A deafening roar shook the air as Duraludon was sent flying by Tyranitar's blazing Fire Punch, while Flygon was struck head-on by Rhyperior's Rock Blast, smashing hard against the wall.
"Duraludon!"
Raihan's expression changed slightly, calling out to his Pokémon in worry.
Strong! Incredibly strong!
His brows furrowed deeply as he stared at the two fierce Pokémon on the opposing side, Tyranitar and Rhyperior both emanating a violent, crushing aura.
Their power was overwhelming, almost terrifyingly so. Even his ace Duraludon couldn't take them head-on!
"Haah~ I told you, don't underestimate us!" Green let out a small sigh of relief, her lips curling into a smug grin as she called out to Raihan.
Lucas was truly amazing!
Even without his direct command, both Rhyperior and Tyranitar were still able to completely suppress Raihan's main Pokémon and even gain the upper hand in battle.
Those main forces that belonged to Lucas were on a whole different level!
"These Pokémon… they're not yours, are they? Judging by the way they fight, you two girls must have quite an interesting background."
Raihan, ignoring Green's smugness, calmly analyzed the situation. His sharp eyes swept across the battlefield, studying the two powerful Pokémon before addressing Green and Marnie.
As expected of a Champion-level trainer, his insight was spot on. Though the Poké Balls of Tyranitar and Rhyperior were indeed in Green and Marnie's possession, he could tell that they weren't truly bonded to them.
During the battle, while the two girls gave occasional commands, most of the time, the Pokémon acted purely on instinct and their own battle experience.
Raihan was certain, these two Pokémon definitely didn't belong to them.
"Oh~ So what if you know?" Green sneered with a pout, clearly unbothered. "Rhyperior, use Earthquake!"
Even if Raihan had seen through them, so what? Right now, there was nothing he could do to them anyway.
Rhyperior raised its massive, meteor-like tail high into the air before slamming it down with a thunderous crash.
Earthquake!
The ground shook violently, an intense tremor erupting as shockwaves burst forward from beneath Rhyperior's feet, spreading toward the opposing side.
"Earthquake!" Raihan's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he commanded the barely recovering Flygon and Duraludon to use Earthquake in return to counter the attack.
"Marnie, let's go!"
Seizing the moment, Green wasted no time. Together with Marnie, she turned and bolted for the exit.
Even though they currently held the upper hand, staying trapped here, tangled up with Raihan, was absolutely not a good idea.
The priority now—was to escape!
If reinforcements arrived to help Raihan, they would be finished—utterly doomed. It was better to slip away early while they still had the chance.
As the earthquake attack subsided, Raihan stood amid the trembling battlefield, his sharp eyes glancing toward the direction where Green and Marnie had vanished. They were completely gone. He fell into a moment of heavy thought.
Meanwhile, Green and Marnie decisively picked a random direction to flee.
The air all around them was filled with the sounds of fierce battles—roars, explosions, and clashing energies echoed through the corridors. Every fight sounded intense, chaotic, and unpredictable. In such a situation, they could only choose whichever path seemed least crowded and hope for the best.
But then—
"Huh? Isn't that Karen?"
From a distance, Green froze, her delicate face stunned for a moment.
Ahead of them, a battle was raging—and the combatants were none other than Karen versus Lorelei and Bruno. At that moment, Karen was being completely suppressed by the two Elite Four members.
Although Karen was strong, Lorelei and Bruno were far from weak. Two-on-one, of course Karen would be at a disadvantage.
"Heh~ So even that woman can have a day like this, huh?"
Once she was sure, Green's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
She had never liked Karen. Back when they were both part of the Masked Organization, their relationship had already been terrible. And after Green defected from the organization, Karen had relentlessly hunted her down.
Seeing Karen now being beaten up by others—it was hard to describe how good it felt.
"Come on, let's go~ Hehe~ Looks like that woman's in for a rough time."
Green grabbed Marnie's hand and turned to leave without hesitation.
As for helping Karen?
Don't be ridiculous. She wasn't that kind of good person. Sorry, but Karen could fend for herself.
In Green's eyes, simply not adding to Karen's misery was already being more than generous.
"She's Lucas's friend," Marnie said quietly, clearly disagreeing.
Although Green detested Karen, Marnie didn't hold the same level of resentment and besides, Karen was Lucas's ally.
"She's not Lucas's friend, what are you talking about? She's practically his archrival." Green blinked at her in disbelief before scoffing and curling her lips.
"Besides, that's Lorelei and Bruno we're talking about. Those two are not easy to deal with. Even with Lucas's Pokémon protecting us, we could still get caught in the crossfire."
"She's useful to Lucas. We can't let the League capture her," Marnie said, shaking her head.
After all, Karen was a Champion-level Trainer. For Lucas, she held considerable strategic value.
"She's more useful than you are."
Marnie cast Green a sidelong glance as she spoke, her tone honest and blunt.
Green's eye twitched. Ouch. That really hurt, sis.
…
Meanwhile, in another part of the battlefield.
"Blastoise, use Ice Beam!" Blue commanded sharply.
With a low growl, Blastoise unleashed a twisting beam of icy-blue energy straight toward Dragonair.
"Dragon Rush!"
Lucas's voice was calm yet commanding. He gave a brief glance toward the skies, where Reshiram was clashing against the combined forces of Steven's Shiny Metagross, Cynthia's Mega Garchomp, and Blue's Pidgeot.
Reshiram wasn't in the best condition. Against the combined might of three Champion-level Pokémon, it didn't hold a clear advantage.
"Draaa~!"
Dragonair let out a melodious cry, its sleek, serpentine body twisting gracefully as it dodged Blastoise's Ice Beam.
A fierce draconic aura surged around its body, and it dove toward Blastoise with incredible speed—its entire form wrapped in raging energy.
"Blastoise, use Ice Punch!" Blue didn't dare take it lightly. Given Dragonair's speed, evading would be almost impossible.
This Dragonair wasn't just fast, it was ridiculously fast.
Blastoise clenched its fists as frost surged over its knuckles, bracing itself for the incoming impact.
The next instant, Dragonair's Dragon Rush crashed forward, colliding directly with Blastoise's Ice Punch.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave exploded outward, cracking the ground beneath them. Blastoise gritted its teeth as its feet dug into the shattered floor.
Too heavy!
"I can't stop it!" Blue's pupils contracted. He could see that Blastoise was already struggling under the pressure.
"Haxorus, use Dragon Claw!" Iris's voice rang out as she joined the battle to support.
Since her Haxorus couldn't fly, it could only attack from the ground to relieve some pressure on Blastoise.
But Dragonair pushed forward, breaking through the frozen barrier of the Ice Punch and slamming hard into Blastoise's shell.
A loud bang followed as smoke and dust exploded outward. Haxorus's Dragon Claw came slicing toward Dragonair.
"Dragonair, Ice Beam!"
Lucas countered instantly.
Dragonair was struck slightly by Dragon Claw and pushed back a few meters—but its mouth glowed with frigid energy, launching an Ice Beam straight at Haxorus.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Iris reacted fast—but not fast enough. Before the wave of draconic energy could even form, Dragonair's Ice Beam had already reached Haxorus, freezing its head solid in an instant.
"Dragon Tail!"
A faint smile appeared on Lucas's lips.
Dragonair's tail whipped through the air, slamming heavily into Haxorus's frozen head. The ice shattered, and the mighty dragon was sent flying backward, crashing violently into the ground.
"S-so strong…"
Iris's expression tightened. This Dragonair was absurdly powerful. It hadn't even evolved yet!
How could its moves be so fast and hit so hard?
Her Haxorus had already taken serious damage.
"Blastoise, are you alright?"
Blue called out to his partner, who had taken the brunt of Dragonair's earlier charge.
Blastoise pushed itself up and shook its head, signaling that it could still fight. Blue had always focused on building its endurance and defense—his Blastoise could take a beating.
"Even though I knew he'd be strong… this is just too much…"
Blue frowned slightly, glancing at the battered Haxorus.
Lucas as someone who had managed to capture a legendary Pokémon was bound to be terrifyingly powerful. Blue had realized that from the start.
But even so, he hadn't expected this shiny Dragonair to be this overwhelming. Compared to their previous battle at the Viridian Gym, Lucas's strength had grown immensely.
And this Dragonair… was probably even stronger than the Tyranitar Lucas had used back then.
"Blastoise, Mega Evolve!"
After a brief pause to think, Blue lifted his hand and shouted.
Mega Evolution!
The Key Stone on his glove gleamed brightly, resonating with Blastoise's Mega Stone. In an instant, Blastoise was engulfed in brilliant light as it transformed into Mega Blastoise.
He had to give it everything he had.
If he, Cynthia, Steven, and Iris, four Champion-tier trainers couldn't defeat Lucas even when working together… what kind of shame would that be?
Worse still, Lucas was only using two Pokémon and still managing to hold them off evenly!
If word of that got out, Blue wouldn't be able to show his face again.
"So, you're finally serious, huh?"
Lucas smiled faintly, gazing at the fully evolved Mega Blastoise.
Mega Evolution had long since spread throughout the regions, so Lucas wasn't surprised that Green had one.
After all, Blue was Professor Oak's grandson. Of course he'd have the best tools.
"Reshiram—Blue Flare."
Lucas shifted his gaze upward, giving a command to Reshiram, which had just dodged Garchomp's Dragon Claw.
With a deep, thunderous roar, Reshiram's turbine-like tail ignited in a storm of blue fire. Flames streamed from its body, and even the rain around it vaporized instantly.
"Metagross, Hyper Beam!"
Steven's eyes narrowed. That energy—he could feel its overwhelming power.
His Shiny Metagross raised its four arms, condensing an orb of dark, destructive energy.
"Garchomp, Dragon Pulse!" "Pidgeot, Hyper Beam!"
Cynthia and Blue immediately followed up, their Pokémon joining the combined counterattack.
The air was thick with tension.
Then, in the next second—everything exploded into chaos.
Reshiram unleashed a roaring torrent of blue fire—its signature move, Blue Flare straight at the opposing trio.
The three attacks, two Hyper Beams and a Dragon Pulse met it head-on.
BOOM!
The collision filled the sky with a blinding explosion, shockwaves sweeping across the battlefield like a hurricane.
Even the clouds seemed to darken.
"We're being overpowered…" Blue muttered, narrowing his eyes.
He could see it clearly—despite being outnumbered three to one, the blue fire was winning.
Ridiculous… absolutely ridiculous!
Then again, none of their Pokémon, Mega Garchomp, Mega Metagross, or Pidgeot were known for exceptional special attack power.
So, Reshiram overpowering them in a battle of special moves wasn't completely unexpected.
Still, when the energies finally reached their breaking point, the explosion sent all four Pokémon reeling back from the impact.
"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"
Cynthia seized the opening, commanding Mega Garchomp to dive.
Because of its position, Garchomp hadn't taken as much damage from the blast and was still mobile.
The massive dragon roared, its aura surging as it charged toward Reshiram.
"Dragonair!" Lucas's tone was calm but firm.
With a flick of its tail, Dragonair darted forward like lightning—its own Dragon Rush colliding head-on with Garchomp.
Cynthia's expression tightened. Of course he was ready for that.
"Hydro Cannon!"
Blue suddenly called out, aiming to take advantage of the clash.
Mega Blastoise's three cannons locked onto Reshiram and unleashed three massive jets of compressed water!
"At this point, it won't make a difference," Lucas said lightly. "Reshiram, Fire Blast!"
With a single command, Reshiram countered with a massive burst of searing flame shaped like the kanji for "大". The fiery blast collided directly with the water cannons.
Another explosion erupted—steam filling the sky.
"Not a single opening…" Steven muttered helplessly.
Even while fighting four Champion trainers at once, Lucas had no visible weaknesses. The man was a monster.
And most importantly—Steven could tell that Lucas still hadn't gone all out.
He hadn't even brought out Rayquaza yet.
Reshiram flapped its wings lightly, its regal blue eyes gazing down on its opponents with divine confidence. The aura of a true legend radiated from its body.
After this day, its name would echo across the world.
Champion-tier trainers? What of it?
It could fight three of them at once and win!
Beneath it floated Dragonair, calm and silent, yet emanating an equally crushing presence.
Both dragons stood poised, their very existence weighing down the entire battlefield.
After a long silence, Lucas slowly raised his hand. The Poké Ball at his fingertips rotated once, enlarging in his grasp.
"It seems I've underestimated you all," he said quietly, a small smile forming on his lips. "Guess I'll have to take this up a notch."
He had played with them long enough.
It was time to end this and then head over to check on Giovanni's side of the operation.
He wondered idly how things were going over there.
Steven and the other three's expressions shifted slightly — what did those words mean?
Lucas turned his hand and threw out a third Poké Ball!
"Come forth—Lunala, get ready for battle!"
(End of Chapter)