Chapter 26. Clefairy Ritual, Dynamax
Sealed—then what?
The same doubt surfaced in everyone's mind.
"Pippi, pi, Pippi…"
The entire battlefield fell into a strange silence.
Only the tireless voices of the Clefairy remained, and every gaze was fixed on the Poké Ball Rotom on the field.
Quite a few researchers even crowded closer, staring intently at the Poké Ball Rotom.
Two minutes later.
"Roar!"
With a pained bellow, Charizard was released.
At this moment, Charizard was panting.
Its aura, so robust before, had declined greatly.
A gap of about sixteen levels, and it's only two minutes…?
Natsume silently took note.
Seeing Charizard's state, Lance jolted and blurted:
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
"Roar!"
Charizard opened its mouth.
Flames gathered in its maw, growing larger and larger.
"Zzzzt—"
A golden arc flashed across its body, instantly interrupting Flamethrower.
"Paralysis?"
Lance spoke in disbelief.
"Your Cursed Ball also inflicts paralysis?"
"Otherwise, why call it a Cursed Ball? Rotom, keep using Cursed Ball!"
Frozen in place, Charizard was once again shrouded in a violet ray.
Two minutes later, Charizard went in upright and came out sideways.
"Charizard is unable to battle. Natsume wins the first round!"
Brock loudly announced the result.
"This kind of move…?"
At that moment, Lance's pupils trembled.
"Lance, send out your second Pokémon."
Natsume looked at him and spoke calmly.
"Alright, I understand." Lance's expression turned serious. "Return, Charizard."
"Go, Gyarados!"
"ROAR!!!"
A red light flashed, and a Pokémon shaped like a dragon, with a back plate shaped like a kanji character, appeared on the field.
Most eye-catching was that ferocious, gaping maw.
[Gyarados, Lv. 70.]
"Poké Ball Rotom, Cursed Ball!"
"Dodge, quick!"
This time, Lance didn't dare let his Pokémon take Cursed Ball head-on.
It was practically a broken technique for one-on-ones.
"Use Crunch!"
Gyarados nimbly avoided the violet ray and, at Lance's command, closed in on Rotom in the next instant.
Crunch, a Dark-type move, hits Electric + Psychic typing for 2× effectiveness, and this Gyarados's level was high.
Taking one clean would be rough.
Unexpectedly, Natsume went the other way:
"Rotom, ram it!"
"Thud!"
Crunch landed solidly on the Poké Ball Rotom, which let out a muffled cry of pain.
"Extinction Ball!"
As expected, a Poké Ball Rotom with all its base stats "allocated" to Defense did not go down.
"Vwooom—"
A strange wave pulsed out from inside the Poké Ball Rotom, instantly radiating several meters around it.
The space covered by the wave turned entirely black and white, as though Rotom had stripped every color from that portion of space.
The color on Gyarados's body also began to fade, becoming a lifeless black and white.
No struggle.
No fear.
Gyarados simply froze midair in a bizarre still frame.
"This is…" Sensing Gyarados's condition, Lance felt increasingly uneasy.
When every hue on Gyarados faded, the wave collapsed sharply, and the black-and-white Gyarados was drawn back into the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Rotom."
As if its energy were spent, Rotom's glow turned gray.
The red-and-white shards fused with electricity began to contract, then halted in midair, immobile.
"What did you do to my Gyarados?" Lance demanded.
Even the name Extinction Ball sounded dangerous.
"Relax. Once the battle's over, Gyarados will be released. Send your next Pokémon—the stronger it is, the faster Gyarados comes out."
Natsume waved a hand.
"Got it."
Lance nodded solemnly.
He understood Natsume's intention—make him hit the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Never thought a single Pokémon could do this…"
Lance's face grew grim.
He was about to get serious.
"Come on out, old partner!"
At his command, a big, orange, pudgy dragon dropped from the sky, landing in the center of the field.
"Roo-ooor—"
Dragonite howled skyward, fixing the Poké Ball Rotom with a stern stare.
It had watched from above for a long while and didn't dare relax for a second.
[Dragonite, Lv. 88.]
"Try attacking my Rotom."
"The harder you hit, the faster Gyarados returns."
"Cursed Ball and Extinction Ball are out of PP, so it won't hit back."
Natsume called across to Lance.
Lance found it odd, but still ordered:
"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"
"BOOM—"
A white beam slammed into the Poké Ball Rotom.
Strangely, aside from a grayish ripple fanning out, Rotom didn't react at all.
What's going on?
Lance was stunned.
"Keep going!"
Just then, Natsume spoke again.
Looking up, center-parted was handing him potato chips.
Seeing this, a nameless fire rose in Lance's heart.
"Thunder Punch!"
"Boom!"
Savage electricity gathered on Dragonite's fist and crashed squarely into the Poké Ball Rotom.
This time, the Poké Ball Rotom finally responded.
"Whoosh!"
A fainted Gyarados was released.
Seeing the wounds on Gyarados—especially that fist-shaped scorch mark—Lance blanched.
"This can graft damage!?"
"Mm-hmm. Otherwise, why would I have you hit Rotom?"
Natsume chomped on the chips, speaking around the crunch.
Lance: "…"
He'd thought failing to quickly defeat Rotom would endanger Gyarados's life.
Turns out it was like this!
Lance suddenly felt like his anger had nowhere to go.
"Dragonite, Dragon Rush!"
He gave the order decisively, intent on ending it fast.
Rotom had already taken a solid Crunch from Gyarados.
It was a spent arrow.
"Roo-ooor!!!"
Dragonite shot skyward.
Its surging aura condensed into a spectral dragon, then swooped down, diving at the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Oh no—Natsume, dodge!"
Outside the field, Ash yelled anxiously.
If Rotom took this hit, it would definitely fall!
Crunch.
Natsume kept chewing, like he hadn't seen a thing.
"Roo-ooor!!!"
In a blink, Dragonite closed on the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Rotom, Healing Ball."
"Roto—"
A green ray easily struck the Dragonite at point-blank range.
"Whoosh!"
Dragonite was absorbed.
A second later, Dragonite reappeared on the field wreathed in green, healing waves, looking utterly baffled.
Congratulations!
Your healthy Dragonite became an even healthier Dragonite.
Lance: "???"
You can interrupt a move like that?
"Misty, is this even a legitimate way to battle?"
Ash scratched his head.
"I don't know. It feels super shameless, but it counts as a tactic… if you've got the face for it."
"Is that so…"
Ash narrowed his eyes.
He felt like he could learn a lot from Natsume.
"Dragonite, take off."
"Circle at high speed up top."
"Don't approach."
"Avoid the green ray."
"Then use Hyper Beam!"
As a Dragon-type expert, Lance quickly thought of a way to break the stalemate.
"Roar—"
A thick white beam dropped from the sky, blasting straight at the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Here, you can have this."
Natsume passed the chips to center-parted, who was rubbing its little paws and staring.
Watching the Poké Ball Rotom face Hyper Beam head-on, Natsume gave a slight shake of the head.
Looks like this is the limit.
"Pippi! Pi! Pippi!"
Suddenly, the Clefairy's voices swelled.
"What's happening?"
Blue electrical light flickered across the arena, converging toward the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Psychic power—no, that's not it!"
Natsume's eyes sharpened.
Mixed into the blue light were minute black-and-red particles—few, but visible if you looked closely.
"Pippi! Pi! Pippi!"
The Clefairy's chant reached its peak, soaring high, as if the ritual had been completed.
In an instant, an azure pillar of light wrapped the Poké Ball Rotom.
"Roar!"
Dragon Rush collided with the pillar and was broken at once.
Dragonite tumbled several times in midair before steadying itself.
"Pippi! Pi! Pippi!"
The Moon God doesn't lose!!!
Within the azure pillar, the proportion of black-and-red particles grew and grew, until it became a baleful black-and-red column.
At the same time, the Poké Ball Rotom's body kept getting larger, and larger!
"This is—"
Natsume and Lance's eyes went wide as they spoke in unison:
"Dynamax!?"
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