"Not bad at all."
Dylan smiled and nodded. It was a beautifully executed string of fast attacks, and he had to admit—Leon's Dragapult was indeed strong.
"But if you think that alone is enough to defeat Chi-Yu… that won't do."
His words had barely fallen when an angry, sharp cry split the air.
A black-and-red shockwave erupted skyward.
Ruination!
Bursts of Ruination energy surged violently, blasting Dragapult backward.
Chi-Yu's body shimmered faint red as it floated upward, tail swaying.
"Dragapult!"
Leon's expression tightened. A counterattack already?
And Ruination was a Dark-type move—very punishing to Dragapult.
Dragapult forcibly steadied itself, its cold triangular pupils locking onto the Chi-Yu rising into the air.
"Dark Pulse!"
Black energy gathered before Chi-Yu, rippling outward in rings as wave after wave of Dark Pulse shot toward Dragapult.
"Phantom Force!"
Dragapult's body glided eerily sideways and vanished into a shadowy rift behind it.
There it was again.
Dylan narrowed his eyes slightly. Phantom Force—approaching while hiding the user—was terribly effective against a Special Attacker like Chi-Yu.
It could essentially get into melee range unharmed.
The next instant, a deep shadow fissure opened behind Chi-Yu.
"Chi-Yu—Smokescreen!"
Chi-Yu shrieked sharply as flames burst forth, thick black smoke erupting with them.
Fire-type Smokescreen!
Dragapult, just emerging from Phantom Force, was engulfed instantly.
But its body still glowed with ghostly light, pushing against the flames as it rammed itself hard into Chi-Yu.
"Dragon Darts Dive!"
Leon shouted.
The fire from Smokescreen burned fiercely, but Dragapult endured it, driving Chi-Yu downward at high speed.
Draconic energy condensed rapidly around them.
Roar!!!
A huge, savage dragon howled, slamming Chi-Yu into the battlefield with crushing force.
The ground rumbled, deep cracks splitting outward from the impact.
Dust filled the air.
Everyone stared, breath held—what happened?
A teal figure slowly rose, Dragapult panting slightly as it looked down.
The dust began to clear, and within a crater at the bottom—
Chi-Yu lay fainted.
"Chi-Yu is unable to battle. Dragapult wins!"
The referee declared.
"My goodness!! After a fierce exchange, Leon's Dragapult has defeated Dylan's Chi-Yu!"
The announcer screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Woooo—!!"
The stadium erupted—especially Leon's fans, who were practically delirious.
"Sob–sob! LEON! Our Leon finally made us proud!"
"He beat Dylan's Chi-Yu using only two Pokémon! THIS is Leon's true strength!"
"Uh… it sounds weird when you put it like that, but it's not wrong…"
"Those who got 6-0'd by Dylan—come out and SPEAK! Who's getting 6-0'd now?! WHO?!"
"Hahaha you're killing me—but yeah, Leon really does have skill."
Leon's fans were ecstatic.
The first time he fought Dylan, he was humiliated—completely swept, almost from start to finish.
That battle massively damaged both Leon's and Galar's reputation worldwide.
He was even placed low in the initial draft ranking of the Masters Tournament.
But battle after battle, Leon had slowly rebuilt his standing.
And today—matched against Dylan again—no matter what happened afterward, he had already beaten one of Dylan's legendaries!
A real legendary!
"This is impressive. Get some rest."
Dylan recalled Chi-Yu and spoke gently.
Losing didn't bother him; Chi-Yu's level wasn't very high, and losing to Leon was perfectly normal.
In fact, Dylan had already expected this when he decided to use the Treasures of Ruin.
"To defeat my Chi-Yu—Leon, that was wonderful."
Dylan smiled warmly at him.
"So then—how will you handle this one?"
Without waiting for Leon's reply, Dylan tossed out his third Poké Ball.
"Chien-Pao! Prepare for battle!"
"Pao—!"
A deep growl echoed as a gorgeous snow leopard burst from the light, landing before Dylan.
It tilted its head upward, icy gaze locking onto Dragapult.
Another of the Treasures of Ruin—Chien-Pao.
'Beep— Chien-Pao. Dark/Ice type. Ruin Pokémon.
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Moves: Sheer Cold, Sacred Sword, Ice Shard, Ruination, Sucker Punch…
Description: The grudges of those slain by the sword gathered upon the snow and became this Pokémon.'
Frosty breath seeped from Chien-Pao's snowy body. Its cold, merciless eyes chilled the soul.
Sword of Ruin activated.
Every Pokémon on the field (except itself) had its Defense lowered.
"Chien-Pao…"
Leon tensed. This one felt extremely dangerous—
More dangerous than Wo-Chien or Chi-Yu.
Its power—and difficulty to handle—was clearly higher.
"So Dylan really did capture all four Treasures of Ruin," Tulip remarked with a smile.
Better this way—the ancient texts said the Treasures invited calamity, and that was why they were sealed.
Now, under Dylan's control, they wouldn't wreak havoc.
That was good for everyone.
"Dark/Ice… so it's quad-weak to Fighting."
Nemona studied the data.
Not a great typing—lots of weaknesses, including a quadruple one.
But since Dylan sent it out as his third Pokémon, its strength was undoubtedly exceptional.
On the field—
"Dragapult, Dragon Darts!"
Leon decided to test its power first.
Dragapult shot out its two Dreepy like missiles.
"Sucker Punch."
A flash of dark light flickered in Chien-Pao's eyes.
Its white body became a streaking blur as it dashed toward Dragapult.
Its four-limbed sprint was lightning-fast—like a white bolt tearing across the arena.
So fast! Leon's eyes widened.
Dragon Darts could never hit something moving like this. Dragapult had to dodge.
"Dragapult!"
Dragapult retreated at high speed—but Sucker Punch had given Chien-Pao enormous momentum.
Chien-Pao reached Dragapult's position in an instant, leaping high, claws glowing black.
Rip!
The claws tore across Dragapult's body, sending it tumbling with a cry.
"Icicle Crash!"
Chien-Pao roared and sharp icicles formed overhead, dropping toward Dragapult.
"Dragapult!!" Leon shouted.
Dragapult couldn't dodge—too fast, too soon.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Huge icicles slammed into it one after another, knocking it helplessly to the ground.
Chien-Pao landed smoothly, its cold gaze fixed forward as shattered ice glittered around it.
Dragapult lay unconscious—
Already weakened by Chi-Yu's Ruination, then hit by a Dark-type Sucker Punch and an Ice-type Icicle Crash.
All super-effective.
And its already-lowered Defense from Sword of Ruin meant it stood no chance.
"Dragapult is unable to battle. Chien-Pao wins!"
The referee announced.
"So strong!"
Iris couldn't help clicking her tongue at the clean, fluid KO.
"It caught him off guard. Leon definitely didn't expect Chien-Pao to be that fast."
N shook his head.
"It's clearly a high-speed, high-attack physical sweeper. Losing Dragapult hurt, but gaining that intel is valuable."
Otherwise, discovering this with another Pokémon could cost much more.
If unlucky, a full-HP Pokémon could be one-comboed.
"Cinderace!"
Leon didn't hesitate and sent out his fourth Pokémon.
The athletic, handsome Cinderace landed before him.
"Using Libero to change types?" Dylan chuckled.
Naturally. Chien-Pao was 4× weak to Fighting—any good trainer would capitalize on that.
"But simply turning into a Fighting type isn't enough to beat my Chien-Pao, Leon."
Dylan spoke casually, like stating a fact.
Even with a 4× weakness, you had to land the hit.
If Chien-Pao couldn't be touched, type advantage meant nothing.
"That's not necessarily true, Dylan."
"Oh?"
Dylan raised a brow.
Leon grinned and lifted Cinderace's Poké Ball, recalling it.
His Dynamax Band flared red, scarlet energy swirling into the Poké Ball—
Gigantamaxing!
Once—twice—three times!
The ball expanded massively. Leon hurled it upward with all his strength.
A black vortex churned open in the sky.
Cinderace emerged, inflating three times before standing tall atop a massive flaming ball—Gigantamax Cinderace.
"No matter how fast you are—Max Moves almost never miss!"
Leon declared. This was his countermeasure.
Indeed, relying on Fighting moves with Libero alone wouldn't guarantee victory.
Chien-Pao was too fast, too strong, too explosive—a nightmare for unprepared Pokémon.
But—
Gigantamax solved that.
Wide-area Max Moves made dodging almost impossible.
"I see." Dylan looked up at the towering Cinderace.
"Come then, Dylan. Will you keep fighting? Or switch Pokémon?"
Leon asked eagerly.
He wanted to see what else Dylan had prepared.
(End of chapter)