Kirlia watched the Exeggutor charge at her with heavy strides.
A powerful sense of danger surged up in an instant.
Exeggutor was still continuously using Bulldoze.
With every step,
the ground shook in response.
Those rippling vibrations transmitted through the earth under her feet,
making it impossible for Kirlia, for a moment, to quickly gather the Psychic-type energy inside her body!
"Exeggutor!! Self-Destruct!!"
The moment the distance between Exeggutor and Kirlia closed to within five meters,
Joji shouted like a madman.
That single command left everyone at the venue dumbfounded.
No one expected him to use such a desperate, insane tactic—
charging straight in to force a mutual knockout?!
A blinding white light erupted across Exeggutor's entire body.
Then—
BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion shook the arena.
The terrifying energy shockwave
instantly blasted the nearest few small rock mounds into fine powder.
A mushroom cloud rolled and churned high into the sky.
Above the entire venue,
that horrifying sound echoed without end.
The brutal blast wave surged from the battle platform into the spectator stands.
All two hundred thousand spectators
felt that heart-stopping energy impact slam into them head-on.
Damn!
That's vicious!
Kirlia didn't go down too, did she?!
At this close range, a Self-Destruct—
the destructive power was downright terrifying!
With Kirlia's frail build,
if she took it head-on, there was no way she could withstand that damage!
Joji stared at the thick smoke billowing over the platform,
a look of relief spreading across his face.
This was exactly the outcome he wanted!
If Self-Destruct traded Exeggutor for that Kirlia—
then the rest of the match would become three versus one!
The three Pokémon he had left
were the strongest three among his six!
Joji was absolutely confident
he could take down the last Pokémon Himeko would send out—Charmeleon—and seize the championship!
Lost in sweet, smug fantasies,
Joji fixed his eyes
on the dense smoke slowly dispersing across the arena.
And it wasn't just him.
Everyone in the venue
had their attention locked on that haze.
So what happened?
Did Kirlia fall?
The gray smoke from the explosion gradually thinned.
The first thing to appear
was Exeggutor's mangled, battered body.
It had collapsed on the ground.
Its breath was faint—
hovering on the brink of fainting.
But nobody's focus was on it.
The very next moment,
as the smoke parted further,
the audience could vaguely make out Kirlia's silhouette.
In an instant,
everyone held their breath tight,
eyes wide.
"Haa…"
As the smoke cleared completely,
Kirlia was breathing lightly.
KRAK!!
With a crisp cracking sound,
the huge pink barrier standing in front of her shattered into dust.
She didn't go down?!
She actually blocked it?!
At the critical moment, she had formed Reflect—
like a solid shield wall—
cutting the explosion's impact by half!
That was why Kirlia hadn't immediately collapsed from that terrifying blast!
"We're not done yet!!"
Joji froze for a split second at the sight—
then his expression twisted into something savage.
He roared the words out.
The next second,
a pink beam of energy dropped straight down from the sky, smashing toward Kirlia!
Exeggutor's Future Sight attack!!!
"Light Screen!!"
The moment Himeko spoke,
a glow lit up in Kirlia's eyes.
She thrust one hand upward!
Psychic-type energy rapidly gathered around her,
forming a thick barrier of light!
The energy beam collided with the Light Screen.
They held for a heartbeat—
then the energy dispersed, the Light Screen shattered,
and the two forces canceled each other out.
The entire venue fell silent for a split second.
Then—
cheers and applause erupted like a tidal wave, shaking the sky.
"Beautiful!"
"That Kirlia is insane!"
"That's it! Finish them!"
"You've gotta win! You have to!"
"Himeko-san! You're my superhero!"
"......."
The spectators screamed themselves hoarse.
What everyone thought would be a mutual knockout
had been forcefully overturned by Kirlia.
Himeko's side took another win,
and the crowd couldn't help but roar out their support for her.
"Alright, that's enough. Come back and rest."
Looking at the Exeggutor that had fainted,
Himeko spoke to Kirlia softly.
Even though Kirlia had weakened the damage with Reflect at the most critical moment,
she still took real damage.
A high-tier Elite-rank Exeggutor's Self-Destruct
was no joke.
Even at only half the impact,
it wasn't something a fragile Pokémon like Kirlia could truly endure.
Himeko could tell—
Kirlia's current state
was no better than Lopunny's earlier.
She was at her absolute limit.
Only a sliver of stamina remained.
Besides—
according to their planned battle strategy,
Kirlia had already completed her task perfectly.
She really could go down and rest.
"Ralu!!"
Kirlia turned her head,
looked at Himeko,
and shook her head—eyes unwavering.
Himeko pressed a hand to her forehead, instantly speechless.
Here we go again.
Why were they all so stubborn?
With no other choice,
she was about to communicate with Shiko
and have him talk some sense into her.
In this situation,
only Shiko's words would actually work.
But before she could even speak—
an orange-red figure suddenly appeared before her eyes,
standing right beside Kirlia.
"Nice work. Get some rest. Leave everything from here on to me."
That familiar, gentle voice sounded at her ear.
Kirlia turned her head
and saw who it was.
Her bright, clear eyes curved into crescents.
"Ralu!!"
She nodded,
then turned into a streak of red light and returned to her Poké Ball.
"ROAR!!"
With a single bellow,
Shiko stood on the battle platform.
In his cold, dragon-like eyes
burned boundless fighting spirit and absolute confidence.
From his body
spilled a powerful aura
that made people feel an inexplicable chill in their hearts.
Watching Shiko stand on the platform,
everyone who witnessed the scene—
after a moment of stunned silence—
broke into excitement and wild joy.
He was here!
Finally!!!
From the very first day of the tournament,
they had been waiting for this Charmeleon to finally take the stage!!
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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