"Aura Sphere!"
"Water Shuriken."
In midair, the two moves clashed once again, but amidst the explosion, several shuriken escaped unscathed, flying straight toward Lucario.
This was the gap in raw power. In every direct exchange, Lucario was slightly outmatched.
If this continued, defeat was inevitable!
"LUCARIO!"
Seeing Lucario once again pushed to the edge of the arena, Mark shouted and twisted his headband; his multicolored Key Stone began to glow brightly.
"Lu..."
Lucario understood instantly and revealed the Mega Stone hidden beneath its fur.
"MEGA EVOLUTION!"
Whatever Ability it had before, Mega Lucario now possessed Adaptability, its same-type moves now doubled in power!
Seeing the growing fighting spirit in Mark's eyes, Sato couldn't help but shake his head and smile.
"This is the backup plan you were hiding, Lucario's Mega Evolution?"
"Heh~ That's not all! Just watch!" Mark laughed confidently and gave the next command. "Lucario, Close Combat!"
"Lu… CAAAA!"
Mega Lucario let out a fierce roar, then dashed forward, appearing in front of Greninja in an instant.
Elbows, kicks, headbutts, bites… every part of its body that could be used to attack was unleashed, battering Greninja with a ferocious onslaught.
"Gren." 'Hn.'
Despite the assault, Greninja's eyes remained calm and composed, dodging every attack with uncanny, almost supernatural agility, barely evading each one.
Even a powerful move like Close Combat couldn't land a hit. Lucario was completely outmaneuvered, left reeling by Greninja's incredible Hak… cough… evasiveness!
Keep in mind, Greninja could dance circles around Pokémon like Floatzel and Starmie in the crushing pressure of the deep sea.
Let alone now!
With its Ability Protean activated, Greninja had shifted to pure Water type, rendering it immune to Fighting-type advantages.
So the true close-quarters battle had only just begun!
In the next instant, Greninja was already swinging a Golden Water Shuriken down hard toward Lucario.
Lucario, unwilling to back down, fought with every inch of its body, like a wild, rabid wolf with nothing to lose!
Greninja dodged swiftly, but every time it found an opening, it landed significant damage on Lucario.
At this moment, both Sato and Mark remained silent, quietly encouraging their partners on in their hearts.
Three minutes passed…
Both Lucario and Greninja had taken some minor damage from glancing hits.
Five minutes in…
Lucario took a direct hit to its left shoulder from Greninja's Aerial Ace. The injury was serious!
Seven minutes in…
Lucario, gritting its teeth, bit into Greninja's left hand, disabling it temporarily.
Ten minutes in…
Lucario, swaying and exhausted, stood before Greninja and threw a weak punch.
Greninja didn't dodge -took it head-on- and immediately followed up with a Water Shuriken, finishing Lucario off completely.
Such resilience…
It was terrifying!
At this point, Mark had only two Pokémon remaining, while Sato still had five, including Greninja.
Without delay, Sato recalled Greninja after its back-to-back victories and sent out a fully energized Tyranitar, silently waiting for Mark to choose his next Pokémon.
As Tyranitar casually stirred up a sandstorm, Mark hesitated for a moment… then finally sent out Reuniclus!
A pure Psychic-type like Reuniclus looked utterly weak, helpless, and innocent before a Rock/Dark-type like Tyranitar.
But anyone who knew Mark even a little would recall, after he risked his life to catch his sixth Pokémon, Togepi, years had passed without him ever falling ill or suffering a single accident, no matter how dangerous the missions were.
Likewise, Mark never caught another Pokémon again, instead pouring all his resources into nurturing just those six.
Perhaps because of this, all six Pokémon responded to Mark's expectations with complete devotion, breaking through their limits, soaring forward, and ultimately helping Mark attain his Elite Four title.
…But the drawbacks were obvious too: limited endurance, and easily countered.
Type disadvantages were nothing new for Mark.
And now, of his remaining two Pokémon, both Reuniclus and Togekiss were completely countered by Tyranitar.
Clearly, Mark was saving Togekiss as his final ace.
As for Reuniclus, he had likely sent it out now just to wear down Tyranitar's stamina as much as possible.
Soon, Mark's strategy confirmed Sato's suspicions.
The moment the battle began, Mark had Reuniclus fire off repeated Energy Balls, trying to deal damage to Tyranitar.
But when Tyranitar launched a fierce assault, all defense was abandoned. It didn't take long before Reuniclus was heavily wounded.
And just as Mark shouted the move "Endeavor," Sato, anticipating it, had already ordered Tyranitar to use Substitute.
Endeavor was clearly a desperate, all-or-nothing tactic.
Unfortunately, it was blocked by Substitute…
Tyranitar immediately followed up with Rock Slide, finishing off the weakened Reuniclus.
Now, only one Pokémon stood between Sato and the regional Champion title.
And without a doubt, this final Pokémon was the one that best embodied Mark's ability...
Serene Grace Togekiss!
Amid the raging sandstorm, the graceful and beloved Togekiss slowly took the field.
It ignored the Champion pressure emanating from Tyranitar and instead floated to Mark's side first, acting all spoiled before flapping its wings and taking to the sky.
Tyranitar stood silently on the ground, watching without interrupting.
It had swatted down too many flying foes to ever be concerned about an enemy's flight.
So long as it stood on solid ground… it was the sovereign of this battlefield!
Stone Edge!
Extreme Speed!
The two Pokémon moved in sync at the exact same moment.
With a wave of Tyranitar's arm, a flurry of sharp stones filled the sky, leaving the opponent no escape.
But Togekiss didn't flinch. As Extreme Speed kicked in, its speed exceeded Tyranitar's reaction time in a flash.
A white blur remained in the sky, but Togekiss had already zipped directly above Tyranitar's head.
Tri Attack!
Only when Togekiss finished charging and launched its Tri Attack downward did Tyranitar finally spot it.
"Defend."
At that critical moment, Sato only had time to give that brief command.
But in that short instant, all Tyranitar could manage was to concentrate the surrounding stones above its head.
The next moment, Tri Attack struck; its icy, fiery, and electric blasts shattered the makeshift stone shield and hit Tyranitar directly.
Sato's heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling.
"Tyran…"
Tyranitar forcibly endured the Tri Attack, its tough armor keeping it from taking serious damage.
Slightly dismissive, Tyranitar raised its hand to strike back.
But in the very next instant, arcs of electricity and tongues of flame burst out, interrupting Tyranitar's counterattack.
"Knew it..."
Sato's brow furrowed. His premonition had come true.
A single Tri Attack had inflicted both Paralysis and Burn on Tyranitar simultaneously.