"Prepare for battle! Rhyperior!"
The Poké Ball opened in midair, and after a flash of white light, a gigantic figure crashed heavily onto the battlefield.
Under that tremendous weight, the entire battlefield shuddered violently!
And when everyone clearly saw this enormous Pokémon…
"Hiss—"
Sounds of sharp inhalations rang out endlessly from the spectator stands.
A trace of astonishment rippled through Lance's eyes as his sword-like brows knitted slightly while he carefully sized it up.
Big—far too big!
Blue was utterly dumbfounded as he stared at the Rhyperior.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
So shocked was he that he actually blurted out something unusually polite for once.
Judging by its appearance, it was definitely a Rhyperior, no doubt about it—but that size was completely wrong!
Blue himself owned a Rhyperior, so his understanding of the species was extremely deep.
The standard height of a Rhyperior was around 2.4 meters, and his own had been cultivated exceptionally well, already close to three meters tall.
But the one on the field?
Just by visual estimation alone, it was at least over four meters tall—and that was the minimum. Blue even suspected it might be closer to 4.5 meters.
This was downright outrageous!
"What, did he feed it Miracle Fertilizer or something? Even with normal growth, it shouldn't be getting this huge, right?"
Blue found it hard to believe. While he wouldn't dare claim his cultivation skills were the best in the world, he was confident that very few people could match him in this area.
Even Red, when it came purely to Pokémon training whom Blue believed he had the upper hand.
Yet compared to this Rhyperior, the one he had raised felt like an underdeveloped child…
"Exceptional talent? No… could it be genetic mutation?" Red was even more shocked than Blue, frowning as he stared at the Rhyperior.
He had seen Lucas's Rhyperior before.
Earlier this year, on the S.S. Anne, it was precisely this Rhyperior that had thoroughly taught him a lesson.
But back then, although it was strong, its size was still fairly normal.
How could it have grown this much in just one year?
"This Rhyperior of yours…" Lance swept his gaze across it for a moment. Its size was excessively large, and its aura was unbelievably heavy—this brute was far harder to deal with than that Mega Salamence.
"It had a bit of an opportunity and grew a little too fast," Lucas replied casually, looking at the Rhyperior with clear satisfaction.
That massively built body, like a living mountain of stone—just looking at it filled one with a sense of absolute security.
The Plates of the Original One were truly priceless treasures for ordinary Pokémon.
Rhyperior had been hugging the Earth Plate for nearly a year, and the excess nourishment it received was beyond imagination.
The most obvious change was its physique.
Unfortunately, the Plates had already been returned to Arceus. Otherwise, if Rhyperior held it for another year, its height would surely surpass five meters.
"A little reminder, Lance. My Rhyperior isn't the same as ordinary ones," Lucas said with a slight smile, looking at Lance.
"Oh?" Lance lowered his eyelids.
"So, what if it's different? Something this bulky and clumsy hardly makes for an interesting opponent."
Lance snorted and threw out a Poké Ball.
"Gyarados!"
White light flashed, and a massive Gyarados landed heavily in front of Lance.
Being bigger than average—so what?
Could it possibly be bigger than his Gyarados?
Besides, Rock/Ground-type Rhyperior was four-times weak to Water!
"Lucas, you'll regret bringing out Rhyperior so early," Lance said calmly, crossing his arms.
Perhaps this Rhyperior truly was strong—the oppressive aura it gave off didn't lie.
But a four-times Water weakness meant it was absolutely no match for his Gyarados!
"Cousin, the way you show off really brings back memories—exactly the same as before," Lucas said with a grin, completely unbothered by Lance's words.
If Lance didn't show off, he wouldn't be Lance at all.
"Hmph!" Lance's eyelid twitched before he snorted coldly.
"I don't have time for banter. Let's go."
"Alright—come on," Lucas replied casually.
If this weren't a globally broadcast tournament, Lucas would've felt like lighting up a cigarette right now.
"Gyarados! Hydro Pump!"
Lance's eyes turned cold. Though he appeared extremely confident, he naturally wasn't foolish enough to charge in recklessly from the start.
He needed to test just how strong this absurdly oversized Rhyperior really was.
"ROOOAR—!"
Gyarados let out a thunderous roar as a massive column of water blasted straight toward Rhyperior.
Although Gyarados was a physical attacker, it still possessed powerful ranged Water-type moves.
"This kind of probing is pointless, Cousin, it won't work," Lucas said with a faint smile.
"Rhyperior!"
Rhyperior slightly raised its head, lifted its right foot, then stomped down with crushing force!
BOOM—!
The entire battlefield shook violently, and even the whole Silver Conference arena seemed to tremble. Even the spectators in the stands felt it clearly.
Earthquake!
A shockwave rippled outward, and at the same time, massive amounts of dust surged up from the ground, forming a wall of earth in front of Rhyperior.
Earth Power!
Yes—Rhyperior had simultaneously used Earthquake and Earth Power.
"Impressive strength, and…" Lance stood straight, his posture like a drawn sword, completely unaffected by the ground's tremors.
Earthquake looked powerful, but Lance had countless ways to deal with it.
He didn't even need to issue a command—Gyarados swung its massive tail and slammed it into the ground.
Earthquake!
Using Earthquake to counter Earthquake was one of the simplest and most effective methods.
At the same time, Gyarados's Hydro Pump slammed directly into Rhyperior's Earth Power.
Yet astonishingly, the Hydro Pump was completely blocked by Earth Power.
"Aqua Tail!" Lance immediately ordered another attack.
Hydro Pump had merely been a test, and its failure was well within expectations.
As the earthquake subsided, Gyarados let out a low roar and surged toward Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior, Stone Edge!" Lucas's smile deepened.
Rhyperior roared loudly as countless sharp stone blades formed before it and shot toward Gyarados.
Although Water-types counter Rock-types, Water-types did not resist Rock-type moves!
In other words, Water/Flying-type Gyarados was actually weak to Rock!
"These little stones won't do anything to Gyarados!" Lance's expression remained unchanged.
Gyarados charged forward, its enormous, ferocious head terrifying to behold. Its long, powerful tail, wrapped in surging water, came crashing down.
All the Stone Edges along its path were swept away by Aqua Tail!
A normal Gyarados already exceeded six meters in length, and Lance's was over seven meters long.
Gyarados had always been classified as a large-bodied Pokémon, even among all Pokémon on average.
And its tail strike carried overwhelming might!
"Hammer Arm—now!" Lucas suddenly shouted.
Rhyperior let out a deep growl and raised both arms, which glowed with white light.
BOOM!
Aqua Tail slammed down with terrifying force, cracking the ground beneath Rhyperior's feet as a shockwave exploded outward.
But that was all!
Lance's brows instantly furrowed as he stared hard at Rhyperior.
"It actually blocked it!"
Iris stared at the scene in shock. Rhyperior's raised arms had truly blocked Gyarados's Aqua Tail!
Not only was Rhyperior four-times weak to Water, but Lance's Gyarados possessed terrifying raw strength—yet it still managed to tank it!
"What an absurdly powerful physique," Blue exclaimed.
If it were his Rhyperior, it might barely manage to block Aqua Tail with full effort—but not this easily!
After all, four-times Water weakness meant Aqua Tail should never have been this simple to withstand.
On the battlefield—
"Grab it!" Lucas immediately commanded.
Rhyperior raised its head and flashed a ferocious grin at Gyarados. With a flip of its claws, it seized Gyarados's tail!
"Hydro Pump!" Lance barked sharply.
If it was really grabbed, the situation would become extremely unfavorable for Gyarados.
Gyarados roared furiously as a massive column of water blasted straight at Rhyperior.
Hydro Pump!
The Hydro Pump hit Rhyperior squarely. Rhyperior lowered its head and endured the impact. With four-times Water weakness, even though Gyarados's Special Attack wasn't outstanding, the damage was still significant.
"Rhyperior!" Lucas called in a low voice.
Rhyperior growled as its arms exerted tremendous force.
Before the stunned eyes of the crowd, Gyarados's massive body was flung over Rhyperior's head and smashed brutally into the ground!
BOOM!
The entire battlefield shook violently once more.
Gyarados's ferocious face twisted in pain. Though this wasn't a formal move, being slammed down like that hurt terribly.
"Rock Slide!"
But the assault didn't stop there!
Rhyperior raised its mace-like tail and smashed it down onto the ground.
The battlefield trembled continuously, leaving Gyarados unable to stabilize itself.
At the same time, ripples formed in the air above Gyarados as enormous boulders came crashing down.
Rock Slide!
Massive stones slammed into Gyarados one after another. Its painful roars echoed briefly before being buried under the rubble.
Dust filled the air.
"Rock Wrecker!" Lucas narrowed his eyes and showed no mercy, ordering a finishing blow.
Rhyperior released one hand from Gyarados's tail, aimed the hollow in its palm at the center of the dust cloud, and gathered earthen light.
"Ice Fang!" Lance's cold shout rang out.
As his voice fell, a loud explosion erupted from the dust as a massive shadow shot toward Rhyperior at high speed.
It was Gyarados, its fangs gleaming with icy light!
Even after taking a Rock Slide, Gyarados was still able to launch a counterattack.
Its ambush was incredibly fast. Its sharp teeth sank viciously into Rhyperior's shoulder.
Frost instantly spread across the shoulder as Rhyperior grimaced in pain.
Ice Fang was also highly effective against it.
But—
"Thunder Punch!"
Lucas's smile was impossibly conspicuous.
"Gyarados!" Lance's pupils shrank.
Rhyperior released its other claw from Gyarados's tail, golden arcs of electricity crackling around it as it slammed the punch into Gyarados at point-blank range.
Electricity surged through Gyarados's entire body. It let out a pained groan—Thunder Punch dealt devastating damage.
Four-times weakness to Electric!
"Gyarados! Aqua Tail!" Lance shouted urgently.
Even if it was going down, it had to land one heavy blow on Rhyperior!
Gyarados's face twisted in agony and ferocity as it raised its tail, water coiling around it, preparing to strike.
At that moment—
"Thunder!"
Lance's pupils contracted. Thunder?!
Brilliant golden lightning erupted from Rhyperior's body, instantly engulfing Gyarados at close range.
Gyarados struggled in agony, unable to bring its Aqua Tail down.
"Rock Blast!"
Rhyperior aimed one palm at Gyarados and fired a massive rock projectile.
BOOM!
Rock Blast detonated violently. Gyarados's entire body was blown backward and smashed hard into the ground, completely unable to rise again.
"Gyarados has lost its ability to battle. Rhyperior wins!"
The referee stepped forward, examined Gyarados carefully, and raised the flag to announce the result.
Lance frowned as he recalled Gyarados into its Poké Ball.
His expression was anything but pleasant.
It wasn't strange that Rhyperior knew Thunder Punch—Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, and Ice Punch were all highly practical moves that many Pokémon learned.
But a nearly pure physical tank like Rhyperior learning Thunder?
That was just insane.
If that Thunder hadn't interrupted Gyarados's Aqua Tail, at the very least, Gyarados could have dealt Rhyperior one more crushing blow.
Instead, despite having a four-times advantage, Gyarados was taken down—an outcome that left Lance feeling utterly uncomfortable and at a loss for words.
(End of Chapter)