Shauna, sitting on Cynthia's lap, tightened her little fists nervously, her small face filled with worry: "Brother Ariel..."
Ariel remained expressionless, but his black eyes were deeper than ever.
He was waiting.
Waiting for an opportunity.
An opening that Lucario would inevitably reveal.
Aura Sphere consumes mental power, and so does Agility.
In a long, high-intensity battle, even the strongest Pokémon will have a moment of mental fatigue.
And he was going to seize that very moment.
"Malamar, stop chasing."
Ariel's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached Malamar's ears on the field.
The frenzied Malamar paused, stopping its futile pursuit.
Its massive body stood in place, staring fixedly at the high-speed moving Lucario with those eerie eyes.
Gym Leader Brawly's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition arose.
What was Ariel doing? Giving up?
No, that was impossible!
Just as he was pondering, Ariel's next command left everyone in the arena stunned.
"Use Hypnosis!"
Hypnosis?
Using a control move with low accuracy and high dodge potential in a battle of this level?
Everyone wondered if Ariel had been hit too hard and lost his mind.
Gym Leader Brawly was also stunned, but he quickly reacted and shouted: "Lucario, don't be affected by it, maintain your speed, and use Aura Sphere to finish it!"
Malamar did not emit any energy waves or rays of light.
It just stood there quietly, its huge eyes, which seemed to contain the entire starry sky, beginning to glow with an eerie light.
Invisible ripples of mental power, like ripples on water, spread from it as the center across the entire field!
This wasn't a Hypnosis beam aimed at a single point, but a mental field covering the entire arena!
Lucario was still using Agility, but its movements showed a visible, slight lag.
That pervasive mental power was like a low, deep-sea lullaby, constantly eroding its willpower.
Its eyelids began to grow heavy, and the afterimages created by Agility also showed a slight stutter.
Now!
Ariel's pupils contracted sharply!
"Charge! Superpower!"
Ariel almost roared this command!
The Malamar, which had been ready to strike, caused the ground beneath it to explode!
Its massive body, with terrifying explosive power completely inconsistent with its size, turned into a black cannonball, slamming straight toward the point where Lucario stuttered!
The distance closed in an instant!
Lucario jolted awake from the mental influence, only to see that infinitely magnified, ferocious face, and that tentacle carrying world-destroying power!
It wanted to dodge, but it was too late!
"Woooo!!!"
Lucario let out a final roar, and a warrior's instinct allowed it to condense the last of its strength into its right fist just before being struck.
Steel-type energy shimmered wildly on its fist.
Meteor Mash!
"Boom—!!!"
The tentacle of Superpower and the fist of Meteor Mash collided violently under the eyes of all!
There was no stalemate at all.
In the face of a max-attack Superpower, Lucario's defense was as fragile as paper.
The terrifying power instantly pierced through its body.
Lucario let out a mournful cry, and its entire body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into the wall behind it, before falling silent.
One-hit knockout!
However, in the split second before it was knocked away, Lucario's Meteor Mash, fueled by its final will, landed solidly on Malamar's chest!
"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
A series of heavy strikes landed as densely as raindrops.
Malamar's massive body shook violently, and it let out a painful groan.
Where it was hit by the Meteor Mash on its chest, several depressions of varying depths appeared, and dark liquid even seeped out from the wounds.
The entire arena was silent.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the referee's flag shot up.
"Lucario is unable to battle! Malamar wins!"
As the voice faded, Malamar's massive body could no longer hold itself up, and it knelt on one knee, breathing heavily.
It had won, but the accumulated damage from Aura Sphere and the final, desperate Meteor Mash had taken a heavy toll.
At this moment, Malamar was severely wounded!
With the difference in the number of Pokémon, the outcome of this battle was effectively decided!
The advantage Malamar had created was simply too great!
Gym Leader Brawly's next Pokémon was Machamp!
Machamp defeated Malamar, but at the moment of its defeat, Malamar had followed Lucario's example and launched a final counterattack!
It dealt a heavy blow to Machamp!
At this moment!
Aside from an Infernape and a heavily injured Machamp, Gym Leader Brawly had no other combat-ready Pokémon left.
Ariel directly sent out Greninja for the final cleanup!
...
The final blow!
Greninja's figure left a blurred afterimage in the blink of an eye.
Water Shuriken solidified, the sound of it breaking through the air was sharp and piercing, and it precisely cut through Infernape's final defense.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a dull thud as it hit the ground.
The battle was decided!
The referee's raised flag acted like a detonator in the silent arena.
"The winner! The Dark-type specialist Trainer—Ariel!"
Thunderous applause and cheers instantly drowned out the entire Ever Grande Conference venue.
On the giant electronic screen, a close-up of Ariel and Greninja filled the entire frame, with the series of Pokémon he had defeated in the background, finally freezing on Gym Leader Brawly's face, which was full of complex emotions.
A Dark-type Trainer had defeated a Fighting-type Gym Leader head-on.
This was an extremely rare scene in the history of battles in the Hoenn region.
It was easy to imagine this scene being repeatedly studied and observed by various Trainer Schools across Hoenn!
On the battle field, Ariel recalled Greninja, gently patted the Poké Ball, and whispered, "Good work."
He looked up, his gaze piercing through the swirling dust, and looked at Gym Leader Brawly opposite him.
Gym Leader Brawly was also looking at him.
This fighter, known for his boldness and toughness, no longer showed a trace of contempt, and even the frustration of defeat was barely visible.
His eyes were complex, like the surface of a lake into which a giant rock had been thrown, rippling and surging, eventually returning to a profound calmness.
He walked over slowly, each step firm, as if measuring the field where he had tasted defeat once more.
"Incredible."
Gym Leader Brawly reached out his hand, his palm covered in thick calluses from years of training.
Ariel took it, feeling the warmth and strength of the other's palm.
"Your Malamar overturned my understanding of Dark-type Pokémon."
Gym Leader Brawly's voice was a bit hoarse, but very sincere.
"And you, Ariel, your strength exceeds my imagination. It seems I still have a long way to go in my training."
Ariel just nodded calmly.
Victory was a matter of course.
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