"Professor, can Gyarados learn Flamethrower?"
In the stands, Misty was staring at the field in disbelief, too.
As a Trainer who specialized in Water types, she considered herself very knowledgeable about Water-type Pokémon.
But a Gyarados that knew Flamethrower? She had never seen or even heard of such a thing.
"Well... I don't know, either!"
Professor Oak spread his hands with a wry smile.
"Scizor is unable to battle!"
The referee finally announced the result, then raised his voice. "Since three of Gary's Pokémon are unable to continue, the match will now enter a five-minute intermission!"
At the referee's signal, the match paused.
But Gyarados's performance had been so damn impressive that the internet was in an uproar even during the break.
Comments flooded the accounts of Kanto Champion Lance, Blackthorn Gym Leader Clair of Johto, Sootopolis Gym Leader Wallace of Hoenn, Pastoria Gym Leader Crasher Wake of Sinnoh, and Siebold, the Water-type specialist in the Kalos Elite Four.
Some were Water-type experts, while others were top Trainers who owned a Gyarados. Countless people were asking all of them the same question. Could Gyarados really learn Flamethrower?
With so many people sharing the news, Caster and Gary's battle went viral, shooting straight to the top of the trending searches.
The spectators in the stadium were all talking about it, too.
Up on the raised platform, Lorelei adjusted her metal-framed glasses with one finger and smiled. "That young man always comes up with something new!"
The five minutes flew by.
Soon, the second half of the match began.
Gary and Caster took their places again.
Gary glanced up at the sky. The sun was still blazing overhead, and he settled on a plan.
Across from him, Caster had a Poké Ball ready in his hand.
"Go, Arcanine!"
"Let's go, Slowking!"
Their eyes met, and they threw their Poké Balls at the same time.
"Slow..."
The crowned Slowking appeared with its hands clasped behind its back and its belly sticking out. It surveyed its surroundings with a critical eye.
It looked less like it had come to battle than like a senior official arriving for an inspection.
"Slowking?"
Gary paused, then smiled. "So your Slowpoke has evolved, Caster?"
"Aaah..."
After looking around the field, Slowking yawned.
Dark clouds instantly gathered in the clear sky, spreading over the entire battlefield. Lightning flashed and crackled within them.
The rain came pouring down!
In the blink of an eye, Sunny Day had become a torrential downpour. Fat raindrops pelted the field, soaking both the ground and Arcanine.
"Caster has a second weather setter!"
Gary gritted his teeth, feeling discouraged.
Caster kept revealing one trick after another. Gary couldn't even begin to guess how much more he was hiding!
"Slow..."
As the rain fell, psychic energy surged out of Slowking, spreading an eerie pink light across the battlefield.
Psychic Terrain was in place!
Slowking's psychic power was so strong, though, that it could set up Psychic Terrain almost imperceptibly.
With the heavy rain and lightning drawing everyone's attention, many of the people watching never noticed it happen.
Ding, ding!
The bell rang to start the battle.
"Roar!"
Arcanine roared and shot forward in a streak of light, heading straight for Slowking, which remained perfectly at ease a short distance away.
The priority move, Extreme Speed!
Caster and Slowking both smiled at the sight of Arcanine using it.
Psychic Terrain had two main effects. It boosted the power of Psychic-type moves and stopped opposing Pokémon from landing priority attacks.
That was why neither of them was worried!
"Roar!"
Arcanine didn't notice anything wrong at first. But as it approached Slowking, the terrain's power took effect. The Normal-type energy around Arcanine dispersed, and Extreme Speed broke down into an ordinary attack.
"Slowking, Expanding Force!"
Caster gave the command telepathically, without saying a word aloud.
"Got it!"
Slowking grinned. An eerie light shone in its eyes, and its psychic power instantly immobilized Arcanine.
"Roar!"
Arcanine tried to fight back, but it was helpless against Slowking's overwhelming psychic strength.
Then psychic energy burst out of Slowking's mind in a devastating surge, slamming into Arcanine and battering its mind as well.
"Whine..."
Arcanine gave a whimper and passed out on the spot.
A one-hit knockout!
Many of the spectators stared, hardly able to believe what they had seen.
That was an Arcanine!
Caster, however, wasn't surprised at all. This was exactly what he expected.
Expanding Force was no ordinary move.
Expanding Force was already an advanced move with tremendous destructive power. Psychic Terrain magnified that power and expanded its reach from a single target to the entire battlefield. It also strengthened Psychic-type moves, adding to the force of the attack.
Stack all those effects together, and Expanding Force became absurdly powerful.
Add Slowking's already terrifying psychic strength, and knocking out Arcanine in one hit was nothing. Even Entei would have to think twice about taking it on.
"So weak!"
Slowking's dissatisfied voice sounded in Caster's mind. "It went down before I even got serious! How boring!"
"Was that...?"
Lorelei had watched everything from the raised platform. She narrowed her eyes. "Psychic Terrain and Expanding Force!"
She hadn't paid much attention at first, either. But as she thought back over what had happened, she immediately pieced it all together.
Then she frowned to herself.
Slowking's performance reminded her far too much of Sabrina.
"What's his relationship with Sabrina?"
Her gaze sharpened as she studied Caster.
At his position beside the field, Caster suddenly shivered.
He looked up at the rainy sky and scratched his head. "Is the rain that cold? It doesn't feel like it!"
Across from him, Gary was still in a daze. He hadn't understood that battle at all.
He didn't even know how he had lost!
"Have I fallen so far behind Caster that I can't even follow his battles anymore?"
All Gary felt was a deep sense of helplessness.
"Arcanine is unable to battle! Gary, please send out your next Pokémon!"
The referee's prompting brought Gary back to his senses, and he hurried to send out another Pokémon.
It had a black lightning-bolt marking on its belly and black patches across its body, giving it a tiger-like appearance. Two strange, conductor-like protrusions stood on its head.
It was the Electric-type Pokémon, Electabuzz!
Despite his helplessness, Gary hadn't given up. He continued giving commands calmly. "Electabuzz, Thunder!"
Boom!
A terrifying bolt of lightning came crashing down, snaking straight toward Slowking.
In the rain, Thunder was almost impossible to dodge, so Slowking didn't even try.
Hum!
It raised its hands slightly, and a translucent Protect barrier appeared in front of it.
Thunder failed to hurt it in the slightest.
But Gary's Electabuzz had clearly undergone special training. It had enormous reserves of electricity, and a little guidance was all it took to draw the current in the clouds down as a lightning strike. That made Thunder much easier to use.
Boom!
Barely had the first bolt faded when a second came crashing down.
A second Protect barrier appeared in front of Slowking, blocking Thunder again.
"Two successful uses of Protect in a row? Your Slowking's pretty lucky!"
Gary watched with a cold gaze. "But can it stop my third Thunder?"
The moment he finished speaking, a third bolt fell, giving Slowking no time to catch its breath.
A second later, Gary's hopes collapsed.
A third Protect barrier had appeared in front of Slowking.
And Slowking itself was as relaxed as ever. Nothing seemed capable of rattling it.
"Protect worked three times in a row? How lucky can one Slowking get? That's ridiculous!"
"You think that's luck? I think it's just that strong!"
The spectators and livestream viewers were amazed.
Electabuzz, meanwhile, had exhausted its stored electricity with those three consecutive uses of Thunder. It looked completely drained.
Before Slowking even attacked, Electabuzz sank to one knee, panting.
Caster wore a strange expression.
His Slowking was a special case. The shell crown on its head had considerable independence and could use moves on its own.
For most Pokémon, using Protect twice in a row was difficult. But Slowking and its shell crown could act independently, each creating its own barrier.
By taking turns, they could build a new barrier while the other rested, giving each barrier a better chance of holding. That was how they blocked all three of Electabuzz's Thunder attacks!
"If it used Thunder five times in a row, I might not be able to block them all!"
Slowking was earnestly calculating its limits out on the field. Caster's mouth twitched as he listened.
Then Slowking's eyes lit up again. A single Psychic attack struck Electabuzz, knocking it unconscious on the spot.
Gary's last Pokémon was Blastoise.
But against the terrifying Slowking, even his Blastoise was outmatched. With priority moves blocked, its Aqua Jet failed outright.
Slowking used Disable, followed by Expanding Force. Even with its tremendous defenses, Blastoise passed out without managing to accomplish much at all.
Slowking had swept three Pokémon and ended the match!
"We have a winner!"
As Blastoise fell, the commentator's excited voice rang out over the speakers. "All six of Gary's Pokémon are unable to battle! Advancing to the final is Caster from Cerulean City!"
"Let's give Caster a big round of applause!"