Seeing the rock wall successfully block Lapras's Water Pulse, Shiro didn't hesitate. He immediately gave his next command.
"Rhyperior! Use Bulldoze!"
"Rhhhyyy!"
With a thunderous roar, Rhyperior raised its massive foot high and slammed it down. A visible ripple spread across the ground, kicking up dirt and debris, which landed on the rock wall.
Unlike Earthquake, Bulldoze wasn't focused on raw damage. Rather, it lowered the opponent's movement speed, a tactical move meant to slow Lapras down.
As Lapras wobbled from the tremor, letting out a distressed cry, Marvin tightened his grip on the Poké Ball but didn't make a move. Instead, he shouted.
"Lapras! Use Chilling Water!"
Hearing the command, Lapras quickly steadied itself. Though the Bulldoze had left its body churning with discomfort, it could still fight.
A freezing chill blew from its mouth, followed by a blast of icy water, not in a concentrated stream like Water Gun or Hydro Pump, but more like a wide splash, as if someone threw a bucket of cold water to cover as much area as possible.
Chilling Water wasn't about dealing damage. It carried a chilling bite and could weaken the opponent's attack. Marvin didn't aim to hurt Rhyperior with this move. He only wanted to disrupt its actions.
"Rhyperior! Ignore it. Use Drill Run and knock it out of the match!" Shiro's voice rang out, snapping Rhyperior from its daze.
The massive Pokémon instinctively obeyed.
It pushed forward, enduring the icy water head-on. Even though Lapras managed to spot Rhyperior's silhouette behind the rock wall and focused its attack on it, Rhyperior didn't flinch.
With its mind numbed by brainwashing, Rhyperior had no sense of pain anymore.
Its gray-white drill spun rapidly, coated in a layer of earthy yellow light. Like an unstoppable bulldozer, it pushed forward.
The enormous spinning drill shattered the rock wall in an instant, sending debris flying. Rhyperior emerged from the rubble, still surging ahead, icy water splashing against it without slowing it down.
The noise of the battle was overwhelming, and with the wall blocking their view, Marvin and Lapras couldn't tell what move Shiro had ordered.
It wasn't until Rhyperior's enormous figure smashed through the crumbling rock wall that Marvin finally realized: Shiro was aiming to end this battle with a single, decisive blow.
Rhyperior was now less than five meters away. In just a moment, it would be right in front of Lapras.
Marvin knew he could interrupt Chilling Water and switch to Water Pulse for higher damage. But even if that landed, Lapras would still take the full force of Drill Run, and Marvin couldn't imagine it enduring such a devastating hit.
As he hesitated, Rhyperior closed the gap.
Staring at the monstrous beast charging in, Marvin stopped wavering. He grabbed Lapras's Poké Ball and recalled it in a flash of red light.
"I give up!" He shouted toward Granny Shae, sighing with a helpless smile as he walked off the field.
Shiro, without missing a beat, recalled Rhyperior as well, his eyes shifting to the sidelines where Allister stood.
The next match would be the final showdown between the two of them. By now, Shiro had sized up all three of his teammates.
Allister was the strongest among them, close to being a Gym-level trainer. His Pokémon were likely all around Advanced-level strength.
Marvin came second, with three Advanced-level Pokémon.
Nessa was the weakest, with only two Advanced-level Pokémon.
Of course, by that standard, Shiro himself was the weakest of all. His strongest Pokémon, Corvisquire, was only Intermediate-level. His remaining partners, Gastly and Growlithe, were barely more than babies in comparison.
But Shae's words rang true: a trainer's strength wasn't measured by the Pokémon they raised alone; it was judged by the Pokémon that obeyed them.
As long as Shiro sent out Drakloak, the other three wouldn't stand a chance. The real question now was—would Allister agree to battle him?
"Let's start the final match already. I'm getting impatient…" Shae's raspy voice echoed from the referee's seat.
On the sidelines, Nessa clenched her fists. She couldn't tell which of the two was stronger anymore.
At first, she was certain Allister was the strongest. He had easily crushed her without breaking a sweat. But after Shiro released his Pokémon, she wasn't so sure.
Rhyperior's presence alone felt like it belonged to the higher end of the Gym-level, a full stage above Allister's Pokémon.
If Allister was truly the strongest, did that mean he also had a Gym-level Pokémon?
Nessa couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Let's battle. One match to decide the winner." Allister's calm, indifferent voice drifted into the arena. He hopped down from his Dusclops' back, recalling it and pulling out another Poké Ball.
"Alright." Shiro nodded in agreement. Ending this quickly suited him just fine.
Battles were great, but what he needed most now was training and time. He had to seize every chance to close the gap between Corvisquire, Gastly, Growlithe, and the others.
Corvisquire and the rest were his real strength.
Rhyperior, after all, was a product of technology; it couldn't be used in official battles. And while Drakloak was willing to help him, their bond had a two-year limit. Once that time was up, whether it stayed or left would depend on how much Shiro had grown. He had to prove himself worthy of becoming its true trainer.
Lost in thought, Shiro noticed Allister had already sent out his Pokémon.
It was that familiar Mimikyu.
In the short time since its last battle, Allister had already nursed it back to full health. It looked good as new.
'Mimikyu...'
Shiro's heart tightened. He knew how troublesome this Pokémon could be.
It was fortunate Fairy-types hadn't fully awakened in the current Pokémon world. If they did, Mimikyu—gaining its rightful Fairy typing—would become a dragon-slaying machine.
With its Disguise ability that nullified the first hit and powerful Fairy-type moves, any Dragon Pokémon that failed to one-shot it would get torn apart in return.
Shiro's hand hovered over Rhyperior's Poké Ball, hesitating. It had taken some minor damage from Lapras earlier. It wasn't severe, but enough to affect its performance.
The bigger problem was that Rhyperior was, frankly, too dumb. Shiro worried it would end up getting toyed with by Mimikyu.
So…
"Go, Drakloak."
He called out softly, and the shadow beneath his feet rippled. A sleek, blue-green dragon shot out, circling around him.
Drakloak seemed wary of the old woman, Shae, her presence making it uneasy. Sensing this, Shiro reached out, offering a few comforting words and promising a batch of perfect-quality Pokéblocks. Only then did Drakloak cautiously drift onto the field.
In stark contrast, the tiny Dreepy perched on its head was bursting with excitement.
Though it had no real combat power of its own, Dreepy wasn't the least bit afraid. It wiggled and chirped eagerly, practically bouncing as it cheered for Drakloak to hurry up and beat the opponent.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Your support means a lot, thank you!