"Dragon Rush!"
The normally gentle and honest-looking Dragonite now wore a ferocious expression, as savage, dragon-shaped energy instantly condensed around its body. A violent and berserk aura surged forth, astonishing in intensity, as the wicked dragon charged straight at Mega Salamence.
A sea of blazing crimson flames swept across the sky—this was Mega Salamence's Heat Wave.
Yet Dragonite paid it no mind at all, plunging directly into the Heat Wave and forcing its way forward while enduring the scorching storm head-on.
"Dragon Claw!"
Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly and gave the order to Mega Salamence.
Mega Salamence continued to retreat, trying to keep its distance from Dragonite—but Dragonite was faster!
Dragon Rush closed in relentlessly. Mega Salamence's sharp Dragon Claws gleamed—if it couldn't dodge, then it could only meet it head-on.
Dragon Rush and Dragon Claw collided directly!
However, it was obvious that the hastily condensed Dragon Claw, even though Dragonite's Dragon Rush had already been weakened by Heat Wave, was still shattered outright. Dragon Rush smashed heavily into Mega Salamence, drawing a pained ROOOAAR from it—this blow was no light one.
"Blizzard!"
Lance's crimson hair fluttered wildly. Dragonite had forcibly used Dragon Rush, but at this point in the battle, there was no room to worry about anything else.
At the very least, he had to take down this Mega Salamence!
Dragonite gathered dense freezing breath in its mouth, and in the next instant, a raging snowstorm surged forth, blasting toward the knocked-back Mega Salamence.
"Heat Wave!"
Lucas issued the counterattack without hesitation.
Mega Salamence, forced backward, clenched its teeth and endured the violent surging of blood and energy within its body as it beat its wings powerfully.
A red-hot storm roared out, colliding head-on with Dragonite's Blizzard.
BOOM!
The two completely opposing storms exploded violently, and fierce shockwaves rippled outward.
"So troublesome."
Lance's sword-like brows knitted slightly. He had wanted to press the attack in one continuous push, but Mega Salamence's Heat Wave had interrupted his plan yet again.
Still, Lance was a trainer who revered offense—there was no way he would give up so easily.
"Draco Meteor!"
Seizing this brief opportunity to stabilize itself, Dragonite lifted its head as an extremely pure Draco Meteor rose into the sky.
Upon reaching its apex, the Draco Meteor burst apart, countless blazing dragon meteors trailing luminous tails as they streaked across the heavens.
"Rock Slide!"
Lucas glanced at the falling meteors as countless tactical thoughts flashed through his mind.
Because of the overly intense combat rhythm, Mega Salamence's stamina was steadily declining—but the same was true for Dragonite.
If he could find the right opening, he could end it all in a single decisive burst!
"ROOOOAAR—!"
Mega Salamence's draconic cry shook the air. Ripples spread above Dragonite as massive boulders manifested and crashed down toward it.
"Avoid it." Lance swept a glance over the attack. Rock Slide was powerful, but its accuracy left much to be desired, since the falling points were fixed.
Normally, it was used only when the opponent couldn't dodge—or simply as a feint.
Dragonite beat its wings and retreated, evading the Rock Slide.
"Dragon Rush!"
And just as expected, Lucas's true attack arrived in the next moment.
Mega Salamence streaked forward at high speed, dragon-type energy rapidly condensing.
"Dragon Rush, meet it head-on!"
Lance's expression did not waver in the slightest as he issued the cold command.
Dragonite drew back slightly, then suddenly surged forward—Dragon Rush!
BOOM!
In midair, the two massive figures collided violently.
Ferocious wind pressure exploded outward, accompanied by savage ROOOAARs as the two wicked dragons battered each other again and again, rings of energy rippling endlessly.
The overwhelming shockwaves swept through the arena—so powerful that even spectators in the stands could feel the fierce gusts slamming into them.
"So strong!"
Ash pressed down on his cap with one hand while shielding his face with the other to keep from being cut by the sharp winds, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at the two raging dragons in the sky, his chest heaving with excitement.
This was it!
This kind of all-out, sweat-drenched battle with no reservations whatsoever!
This was the Pokémon journey Ash had always longed for!
"They're… about to decide the outcome!"
Beside Ash, Professor Oak's cloudy eyes were fixed on the battlefield as he spoke in a low voice.
Though his strength had declined over the years due to age and responsibilities, his insight remained sharp.
Lucas and Lance were both trainers who greatly favored aggressive combat—especially with Pokémon like Mega Salamence and Dragonite, offensive pseudo-legendaries through and through.
The tempo of the battle was inevitably accelerating!
"Stone Edge!"
"Dragon Claw!"
With Dragon Rush locked in a stalemate, Lucas shouted decisively.
At almost the same moment, Lance's command rang out as well.
"ROOOAAR!"
Mega Salamence and Dragonite exerted force simultaneously, blasting each other back. Dragonite stabilized its body after only a short retreat, beating its wings and charging forward again instead of withdrawing.
Mega Salamence, however, pulled back with the momentum, sharp rocks rapidly forming in front of it.
Stone Edge!
Dragonite's claws glowed with sharp azure light, shredding the incoming stone blades one after another as it forced its way closer to Mega Salamence.
A few stray stone edges struck Dragonite, but it tanked them head-on, charging straight to Mega Salamence's front.
Dragon Claw slammed down heavily!
"Dragon Pulse!"
A beam of draconic light shot out from Mega Salamence, striking Dragonite directly. The Dragon Pulse exploded, drawing a cry of pain from Dragonite.
At the same time, however, Dragonite's Dragon Claw had already landed on Mega Salamence!
Mega Salamence roared in agony as the tremendous force sent it flying backward.
But—
"Draco Meteor has arrived!"
Steven's expression tightened as he looked above Mega Salamence—several dragon meteors were rapidly falling.
"No time to dodge." Leon said gravely.
That's right—there was no time to evade!
Dragonite had tanked Mega Salamence's attacks just to knock it back and prevent it from escaping the bombardment of Draco Meteor!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of deafening explosions rang out as no fewer than four draco meteors slammed continuously into Mega Salamence. Its pained roars were completely drowned out by the thunderous blasts.
"Dragon Rush!"
Lance's cold, razor-sharp gaze locked firmly onto Mega Salamence. Having just endured the Draco Meteor barrage, it had no capacity to counterattack at all!
Even maintaining balance was already extremely difficult.
Dragonite roared, its eyes flooding with crimson—
Outrage!
A terrifyingly powerful aura overflowed as the dragon-shaped energy of Dragon Rush condensed once more.
"Can't dodge it." Lucas frowned slightly.
Facing the charging Dragonite, Mega Salamence clenched its teeth and tried to retreat, but the intense pain coursing through its body made its movements far too slow.
Dragon Rush smashed heavily into Mega Salamence, terrifying power crashing violently through its body.
Dragonite drove Mega Salamence forward relentlessly before finally slamming it down into the battlefield.
Rumble—!
The entire arena shook violently. The ground shattered inch by inch, deep fissures ripped open by the force.
Dense clouds of dust billowed upward.
"That's way too ruthless."
Seeing this, Iris couldn't help smacking her lips cutely. They had just said Lucas's fighting style was fierce, but in the blink of an eye, Lance proved to be even more savage!
This wasn't just "wounding the enemy by a thousand at the cost of eight hundred"—Lance looked like he'd sacrificed nine hundred of his own!
Dragonite had tanked Stone Edge and Dragon Pulse, both extremely effective moves against it, and then even activated Outrage at the end.
Absolutely insane.
"But the results are good, aren't they?" Steven spoke after a brief silence.
"That combo was overwhelming. A Dragon Rush empowered by Outrage does terrifying damage to Salamence."
Leon frowned. Dragonite's attacks had all landed cleanly—by all accounts, Lance should be taking the first win here.
"Dragonite's condition isn't good either. For Lance, this can only be called a slight advantage."
On the other side, Blue gave his own analysis, with Red and the others nodding beside him.
Yes—they all believed Mega Salamence was finished. After all, it had taken Dragonite's ferocious assault head-on.
How could it possibly endure that?
With what—its head?
Inside the battlefield.
The dust slowly cleared. The crimson glow of Outrage faded from Dragonite's eyes as it lightly beat its wings, preparing to return to Lance's side.
In the deep crater below, Mega Salamence lay motionless, seemingly unconscious.
Just as the referee glanced over and prepared to step forward—
Suddenly, Lucas's voice rang out sharply.
"Dragon Pulse!"
What?!
Lance's expression changed instantly—how was this possible?!
The entire arena erupted in shock!
"ROOOAAR!"
An incomparably violent roar thundered out as a blazing Dragon Pulse suddenly shot up from the crater, striking the shocked Dragonite squarely as it lowered its head.
BOOM!
Dragon Pulse exploded violently. Dragonite squeezed its eyes shut in pain—completely unguarded, the hit was devastating in its current state!
Fierce winds surged as Mega Salamence's massive form rose from the crater.
"Dragon Rush!"
Lucas's command was crisp and resolute.
Dense dragon energy overflowed around Mega Salamence, its blood-red eyes reflecting Dragonite's figure—
Outrage state!
"This is impossible!"
Lance enunciated each word, his expression grim as he stared at Mega Salamence in Dragon Rush.
How could this be?
No matter how he calculated it, Dragonite's previous assault should have been more than enough to knock Mega Salamence out.
How could it still stand? How could it launch such a ferocious counterattack?
Was it cheating or something, damn it?!
Lance didn't even issue another command. His mind was racing, trying to understand how Mega Salamence had endured Dragonite's attacks.
As for Dragonite…
Lance knew very well—it was finished.
Having just been hit by Dragon Pulse, Dragonite had no way to deal with the incoming Dragon Rush!
Mega Salamence slammed into Dragonite with crushing force, pain twisting Dragonite's face instantly.
Its entire body was sent flying, crashing heavily into the ground.
"Earthquake!"
Lucas gave another command without giving Dragonite any chance at all.
Mega Salamence descended, and the instant it landed, the entire battlefield shook violently.
Earthquake!
The seismic shockwave spread outward, sweeping over Dragonite's body in the blink of an eye.
Dragonite didn't even have time to recover—its strength gave out completely as it collapsed unconscious.
Silence!
The reversal came too fiercely, too suddenly.
After witnessing Mega Salamence's storm-like counterattack and Dragonite's utter defeat, everyone was stunned!
"Dragonite has lost the ability to battle! Mega Salamence wins!"
The referee quickly stepped forward, confirmed the result, raised his small flag, and announced it.
"Oh my heavens! Mega Salamence has pulled off a desperate comeback! It defeated Champion Lance's Dragonite!"
"So incredible! This is simply… unbelievable!"
The sunglasses-wearing announcer's excited voice echoed through the Silver Conference Arena via the microphone—he even used the words "unbelievable."
And he couldn't help it. Just moments ago, everyone had thought Dragonite had won.
But in the blink of an eye, Mega Salamence launched a true comeback from the brink, wiping out Dragonite in one sweeping burst and claiming victory!
The referee's and announcer's words finally snapped the crowd back to their senses—and instantly, the Silver Conference Stadium exploded.
"Amazing! Mega Salamence is insane!"
"How the hell did it hold on?! Why could Salamence still stand?! Did Lucas secretly feed it healing items or something?!"
"It makes no sense! There's no logic to it at all! After Dragonite's combo, Salamence shouldn't have been able to endure no matter how you look at it!"
All kinds of noisy voices erupted from the stands, while online forums flooded with real-time posts, reply counts skyrocketing.
"This really is a double reversal…" Wallace finally spoke after a long silence, his expression strange.
He had just said Lance would win this round—only to be slapped in the face immediately.
Steven and the others fell silent as well.
"Ummm…" Iris tilted her head and decided it was better not to say anything.
Inside the battlefield.
Lance slowly calmed his emotions, took out a Poké Ball, and recalled his incapacitated "Dragonite No. 2."
"Truly cunning."
He raised his head and looked at Lucas. At this moment, he finally understood why Mega Salamence—clearly on the brink of defeat—had still managed to keep one last breath and counterattack.
Once the shock faded, the answer came easily.
"Cunning? Cousin really knows how to joke. This was just a little surprise I prepared for you."
Lucas chuckled and shrugged casually, speaking in a playful tone as he also recalled Mega Salamence.
Although it had indeed defeated Dragonite, Mega Salamence's condition was already extremely poor.
The reason it could hold on under Dragonite's assault was simply because it had used Endure…
Endure: even after taking an attack, it forcibly leaves the Pokémon with at least 1 HP.
A god-tier move for preserving a last breath and launching a desperate counterattack.
But it was only effective as a surprise tactic.
"Hmph!"
Lance snorted coldly. He blamed himself for not being prepared—after all, Lucas's expression while Mega Salamence was being beaten hadn't revealed the slightest hint that he still had such a trick hidden.
"Well then, now we're really getting serious, Lance."
Lucas spun a Poké Ball on his fingertip before gripping it firmly. A wide grin spread across his face as he tossed it forward.
"Prepare for battle—Rhyperior!"
(End of Chapter)