Blaziken's powerful legs shot downward like twin spears, slicing through the air so fast it seemed to split the atmosphere in two.
Below, the rapidly spinning shell signaled that Blastoise was bracing itself for the incoming strike.
"Take the hit — then use Shell Smash, followed by Aqua Tail."
Shizuo calmly adjusted his glasses as he watched Blaziken's accelerating descent, issuing his countercommand with composed precision.
It wasn't clear whether Blastoise, withdrawn into its shell and spinning at high speed, could actually hear him but its rotation suddenly accelerated dramatically.
In what seemed both an instant and an eternity, Blaziken came crashing down with tremendous force, slamming its kick into the spinning shell.
"Screech—!"
A piercing grinding sound filled the air.
Blaziken's expression twisted in pain the moment its leg struck Blastoise's shell.
But for a fighter born for battle, this level of pain meant nothing.
Clenching its beak and muscles, Blaziken grit its teeth and pushed through, every fiber of its body trembling with power as it forced out one more burst of strength from its core.
"Thud!"
The shell crashed heavily into the ground with a muffled impact.
At the same time, Blaziken's red form rebounded upward from the recoil, performing a backward somersault before landing back on the battlefield.
The moment it landed, Blaziken dropped to one knee, letting out a strained cry of pain.
Silas's eyes narrowed, he could see Blaziken's right leg trembling uncontrollably.
That was the same leg it had used for its main strike against Blastoise's shell.
"The recoil from the high-speed spin…" Silas muttered, his face grave.
He couldn't tell how badly Blaziken's foot was damaged.
But this wasn't the time to worry about that.
On the other side, the spinning shell gradually slowed to a halt and the faint sound of cracking echoed from within.
"Blaaastoise!"
The cry rang out, clear and powerful — showing not the slightest weakness.
Blastoise's head, limbs, and tail extended from the shell all at once, water swirling rapidly around its tail.
The blue water merged with its blue tail until it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.
With a heavy stomp of its thick limbs, Blastoise suddenly lunged forward, moving with startling speed for its massive size.
Using Shell Smash, Blastoise's Attack, Special Attack, and Speed had all sharply increased.
Although its Defense and Special Defense were reduced, because it had first used Withdraw (or tucked into its shell), the Defense drop merely brought it back to its normal level, with only its Special Defense slightly weakened.
For a Pokémon as naturally defensive as Blastoise, that minor trade-off was nothing. The boosted offense and speed were what really mattered.
Blaziken, kneeling on one leg, had no way to dodge the oncoming Blastoise.
Under normal conditions, Blastoise's speed would've been only slightly faster than Blaziken's but now, with its injury and the aftereffects of Superpower, Blaziken was completely immobilized.
In Blaziken's unwilling, fiery gaze, Blastoise suddenly appeared before it.
The water-imbued tail swung around with tremendous force, slamming squarely into Blaziken's torso.
There was no doubt about the result — Blaziken was sent flying.
It rolled several times across the battlefield before coming to a stop, dizzy spirals in its eyes as it collapsed.
"Blaziken is unable to battle! Blastoise wins! Trainer Silas Alaric has lost his third Pokémon! The first half ends here — we will enter a fifteen-minute intermission before the second half begins!"
The referee immediately raised his flag to announce the result.
The arena erupted in a mix of cheers and sighs — the sounds of awe and disappointment blending together.
But there was no disagreement about one thing: the battle had been spectacular. After all, few people ever got to witness an Elite level Pokémon battle up close.
Silas gave a helpless smile as he recalled Blaziken into its Poké Ball.
Losing in one hit, that had been within his expectations.
Aqua Tail was already a high-powered physical Water-type move, and Water held a clear type advantage over Fire. Combined with the difference in strength between the two Pokémon, it was hardly surprising that Blaziken — whose defense wasn't its strong point — couldn't withstand the blow.
Still, he hadn't expected that Blaziken's fierce offense would fail to leave any visible damage.
After all, within his team, Blaziken was his main attacker, a powerhouse built for offense. Yet even after using its Fighting-type techniques to avoid the Fire-type disadvantage, it had barely made a dent.
"Is the gap between an Elite-level and pseudo–Elite-level really that big…?"
For a moment, Silas was dazed.
It shouldn't be.
His Blaziken was already stronger than most pseudo–Elite-level Pokémon. Even if it couldn't win, it shouldn't have failed to inflict any significant damage.
Even an average pseudo–Elite Level Pokémon facing an Elite-level Pokemon shouldn't have lost this one-sidedly.
The data alone didn't justify such a drastic difference.
As he stepped down for the intermission, Silas glanced toward the opposing Blastoise, which had just been recalled into its Poké Ball.
Something wasn't right.
Silas's sharp instincts caught it — Blastoise's condition wasn't as relaxed as it appeared.
Just before being withdrawn, for a brief instant, the calm, stoic Blastoise had shown a barely perceptible hint of relief on its face.
If it truly were completely unscathed, there would've been no reason for that expression.
Silas thought for a moment and began to understand.
Meanwhile, in a VIP box above the arena, Bruno and Lance sat watching Silas walk back to the resting area, chatting casually with smiles.
As members of the Kanto Elite Four, they were, of course, present to ensure the security of the Indigo Plateau — the Pokémon League headquarters.
This was one of the rare occasions each year when the entire Elite Four gathered outside of meetings.
"That kid looks like he's been stunned," Bruno said, picking up a bunch of grapes (or something similar) with his massive fingers and popping them into his mouth.
"Don't get juice on my cape," Lance replied dryly.
"It's just a normal way of concealing one's true strength. He's probably figured it out too."
No one knew how Lance could see Silas's expression from such a distance in the private spectator's box, but Bruno clearly trusted his observation completely.
"Oh, really? That makes sense. But still, looks like he won't be breaking your record."
Juice splattered everywhere as Bruno spoke with his mouth full of fruit, clearly ignoring Lance's warning.
"For a rookie Trainer, reaching the Top 16 is already a remarkable accomplishment."
Lance didn't seem bothered. Given their relationship, he was just teasing anyway — besides, he changed capes every few days.
For a cape-loving, money-to-burn aristocrat like Lance, custom-made capes barely made a dent in his wallet.
"Besides," Lance added with a small shake of his head, "he's not like us. When we were called 'rookies,' we were never that new."
Even for someone like Lance, who had been impressed by Silas from the beginning, Silas's current performance exceeded his expectations.
If you define a 'rookie Trainer' as someone within three years of starting their journey, then Lance — who reached the finals in his third year was undoubtedly the strongest in history.
In fact, if the Champion of his year hadn't unexpectedly used two Pokémon of Elite level strength, Lance, with his Dragon-type Pokémon, would have already claimed his first championship title.
It seems that in any era, geniuses all share one constant — their rivals in the same generation are always even stronger.
But that's precisely what makes them geniuses.
If an era's competition was weak, even if you won, no one would call you a prodigy — they'd just say you were strong and lucky.
A "Champion" title might sound the same, but there's a real difference between earning it and inheriting it.
"That's true. For a first-year rookie Trainer, he's definitely among the top tier."
Bruno nodded in agreement after finishing the fruit in two big bites.
He didn't say the best.
Because throughout the long history of the Pokémon League, there have been rookies who performed even better than a Top 16 finish.
Aside from the few years when regional tournaments were suspended for various reasons, the total number of Pokémon League Conferences held across all known regions worldwide has almost reached a thousand.
With that much time, that many tournaments, and that many participants, it's natural that a few extraordinary prodigies have appeared.
However, when you consider all the circumstances, Silas's performance might not be the best, but it's certainly one of the most impressive.
After all, unlike others, he grew up in an orphanage.
And long ago, before the League strictly enforced the rule that Trainers could only receive their first Pokémon at sixteen, most influential families simply ignored it.
So when those so-called "rookies" began their journeys, their ace Pokémon had often been trained for years already.
Silas, however, was different — every part of his background could be traced and verified. He was a true League-registered Trainer.
The fifteen-minute halftime break passed quickly.
Silas and Shizuo once again stepped up to their respective sides of the battlefield.
This time, when they locked eyes, there was no psychological mind game — both fully understood the situation.
Silas was at a disadvantage, while Shizuo's Blastoise, though still standing tall, was far from unscathed despite appearances.
"Trainer Shizuo, send out Blastoise. Trainer Silas, send out your next Pokémon!"
The referee's crisp announcement marked the beginning of the second half.
"Let's do this, Serperior!"
Facing the imposing Blastoise, Silas didn't hesitate for a moment before sending out his Serperior.
On the large screen beside the field, the display beneath Silas's portrait showed three dimmed Poké Balls and three still lit.
As Serperior appeared on the battlefield, the fourth lit Poké Ball icon illuminated with its image beside it.
.....
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