Just then—
"ROOOAR!"
Aaron, still in his Super Saiyan Great Ape form, let out a furious roar.
"Corviknight!"
His voice thundered across the battlefield.
"Battle Core Form!"
"Roger that, Aaron!"
"KRAAA!"
A fierce raven cry rang out. Dazzling purple light flared over Aaron's colossal body, wrapping the Super Saiyan Great Ape completely.
Bzzzz...
A ringing tremor spread through the air.
The purple light slowly faded, and a new figure appeared before everyone.
...
Hovering in the sky, Arceus's fragment stared down at Aaron.
Its eyes went wide.
"What in the world is that!?"
For one glorious second, even its divine composure nearly cracked hard enough to slip into a regional accent.
Maybe fragments of Arceus could have local settings after all.
Below, the last of the purple light dispersed.
A Super Saiyan Great Ape clad in purple armor stood beneath the moon.
Long purple wings stretched from its back, each one formed from steel feather plates. Its entire body was covered in hard violet armor, and on its head was a steel helmet shaped like a raven's head.
Golden-purple aura flames rose around it.
Lightning of the same color crackled across the armored Great Ape's body, coiling and snapping like living thunder.
"Huff..."
Aaron parted his mouth slightly and exhaled a wave of hot air.
Purple light flickered through his eyes.
"Super Saiyan Great Ape Battle Core Form..."
A deep voice rolled from the steel-armored Great Ape's mouth.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A brilliant azure light suddenly lit up around Aaron. Wind surged across the battlefield, and a violent gale swept through the entire arena.
Tailwind.
Activated.
In an instant, every Pokémon on Aaron's side felt its speed double.
BOOM! BOOM!
Powerful energy erupted from Aaron's body. The enormous wings on his back beat hard, lifting his massive form straight into the sky.
Deep-blue Flying-type energy wrapped around his colossal body.
"KREEEAAAH!"
A piercing bird cry rang out.
Aaron transformed into an enormous energy bird, like a golden-blue phoenix descending beneath the full moon.
Its wings spread wide, spanning more than thirty meters and blotting out the sky.
"Everyone!"
Aaron's voice echoed from within the giant bird.
"Attack together!"
"Snorlax, Conqueror's Snakeman Mode!"
"Conqueror's Armament: Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun!"
"Charizard, Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!"
"Great Ape Infernape, Kaio-ken Fire Punch!"
"Greninja, Water Shuriken Barrage!"
"Flying Thunder God: Second Stage!"
"And another Sage Art: Wind Release—Rasenshuriken!"
Aaron's deafening command rang through the moonlit battlefield.
...
"SNOOORLAX!"
Nika Snorlax let out a low roar.
Blazing white flames rose from its right fist, infused with overwhelming Conqueror's Armament. The terrifying punch gathered more and more power until it burst with blinding radiance.
It looked like a miniature sun, driving back the darkness of the night.
BOOOOM!
The Gum-Gum Bajrang Gun, packed with intense solar light, smashed violently toward Zeraora.
...
"GRAAAH!"
Meanwhile, Charizard circled high above and let out a dragon's roar.
Scorching flames and thunderbolts surged from its body, wrapping around its massive form layer after layer. Then Charizard folded into the attack, turning into a gigantic blade of fire and lightning that spun wildly as it descended toward Zeraora.
...
On the other side, Great Ape Infernape once again raised its hammer-like fist.
Terrifying red energy compressed around its Iron Fist as Kaio-ken erupted over its arm.
"ROOOAR!"
It launched itself forward and drove the punch straight toward Zeraora.
"Gren!"
Greninja let out a low cry.
Its main body and clones fired energy into the sky at the same time. A moment later, countless aqua-blue Water Shuriken rained down over the area where Zeraora stood.
At the same time, white-and-blue energy lit up in Greninja's hand, instantly condensing into a Rasenshuriken that radiated terrifying pressure.
Its figure vanished silently.
Then it flashed toward Zeraora.
"KREEEAAAH!"
The golden-blue giant bird Aaron had transformed into cried out again.
Its enormous body descended like a divine bird, plunging straight toward Zeraora from above.
Super Great Ape Sky Attack!
...
Zeraora watched the terrifying attacks closing in from every direction.
For the first time, sweat appeared on its forehead.
Who the hell is the Champion here?
Why does it feel like I'm the one getting pressured?
These attacks kept coming one after another, like none of them had cooldowns. Zeraora did not even have room to counterattack. It could only defend.
This was the first time it had ever faced such an absurd gang-up.
Not a single one of these Pokémon was normal.
And the worst part?
Their Trainer had joined the fight too.
This was not a Pokémon battle anymore.
This was a raid boss getting jumped by the entire server.
Zeraora was already cursing internally, but the attacks were closing in too fast for complaints to matter.
It had to go all out.
Otherwise, it might actually get knocked out here.
"Zera..."
Dense Electric-type energy erupted from Zeraora's eyes.
...