Ariel's eyes did not flicker in the slightest.
This was well within his expectations.
How could Steven's Pokémon only know moves of their own type?
"Light Screen."
He uttered those two words.
The luminous organs on Malamar's upper body flashed, and a transparent barrier made of pure mental power instantly formed in front of it.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The rocks, imbued with Ancient Power, slammed hard against the Light Screen, letting out a series of dull thuds. The Light Screen shook violently, ripples spreading across its surface, but in the end, it steadily blocked the wave of attacks.
"Now, Dark Pulse!"
Almost at the exact moment the Light Screen blocked the attack, Ariel's command followed immediately.
With a wave of Malamar's tentacles, rings of deep purple malevolent energy rippled out from in front of it. Ignoring the distance, they passed right through the yet-undissipated rock fragments and accurately locked onto Claydol.
Steven's pupils contracted.
Such a fast follow-up!
The moment the Light Screen was used for defense, he had already issued the counterattack command! This level of control over the battle tempo was far beyond the scope of an ordinary genius!
Hit by the Dark Pulse, Claydol shuddered violently, its spinning speed slowing down by quite a bit.
The type effectiveness of Dark-type moves against Psychic-types was demonstrated to the fullest.
"It's not over yet!" Steven's voice rose slightly. "Hyper Beam!"
He couldn't let Ariel dictate the tempo anymore!
Enduring the erosion of the Dark Pulse, Claydol's eight eyes burst with a blinding orange-red light simultaneously, and a destructive surge of energy gathered frantically in front of it.
The air of the entire battlefield grew scorching hot and distorted due to the condensation of this energy.
"That unreasonable style of fighting again," Ariel hummed to himself.
Starting from Skarmory, Steven favored using high-power moves to suppress his opponents. This style of fighting was highly effective against average trainers, but with him, it wouldn't work.
"Malamar, hold the Light Screen, let's use Dark Pulse!"
Ariel's command took everyone by surprise.
A head-on clash?
Using a continuous Dark Pulse to counter a Hyper Beam, the strongest single-point burst move?
Is he crazy?
Even Steven was momentarily stunned, unable to understand Ariel's intention.
But Malamar didn't hesitate in the slightest. Deep purple rings, one after another, surged endlessly toward the charging Claydol.
Hyper Beam required a moment to charge, and this very moment was the best opportunity for Malamar to deal damage!
"Boom—!"
The orange-red beam of destruction finally erupted, carrying a heat intense enough to vaporize steel as it blasted straight toward Malamar.
The moment the Light Screen made contact with the beam, it let out an overburdened groan, cracks spreading frantically like a spiderweb.
And just a moment before the Light Screen shattered, several waves of Dark Pulse unleashed by Malamar had already struck Claydol squarely!
Claydol let out a cry of pain, and even the output of its Hyper Beam became slightly unstable.
"Crack!"
The Light Screen shattered at the sound!
The beam of destruction, its momentum barely diminished, charged straight at Malamar's face!
However, at the very instant the beam was about to hit, Malamar's seemingly soft body twisted to the side at an extremely bizarre angle, dodging the core of the beam by a hair's breadth!
"Boom!"
The Hyper Beam grazed past Malamar's body and slammed heavily into the ground behind it, blasting open a massive crater as smoke and dust billowed into the sky.
The entire venue fell dead silent.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Malamar, who had been blown away by the aftershock of the Explosion but still managed to stubbornly steady its posture.
It dodged it!
It actually managed to dodge a Hyper Beam from that distance!
"This guy..." Steven's breath caught for a second.
That wasn't luck.
That was something Ariel had calculated from the very beginning.
He used Light Screen to weaken the power, Dark Pulse to disrupt the charging, and finally took advantage of Hyper Beam's recharge delay to have Malamar evade!
Every single step was within his calculations!
This boy, what on earth is his heart made of?
Looking at Claydol, who was already in poor condition on the field, and Malamar, who was also not doing well, Steven's gaze sank completely.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only resolution remained.
"Claydol."
His voice was very soft, yet it carried an unquestionable will.
"End this."
"Explosion!"
What?!
The entire crowd went into an uproar!
Explosion!
A move that cost one's entire life force to detonate, resulting in mutual destruction with the maximum possible power!
Steven actually wanted to use this method to take down Ariel's Malamar!
Ariel's expression finally changed.
He hadn't expected Steven to be so decisive and ruthless!
"Protect!"
For the first time, his voice carried a hint of urgency!
Claydol's body lit up with a blinding white light from within, the glow growing brighter and brighter, like a star on the verge of exploding.
An unspeakable wave of terrifying energy instantly swept across the entire arena!
In front of Malamar, an emerald-green energy shield instantly deployed!
The next second.
The white light swallowed everything.
"BOOM—!!!!!"
The entire world seemed to have only this deafening roar left.
The terrifying shockwave, centered on Claydol, expanded frantically in all directions in a spherical shape!
The hard ground of the battlefield was ripped up layer by layer, turning into dust! The energy levels of the protective barrier in front of the spectator stands flashed wildly, emitting a piercing alarm!
Everyone subconsciously closed their eyes, raising their arms to shield themselves.
That destructive storm lasted for a full dozen seconds before gradually subsiding.
As the smoke and dust cleared.
In the center of the battlefield, only a bottomless crater remained.
Claydol was nowhere to be seen.
On the other side of the battlefield, the shield in front of Malamar was covered in cracks, like shattered colored glass.
"Crack... Shatter..."
The shield shattered.
The powerful aftershock of the Explosion slammed squarely into Malamar's body.
"Woo..."
Malamar let out a cry of pain, its body flying backward like a broken kite. It slammed heavily onto the ground, twitched twice, and completely lost its ability to battle.
A one-for-one trade.
In the most tragic manner.
The entire venue was dead silent.
Steven's counterattack came unexpectedly, yet it was also within reason.
Facing Ariel's tactic of using Gyarados's "Moxie" ability to constantly harvest low-health opponents and Snowball, any delay was no different from a slow death.
Therefore, he didn't hesitate in the slightest.
"Come back, Claydol."
Recalling the Pokémon that had fought to the very last moment, Steven raised his hand and threw another Poké Ball.
"Go, my ace."
***************************
Enjoying the story? Don't forget to drop a review, leave a comment, and smash that like button! Every Power Stone helps push the story further—thanks for reading and supporting! 🚀