The white Air Slash blades vanished the instant they struck the dark aura of Dark Pulse, leaving no trace behind.
That was one of Dark Pulse's unique traits.
Unlike Water Pulse, which rippled like a vortex, or Dragon Pulse, which fired a massive bluish-purple shockwave, Dark Pulse resembled a shadowy void—a wave of darkness that could swallow everything in its path.
Of course, that was just an exaggeration.
Considering Honchkrow's current power, even with its buffs, it wasn't anywhere near strong enough to create a "black hole."
The lack of movement simply meant that Dark Pulse had temporarily suppressed the Air Slash.
But if it wasn't an actual black hole, it had to have a limit.
Under Silas's command, Pidgeot's wings continued to beat relentlessly. One Air Slash after another sliced through the air toward its opponent.
Compared to Honchkrow, which had to carefully control its Dark Pulse to maintain the suppression, Pidgeot only needed to focus on repeatedly releasing its attacks.
That wide, shadowy wave was a huge target—it didn't take much aim to hit it.
The unending storm of Air Slash blades surged forward, crashing into the dark aura.
Gradually, the black shroud began to lose its luster.
When it reached the midpoint between the two Pokémon, its color had already faded into a dull brown.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, no matter how hard Honchkrow tried, its Dark Pulse could no longer hold back the torrent of Air Slash attacks.
As time passed, the aura itself began to quiver.
"It can't hold anymore," Shizuo realized immediately.
Both he and Honchkrow had seen this situation plenty of times before—they could tell what was about to happen.
Shizuo made a subtle hand signal.
Even while straining to maintain Dark Pulse, Honchkrow caught it perfectly. With seamless understanding, it subtly lowered the brim-like feathers over its eyes once more.
Silas didn't notice the tiny gesture between Shizuo and Honchkrow—his full attention was locked on the clashing attacks in midair.
"Piiidgeot!"
But Silas wasn't the only one reacting. His Pidgeot, sharp-eyed and battle-hardened, had noticed something unusual about its opponent's movement.
Before Silas could even issue a command, the white glow on Pidgeot's wings spread across its entire body.
In the blink of an eye, its attack shifted from Air Slash to Quick Attack!
Trailing streaks of white light, Pidgeot darted backward at breakneck speed, leaving an afterimage behind.
Almost simultaneously, Honchkrow—thinking it had the upper hand—also beat its wings furiously and retreated in the same direction.
It had abandoned its effort to maintain Dark Pulse.
When the two Flying-type Pokémon mirrored each other's movements almost perfectly, Honchkrow's fierce eyes flickered with surprise but only for an instant before narrowing sharply in determination.
"Honchkrow!"
As it flew backward, Honchkrow let out a loud cry toward Pidgeot.
But few people heard it.
Because the moment Honchkrow called out, the Dark Pulse still hanging in the air suddenly exploded.
The blast was deafening—so loud that for a moment, it felt as though the entire world had gone silent.
It took several seconds for most people to realize that their hearing had been overwhelmed by the explosion's roar.
Many spectators instinctively clutched their ears, their faces twisting in pain.
Only the experienced referee—who had sensed something was wrong and a handful of spectators familiar with high-level trainer battles reacted fast enough to block their ears with special earplugs.
The commentator didn't notice at first, but after a quick warning from one of the staff members, he dove into the protected booth just in time to avoid the blast's shockwave.
It was a good thing that people in the Pokémon world had such resilient bodies—otherwise, even the residual shockwaves from a clash like this could have seriously injured many in the audience.
As the aftermath slowly faded away, Silas finally exhaled in relief.
Above him, Pidgeot shielded its large body with its wings, taking the brunt of the explosion.
"Piiidgeot!"
With a clear, high-pitched cry, Pidgeot spread its wings wide again.
Though it was scratched and breathing hard, it was still airborne and very much conscious.
On the other side, Honchkrow didn't look much better.
In fact, compared to Pidgeot—who had pulled away slightly faster—Honchkrow, the initiator of the blast, had taken even more damage.
Honchkrow had been greedy.
Based on its usual training, it should have cut off Dark Pulse's energy earlier, letting the explosion happen naturally.
But this time, it had tried to hold it a few seconds longer, hoping to inflict greater damage on Pidgeot.
Unfortunately, that brief hesitation had given Pidgeot the time it needed to detect the danger and retreat.
"Stay sharp, Honchkrow."
Shizuo immediately noticed his Pokémon's frustration.
After thinking for a moment, he understood—it was blaming itself.
He quickly reassured it with a calm voice.
It wasn't really Honchkrow's fault.
After all, Silas himself hadn't noticed the feint; it was pure instinct and experience on Pidgeot's part.
It was an unlucky misread, nothing more.
"Nice work!"
Coincidentally, on the other side, Silas was also cheering for his Pokémon.
By this point in the battle, his back was drenched in cold sweat.
If Pidgeot hadn't noticed the danger and pulled back in time, the close-range blast would definitely have left it unable to continue battling.
That's why, in a Pokémon battle, a Trainer and their Pokémon always complement each other—one cannot win without the other.
The field entered a brief period of calm.
Meanwhile, the spectators had finally recovered from their earlier fright. The once-quiet main stadium became deafeningly noisy.
"Unbelievable! I can hardly imagine this is just a round of sixteen match! If it weren't happening right before my eyes, I'd think I was watching the finals of the Indigo League Conference!"
Having returned to a safe distance, the announcer resumed his professional tone, showering praise on both Trainers and their Pokémon.
The thunderous cheers from the crowd proved just how deeply his words struck a chord.
However, on the Trainers' viewing stand, a few competitors didn't look too pleased.
Though they admitted the match was spectacular and the combatants strong, the commentator's words made it sound as if their own battles weren't worth watching.
No Trainer of equal caliber would casually admit to being weaker than another—especially not these experienced competitors or Silas himself.
Until every competitor faced off in a true full-team battle, no one could say for sure who was stronger.
Up above, the commentator—now at a distance from both Pokémon—shivered involuntarily.
He glanced up at the blazing sun, spoke into his mic again, and then took another cautious step back—further away from Pidgeot and Honchkrow.
He still didn't feel safe.
If not for his duty, he really wouldn't want to be here. This was simply too dangerous.
After all, the sky is not a battlefield made for humans.
"Pidgeot, use Twister!"
"Honchkrow, Aerial Ace! Get in close!"
The two Trainers shouted at the same time, their commands cutting through the commentator's nervous thoughts. He immediately refocused on the field.
....
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