"Dragonite!" Lance's voice was hoarse, every word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "Use Thunder!"
He wanted to use his strongest power, in the most irrefutable manner, to blast the kid who had been toying with him, along with that damn Gyarados of his, into smithereens!
Sensing its master's fury, Dragonite gathered golden electric light around its body once more, more violent and surging than any time before! The rain was vaporized by the electric arcs, emitting a "sizzling" sound.
However, just as that world-destroying energy was about to erupt, all the electric light "popped" and suddenly extinguished like a candle in the wind.
The Electric-type energy, after continuous high-intensity releases, had finally run dry!
Dragonite let out a low, unwilling roar; the electricity within its body had been completely drained.
The entire venue was first deathly silent, then erupted into a chaotic uproar like a landslide or tsunami!
"What's going on?!"
"Can't it use Thunder anymore?!"
Lance's pupils shrank violently. The rage on his face didn't subside; instead, it burned even brighter, a sense of humiliation from being betrayed by fate rushing to his head.
Tactical error? Being toyed with? Now even his Pokémon's power had betrayed him at the critical moment!
"Good, very good!" He laughed in extreme anger, his face even somewhat twisted, "If that's the case, then use your claws! Use your teeth! Go up there and tear it to shreds!"
"Agility! Dragon Claw!"
The moment the order was given, Dragonite's bulky body turned into an orange afterimage, breaking through the curtain of rain at a terrifying speed completely inconsistent with its size, appearing right before Mega Gyarados!
The sharp Dragon Claw flashed with a ghastly white light, carrying endless fury as it aimed straight for Gyarados's neck!
Everyone held their breath. In their view, the exhausted Mega Gyarados had no chance of surviving this vengeful strike from the enraged Dragonite.
However, at this critical juncture, Ariel, who had been silent all along, slowly curled his lips. That smile seemed exceptionally glaring under the rain-filled sky.
He had won! From the moment Lance chose to stall for time, he had already won!
The so-called twenty-minute Mega Evolution time limit was nothing more than a smokescreen he had deliberately released.
The real killer move was exploiting Lance's arrogance and anger, inducing him to continuously use high-consumption moves like "Thunder."
Gyarados's defeat was a part of the plan, a necessary sacrifice.
As long as he could make the opponent use all their stat-boosting moves, the battle would be in Ariel's favor!
"Snap!" The sound of Dragon Claw tearing through flesh was clearly audible.
Mega Gyarados let out a painful cry. Under Dragonite's heavy blow, its massive body could no longer hold on. The light on its body faded, reverting to its normal form, and it slammed heavily into the puddle at its feet, splashing large amounts of murky water and completely losing the ability to battle.
The whole venue was dead silent. Lance had won this exchange, but the expression on his face was even uglier than if he had lost.
He stared fixedly at Ariel, as if trying to see even a sliver of frustration or unwillingness on that calm face. But there was none.
Ariel just silently took out a Poké Ball, a red beam shot out, and he recalled the dying Gyarados from the puddle. His movements were very light and gentle, as if he were soothing a weary hero returning from battle.
"You worked hard, come back and get some good rest." He said in a low voice, then looked up, his gaze calmly meeting Lance's eyes that were practically spitting fire.
Immediately after, he took out the next Poké Ball. "Go, Malamar!"
With a flash of red light, a strangely formed Pokémon appeared on the field. It was upside down, its tentacles stretching out, and its pair of eyes glimmered with an unfathomable light in the rain, as if it could see through people's hearts.
At this moment, the torrential rain continued. This was originally a guaranteed-victory domain Lance had created for himself.
Dragonite, although it had been fighting for so long, was still in decent condition. Most importantly, his Dragonite now had undergone double stat-boosting!
"Ariel, today I will tear your confidence to shreds! Let you see my fury!" Lance's voice carried through the microphone across the venue, bearing the unquestionable pressure of a Dragon-type Elite Four Member.
"My Dragonite has now been boosted by Dragon Dance and Agility, Dragonite! Take him down..."
His words were full of the certainty of victory, every word like a heavy hammer smashing toward Ariel. Behind him, Dragonite let out a high-pitched draconic roar, its body surrounded by afterimages left by its increased speed, overflowing with a sense of power, as if it could tear everything to shreds in the next second.
However, that decisive attack command got stuck in Lance's throat. He suddenly stopped. The indomitable momentum on the field also came to an abrupt halt at this instant.
Lance's pupils shrank violently; he was no fool.
On the contrary, his battle intuition was terrifyingly sharp. Anger might make him impulsive, but it wouldn't make him completely lose the ability to think. Why?
Why did the opponent have no hint of frustration after Gyarados lost the ability to battle? Why had he been stalling from the beginning to the end?
Just because of that Malamar?
Question after question exploded in his mind like lightning. A terrifying tactical possibility, one that would bury all his advantages, emerged in his heart.
The flames of anger were doused from head to toe by a basin of ice water, leaving only a bone-chilling cold.
He realized it.
He had been tricked!
From the moment Ariel chose to have Mega Gyarados tank the hits, this had been a trap.
A trap targeting him, his personality, his pride!
Ariel was certain that he would exhaust all his stat-boosting moves to deal with his Mega Gyarados!
Ariel stood there calmly the whole time, rain dampening his bangs, water droplets sliding down his cheeks, yet his eyes were startlingly clear.
In the incredulous gaze of the entire audience, including Lance himself, Ariel slowly raised his hand, parted his lips, and spat out two words. The voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like a final verdict.
"Topsy-Turvy!" Malamar's peculiar pair of eyes lit up with an eerie glow, and an invisible, reality-warping wave instantly spread out, precisely enveloping Dragonite!
Hum—! The stat-boosting aura around Dragonite that represented speed and power underwent an eerie reversal in an instant.
The originally bright, scorching buff effects, as if splashed with ink, quickly became dim and murky, finally turning into strands of visible black aura that pressed heavily onto Dragonite.
The attack and speed boosts brought by Dragon Dance, and the extreme speed increase brought by Agility, all turned into negative effects of the same magnitude in the face of the unreasonable move "Topsy-Turvy"!
Dragonite let out a painful cry; it felt as if several mountains had been pressed onto its body. Its originally agile body became incomparably heavy, and even flapping its wings became exceptionally strenuous.
***************************
Enjoying the story? Don't forget to drop a review, leave a comment, and smash that like button! Every Power Stone helps push the story further—thanks for reading and supporting! 🚀