["Wobbuffet has lost the ability to battle. Honchkrow wins. Elite Four Trainer Will, please send out your next Pokémon!"]
With the referee's loud announcement, the chaotic match between Wobbuffet and Honchkrow finally came to an end.
Two flashes of red light. Both Honchkrow and Wobbuffet were recalled into their Poké Balls at the same time.
Sato didn't care to exploit the slight advantage of switching Pokémon afterward. After all, Will had been countered far too hard.
Whichever one he sent out… didn't matter much.
Sure enough, Will then sent out Girafarig and his strongest Pokémon, Espeon.
But neither of them lasted more than three rounds against Tyranitar. Their losses were absolutely crushing.
A dignified Elite Four like Will being completely swept!
…Was almost hard to believe.
But realizing that every Champion had to go through this exact gauntlet, many began to reassess the true strength of a regional Champion, and just how vast that gap was from regular Trainers.
Will left in silence. Neither side said much.
At that point, any attempt to comfort him would have been unnecessary. Better to let him step down early and recover on his own.
---◓---
Soon, another figure appeared in the challenger tunnel. Elite Four Sen walked out with a warm smile, as if he wasn't here to battle at all.
Only after the applause from the crowd died down did Sen look over at Sato and sigh.
"You young folks charge ahead so quickly, sigh… I'm not even that old! Why does it feel like I'm already being left behind?"
Sen wore a face full of emotion, practically spelling out "I don't want to battle" on his forehead.
"You're definitely still young, Sen. We're just a bit too impatient," Sato replied with a smile.
As fellow Elite Four, the two had worked together many times over the years. Their relationship was quite friendly, and their conversation came naturally.
"Heh~ Impatient? …I've been trying to be impatient for years and just never managed to pull it off," Sen muttered, but he didn't want to make things awkward for Sato. He gestured directly to the referee to start the match.
A flash of red light!
Meganium and Hydreigon appeared on the battlefield simultaneously.
Still the same matchup when battling Sen, Meganium as the lead. But unlike the Elite Four Tournament, this… Champion Hydreigon was far stronger than its partner Weavile.
The sunlight had grown much harsher at some point. Three years ago, Meganium still needed to actively use Sunny Day. But now, it could passively influence the weather on its own, avoiding a passive start.
And next came…
"Solar Beam!"
Biu!
Under a bright sun, Solar Beam required no charge. Meganium unleashed the move instantly, blasting it toward Hydreigon.
On the other side, faced with the instant Solar Beam, Hydreigon remained eerily calm.
Its three heads swayed irregularly. With the help of its Levitate Ability, it easily dodged the attack. A purple-red glow began to rise from its body, clearly indicating a boost was in progress.
Dragon Dance!
A boosting move that Hydreigon can only learn in its final form, raising both Attack and Speed.
In some ways, it was even stronger than Swords Dance or Nasty Plot!
Biuuuuuu!
Biuuuu…!
Two more thick beams of Solar Beam blasted toward Hydreigon, but it still didn't counterattack. It kept swaying its heads, steadily increasing its stats.
After three Dragon Dances, both Attack and Speed had increased by three stages!
"Fire Fang."
Sato's command finally rang out, and all three of Hydreigon's heads stopped moving at once.
In the next second, a magma-like red glow erupted from Hydreigon's chest. Then it split into three streams flowing up through its necks and mouths, finally concentrating into three menacing Fire Fang projections at the tips of its fangs.
Not done yet!
The three Fire Fang projections merged again, forming an enormous blazing fang that engulfed more than half the battlefield!
1+1+1 was far more than just 3. It was like the difference between a single-cylinder and a three-cylinder engine!
The once-powerful Solar Beam now looked feeble, helpless, and pitiful under the fused Fire Fang.
Very quickly, Solar Beam was completely extinguished. The fused Fire Fang swallowed Meganium whole and then clamped shut.
CRRR…CRUNCHHH!
Though it was only a projection of flame-based teeth, it was as if everyone could hear the horrifying crunch.
Don't forget. Sunny Day boosts not just Solar Beam. It increases the power of Fire-type moves by 50% as well!
With just one move, Hydreigon had fully demonstrated its absolute dominance as a "pseudo-legendary Dark dragon."
Utterly overwhelming!
A red light flashed. Elite Four Sen immediately recalled the uncertain-status Meganium and signaled the referee to forfeit.
On the big screen, Meganium's icon frame turned gray, meaning that unless saved by a teammate's Healing Wish, it would be counted as eliminated.
From that perspective, Meganium had effectively been one-shot by Hydreigon, so casually that even the spectators felt-
Yeah… standard procedure, don't act impressed, stay seated.
The match continued. Learning from Meganium's downfall, Sen's second Pokémon was the Water/Grass-type Ludicolo.
The scorching sun vanished in an instant, replaced by a steady drizzle.
This Ludicolo, clearly like Meganium, had the ability to passively alter the weather.
The difference? One brought sun, the other brought rain.
Under the rain, the power of Fire Fang dropped sharply, and the flames still burning on the field were quickly extinguished.
The carefree Ludicolo gleefully started dancing in the rain.
But as Ludicolo chanted "Ludi~ Colooo~," Hydreigon actually… began to dance along, all three heads swaying rhythmically!
Teeter Dance: causes confusion in all Pokémon on the field except the user. A powerful crowd control move!
And Ludicolo -Lotad- could only learn it through inheritance, making it extremely rare.
Additionally, Elite Four Sen clearly understood Hydreigon well; he knew that single-target control moves were nearly useless.
Only something like Teeter Dance could affect Lefty, Righty, and Middy at the same time, causing short-term confusion.
"Focus Blast!"
Sen's command rang out. Ludicolo didn't stop dancing, but it had no problem gathering and firing the Focus Blast.
Its spiral projection greatly improved the hit rate, and Hydreigon, still confused, couldn't react in time.
BOOOOM!
"HYYYY!"
Focus Blast hit dead-on. The cry followed right after.
It had struck Lefty cleanly, knocking it out of confusion instantly.
Lefty, Righty, and Middy were one. When one head recovered, the other two followed in moments. The speed with which they shook off the status effect was terrifying.
"Hyper Voice."
Sato gave his next command without any change in expression.
Hydreigon's mouths flew open wide as it began howling repeatedly.
Hyper Voice had considerable power, but what truly terrified Ludicolo wasn't the damage…
It was the loss of rhythm, mano¹[1]'!
With its rhythm disrupted, the Teeter Dance collapsed, and its accuracy suffered too.
For Ludicolo… rhythm was everything!
"Dragon Rush!"
BOOM!
Ludicolo, caught off guard and out of rhythm, was blasted away, losing the ability to battle instantly…
•
¹. Mano'= Hermano= Bro, Dude, Mec, Kumpel, etc etc…
[1] Mano'= Hermano= Bro, Dude, Mec, Kumpel, etc etc…