Spiritomb's defeat caught Mark completely off guard. He had thought Zoroark was bound to lose. Only to get turned around and one-shotted instead!
Now that was awkward…
After recalling Spiritomb, Mark hesitated for a moment as he looked at Zoroark, who, despite being loaded with status conditions, just refused to go down. Then he sent out the most reliable choice left in his lineup…
"Phiphi~"
A soft and cute cry echoed as Phione gently floated onto the field, its tiny and cute body still looking like it hadn't grown up yet.
But this seemingly harmless little cutie was actually the devolved form of the true Prince of the Sea, Manaphy, and had already reached High Elite Four level.
'A Mythical Pokémon is a Mythical Pokémon. Even stripped of its Domain, it still possesses terrifying potential.'
Sato quietly marveled, then gave the order without hesitation for Zoroark to strike.
"U-turn."
"Zoro!"
Wrapped in a yellow-green energy streak, Zoroark slammed into Phione like a bolt of Thubder, then instantly rebounded back into its Poké Ball.
"P-Phiphi! Phi~Ne!"
Phione was knocked back several meters. Water began to swirl around its body with Aqua Ring, helping it recover. At the same time, it scolded Sato fiercely!
Accusing Zoroark of using cheap tricks and not playing fair…
Sato: "..."
"…Greninja, you're up."
A flash of red light. Arms folded, cool and fierce, Greninja stepped onto the battlefield!
Cool… vs. Cute~
This was destined to be a feast for the eyes!
And the moment Greninja sensed the pure Water-type energy radiating from Phione, the fighting spirit ignited instantly.
While training under Lugia, Greninja had defeated nearly every type of Water-type Pokémon.
But there were still a few species even Lugia couldn't organize for Greninja to face.
Among them, Manaphy and the Phione lineage.
So, Greninja lit up!
"Surf!"
"Water Shuriken."
Their commands rang out in perfect sync.
Despite its small size, Phione unleashed a massive surge of energy and raised a gigantic wave that covered most of the battlefield.
Seeing this, Greninja grew even more exhilarated. Crossing its arms, it formed two gleaming blue Water Shuriken that spun fiercely as they launched.
SHHH~ SHHH~
The sound of tearing echoed as, to everyone's shock, the massive wave was cleaved into four parts by the Water Shuriken. Collapsing instantly, stripped of all its overwhelming force.
Phione was stunned. The attack it had full confidence in had been crushed so easily and dominantly…
Before it could even react, Greninja was already stepping across the remnants of the wave, rapidly closing the distance.
'Hn.'
Water Shuriken.
Once again, two glowing shuriken formed, but this time, Greninja wielded them in melee combat.
In the blink of an eye, Greninja slashed Phione with them repeatedly, leaving a series of deep wounds across its body.
With its short limbs, Phione stood no chance in close-quarters combat.
"PHIONE, HANG IN THERE! Use Charm, Acid Armor, Supersonic!"
Mark couldn't bear to watch any longer and shouted loudly, activating his ability once again to empower Phione mid-battle.
Phione was getting thrashed miserably, but somewhere in the ether, it felt a strange force pulling it away from pain.
Its eyes welled up, and it looked at Greninja with teary eyes…
Pitiful to the extreme!
It was as if Phione were saying, 'I'm so cute, oniisama… how could you bear to keep hitting me!?'
Greninja, who had fought countless battles, was usually "cold-hearted as stone." But for some reason, it actually did feel Phione was just a tiny bit… adorable!
Damn it!
The next second, the cute little Phione began to melt away like water, slipping past Greninja's feet.
Greninja instinctively tried to scoop it up…
Smack!
It smacked its own impulsive hand hard. Just as Greninja was about to refocus on finding its opponent, an unbearably irritating sound burrowed straight into its mind.
Supersonic!
Three consecutive moves had disrupted Greninja's attack rhythm completely, and now it was at risk of being reverse-controlled!
"Mind Reader."
At the crucial moment, Sato didn't hesitate to infuse his Dark Energy; just a little was enough to help Greninja resist the negative effects of Supersonic.
With Sato's support, Greninja calmed down. It slowly closed its eyes, while its mind's eye opened wide.
Under Mind Reader, the melted Phione had nowhere to hide. Greninja could "see" it clearly!
Golden Water Shuriken!
Greninja pressed its palms together, then swiftly drew them apart. A giant golden shuriken spun into existence.
Deliberately turning its back on the water-melted Phione, Greninja waited until the charge was complete, then spun sharply around and hurled the Golden Water Shuriken with all its might!
SWOOOOOOSH~!
A flash of golden light split the water in two, exposing the hiding Phione, which was then slashed brutally out into the open, crying out in agony.
'HN.'
Greninja slowly turned back, arms crossed, staring forward… just as cool and composed as when it first appeared.
Behind it, Phione lay silently in a muddy puddle, eyes swirling. There was no trace of the cute and noble Prince of the Sea.
Sato looked at the fallen Phione, feeling little emotion.
Against Greninja's absolute strength, Phione's ordinary High Elite Four level might felt utterly powerless.
No disgusting tricks like Spiritomb. No clever feints like Arbok.
The only trouble Phione had caused Greninja came from Mark's ability.
A red light flashed. Mark wordlessly recalled Phione.
Facing the overwhelming presence of Greninja, Mark had few options. He directly sent out Lucario.
Steel/Fighting-type Lucario did have a type advantage.
However…
"Lucario, Power-Up Punch!"
"Luca!"
Just as dashing as Greninja, Lucario leapt into action immediately.
With a kick to boost momentum, it arrived in front of Greninja almost instantly; both fists glowing with orange-red energy, slamming straight forward.
No command was needed, Greninja had already made the right call.
It had beaten many Pokémon who used Power-Up Punch before. It knew the move relied on repeated hits to stack its power.
So for the first time, it didn't choose Water Shuriken, instead, it tossed a simple Rasen… water orb…
[Water Pulse: Burst]!
Water Pulse exploded between the two Pokémon, the massive wave instantly widening the distance between them, causing Lucario's Power-Up Punch to fail.
But Lucario wasn't slow to react. As it was forced back, it countered with an Aura Sphere, guided like a homing missile as it chased Greninja down.
Greninja didn't flinch. With a flick of its hand, it threw a Water Shuriken that intercepted the Aura Sphere mid-air.
The two locked eyes…
Both could see the fierce battle spirit burning within each other!