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The character "大" formed by blazing flames appeared prominently on Mega Aggron's metallic chest.
Then it exploded with tremendous force.
Thick columns of black smoke billowed upward into the sky, rising like a massive chimney had suddenly erupted from the battlefield floor.
Dragonite's Fire Blast had been carefully refined and perfected by Elian over countless training sessions.
The attack truly embodied both "explosion" and "inflammation" in its devastating display.
This single move delivered three distinct layers of damage—the initial flame impact, followed by the explosive force, and finally the lingering burn effect. Each layer built upon the last, engulfing nearly half the entire battlefield the moment it connected with its target.
What had once been a pristine battle arena was instantly transformed into scorched, blackened earth that radiated intense heat.
Even the Fire Blast techniques mastered by the ace Pokémon of specialized Fire-type Gym Leaders paled in comparison to the sheer power and precision of Elian's Dragonite's version.
"This should definitely cause some significant damage now," Elian thought to himself with growing confidence.
Against Mega Aggron, whose special defense wasn't particularly outstanding, even accounting for the damage reduction from its Filter ability, a Fire Blast dealing super-effective damage at 1.5 times effectiveness would certainly inflict more harm than a Fighting-type move like Brick Break.
However, Elian wasn't so naive as to expect this single attack to knock out Mega Aggron completely, no matter how powerful it appeared.
While Mega Aggron's special defense was indeed lower compared to its incredible physical defense, when measured against other Pokémon species, Mega Aggron's special defense was actually quite respectable and formidable.
"Roar!"
Just as Elian was eagerly anticipating the results of his devastating attack, a brilliant white beam of pure energy pierced through the dense black smoke like a sword cutting through darkness. The beam shot toward Dragonite with lightning-fast speed and pinpoint accuracy.
"BOOM!"
The thunderous impact that followed was deafening as Dragonite's massive body was completely overwhelmed by the energy beam, sending it crashing backward into the protective energy barrier that automatically activated around the battlefield to shield the spectators from stray attacks.
The white light held Dragonite pinned against the barrier for several long seconds before gradually thinning and finally disappearing entirely.
Only then was Dragonite's body able to fall from its position high in the air.
When it hit the ground, Dragonite was clearly unconscious and unable to continue battling.
Meanwhile, standing firm on the scorched and still-smoldering battlefield, Mega Aggron's imposing and heavily-armored form slowly stepped forward through the smoke.
Its metallic body gleamed as brilliantly as it had at the very beginning of the battle, showing not a single scorch mark or sign of damage, as if the devastating Fire Blast had somehow completely missed its target. Mega Aggron remained in perfect fighting condition!
But every single person in the audience had clearly witnessed the Fire Blast making direct contact with Mega Aggron just moments before. There was absolutely no way it could have dodged such a widespread attack.
"Could it really be that Chris's Aggron knows Wonder Room?" Elian was no longer merely surprised or confused—he was genuinely frightened by this possibility.
He distinctly remembered hearing Chris call out the command "Wonder Room" just before the explosion, though he had initially dismissed it as mishearing.
Aggron's typing was Steel and Rock, and even after Mega Evolution it became pure Steel-type, with absolutely no Psychic typing whatsoever.
While it was true that non-Psychic-type Pokémon could sometimes learn Psychic-type moves, these were typically only basic, common techniques. Except for certain specific species that could naturally master such advanced moves, even dedicated Psychic-type Pokémon might struggle to learn Wonder Room.
So was he suggesting that this particular Aggron possessed psychic talents that surpassed most actual Psychic-type Pokémon?
The very idea seemed completely absurd and impossible.
However, if Wonder Room wasn't the explanation, then how else could anyone account for what had just transpired on the battlefield?
Elian couldn't come up with any alternative theories, so he was forced to temporarily accept the Wonder Room explanation, no matter how unlikely it seemed.
In the spectator stands, the audience didn't immediately applaud Chris for taking the lead in this crucial battle. Instead, they sat in stunned silence at first, then began talking loudly among themselves in animated discussions.
"Did I hear that correctly? The command that Chris just gave to his Aggron was actually Wonder Room?"
"That can't be right... can it? Aggron isn't capable of mastering Wonder Room, is it? It's not even a Psychic-type Pokémon, and my own Alakazam hasn't even learned that move yet!"
"Then how else can you possibly explain why Chris's Aggron was able to emerge completely unharmed from Elian's Dragonite's massive explosion attack?"
"Maybe it used Amnesia instead?"
"But Amnesia is also a Psychic-type move! Is that really something an Aggron should be able to master either?"
"Well... perhaps, maybe, possibly Chris's Aggron has already become powerful enough that its special defense alone can withstand Dragonite's Fire Blast?" The person suggesting this theory clearly didn't believe their own words, but they were talking about Elite Four member Elian's Dragonite.
What was happening now was an Elite Four challenge match, not a situation where an Elite Four member was challenging the winner of the World Pokémon Championship to become "Pokémon Master." Elian held the rank of Elite, while Chris had not yet achieved Pokémon Master status, so the gap in their strength levels shouldn't be so dramatically enormous.
The audience continued their heated discussions, debating whether it was even theoretically possible for an Aggron to learn Wonder Room.
The distinguished guests and VIPs in the special seating area were all highly experienced in Pokémon training and battling. Although they were certainly surprised by what they had witnessed, they didn't display such dramatic reactions. Instead, they sat quietly, silently considering the various possibilities and explanations.
"Teacher, did you give that special item to your student Chris?" Roy suddenly turned to look directly at Vladimir with a knowing expression.
Vladimir nodded in confirmation. "Chris is clearly destined to travel much further down this path than any of us ever will in the future. Rather than allowing that precious item to remain unused and wasted in my possession, it's far better to entrust it to him and help accelerate his growth and development as a trainer."
"I can hardly wait to see what he becomes when he finally reaches the very pinnacle of success." As Vladimir spoke these words, his voice was filled with eager anticipation, and there was unmistakable pride and satisfaction in his eyes as he watched Chris on the battlefield below.
Roy nodded in complete agreement and also turned his attention to Chris. In his own lifetime, Roy knew he might potentially be able to compete for a championship position someday, but if he truly wanted to reach the absolute top of the Pokémon world...
Indeed, Chris, this remarkable "monster" of talent and determination, had a much greater likelihood of achieving such heights.
Down on the battlefield at the trainer's position, Chris stood with his arms folded confidently across his chest, staring directly at Elian with a slight smirk playing at the corners of his mouth, clearly enjoying his position of advantage. His expression was exactly the same as his Mega Aggron's confident demeanor—it was impossible to tell who had learned this attitude from whom.
"The technique of Wonder Room truly is a magical skill," Chris murmured quietly to himself with satisfaction.
Wonder Room—this was a space-type move that his Aggron had learned through the use of Palkia's special item, the Lustrous Orb, which belonged to the legendary Spatial Pokémon and god of space itself.
The effect of Wonder Room was to swap the physical defense and special defense statistics of all Pokémon currently within the designated battle space.
Right now, within the active Wonder Room field, Mega Aggron had exchanged its physical defense and special defense values, allowing it to absorb Dragonite's devastating Fire Blast attack without sustaining any damage whatsoever, while simultaneously positioning itself to deliver the finishing blow with its powerful Hyper Beam attack.
Additionally, one of the unique characteristics of Wonder Room was that if the move was used a second time, the swapping effect would be completely cancelled and reversed.
This meant Chris didn't need to worry about being permanently locked into the Wonder Room state. At most, it would block one incoming attack, and if his opponent switched to physical moves to try to exploit what they thought was lowered physical defense, Aggron could instantly swap its defensive stats again at any time.
In practical terms, learning Wonder Room was essentially equivalent to raising one's special defense to the exact same level as one's physical defense.
When combined with the already incredible physical defense that Aggron gained after Mega Evolution...
This created a situation where both physical defense and special defense reached extraordinary levels simultaneously! Wonder Room had effectively created the "ultimate shield" that could defend against any type of attack!