"Hey!!!"
A sharp tearing sound of wind rang out without warning.
A streak of afterimage flashed past.
It landed right in front of Machamp.
Shiko's tail, gleaming with an iron-like sheen, lashed out and bound Machamp's four flailing arms.
A deafening clash like metal colliding with metal erupted.
The hard Iron Tail locked into a contest of strength against Machamp's four arms.
Shiko and Machamp instantly fell into a deadlock.
But in the very next second—
Shiko's steel tail slid and twisted in a single fluid motion.
It deftly coiled around Machamp's waist instead.
"Roaaar!"
He let out a thunderous roar.
A terrifying pressure belonging to a Dragon-type surged outward.
His long tail snapped upright—
And in one motion, he hoisted Machamp two meters into the air.
Machamp's expression turned extremely ugly.
All four arms thrashed and struggled wildly.
He fought with everything he had, trying to break free from Shiko's Iron Tail restraint.
How could Shiko possibly give him that chance?
Machamp—after using Close Combat—
Was currently in that defenseless negative state.
His Defense had been heavily reduced.
That long tail, gleaming with metallic luster, whipped and swung.
Shiko's Iron Tail—
Gave off a feeling of being utterly unbreakable.
No matter how Machamp struggled, he couldn't break free.
And that was only natural.
After all, even though they were both Elite Four-level Pokémon—
Shiko wasn't inferior to a strength-specialist like Machamp in sheer power to begin with.
Not to mention—
He had mastered a fair amount of Steel-type law.
When he used Steel-type moves,
Their power and effect were even stronger than other Pokémon of the same tier.
Machamp wanted to break free with brute force alone?
He was dreaming.
The steel tail tightened.
Machamp's face visibly twisted into a ferocious grimace.
Shiko's long tail swung like an iron whip—
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Thick, towering holly trees were snapped clean in half at the waist under his violent motions.
Machamp, bound tight, had already been battered into dizziness.
Every tree nearby was wrecked completely.
Then Shiko showed no mercy and slammed Machamp down into the ground while still bound.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The massive sounds were like war drums.
The earth shook so hard it trembled like crazy.
The ground fissure that had opened earlier from Nidoking's Earthquake—
Split even more terrifyingly wide.
Shiko's brutal fighting style—
And this savage way of using Iron Tail—
Left everyone present staring in utter shock.
This GeoGreymon—
Was way too violent!
"Nidoking! Head Smash!"
"Electivire! Ice Punch!"
Dayu knew he couldn't keep watching.
He quickly sent his other two Pokémon in to help.
Head Smash was a double-edged move—
Wounding the enemy while heavily hurting the user as well—
But if they wanted to break through GeoGreymon's steel tail,
This was probably the only move with a chance.
As for Electivire—
He was even more awkward.
His Electric-type was completely negated by GeoGreymon's Ground-type.
Luckily, he still had Ice Punch—
Which could deal damage to GeoGreymon, who also had the Dragon-type.
The combat power GeoGreymon was showing right now was absurdly strong!
It went far beyond Dayu's expectations!
Dayu truly couldn't understand why—
When they were both Elite Four-level—
There could be such a massive gap in combat power!
Machamp had absolutely no room to fight back in front of GeoGreymon.
He was beaten down in a one-sided stomp!
Was this really an Elite Four-level Pokémon?
With this level of strength—
Even Champion-level wouldn't be much more than this!
While Dayu was still in shock,
Nidoking and Electivire had already rushed to Shiko's front.
"Roaaar!"
With a low, heavy roar,
Shiko whipped his steel tail.
Nidoking and Electivire darted aside to evade.
Machamp crashed down hard onto the ground.
The impact blasted open a huge crater.
He passed out—alive or dead, no one could tell.
A vicious gleam flashed in Shiko's eyes.
He charged straight at the two Pokémon sprinting toward him.
Around the sharp claws at the ends of his forelimbs—
A dark red light coiled and flickered.
Under perfect mastery of the Dragon-type law,
That Dragon Claw concealed Dragon-type energy that made people's hearts tremble.
Facing the two charging Pokémon,
The muscles in Shiko's forelimbs bulged.
His forward-driving steps tensed—
Carrying a terrifying aura—
And he hurled both claws down viciously!
His left razor-sharp claw braced against Nidoking's pointed horn!
His right razor-sharp claw collided head-on with Electivire's Ice Punch!
A head-on collision between three Elite Four-level Pokémon!
The energy spilling out from the battle's shockwaves
Carried an oppressive, terrifying presence!
The surging air blast hurled everyone present backward a long distance!
The situation turned into a stalemate!
And yet—
Shiko, fighting one against two,
Still didn't fall into a disadvantage at all!
What a terrifying monster!
Dayu's expression stiffened.
Veins bulged on his face.
That ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
This trap he had set—
Seemed to be tightening around him instead!
"Don't back off! Finish him for me!"
Dayu no longer cared about capturing Shiko!
Whether they could even defeat him was uncertain!
If Nidoking and Electivire didn't go all-out today, they'd be completely finished!
As he thought frantically,
His hand unconsciously slid toward the last Poké Ball at his waist.
"Nido!!"
"Zzwaa!!"
Nidoking and Electivire also felt how strong this opponent was.
They poured out all their strength and energy.
Light flared from Nidoking's sharp horn.
Step by step, he forced his way forward—
Actually pushing Shiko's hand back a little by sheer force!
On the other side,
Electivire also used every trick he had.
The Ice-type energy coating Ice Punch surged explosively—
And it even froze a thin layer of frost over Shiko's claw!
From how it looked—
With both Pokémon going all-out,
It seemed Shiko was starting to fall behind.
"Good! That's it!"
Dayu's eyes lit up. He finally let out a breath and couldn't help shouting as he shook his head in relief.
They should be able to win!
Sure enough!
No matter how strong he was, he was still limited—
Since they were all Elite Four-level!
The City Defense Forces on site,
Seeing GeoGreymon looking somewhat overwhelmed,
All showed worry on their faces.
Only Himeko's expression remained as calm as ever.
She didn't see the slightest emotional fluctuation in Shiko's eyes.
That meant—
Everything happening right now was still fully within his control.
So this is all a normal Elite Four-level can manage when going all-out.
Shiko thought quietly to himself.
He had deliberately held back with this clash.
His goal was to test just how strong ordinary Elite Four-level Pokémon were—
And how large the gap really was between them and him.
After all, back in Dragon Valley,
When dealing with those Elite Four-level Dragon-types,
Just his overwhelming pressure alone had been enough to crush them.
It was hard to accurately evaluate how much stronger he was than a typical Elite Four-level.
But now—
Shiko already had a clear number in his mind.
Since that was settled,
There was no need to leave these two Pokémon alive anymore!
One hundred percent Dragon-type energy, poured in!
The red energy aura coiling around Dragon Claw deepened—
So deep it looked like it was about to ignite!
Shiko suddenly exerted force!
Vast power and terrifying energy converged—
And in one instant, he flipped the entire situation around!
(End of Chapter)
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