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"ROAR!!"
Following Liam's command, Aerodactyl, which had been closely pursuing Sharpedo, suddenly opened its massive jaws!
Four huge lightning-charged fangs rapidly condensed—and in the next instant, it bit down fiercely on the stream of water trailing behind Sharpedo!
Crackle—crackle!!
"SHAARK!!"
Water conducts electricity!
In just an instant, the electrical current from Thunder Fang spread throughout Sharpedo's entire body!
Struck by such a violent attack, Sharpedo cried out in pain as the water flow around it instantly dispersed. Pain filled its eyes as it lost strength and fell helplessly from the air.
"Don't give up, Sharpedo! Pull yourself together!"
Watching Sharpedo plummet, Harribel was filled with worry. If it fell at this angle, Sharpedo would crash straight into the ground!
Even if it somehow didn't lose its ability to fight from the impact, it would still become nothing more than prey for Aerodactyl.
Unable to hold back any longer, Harribel stepped forward and shouted loudly.
"SHAARK!!"
Hearing Harribel's voice, Sharpedo suddenly snapped its eyes open!
Forcing itself to move, it fired another jet of water from its body, using the thrust to change direction—splashing safely into the nearby river!
"Shaaas~"
After entering the river, Sharpedo regained some clarity. Half of its head emerged above the water as it coldly stared at Aerodactyl, who was slowly descending from the sky.
"Sharpedo! Use Water Pulse!"
"SHAARK!!"
As Aerodactyl entered range, Harribel issued another command.
A deep-blue sphere of water condensed in Sharpedo's mouth before being fired forward!
Midair, the water orb rapidly expanded—transforming into a massive wave that surged toward Aerodactyl!
"Aerodactyl! Hyper Beam!"
"ROAR!!"
Aerodactyl responded with another Hyper Beam!
A golden beam shot straight from its mouth, piercing directly through the center of the Water Pulse and shattering the wave instantly!
The beam continued downward with terrifying force toward the river below!
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion rang out as the river itself was briefly cut off by the blast!
Countless tons of water were hurled back into the air by the shockwave!
But at that very moment—
"Now, Sharpedo! Ice Fang!!"
"SHAARK!!"
The instant Aerodactyl stiffened from using Hyper Beam,
Harribel's command rang out sharply!
Sharpedo—somehow already behind Aerodactyl—charged forward at full speed!
"ROAR!!"
Aerodactyl let out a pained roar as Sharpedo bit down hard on its left wing, freezing energy surging from its jaws!
In an instant, frost spread across the wing, crystalline ice rapidly forming!
"Not good! Aerodactyl, shake it off—now!"
Liam was shocked. Sharpedo's Water Pulse had completely blocked both Aerodactyl's vision—and even Liam's own line of sight—allowing the ambush to succeed.
"ROAR!!"
By now, Aerodactyl's left wing was completely encased in ice!
Roaring furiously, madness flashing in its eyes, Aerodactyl began spinning wildly in midair—using centrifugal force to try and fling Sharpedo away!
CRACK!!
Sharpedo refused to let go—but as Aerodactyl's rotation accelerated, a sharp snapping sound rang out!
"SHAARK!!"
In the next instant, Sharpedo was finally thrown off—along with shattered ice and broken teeth flying through the air!
"Aerodactyl! Now—Giga Impact!!"
"ROAR!!"
The moment Sharpedo separated, Liam shouted immediately!
Aerodactyl halted its spin, its left wing still covered in ice shards and broken fangs.
Its eyes burned with rage as it stared at Sharpedo, which had crashed onto the battlefield below.
With a thunderous roar, it dove straight down!
BOOM!!
A violent collision shook the entire arena!
"Sh-Sh-Sharpedo has lost the ability to battle! Liam wins! All four Elite Four battles in the Champion Challenge have concluded! Liam will advance to the final Champion battle!!"
"ROAR!!"
As the announcer excitedly stammered through the declaration, Aerodactyl roared triumphantly, dispersing the dust and standing proudly at the center of the field!
"Yes! Liam won! He beat the Elite Four! Mom! Dad! Look! I knew Liam would win! The remaining battles will be no problem at all!"
In the stands, Delia was the happiest of all—clinging to both of the Toyoshima couple's arms as she shouted excitedly.
They could only smile helplessly in response.
"…I lost. Come back, Sharpedo. Get some good rest."
Harribel calmly recalled Sharpedo into her PokeBall. Though her eyes shimmered with frustration, her expression quickly hardened—as if she had made a decision.
"It's really frustrating. You didn't even need to use your strongest Pokemon. I even heard your Aerodactyl has another form—and you still didn't use it. Looks like I still have a long way to go."
"Uh… you were already very strong, Harribel. This was only a one-on-one battle. If it were a different format, I might not have been able to beat you."
Liam spoke honestly—this wasn't empty politeness.
Harribel's typing matched up poorly against his team. If it had been a full 6v6 battle, without bond evolution or Mega Evolution, Liam wouldn't dare say he could win decisively.
"Hmph. No need to comfort me. Remember—you still owe me a favor. This time, I lost. Wait here for a moment—Lord Shigen should be arriving soon."
Clearly uninterested in excuses, Harribel turned and walked away toward the contestant tunnel without looking back.
"Cough—everyone, please calm down! As you can see, Liam has cleared all four trials set by the Elite Four! The most important moment has arrived! Now—let us loudly call out the name we respect the most! Welcome the one we admire above all!"
"Shigen! Shigen! Shigen!"
"WAAAH!!"
As the crowd roared Shigen's name in unison, the stadium was engulfed by a tidal wave of sound!
And just as the cheers peaked, a piercing dragon's roar thundered across the arena!
Looking up, everyone saw it—
A massive dragon descending from the sky, carrying a tall, dignified elderly man!
With a powerful flap of its crimson wings, the dragon landed firmly on the platform opposite Liam!
Silence fell over the stadium. Everyone stared in awe, holding their breath, eyes burning with admiration.
The elderly man leapt down from the dragon's back, walked to the edge of the platform, and looked at Liam. A warm smile spread across his face as he spoke loudly:
"Liam, we meet again. Today, I'm very happy to finally battle a powerful trainer like you once more. I believe this will be an extraordinary match! Let's begin at once! My dragons… have been hungry for a very long time!"