"No way... Deino's Flamethrower can actually match Hydreigon's blow for blow?!"
"That makes zero sense! Deino is facing its final evolved form!"
"No wonder he dared to send out a Deino—this little monster's strength is completely off the charts!"
Drayden and Victor exchanged dumbfounded glances.
As expected of the former Hydreigon Alpha's scion. Its raw power is terrifying, Drayden mused inwardly.
Yet, being a man of rigid discipline, Drayden still felt a twinge of disapproval toward Feng Che's selection. In a do-or-die rubber match, relying on an unevolved Deino struck him as reckless in the extreme.
"Hydreigon, Dragon Pulse!"
"Deino, Dragon Pulse!"
Both Trainers barked their commands in unison.
Hydreigon's Dragon Pulse surged forth as three phantom draconic heads, roaring violently as they hurtled toward the smaller dragon.
In response, Deino's Dragon Pulse manifested as a single majestic dragon phantom. It coiled around the triple-headed apparition, tightening like a crushing vise until the opposing strike shattered into a glittering spray of golden light.
Deino snapped its jaws wide, inhaled deeply, and swallowed the scattering remnants of draconic energy whole.
Having gorged on the scattered energy, Deino looked noticeably invigorated, its posture brimming with fresh vitality.
"That Deino can absorb Dragon-type moves to power itself up?!"
Feng Lu's pupils contracted sharply. He had never imagined a Deino could possess such an anomalous gift.
Fine, then I simply won't use Dragon-type attacks.
"Hydreigon, Tri Attack!"
I'd like to see an unevolved Deino pull off a Tri Attack!
Hydreigon opened its jaws wide. A crimson fireball, a crystalline sphere of ice, and a crackling golden orb of lightning materialized in sequence before being hurled forward together.
The three elemental spheres wove around one another in a lethal spiral, tearing toward Deino. If struck by the blended assault of frost, fire, and thunder, Deino faced an immediate risk of burn, freeze, or paralysis.
"Deino, Fire Fang!"
Facing the incoming Tri Attack, Feng Che remained unruffled, issuing his directive with calm precision.
Deino bared its jagged teeth as sparks ignited deep in its throat. A fiery aura coated its fangs like a blazing muzzle. Gauging the trajectory, it dug its claws into the dirt and charged straight at the converged assault.
Closer. Closer still.
Just as the spheres converged, Deino leaped, intercepting the icy orb precisely as it rotated into range.
It clamped down with Fire Fang. The searing heat of the bite directly canceled out the freezing payload, detonating the orb into a harmless shower of fine snow.
With the frost core breached, the Tri Attack collapsed. Deprived of balance, the remaining spheres of fire and lightning veered wildly off course like unbroken stallions, slamming into the perimeter.
Boom! Boom!
The stray orbs detonated upon impact, gouging the turf into a blazing sea of fire and wild electrical discharges.
Incredible... to break a Tri Attack with such unconventional timing, Victor thought in silent admiration.
"The warm-up is over. Let's finish this!"
Feng Lu poured every drop of his remaining Dragon Force into Hydreigon.
Pitch-black arcs of electricity rippled over Hydreigon's frame, pushing its latent draconic bloodline into overdrive. Jaws agape, it unleashed a rapid-fire salvo of Shadow Balls.
"If that's how it is... Deino, bring out your ultimate power as well!"
Feng Che channeled his own Dragon Force into Deino without reservation, flooding the small creature with boundless energy.
A pair of miniature wings woven from pure draconic aura sprouted from Deino's back.
Lifting effortlessly into the air, it darted across the sky with unnatural grace. Crackling arcs of thunder danced across its hide, cloaking it in a blinding, radiant mantle of pure lightning.
"Why do I sense the resonance of Zekrom, the Dragon of Ideals, within that Deino?" Vio muttered in suspicion from the observation deck.
His gaze hardened. "If that beast truly carries Zekrom's power... Feng Lu has already lost."
"Go, Deino!"
Beating its spectral wings, Deino accelerated to a blur, vanishing from the naked eye.
"Hydreigon, Dark Pulse!"
Tracking the darting shadow across the sky, Hydreigon unleashed three beams of pitch-black energy toward the earth. Yet Deino was simply too agile, weaving through the trajectories with contemptuous ease.
The Dark Pulse chewed through the arena floor like an iron plow. The battlefield, already scarred from the previous rounds, fractured into jagged ruins.
"Hydreigon, blanket the sky with Shadow Ball!"
A barrage of shadowy orbs erupted from Hydreigon, blotting out the light above.
"Deino, Thunderbolt!"
A jagged bolt of golden lightning ripped across the heavens, piercing the Shadow Balls mid-air. The detonating spheres burst into a dense, oily black fog that swallowed the entire battlefield.
Coughs and murmurs broke out among the spectators.
"Why did the sky go dark all of a sudden? We can't see the match!"
"It's just the fallout from those Shadow Balls. The haze will clear in a moment."
Through the murky gloom, arcs of golden lightning cracked violently, accompanied by Hydreigon's enraged roars.
This isn't working...
Panic began to gnaw at Feng Lu's chest. The specter of defeat loomed large, and the confidence he had struggled to maintain began to crack.
That fool! With a setup this favorable, he's already wavering!
Vio watched through his binoculars as Feng Lu unconsciously rubbed his fingers together—a telltale sign of anxiety.
A Trainer who loses his nerve in the heat of battle invites the enemy to run him down. His mental fortitude is utterly pathetic. After more than a decade of tempering, he's still this fragile.
To Vio, his son was nothing more than an Adou—a hopeless cause who could never be propped up.
And to think I went out of my way to lend him a prime Kommo-o...
Disappointment settled heavily in the old man's chest.
As Feng Lu's resolve crumbled, Hydreigon's offensive rhythm noticeably stalled.
Both Victor and Drayden caught the shift immediately.
Is my brother throwing the match? Hydreigon's tempo dropped way too fast, Victor thought, a dark scowl crossing his face. If you want to lose to your own son, at least make it look convincing!
Feng Lu's offensive has lost its edge. His mind is compromised, Drayden observed sharply.
He's second-guessing himself, convinced Hydreigon can't overcome that Deino. He's unraveling. Just who on earth is this masked 'Tyrannosaurus' to push Feng Lu to such an edge?
Drayden had dispatched agents to uncover the masked Trainer's background, yet the investigation had returned nothing—a complete ghost.