Nathan completely ignored it.
Was this a joke? How could he possibly make such a rookie mistake?
If the move Surf could only be used like that, then they were seriously underestimating him.
"Let me show you a new technique I've been working on—WaterBarrage!"
As Nathan's voice fell, Suicune's body responded under his command.
A faint blue glow radiated from Suicune's form.
Once the glow appeared, a sudden jet of water burst from the massive waves caused by Surf.
The appearance of this first water stream was like a signal.
Immediately after, one after another, streams of water erupted from the waves.
These streams morphed into powerful water bullets, shooting ferociously at the Zapdos and Darkrai flying overhead.
And that was just the smaller streams.
Some of them even transformed into full-fledged Hydro Pumps!
Zapdos and Darkrai, both still airborne, panicked when they saw the incoming barrage.
No matter how fast they were, there was no way they could dodge everything.
"Darkrai, use Double Team and Will-O-Wisp!
Zapdos, use Thunderbolt!"
Gregor quickly commanded.
Against an attack of this magnitude, purely defending would be an idiotic move.
The best defense was offense.
Darkrai's form began to flicker into a translucent shadow.
Then, in an instant, multiple identical copies of Darkrai materialized in the air.
Surrounding each of these shadowy doubles were floating orbs of eerie blue fire—Will-O-Wisps.
With a casual gesture, Darkrai hurled them toward Suicune.
Zapdos wasn't going to be outdone either.
It started charging itself with an endless stream of electrical energy.
Once the charge hit its peak, Zapdos released it all in a powerful Thunderbolt aimed at Suicune.
As for Mewtwo and Frosmoth?
By now, Gregor had entirely forgotten about their existence.
"Hmph... This is exactly the moment I've been waiting for!"
Nathan sneered coldly.
Under his command, Suicune dove straight into the ocean created by the Surf.
The massive waves still hadn't dissipated and continued surging toward the main island.
The Will-O-Wisps, upon touching the water, sizzled out without a sound.
The Thunderbolt, on the other hand, utilized the water's conductivity to spread its current far and wide.
But just a few seconds later, Suicune surfaced again—completely unscathed.
"Impossible!"
Gregor was stunned.
Even if Suicune had hidden underwater, Will-O-Wisp might miss—but Thunderbolt?
Electricity conducts in water extremely well.
And with Zapdos's added power, the move might not have defeated Suicune outright,
but it should have at least inflicted some damage.
Yet here Suicune was, completely unharmed.
What the hell was going on?
In reality, when Suicune had submerged, Nathan had already cleared the surrounding water using Mewtwo's power.
In other words, while the Thunderbolt did spread through the ocean, it never reached Suicune.
The water couldn't touch Suicune—so how could the electricity?
"Mewtwo, use Disable! Lock down Zapdos!"
Nathan gave a sharp command.
Mewtwo responded immediately, launching a Disable technique.
Psychic energy surged forth, and Zapdos, mid-flight, found its body frozen in midair.
Although Mewtwo's level was slightly lower than Zapdos's,
even a brief immobilization would be more than enough for Nathan to act.
"Air Slash!"
Before Suicune, a massive crescent of air dozens of meters long appeared.
The crescent howled forward at breakneck speed, heading straight for Zapdos.
Frozen in midair by Mewtwo's psychic energy, Zapdos could do nothing—no dodging, no counterattacks.
It could only watch helplessly as the Air Slash closed in.
Whoosh!
The crescent sliced across Zapdos.
From its left shoulder down to its right leg, a long, deep wound was carved into its body.
Zapdos had impressive special defense, sure.
But had that attack landed on a Pokémon with weaker stats,
it might've been enough to slice them clean in half.
Mewtwo's Disable wore off, and Zapdos regained control of its body.
However, the severe gash across its body made it hard for the electric bird to even stay airborne.
Even the sky behind Zapdos—where the Air Slash had flown—was split apart.
That alone spoke volumes about the move's sheer destructive power.
"So strong..."
"If that had been my Pokémon, it would've been cut in two for sure!"
"This is Nathan's strength? That's scary!"
...
Inside the live-streaming broadcast of the match, viewers were losing their minds.
This was the sky we were talking about—thousands of meters above the ground.
Suicune had fired the move essentially from ground level.
Yet the sky itself looked like it had been sliced in half.
No one had ever seen a move with such raw, devastating force before.
And it wasn't just online spectators who were stunned.
Even the participants who hadn't yet left the stadium were frozen in awe.
Compared to watching on a screen, what they witnessed in person was far more vivid and soul-shaking.
A sky cleaved apart for several kilometers?
That was something they couldn't even imagine before this battle.
"Why?! Why is it that even with two Legendary Pokémon,
my team is still being completely dominated by just one of yours?"
Gregor asked bitterly, face twisted in frustration.
He was using two Legendary Pokémon—Zapdos and Darkrai.
And yet Nathan was steamrolling him with just Suicune.
Was it really just a matter of being an inferior trainer?
"Why? Because I've fought over ten thousand battles!"
Nathan replied flatly.
Ever since he got his first Pokémon, he had thrown himself into battle after battle,
tournament after tournament.
That experience had honed his control over moves,
his deep understanding of battle mechanics, and his grasp of Pokémon behavior.
Every bit of it had been earned through tireless effort and repetition.
Even though this was his first time commanding a Legendary Pokémon in official combat,
his mastery made it seem like he had been working with Suicune for years.
Zapdos and Darkrai were undeniably strong—no one could deny that.
But under Gregor's command, they couldn't even touch Nathan.
What he lacked was not strength—but understanding.
A deep understanding of both Pokémon and their moves.
--------------------------------------------
Gregor was truly furious now.
Two of his Legendary Pokémon, being dominated like this?
The frustration—it was unbearable.
"Darkrai, use Hypnosis and Dream Eater! Target Mewtwo and Frosmoth!"
"Zapdos, go with Wild Charge! Full power!"
If he wanted to vent this suffocating pressure,
he had to return it blow for blow—through battle!
Darkrai's Hypnosis quickly took effect.
Subtle, suggestive waves of sleep-inducing energy seeped into Mewtwo and Frosmoth.
The two Pokémon swiftly fell into deep slumber.
At the same time, Zapdos charged forward, cloaked in wild, crackling lightning.
It bolted toward the unconscious Mewtwo and Frosmoth, intent on smashing into them with full force.
Seeing this, Nathan immediately activated Agility.
At lightning speed, he darted toward his two vulnerable Pokémon.
While Zapdos was nearly as fast as Suicune, the electric bird had farther to fly.
That difference gave Nathan just enough of a head start.
In a split-second, Nathan reached them and—
BAM!BAM!
—kicked both Mewtwo and Frosmoth out of the way.
At that moment, Zapdos struck.
CRACKLE!BOOM!
Electricity surged, exploding violently as Zapdos crashed into what appeared to be Suicune.
"Nathan... I have to say, I admire how much you care about your Pokémon.
But now that Suicune's injured, how are you going to beat me?"
Gregor said with smug satisfaction.
From his perspective, Nathan had sacrificed Suicune to save two sleeping Pokémon.
It was a foolish exchange—trading a general for two pawns.
But for Gregor, it was a scene he was happy to witness.
"Who told you my Suicune was injured?"
Nathan's voice rang out calmly.
Out of nowhere, a perfectly unharmed Suicune emerged from the side.
As for the one that had been struck by Zapdos—it vanished into thin air.
A Substitute technique.
In that critical moment, Nathan had executed Substitute,
causing Suicune's clone to take the full brunt of the Wild Charge,
while the real Suicune remained untouched.
"Waterfall!"
Nathan called out sharply.
Suicune erupted forward with unstoppable momentum,
a force of nature barreling toward the already-injured Zapdos.
Zapdos, feeling the overwhelming pressure exuding from Suicune,
hesitated.
That single moment of hesitation was all Suicune needed...
(End of Chapter)