Mega Beedrill's stinger lances struck Carracosta's shell with full force.
CLANG! CLANG!
Two sharp metallic impacts rang across the battlefield.
But the attack failed to pierce through.
Carracosta barely seemed to feel it. The only thing left behind was a strange butterfly-shaped mark glowing with eerie purple light on its shell.
The faceless man frowned.
For a moment, confusion flashed through his eyes.
Why was Aaron so determined to have Beedrill attack Carracosta head-on? He should have known better than anyone that Beedrill could not break through that kind of defense.
Then the man's gaze landed on the spot where the stingers had struck.
He saw the mark.
His pupils shrank.
A sharp sense of unease rose in his chest, and he trusted that instinct without hesitation.
"Carracosta, Shell Smash!"
"CARRAA!"
Carracosta let out a furious roar as power surged through its body.
CRACK! CRACK!
The hard shell on its back split apart with a series of violent snaps. In an instant, the armor covering its body shattered and broke away, releasing a terrifying aura from within.
Crimson light flashed in Carracosta's eyes.
[Move Name: Shell Smash]
[Type: Normal]
[Power: None]
[Level: Apotheosis-tier]
[Activation Speed: Priority +1]
[Effect: After breaking its shell, the user's Defense and Special Defense decrease by 1 stage, while its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed increase by 6 stages.]
Apotheosis-tier Shell Smash was absurdly powerful. In one move, Carracosta had pushed its Speed, Attack, and Special Attack to their absolute limit.
But what made Aaron's expression darken was not only the stat boost.
It had broken its own shell.
The Suzumebachi death mark had been left on that shell. The moment Carracosta discarded it, the mark lost its effect.
The faceless man's calm voice rang out again.
"Carracosta, Smack Down. Keep firing."
"CARRAA!"
A sharp light flashed through Carracosta's crimson eyes. It roared, and countless stones lit with earth-yellow energy tore free from the ground before shooting toward Mega Beedrill like a storm.
Aaron's expression changed.
"Mega Beedrill, Flash Step! Dodge!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Rocks blasted across the field one after another, each impact shaking the platform. There were too many of them, and they kept forcing Beedrill into a smaller and smaller space.
Then one finally connected.
BANG!
Mega Beedrill was struck hard and sent flying.
It crashed into the ground, reverted to its original form, and went still.
Beedrill was unable to battle.
Aaron's pupils narrowed.
He had not expected Beedrill to be the first one taken down.
Mega Beedrill hit the ground hard.
The light of Mega Evolution faded from its body, and its sleek, lethal form returned to normal. For a moment, Beedrill tried to move, its wings twitching weakly against the stone.
Then it went still.
Beedrill was unable to battle.
Aaron's pupils narrowed.
For the first time since entering this world, one of his Pokémon had truly fallen in battle.
Not because he had held back.
Not because the enemy had been lucky.
But because the opponent had read him, reacted in time, and broken through his strategy.
For a brief moment, Aaron said nothing.
The excitement around him, the wind over the mountaintop, even Carracosta's heavy breathing seemed to fade into the background.
Then he slowly exhaled.
"Come back, Beedrill."
He recalled it into its Poké Ball and looked down at the device in his hand. His voice softened, carrying none of his usual confidence or teasing edge.
"You were amazing."
A second later, the silence passed.
When Aaron raised his head again, the look in his eyes had changed.
There was still shock there, but beneath it was something hotter.
Excitement.
Real excitement.
A faint smile spread across his face.
"It's been a long time since someone pushed me this far."
He looked at the faceless man across the battlefield, and his fighting spirit rose like a flame catching air.
"Good."
His voice was calm, but the edge in it was unmistakable.
"Then let's stop holding back."
The faceless man smiled faintly.
"As you wish."
...
"Sceptile, you're up."
Aaron looked toward the Pokémon beside him.
"Scep-tile!"
Sceptile nodded, then leaped onto the battlefield and landed across from Carracosta. Its eyes locked onto the ancient turtle, sharp with fighting spirit.
"A Grass-type Sceptile," the faceless man said with a faint smile. "Not a bad choice."
Then his tone shifted.
"But this is Carracosta after Shell Smash. At this point, type advantage alone won't save you."
Aaron smiled.
"We'll see."
His voice rose.
"Sceptile, Sage Mode."
Sceptile's eyes snapped open. Its pupils shifted into a cross-shaped pattern, and mysterious markings appeared around the corners of its eyes.
Emerald light surged from its body.
Aaron gave the next command.
"Bloom—Sage Art: Verdant Bloom Dominion!"
"Scep-tile!"
Sceptile pressed its hands together, then slammed them onto the ground.
The entire mountain platform shook.
Countless saplings burst through the stone and soil, growing at impossible speed into towering trees more than ten meters tall. Pink flowers bloomed across their branches, releasing a faint, intoxicating fragrance into the air.
Grass and flowers spread across the platform. Thick roots coiled over the ground and beneath it like sleeping wooden dragons.
In the blink of an eye, the bare summit had transformed into a dense forest.
The faceless man's expression changed.
He looked around at the trees, roots, and flowers that had swallowed the battlefield and muttered, "What incredible power."
A glint passed through his eyes.
"To change the entire terrain like this..."
Then he looked back at Carracosta.
"Our turn. Charge in and use Iron Tail."
"CARRAA!"
Carracosta roared and shot forward like a cannonball.
After Shell Smash, its speed had reached a terrifying level. It moved like a blur across the forest floor, so fast no one would have believed it was a turtle.
Aaron reacted instantly.
"Sceptile, stop it. Root Bind!"
"Scep-tile!"
Green light flared around Sceptile.
The roots across the forest floor trembled, then rose like wooden serpents, whipping toward Carracosta from every direction.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Carracosta swung its arms and tail, smashing through the roots again and again. But the forest kept producing more. No matter how many it broke, more came surging up from the ground.
At last, several roots wrapped around its limbs and slowed its charge.
Aaron's eyes flashed.
"Now!"
His voice cut through the forest.
"Sage Art: Wood Release—Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
"Scep-tile!"
Brilliant light flashed in Sceptile's eyes. It pressed its hands together again and drove them into the ground.
The forest trembled.
Beneath the tangled roots, an enormous Wood Dragon rose from the earth, its body twisting upward like an ancient green dragon awakening from beneath the mountain.
It opened its massive jaws and lunged at Carracosta.
The faceless man's eyes sharpened.
"Carracosta, Protect!"
"CARRAA!"
Light had just begun to gather around Carracosta when Aaron spoke again.
"Don't let it finish. Interrupt it with the roots."
Sceptile reacted immediately.
The roots beneath Carracosta's feet surged upward, wrapping around its body and cutting off the move before it could form.
"CARRAA!"
Carracosta roared in anger.
This was infuriating.
In the next instant, the Wood Dragon descended.
GRAAAH!
With a thunderous dragon-like roar, it swallowed Carracosta in one bite and smashed it violently into the ground.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The entire summit shook under the impact.
...