At this moment, the entire ruins hall trembled under Regirock's roar, debris cascading from the dome above.
Cynthia's dust-covered hair whipped in the chaotic energy currents as she walked forward steadily, her boots crunching over the broken stone scattered across the ground.
Garchomp moved alongside her, wings slightly spread, casting jagged shadows on the floor.
Now, they had reached the final moment.
"ROOOAR!!!"
As if enraged by the approaching human and Pokémon, Regirock's core suddenly blazed with crimson light, radiating outward like spears!
It slammed both arms into the ground, sending the entire rocky terrain surging like ocean waves. Countless sharp stone spikes erupted from below, racing toward Cynthia and Garchomp with deadly speed!
"Thirty degrees left, Dragon Rush!"
Cynthia's voice was as cold as ice. Garchomp instantly twisted its body, deep blue Dragon-type energy wrapping around its form as it became a streak of light threading through the gaps between the spikes!
The razor-sharp stone spears scraped against its scales, throwing off sparks, but failed to inflict any real damage.
Regirock let out a deafening hum, seemingly even more furious that its prey had escaped.
It crossed both arms, and countless floating rocks condensed in the air before raining down like a storm of stone bullets. Each rock whistled through the air, sealing off every possible escape route.
"Swords Dance into Sand Tomb!"
Garchomp's wings beat furiously, transforming it into a high-speed spinning blade. The typically lengthy setup for this enhancement became nearly instantaneous!
Just as the rocks were about to engulf it, Garchomp slammed the ground. The rocky layer beneath Regirock suddenly liquefied, forming a rapidly spinning quicksand vortex!
This sudden change threw off the aim of all the rocks Regirock was controlling. Most collided with each other and crashed down, while the few massive stones that made it through the sandstorm were precisely shattered by Garchomp's tail fin, now enhanced by Swords Dance!
At this moment, Cynthia's pupils contracted to pinpoints. She had entered a state of absolute focus where all external noise vanished, leaving only the energy fluctuations from Regirock's every movement and the gentle caress of wind!
In this instant, she could even predict the energy gathering before each of the Rock Pillar's attacks, and that brief window was the key to survival!
This was the decisive ability that only a Champion could display in such a crisis!
The next moment, Cynthia's voice rang out again!
"Right rear dodge, follow with Dragon Claw!"
Garchomp reacted almost the instant Cynthia spoke. It sidestepped a stone spear that suddenly jutted from the ground, crossed its claws in a slashing motion, deep blue light gathering at the claw tips as it struck hard at Regirock's knee joint!
Amid the harsh grinding sound, several fragments broke away from the Rock Pillar's body!
This seemed to completely enrage Regirock. The orange core in its chest suddenly turned dark red, and all the energy scattered throughout the ruins began converging toward it!
Immediately after, it plunged both arms into the ground. The entire rocky terrain began writhing like a living creature, countless stone spikes attacking from all directions, leaving absolutely no room to dodge.
"Take flight! Dragon Pulse to clear the way!"
Garchomp grabbed Cynthia's shoulder and shot skyward, simultaneously tilting its head back to fire a series of energy orbs that formed like meteors. The explosion shockwaves barely carved out a narrow passage through the stone spike forest, but a lurking sharp stone suddenly struck from the side!
Sensing the movement beside them, Garchomp barely managed to twist based on instinct alone, but Cynthia's presence interfered with its flight. The rock still grazed its flank, and blue-purple blood immediately soaked through its scales!
This wasn't just any ordinary sharp stone, but an attack infused with Regirock's terrifying energy!
"Garchomp!"
Seeing Garchomp injured, a crack appeared in Cynthia's composure. In that moment of distraction, Regirock suddenly changed its attack pattern—it abandoned its pursuit of Garchomp and turned both arms toward Cynthia, suspended in midair!
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Cynthia saw Regirock's core blaze with blinding white light—the telltale sign of a Hyper Beam charging up. At this distance, at this angle, there was no possibility of dodging—
However, the next moment.
Two red beams shot out from Poké Balls!
These were Cynthia's two remaining Pokémon, still clinging to the last threads of their fighting ability. They stepped forward on their own!
Spiritomb's Odd Keystone blazed with its final ghostly light, shadows becoming a physical barrier, while Roserade crossed both arms as dozens of thorned vines wove into a protective net! They positioned themselves in front of Cynthia!
But both defensive lines crumbled like paper before the Hyper Beam. The moment they made contact, they were torn to shreds, and both Pokémon were sent flying by the aftershock, slamming hard into the wall and losing consciousness!
The blazing white light consumed Cynthia's vision. In the instant before death's arrival, Cynthia instinctively closed her eyes.
"Cynthia!!!"
Caitlin's heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the entire cavern, the radiance around her body flashing suddenly, but she was already too late to lend a hand.
At this critical moment.
A blue figure blocked Cynthia's path at an impossible speed!
Garchomp raised both claws, using its battle-scarred body to create one final line of defense!
In the dazzling white light, it turned back to look at Cynthia once, those crimson eyes filled with absolute resolve.
"No—!"
Cynthia's scream rang out simultaneously with the Hyper Beam's roar.
Just as the energy torrent was about to engulf Garchomp, the pendant around her chest suddenly burst with brilliant rainbow light. A dazzling pillar of light crashed down from above, instantly enveloping both Cynthia and Garchomp with infinite power and energy waves!!
The roaring beam of destruction was completely absorbed by that rainbow radiance the moment it made contact, vanishing into thin air!
Within the light, Garchomp's form began to change dramatically. Its body swelled to nearly double its size, its dorsal fin split into six sharp blade-like wings, its front claws evolved into true dragon blades, and its scales took on a metallic luster.
Surging energy burned and rose from its body, carrying the presence of a true king as it swept across the entire battlefield in an instant!
In this moment, Garchomp had undergone a complete transformation, its aura no less imposing than Regirock itself!!
Even more astounding, Cynthia felt a warm current flowing from the pendant into her body. An unprecedented bond formed between her and Garchomp, as if she could feel its every heartbeat!
"This... this is Mega Evolution?"
This strange yet familiar term naturally surfaced in Cynthia's mind.
On the battlefield, Regirock seemed stunned by this sudden turn of events, but it quickly regathered its energy, both arms becoming blurs as they hammered toward Mega Garchomp!
However, this time, Garchomp simply raised its right claw lightly and steadily caught the strike that could have pulverized mountains!!
"Dragon Claw."
Cynthia spoke softly. Without even needing a complete command, Mega Garchomp's left claw already glowed with emerald light, vanishing from its position and slashing toward Regirock's chest at a speed barely visible to the naked eye!
"HUMMM!!"
Amid the harsh sound of shattering, obvious cracks appeared in the Rock Pillar's core. It staggered back two steps, and the entire ruins shook from the impact!
Regirock roared and plunged both arms into the ground again. All the energy in the ruins was drawn out in this moment, forming countless floating sharp crystals around it!
This seemed to be its full-power finishing move without any restraint. Each crystal was wrapped in terrifying radiance, containing enough energy to pierce through anything!
But Mega Garchomp was faster.
With just a thought from Cynthia, Garchomp had already appeared behind Regirock. All its energy concentrated at this point as it reared back and leaped, becoming a brilliant golden meteor that conjured a dazzling starry sky out of thin air before diving down!!
Draco Meteor!!!!
Within the rainbow radiance, a blue light flashed past.
Garchomp pierced straight through Regirock's core, appearing in another corner of the hall.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Deafening explosions followed!
The crack instantly spread throughout its entire body. The Rock Pillar's movements froze as it slowly looked down at the wound in its chest, letting out one final unwilling hum.
As the core's light faded, amid violent trembling, its body began rapidly turning to stone, ultimately becoming a lifeless statue once again, returning to its original state.
(t/n: was Regirock in a weakened state?)
Everyone present stared at this scene, frozen in place with trembling pupils, waves of infinite shock surging through their hearts.
Cynthia... won???!
The legendary Pokémon was defeated by Garchomp??!!
Even Caitlin stood motionless in stunned silence. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. That incredibly powerful Regirock... had actually been defeated just like that??
In that very instant, the rainbow light around Garchomp gradually faded, and Mega Garchomp returned to its original form. It staggered forward two steps before finally collapsing, unable to support itself any longer.
Cynthia tried to step forward, only to find that everything was spinning before her eyes as well.
Everything around them plunged into darkness.
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