As Gigantamax Lapras launched its attack, the other Pokémon pressed their assault without pause, inflicting wound after wound upon the massive creature.
Suddenly, Lapras lifted its head high, and the icy currents swirling around its body began to spin even faster.
A tremendous surge of Ice-type energy erupted from its entire form, and frigid air began to rage across the battlefield.
It was clear that Lapras had now resolved to fight until the bitter end. As it released a piercing cry, freezing air burst outward in all directions, spreading wildly across the area.
"Sheer Cold!"
Having just dealt with Cresselia, Lapras immediately unleashed the Sheer Cold move once more.
Sheer Cold is a very unique move. When an ordinary Pokémon uses it, the technique functions as a powerful single-target attack. If it connects and freezes the opponent, it results in an instant knockout. However, if the target can resist the freezing effect, they'll only suffer moderate injuries.
When used by Gigantamax Lapras, however, the move transforms into a devastating wide-area attack. The same move produces vastly different effects depending on which Pokémon uses it.
This time, however, the Sheer Cold came much faster and with far greater power than before.
Witnessing this development, Jacob, Raya, and Zion all showed grave expressions on their faces.
The previous Sheer Cold had left Jacob shivering violently from the intense cold. If another wave hit, Jacob wasn't certain he could endure it again.
"Charizard, fall back!"
This time, Jacob didn't hesitate for even a moment. He immediately commanded the Charizard carrying him to flee outward with maximum speed.
The instant he saw Lapras beginning to gather Ice-type energy, he directed Charizard to fly away from the danger zone.
Seeing Jacob's action, Raya also commanded her Togekiss to quickly increase the distance while simultaneously moving closer to Charizard's position.
"Jacob, get behind me and Togekiss," Raya called out to him.
She was deeply concerned that Jacob would suffer from the intense cold like last time, so she volunteered to position herself in front of him to shield him from the biting winds and frost.
Togekiss possessed Heavenly King-level strength and could easily withstand Lapras's Sheer Cold from such a distance.
Hearing Raya's words and assessing the distance between himself and Lapras, Jacob's brow furrowed slightly before he responded, "Charizard, Togekiss, land now. Raya, have Togekiss protect us. Charizard, use Blast Burn to counter Sheer Cold!"
At this point, the two of them were already quite far from Gigantamax Lapras. By relying on Charizard's Blast Burn combined with Togekiss's defensive support, there was a strong possibility they could counter and reduce the impact of Gigantamax Lapras's attack.
Upon hearing Jacob's command, both Charizard and Togekiss descended to the ground.
In the same moment, Charizard's entire body erupted with surging flames as Fire-type energy continuously burst forth. Extreme temperatures radiated outward, and flames shot in every direction, sweeping across the sky above.
The churning inferno collided head-on with the freezing mist, neutralizing nearly half of the frigid air. Only a small portion of the cold wave continued surging toward them.
With Togekiss's protective barrier in place, the remaining cold air was largely blocked. When the freezing winds finally swept past their position, it felt like nothing more than a gust of cold wind.
After the frigid air passed, the two raised their heads and looked toward Gigantamax Lapras's location.
Aside from Darkrai, who still retained some fighting capacity, all the other Heavenly King-level Pokémon had suffered severe injuries and were lying motionless on the ground.
Hydreigon had also taken critical damage but still possessed a trace of strength remaining.
Before the freezing air arrived, Iron Valiant had held its double-bladed sword horizontally before its body, spinning the weapon at tremendous speed while erupting with Fighting-type energy to block part of the cold air's erosion. Apart from its double-bladed sword being frozen completely solid, its body was only covered with a thin layer of frost.
Mega Gardevoir had once again used Teleport to create distance from the attack, suffering the lightest injuries among all the Pokémon present.
"Iron Valiant, Close Combat!"
Iron Valiant looked up at Gigantamax Lapras as its body erupted with massive amounts of Fighting-type energy. It leaped forward powerfully, spinning the double-bladed sword in its hands before slashing down with fierce intensity.
"Gardevoir, Hyper Voice!"
"Hydreigon, Draco Meteor!"
Raya's voice rang out across the battlefield. At this stage of the battle, both sides had exhausted their options and deployed all their trump cards.
Mega Gardevoir's Hyper Voice enhanced by its Pixilate ability, Hydreigon's most powerful Dragon-type move Draco Meteor, and Iron Valiant's devastating Fighting-type Close Combat all targeted Gigantamax Lapras simultaneously.
Dragon-type energy from Hydreigon's body shot straight into the sky. High above, a dazzling light suddenly bloomed like fireworks, and dozens of meteors began falling from the heavens, all aimed directly at Lapras.
At the same moment, Gardevoir released a piercing cry, converting the Hyper Voice move into a Fairy-type attack through its Pixilate ability. The sound wave carried potent Fairy-type energy as it blasted toward Lapras.
As for Iron Valiant, its body erupted with deep crimson Fighting-type energy. The double-bladed sword in its hands shifted slightly, separating into two broken blades. It leaped high into the air and slashed toward Lapras with tremendous force.
The three moves—Draco Meteor, Hyper Voice, and Close Combat—all struck Lapras simultaneously.
One meteor after another descended from the sky, burning fiercely and trailing long tails of flame as they crashed onto Lapras's massive form, causing the creature to release sounds of agony.
At the same time, the Hyper Voice attack also connected with Lapras, dealing substantial damage.
Finally came Iron Valiant's assault. Wielding its two broken blades, it leaped high into the air and swung its twin weapons to unleash a fork-shaped Fighting-type energy slash that landed squarely on Lapras.
"Boom!"
Blood erupted from multiple wounds. Under the relentless barrage of attacks, Gigantamax Lapras finally couldn't withstand the repeated punishment. Its long neck swayed unsteadily, and it released a painful, mournful wail.
Gravely injured, Gigantamax Lapras decided for the first time to retreat from battle and escape. It looked at the Pokémon surrounding it and began preparing to dive into the deep ocean.
None of the Pokémon currently attacking it—Hydreigon, Gardevoir, Iron Valiant, or Darkrai—excelled at underwater combat. If it could dive into the deep sea, that would become its home territory and advantage.
The sharp-eyed Jacob had already recognized Gigantamax Lapras's intention to flee. His greatest fear had finally become reality.
Not having a powerful Water-type Pokémon had always been Jacob's weakness. If Gigantamax Lapras was truly determined to escape into the ocean, he genuinely had no effective method to prevent it.
However, facing the severely wounded Gigantamax Lapras in its current state, there might still be one final chance to succeed.
"Iron Valiant, continue with Close Combat!"
"Darkrai, Dark Void!"
Jacob's voice rang out decisively. He could only hope that Iron Valiant could knock out Lapras directly, or that Darkrai's Dark Void would successfully put it to sleep.
Iron Valiant gripped its double-bladed sword firmly and launched another attack, while Darkrai once again attempted to use Dark Void on Gigantamax Lapras.
"Don't let it escape, Raya!"
"Right! Hydreigon, Draco Meteor!"
"Mega Gardevoir, Hyper Voice!"
Raya's voice called out as she once again ordered her two Pokémon to attack with everything they had.
However, after Hydreigon had used Draco Meteor once already, its Special Attack had dropped significantly due to the move's drawback, so the power of a second Draco Meteor would be considerably reduced.
An all-out offensive combined with sleep-inducing tactics—a two-pronged approach.
Whether they succeeded in knocking out Gigantamax Lapras or hypnotizing it into sleep, as long as one of these strategies worked, Jacob would be able to capture this Gigantamax Lapras!