The sheer force of the collision left everyone in the arena stunned.
The spectators stared at the two Pokémon on the battlefield, shock written across their faces.
So this was the level of the trainers ranked among the top five.
The shock wave alone had nearly blown them out of the stands.
Most of the people watching could send out their entire teams and still fail to defeat even one of the Pokémon battling below.
That was the difference.
The gulf between an ordinary Trainer and a true prodigy was simply too vast.
A Pokémon's potential and natural strength mattered, but so did the resources invested in it, the quality of its training, the development of its moves, and how deeply it had mastered them.
Every advantage added up.
...
The massive cloud of steam slowly began to disperse.
Charizard and Cetitan gradually came back into view.
Charizard remained airborne, golden lightning coursing over its scales while flames burned fiercely around its body. Its aura had not weakened in the slightest, and thunder still flickered within its eyes.
Cetitan, meanwhile, stood on the ground panting heavily.
Sweat poured down her body.
That last Icicle Crash had consumed an enormous amount of energy. Belly Drum had already cost her half her vitality, leaving her with very little strength to spare.
Frost stared up at Charizard and swallowed hard.
"How...?"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Cetitan's Attack was pushed to its absolute limit. How did Charizard stop that head-on?"
"That shouldn't be possible..."
"Aaron's amazing!"
In the spectator stands, Liora leaped to her feet and cheered when she saw that Charizard had successfully blocked the attack.
Beside her, Braveon stared at the crimson figure hovering above the battlefield.
A faint blue glow passed through his eyes.
If I want even a chance of defeating him, I need to claim the Aura Guardian's legacy as soon as possible.
...
Aaron could not help smiling at Frost's bewildered expression.
"Charizard, finish it."
He raised one hand toward the battlefield.
"Thunderflame Dragon's Super Flamethrower—one more time!"
A crimson light flashed through Charizard's eyes.
"GRAAAAAH!"
Its roar thundered across the arena.
Charizard opened its jaws, unleashing a torrent of golden fire threaded with crackling lightning.
The attack tore through the air like a streak of golden light and raced toward Cetitan below.
Frost's expression changed instantly.
"Cetitan, move!"
"BWOOOH!"
Cetitan tried to throw herself aside, but her enormous body and depleted stamina made her far too slow.
The lightning-infused flames struck her directly.
BOOOOM!
"BWOOOOARGH!"
Cetitan's pained bellow was swallowed by the explosion.
Her massive body was lifted from the ground before crashing back down with tremendous force.
The impact shattered the stone beneath her and threw dust and debris throughout the arena.
When the smoke cleared, Cetitan lay motionless inside the crater.
Swirls had replaced her eyes.
She was unable to battle.
Frost's second Pokémon had fallen.
Charizard had now defeated two opponents in succession, leaving Frost with only one Pokémon remaining.
"Cetitan is unable to battle!"
Blaze raised the flag with a distinctly smug expression.
"Frost, send out your final Pokémon!"
He paused for dramatic effect.
"You have five seconds. Any longer and I'm ruling it a forfeit!"
Frost nearly choked.
Since when was that a rule?
He glared furiously at Blaze before recalling Cetitan.
"Come back. You did well."
There was no time to argue with the world's least impartial referee.
Frost drew another Luxury Ball and threw it into the arena.
"I'm counting on you, Chien-Pao!"
White light flashed across the battlefield.
A sleek, snow-white figure emerged.
It was Chien-Pao—the same Pokémon that had defeated Liora's Hydreigon.
"GRAAOW!"
The moment he appeared, Chien-Pao raised his head and released a proud feline roar.
His victory over Hydreigon had clearly gone straight to his head.
He looked up at Charizard with open disdain.
Another dragon?
I already defeated one with five heads. This one only has a single head, and it still thinks it can intimidate me?
Chien-Pao carried himself as though he had somehow acquired Moxie as a second Ability.
His Attack had not increased.
His arrogance certainly had.
"Chien-Pao, don't underestimate it."
Frost immediately recognized the look on his face.
"This opponent is different. Charizard is much stronger than Hydreigon."
"Grrraow!"
Chien-Pao ignored the warning.
He raised his head proudly and snarled a challenge at Charizard.
A flicker of irritation passed through Charizard's eyes.
"GRAAAAAH!"
Its answering roar shook the arena.
Chien-Pao's fur rippled beneath the force of it, but he stubbornly held his ground.
Aaron watched the overconfident feline with an amused smile.
"Charizard, teach that cat some humility."
He had no intention of dragging the battle out any longer.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art—"
Aaron thrust one hand toward the field.
"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"
"GRAAAAAAAH!"
Lightning erupted around Charizard as its flames surged violently.
The inferno surrounding its body suddenly exploded outward, wrapping around its wings and forearms in blazing coils.
Then Charizard folded its wings and began spinning.
Faster.
Faster.
Its enormous body became a raging vortex of thunder and fire as it plummeted toward the battlefield.
The flames stretched outward until Charizard resembled a gigantic spinning blade more than ten meters long.
Golden lightning flashed along its edge.
Like an enormous flaming sword descending from the heavens, it slashed toward Chien-Pao with enough destructive force to split the battlefield apart.
Below, Chien-Pao's arrogance vanished without a trace.
His eyes widened.
His body went rigid.
Then all four legs began trembling uncontrollably.
"G-Grr...?"
He stared at the apocalyptic blade falling toward him, his face frozen in terror.
Only now did Chien-Pao understand the difference between Hydreigon and the monster before him.
The real world had a brutal way of beating arrogance out of you.
And Chien-Pao was about to receive that lesson firsthand.
...