That was precisely why Ash chose this moment to use Swords Dance to boost Sceptile's attack!
"Darkrai! Dark Void!"
As Tobias's command rang out,
a pitch-black figure slowly emerged from the cloud of dust.
At the same time—
that figure raised a massive black sphere high above its head.
The instant Ash saw the thing above Darkrai's head,
his heart sank.
He knew that move all too well!
It was Darkrai's Dark Void—
and not the ordinary kind, but a heavily reinforced version!
Back in Alamos Town, he had seen another Darkrai use this very technique.
Even across the vast area of the Space-Time Tower plaza, it could blanket everything.
Let alone this small battle arena!
Which meant—
This Dark Void was unavoidable.
Sceptile would definitely be hit!
And once it landed, Darkrai's Dream Eater combo would follow immediately.
Maybe even an Ice Beam to finish it off!
What should he do?!
Ash's mind began spinning at full speed.
At the same time, Dawn—who had been watching from the sidelines—was trembling with tension.
This was even more intense than the Lily of the Valley Conference back then!
She could feel sweat forming in her palms.
Sensing his Trainer's anxiety,
Piplup rubbed its head gently against Dawn's chin.
Feeling the touch, Dawn finally calmed down a little.
"Ash! You have to win!"
The girl's clear voice echoed across the empty battlefield.
Ash snapped back to his senses.
He didn't say anything—
just raised his thumb toward Dawn.
Win?
Of course he would win!
And he would win beautifully!
Since this Dark Void couldn't be dodged—
Then he simply wouldn't dodge it!
"Sceptile, circle around to Darkrai's back and use X-Scissor!"
The moment his command fell,
Tobias's voice sounded from the opposite side at the exact same time.
"Don't give Sceptile any chance! Use Dark Void in all directions—360 degrees!"
By now, Tobias's tone no longer carried its initial arrogance.
Instead, there was caution—and excitement.
The thrill of facing a powerful opponent sent dopamine surging through his brain.
Right now, there was only one thing he wanted—
Victory.
Only by winning could he feel true exhilaration.
"As an opponent, Ash—I acknowledge you.
But the final victory of this battle will still belong to me!"
Tobias flicked his red cloak dramatically and pointed at Ash in an extremely arrogant manner.
To Tobias, this was how he acknowledged someone!
Most people would see that gesture as provocation.
But Ash?
He just felt his adrenaline spike!
Arrogant?
Ash could be even more arrogant!
He turned the brim of his cap to the back of his head,
gave Tobias a thumbs-up—
Then slowly turned it downward.
"Sorry, but victory won't belong to you.
That's mine."
Honestly, maybe it was because he'd been around Gary too much lately.
Ash actually showed the same wicked grin Gary often wore.
To those who knew Ash well,
this expression was pure contrast.
Ash was usually gentle and sincere—
which only showed how badly Tobias had truly pissed him off in just a few short hours!
To be fair—
Tobias really was talented at provoking people.
Facing Ash's equally arrogant taunt,
Tobias merely smiled unconcerned.
In his eyes, once Dark Void hit,
the initiative of the battle would be firmly in his grasp.
And after that—
Did the outcome even need to be discussed?
The scales of victory had already tilted in his favor!
However—
The instant Darkrai released Dark Void,
the grin on Ash's face grew even wider.
"Now! Sceptile—use Dig!"
Hearing that—
Both Tobias and Darkrai froze with question marks popping up in their minds.
So you, Ash, with those thick eyebrows and honest face, were using tactics now?!
No wonder—
when Ash earlier ordered Sceptile to move behind Darkrai, Sceptile hadn't moved at all.
Such an abnormal reaction, and he hadn't noticed it!
That was truly a mistake.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
Darkrai's Dark Void was already released.
The massive black energy covered the entire battlefield.
Unfortunately for Tobias—
The moment Dark Void touched the ground, it vanished without a trace.
Because Sceptile—
Was underground!
[Bruno: As expected of Master Ash! To think he'd find a way to counter a guaranteed-hit move in this situation! Dig is way too cool! I've decided—every Pokémon I own is going to learn Dig!]
[Lance: Earthquake warning! Dig is useful, but don't abuse it! Plenty of Pokémon can use Earthquake—get hit underground and you're guaranteed to be taken out!]
[Leon: Lance is right. It's only because Darkrai can't effectively attack underground targets that Ash's strategy shines so much here.]
[Diantha: That's also because Ash himself is exceptional. We can see it clearly as spectators—but Ash, as the one in the moment, still found the solution. That's genuinely impressive.]
[Aaron: Indeed. In this situation, most people would already have no way to resist.]
[Cynthia: Ash's tactical literacy is excellent. His battle IQ far surpasses most people—otherwise he couldn't have made the optimal decision under that pressure.]
[Raihan: Just be cool and that's enough! I'm rooting for you, Ash! Once you make it into the Masters Eight, make sure you beat Leon hard for me!]
[Ash: Huh? Mister, aren't you on good terms with Mr. Leon?]
[Leon: Hahaha, he's just abusing public office for personal grudges. With me around, Raihan can forget about taking the Galar Champion seat.]
[Lance: For some reason, I suddenly feel much better. Compared to Lorelei, you might actually have it worse.
At least I still have a bit of hope—but your opponent is Leon. I suggest you give up on becoming Galar Champion early. It's unrealistic.]
[Raihan: ?]
How could there be someone stuck as a Gym Leader for over twenty years?!
In that instant, Raihan felt his life plunge into darkness.
That monster Leon—who could possibly beat him?!
(Ash: That would be me.)
...
On screen—
After the Dark Void that covered the entire field dissipated,
Darkrai slowly ascended, increasing its altitude.
It was guarding against Sceptile bursting out of the ground.
Although Ground-type moves only dealt neutral damage to it,
Sceptile's speed was terrifying.
If Sceptile caught an opening,
it definitely wouldn't end with just a single Dig.
Darkrai's stamina had already been heavily depleted in the earlier exchanges.
If it took another full combo from Sceptile—
And one boosted by Swords Dance at that—
It would likely fall for good.
The pride of a Legendary Pokémon forced Darkrai to steel itself.
From start to finish, it hadn't touched Sceptile even once!
That demonic speed was despair-inducing.
A cool breeze swept through the quiet night.
Everything was silent—
So silent it was frightening.
At that moment!
Tobias suddenly spoke.
Under everyone's gaze, he pointed toward a spot on the battlefield and shouted to Darkrai in the sky:
"Now! Use Dark Pulse at that location!"
In that brief moment of silence,
Tobias relied on the heightened perception he had honed over three years of surviving in the forest—
And pinpointed Sceptile's movement underground!
After all, not just anyone could survive in the wilderness for three years.
This perception was the skill that had kept him alive.
Hearing its Trainer's command,
Darkrai hesitated not even for a second.
It fired a Dark Pulse straight at the indicated area.
As expected!
The Dark Pulse shattered the ground—
Revealing the green figure beneath!
It was Sceptile!
Seeing Dark Pulse about to hit,
Ash waved his arm and shouted with all his strength:
"Sceptile, dodge—now!"
"You think just shouting 'dodge' will make it dodge?!
You're underestimating my Darkrai!"
Tobias sneered in disdain.
What a joke—
dodging a guaranteed hit with just a word?
If that were possible,
he'd eat every lamppost in the arena on the spot!
"Pika—"
Seeing Tobias's smug grin,
Pikachu, standing at Ash's feet, shook its head disdainfully.
Do you even understand the divine technique—'Dodge It!'?
Ignorant fool!
And then—
The next second, Tobias was stunned.
Just as Dark Pulse was about to strike Sceptile,
Sceptile used a rock in its hand to block the attack for a single second—
Just one second!
That tiny delay was enough.
Sceptile shot out of the ground at blinding speed,
dodging clear of the Dark Pulse's range!
At the same time—
Taking advantage of Darkrai's moment of shock,
Sceptile took just a few steps and leapt behind it.
Its arms crossed,
green light blooming once more along its Leaf Blades.
Leaf Blade—activated again!
But this wasn't an ordinary Leaf Blade—
This one was boosted by Swords Dance!
The threat was even greater than X-Scissor!
With a single strike—
Darkrai was slammed to the ground!
"Nice! Finish it!"
Ash pointed skyward, then swung his arm down toward the fallen Darkrai.
"Throw the final punch! Use Focus Punch!"
This move—
Was something Ash had specifically asked Red about,
and had Red's Pokémon teach to Sceptile!
All for this moment!
All to deliver the decisive blow to Darkrai right here and now!
The previous Leaf Blade had already drained Darkrai's stamina completely.
Relying on sheer pride, Darkrai tried to rise—
Only to see a massive green fist fill its vision!
It didn't even hear its Trainer's voice—
Before that enormous fist slammed squarely into its face!
Focus Punch's terrifying 150 base power,
combined with Sceptile's Swords Dance–boosted physical attack—
One punch!
Just one punch was enough to perfectly conclude this god-tier battle!
Darkrai's body was blasted high into the air—
Then smashed violently back down onto the ground!
With a thunderous crash—
Viewers watching the livestream were left dumbfounded.
Anyone with eyes could tell that the Leaf Blade had already ended the fight.
Darkrai was only holding on by sheer will—
at most, it would have lost the ability to battle within three seconds.
Yet Ash didn't even give it those three seconds!
Within that tiny window, he still ordered Sceptile to unleash a devastating Focus Punch!
Even though Sceptile's Special Attack was superior,
Ash chose an ultra-high-power physical move at that moment.
That choice made people suspicious.
Ash… wasn't he taking revenge?!
Surely not?!
The Rotom Referee announced the result:
"Darkrai has lost the ability to battle.
Trainer Tobias, please send out your second Pokémon."
Hearing the verdict,
the breath Ash had been holding finally escaped.
Damn it—
you were so arrogant earlier, and now look at you!
[Gardenia: Matching gods with a mortal body—this Sceptile's strength has clearly reached Champion level, or even beyond!]
[Drake: Not 'clearly'—definitely! This battle was Sceptile using its speed to toy with Darkrai from start to finish. Darkrai didn't land a single hit!]
[Flint: Holy crap, I thought Tobias was some amazing powerhouse with all that arrogance. Turns out he's just small fry—got insta-killed. This is hilarious.]
[Bruno: Seriously, all that buildup had me thinking he was some monster. Turns out he's pretty average. He probably won the Lily of the Valley Conference back then just by brute-forcing it with Legendary Pokémon.]
[Tobias: A loss is a loss. I won't make excuses. Any justification is just an excuse the loser tells themselves.]
[Tobias: Ash, you are strong. From now on, I'll treat you as a true rival. I hope we meet again at the next Lily of the Valley Conference—when that happens, I will take my revenge.]
[Ash: Hey, I think you've got something mixed up! What's being livestreamed here is my revenge on you! And now you're talking about getting revenge on me later? You've got the relationship backwards!]
[Gary: Alright, stop. Ash's head is already steaming—this level of thinking is frying his CPU.]
[Tobias: Then we'll meet again at the Lily of the Valley Conference. I'll be going into seclusion in the forest for now.]
[Bruno: Didn't expect the kid to be such a man of character. Looks like his earlier arrogance wasn't because he couldn't speak properly—he just genuinely didn't think much of us.]
[Brandon: After all, owning a full team of Legendary Pokémon at such a young age—anyone would be arrogant in that position.]
[Bruno: Come on, if I'd had a full Legendary team at fifteen, I wouldn't just be arrogant—I'd want the whole world to know!]
[Lance: That's our Bruno!]
Bruno wasn't wrong.
Who wasn't arrogant in their youth?
Unfortunately for Tobias—
His arrogance met an opponent like Ash.
No one knew what the outcome of the future Lily of the Valley Conference would be.
But everyone had witnessed one thing clearly—
Ash's Sceptile had successfully slaughtered a god.
Matching gods with a mortal body?
No—
It was a mortal body slaying a god!
Sceptile had truly earned the title of Godslayer.
And it wasn't even close—
It was complete domination!
What made it even more terrifying was that
this wasn't even Ash's Alola Championship team.
It felt as if Ash's strength had already surpassed what viewers could imagine.
He seemed… absurdly strong.
[Paul: Heh. So this is a so-called divine emissary? What trash.]
[Tobias: You're behind Ash's Pikachu in line.]
Seeing that message, Pikachu paused mid-bite of its Pokémon food.
What does that have to do with me?!
I'm Pikachu the God, alright?!
...
On screen—
The moment Darkrai lost the ability to battle,
Tobias's mind went blank for an instant.
From the moment the battle truly began,
he had vaguely sensed that this outcome was possible.
But he never imagined it would happen so fast—
And so decisively.
Throughout the entire fight,
Darkrai hadn't even managed to touch Sceptile once.
This was completely different from the Lily of the Valley Conference three years ago!
Only three years had passed—
Yet the gap had become unfathomable!
"This one's my win."
Ash happily scooped up Pikachu and spun around in a circle.
All those countless battles he had rehearsed in his mind—
Finally, in this moment, they completed their transformation.
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