Cynthia took out her phone and looked up information about her community center. After confirming that the battle arena was available, she reserved the entire place immediately.
A battle involving Pokémon such as Darkrai and Garchomp could easily end in disaster if held in her backyard, even if all her Pokémon teamed up to intercept the moves.
Cynthia didn't want her courtyard reduced to rubble after a battle.
Not a single Pokémon was left behind as they followed Cynthia in a grand procession toward the community center where the battle arena was located.
This instantly attracted the attention of others in the community.
Although Cynthia lived there, she rarely appeared in public. Some die-hard fans had tried to visit her, but after seeing the "door gods", the Trevenant and Garchomp guarding her home, they always calmed down.
Seeing this formation made everyone realize who Cynthia was about to battle. They quickly took out their recording devices, ready to document everything.
However, Cynthia's next words instantly deflated them.
"Private battle. Confidential."
After saying that, Cynthia used the control panel inside the battle arena to seal the entire area. Once the battlefield was deployed, she cut the power, blocking the cameras from watching.
Cynthia and Luther sat on the sidelines. This battle didn't require commands.
Darkrai only needed to vent his emotions, and Luther wasn't his Pokémon Trainer anyway, so both of them simply sat there as spectators.
Garchomp, already inside the arena, spent some time readying herself. Darkrai, on the other hand, was fully charged and ready.
Cynthia, lazily chewing on potato chips, stretched when she saw Garchomp finally take her battle stance.
"Let's begin."
With those words from Frillish, the "battle of the gods" began.
The moment the words were spoken, Darkrai had already fired his 'Dark Pulse'. Luther saw only a black ring of energy and then heard a muffled thud.
Garchomp didn't seem to intend to dodge. Seeing the 'Dark Pulse', she merely raised both arms to shield herself.
After seeing how Garchomp handled the attack, Cynthia let out a soft "Hoh," unable to resist praising, "That's some strength. Interesting."
Garchomp was visibly pushed back slightly by the Dark Pulse. Before the force completely dissipated, however, she didn't act arrogantly. She simply spread her arms and tore the Dark Pulse apart.
The previously bored-looking Garchomp finally revealed a serious expression. Cynthia had thought this would be a casual spar, but that Dark Pulse was clearly a full-power strike.
'Going all out?'
'Then let's go.'
Luther once again felt the overwhelming "pressure" he had sensed while watching Hakuya battle, the kind that blanketed the entire battlefield.
The two Pokémon were merely facing each other, yet the aura they released was suffocating. Ordinary Pokémon on the sidelines probably wouldn't be able to use a single move.
Garchomp vanished. Luther was certain that he had only blinked; yet, by the time he found her again, she was already behind Darkrai.
Darkrai reacted quickly, immediately turning and firing an Ice Beam. However, Garchomp's raised arm moved even faster. Dragon Claw struck Darkrai's hands, shattering the Ice Beam before it could form.
Darkrai pulled back quickly, using his speed to fire off a Dark Void and attempt to put Garchomp to sleep.
However, hitting Garchomp with Dark Void from that distance was almost impossible given her speed. She only needed to shift her body slightly to dodge it.
Suddenly, fine sand began drifting through the battlefield. It rapidly enveloped the entire arena, and Garchomp disappeared into the swirling dust.
Controlling the weather of her own accord, Garchomp had activated her ability, 'Sand Veil'. Darkrai was shocked to find that he couldn't sense Garchomp's position within the sand at all.
Just as he planned to move toward the center of the arena to gather more information, a deafening roar echoed across the battlefield.
Before he could react, the radiant Garchomp slammed straight into him.
Giga Impact hit perfectly!
Darkrai endured the pain, waiting for the moment when Garchomp would be immobilized after using Giga Impact to launch a counterattack. However, when he got up, he realized that Garchomp had disappeared.
Recognizing that the weather was severely impairing his judgment, Darkrai unleashed his power to alter the weather.
The energy of 'Harsh Sunlight' broke through the 'Sandstorm'. The swirling sand over the battlefield paused for a moment.
The instant the 'Sandstorm' stopped, however, Garchomp burst through the lingering dust like a bolt of lightning, bathed in the blazing sunlight, and appeared before Darkrai.
Darkrai, who had just triggered the harsh sunlight, didn't have time to counterattack. Garchomp's Fire Fang sank into his arm.
It was a clean hit, and then she immediately retreated, not giving Darkrai the slightest chance to retaliate out of anger.
This was crazy. Garchomp was using strategy on her own!
She gained the initiative by starting with a Sandstorm, using the weather advantage to activate a 'Sand Veil', and then striking at her strongest moment with an extremely powerful 'Giga Impact'.
Anticipating that Darkrai would try to end her weather advantage, Garchomp recovered, predicted the 'Harsh Sunlight', and chose 'Fire Fang' as her attack.
Everything flowed seamlessly. Darkrai wasn't given a moment to respond.
Darkrai couldn't understand. He couldn't grasp what was happening. Wild Pokémon battles were pure head-to-head clashes where strength was everything.
His initial 'Dark Pulse' had clearly dealt significant damage. He believed he was definitely not weaker than Garchomp. But what about everything afterward?
Each of his subsequent attacks was shattered midway through. It seemed like Garchomp had already read every choice he made. He had been one step behind the entire time.
Ever since he had followed Luther, he had encountered more and more things he could not understand, and Darkrai felt like his brain was going to burn out.
Darkrai abandoned his defense. His blurry shadow flickered twice across the battlefield before suddenly appearing right in front of Garchomp.
Due to type advantage and wild battle experience, as long as this move landed, Garchomp would fall.
Perhaps sensing Darkrai's resolve to clash head-on, Garchomp didn't fly away. Instead, she raised her claw.
Darkrai sensed the aura of surging energy, it was 'Dragon Claw'.
It was a move he didn't need to worry about. It wasn't super-effective. Even if it hit, he could endure it. As long as his 'Blizzard' connected, the tide of battle would turn!
'Dragon Claw' struck first. Pain burst across Darkrai's chest, and a strange sensation spread throughout his body. The energy he had been gathering shattered from that single blow. He couldn't even maintain 'Blizzard' long enough to fire it.
As he was sent flying, Darkrai caught a glimpse of Garchomp's outstretched hand from the corner of his eye. He felt that overwhelming energy again.
Why… Brick Break?
When… did she prepare that?'
(End of Chapter)
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