A magnificent river of thunder poured down like a celestial waterfall, as if the sky itself had torn open to release a reservoir of pure electrical fury. The golden deluge crashed into the ocean with earth-shaking force.
Fortunately, every Pokemon within a fifty-kilometer radius had already fled before Magnus unleashed this devastating technique. Smart creatures, those, they could sense when the atmosphere was about to become decidedly unhealthy.
The audience watching the live broadcast, the Elite Four observing from their vantage point, and Magnus Valestrum himself all stared in awe at this golden waterfall of pure thunder. The sheer destructive potential of Raikou's attack left them speechless.
If such overwhelming force were to strike a city, it could level entire districts in seconds. This was why legendary Pokemon were considered forces of nature, creatures capable of reshaping geography on a whim.
At the same time, everyone searched desperately for the answer to the burning question: Was Lugia defeated?
While they could wait for the thunder to subside to know for certain, there was another way to predict the outcome in advance.
Magnus Valestrum glanced at John, whose lips still curved in that knowing smile, the expression of someone who held all the cards and knew exactly how this game would end.
Lugia, a Flying-type, was currently bathed in the electrical maelstrom summoned by Raikou. Whether to call John's confidence arrogance or justified faith remained to be seen.
However, that smile told Magnus Valestrum everything he needed to know.
In his imagination, John was probably thinking: "That's it? Then I'll show you what a real finisher looks like!"
Sure enough, John slowly raised his hand and pressed downward with deliberate calm.
"Lugia, Shadow Twister!"
When he spoke the move's name, John felt like he was commanding some ancient leviathan from the depths of nightmare.
Suddenly, the sea, previously painted golden by cascading thunder, was engulfed by creeping darkness. Instead of spreading outward, the inky blackness began to contract and swallow everything in its path.
It was as if some primordial beast from the ocean floor had opened its abyssal maw, ready to devour the electrical feast the sky had so generously provided.
Even as Raikou's devastating Z-Move "Raikou's Wrath" continued its relentless assault, the darkness that consumed light began to rise defiantly.
The sea churned like boiling water, and from this chaos emerged a colossal ink-black tornado, spiraling directly skyward to meet the descending thunder head-on.
Against the pouring electrical storm, it sought to plug the very hole from which devastation flowed.
In the next heartbeat, most of the golden lightning simply vanished, revealing Raikou's majestic form suspended in the air. The legendary beast found itself caught and swallowed by the dark tempest.
BOOM!
TheShadow Twister pierced straight through the thunderclouds that had birthed the electrical storm, extending far beyond into the stratosphere. Its ambition wasn't merely to puncture the storm, it was to dominate it entirely. Only after demonstrating this supremacy did the mighty tornado slowly contract and dissipate.
The Pacific sky regained its deceptive calm.
"Where did Raikou and Lugia go?" someone in the crowd couldn't help but ask.
This question echoed in the minds of countless viewers glued to their screens worldwide.
Magnus Valestrum and the other Elite Four members immediately focused on the gradually settling sea below.
The seemingly placid waters were now covered with an ominous black film, as if an entire army of Inkay had released their ink simultaneously. Beneath this dark veil, countless undercurrents and whirlpools churned with deadly intent. Not even the hardiest Water-type would survive being caught in that maelstrom.
There was no doubt, Raikou and Lugia were now locked in underwater combat.
Magnus Valestrum's expression darkened as realization struck him. Although Lugia was classified as a Psychic/Flying-type and known as the "Guardian of Monsoons and Ocean Currents," it was also revered as a Sea God. Coastal cultures worldwide honored it as the master of maritime domains.
After all, Lugia spent most of its existence on the ocean floor and had mastered virtually every water-based technique. The only reason it wasn't classified as a Water-type was probably due to Pokemon limitations, no creature could simultaneously embody three different elemental natures.
However, Magnus Valestrum found himself powerless to intervene.
Raikou had vanished completely from his aura perception range. Without the bond evolution connection he'd never established with the legendary beast, he couldn't sense its condition or issue commands.
Looking up at John, he saw that infuriating confident smile still plastered across the young trainer's face.
It seemed to say: "I've won this match, and your championship belongs to me now."
Actually, John was thinking something quite different:
"Raikou's ultimate Z-Move 'Raikou's Wrath', impressive work. Super-wide coverage, multi-layered power accumulation. It felt like experiencing Gigavolt Havoc a hundred times over."
"If I'm not mistaken, the key to this technique lies in the pre-release preparation. You started building energy for this move the moment Raikou entered battle. All that dodging and stat-boosting wasn't just about getting stronger, it was camouflage for gathering this incredible power."
"While it requires extensive setup, the sheer destructive force and range more than compensate for the Charge time requirement."
"Excellent technique. Very impressive. Therefore, it's mine now."
John smiled inwardly, delighted that he'd managed to analyze and memorize another devastating technique. Even better, he was already envisioning how Zeraora could adapt and execute it.
But John felt no concern about the current situation.
"The battle is over," he announced calmly.
His confidence was well-founded. In the depths below, his Shadow Twister had fundamentally altered the battlefield conditions. No matter what type advantages Raikou might normally enjoy, everything now faced the overwhelming power of darkness, and took double damage accordingly.
As if summoned by his words, the outcome revealed itself.
As a pure Electric-type, Raikou's only natural weakness was Ground-type attacks. But surrounded by the vast ocean, how could it possibly defend against such an assault?
As for whether Lugia would have succumbed to Raikou's devastating Z-Move, that, question was already answered.
Raikou had tried desperately to resist the crushing force but found itself fighting the entire ocean, a battle it could never win. The legendary beast was inexorably drawn into the aquatic abyss.
The moment the thunder had begun falling, Lugia had executed a flawless "Teleport + Ally Switch" combination, repositioning itself a thousand meters below the surface. There, it had layered multiple defensive techniques: "Wide Guard + Protect," followed by the sustained recovery of Aqua Ring.
When Raikou's "Raikou's Wrath" finally reached Lugia's position, its power spread thin across a thousand meters of seawater, it barely scratched the legendary bird's defenses.
A sphere of brilliant light emerged from the dark ocean depths, and Raikou's unconscious form floated to the surface, eyes rolled back, limbs limp with exhaustion.
A massive black shadow burst from the sea as Lugia spread its wings and soared triumphantly overhead, casting its shadow across the entire battlefield.
The Shadow Twister had been a masterpiece of tactical complexity, a Hurricane providing the core structure, enhanced by Whirlpool for centrifugal force, and unified by psychic Gravity to create irresistible suction.
The three techniques complemented each other perfectly, churning the sea into a weapon and making the consumption of Raikou's electrical storm look effortless.
John grinned with genuine satisfaction. This battle had been absolutely worth it, not only for the victory, but for witnessing Lugia's unique mastery of what could only be described as "Shadow-type" techniques, despite no such official classification existing.
It was a reminder that legendary Pokemon transcended simple categorization, embodying forces far more complex than any human system could fully capture.