"Chatot, Hyper Voice!"
Catherine wagered everything on Chatot's strongest move, but before Golurk's terrifying impact force, it appeared so insignificant…
Golurk swung both fists, slamming Chatot into the ground. Its body was already covered by a thick layer of ice.
Chatot collapsed right beneath Golurk's feet, feeling as though Golurk could crush it to death with a single step.
"…"
Catherine recalled Chatot…
At this point, the other nine people from Sinnoh had already all been defeated, while Johto's team still had seven people remaining.
Now all hope rested upon Catherine. Facing Tetsuya, Catherine no longer possessed the confidence she had before. She only had one Skarmory remaining, while Tetsuya still had two Pokémon. Just this Golurk before her already gave off an invincible aura.
It appeared!
Catherine's Skarmory, its whole body gleaming with metallic luster, and far larger than an ordinary Skarmory. After entering the battlefield, Skarmory, instead of taking to the skies, it remained grounded like Golurk. The two Pokémon stared at one another as fighting spirit steadily rose.
"Attack."
"Battle."
Just one word.
Skarmory and Golurk simultaneously took flight.
Move collisions happened one after another, dazzling the eyes, while the two Pokémon also fought lower and lower… lower and lower…
Finally, they reached a low altitude visible to the naked eye.
At this moment, everyone on the entire island was staring at the battle between these two Pokémon.
Raven and the Sinnoh Island admin could not help standing up from their seats, respectively cheering for Tetsuya and Catherine. The two of them had also become the center of attention, while the expressions of the other three became somewhat ugly. They could only awkwardly smile, absentmindedly clapping.
"Autotomize!" Catherine issued the command.
"Gravity."
At low altitude, the ability to instantly launch attacks became superior. Autotomize could increase Skarmory's Speed. Right now, even the slightest advantage could determine victory or defeat in this battle.
Just as Skarmory was preparing to rub its body, a burst of Gravity suddenly pressed down, causing its body to suddenly feel somewhat unaccustomed.
Although the suppression lasted only a little more than ten seconds, it had already prevented Skarmory from using Autotomize.
"Heavy Slam."
This was the move Golurk learned after Evolution. The method of use was somewhat similar to High Horsepower, except this was a Steel-type move. Silver-white metallic luster condensed around Golurk's body before rocket propulsion blasted it forward.
"Brave Bird!"
Catherine fixed her gaze while staring at this collision.
'Hopefully Golurk could endure it.'
Tetsuya thought. Catherine's Skarmory possessed an exceptionally sturdy body. The Brave Bird it used not only had tremendous power, but also caused no backlash damage to itself.
Of course, Tetsuya's purpose was merely to close the distance with Skarmory.
Heavy Slam ultimately was not Golurk's STAB move. Relying upon its momentum, it only managed to stalemate against Skarmory's Brave Bird for a brief moment before quickly being knocked back and slammed into the ground.
"Hold on and use Focus Punch."
Golurk under disadvantage rapidly extended both legs to stabilize its body, while Focus Punch had already fully charged.
Skarmory's Brave Bird bore down aggressively, already pursuing it..
Bang!
This strike was exactly what Tetsuya had been waiting for.
The powerful Focus Punch finally managed to withstand Skarmory, but both Pokémon's bodies had already suffered violent shockwaves, and the damage accumulated once again.
"Aerial Ace, Steel Wing!"
Catherine instantly changed tactics. The Skarmory locked in stalemate suddenly turned and flew around behind Golurk, while the metallic luster on both wings shone brilliantly.
"Shadow Punch."
Right now, using a move of another type was already too late. It could only use its STAB Shadow Punch to resist.
Skarmory's wings clashed against Golurk's fists. At this moment, it had already become a contest of perseverance.
"Flash Cannon!"
The corners of Catherine's mouth slightly rose. Skarmory's beak could still attack. The silver-white beam shot onto Golurk's face, crackling noisily.
Golurk continuously shook its head, attempting to reduce some of the damage.
At this moment, Tetsuya was also caught in a dilemma. If he wanted to avoid Flash Cannon's damage, he would have to retract Shadow Punch, but retracting Shadow Punch would inevitably result in suffering pursuit from Skarmory's Steel Wing.
Golurk let out painful cries.
Tetsuya had already prepared to recall Golurk…
Suddenly, he saw the space around Golurk's body begin to… distort!?
'…This was?'
Phantom Force!
Normally speaking, the "level" requirement for learning Phantom Force was very high. Golurk obviously had not yet reached such level…
This was the manifestation of talent and potential!
Only after learning Phantom Force could Golurk truly be considered an outstanding Ghost-type Pokémon in the real sense, because it also possessed the ability to "vanish" within dimensions.
Moreover, Phantom Force could completely ignore moves like Protect, because within dimensional space, Golurk could arrive beside you at any moment and launch a sudden attack. This move was the hardest to defend against.
At this moment, Golurk had already disappeared.
Disappeared out of thin air...
Skarmory was completely unable to understand what was happening. How had a gigantic monster silently vanished!?
"Skarmory, calm down!"
Catherine had already realized this was Golurk's Phantom Force.
The moment her words fell, Golurk suddenly appeared as Fire Punch smashed onto Skarmory's body!
Skarmory's entire body became engulfed and burned by flames, letting out painful screeches.
Booooom!
Skarmory crashed heavily onto the ground!
'S-Skarmory…!'
A slight tremor appeared in Catherine's heart. Tears almost broke free as she bit her lip, telling herself to stay strong…
Catherine recalled Skarmory, nodded toward Tetsuya, and then left.
'Sigh… this girl…'
Tetsuya looked at Catherine's retreating silhouette and had already clearly seen her expression.
Softly, he said one sentence: "Cry… After crying, you won't feel so repressed anymore…"
---◓---
After returning to the dormitory, Catherine locked the door and covered herself beneath the blanket. At this moment, her heart suddenly became incomparably fragile.
Ever since her family was annihilated and she was captured by Shadow Team, every step she took had been spent telling herself to stay strong. That she had to survive…
She desperately trained and grew stronger… trained and grew stronger… stonger…
All for the sake of one day escaping this place, breaking free from Shadow Team, and avenging her family!
She was only a girl in the prime of youth, yet this world had forced her to endure far too much. She could not fail… not fail!
But today she had actually… lost.
It was not that she could not accept defeat, but rather that this world could not tolerate her losing! And today, her two strongest Pokémon had actually consecutively lost at Golurk's hands.
She felt that the road toward revenge had become even more distant.
She… cried…
She cried without making a sound, but a large portion of the bedsheet had already become soaked.
At this moment, Catherine only wanted to break down in tears. to let out all the grievances accumulated over these many years. After crying, she would still need to face this world once again.
She could not… afford… to… collapse!