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"This is a battle of speed and will!"
The announcer's voice roared, "As long as Flygon can land a hit first, it can take down Krookodile! The scales of victory are still tipping towards Lance!"
Ariel understood this logic, of course.
He watched as Flygon hovered precariously in the air, yet it kept its Lock-On fixed tightly on him, and he took a deep breath.
"Krookodile, Dark Pulse!"
Upon hearing this, Lance's lips curled into a sneer. Naive.
How could a move with the flight speed of Dark Pulse possibly hit my Flygon?
"Dive! Finish it!"
Following Lance's command, Flygon let out a final roar, transforming into a green comet as it launched its final charge toward the blood-stained figure on the ground!
Closer and closer! Fifty meters! Thirty meters! Ten meters!
Everyone held their breath, as if they could already see the scene of Krookodile falling.
However, to everyone's surprise, Krookodile did not fire the Dark Pulse immediately.
It just stared fixedly at the incoming streak of light, its muscles tensed to the limit. Now is the time!
The moment Flygon dove to less than five meters from the ground, just about to unleash Dragon Tail!
Krookodile's legs, which had been using Ingrain on the ground, suddenly erupted with their final burst of strength!
"Jump!"
Boom! The ground exploded into a shallow crater, and Krookodile's massive body soared into the air like a cannonball, leaping straight at Flygon!
This shocking scene caused Flygon's dragon pupils to constrict sharply! How dare it?!
This hegemon of the land actually dared to voluntarily leap into the air to challenge the king of the sky?!
Instinctive shock caused Flygon's movements to lag for an instant—just a single instant!
But for a top-tier hunter, this instant was enough!
"Now! Grab it!"
Krookodile stretched out its body in mid-air, and those claws, stained with blood and sand, carved a deadly arc through the air, digging firmly into Flygon's body!
"Hiss—!" The sound of claws piercing flesh rang clearly throughout the arena!
"Oh no!" Lance's expression changed drastically; he never imagined that his opponent would use such a near-suicidal method to break the stalemate!
"Take it with you and crash into the ground!" Lance made the most ruthless decision in the shortest possible time.
Since it's been grabbed, then we'll die together!
Flygon understood its master's intent, let out a mournful cry, and gave up all resistance, allowing gravity to take hold as it dragged the Krookodile hanging onto its body, slamming hard into the solid ground together!
And at that very moment! Krookodile's massive, tightly shut jaws finally opened!
It wasn't trying to use Dark Pulse for a long-range attack at all!
From the very beginning, it intended to shove this Dark Pulse directly into the opponent's mouth at point-blank range!
Boom—! Deep purple energy fluctuations exploded violently less than half a meter from Flygon's face!
At the same time, the two massive Pokémon slammed heavily into the ground!
Dust and smoke filled the entire arena.
A deathly silence. Everyone's heart was in their throat, staring fixedly at the area shrouded in dust. Who? Who was still standing?
The dust slowly dissipated. One figure was still standing in the center of the arena. It was Krookodile.
It was covered in blood, its body trembling uncontrollably, the wounds on its body deep enough to see bone, as if it would collapse in the next second, and its aura was weak to the extreme.
And at its feet, Flygon's eyes rolled back, having long since lost the ability to battle. It was defeated! Lance's Flygon was defeated!
Lance recalled Flygon without much emotional fluctuation and directly sent out the next Pokémon.
"Charizard!"
As the light from the Poké Ball bloomed, a Pokémon far more robust than an ordinary Charizard appeared in the arena.
Its orange-red scales reflected a metallic luster under the lights, the off-white skin on its abdomen was firm and powerful, and its wing membranes spread out, kicking up a strong Heat Wave.
A roar, not as a show of force, but as a pure declaration.
Ariel's brow furrowed into a knot. It can fly too? How many flying Pokémon does this guy have?
Ariel had wanted Krookodile to severely injure the opponent one last time before being eliminated!
But Lance clearly didn't give Ariel that chance; as soon as his Charizard appeared, it unleashed a massive Eruption in Krookodile's direction!
The rolling flames swallowed Krookodile directly!
With old wounds compounded by new ones, Krookodile could no longer hold on and collapsed.
"You did well, Krookodile, come back."
Ariel didn't stop his movements, and a Poké Ball was firmly grasped in his hand.
"I'm counting on you, Greninja!"
The blue figure appeared on the field like a ghost, landing without a sound, arms crossed, the ends of its scarlet scarf fluttering slightly.
Its eyes were cold like an icy spring, staring straight at the behemoth in the sky. A fateful showdown between Starter Pokémon.
The atmosphere in the spectator stands was ignited to its peak at this moment, with cheers almost threatening to lift the roof off the entire venue.
However, Lance's Charizard didn't give Greninja any chance to adapt to the field at all; with a flap of its wings, the stirred-up airflow made the sand and stones on the ground rattle, and its massive body rose from the ground, taking up position above the stadium. It occupied absolute air superiority.
Ariel's eyelid twitched uncontrollably. This tactic is too cheap.
"Double Team!"
Ariel's voice was calm, clearly conveyed to Greninja through Psychic.
The moment the command was given, Greninja's figure became blurry, splitting into two, then four, and in the blink of an eye, over a dozen identical Greninja were scattered all over the arena!
They moved in unison, following different trajectories, flanking the Charizard in the sky from all directions.
Each clone was incredibly agile, their toes lightly tapping on the broken rocks, using the leverage to leap high, and from the ground, it looked like a blue capture net, intending to ensnare the hegemon of the sky.
"Cheap tricks."
Lance's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable confidence. He didn't even raise his hand, just signaled with a glance.
The Charizard in the air took a deep breath, its chest visibly expanding, and then, scorching flames spewed from its mouth like a fire hose, carving a destructive orange-red arc!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The flames struck precisely, and the moment each Double Team clone came into contact with the fire, it turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated without a trace.
Charizard's attack efficiency was terrifyingly high; there wasn't a single wasted movement, the spewing of fire combined perfectly with the turning of its head, and in just a few seconds, it had cleared away most of the clones.
But this was exactly what Ariel wanted!