Staying elegant under pressure…?
"I understand."
Hearing Dylan's words, Yellow fell into thought.
But the problem immediately followed—
How was she supposed to deal with that Drapion?
Yellow looked at the ferocious, menacing Drapion, and the pressure surged back again.
She had already lost two of her main Pokémon, and yet Drapion somehow felt even harder to handle now.
"Blastoise!"
Taking a deep breath, Yellow threw out her fourth Pokémon.
The Poké Ball opened midair in a flash of white light.
"Blastoise! Rapid Spin!"
Yellow shouted immediately.
Before Blastoise had even fully landed, it retracted its limbs and head into its shell and began spinning at high speed.
Rapid Spin—clearing the Toxic Spikes on the field.
This was mandatory.
Yellow knew very well that as long as Toxic Spikes remained, Blastoise had no chance of properly fighting Drapion.
Fortunately, she had obtained Blastoise back in Pallet Town.
Otherwise, after losing Pidgeot, she really wouldn't have had a clean way to deal with the Toxic Spikes.
The spinning Blastoise whipped up powerful gusts and waves, completely clearing the field of Toxic Spikes.
"Nice," Dylan praised.
"Since breaking through head-on doesn't work—then we'll use this!"
Yellow's expression turned solemn as she raised her Poké Ball and recalled Blastoise again.
The Dynamax Band on her wrist flared with deep crimson energy.
Dynamax.
Massive energy poured into Blastoise's Poké Ball, which rapidly expanded and grew.
That's right—since there was no good way to handle Drapion directly, she would simply Dynamax.
"Woah! Contestant Yellow chooses Dynamax!"
The announcer's excited voice echoed throughout the Indigo Stadium.
"Mega Evolution and Dynamax, both used just to deal with Drapion… that's some treatment," Leaf clicked her tongue.
This was only the quarterfinals.
In a full battle, each side could only use three power-up mechanics total.
Mega Evolution had already been spent on Pidgeot, and now Dynamax was being used on Blastoise.
It was obvious how much pressure Drapion had put on Yellow.
She still had to save Terastallization for her ace, Pikachu.
"There's really no choice," Blue shrugged.
"With Drapion running wild like that, if she didn't Dynamax, Yellow might've been shut out entirely."
"But… that depends on whether Dylan recalls Drapion."
If Dylan switched Drapion out at this moment, the match could spiral completely out of control.
"Big brother wouldn't be that ruthless to Yellow," Lillie shook her head firmly.
She knew very well—Dylan doted on Yellow a lot.
On the field—
"Go! Blastoise!"
Yellow hurled the Dynamax Poké Ball with force.
A black-and-red vortex swirled through the sky.
Blastoise landed with its back facing Drapion as its body rapidly expanded—once, twice, three times!
A towering Gigantamax Blastoise, tens of meters tall, stood proudly on the battlefield.
Compared to normal Blastoise, the most dramatic change was its shell.
Its cannons had grown enormous—large and small gunports densely packed across its back, like a moving fortress.
[Scan Complete]
Blastoise (Gigantamax) — Water-type
Shellfish Pokémon
Ability: Torrent
Description:
Poor at precise shooting, it prefers to unleash relentless barrages from its 31 cannons. (Gigantamax)
This wasn't ordinary Dynamax—
It was Gigantamax.
"A clear and decisive choice," Dylan said, examining the colossal Blastoise with approval.
If Yellow had still hesitated to use Dynamax here, Dylan would've seriously questioned her battle judgment.
Either Pikachu—or Dynamax.
Those were the two smartest options.
"Blastoise! Max Geyser!"
Yellow didn't hesitate.
The main cannon on Gigantamax Blastoise's back glowed with blue light as a massive sphere of water rapidly condensed.
"Earthquake!" Dylan responded instantly.
Drapion roared, slamming its tail heavily into the battlefield.
RUMBLE—!
Violent shockwaves surged forward, slamming into Gigantamax Blastoise.
But after Gigantamaxing, Blastoise's HP pool was enormous.
This Earthquake barely counted as serious damage.
Meanwhile, Max Geyser fired.
A gigantic torrent crashed down, striking Drapion head-on.
The explosion thundered as water surged everywhere, sending Drapion flying.
The damage was substantial.
The already darkened sky grew even gloomier as rain began to fall.
Rain—the effect of Max Geyser.
"G-Max Cannonade!"
Yellow pressed the attack.
Every cannon on Gigantamax Blastoise's shell lit up.
Water columns fired simultaneously, while the main cannon launched a massive water shot straight at Drapion.
Blastoise's exclusive G-Max move—G-Max Cannonade!
"Protect!"
Drapion forced up a barrier.
But against a G-Max move, Protect could only hold briefly before shattering, mitigating damage—but not nullifying it.
G-Max Cannonade struck Drapion again.
Water spiraled outward, flooding parts of the battlefield.
This was Cannonade's lingering effect—
For a short time, the water would repeatedly damage non-Water-type Pokémon on the field.
A form of battlefield control far more aggressive than Toxic Spikes or Stealth Rock.
"Still not down…?"
Yellow bit her lip as she watched Drapion, panting heavily but still standing.
It still hadn't lost the ability to battle.
"Max Geyser!"
Yellow gave the command again.
Dynamax time was nearly over.
She had thought two Max moves would be enough—but it wasn't.
"Pin Missile."
Dylan glanced at Drapion, now clearly nearing its limit.
If it was going to lose, it would lose standing.
Drapion roared, claws flashing as countless Pin Missiles shot forward.
At the same time, Gigantamax Blastoise fired another massive water cannon.
The Pin Missiles collided with Max Geyser—
But only briefly.
They were swallowed completely by the overwhelming torrent.
BOOM—!
The massive blast engulfed Drapion.
When the water and shockwaves finally settled, the rain-soaked battlefield fell silent.
Drapion finally collapsed, unable to continue.
"Drapion is unable to battle! Blastoise wins!"
The referee announced.
Yellow exhaled deeply, then broke into a bright smile.
She finally did it.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"Thank goodness—that scorpion is finally down!"
"I was watching in despair for Yellow. Drapion's suppression was insane."
"Dynamax really is the answer!"
"Without Dynamax, there's no way Drapion goes down!"
"That tail had no room to operate! Big bodies really do matter!"
"Go, Yellow! Don't lose to the Dylan Demon King!"
The cheers were overwhelmingly in Yellow's favor.
"Good job. Go rest now."
Dylan recalled Drapion and spoke gently.
Then he took out his second Ultra Ball, smiling even more deeply as he looked at Yellow.
"You did well, Yellow. Defeating my Drapion is no small feat."
Yellow beamed, her smile pure and radiant.
"Next—this will be your opponent."
Dylan flicked his wrist and threw the second Poké Ball.
"Sneasler! Prepare for battle!"
A sharp, piercing cry rang out.
A silver-gray, bipedal Pokémon landed lightly in front of Dylan, its dark, sinister eyes fixed on Blastoise.
"This is…?"
Yellow stared, startled.
Silver-gray fur, vaguely resembling Weavile—but clearly different.
Most striking were its long, black-and-red claws—slender, razor-sharp, and deeply unsettling.
Sneasler… another evolution of Sneasel?
[Scan Complete]
Sneasler — Fighting / Poison
Climbing Pokémon
Ability: Poison Touch
Moves: Dire Claw, Close Combat, Slash, Poison Jab, Taunt…
Description:
Possesses physical abilities and deadly toxins far beyond other species. Dominates high, cold cliffs and prefers solitary action rather than forming groups.
"…Where did Dylan even get a Sneasler?"
Blue froze after checking its ability and Dire Claw.
Poison Touch was one thing.
Dire Claw was the real problem.
Poison Touch: Contact moves may poison the target.
Dire Claw: Attacks with lethal claws; may inflict poison, paralysis, or sleep.
Even without stacking probabilities, that was already terrifying.
This Pokémon was absurd.
Was this thing even legal?!
Blue was stunned—he'd never even heard of Sneasler before.
Giovanni, Leaf, and Red all fell into silence as well.
Fighting this thing in close combat was basically gambling with status conditions.
"Ah—this is a Pokémon from the Hisui era," Lillie explained, blinking.
"Big brother caught it in the Hisui region."
"…," Blue fell silent.
Again.
Hisui.
Last time it was Hisuian Samurott.
And when he learned that Hisui was actually the ancient name of Sinnoh—
Blue had been utterly lost.
Time travel to the past… just to catch Pokémon?
Your collecting obsession really is on another level.