Chapter 659: Victory Over the King

Wherever the gaze extended.

Flames overflowed.

The temperature across the entire arena rose rapidly due to the combination of Flamethrower and Fire Blast.

From the perspective of the Mega Gyarados, the edges of the arena and the five rising walls of fire now clearly formed a massive Chinese character "因."

In no time.

The once numerous afterimages of Mega Muk were reduced to just a few scattered remnants; beneath the rising heat and blazing flames, its body twisted into wave-like contours.

Though retreating ten meters would place it beyond the reach of Flamethrower and Fire Blast, the arena's boundaries restricted such movement.

A Pokémon voluntarily leaving the boundary would be deemed a foul.

Besides…

Mega Muk lifted its head toward the incoming Flamethrower, its eyes showing no sign of panic; as its two monstrous jaws, like twin pigtails, rose on either side, a pink gale erupted from beneath its feet!

"Fairy Wind!"

Baimu's voice came late.

But no one cared—they fixed their eyes on the soaring pink wind, watching as it swiftly spiraled and devoured the scorching flames from Mega Gyarados, forming a dazzling pink firestorm.

Even the surrounding fire walls showed signs of instability.

Boom—

The ground shook violently, demonstrating the immense destructive power of the crimson flames.

Yet now they circled Mega Muk like obedient pets, forming a shield-like barrier, mixing with the pink currents without exploding.

"It's Flame Wheel!"

Those familiar with Super Contests shouted excitedly.

As the superstar of Super Contests, Mega Muk's dance had been known to all coordinators across Hoenn and the entire world.

Among them,

the first performance of Flame Wheel left a deep impression because Mega Muk, a Steel-type, had mastered the graceful, dancing flames of butterflies.

The current pink firestorm clearly bore the shadow of that original dance.

Yet while other Meteor People sought familiar patterns, they were more concerned with just how powerful Fairy Wind had become after absorbing the flames.

The blazing flames had fully merged with the storm, continuously releasing waves of intense heat that left spectators sweating profusely and holding their breath for Mega Muk.

How much effort must a Steel-type Pokémon exert to control fire as if it were an extension of its own body?

Though unlikely, some still worried the firestorm might explode outright and injure Mega Muk inside.

And when the pink firestorm surged skyward, heading straight for the fire-breathing Mega Gyarados, their hearts rose with it.

How would the latter respond—

The arena echoed with Shi Yuan Zhi's decisive command.

"Dodge!"

Mega Gyarados retracted its flame breath, tilted its head upward, and whipped its long tail to swiftly reorient its body, ascending at top speed.

Whoosh!

Wind howled.

The bloodstained crescent became lightning, leaving behind blinding trails of crimson afterimages wherever it passed, a testament to its extraordinary flight speed.

Until it reached the altitude limit.

It arched its long neck downward, gazing at the pursuing Mega Muk.

"Aaoooorrr…"

As Shi Yuan Zhi had predicted, the pink firestorm was terrifying near the ground due to Fire Blast's influence, but once airborne, it thinned like dough being rolled out.

Its area of effect drastically diminished.

After all, the flames were drawn and utilized by Mega Muk through the force of Fairy Wind, not emitted by itself.

Fairy Wind was by no means an infinitely sustainable move.

Finally, this thing had taken the initiative to attack.

Mega Gyarados had long been frustrated by its opponent's flawless defense, hard to imagine this was a Pokémon whose ability emphasized offense.

Thankfully, after a long struggle, this thing had finally lost patience.

Now their positions were high and low, and Fairy Wind was nearly exhausted—

Perfect opportunity!

Mega Gyarados's bloodshot dragon eyes glowed sharply, and below, the trainer's voice—soft but already echoing in his mind—gave the precise command.

"Final Smash!"

"Aaoooorrr!"

It roared as it dove straight toward Mega Muk, engulfed in the firestorm!

Crrr!

The blood-red crescent wings flickered with electricity; the tip of its snout suddenly glowed with a shining cross-star, and visible sky-blue air currents wrapped around it, spiraling rapidly with the cross-star ahead, rendering its body semi-transparent.

Wherever it passed, a piercing wind howled, as if splitting the entire space in two.

The next instant.

The sky-blue vortex formed by Mega Gyarados's dive collided with Mega Muk's upward-charging pink firestorm, erupting in blinding light!

Boom—!!

A pure white shockwave roared outward in all directions; a massive fog exploded high above, forcing Meteor People to raise their hands against the flying dust.

Then they saw Mega Gyarados roaring through the smoke, Mega Muk pinned beneath its crescent wings, both tumbling uncontrollably, like falling meteors, crashing straight down with a thunderous roar!

Thud!

Dust rose in all directions!

The ground, having endured countless impacts, collapsed with a roar; countless shards of stone were blasted outward, leaving only gray-white dust swirling everywhere.

The Ultimate Impact landed!

Everyone watched tense-eyed as the dust swirled, until a sudden gust of wind—its origin unknown—swept away all obstructions to vision.

The Super Flygon with its crimson blood-wings crackled with fine electric currents, its body stiff and immobile—but beneath it, no one saw the Super Gulpin.

Hm?

"Where's Gulpin?"

"It's still in the sky! What fell just now wasn't it… no, it was a fake shadow?"

"I get it! It's a decoy!"

The Meteor People stared in shock at the Super Gulpin high above—none had expected it to dodge the Super Flygon's Ultimate Impact so easily.

At this moment.

The two Pokémon had swapped positions: one looked down, the other looked up.

"Kichido…"

Countless golden particles flew once more into the dual jaws behind the Super Gulpin's head; the third charge coated its body in a shimmering layer of Jin Guang.

The ethereal dust churned beneath its feet, making it seem like a god descending from heaven.

This time.

Even without Old Qingliu's explanation, the young Dragon Tamer understood why Baimu had hesitated to attack—and why he had charged multiple times beyond merely boosting power—

Pressure.

Desperate, relentless attacks had no effect; no chance arose to change tactics; the opponent kept strengthening its defense, even possessing the ability to fully restore all lost conditions in one breath.

Next, it must be boosting attack and speed, right?

So terrifying…

Facing such an opponent, one's fighting spirit would be quietly shattered.

By then, even if you wanted to unleash everything, you wouldn't be able to.

Silent pressure, like Dashan, crushed the Dragon Tamers' hearts; as spectators, merely imagining themselves in that position made them feel breathless.

The Dragon Tamers turned to Shi Yuan Zhi and saw his expressionless face, occasionally coughing once—each of them felt profound admiration.

This ability to withstand pressure was astonishing!

On the ground.

The Super Flygon flapped its wings and rose, its roar heavy with gloom.

By now, every high-power move capable of threatening it had been used—but the opponent showed not a trace of fatigue.

On its own side, however, repeated use of high-power moves—some with significant drawbacks—had drained its endurance.

"Aoh!"

The Super Flygon tilted its head upward, just as the Super Gulpin above indeed activated its next stage of enhancement.

"Sword Dance."

Sharp energy blades materialized around it, spinning like flying swords from a xianxia novel, stirring fierce winds.

Must not be provoked again.

The Super Flygon and Shi Yuan Zhi locked eyes, reaching silent consensus.

Decades of silent understanding had made their spirits one; even without the telepathic link of Mega Evolution, no words were needed.

Yet the dire predicament and waning momentum lay bare before them; if this continued, even with far superior speed, defeat would inevitably follow.

"Cough! Hot Wind!"

"Aoh!"

It suddenly twisted its body, spinning as rolling heat surged from its crescent blood-wings, forming a blazing flame-ring that framed its form.

At first glance, it resembled a blazing sun!

Facing this, the Super Gulpin high above sneered, raised its hands to touch the swirling invisible light-swords, and as frost erupted, countless ice blades instantly formed.

"Kichido!"

It roared, hurling the multitude of ice blades toward the Super Flygon—the piercing cold tore through the sky with a shrill scream!

Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh—

The sound of wind being split rang continuously.

The airborne Super Flygon had not anticipated this move; now it could not dodge, so it accelerated straight forward, its wings releasing even more heat.

Meanwhile, the many ice blades struck like the Sword of Damocles at every point of its body.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Continuous bursts of ice mist erupted; the flame-ring dimmed uncontrollably.

And when the final ice blade pierced the Super Flygon's forehead and exploded, it fell like a kite with its string cut, plummeting straight to the ground.

Fortunately.

Just before impact, it flapped its wings violently and rose again.

"Hou…"

Its rapid roar made the Meteor People hold their breath.

The previous Ice Punch and this one were no longer comparable; Sword Dance had granted it an astonishing boost.

Even more unbelievable was this combination of close-range and long-range capability—

Coordinator Trainer techniques!

The experienced Super Flygon knew that among most Trainers who pursued maximum destructive power in moves, a small minority sought bizarre, unconventional move variations.

For example.

Use moves in ways others would never expect!

Super Flygon's heart grew heavy; in decades of battle, Pokémon like this that left it utterly helpless were few indeed.

It had to admit Super Gargana's strength.

Suddenly, it recalled.

It remembered Super Metagross—the figure that effortlessly dodged every single assault, no matter how fierce.

Of course, that kind of strength differed from Super Gargana's.

But.

Super Flygon lifted its head to the sky and saw Super Gargana, shimmering with Jin Guang, suddenly plummeting straight down, the faint electric sparks around it vanishing entirely.

Shi Yuan Zhi's voice sounded beside its ear.

"Here it comes!"

Electromagnetic Float has ended!

Yet Super Gargana showed no sign of panic; its gaze carried a hint of contempt.

It was a provocation!

The timing was just barely off!

Super Flygon could feel its Provoked state was moments away from ending.

"Stone Edge!"

"Aoooh!"

It slammed its claws into the ground, and a massive Shi Zhu erupted upward, hurtling toward the falling Super Gargana like a knight's lance piercing the heavens!

Boom!

If it could just break this thing's rhythm and buy enough time to restore its ability to use transformation moves, it would have a chance to counterattack!

Super Flygon guessed Super Gargana might dodge the Shi Zhu—but it never imagined the latter would simply swing its massively swollen rear jaws like a shield and meet the stone head-on.

Boom!

The towering Shi Zhu struck the jet-black jaws with a heavy, muffled crash.

Immediately, irregular cracks spread from the top downward, quickly covering the entire Shi Zhu until it shattered explosively!

No effect…

Shi Yuan Zhi raised an eyebrow; Super Flygon's expression turned stunned, then both calmed.

Of course.

After its third charge, Super Gargana had gained defense capable of ignoring attacks of this level. The trainer chose Stone Edge because, if it landed, there was a slim chance of hitting a vital spot.

But when the opponent used its jaws as a shield, that chance dropped to near zero.

No openings given.

Flawless, absolute defense and steady rhythm.

"Aoooh…"

Super Flygon's gaze pierced through the scattered shards of stone and met Super Gargana's again; the opponent's scornful look ignited its fury, and black smoke rose from its body.

To avoid being Provoked, there were only two options—

Don't look at the opponent.

Or, interrupt its move execution.

When the opponent holds absolute superiority in every aspect, refusing to observe is suicide—so only the second option remains viable.

Too bad Stone Edge's failure extinguished the last possibility.

Boom!

Super Gargana landed, and falling rocks rained around it, kicking up dust that blurred its form, leaving only a single golden outer silhouette.

It looked both mysterious and terrifying.

Shi Yuan Zhi pulled down his hat brim and gave the final command: "Dark Pulse!"

"Aoooh!"

A furious roar erupted.

Super Flygon flapped its wings backward, and a black energy orb rapidly gathered before its gaping maw, then shot forth as a black beam as thick as a water barrel!

Boom—!!

The air quaked violently; the ground trembled without end!

The dust was instantly pierced, revealing Super Gargana within.

Somehow, colorful stars and pink energy streams had erupted from behind its head, like a Gundam's thrusters, propelling its body straight into the oncoming Dark Pulse.

"Play Rough!"

Boom!

The explosion deafened.

A swirling vortex of pink starlight held firm against the terrifying blue-energy-laced beam, inching forward and pushing through the energy stream until it was fully extinguished.

Before the onlookers' astonished eyes, Super Gargana, wreathed in pink energy, rushed to Super Flygon's side, grabbed its long tail before it could take flight, and began spinning wildly in place as if it were holding a giant toy.

Fairy-type energy rapidly spread, fully enveloping it.

Then.

"Kee—doh!"

It hurled the pink Super Flygon skyward, its rear jaws raised like twin heavy cannons, glowing with gathering pink light.

Baimu gave the final command: "Fairy Wind."

Boom! Boom!

Two visible pink hurricanes surged forth, binding the Super Flygon within, then slammed it hard onto the ground!

Thud!!

Amid the deafening crash, smoke rose, and the ground shuddered violently as if sinking!

Several seconds passed.

Bright colored light flashed within the dust, then a breeze scattered it, revealing the Flygon lying on its back, completely returned to its original form.

"... Flygon is unable to battle."

Chenya stared blankly at the Flygon, then shouted after several seconds, "Drapion wins! The winner of this battle is—Baimu!!"