Using the natural resilience of its flora, Gigantamax Venusaur pulverized the gargantuan rock formation into countless fragments.
"You actually possess the Viridian Force... What is your relationship with the House of Gardenia from the Sinnoh region?!"
The Second Elder's pupils contracted violently. Given his vast experience and knowledge, he immediately recognized the distinctive nature of the Viridian Force, staring at Feng Che with deep trepidation.
"My mother is from that family," Feng Che replied succinctly, having no desire to explain the finer distinctions between the Gardenia family's leaf-based gifts and his true Viridian Force.
"Congratulations, Vio. To think you would be the final victor after all."
Seeing Feng Che manifest the Viridian Force, Drayden offered his congratulations to Vio, his voice laced with a tinge of jealousy. For a single lineage to produce a prodigy wielding both the Dragon Force and the Viridian Force made it feel as though Drayden's own ancestral graves were about to get blown up by an absurd streak of cosmic luck.
"Alolan Golem, use electromagnetic power!"
Alolan Golem roared, releasing a colossal torrent of electrical currents from its body. Under its influence, the gravitational field throughout the Dragon's Den began to wildly fluctuate. In certain pockets, gravity grew dangerously light, causing boulders to float weightlessly into the air; in others, the pressure multiplied, crushing heavy stones deep into the bedrock. Every member of the Dragon Clan present could feel the terrifying distortion of space.
"Welcome to my domain. I call this masterpiece the Blade Inferno," the Second Elder boasted, leaning heavily on his cane with a smug grin. "This is the burial ground I meticulously prepared for all of you. I discovered long ago that a massive, high-purity iron vein rests directly beneath this cavern. This is the grave I chose for you!"
"Alolan Golem, refine the raw iron!"
Alolan Golem began utilizing its intense electrical currents to smelt and extract the raw ore from the subterranean veins, forging vast amounts of refined iron. The metallic elements swept upward, fusing directly onto Alolan Golem's chassis. Its physical volume began to swell exponentially before everyone's eyes.
It bore a striking resemblance to Dynamaxing, but unlike a standard Dynamax projection composed of pure energy, this Alolan Golem retained a completely solid, physical form. Concurrently, the Alolan Geodude clinging to its back detached, transforming into floating, highly charged plasma spheres. Leveraging their unique magnetic affinity, the sub-clones continuously accelerated the refining process, drawing countless jagged shards of iron and stone into precise orbit around the giant, forging a terrifying array of razor-sharp spikes.
"This is bad... The Second Elder intends to launch an indiscriminate, full-field assault!" Vio realized, unmasking the old man's desperate gambit.
"Bullseye! And now, I shall send you all on your way," the Second Elder laughed maniacally.
The massive iron spikes erupted outward like a volley of heavy ballista bolts. Each projectile measured over two meters in length; if they pierced a human body, death from catastrophic blood loss would follow within seconds.
"Heh, does he honestly think Zekrom is just a decoration standing there?" Feng Che muttered, completely unbothered by the Second Elder's brainless escalation.
Before Zekrom had awakened, the Second Elder could slaughter the clan members with impunity because the deity was asleep. But now that Zekrom was fully conscious, attempting to butcher the Dragon Clan right in front of its face was an insult no god would tolerate.
Zekrom transformed into a streak of pitch-black light, sweeping across the perimeter as concentrated spires of lightning erupted from its forelimbs. Within moments, every single iron spike hurtling toward the defenseless clan members was blasted into fine, harmless powder.
As for the spikes flying toward Venusaur, Zekrom deliberately left them untouched. This was an official duel between Feng Che and the Second Elder; if Zekrom actively intervened in the combat zone, the Second Elder would simply claim that Feng Che's victory was unearned.
"Gigantamax Venusaur, intercept those spikes!"
Controlling the gargantuan wooden deity, Gigantamax Venusaur deployed the thousand-handed Buddha construct, catching the high-velocity iron projectiles firmly in its massive wooden palms.
"Detonate!" the Second Elder barked.
The iron spikes instantly shattered, exploding into a dense cloud of jagged shrapnel that tore ruthlessly toward Gigantamax Venusaur. Venusaur's defensive flower shield absorbed the brunt of the lethal impact. Though the shield was eventually pierced, causing a massive deluge of sweet floral sap to rain down, the hyper-concentrated life energy instantly filled the Dragon's Den with a heavy, intoxicating aroma. The previously barren, rocky valley suddenly erupted into a vibrant carpet of countless blooming flowers.
Under the passive influence of the held Life Orb, Venusaur's damaged petals regenerated at a visible pace, knitting back together seamlessly.
"Hmph! Alolan Golem, use Rollout!"
Alolan Golem funneled a tremendous electrical surge into the earth, the massive currents continuously refining the deep iron veins. Thousands of razor-sharp iron blades manifested, swirling into a dense, tempestuous orbit around Alolan Golem's frame.
"Oh wow. He's actually pulling off a budget Magneto impression," Feng Che sneered coldly.
The iron blades spun with terrifying velocity, whipping up a violent gale as they transformed into a massive, whirring shredder.
"Gigantamax Venusaur, use Max Strike!"
The hyper-velocity metallic blades sliced relentlessly through the battlefield, severing over a hundred thick vine whips extended by Gigantamax Venusaur. However, the moment the severed plant fragments hit the ground, they instantly took root and sprouted, multiplying into an even denser thicket of flora.
The fresh vines climbed rapidly up the framework of the thousand-handed Buddha, bolstering its size and density. The colossal wooden hands swung downward with immense force, slamming directly into the swirling vortex of blades. Before the sharp iron could breach the core defense, they were tightly ensnared by the incredibly durable vine whips.
The vines instantly secreted a highly concentrated, corrosive acid comparable to aqua regia, rapidly liquefying the refined iron blades into harmless metallic slag. After absorbing the trace elements from the highly refined mineral run-off, a shimmering, silver-grey sheen coat began to manifest across Gigantamax Venusaur's thick hide. The iron elements actively supplemented Venusaur's cellular structure, causing its combat parameters to climb sharply.
"Alolan Golem, use Electro Ball!"
Seeing the battle enter a gridlock, the Second Elder began to panic, frantically ordering a maximum-output assault.
A blinding radiance erupted from within Alolan Golem's core once more. Channeling the immense electrical current, it caused the surrounding bedrock to spin at a manic velocity before unleashing a succession of golden-yellow plasma beams directly at Gigantamax Venusaur.
Gigantamax Venusaur crossed the massive arms of the thousand-handed Buddha in front of its frame to brace for impact. A sequence of thunderous explosions rocked the cavern, the violent concussive force tearing deep craters into the wooden construct. Yet, the moment Venusaur pulsed its energy to activate Grassy Terrain, the gaping wounds in the wooden structure were rapidly filled and repaired by fresh growth.
By this point, the entire thousand-handed Buddha had taken on a metallic, silver-grey hue, its outer layer completely armored in a thick, protective plating of absorbed iron.
"Finish it, Gigantamax Venusaur!"
The thousand hands of the armored deity roared through the air, unleashing a relentless barrage of Bullet Punches that rained down heavily upon Alolan Golem's chassis. The impact sent Alolan Golem flying into the air, its metallic armor buckling and deforming under the sheer kinetic force.
Massive chunks of its external metal plating sheared off, falling to the earth where they were instantly consumed by the encroaching vines. Alolan Golem thrashed violently, discharging blinding arcs of electricity that scorched the surface of the wooden hands. But under the continuous, rapid cellular regeneration of the Frenzy Plant structures, the iron armor was stripped away entirely, exposing Alolan Golem's true, battered form.
Completely covered in structural fractures, it was pinned flat against the earth, tightly bound by the massive vines.
"It's over, Gigantamax Venusaur. Send this Alolan Golem to its rest," Feng Che commanded quietly. "May it never be subjected to human experimentation in its next life."
With a sudden, violent twist of Venusaur's vines, the Magneto-like Alolan Golem was torn completely asunder, bringing its tragic existence to a definitive close. As its form faded, a palm-sized metallic sphere was left exposed in the dust.