The moment Aegislash unsheathed itself, its offensive power surged with frightening intensity.
Though its tier was only Lord High Level, in terms of sheer destructive force, it was already comparable to a Lord Peak Level Pokémon.
And more than that—
Yozora's Aegislash possessed the Huge Power ability, further amplifying its already overwhelming strength, surpassing even the limits of the Lord tier.
Swampert was forced back again and again, its massive feet gouging deep furrows into the ground as it barely managed to withstand a single Sacred Sword. Gasping heavily, the Water-and-Ground-type was already in terrible shape.
"As expected of Aegislash…" Hayate muttered, his expression solemn.
Aegislash was extremely rare, yet its reputation in the upper echelons of battling was legendary—and for one reason only: it was too strong.
As a seasoned Gold Trainer, Hayate had, of course, heard of its fearsome name.
Swampert was considered nearly perfect in terms of typing, but Aegislash… it was the embodiment of balance, offense and defense in one. A truly flawless Pokémon.
Of course, its one drawback was its lack of speed.
But Yozora's Aegislash, unexpectedly, possessed exceptional swiftness. That was what made it terrifying.
"Hydro Pump!" The moment Swampert steadied itself, Hayate barked the order to counterattack.
"BOOM!"
A colossal surge of pressurized water blasted from Swampert's maw, roaring straight toward Aegislash.
Yet with a single shift of its blade-like body, Aegislash slipped past effortlessly.
"As I thought… this Aegislash is different. Its speed is unbelievable."
Hayate's face tightened. If Aegislash could overcome its only weakness, then it would become… perfect. Nearly invincible.
No matter how he looked, there wasn't a single flaw to exploit.
"Swampert, fire Hydro Pump in succession! Keep it moving!" Hayate ordered again.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
Water cannons erupted one after another, crashing toward Aegislash.
At Lord Peak Level, Swampert was strong enough to unleash Hydro Pump repeatedly.
But no matter how many blasts rained down, not one struck Aegislash.
Disrupt its rhythm?
Impossible. Aegislash danced through the storm, smooth and unflinching, leaving no opening.
"Perfect! Its speed and movement are flawless! Swampert can't even touch it!" the announcer shouted, firing up the crowd.
The entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.
"This Aegislash is another trump card… It seems Yozora's true strength is far greater than just that Charizard of his," Ryūnan murmured gravely from outside the arena.
He had long regarded Yozora as his greatest rival. The stronger Yozora became, the more Ryūnan's wariness grew.
Elsewhere—
Red leaned against a tall structure, quietly watching the match. As he observed Aegislash's performance, his expression carried admiration, not caution or fear.
A mere Lord-tier…
For him, it wasn't even a threat.
"Rooaar!"
Hydro Pump after Hydro Pump went wide, draining Swampert's stamina with each failed attempt. Soon its breathing turned ragged and heavy.
Ordinary moves had less power, but consumed less stamina.Powerful moves hit hard, but they burned through energy fast.
This wasn't some simulation game—here, stamina mattered.
Using big moves to deal decisive damage was fine, but if they all missed, the toll on the user itself was devastating.
Already gravely wounded by Aegislash's earlier Sacred Sword, Swampert now teetered at its limit from sheer exhaustion.
"Swampert…"
Hayate's eyes widened at its frail appearance.
The match hadn't even lasted a full minute, and his once-fearsome Swampert was reduced to this? Could this truly be the same warrior he had trained?
"That kid… he's far too strong…"
With Swampert weakened beyond recovery, Hayate knew he was cornered. All he could do was stare at Yozora in disbelief.
And then—Aegislash swung once more. Another flawless Sacred Sword, cutting clean through the last of Swampert's defenses, finishing the battle.
"Swampert is unable to battle! Aegislash is the winner!" The referee blew the whistle, declaring the result.
"DING!" The scoreboard refreshed.
The red lights representing Hayate's three Pokémon—Trapinch, Mightyena, and Swampert—went dark.
Hayate was defeated.
His image on the board faded, leaving only Yozora and Aegislash's portraits blazing triumphantly across the screen.
Yozora's victory was absolute.
"Congratulations to Yozora, advancing to the Top 16!" the announcer bellowed.
"WHAAA!"
The crowd roared, a wave of approval for Yozora's performance.
The battle over, Yozora and Hayate exited the field.
Meanwhile, the first round of the official Quartz League matches continued.
Ryūnan stood up, striding toward the rest area. That Totem Trapinch—he was determined to claim it.
By 8 PM, the first round concluded, and the Top 16 had emerged.
The next stage, the Round of 16, would be full 6-on-6 battles.
Every trainer left standing was formidable. Aside from a few who got lucky, they were at least Gold Trainers—and some were even stronger, true first-class trainers.
That evening, Yozora stayed at the same hotel as Ash and his friends.
Yozora shared a room with Ash and Brock, while Misty had her own room.
Sitting at the computer, Brock quickly pulled up Yozora's opponent for tomorrow—a tall young man named Leiming.
"Leiming, from Johto. Twenty-four years old. He's traveled across multiple regions. His highest achievement: reaching the quarterfinals at Johto's Silver Conference."
As Brock read the information, his expression grew grim.
Quarterfinalist of the Silver Conference!
Of course, each region's League Conference varied in difficulty…
But anyone who could reach the Top 8 was unquestionably powerful.
Such a feat meant Leiming was very likely on par with a first-class trainer.
"His main Pokémon are Ampharos, Typhlosion, and… Tyranitar!" Brock continued, reporting what he found.
Ash blinked in confusion, completely lost.
At this point, Ash was still just a rookie, barely a week into his Kanto journey. As for Pokémon from other regions—his knowledge was a blank slate.
Yozora, however, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Ampharos, Typhlosion, and Tyranitar—without doubt, all were immensely strong species.
Of course, even powerful species had weaker individuals. But what kind of trainer would ever choose a weak one?
Even if they couldn't catch the very strongest, trainers always sought out solid specimens.
Meaning, if a trainer commanded such species, they were guaranteed to be strong individually as well.
Especially Tyranitar—a true pseudo-legendary Pokémon, already fully evolved. Its battle power and destructive force would be immense.
(End of Chapter)