Only Steven felt alarm bells ringing in his mind when he saw Ariel take out his next Poké Ball.
Ariel gave no one time to react; the second Poké Ball had already been thrown.
"Roar—!"
A roar that shook the heavens accompanied a massive figure slamming onto the battlefield, kicking up a cloud of dust!
A Gyarados, far larger than the average of its kind, appeared before everyone!
Its crimson eyes were locked onto the Cradily opposite it, and its violent aura made the audience in the front rows feel suffocated.
"It's Gyarados! Challenger Ariel has sent out Gyarados!"
"Go." Ariel's voice remained calm.
Gyarados opened its massive maw, and a thick pillar of water erupted with overwhelming force—it was Hydro Pump!
Cradily, already low on health and unable to move due to Ingrain, took the full force of the powerful Hydro Pump; without even letting out a cry, its eyes rolled back, and it lost the ability to battle.
A visible red aura surged from the fallen Cradily and flowed into Gyarados.
Gyarados's aura climbed once more, and its already fierce gaze was now filled with a desire for destruction.
Steven watched this scene, his heart sinking.
Bad!
Ariel's tactical intent was too obvious.
He used Greninja to wear down Cradily's stamina, then sent out Gyarados to finish it off, thereby triggering the "Moxie" ability and starting to roll the Snowball!
Now, he had to face a Gyarados with boosted attack power and full health!
"Return, Cradily."
Steven recalled his Pokémon, his expression more serious than ever before.
He took out his third Poké Ball, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"Go, Claydol!"
With a flash of red light, a tan, spinning-top-like Pokémon appeared on the field; it had multiple eyes, its body hovered in mid-air, and it emanated mysterious Psychic fluctuations.
Ground and Psychic-type! Ranged, area-of-effect Psychic attacks and Rock-type moves were perfect for dealing with such a massive Pokémon!
"Challenger Steven's response is flawless! Claydol! This is an excellent choice to deal with Gyarados!" the commentator analyzed excitedly.
"Extrasensory!" Steven's command was shockingly fast.
Claydol's multiple eyes simultaneously lit up with an eerie purple light, and a massive surge of mental power transformed into an invisible shockwave, distorting the air as it blasted toward Gyarados!
However, just as that invisible shockwave was about to touch Gyarados—
"Return."
Ariel's voice rang out again, so fast it was as if it were synchronized with Steven's command.
Gyarados was recalled by the red light.
Replacing it was another, completely different figure.
A Pokémon with an even more bizarre form appeared in the spot where Gyarados had been.
Its body was blue-purple, floating upside down; the tentacles on its head hung down like whiskers, and a pair of hypnotic eyes glimmered with an ominous light.
Malamar!
Dark and Psychic-type!
That Psychic attack, which would have been enough to severely damage Gyarados, slammed solidly into Malamar.
And then…
Like a drop of water merging into the ocean, there was no explosion, no sound; the powerful Psychic shockwave simply vanished into nothingness the moment it touched Malamar's body.
Dark-type, immune to Psychic-type attacks!
The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.
The commentator's mouth hung open, unable to say a single word.
In the stands, the people who had just been cheering for Steven's brilliant substitution now had expressions completely frozen in place.
Steven looked at the unscathed Malamar on the field, which didn't even have a flicker of emotion in its eyes, and then looked at the youth opposite him, who remained as calm as ever.
His perfect counter had been completely neutralized by the opponent's even more perfect prediction.
From beginning to end, every step he took seemed to be within Ariel's script.
Dark plus Psychic.
This combination of two types was like a precise scalpel, dissecting the team composition he was so proud of.
Claydol, Ground plus Psychic.
Metagross, Steel plus Psychic.
His two most trusted powerhouses had their core Psychic-type attack systems rendered useless before Ariel's Malamar.
Completely and utterly useless.
And it wasn't just Malamar, but Ariel's entire Dark-type system!
Steven's delayed realization wasn't due to slowness, but disbelief.
He had battled countless Trainers, many of whom specialized in Dark-type Pokémon.
But never had anyone used type advantages as nakedly and aggressively as Ariel.
The murmurs in the stands died down, and countless gazes darted back and forth between the two Trainers and the Pokémon on the field. Everyone could sense something unusual in the air.
In this subtle silence, Ariel moved.
He didn't speak, but lazily raised his hand toward Steven, pointed at his own Malamar, and then pointed at the Claydol on Steven's side of the field.
"Want to compare Psychic powers?"
"Pfft—"
In the VIP box, someone couldn't hold it back and spat out a mouthful of water.
The muscles in Steven's cheeks twitched imperceptibly.
He looked at Ariel, who wore an innocent expression that even carried a hint of provocation, and for the first time, a thought popped into his mind:
This kid is full of tricks.
How did I not notice this before?
He had thought Ariel was an iceberg—cold, silent, and immensely powerful.
Only now did he realize that beneath the iceberg was an entire ocean of treacherous undercurrents.
Are my Psychic-type moves useless against you?!
Steven roared internally, but his face returned to that calm composure.
He even chuckled, a smile that carried both helplessness and a touch of seriousness.
"What a coincidence."
His voice, amplified by the microphone, spread across the entire arena, suppressing all the noise.
"My Claydol isn't just good at Psychic-type moves."
The moment his words fell, Steven's aura shifted abruptly!
"Claydol, Ancient Power!"
The command was crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.
The eight eyes on Claydol simultaneously lit up with an eerie red light, and an ancient, desolate aura began to emanate from it.
Specks of light appeared in the air, like fragments of stars from the ancient era; they rapidly converged, transforming into rocks wreathed in chaotic energy, and smashed toward Malamar, blotting out the sky!
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