Ursaluna was indeed furious right now.
That damned tiger on the other side had absolutely no sense of shame!
"Slash!"
Dylan naturally understood Ursaluna's state of mind.
Fake Out and Parting Shot were both moves that easily provoked anger—and Incineroar had jumped in and out, landing Fake Out twice.
Of course Ursaluna despised it.
Ursaluna reared up onto its hind legs, its vicious glare chilling to the bone.
Its massive claws gleamed white as it slashed toward Incineroar.
Normal-type Slash!
"Incineroar! Darkest Lariat!"
Selene didn't hesitate, ordering Incineroar to take it head-on.
Incineroar growled as its body spun rapidly, both arms extended and swinging in a wide arc.
Dark-type Darkest Lariat—a move that ignored the opponent's stat changes.
Ursaluna's Slash came crashing down, colliding violently with Darkest Lariat.
The impact was explosive.
Darkest Lariat was forcibly halted, and Incineroar was pushed back several steps.
"So strong!"
Selene's eyes sharpened.
Her ace Pokémon was Incineroar.
In pure power, Incineroar couldn't match Kartana—but Kartana was an extreme glass cannon.
In overall balance, Incineroar was far superior.
And yet—even with its carefully trained physical attack—Incineroar still lost the clash.
"That thing's raw strength is insane."
"High Horsepower!"
Dylan pressed the attack.
Ursaluna roared furiously, charging forward on all fours like a heavy armored vehicle.
Ground-type High Horsepower!
The distance was short—if this hit cleanly, Incineroar would take serious damage.
But Selene had no intention of taking it head-on.
"Parting Shot!"
Incineroar planted one hand on its hip, pointing and hurling a stream of vicious insults.
Ursaluna stopped mid-charge, its breathing growing heavier.
"Swords Dance!"
The weakening effect faded—and immediately afterward, an even sharper, more dangerous aura erupted from Ursaluna.
Another Swords Dance.
Parting Shot lowered both Attack and Special Attack, but Swords Dance instantly raised Attack by two stages again.
This was Ursaluna's third Swords Dance.
The first two had merely offset Incineroar's repeated Intimidates.
This one was pure power gain.
Incineroar was recalled.
Kartana returned to the field once more.
"Damn it…"
Selene couldn't bring herself to smile.
Staring at the looming, murderous Ursaluna, her face scrunched up tightly.
She wasn't sure Kartana could still suppress it anymore.
"Kartana! Leaf Blade!"
After some thought, she decided to test it directly.
Kartana unfolded its twin blade-arms and rushed forward, green energy extending into razor-sharp edges.
Grass-type Leaf Blade!
"Cross Chop!"
Ursaluna rose upright, arms crossing into an X before swinging down with terrifying force.
Fighting-type Cross Chop!
Leaf Blade vs Cross Chop!
BOOM!
The collision detonated into a shockwave, violent winds howling outward.
But this time, strengthened by Swords Dance, Ursaluna was no longer suppressed.
Its face twisted into something demonic as it roared, squeezing every ounce of strength from its body.
Kartana pushed desperately—but instead of overwhelming Ursaluna, it was slowly forced back.
"No way…"
"URSALUNA!"
With a furious roar, Ursaluna erupted with full power.
Cross Chop smashed through Leaf Blade and struck Kartana directly.
Kartana cried out as its small body was slammed into the ground.
Fighting-type Cross Chop was super effective.
The damage was heavy—but Kartana's physical defense was decent enough to survive.
"Fire Punch!"
Dylan showed no mercy.
Ursaluna raised its right claw, flames bursting to life, and slammed it down.
Fire-type Fire Punch!
"Kartana, dodge—now!"
Selene shouted urgently.
Thanks to Steel Tera, Fire Punch wasn't quadruple-effective—but it was still super effective.
Kartana forced itself to roll away.
But—
A massive left claw came crashing down, slamming it back into the ground.
Kartana glared up at Ursaluna.
It was tiny—barely the size of Ursaluna's paw.
But this was no time for anger.
Pinned down, Kartana raised both blade-arms, white light blazing.
Fighting-type Sacred Sword!
BOOM!
Fire Punch smashed down again.
Sacred Sword blocked it head-on, flames exploding outward.
Kartana struggled to hold.
Normally, Sacred Sword could hold Fire Punch for a while.
But this was an improvised defense—its power was lacking.
"Earthquake."
Dylan's lips curled upward.
Ursaluna's savage grin mirrored his as it lifted its free paw—
—and slammed it into the battlefield.
RUMBLE—!!
The entire stadium shook violently.
The seismic shockwave surged outward.
Kartana, already straining against Fire Punch, was struck point-blank by the Earthquake.
Pain wracked its body, forcing out a cry.
After Terastallizing into Steel, Kartana was weak to Ground.
And Ursaluna's STAB Earthquake hit brutally hard.
"Kartana!"
Selene's expression changed completely.
This was bad.
"Hammer Arm!"
Dylan gave no chance.
Ursaluna raised both massive arms, glowing white, and smashed them down.
Fighting-type Hammer Arm!
BOOM!
The blow landed squarely on the weakened Kartana.
Smoke and debris exploded outward.
When the dust cleared—
Ursaluna had already turned back, walking calmly toward Dylan.
On the shattered battlefield, Kartana had reverted from its Terastallized form and lay unconscious.
"Kartana is unable to battle! Ursaluna wins!"
The referee declared.
Selene recalled Kartana, her cheeks puffed with frustration.
"She's been pushed into a corner."
"That Ursaluna is brutal—those combos were disgusting."
"If not for Yawn, Kartana might've won early."
"There's no 'if.' Ursaluna beat both Incineroar and Kartana in rotation."
The crowd buzzed loudly.
"After just one Swords Dance, it could fight Kartana head-on… terrifying."
Giovanni's eyes gleamed.
Honestly, he loved this Ursaluna.
High Attack.
High Defense.
Huge HP pool.
A classic juggernaut bruiser.
Speed was its weakness—but that hardly mattered.
Most Pokémon this size were slow anyway.
What mattered was that it hit hard and could take hits.
"I wonder how Selene plans to deal with it now," Blue said intently.
"Incineroar can't win head-on either."
He liked Ursaluna a lot too.
If he had one, it could easily replace Rhyperior.
Rhyperior's quadruple weakness made it too exploitable.
Ursaluna was far better.
"Looks like Selene's run ends here," Blue said, legs crossed.
"Dylan's recent Pokémon choices have all been monsters."
Giovanni nodded thoughtfully.
Dylan hadn't even used Legendary Pokémon these past two matches.
And yet every Pokémon he brought out was a nightmare to deal with.
Whatever he used in the finals—it would still be better than relying on broken-tier Legendaries.
On the battlefield
"Incineroar!"
Selene sent out her last Pokémon.
With a roar, Incineroar entered for the third time.
Ursaluna's expression twisted in fury.
Incineroar's Intimidate washed over it—white light flashing as its Attack dropped by one stage.
"This is it…"
Selene's face had never looked more serious.
Without realizing it, she'd been reduced to a single Pokémon.
As expected of Dylan—her Gym Leader brother was absurdly strong.
But that only excited her more.
This was the kind of opponent worth challenging again and again.
No matter what—
Ursaluna had to go down.
"Incineroar! Fake Out!"
Incineroar roared, becoming a red blur as it rushed forward.
Fake Out!
A heavy slap landed squarely on Ursaluna's face.
It couldn't react in time—flinching immediately.
"Fire Blast!"
Flames surged from Incineroar's belt.
A massive, blazing kanji-shaped inferno erupted—
Fire Blast!
This one landed cleanly.
Exploding fire engulfed Ursaluna, heat roaring violently.
But the very next second—
A gigantic claw burst out of the flames.
It seized Incineroar by the throat.
"ROOOAR!!"
Ursaluna's savage roar echoed through the stadium.
"How is that possible?!"
Selene's face went pale.
"You underestimated Ursaluna's endurance," Dylan said with a light chuckle.
Raw strength and overwhelming stamina were Ursaluna's greatest prides.
"It's over."
Cynthia shook her head.
Once Ursaluna had a grip like that, Incineroar was finished.
Its strength simply couldn't compare.
And Dylan would never give it a chance to escape.
Still—
That Ursaluna really was unbelievably tough.