At the Cao army entrance.
With Tyranitar and Rhyperior clearing the way, the sandstorm quickly spread, and the nearby Ghost- and Grass-type Pokémon retreated in panic.
The other seven contestants were already hyped.
"Lord Xiahou Dun is invincible, he actually scared these wild Pokémon into this state."
"At this rate, we might still have some time to rest when we get there. Then we can stack up our buff moves early."
"Right, and we can modify the arena while we're at it, so nothing can go wrong!"
Just then, a playful voice suddenly sounded from ahead of them.
"You're imagining things too nicely. Why not just declare you the winners now."
"Who's there?", Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao immediately halted and scanned the area, not knowing who would dare show up at a time like this.
"Got hit yesterday and don't recognize us today?", Axel grinned and released Dragonair's Poké Ball.
The next moment, the reverse scales on Dragonair turned watery blue, mysterious markings spreading over her body.
A torrential downpour fell from the sky, quickly replacing the sandstorm Tyranitar had whipped up.
Xiahou Dun and the others finally saw Axel's figure, "It's you?"
Zhang Liao and the others instinctively stepped back, then grew excited.
"Brother Yuanrang (an old form of address for Xiahou Dun), that's the trainer who brought Ho-Oh!"
Xiahou Dun's eyes brightened. The Prime Minister had already ordered earlier that if there was a chance they should seize Ho-Oh.
Xiahou Dun had thought chances were slim since this battle looked like a straight arena contest.
But he never expected Axel to hand it to them before the arena even started.
"Tyranitar, use Rock Slide to smash them down!"
"ROAR!", Tyranitar let out a furious roar, but before it could act, Gyarados on Axel's side moved!
A raging aura pressed downward; even space seemed to be crushed, sprouting countless fine cracks.
Light rings flashed downward on Tyranitar, Rhyperior, and the other Pokémon, their offensive power reduced by Gyarados's trait.
Dragonair's markings flashed again; pink body swirling with intense Dragon energy, she shot up through the clouds.
The sky instantly darkened, leaving only pinpricks of starlight.
Seeing the opening for a meteor barrage, Xiahou Dun's remaining pupil constricted; he changed his mind about ordering Tyranitar to attack.
"Quick, use Wide Guard!"
Seeing the enemy temporarily avoid the attack, Axel grinned. Gardevoir, who had been sitting beside him, slowly rose to her feet.
In the dim sky, a massive full moon appeared, casting calm beautiful white light like water.
On the forest's outskirts, Diao Chan and Cao Cao were both stunned.
Wasn't this supposed to be an arena match?
Why were they starting the decisive fight at the gate?
Also, didn't the Trevenant King set a rule that each trainer could only release one Pokémon at a time?
'How dare Axel play like this?'
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A string of meteors smashed down. Tyranitar's shield was pounded to pieces.
He had the same question as Diao Chan and Cao Cao.
"You cheat bastard, how are you releasing so many Pokémon without anyone stopping you?"
"Trevenant King, you come deal with this!"
The Trevenant King at the forest center was speechless. He wanted to enforce the rules too.
But a moment ago, a tall, beautiful Pokémon had appeared from who knows where.
That Pokémon easily sent flying a pile of his minions, then with only two and a half kicks had subdued him.
It was two and a half kicks because a full third kick might have killed him, so it had to accept surrender mid-kick.
———
"Gardevoir, clear the field."
Feeling the shields were about gone, Axel didn't waste time and ordered Gardevoir to clear the area.
The more time wasted on these people, the less time he would have to spar with Diao Chan.
["Okay, master..."], Gardevoir nodded lightly. The moon above suddenly began to sparkle.
Moonbeams poured out like tides, indiscriminately attacking Zhang Liao, Xiahou Dun, and the others.
Feeling the lethality of those moonbeams, everyone in the Cao army was stunned.
'This Gardevoir's move could be released continuously?'
'Does your internal energy never need time to flow?'
Xiahou Dun wanted to complain, but there was no time.
He had a feeling that no matter what tactics he used, he could not beat the trainer sitting on Gyarados.
Their Pokémon were absurdly strong.
"I'll stay with Zhang Liao to hold them off. You all go to the central area."
While Rhyperior used Wide Guard, Xiahou Dun quickly made a plan.
"I see their people on Gyarados's back. Something's wrong."
"You just need to run over. At least we can secure several victories!"
"As long as the arena wins, one person's personal strength can't change the big picture."
"Understood, my lord!"
The other participating officers nodded and sent their Pokémon to hold with guarding moves, then ran toward the center.
Axel still sat normally on Gyarados's back, not bothering to stop them.
He was thinking whether, after beating Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao, he should send the Trevenant King some compensation for emotional distress.
'Pheromosa's kick hurt so much, the Trevenant King must have been kicked to tears by now, right?'
Crack!
A crisp sound snapped Axel's thoughts back.
He saw Rhyperior's Wide Guard shattered; the furious moonlight slammed fully into Tyranitar and Rhyperior, sizzling.
Those two Pokémon were slightly higher level than Gardevoir, but under the suppression of the Supreme trait and Gardevoir's terrifying control of energy, they had little strength left to fight back.
Gyarados's battle instincts were a bit lacking, but its control of space rivaled a god.
Coupled with Gardevoir's telepathy directly acting in minds, the two Pokémon seemed to be cheating.
No matter how Tyranitar and Rhyperior attacked, they narrowly dodged every time.
Even the sandstorms Tyranitar raised were replaced by Dragonair with other weather before they could form.
Minutes passed; the two Pokémon whimpered and collapsed, unable to rise.
"Convinced?", Axel smiled at Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao.
"Convinced?", Xiahou Dun snarled, "Our people are almost there, but your people have no combat power."
"This round, we will definitely win!"
Axel grinned, said nothing, and had Gyarados open a spatial rift to send the two men to the center of the arena.
Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao were still confused, not understanding why Axel suddenly acted so benevolently.
But when they looked, they froze.
On the Trevenant King's trunk stood a never-before-seen, terrifyingly auraed, stunning Pokémon.
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