Cinderace understood that if it were hit by the lightning and pierced by the swarming Fulgurbugs, the end would not be pleasant. The Zinogre was a terrifying monster before it was Pokémonized, and the same move would not work on it twice. Now that its intelligence had been greatly improved, it was even less likely to be fooled. For real masters, the same trick rarely works.
After a moment's thought, Cinderace knew how to break the stalemate.
"U-turn!"
It performed a backward flip kick, striking one of the Fulgurbugs, and in a flash of red light, it vanished. Zhang's pupils shrank. Cinderace had used U-turn to switch out. The new Pokémon on the field would not be under the effect of Taunt and could use status moves.
"This is very bad," Zhang thought. "No wonder he's called the 'unbeatable champion' in the original story." But who's afraid of whom? He raised his hand, aiming at the Zinogre, and the Dynamax Band on his wrist flared with red light. "Dynamax!" he roared.
"So decisive!" Leon's heart sank. Zhang was too quick. If he had hesitated for even a moment, Leon could have used the opportunity to snowball his advantage. But even so, he still had a slight edge.
The moment the Zinogre was recalled, Leon's Dragapult appeared.
Dragapult
Level: 62 (Elite Four)Ability: Clear BodyItem: Dragonium Z
"Dragapult, Dragon Dance!" Leon roared. This was the advantage he had earned. The brief time it took to activate Dynamax mid-battle was just enough for his Dragapult to get off one Dragon Dance.
The Dynamax energy poured into the Poké Ball, and it instantly grew to an immense size. At the same time, the Dragapult began to dance.
"Go!" Zhang quickly threw the giant ball. The red light flashed, and the 65-meter-tall, 200-meter-long Zinogre reappeared. The most eye-catching thing about it was the swarm of massive Fulgurbugs now circling it. Influenced by the Dynamax energy, they had grown to half a meter in size. Leon frowned. Before, they were just small bugs. Now, they were like a legion of independent Pokémon.
"Roar!" At the same moment, the Dragapult finished its Dragon Dance, its Attack and Speed now at +1.
The audience was stunned.
"What in the... there must be hundreds or thousands of them!"
"Is this fair? Isn't this a singles match?"
"Referee, I want to report this man for cheating!"
"It's like one Pokémon is being used as a whole army!"
"It's definitely not a violation," a more knowledgeable viewer explained. "Think about Kangaskhan fighting with its baby. From the perspective of the rules, there's no problem here. These insects aren't even Pokémon, and before the Dynamax, they were just tiny bugs."
"I can only fight!" A decisive fire lit up in Leon's eyes. His aura flared, like the rising sun, a sea of fire. The moment his aura rose, Zhang's own murderous aura appeared to meet it.
RUMBLE!
The two auras collided, evenly matched.
Today's young people are becoming more and more perverse, Iris thought, sighing to herself. Both Zhang and Leon were champion seeds.
"Dragapult! All of it! Burn it all! Devastating Drake!" Leon roared, his left hand raised as the Z-Ring on his wrist blazed with a dazzling light.
"Zinogre! Max Lightning!" Zhang commanded.
"Whoosh!" The Zinogre roared to the sky, and the Fulgurbugs began to discharge. Countless thunderbolts rained down, covering the entire battlefield like a torrential storm. This was the power of an Elite Four-level Pokémon, a walking natural disaster.
At the same time, an energy bomb appeared in the Dragapult's mouth. The boiling energy of its bond flared, turning into flames that covered its entire body. All of that emotional fire poured into the energy bomb, turning the dark purple sphere a pale, ethereal color. It shot towards the Zinogre like a cannonball, and as it flew, it transformed into a flying dragon of energy hundreds of meters in size.
The Dragapult had not tried to neutralize the falling lightning. It knew there was too much, too dense. It could only choose to attack the Zinogre directly, to trade injury for injury. It was the only way to win, or at least to damage its opponent and reduce the pressure on its teammates to come. It was a decisive, desperate gambit, not the move of a Pokémon raised by a wealthy trainer, but one that had endured countless cruel battles.
The audience was stunned.
"Is this the strength of the Elite Four?" a viewer whispered, terrified, as they watched the ubiquitous blue lightning. If the Zinogre were to release this skill in a city, the destruction would be unimaginable.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! Countless thunderbolts engulfed the Dragapult, electrocuting it and sending it crashing to the ground. Although its Ghost-typing gave it a resistance to Electric attacks, the Zinogre's power was simply too high. In its supercharged state, its Special Attack was converted to Attack, giving it a base Attack stat of 250. Combined with its ability, which doubled the power of its Electric-type moves, and the raw power of a Max Move, the Dragapult's 77 base defense stood no chance.
At the same time, the huge energy dragon broke through the lightning storm and shot towards the Zinogre. The Zinogre did not underestimate the Z-Move empowered by the full force of its opponent's bond. It jumped, flipping in the air to meet the attack with its armored back, while simultaneously commanding the Fulgurbugs to fire their own lightning at the energy dragon, trying to weaken it.
RUMBLE! The Zinogre was hit by the giant energy dragon and engulfed in a massive explosion that sent it flying thousands of meters into the air. But because it had jumped, it had been hit by the edge of the explosion, not the center. It landed steadily. Its back was its hardest part, and even with its double weakness to Dragon-type moves, the injury was only moderate.
Unfortunately, the Zinogre had exceeded the 500-meter height limit. It was a creature of life-and-death battles, unaccustomed to the rules of a game. A Pokémon that specialized in tournament battles would have taken the hit on the ground to avoid the penalty, even if it meant taking more damage.
"The Zinogre has exceeded the 500-meter height limit and is disqualified! The Dragapult is unable to battle!" Iris announced. "This round is a draw! Contestants, recall your Pokémon within 30 seconds."
"Come back, Zinogre," Zhang said, recalling his monster. "Don't worry about the game. If you lose, you lose. It has no effect. If you die in battle, you really die. I would rather you lose the game than lose your life. Your combat experience is an advantage. Don't let the rules affect your performance in the future. A competition is not a real battle."
"Come back, Dragapult," Leon said, recalling his own Pokémon. What a terrifying Pokémon, he thought. How many life-and-death battles has it experienced to have such rich combat experience? If this had been a real battlefield, I would have lost long ago. He knew the draw was because of his good luck, and he hated relying on luck. He wanted to win with strength.
"The next round, I have to prove myself!" Leon let out a light breath and grabbed his next Poké Ball, his face serious. Zhang was the strongest opponent he had ever faced. I am the unbeatable Leon! I can't lose! he shouted in his heart, pumping himself up.
The audience was in a heated discussion.
"So powerful! These two are as good as any of the old Elite Four masters!"
"Don't just 'feel' it, they are," a veteran Elite Four trainer typed slowly, a mix of emotions welling up inside him. "My life's achievements, so easily reached by these young people... their combat effectiveness is off the charts. Their battle experience is like that of a trainer who has been fighting for decades. And their Pokémon... their Pokémon are stronger than mine."
"It's unbelievable. Especially Zhang. The rules of the competition are clearly limiting his strength. If not for the 500-meter limit, his Zinogre could have kept fighting."
"Either you grow in battle or you die in battle. Is this a civilian trainer? I'm starting to understand why the powerful kings can't beat the commoner kings."
"Professor Oak," the host Xiaolan asked, "who do you think will win the championship?"
"Zhang Tian," Professor Oak replied with a smile.
"Why?"
"Their command ability is similar. It should be a 50/50 match. But their Pokémon are very different. I've observed that Zhang's Zinogre has a base stat total of 620, surpassing a pseudo-legendary. And its ability is very strong. One effect doubles the power of its Electric-type moves. The other, when it enters its supercharged state, increases its Attack and Speed by 120. It's terrifying. If his Zinogre is this powerful, his other Elite Four Pokémon will probably be no worse. The difference in hard power is too big. So I favor Zhang Tian."
The full story so far is available on Patreon!: patreon.com/Zefyrus