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Mega Blaziken's speed reached levels that could only be described as "impossible to react to."
The Speed Boost ability had accumulated boosts from three consecutive battles, enhanced by Mega Evolution, and now further amplified by Agility.
When Mega Blaziken's kick connected with Mega Absol, its body went rigid like a piece of wood. In the split second between impact and result, sparks flew as the devastating blow landed.
"BOOM!" Another crater appeared in the already cracked wall behind Sidney.
Mega Absol reverted from its Mega Evolution, sliding down like a defeated animal.
"Absol is unable to battle! Blaziken wins!" the referee announced the decisive result.
Sidney's expression immediately shifted from confident to utterly stunned.
His Mega Absol had been hit by an attack?
The battle had seemed evenly matched just moments before, so how had it suddenly ended in a one-shot defeat?
He couldn't understand it!
There was nothing difficult to understand about it, really.
Chris silently adjusted his nonexistent glasses.
It wasn't particularly challenging to defeat a Mega Absol with a single kick.
Absol's Mega Evolution only enhanced its offensive capabilities and overall performance. It remained essentially a fragile Pokemon that could be knocked out quickly, and as a Dark-type, it was vulnerable to Blaziken's Fighting-type moves.
Blaze Kick combined with Fighting-type effectiveness—was it really so hard to defeat a Mega Absol?
Sidney, having lost his ace Pokemon, was thoroughly defeated. He had already lost half his fighting spirit and abandoned any thoughts of defeating Chris. Now he could only think about how to restore some dignity by at least taking down Mega Blaziken.
Unfortunately, even that hope was futile.
The supercharged Mega Blaziken only continued growing stronger.
One Pokemon sweeping through six—Chris had easily defeated Sidney.
"Before you arrived here, I heard your name mentioned by trainers from various gyms. I thought you would just be an excellent up-and-coming trainer, but I never imagined you possessed such incredible strength," Sidney admitted with a sigh, stepping aside to clear the path.
"Go ahead—the next Elite Four member has been waiting for quite some time."
"However, be careful. They watched the entire battle and won't let you stack Speed Boost so easily."
Apparently, Sidney assumed Mega Blaziken was Chris's ace Pokemon, and that his primary strategy revolved around accumulating Speed Boost ability boosts with Blaziken as the centerpiece.
As long as the other Elite Four members dealt with Chris's Blaziken immediately and prevented it from stacking Speed Boost, once they defeated Blaziken, Chris's overall strength would be effectively crippled.
Chris didn't bother to correct this assumption and proceeded directly to the next room.
The next Elite Four member after the Dark-type specialist Sidney was Phoebe.
A spirited young woman wearing two large red flowers in her hair stood before him. Her sun-kissed skin suggested she spent considerable time at the beach.
"I'm Phoebe of the Hoenn Elite Four. I watched your entire battle with Sidney on the monitors. Both you and Blaziken are incredibly powerful and share an enviable bond," she acknowledged.
"But I'm different from Sidney. Let's see if you have what it takes to even scratch my Pokemon!" Phoebe declared with fierce confidence.
From her perspective, having watched Sidney retreat silently to observe from the sidelines, Phoebe had every right to be proud. After all, she specialized in Ghost-types.
While Blaziken could effectively counter Sidney's Dark-types, it held no advantage against her Ghost-types.
Plus, she now knew Chris's tactics.
She was determined to win this battle.
Chris remained silent as the battle commenced.
There was no need for excessive dialogue in Elite Four battles.
Everything that needed to be said would be expressed through Pokemon in combat!
"This is the Hoenn Region Pokemon Victory Road Challenge, with Elite Four member Phoebe facing Trainer Chris! The battle rules are full team combat—when all Pokemon on one side lose their ability to fight, the battle ends!" the referee announced the standard rules.
"Both trainers, please release your Pokemon!"
Phoebe and Chris threw their Poke Balls simultaneously.
Silver light flashed as two Pokemon materialized.
Phoebe's Pokemon was a Banette at Level 85.
A black doll Pokemon with a metal zipper across its mouth. Legend says they're born from old dolls discarded by children, with curse energy seeping into the abandoned toy's cotton stuffing.
Powerful grudges transform the doll into a Pokemon.
Highly aggressive by nature!
Chris's Pokemon was Gengar.
There aren't many types that can effectively counter Ghost-types—only Dark-types and Ghost-types themselves.
A Ghost-type Pokemon, equally elusive and mysterious, would definitely provide superior type matchup advantages against Ghost-types compared to other Pokemon types, assuming sufficient strength!
"Heh heh~~" The little purple round Pokemon bobbed excitedly in mid-air.
This was the first time its trainer had sent it into a formal high-level battle.
The referee confirmed both sides were ready and immediately gave the signal.
"Battle begin!"
"Banette, use Night Shade!" Phoebe attacked first. She was somewhat irritated that Chris dared to challenge her Ghost-type specialization with a Ghost-type Pokemon of his own. Moreover, as a Ghost-type Elite, she immediately sensed something extraordinary about Chris's Gengar.
However, what was puzzling was that three seconds after issuing the command, nothing happened.
Phoebe quickly looked at her Banette, wondering why it wasn't following her instructions.
She saw Banette staring at Gengar with a terrified expression, trembling all over. Far from executing its trainer's command to use Night Shade, it was struggling just to avoid collapsing to its knees.
What was happening?
Was Banette actually afraid of Gengar, or even paralyzed by fear?
Why?
This bizarre scene left Phoebe completely bewildered.
Chris wasn't entirely certain either, but he had some theories.
"This might be related to Gengar's special status."
Gengar's name carried two significant designations.
One was "Ancient," and the other was "King."
Chris had initially thought Gengar's "King" title referred to being the "King of the Hisui Region" from the games, but now it seemed this might actually mean "King of Ghost-type Pokemon."
Perhaps the "King" designation also granted the ability to command other Pokemon of the same type.
"Gengar, use Shadow Ball!"
"Heh heh~" Gengar chuckled mischievously, slowly forming a Shadow Ball and floating it in front of Banette. Like a king bestowing poisoned wine upon a subject, it pressed the Shadow Ball toward the terrified Pokemon.
"Banette, dodge!" Phoebe commanded desperately.
However, Banette seemed unable to hear her, standing frozen as the dark energy penetrated its body.
"Banette is unable to battle! Gengar wins!"