The entire exchange was over in a heartbeat.
The moment Kai sent Poliwrath out, he recalled Lanturn.
"Skarmory, cut in from the side! Catch Poliwrath!"
Trying to recall a moving Pokémon in the heat of battle is incredibly difficult; a trainer usually needs to create distance first. After unleashing its Hyper Beam, Poliwrath was locked in a rigid, immobile state, hurtling helplessly toward Zapdos like a cannonball. The impact sent it bouncing off the legendary bird's body, and it began to plummet toward the sea below.
At that same instant, with Lanturn recalled and its burden lightened, Skarmory accelerated.
"Skaaar!"
Folding its wings, Skarmory dove into the fray at breathtaking speed, its movements swift and decisive, a showcase of its mastery of the air. It aimed to intercept the falling Poliwrath.
The sudden weight was immense. Kai's Poliwrath, sculpted by years of rigorous training, was far larger and heavier than average. As Skarmory's claws gripped its partner's arm, a tremendous force nearly tore them apart.
But Skarmory refused to give up. It flapped its wings with desperate strength, fighting to slow their descent. Fortunately, this wasn't their first mid-air rescue. After a sickening lurch, Skarmory stabilized, but Poliwrath's arm was clearly strained from the combined forces of gravity and Skarmory's abrupt lift.
"Poli-wrath!" Poliwrath cried out in pain, still locked in its post-attack paralysis.
With lightning reflexes, Kai pressed the Poké Ball's button. A beam of red light shot out, predicting its partner's trajectory and recalling it to safety.
"Next time," Kai muttered to himself, "I need to get my people back home to research a reusable Heal Ball." At that moment, he would have given anything for a ball that could cure status conditions and restore even a little stamina.
Zapdos, having taken a Hyper Beam to the face, was sent spiraling downward, its mind a blank from the concussive force.
"He did it! He beat Zapdos!" a gasp erupted from the airship.
The passengers had seen the white meteor of energy flash between the two combatants, followed by the legendary bird losing its balance and falling. But the battle was now some distance away, and no one could see the details clearly.
Their celebration was premature. Recovering from the intense pain, Zapdos righted itself with a furious flap of its wings. It let out an enraged shriek and unleashed a storm of golden lightning in every direction.
"It's back up!"
Kai commanded Skarmory to climb higher, his eyes fixed on the raging legend below. He couldn't help but sigh. He had faced many tough battles on his journey through Johto, but he had never felt such an overwhelming, suffocating pressure, like standing before a living natural disaster.
The quiet arrogance he'd developed from easily reaching the Silver Conference's top four vanished in an instant.
So this is the gap between me and the true top-tier trainers, he thought. This is the power of a legend. It's simply unimaginable.
Taking a deep breath, Kai forced himself to calm down. Panic would only get them killed. He tightly gripped another Poké Ball, a bitter smile touching his lips as he watched Zapdos enter what looked like a boss's second phase, discharging electricity wantonly.
"I thought this was a friendly Pokémon world battle game. When did it turn into Monster Hunter?"
On the airship, the renewed fury of Zapdos was met with a mix of terror and excitement. A Trainer holding a camera nudged his companion. "Machi! Let's go get some pictures! 'Mysterious Trainer Battles Legendary Zapdos!' This story will make us a fortune!"
His companion, Machi, nodded eagerly. The two quickly climbed onto the back of their Pidgeot. With noble brown and cream feathers and an elegant crest, the Pidgeot looked magnificent, but it trembled with fear, eyeing the storm. Loyal to its master's command, it pushed past its fear and took flight, struggling against the fierce wind as it flew toward the battle.
By the time they approached, the fight was already underway again. The silver Skarmory weaved with difficulty through a dense net of golden electricity. To block the lightning, the Pokémon gripped in its claws had been switched to Quagsire. Though suspended in mid-air and unable to ground the electricity, its Water/Ground typing gave it immense resistance to the electric onslaught.
The photographer raised his camera, his finger a blur on the shutter as he captured the thrilling scene. His companion nervously scanned their surroundings, directing Pidgeot to dodge stray bolts of lightning.
"This is incredible! These photos are going to cause a sensation!" the photographer yelled over the wind, his voice filled with glee.
But Kai was running out of time. Skarmory was not built for endurance, and the high-intensity aerial combat was taking its toll. Constant evasion was only delaying the inevitable. But a direct fight against a foe it was doubly weak to was suicide.
Then he saw it. As Skarmory and Zapdos tangled, the legendary bird ended up directly above them. Seizing the briefest opening as Zapdos charged another attack, Kai gave the command.
"Now's our chance, Skarmory!"
A white light shimmered on Skarmory's wings. It suddenly banked and shot toward Zapdos at an impossible angle.
"Aerial Ace!"
It was a swift, agile attack guaranteed to hit, its secret lying in the bizarre flight angle and the sheer skill required to execute it. The photographer's camera captured the perfect shot: the overcast sky, the raging Zapdos, the full-speed charge of the Skarmory, and the defiant young trainer flying headfirst into the storm.
"Ursaring, use Facade!"
Kai launched the Poké Ball. Ursaring emerged with a flicker of red flame already coursing through its fur—the effect of a Toxic Orb it held.
Zapdos shrieked, once again caught off guard by the rushdown.
Facade's power doubles when the user is statused. Combined with Ursaring's immense 130 base Attack, the 50% boost from its Guts ability, and the Same-Type Attack Bonus, the move became a weapon of terrifying power.
A blow of cataclysmic force slammed into Zapdos's head.
Reeling from a second massive head injury in such a short time, the legendary bird fell into a rigid stun.
Kai instantly recalled Ursaring. Skarmory, carrying its two passengers, wheeled around and fled straight for the airship. It was exhausted.
"Quick, let's go get them!" Machi, a keen student of bird Pokémon, saw Skarmory was at its limit and immediately ordered his Pidgeot to intercept.
At that moment, a peculiar, gentle wind blew from the distant ocean. The injured Zapdos shrieked a few more times in frustration before awkwardly fleeing the battlefield. It hadn't been defeated, but it had been utterly humiliated, its head repeatedly struck by Pokémon that couldn't even fly.
The strange wind lifted the exhausted Skarmory, allowing it to rendezvous safely with Machi's Pidgeot. The dark clouds overhead finally began to part.
"Are you alright?!" Machi shouted as he flew alongside them.
***
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For More Chapters On All
Of My Fanfics!!] [www. p@treon.com/meowthtl]
[+300 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]