Electivire ripped its two tails free from the ground, curled them behind its back, and launched itself at Gyarados.
Lightning wrapped around its raised fist, drawing smaller bolts down from the storm as it moved. If that punch landed cleanly, Gyarados would be taking Thunder Punch and the storm's lightning almost at the same time.
Gyarados was busy trying to change the weather. At its Trainer's command, Hurricane and Blizzard tore through the rain in an attempt to scatter the clouds overhead.
"Gyarados, Hyper Be—no, too late! Iron Tail!"
Electivire was already there.
Gyarados abandoned Hurricane and whipped its tail around, hardening it with Iron Tail just before Thunder Punch came down.
The collision shook the entire stadium.
Most of the impact was swallowed by the protective barrier, which was fortunate considering how much power the system had absorbed from Electivire earlier. Even then, the stands trembled for several seconds as everyone waited to see what had happened.
The storm remained intact. Rain quickly dragged the dust back down and revealed the two Pokémon locked together.
Electivire's tails were wrapped around Gyarados, while Gyarados had coiled its long body around Electivire in return. Its jaws were stretched wide over Electivire's head, but Electivire had both hands braced against them and was forcing the mouth open before it could bite down.
Gyarados had hardened its head with Iron Head, and frost covered its teeth for an Ice Fang. For the moment, neither Pokémon could overpower the other.
Then Electivire roared.
The conductors on its head flashed, and a thick bolt of lightning came crashing down from the clouds.
It struck Gyarados directly.
The x4-effective hit sent its entire body into violent spasms, but Electivire's tails kept it trapped.
"Electivire, Thunder!"
"Gyarados, get away from it!"
Too late.
Electivire planted both feet and forced Gyarados against the protective barrier. Its tails tightened while electricity erupted from both its conductors and the cables wrapped around its opponent.
The storm answered with another bolt from above.
Gyarados thrashed desperately, trying to tear itself free, but every struggle became weaker than the last. Against a lower-tier Electric Pokémon, its raw strength might have been enough to break loose despite the type disadvantage.
Electivire was Elite Four tier too.
There was nowhere for Gyarados to go.
"Gyarados is unable to battle!"
The referee raised his flag as the enormous Pokémon finally went limp.
The stands erupted.
"Electivire! Electivire! Electivire!"
"That's the second Elite Four-tier Pokémon down!" the commentator shouted. "Electivire completely shut Gyarados down! What does Reiji's opponent have left?"
Across the field, the man recalled Gyarados and stared at the Poké Ball in disbelief.
Two Pokémon gone.
Only now was his anger beginning to give way to the realization that Reiji had manipulated him from the very beginning.
Twice Reiji had provoked him, and twice he had answered by immediately sending out one of his strongest Pokémon. Tyranitar had walked straight into Poliwrath's x4 Fighting advantage, and Gyarados had followed into Electivire's x4 Electric advantage.
He had known Reiji's reputation.
He had known people called him a tactical specialist.
And somehow he had still let himself get dragged into exactly the fights Reiji wanted.
Aya stood several steps away and wisely decided not to approach him.
Riku was watching from behind the Trainers' tunnel as well, and his own plans for Reiji were beginning to look considerably less appealing.
He had intended to wait until Reiji lost the tournament, then find an opportunity to teach him a lesson.
Now he was quietly grateful he had never tried.
Reiji already had an Elite Four-tier Poliwrath and Electivire. In the Orange Archipelago, where Water types were everywhere, a Pokémon like Electivire was especially dangerous. At sea, all that surrounding water could turn Electric attacks into a nightmare.
Riku was arrogant, not suicidal.
There was a difference.
...
"Go, Swampert!"
The next Poké Ball opened, and a bulky blue Pokémon landed on the ruined rock field.
The commentator immediately caught the significance.
"Swampert! Another Elite Four-tier Pokémon! That makes five Elite Four-tier Pokémon revealed in this match alone!"
Reiji had been expecting it.
Most of his opponent's known team consisted of Water types, and if he had another Elite Four-tier Pokémon hidden away, Swampert was the obvious candidate. Its Ground typing made it immune to the Electric attacks that had just destroyed Gyarados.
"Swampert, Earthquake!"
"Electivire, match it with Earthquake! Then Hyper Beam!"
Both Pokémon struck the ground.
The two Earthquakes collided beneath the battlefield, breaking apart more of the already battered terrain. Electivire followed immediately with Hyper Beam, blasting a brilliant column of energy toward Swampert.
"Dig!"
Swampert vanished underground.
"Watch beneath you!"
Electivire had barely recovered from Hyper Beam when the ground opened below its feet.
"Swampert, drag it under!"
Swampert caught Electivire and pulled it into the tunnel.
Reiji made no attempt to stop it.
"From here on, it's yours."
This was exactly the kind of fight he wanted.
Electric attacks were useless against Swampert, so there was no reason to fight at range. Electivire was faster, stronger in close quarters, and perfectly happy to turn the battle into a brawl.
The ground suddenly burst open.
Swampert came flying out.
It had managed to land the first hit while Electivire was still recovering from Hyper Beam, but the recoil had ended almost immediately afterward. Inside the cramped tunnel, neither large Pokémon had much room to maneuver, and Electivire had answered with a punch powerful enough to throw Swampert back toward the surface.
Swampert never made it far.
One of Electivire's tails was still wrapped around its ankle.
Electivire yanked it straight back underground.
The tunnel became a cage.
Ice Punch hammered into Swampert from one side while Low Sweep attacked its legs from the other. Electivire stayed too close for Swampert to properly plant its feet and use Earthquake, forcing it into a kind of fight where type advantage mattered far less.
Swampert eventually stopped trying.
After taking one punch too many across the face, it decided it had had enough.
Whatever happened to Earthquake, Ground-type advantage, or careful tactics could wait. Electivire kept hitting it in the face, and Swampert wanted revenge.
From that point on, the underground battle became a fistfight.
The field above shook constantly as the two Elite Four-tier Pokémon rolled, punched, kicked, and slammed each other through the cramped tunnel. Nobody outside could see what was happening; all they could do was listen to the impacts below and watch fresh cracks spread through the rock field.
Several minutes passed before a large black hand finally appeared over the edge of the hole.
Electivire dragged itself out.
Its fur was filthy and disheveled, bruises covered its body, and its face looked like it had been used as a punching bag. It managed to crawl a few steps away before rolling onto its back and gasping for air.
Another hand appeared behind it.
Swampert pulled itself out as well.
It looked no better. Both cheeks were badly swollen, its body was covered in bruises, and the legs Electivire had targeted underground were in terrible shape.
For a while, neither Pokémon even tried to move.
Then Electivire noticed Swampert getting up.
Swampert noticed Electivire doing the same.
They slowly forced themselves to their feet and glared across the broken ground.
"Swampert, great job! Earthquake!"
Swampert did not respond.
Its legs were so swollen that simply standing was taking everything it had left. Trying to stomp hard enough for Earthquake was another matter entirely.
Reiji could see Electivire was no better.
It had already defeated Gyarados, then fought Swampert almost to a standstill despite the terrible matchup. There was nothing more Reiji could reasonably ask from it.
Neither Pokémon wanted to fall first.
So they stood in the rain, staring at each other while the entire stadium gradually fell quiet.
No commands came.
Even the commentator stopped talking.
A heavy thud finally broke the silence.
Electivire swayed backward and collapsed onto the field.
The crowd went still for a heartbeat before the commentator found his voice.
"Electivire is down! Swampert wins the exchange!"
Swampert saw its opponent fall and finally lost the strength holding it upright. It dropped to one knee, supporting itself with one hand while struggling to breathe.
Its Trainer slammed a fist against the railing.
Electivire had already taken Gyarados out, and now it had left Swampert barely able to stand.
At this point, strength hardly mattered. Swampert's legs were so badly damaged that almost any fresh Pokémon had a chance to finish it.
Reiji recalled Electivire.
"Good work. Leave the rest to everyone else."
He returned the Poké Ball to his belt and reached for another.
The rain was beginning to weaken.
"That's enough of the storm. Go, Ludicolo!"
Ludicolo appeared on the field.
The commentator immediately recognized the matchup.
"Ludicolo! Reiji has brought out a Grass type against the badly injured Swampert! Can Swampert somehow hold on?"
Across the field, its Trainer leaned forward.
"Swampert, can you keep going?"
Swampert answered with a powerful cry.
Despite its condition, the strength behind it surprised the crowd.
"Torrent!" the commentator exclaimed. "Swampert's HP is low enough to activate Torrent, boosting its Water-type attacks! Does it still have a comeback left?"
Reiji gave a tired laugh. "Of course Torrent kicks in now."
He pointed across the field.
"Ludicolo, Solar Beam. After that, play defense."
The rain had finally stopped, and the storm clouds were beginning to split apart. Sunlight broke through just as Ludicolo's lily pad started glowing, letting it gather the energy for Solar Beam almost immediately.
"Swampert, Hyper Beam!"
Swampert braced all four limbs against the ground and began charging energy in its mouth.
Solar Beam fired.
Hyper Beam answered.
The two attacks collided over the ruined battlefield and exploded with enough force to finish what the earlier Earthquakes had started.
The rock field collapsed.
Ludicolo lost the clash and was blasted backward into the protective barrier, where it dropped unconscious.
Swampert fared no better.
The broken ground gave way beneath it, sending the Pokémon tumbling into the cavity below. By the time tournament staff dug through the fallen rock and pulled it free, Swampert had lost consciousness as well.
"Ludicolo is unable to battle! Swampert is unable to battle!"
The referee checked the board, then raised both flags.
"Three Pokémon on one side have now been eliminated. We'll take the scheduled five-minute intermission and draw a new battlefield for the second half!"
Reiji finally relaxed.
Keeping up the arrogant act for the entire first half had been more tiring than he expected.
He recalled the unfortunate Ludicolo and stepped down from the platform, glancing toward the scoreboard as he left.
Reiji — Riku's Sworn Brother
Poliwrath [WITHDRAWN] — Tyranitar [OUT]
Electivire [OUT] — Gyarados [OUT]
Ludicolo [OUT] — Swampert [OUT]
Reiji still had the advantage.
His opponent's three known Elite Four-tier Pokémon were all gone, while Poliwrath remained available despite its injuries.
Of course, that assumed there was no fourth Elite Four-tier Pokémon waiting for him after the break.
Considering the man's connections and money, borrowing another one would hardly be impossible. It could have come from the Black Ship, Aya's family, or somewhere else entirely.
And if the bastard somehow pulled out six Elite Four-tier Pokémon...
Well, then Reiji had a much bigger problem.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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