Chapter 1427: The Earth Dragon

"Let's go! Pikachu!"

Following Ash's loud shout, Pikachu in mid-air raised a paw to catch the baseball cap tossed toward it, wearing it on its head with a wide grin.

"Pika—"

"Extreme Speed!"

Cynthia spoke suddenly. Mega Lucario Z's figure moved like lightning, Aura surging through its leg muscles as it burst forward in an all-out sprint!

*Whoosh! *

A blinding white light flashed through the air, darting from the uneven ground into mid-air, tracing a straight line to appear before Pikachu and delivering a punch at a speed the latter had no way to react to!

That Mega Lucario Z could still display such terrifying explosive power while physically and mentally exhausted truly dealt a certain shock to Ash.

Yet Pikachu's reaction was not slow either. After a brief moment of shock, it twisted its body, paws clutching its baseball cap, and used its tail to block Mega Lucario Z's fist.

*Boom! *

The fist grazed the fur and tail, landing with a dull thud. Pikachu was forced to the ground, its small frame smashing a shallow pit into the sandy terrain.

The host exclaimed, "Contestant Cynthia has interrupted Contestant Ash's Z-Move!"

Actively interrupting an opponent's system usage is relatively rare in competition, though it was also related to Ash's movements not being fast enough.

The wind-up for Ash-Pikachu Z was still too long; it had to put on the cap and bump fists. If the opponent were even slightly faster, they could interrupt it directly.

Unfortunately, these prerequisites were hard to omit.

Z-Moves emphasize the Trainer and Pokémon working in unison to communicate with nature; the associated movements are equivalent to a necessary process.

Given the sheer power of Ash-Pikachu Z, having a bit of a wind-up is normal.

"Pika!"

Pikachu, having fallen to the ground, felt the pain but quickly stood up, preparing to use the Z-Move again. However, it was a bit too far from Ash, and the baseball cap on its head had been lost, drifting with the wind to Ash's feet.

Not far away, Mega Lucario Z pressed the attack again, closing in on Pikachu as it tried to retrieve its cap.

Cynthia: "Force Palm!"

Ash: "Iron Tail!"

Mega Lucario Z raised a claw, Aura flowing and gathering within and outside its body toward the center of its palm. As Pikachu swung its metallic tail to slash, the Aura transformed into a visible brownish-red shockwave to counter!

*Boom! *

The impact of the colliding moves erupted. Pikachu was sent flying backward once more. This time it was even further from Ash; clearly, Mega Lucario Z's close-range Force Palm was intended to force Pikachu to keep its distance.

"Awoo!"

Mega Lucario Z, also recoiling backward, stood up abruptly, staring at its opponent.

Cynthia: "Aura Sphere!"

A massive Aura Sphere quickly condensed between its claws. Mega Evolution made the Aura and energy within its body practically inexhaustible; even after battling to this point, it remained incredibly abundant.

Compared to that, its physical condition is not very optimistic.

The lower ribs attacked by Sirfetch'd throbbed with pain, and Mega Lucario Z realized deeply that there was not much time left for it.

Rumble!

The Aura Sphere tumbled and swirled, with air currents carrying dust and smoke circling around it, before it threw it with all its might toward Pikachu!

The power was still impressive, but Ash keenly sensed that Mega Lucario Z was in poor condition and simply gave up on continuing to use Z-Moves.

Better to give it a shot!

"Pikachu! Use your full power! Thunderbolt!"

Even if it couldn't use 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, Pikachu's attack would still be extremely powerful!

"Pika—"

Pikachu leaped up, tapped the electric sacs on both sides of its cheeks, and golden lightning of ultra-high pressure gushed out instantly, "Chu!!"

Sizzle—!!

A beam of current, thicker and more violent than any before, roared straight toward the Aura Sphere thrown by Mega Lucario Z!

In an instant.

The golden lightning collided with the azure Aura Sphere; the former was like a gaunt, lightning-wielding giant hand that suddenly gripped the massive Aura Sphere, making it tremble violently as if it were a trapped beast in a cage!

Hum-hum-hum-hum—

"Go! Pikachu!"

Ash shouted at the top of his lungs, and Pikachu's current output surged at this moment; the Thunderbolt expanded abruptly, swallowing the Aura Sphere completely in the blink of an eye!

In Mega Lucario Z's wide-eyed pupils, the Aura Sphere shattered into countless azure fragments, while the lightning, meeting no resistance, roared straight toward Lucario's head!

"Awooo—"

Mega Lucario Z crossed its arms to block in front of its chest; the next moment, the lightning struck its torso precisely, and the violent electrical energy swept through its entire body.

It was sent flying uncontrollably as if hit by a heavy truck, its back slamming heavily into the sand, twitching wildly as it was eroded by the lightning.

Cynthia shouted: "Lucario!"

"Quick Attack!"

Ash continued to shout, and Pikachu rushed forward without hesitation, taking advantage of Mega Lucario Z's sharp decline in condition due to the electric shock, approaching at top speed and slamming its head into Lucario's chest!

Thud!

Dust and smoke rose!

Cynthia's tightly knit brows slowly relaxed, "..."

Mega Lucario Z's condition was still too poor; otherwise, even if it couldn't take down Pikachu, it should have at least exhausted its stamina as much as possible.

—It did exhaust a little bit, at least.

Perhaps it should have been made to withstand Pikachu's Z-Move?

But if it were 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt...

In Cynthia's view, unless Pikachu's 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt could deal damage to Ground-type Pokémon, there was no need to be overly wary.

As for Z-Moves other than 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, Cynthia was confident that Garchomp could withstand them.

The dust and smoke gradually dispersed.

Dan entered the arena, saw Lucario return to its original form, and immediately declared: "Lucario is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"

Wow!

Applause erupted!

"Pikachu successfully takes down its opponent! The match truly enters the final stage!"

The host shouted loudly: "The final battle between Garchomp and Pikachu! Who will ultimately emerge victorious?"

The audience was buzzing with discussion, noisy and incessant.

In the final match, Garchomp, with its Ground and Dragon typing, against the single Electric-type Pikachu—from a type perspective, it was enough to conclude that the latter would be defeated.

But has a battle ever been that simple?

To conclude in advance is no different from popping champagne at halftime!

"A disadvantageous matchup? It's time for Pikachu to show its strength!"

All Baimu laughed.

Calyrex remained expressionless; with the battle having reached this point, it no longer unilaterally supported Cynthia, and even felt a hint of anticipation for Pikachu in its heart.

Will it win?

It will win!

Ash in the arena clenched his fists, readjusted his baseball cap, and looked toward the opposite side with burning eyes.

Pikachu stood ready, prepared to face the powerful enemy.

Cynthia recalled Lucario, "You did great, Lucario."

She did not regret entrusting the important Mega Evolution to it; it was just that the strength of Ash's Pokémon exceeded her expectations, which was why the situation had reached this point.

However.

It's not over yet!

She still held her trump card in her hand!

"Dance in the heavens! Garchomp!"

The Poké Ball flew high into the air, and Garchomp appeared from it once again; although it had been locked in a fierce battle with Sirfetch'd for a long time, its condition was not bad.

It was as if it possessed the 【Regenerator】 ability, allowing it to recover a bit after being switched out.

Cynthia decisively ordered: "Earthquake!"

Ash: "Jump up and dodge!"

"Garch!"

Garchomp stomped its feet heavily on the ground, and the already cratered earth rolled violently; the earth-yellow shockwave echoed within the crater, vibrating toward Pikachu.

In response, Pikachu leaped up at extreme speed, jumping onto a pile of rubble stacked at the edge of the arena.

Influenced by the huge arc of the arena, the energy shockwave failed to reach in front of it smoothly and was easily dodged by Pikachu.

Dust and smoke rose and then slowly dispersed.

Garchomp raised its head, locking eyes with Pikachu standing on the "high ground."

The host shouted: "The arena's destruction is too severe! The Earthquake couldn't be released properly!"

Just as he said, the Earthquake released by a Pokémon is ultimately not a real earthquake, but a mixture of vibrations and energy shockwaves, which also caused its attack path to be restricted.

Cynthia was not too surprised by this and continued: "Scale Shot!"

"Garch!"

A dazzling luster appeared on Garchomp's body surface, and countless sharp purple-silver scales flew out, pouring down like a rainstorm with sharp edges!

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

The scales sliced through the air, emitting sharp piercing sounds, like countless sharp little knives, cutting toward Pikachu's body.

Each energy dragon scale contained powerful energy fluctuations and moved at extreme speed, covering almost all the space around Pikachu.

"Quick Attack! Dodge it!"

Ash shouted from not far away.

"Pika!"

Pikachu moved in response, its whole body wrapped in dazzling white light, turning into a streak of speeding golden lightning.

Its speed was so fast that it was hard for the naked eye to follow; it moved flexibly within the dense rain of scales, dodging left and right, avoiding most of the attacks.

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

The missed scales slammed into the sand, kicking up large areas of dust, making it seem as if Pikachu were traversing a battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, it relied on the extreme speed of Quick Attack to break through the blockade of Scale Shot, approaching Garchomp and coming face-to-face with it.

"Dragon Claw!"

"Iron Tail!"

Both sides gave their commands decisively.

Garchomp roared, its sharp claws and fin blades wrapped in rich dragon flames, forming a sickle-like shape that glinted with cold light, and slashed fiercely toward Pikachu with violent force.

The claw wind was so sharp that the air seemed to be torn by a clear claw mark.

Pikachu was not intimidated in the slightest; it leaped up, its tail covered in silver-white steel light, and borrowing the momentum of its descent, its steel-like tail struck the Dragon Claw Garchomp was slashing with a sharp piercing sound.

Bang!

Bang-bang-bang!

Pikachu had only one tail, while Garchomp had two fin blades, yet it did not fall behind in the slightest; the two fought to a draw!

The audience was in an uproar.

You have to know that Pikachu had just fought a fierce battle against Mega Lucario Z; how could it still have such abundant stamina and reaction speed now?

All Baimu smiled without a word; only he knew that once Ash sent Pikachu out last, and it hadn't been defeated beforehand, Pikachu could at least fight its opponent to a standstill, or even win in one fell swoop!

Even the Legendary Pokémon Latios could not escape the fate of being traded out by Pikachu!

"Pika!"

"Garch!"

The two Pokémon roared, the metal tail blade and the dragon flame fin blades collided violently; as the strong wind whistled, silver-white and cyan-blue light alternated, rapidly tearing the air to form a terrifying explosion, shaking both of them away!

Rumble!

Huge clouds of smoke rose slowly, and the crater in the arena was so miserable that others couldn't bear to look; it was only a matter of time before it collapsed completely.

"Draco Meteor!"

"Garch!"

Garchomp raised its head, the cyan-blue dragon flames gathered in front of its mouth and transformed into purple-red, then suddenly sprayed into the air, exploding violently and turning into countless meteors burning with purple-red flames!

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—

The purple-red meteors, like a torrential rain, fell with scorching high temperatures and the momentum to cover the entire arena, their brilliant radiance dazzling and eye-catching.

Ash shouted: "Quick Attack! Jump over the Draco Meteor!"

"Pika!"

Facing the Draco Meteor flying toward it, Pikachu leaped up without fear, successfully jumped onto them, and used them as stepping stones to continuously approach Garchomp.

The host shouted in shock: "What? Pikachu is actually stepping on the Draco Meteor!"

Cynthia was not surprised.

Ash had used similar techniques in the previous round; what was strange about using it again in this round?

"Continue using Draco Meteor!"

She shouted.

For this reason, her side had long since prepared a countermeasure!

"Garch!!"

Garchomp roared loudly, the dragon flames gathered in front of its mouth again; despite having its Special Attack lowered once, the dragon flame ball was even more intense and massive than the last time, then turned into a huge, peerless flame ball, flying straight toward the sky!

Boom!

The flame ball exploded, and even more meteors shot down, so dense that Pikachu couldn't keep up; even though it used the meteors as stepping stones, it had to deal with three or four meteors simultaneously the moment it leaped!

"Pika—"

"Spin with Thunderbolt! Use Counter Shield!"

Ash shouted loudly, giving the panicked Pikachu an immediate way to respond.

It curled up its body, current flashed in the electric sacs on both sides of its cheeks, and then it sprayed out a large amount of golden lightning, forming a self-cage as it spun, blasting all the approaching Draco Meteors to pieces!

Boom-boom-boom—

The Draco Meteor turned into fire debris all over the sky, as brilliant as fireworks, covering the sky of the entire arena.

Countless audience members could only feel amazed.

The host reflected: "Ash's Pikachu is truly god-like!"

To be able to deal with Garchomp's double Draco Meteor in this way.

In the end, Pikachu successfully obliterated the meteor shower with the Thunderbolt Counter Shield.

The arena was filled with lingering dust and smoke, obscuring the vision of both sides.

The double Draco Meteor was blocked, but Cynthia's expression remained calm, as if she had long foreseen this scene.

A moment later, most of the dust and smoke dispersed; she looked at Pikachu in the crater, seeing it panting and exhausted, and revealed a satisfied smile.

"Now is the time! Garchomp! High Horsepower!"

"Garch!"

A roar came from above!

The audience was surprised to find that Garchomp had reached a high altitude at some point, looking down at Pikachu in the crater as if it had seen its prey.

It was like an out-of-control giant beast, carrying the momentum to shake the heavens and earth, wrapping itself in earth-yellow air currents, and falling downward!

The wind pressure swept across the arena, and even the air was squeezed to emit a dull hum!

This strike condensed all of Garchomp's power, its speed and force reaching their peak, completely sealing off all of Pikachu's dodging space and giving it no chance to catch its breath.

When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we strike!

It's time to take down this opponent!

And after a brief shock, Ash silently replaced the Z-Crystal on his Z-Ring and shouted: "Pikachu! Don't lose to him! Let's go together!"

"Pika!"

The light of Z-energy illuminated the arena!