The mist didn't last long. As the battle continued, the thick white fog gradually began to disperse.
With the fog lifting, the positions of all the Pokémon were now fully revealed to both Trainers.
Nathan's heart tightened as he spotted Zapdos flying through the air toward Mewtwo's position.
Meanwhile, Garchomp struggled to rise from the ground, moving swiftly toward the area where Zapdos and Darkrai were located.
"Mewtwo, grab that Garchomp!
Trying to run? Not a chance!"
As Nathan's voice rang out, Mewtwo suddenly exploded into motion. Its powerful thighs tensed and then released like coiled springs, propelling its body forward like a cannonball.
That overwhelming physical strength gave Mewtwo not only force, but explosive acceleration.
Garchomp may have been fast, but this version of Mewtwo—bursting with energy—was just a bit faster.
"Frosmoth, use Blizzard and Icy Wind!"
As Mewtwo launched into pursuit, Nathan decisively called for Frosmoth to assist from the flank.
Cold wind surged across the battlefield as a flurry of snow began to swirl in the air.
Under the combined effects of Blizzard and Icy Wind, Garchomp's speed dropped by nearly 20%.
And that decrease was enough—within moments, Mewtwo caught up.
"Garchomp, use Sand Tomb!"
Gregor saw what was happening and quickly tried to use a move to slow Mewtwo down.
But Mewtwo wasn't a Ground-type Pokémon—it wasn't even bound to the earth. Such moves had virtually no effect on it.
Under Garchomp's command, the ground beneath them transformed into a pit of swirling sand. But as soon as Mewtwo reached this treacherous terrain, it stopped running altogether… and began to fly.
Even though Mega Mewtwo X had evolved into a more physically dominant form, that didn't mean it had lost its psychic abilities or aerial agility.
"Damn it, I totally forgot about that!"
Gregor gritted his teeth in frustration. He'd been watching Mewtwo run all this time—when it suddenly took to the air, it completely threw him off. He had overlooked something critical.
For any flying Pokémon, Sand Tomb was effectively useless—unless it was used in combination with other moves.
"Zapdos, use Zap Cannon! Blast that Mewtwo out of the sky!"
With a roar, Gregor gave a furious command.
Zapdos gathered its electric energy into a glowing orb centered in its chest. Suspended in mid-air, Zapdos looked like a second sun, radiating an intense and dangerous light.
The crackling aura of electricity lit up the entire battlefield, emitting a fearsome pressure.
Everyone watching the battle—whether through the live broadcast or from far-off evacuation zones—was left speechless.
So, this is the power of a Legendary Pokémon…
But what happened next stunned them even more.
The light from the electric orb reached a blinding intensity, and then—Zap Cannon was launched!
At that moment, Suicune moved into action.
A massive mirror suddenly appeared in front of the Zap Cannon.
This mirror spanned tens of meters in diameter and caught the full brunt of the attack. The beam hit the surface of the mirror—no explosion, no shattering, just…
Reflection.
It was Suicune's defensive move: Mirror Coat.
The attack was perfectly redirected. The Zap Cannon—still sizzling with extreme heat and power—rebounded straight into the distance.
It shot off toward a small, uninhabited island, and then—
Boom!
The delayed explosion produced a mushroom cloud towering into the sky. A deafening shockwave followed a split-second later, and then came the wall of wind.
The once-tranquil ocean erupted with waves five to six meters high.
On nearby ships, tournament staff and competitors who hadn't yet evacuated gripped the rails tightly. All around them, the waves rocked the boats violently, as if trying to capsize them.
Legendary Pokémon… truly terrifying.
And that—was just the aftermath.
If someone had taken that blast head-on, they'd be lucky to survive.
The livestream briefly cut to static before a flurry of explosive comments filled the chat:
"I used to think it was a shame we couldn't watch the World Championship in person. Now I realize… that rule was made to protect us."
"That shot alone could probably destroy a whole island."
"My Pokémon couldn't even survive the shockwave from that."
Even though the aftermath shook the broadcast feed, it was crystal clear to everyone: that explosion was on another level.
-------------------
On the battlefield itself, however, neither Nathan nor Gregor seemed fazed.
Mewtwo had already reached Garchomp. With a swift motion, it grabbed Garchomp by the tail.
No matter how hard Garchomp struggled, it couldn't break free from Mewtwo's iron grip—like a pair of mechanical claws.
"Mewtwo, use Mega Kick—then finish it with Hyper Beam!
Frosmoth, you too—Ice Beam!"
Nathan didn't miss the opening. Now that Mewtwo had Garchomp firmly in hand, he gave the command for a coordinated strike.
With a sharp twist of its arm, Mewtwo hurled Garchomp into the air. The dragon flailed helplessly as it tried to regain balance.
But just as Garchomp leveled out in midair, Mewtwo's foot came crashing down.
A Mega Kick—packed with tons of force—slammed into Garchomp.
The dragon was knocked even farther back, just in time for two beams of blinding light to converge upon it from opposite directions.
Boom! Boom!
Two explosions rang out. Garchomp had no chance of defense—it plummeted straight to the ground like a stone.
A pseudo-Legendary, taken out in just one coordinated strike.
That's what Nathan had been planning all along.
A swift and decisive takedown.
Gregor's face darkened as he returned his now-unconscious Garchomp to its Poké Ball.
"Nathan, I'll admit—you're strong.
But with only one Legendary Pokémon on your team, how can you possibly beat two of mine?"
With three Pokémon total—one now defeated—Gregor still didn't seem worried.
To him, Garchomp wasn't the core of his team.
The real powerhouses were Zapdos and Darkrai.
As long as those two remained on the field, he was confident he could defeat Nathan.
"Oh really? Well, I don't quite see it that way."
Nathan smirked, unfazed by Gregor's bravado.
He may not have been able to take out all three of his opponent's Pokémon at once, but one by one? That was a different story.
"Synchronization."
Now was the crucial moment—Nathan wasn't about to hold back.
He activated Synchronization Mode—but this time, he wasn't syncing with his own Pokémon.
He was syncing with Suicune.
Although Suicune wasn't his, the two had already agreed ahead of time—it was possible for Nathan to synchronize with it.
As the overwhelming power of Suicune surged into his body, Nathan exhaled deeply.
This was uncharted territory.
He'd used Synchronization Mode before—with Mewtwo, he could last ten minutes in high-intensity battle.
But this time, syncing with a Legendary Pokémon for the first time?
He estimated he'd only last three to five minutes—beyond that, his body wouldn't be able to withstand the strain.
Still, it would be enough.
Harnessing Suicune's immense power, Nathan extended his awareness into the surrounding ocean.
Dozens of shimmering water orbs rose from the sea.
"Hydro Pump!"
Like artillery shells, the water orbs transformed into high-pressure blasts and shot toward Zapdos and Darkrai.
Gregor reacted quickly, commanding both of his Legendary Pokémon to dodge.
The blasts were fast, but so were Zapdos and Darkrai.
Thunderous impacts echoed as the water cannons smashed into the main island, leaving behind dozens of craters, each several meters deep.
The water that pooled in them shimmered like molten silver.
It was proof—undeniable proof—of Suicune's sheer might.
And this… was only the beginning.
Under Nathan's control, Suicune unleashed Surf.
Ordinarily, Surf was a move that caused mere waves a meter or two high.
But under the power of a Legendary Pokémon?
The wave's height surged to nearly twenty meters.
This wasn't just Surf anymore.
It was a tsunami.
Zapdos and Darkrai spotted the massive wall of water and instinctively soared higher into the sky.
Both Pokémon had the advantage of flight—and against a move like Surf, they were completely unaffected.
Gregor couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw it.
Just moments ago, he had made the foolish mistake of using Sand Tomb on a flying opponent.
Now Nathan had committed the same error—trying to use Surf on two flying Pokémon.
Absolutely ridiculous.
"Nathan, are you seriously trying to stop me with a move like that?
Do you want me to get you a surfboard to go with it?"
Gregor jeered with a mocking smile.
(End of Chapter)