"Grrraaah~"
"Grrraaah~"
The two Taunts landed on each other at the same moment, and under the influence of Dark-type energy, both Pokémon fell into a state of frenzy.
At the same time, both of them briefly lost the ability to use status moves.
"Since that's how it is, let's settle this with real strength!"
On the field, Caster and Albert's thinking converged once again.
"Outrage!"
"Waterfall!"
Almost simultaneously, Caster and Albert gave their attack commands.
"Grrraaah~"
Both Pokémon let out a roar, astonishing energy surging up and wrapping around their entire bodies.
On Gyarados's side, a tremendous surge of water lifted it straight up into the air, and it burst forward with staggering force, like a dragon breaking free from the sea.
On the other side, the Haxorus was wreathed in dense Dragon-type energy, which condensed into the shape of a dragon across its body as it lunged, fangs bared and claws out, to meet Gyarados head-on.
Both of these forces were terrifying, and even the entire tower seemed to shudder.
"Who's going to win?"
"It's not going to end in a draw with both of them wrecked, is it?"
In that moment, everyone's heart leapt into their throat.
Going purely by the numbers, the Haxorus clearly had the edge.
For one thing, it had been training longer, so the intensity of its energy was higher. For another, its physical attack talent was stronger. And finally, the Outrage it had unleashed carried greater power.
As for Gyarados's advantages, on the surface there was only the rain boost.
But secretly, Gyarados also had the boost from the Royal Authority of the Sea.
With the two stacked together, Gyarados's attack power had more than doubled.
BOOM!
The two Pokémon collided head-on, each bringing overwhelming force to bear.
It wasn't quite on the scale of when Gyarados had clashed with Chenji's Ursaring, but it was nothing to scoff at either.
Whoosh, whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!
Terrifying gusts of wind radiated out from the two Pokémon, howling wildly, making the robes of both trainers snap and flutter.
The two Pokémon's heads were locked right on the center line of the battlefield, just like when Tyranitar and Dratini had fought over control of the weather earlier, each one straining with everything it had.
Except that this time it was different from that earlier clash, where Albert and Tyranitar had quickly gained the upper hand.
This time, it was Caster and Gyarados who came out on top.
The two sides stayed deadlocked for only a moment before the Haxorus began to give way, shrieking as Gyarados forced it down with overwhelming strength.
Right after that, the Dragon-type energy wrapped around the Haxorus began to scatter, and the water swirling around Gyarados started to engulf it.
Before long, the Haxorus found itself unable to breathe!
It struggled desperately, but it was no use. Gyarados simply kept pressing it down and shoving it along, plowing a trench dozens of meters long into the ground.
"It's decided! Gyarados won!"
In Caster's livestream, viewers erupted into cheers, thoroughly satisfied.
This was exactly the outcome they'd wanted.
"Whew, good thing I've been fishing every day lately and have pulled a bunch of TMs for Waterfall. Gyarados's Waterfall got upgraded all the way to Mastered. Otherwise, who knows how this match would have gone!"
Seeing Gyarados hold the advantage, Caster let out a breath of relief.
The match wasn't over yet, but Gyarados already had an overwhelming lead, so everything from here on was just garbage time.
"Grrraaah~"
As the water dispersed, Gyarados grew even more ferocious, its roar shaking the air as it asserted its dominance.
Meanwhile, the Haxorus, which had just been shoved and ground into the dirt, was nothing like the imposing beast it had been moments ago. It whimpered like a beaten dog, its body covered in wounds.
The Haxorus's attack power was terrifyingly strong, even more frightening than that of some pseudo-legendary Pokémon, but its defenses and HP stats weren't nearly as high. Once it failed to win the initial clash of strength, its defeat became inevitable.
"Grrraaah~"
Frost gathered in its mouth, and Gyarados opened its massive jaws and followed up with an Ice Fang, clamping down directly on the Haxorus's head as Ice-type energy surged into its body.
At that, the Haxorus, which had still been whimpering and struggling, finally went still. Its eyes rolled back and it fainted completely.
"The Haxorus is unable to battle! The match is over!"
Seeing this, the referee hurried to make the call, announcing loudly, "The winner is: the challenger, Caster!"
"Grrraaah~"
Although the match had ended, the Haxorus's defeat still triggered Gyarados's Moxie, sending its aura surging even higher, deep and menacing as an abyss.
Looking down at the unconscious Haxorus, Gyarados clearly wasn't satisfied.
It hadn't even gotten to enjoy itself, and the match was already over.
This was the least resilient Pokémon it had ever faced.
A Haxorus? This dragon couldn't even fight!
Gyarados turned to look at Albert across the field, its expression fierce, as if it might go berserk and swallow him whole at any moment.
But then it caught sight of Jynx and Lorelei standing nearby, and it shrank back, not daring to act up again.
"Congratulations on clearing the Trainer Tower, challenger!"
Though the Haxorus's defeat had come faster than Albert expected, he quickly composed himself and stepped forward to offer his congratulations.
"As a reward for clearing the tower, a photo of you and your Pokémon will be kept here in the Trainer Tower, for every trainer who comes to challenge it, to admire afterward. In addition, you may choose one item you like from the Trainer Tower's vault."
"A vault, huh?"
At that, Caster's eyes lit up.
If they were calling it a vault, then surely the items inside wouldn't be run-of-the-mill goods.
"That's right. Any item in the vault is yours to choose." Albert smiled, adding with a mysterious air, "There's one item in particular that I'm sure you'll like."
With Albert leading the way, Caster soon arrived at a sealed room. The doors at both entrance and exit were made of heavy steel plating, requiring multiple layers of verification to pass through.
Once inside, Caster's eyes immediately landed on several bookshelves lined with all kinds of items.
There was a Silk Scarf that felt wonderful to the touch, a Black Belt said to lift one's spirits, a wondrous pink feather, a water-drop-shaped gem...
"These are all type-enhancing items!"
Caster's eyes sparkled, his face flushed with excitement.
Items like Mystic Water, Magnet, Never-Melt Ice, and Dragon Fang, when absorbed and refined by a Pokémon of the corresponding type, could dramatically improve its command over that type's energy and the power of its moves.
These were resources even more advanced than Type Gems, and highly sought after on the market.
As far as Caster knew, even the most common-grade type-enhancing items sold for six figures.
If the quality was a bit higher, the price could climb into the hundreds of thousands, far more than an ordinary trainer's family could afford.
And yet here they were, lined up row after row right in front of Caster, his for the picking.
"No rush, no rush. Let me look around a bit more first!"
Forcing down his excitement, Caster continued scanning the other shelves with his eyes.
Besides type-enhancing items, the vault also held things like a Soothe Bell, SilverPowder, Metal Coat, and Toxic Orb, each with its own distinct effect.
"This is... a King's Rock!"
Just then, on the third shelf, Caster spotted a golden crown, though it looked dulled and weathered, as if steeped in a long and profound history.
Caster's breathing immediately quickened.
His plan for his Slowpoke was to evolve it into a Slowking, and a King's Rock was an essential item for that evolution.
The trouble was, King's Rocks were extremely rare items. Even with money, you might not be able to find one to buy.
Unlike items such as Mystic Water or a Toxic Orb — whose prices were steep but whose supply wasn't scarce, meaning enough money could generally get you one — King's Rocks couldn't be bought at any price.
"Is this the item Albert meant, the one that would suit me best?"
Caster glanced over at Albert beside him, and, seeing him give a slight nod, he understood at once.
Still, holding to the principle of looking everything over before deciding, Caster resolved to go through every item in the vault first before making his final choice, so as not to miss the forest for the trees.
"This is an Electirizer? And that's a Magmarizer? These are all great finds!"
Caster continued browsing the items in the vault, letting out the occasional gasp of surprise.
Say what you will, but the Trainer Tower, though not especially famous in the wider Pokémon world, really did have quite the collection of good stuff.
"Huh? What's this?"
Caster's attention was suddenly caught by a pendant.
It was a pendant hung from a black cord, with a metal charm dangling at the end.
The charm stood out immediately, its edges wrought in gold.
But what truly caught Caster's eye wasn't the gold on the charm. It was the finely cut, spherical gem set at its center, glowing with a profound blue luster.
And within the gem was a mysterious pattern in the shape of a spiral, unmistakably distinctive.
This was a Key Stone!