Chapter 308: Incineroar's Pride
The chain of explosions had torn the battle arena apart. Even Serena had retreated well back from the field — the blast radius had crossed well into genuinely dangerous territory.
The smoke slowly cleared, a light breeze carrying the last of the ash away to reveal a scorched Victini hovering unsteadily in the center of the crater. Ryan looked at it with a helpless expression. "Was all of that really necessary?"
Ash rubbed the back of his head with a grin. "Hey, I'm not usually one to hold grudges — but after what Diancie did to Decidueye? I had to do something." He paused, then pointed across the field. "But Ryan — that's not fair and you know it! You can't use full Z-Moves! My team hasn't mastered theirs yet. If you go all-out, I might as well just forfeit now."
"I'm not," Ryan said. "Look at Victini. It's taken a lot of damage — but it used Protect at the last second to absorb most of the blast. That's the only reason it's still standing. You won't get another hit like that through. So — our turn. Victini, Flamethrower."
Victini glanced across the ruined arena at Lycanroc. The indignation was visible. Losing this badly, even while holding back, would never live down with Charizard if word got around. Victini's energy output climbed, and the Flamethrower that launched from it was three times the width of a standard one — a surging column of fire that crossed the arena before Lycanroc could process what was happening.
Lycanroc's eyes went wide.
The problem was that Continental Crush was exactly that kind of move — everything, all at once, maximum output. The power ceiling was enormous, but the cost was total exhaustion immediately after. Lycanroc had nothing left in the tank to dodge with. The Flamethrower connected directly and sent it tumbling across the arena.
It didn't get back up.
Ash recalled Lycanroc with a quiet sigh. "Yeah. Figured. The move hits like a truck, but if you don't finish it in one shot you're done afterward." He squared his shoulders. "Incineroar — you're the last one. I'm counting on you."
Incineroar had been standing to the side with its arms crossed, watching the whole exchange with its characteristic composure. It gave a single nod, executed a clean backflip off the sideline, and landed solidly on the cracked, scorched surface of the arena.
Ash looked across at Victini, who was visibly winded. "Ryan — aren't you going to switch it out? Victini's running low."
"Victini wants to stay in," Ryan said simply. "It's its call. You go first."
Victini had absolutely no intention of leaving. Losing to a Lycanroc's Z-Move while pulling punches was already bad enough. If it retreated now before dealing with Incineroar, it would never hear the end of it — not from Charizard, not from anyone. It had to finish this.
"Darkest Lariat!"
Ash wasn't going to ease into it. Incineroar was his last Pokémon and Victini was already damaged — hitting fast with a strong Dark-type move was the right call. Dark energy surged along Incineroar's right arm, its feet drove into the shattered ground, and it thrust forward with a powerful strike aimed directly at Victini.
Victini's body glowed white. The light concentrated between its small hands, compressing rapidly into a dense sphere of pure energy — and Victini slammed it forward with both palms.
The two attacks collided.
The explosion sent Incineroar skidding backward across the arena. Ash's eyes sharpened. Stored Power. It's been stacking. This is going to be a problem — Ryan might actually turn this around.
"Incineroar — Throat Chop!"
Incineroar rolled its shoulders, leaned forward, and a churning sphere of purple energy built up in front of it, swelling rapidly until it formed a dense semicircle. It launched the Throat Chop directly at Victini, and Victini answered with a jet of flame that intercepted it midair. The two attacks canceled each other out in a burst of smoke and force.
Incineroar used the cover of the explosion to charge straight through. Victini sensed the pressure wave from its approach and fired a scorching blast of superheated air to clear the smoke — catching Incineroar as it emerged.
"Bulk Up — then Rapid Spin!"
Incineroar's muscles surged visibly. Dark energy gathered in both arms and it dropped into a rapid spin, the rotation deflecting the heat blast outward and closing the distance in seconds. Victini pulled the white light together again — Stored Power aimed low at Incineroar's legs.
"Body Slam!"
Incineroar killed its spin and launched itself straight up, then came crashing down. Incineroar's weight was considerable on its best day, and against Victini's small frame, a direct Body Slam from above would be the end of it outright.
But Victini was Psychic-type. And while Psychic moves weren't especially effective against Incineroar's Dark typing, there were options that bypassed that entirely.
Victini's Psychic power spiked hard. Telekinesis locked onto Incineroar mid-fall and arrested it completely — suspended in the air, struggling against invisible force, unable to drive downward no matter how hard it fought.
"Darkest Lariat!"
Ash's voice cut through the tension. The call snapped Incineroar's focus back. Dark energy exploded outward from its arms, shattering the Telekinesis hold, and Incineroar spun hard in mid-air, rotating into a full Darkest Lariat aimed directly at Victini.
Ryan's voice was quiet and steady. "V-create."
Both Pokémon were on the edge. This was the last exchange — one hit from either side would decide it. Victini pulled its small fist back, violent energy condensing at a blinding rate as Incineroar came spinning in. The rotation made it nearly impossible to time — countless strike angles coming at once. For a fraction of a second, Victini hesitated.
Ryan reached through their bond and steadied it. Just a touch — calm, certain. You've got this.
The hesitation dissolved. Victini fixed its gaze on the approaching rotation, tracked the rhythm, found the opening — and threw the punch at precisely the right moment. Fist met fist. The impact was completely disproportionate in size and completely equal in force.
Both of them were launched backward simultaneously.
Both hit the ground at the same time.
Neither got up.
Serena stared for a moment, then raised her hand. "Victini and Incineroar are both unable to battle! Ash has no Pokémon remaining — the winner is Ryan!"
(End of Chapter)
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