly revealed, Drake remained unaware that Mega Aggron possessed only a pure Steel typing.
Kingdra rose and unleashed Surf once more.
The towering wave obscured the ceiling lights entirely.
"Metal Burst!"
Aggron neither dodged nor countered with another move—it took the Surf head-on.
As the massive wave receded, Aggron lifted its head, concentrating a substantial amount of Steel-type energy before it.
"Aggron!"
With a tremendous roar, it hurled the energy sphere at Kingdra.
Boom!
The energy exploded violently, blasting a crater several meters in diameter into the arena floor.
The battle room, constructed with the highest-grade materials, was truly impressive—even Metal Burst only managed to create a pit.
Kingdra lay motionless in the crater, unconscious.
Drake recalled Kingdra into its Poké Ball and continued with his next Pokémon.
This Pokémon was predominantly green, with two green antennae atop its head.
It possessed two green wings with red edges. Its tail consisted of eight segments, alternating between light green and darker green.
Red hemispherical structures covered its eyes like protective goggles.
It was a true Ground Dragon—Flygon!
"Flygon!"
Flygon's cry was somewhat high-pitched, lacking the intimidating, hoarse growls characteristic of some Dragon-types.
"Earthquake!"
Flygon, previously airborne, suddenly descended to the ground and instantly channeled its power into the earth, creating energy waves that rippled across the battlefield!
Mega Aggron's ability was Filter, so this Earthquake—which would normally deal quadruple damage—would be reduced by twenty-five percent.
Combined with Aggron's exceptional physical defense, enduring the Earthquake posed no significant problem.
"Stone Edge!"
Aggron withstood the Earthquake, swinging its arms to command countless sharp stones that struck Flygon's body.
Bang—
Protruding rocks struck Aggron's body, forcing it to retreat several meters.
Flygon naturally resisted Rock-type moves, so Stone Edge didn't inflict major damage.
"Dragon Dance!"
"Flygon!"
Flygon circled through the air, its body moving in a graceful dance that boosted its Attack and Speed.
"Iron Defense!"
If you raise your Attack by one stage, I'll raise my Defense by two stages!
Aggron didn't possess much Speed to begin with anyway.
Aggron's body became coated with a metallic sheen, dramatically increasing its Defense.
"Dragon Claw!"
Emerald-green energy gathered in Flygon's claws, forming a pair of enlarged talons.
Flygon suddenly dove downward, its Dragon Claws leaving faint trails through the air.
"Dragon Claw!"
Aggron also condensed a pair of emerald-green Dragon Claws.
Bang!
The two Dragon Claws collided, releasing a powerful shockwave.
Flygon moved with extraordinary speed, continuously slashing with its Dragon Claws and leaving scratches across Aggron's armored body.
Aggron could only clumsily counterattack and defend.
Bang!
After absorbing several Dragon Claw strikes, Aggron seized an opening and slammed a claw onto Flygon's body, sending the Mystic Pokémon flying.
"Follow up with Earthquake!"
"Metal Burst!"
Flygon crashed heavily to the ground, then executed Earthquake.
The earth shook continuously, but Aggron stood unmoved, focusing on gathering Steel-type energy.
Bang!
Suddenly emerging rocks forced Aggron backward several meters, and Aggron simultaneously hurled the condensed energy sphere at Flygon.
Boom!
From the black smoke of the explosion, Flygon's body emerged trailing wisps of dark smoke, crashing heavily to the ground.
Aggron gasped for breath before suddenly roaring toward the ceiling.
"Aggron!"
Flygon, sprawled on the ground, had fallen unconscious, though Aggron's condition wasn't much better.
At this point, Drake had lost four Pokémon.
Steven had only lost two.
If the severely damaged Dragalge was included, Aggron had effectively defeated three opponents.
Drake recalled Flygon, displaying no particular emotion.
Instead, he proceeded to send out his next Pokémon.
Drake's fifth Pokémon was entirely covered in hard armor, with teeth so powerful they could bite through steel beams without chipping.
It bore various stripes, predominantly olive green, with the sharpest parts of its tusks, claws, and toes colored red, and the remainder black. Segmented spikes encircled its neck.
Most striking were the axe-like tusks protruding from its mouth.
Haxorus!
Steven frowned. In Aggron's current state, it would be impossible to withstand Haxorus's Earthquake.
"Earthquake!"
As expected, Drake had also noticed Aggron's deteriorated condition.
"Haxorus!"
Haxorus roared, stomping its foot heavily on the ground.
The arena began shaking violently once more.
"Then use your final Stone Edge!"
"Aggron!"
Aggron roared as well, channeling all its remaining strength into the attack.
Countless sharp stones rose from beneath Haxorus's feet. Haxorus swung its axe-like tusks continuously, shattering every stone approaching its head!
Bang!
Aggron was forced back several meters by the Earthquake, unable to maintain its Mega Evolution state.
After reverting from its Mega form, its massive body collapsed to the ground, having exhausted all its strength.
"Aggron..."
Steven recalled Aggron into its Poké Ball—it had performed admirably.
Next...
Bang—
A flash of white light, and Scizor appeared.
Scizor observed the opposing Haxorus and swiftly assumed its battle stance.
"Double Team, then Swords Dance!"
"Earthquake!"
Scizor rapidly created numerous copies of itself, with several duplicates even leaping airborne.
All the Scizor began powering up with Swords Dance!
Rumble, rumble—
The Earthquake's energy waves dispersed all the Scizor standing on the ground.
Only a few remained airborne.
However, Scizor's Swords Dance had completed, and it landed gracefully.
"Bullet Punch!"
"Outrage!"
Scizor transformed into a red streak, appearing swiftly behind Haxorus. Its rapid Bullet Punches struck Haxorus's back repeatedly.
Haxorus roared furiously, its eyes bloodshot with rage.
It whirled around sharply, swinging its twin tusks at Scizor.
Scizor quickly withdrew and retreated a short distance.
But Haxorus, consumed by fury, fixed its gaze solely on Scizor.
It charged toward the Pincer Pokémon with thundering steps.
"Block it with Bullet Punch!"
Just as Haxorus's tusks descended, Scizor struck swiftly, hitting the axe-like fangs and interrupting the attack.
Haxorus roared, opening its massive jaws as blue-violet draconic energy surged forth.
Boom!
The distance was too close—Scizor had no time to evade and took the Dragon-type blast directly.
Scizor's body trailed wisps of smoke as it created distance from Haxorus.
"Haxorus..."
Outrage ended, and Haxorus descended into confusion.
Just as Steven prepared to exploit this opportunity to overwhelm Haxorus, the Axe Jaw Pokémon suddenly slammed its head into the ground.
Bang!
The pain jolted Haxorus back to clarity.
"It can do that?" Steven was momentarily stunned.
He'd learned a new trick.
"Fury Cutter!"
Scizor shot forward, its massive pincers striking Haxorus continuously.
"Shadow Claw!"
Haxorus's axe-like tusks became covered in purple spectral energy, enlarging them further.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Initially, Haxorus defended quite easily, even managing to leave several marks on Scizor's armor.
But as the close-range battle continued, Haxorus found it increasingly difficult.
Even Scizor's attacks landing on Haxorus now caused it tremendous pain.
Drake noticed this shift and immediately commanded:
"Create distance! Use Earthquake!"
Haxorus absorbed one more Fury Cutter strike, enduring the pain to leap backward and create space from Scizor.
Then it stomped forcefully, and the earth began quaking violently.
Scizor lost its balance and had to abandon its accumulated Fury Cutter momentum.
It leaped onto a previously protruding rock, then vaulted into the air to avoid the Earthquake.
"Superpower!"
Haxorus roared and charged toward Scizor's anticipated landing spot.
"Superpower!"
Scizor raised its massive pincers high and brought them crashing down onto Haxorus's head.
Haxorus cried out in pain, then raised its head and raked Scizor's chest, leaving a wound.
The two Pokémon engaged in brutal close-quarters combat.
Neither yielded an inch!
The sound of devastating blows echoed continuously across the arena.
However, Haxorus had already sustained damage from Aggron's Stone Edge earlier.
Meanwhile, Scizor had powered up with Swords Dance.
Therefore, Haxorus found itself at a distinct disadvantage.
Boom!
"Sciz... or..."
Scizor gasped for breath, holding its pincers high in the air.
Haxorus's body stiffened before it crashed to the ground.
Drake recalled Haxorus into its Poké Ball.
He retrieved his final Poké Ball.
Bang—
A flash of white light.
A four-legged dragon-like Pokémon appeared!
It possessed two magnificent blood-red wings and a long, powerful tail.
Its entire body was deep blue, with its head, neck, limbs, and the underside of its tail colored blood-red. Its lower jaw and abdomen were protected by three armored shells.
It had two blood-red protrusions above its eyes, and three small triangular wings on each side of its head.
Salamence!