"What… what is that!?"
Staring at the gigantic monster that had suddenly blotted out the entire sky above them, Nessa's eyes widened as she looked up in disbelief.
Even Dynamaxed, her Golisopod now looked incomparably tiny beneath that colossal being.
At this moment, the thought in Nessa's mind was no longer how she was supposed to defeat this bizarre Pokémon, but rather—
How were they even supposed to fight this!?
A Pokémon that huge could probably wipe out every single spectator in the arena with just the slightest bump!
Inside the battle domain, Nessa possessed intelligence no different from that of a normal person.
But before she could fully process what was happening, Red, standing across from her, made another move that left her utterly horrified.
"It's not over yet!"
Red's voice rang out again.
Nessa looked up, only to discover in shock that Red had struck the exact same pose she had just used—
The pose for Dynamaxing a Pokémon!
"Wait! What are you doing!?"
Nessa shouted, but as a contestant, she had no way of stopping Red's actions now.
Red, meanwhile, lowered his head and smiled mysteriously.
Since he knew what kind of world this was, he had absolutely no interest in the lives of the audience.
And more than that, he truly wanted to see just how spectacular Laboon would become if he underwent Dynamax on top of his already enormous body!
"Laboon, Dynamax!!!"
Crackle~!
Brilliant Dynamax energy suddenly erupted from Red's wrist.
Not being a traditional Trainer, he had no need to follow the standard Dynamax procedure of pouring the energy into a Poké Ball first before transferring it to Laboon.
The mysterious Dynamax energy shot straight into the sky and surged directly toward the silently waiting Laboon above.
In an instant, it felt as though the entire world trembled.
From angles that couldn't be seen within the stadium, terrifying storm clouds had already spread outward from Laboon, enveloping all of Wyndon.
And under the blessing of Dynamax energy, Laboon's body continued to expand.
In the blink of an eye, a pitch-black sky as hard and oppressive as steel appeared above everyone's heads.
"Now that's a sight."
With his extraordinary perception, Red could clearly "see" Laboon's entire form.
Unlike Mega Evolution, Dynamax didn't drastically alter a Pokémon's appearance.
Its changes were focused far more on a Pokémon's size.
And Laboon's Dynamax form exemplified that perfectly.
If the previous Laboon had already been the size of an aircraft carrier, then in his Dynamax state, he was practically a starship of the heavens!
The shadow cast by his body alone was enough to cover the entirety of Wyndon.
Even little Merry, upon seeing Laboon's Dynamax form, couldn't help opening her mouth wide in astonishment.
"I really hope the reward for clearing this stage lets me take the power of Dynamax out with me!"
"If that happens, then the next time I destroy Mary Geoise, it won't just be that worthless outer district getting hurt!"
A sharp gleam shone in Red's eyes as he murmured softly.
Ancient Weapon?
With Dynamaxed Laboon around, even one of the legendary Ancient Weapons would have to obediently make way for him!
He would show the world once and for all…
Who the true ruler of the skies was!!!
Pulling his gaze back, Red saw the sheer terror written across Nessa's face and decided not to torment this hard-won beauty who had finally awakened her self-awareness.
He gave the command directly:
"Laboon, use Hydro Pump!"
"What!?" Nessa, who had already forgotten she was in the middle of a championship match, froze.
But in the next second, what reached her ears was a thunderous roar like rolling heavenly drums.
"Aoooooooh~!"
What followed was a gigantic Hydro Pump massive enough to destroy the entire Wyndon Stadium!!!
Under normal Dynamax rules, all Pokémon moves should transform into their corresponding Max Moves.
But perhaps because even the machine thought Dynamax shouldn't be that inconvenient, Red's Pokémon could still use their regular moves after Dynamaxing.
Only now, their scale was far more spectacular than ordinary Pokémon moves!
BOOM!!!
The enormous Hydro Pump came crashing down from the heavens like a planet made entirely of liquid descending from above.
The deafening impact filled the entire arena, and the raging torrent instantly flooded the championship battlefield before surging outward in all directions like a roaring tsunami.
Poor Golisopod didn't even get the chance to let out a cry before being crushed by the horrifying waves, losing its ability to battle and sinking into the dreadful flood.
Pshhhh…
Just then, several giant drainage channels suddenly opened in the walls around the arena, and under the force of powerful pumps, the accumulated water in the finals venue was rapidly drained away.
A long while later, the drenched Nessa collapsed weakly onto the ground. A glistening strand of liquid slipped from the corner of her lips as she coughed and looked toward the culprit behind it all—Red.
Though she was a Water-type specialist, when faced with a tsunami on that level, her fragile human body was still utterly helpless.
"You bastard! Were you trying to kill me!?" Nessa snapped furiously.
The rules of Pokémon battles clearly stated that attacks on Trainers were forbidden.
But if the aftershock of an attack aimed at a Pokémon was simply too massive and accidentally harmed the Trainer, then there was nothing anyone could do about it.
"Sorry."
Faced with Nessa's accusation, Red smiled apologetically.
But wanting only to move the process along, he gestured and reminded her:
"Still, your Golisopod has already lost the ability to battle, so please send out your next Pokémon, Gym Leader Nessa."
"What did you just say!?"
The moment she heard Red's words, Nessa exploded like a startled little wildcat.
She looked up at the Dynamaxed Laboon, who had completely blocked out the sunlight overhead.
You want me to fight that thing!?
What kind of joke is that!?
"N-No… I'm not fighting anymore!"
Knowing full well that she could never defeat Red, Nessa shook her head, stood up, and suddenly raised an arm to shout at the arena:
"I forfeit!"
What!?
Nessa's abrupt surrender caught even Red off guard.
He had never expected these NPCs designed by the machine to actually forfeit mid-battle.
Wait, in that case, what about the battle experience he was supposed to get…
Just as Red was feeling uncertain, a familiar notification window suddenly popped up in his vision.
With Nessa's surrender, the machine not only awarded him the experience he would have gained from defeating her—
Because the opponent had forfeited, it even judged his command performance to be at the Godly Move level and granted him an additional bonus equal to 100% of the experience!
"Now that's more like it~"
Red smiled faintly. As he watched Nessa return to being a cold, emotionless NPC after the battle domain disappeared, he wasn't surprised in the slightest.
After the usual formulaic exchange ended, their second opponent stepped forward.
A short-haired, silver-haired capable young woman with skin only a shade lighter than Nessa's, yet still very much a stunning dark-skinned beauty—
Bea!
And just like Nessa, Bea was also one of the indispensable key figures of the Pokémon doujin scene!
Though she lacked Nessa's glamorous figure, her identity as a martial artist and her silver-gray hair made her especially beloved by a certain crowd of enthusiasts.
Of course, none of that had anything to do with Red now.
He had long since outgrown such low-level tastes.
If he wanted, who knew how many peerless beauties in the world of pirates would be eager to throw themselves into his arms?
"Merry, this time you're up!"
After withdrawing Laboon's Dynamax power, Red suddenly turned and called out to little Merry beside him.
Although Dynamaxed Laboon now possessed combat power that far surpassed mere levels and could easily sweep the entire field alone, battle experience in the arena couldn't be shared. Naturally, he couldn't let Laboon hog all the experience for himself.
"Got it~!"
Receiving the command, little Merry smiled brightly. Her figure flickered, as if stepping through some ghostly space, and she instantly appeared on the battlefield in front of Red.
Meanwhile, Laboon returned to his mini form and floated obediently behind Red, eagerly watching Merry's battle.
As expected, once Bea entered the battle domain, her proper consciousness awakened as well, and she began speaking with Red.
"This time, my Pokémon and I will definitely display a style that leaves your heart in turmoil!"
"I look forward to your guidance!"
As the fighting prodigy she was, Bea gave a textbook martial salute, then lightly leaped backward, opening up the distance between herself and Red.
Red's smile remained unchanged. "Is that so? Then I'll look forward to it a little."
Whoosh—
A flash of white light appeared, and a powerfully built Hawlucha suddenly emerged before Bea.
"Huh… a Fighting-type Hawlucha?"
"There hardly seems to be any need to fight this one at all."
Red, who had still been thinking about what Merry's Dynamax form would look like, paused for a moment.
Only then did he realize that against Bea, whose Pokémon were all Fighting-types, the ship spirit Merry barely needed to exert any effort at all to defeat her opponents.
Ghost-type Pokémon were immune to all Normal- and Fighting-type moves.
Unless a Pokémon possessed the Ability Mind's Eye, any Normal- or Fighting-type Pokémon standing before Merry was basically just a little brother.
And that was despite the fact that Merry was more than ten levels lower than the opposing Pokémon.
The facts proved that Red's judgment was correct!
And the result of the battle turned out to be even more ridiculous than he had imagined.
Aside from Bea's first Pokémon, Hawlucha, which was Fighting/Flying-type, every single Pokémon she sent out afterward was pure Fighting-type.
Even in the Pokémon world, where all sorts of monotype fanatics existed, that kind of purity was exceptional.
In the end, while those Pokémon did know a few moves of other types, in front of the elusive little Merry, all of their efforts turned into bubbles and vanished into nothingness.
Just like that, without even finding a chance to let Merry use Dynamax, Red had Merry—only Level 52—defeat Bea outright.
"Hopefully the next opponent will put up a better fight."
After thinking it over, Red didn't withdraw Merry. At the very least, he wanted her to use Dynamax once before she left the field.
And so, they quickly welcomed the third opponent of the match…
The Gym Leader of Hammerlocke Stadium, from Hammerlocke—
Raihan!
Skipping over all the unnecessary opening chatter, the battle began immediately!
Raihan was one of the rare Trainers in the Pokémon world who truly specialized in Dragon-types.
At the very least, he was far more specialized than the so-called Dragon Master Lance.
Because among his six Pokémon, five of them actually possessed the Dragon type.
Only one oddball had somehow mixed itself into the lineup and ruined the neat formation—
Torkoal.
And by sheer coincidence, Merry's first opponent was Torkoal.
"A pure Fire-type Torkoal? This one won't be as easy to deal with."
After taking a glance at the opponent, Red acted without the slightest hesitation. He pressed a finger against the Pokémon bracelet on his wrist and activated the hidden Dynamax power within it.
"Get ready, Merry!!!"
"Leave it to me!!!"
Even though the opponent's level was higher than hers, little Merry showed not the slightest trace of fear.
After all, she had followed the Straw Hat crew through thick and thin. Her combat talent might not have been extraordinary, but if she didn't even dare fight above her level, then what right did she have to call herself a member of the Straw Hat Pirates?
"Merry, Dynamax!!!"
Boom~!
The surging power of Dynamax shot out violently and poured crazily into Merry's body.
In an instant, as expected, a dark vortex formed in the sky above the arena under the influence of the Dynamax energy.
And in the blink of an eye, little Merry completed her Dynamax transformation.
A huge proud little girl with her arms folded across her chest and a confident expression suddenly appeared behind Red.
Red quickly turned around to examine her.
After Dynamaxing, little Merry still looked like a child—
Only now, she had become a giant child.
Her golden cloak fluttered through the air, paired with the mischievous smirk beneath her hood that was impossible not to notice.
Dynamaxed Merry seemed to have transformed in an instant from an adorable, well-behaved girl loved by all into a rebellious little king of the children.
The battle was about to erupt!
Though Dynamaxed Merry now possessed much more HP, her enlarged body also made her easier for the opponent to hit.
Fortunately, after Dynamaxing, the energy within Merry had also become far fuller.
And Torkoal, across from her, was a classic physical defense specialist, while Merry was a classic special attacker.
Its greatest advantage was of no use against Merry.
"Merry, use Confuse Ray!!!"
Crackle~!
A bizarre and surging Ghost-type energy instantly condensed before Merry, forming into a shining orb of eerie light that she blasted straight down toward the battlefield below in the form of a rippling beam.
"What!?"
Faced with this strange Confuse Ray for the first time, Raihan froze for a moment before quickly issuing his command as well.
"Torkoal, use Inferno!!!"
Confuse Ray was incredibly fast. Though it dealt no damage, it could send a Pokémon into confusion with perfect certainty.
So Raihan immediately had Torkoal use Inferno as well—a move that would inflict a guaranteed burn on the target.
Although using such a move against a gigantic Dynamaxed Pokémon would consume a huge amount of Torkoal's stamina,
it was still better than letting things end for no reason after falling into confusion.
At the very least, burn would deal guaranteed damage to the opponent.
(End of Chapter)