Staring up at the sky, split cleanly in two—Lie Ke and Thundurus both gaped, eyes wide.
Lie Ke especially.
It was his first time using a Legendary Pokémon in battle, and he'd always carried a kind of worshipful awe toward their power.
And when he saw the omen Thundurus created by gathering storm clouds, he'd been absolutely certain victory was already in his grasp.
What he never imagined—was that the power he revered as mighty could be toyed with like a child's plaything in someone else's hand.
His arrogance had only just reared its head—and it was snuffed out, mercilessly, in an instant.
And if Lie Ke, who didn't truly understand Legendary power, was shaken this badly—then Thundurus, the one who'd gathered those clouds itself, could feel even more clearly just how terrifying their opponent was.
To condense a storm that dense, Thundurus had relied on days of gradual buildup.
And besides—the formation of those clouds was tied to it, one way or another.
So controlling them was easier for Thundurus than it would be for anyone else.
Yet even for Thundurus—shearing that concentrated storm mass in half was utterly impossible.
But—while man and Pokémon stood stunned, the tear in the sky continued to widen, ripping farther and farther.
Until—a long-missed thread of sunlight pierced the clouds, and warm radiance fell upon the earth again.
"Beedrill—let it all out!"
With Mewtwo having completely severed the storm clouds from Thundurus's control, Guo Yi decisively ordered Beedrill to strike.
After all, once Thundurus was dealt with—they still had Kyurem, that monster, to face.
"BZZZ!"
Beedrill nodded to Guo Yi.
The next second, its insect wings trembled—a brief sonic boom snapped through the air, and a dazzling crimson X flashed into existence right in front of Thundurus.
X-SCISSOR
Beedrill's signature move.
With Adaptability plus the Fell Stinger boost—this X-Scissor's power was terrifying.
Thundurus instinctively snapped out of its shock and countered.
In Therian Forme, its tail flared with a metallic sheen, glittering under the sun.
With a practiced sweep—X-Scissor and Iron Tail crashed together.
Hrm—
A pure clash of physical strikes didn't have the grand spectacle of energy collisions, but the intermittent, air-bursting cracks were enough to prove how monstrous their strength truly was.
"BZZZ!"
"ROAR!"
The two Pokémon's roars echoed across the sky.
In only a few seconds,
Beedrill and Thundurus exchanged blows several times.
"Beedrill—[DOUBLE TEAM]."
At this point, the two battling Pokémon were nothing but afterimages in both men's eyes.
Guo Yi could still follow their rhythm thanks to Aura.
But Lie Ke could only place all his hopes on Thundurus.
And the drawback was painfully clear—this wasn't a Pokémon he'd raised and trained step by step.
Trainer and Pokémon had no coordination at all.
At Guo Yi's command, Beedrill's twin lances burst with power.
Riding that burst, Beedrill broke away from the tangle for a moment.
Compared to the exhilarating thrill of raw brawling, what Beedrill truly wanted was the joy of defeating a powerful enemy together with its Trainer.
Win or lose?
That wasn't what mattered.
What mattered was the battle itself—shared with its Trainer.
"BZZZ!"
Beedrill's form turned hazy.
In the blink of an eye—the sky was packed with Beedrill's figures, so dense it was almost suffocating.
Thundurus lifted both hands, mimicking Beedrill's motions like a mirror.
ROLE PLAY
A Psychic-type move.
[Role Play]: Mimics the opponent, changing the user's Ability to match the target's.
With Role Play in effect, Thundurus's Ability shifted from Volt Absorb to Adaptability.
Earlier, with storm clouds assisting, Volt Absorb gave Thundurus even greater benefits.
But now—with the clouds driven off by Mewtwo, Volt Absorb had become a bit useless.
After all, the only Electric-type move Beedrill knew was Electroweb.
And against an expert Electric user like Thundurus, Beedrill wasn't going to stupidly attack with its weakness against the enemy's strength.
So even if Thundurus didn't know what Ability Mega Beedrill had, the Ability gained from Role Play couldn't be worse than Volt Absorb, right?
This time, Thundurus decided to gamble.
And the facts proved it right.
Once its Ability became Adaptability, Thundurus immediately felt its control over Electric- and Flying-type energy sharpen.
The same output now delivered far greater damage.
Without overthinking it, facing the sky full of insect shadows, Thundurus raised its right hand.
Visible arcs of electricity danced in its palm, surging outward in torrents.
In a single breath—a vast Electroweb dropped from above, blotting out the sky.
By the look of it, it meant to net every Beedrill—real or fake—and wipe them all out at once.
As the web tightened, one Double Team after another shattered.
Facing that, Beedrill had only two choices.
One: rely on its excellent Speed to retreat, slipping out of the Electroweb's enclosure.
But that would be the same as admitting Beedrill was weaker.
And that was not what Beedrill or Guo Yi wanted to see, so they chose the second option without hesitation.
"Beedrill—[FURY CUTTER]!"
"Rip it apart!"
Sensing Guo Yi's will, Beedrill charged the web without fear.
Its long lances, wrapped in teal Bug-type energy, stabbed straight into the net.
Once, twice, three times…
As Fury Cutter continued, its power climbed higher and higher.
Again and again—
Rip!
It was as if the sky itself made a tearing sound.
The Electroweb broke apart into countless arcs that scattered through midair—then dissipated into nothing.
Beedrill lifted its twin knightly lances and surged forward, charging straight at Thundurus.
A fully stacked Fury Cutter couldn't be wasted like this!
Clang—clang—clang!
Like blades striking steel, sharp ringing sounds burst through the air.
With Adaptability as well, Thundurus's Electric-type moves were strengthened to an unprecedented level.
Thunderbolt, Thunder, Thunder Punch—Electric-type moves flowed from it as easily as breathing.
Even without storm cloud support, Thundurus's Thunder accuracy was still terrifying.
More than once, it almost nailed Beedrill.
But—after Mega Evolution, Beedrill's Speed was peerless.
Every time, it slipped past the strike by a hair.
Like that, back and forth, they fought for nearly fifteen minutes.
Thundurus held a slight upper hand.
After all, it was a Legendary Pokémon—its stamina wasn't something a Bug-type like Beedrill could match.
And with the typing disadvantage on top—taking the lead after a fierce clash was perfectly normal.
Yet even so, Lie Ke showed not the slightest joy.
Because... Mewtwo floated beside Guo Yi.
Lie Ke knew it: Guo Yi was only using Thundurus as a sparring partner for Beedrill.
The outcome had been decided from the start.
Sparring… wait—
A bizarre thought flashed through Lie Ke's head.
That Beedrill… wasn't it supposed to be Guo Yi's teacher's Pokémon?
Then what was the point of sparring?
If it wasn't your Pokémon, why train it?
Wouldn't it be cleaner to just end the fight right away?
"Unless…"
Lie Ke's pupils shrank as if he'd seized the truth.
"Unless… this Beedrill is Guo Yi's own Pokémon?"
The idea sounded absurd.
But the more he thought, the more it fit.
If this Beedrill truly belonged to Guo Yi's so-called teacher, then right now—Guo Yi should only be able to watch, just like Lie Ke.
How could he be issuing precise commands?
And judging by the coordination between Guo Yi and Beedrill, it didn't resemble someone commanding another person's Pokémon at all.
To put it bluntly—even Lie Ke and his own Charizard probably didn't have the kind of tacit understanding Guo Yi and Beedrill displayed.
"Could it be true? Is this Beedrill really Guo Yi's, and that mysterious Bug-type master… has been Guo Yi all along?"
In that instant, Lie Ke felt the world spin.
If it was all true—then what had everything he'd done been?
A clown's act?
For a moment, Lie Ke fell into spiraling self-questioning.
"It's about time. Let's end this."
Guo Yi glanced at Beedrill, its breathing turning slightly ragged, and quietly took out a new Z-Crystal, setting it onto his Z-Ring.
This Z-Crystal was his other Buginium Z.
Now he would finish this fight with one last blow, putting a clean full stop on the battle.
"Beedrill!"
Guo Yi raised his right hand high. Surging Bug-type energy poured from the Z-Crystal and flooded into Beedrill.
"It ends here!"
"[Z-MOVE: SAVAGE SPIN-OUT]!"
As his shout rang across the sky, Beedrill's right lance began absorbing the Bug-type energy saturating the air.
The next second—it looked like the lance of a charging Roman knight, returned to the world.
Beedrill dove from above, carrying the weight of a mountain as it launched its final charge at Thundurus.
Thundurus unleashed lightning again and again, trying to stop the dive.
But it was all futile.
How could a single Thundurus stop the power of Trainer and Pokémon bursting forth together?
BOOOOOOOOM!
Like a meteor slamming into the earth—Thundurus was smashed bodily into the cliff face, forced straight out of Therian Forme and back into its original shape.