Professor Oak's analysis sent the global audience into a frenzy. Even ordinary people understood the power of a +1 boost to Attack and Speed combined with a +50% increase to skill power. A garbage-tier Pokémon like a Rattata could become a god with an ability like that, let alone a creature as powerful as the Redhelm Arzuros. The chat was on fire.
"So strong! No wonder Raihan wasn't an opponent."
"Is this the genius of a great power? He's a monster!"
"I'm so envious! I want that Redhelm!"
"Looks like the foreign team is going to lose."
"It's not over 'til it's over! Don't get cocky!"
"Dead ducks talk tough!"
"Go, Zhang Tian! You are my god!"
"Come back, Redhelm," Zhang said, recalling his Pokémon.
"Goodra, you worked hard," Raihan said, recalling his as well.
His ability... there's something wrong with that Redhelm's ability. It must be similar to Huge Power,Raihan thought, instantly understanding why he had lost. I have to be careful. Unknown Pokémon are trouble.
"The contestants have recalled their Pokémon. The countdown will begin again!" Iris announced. "30! 29..."
"This kid isn't taking his opponent seriously at all. He's really arrogant," Bella said, lounging on a sofa in the top floor of her Water-type Gym, watching the hundred-inch TV in front of her.
"Oh? He's not at full strength?" a silver-haired woman next to her asked lightly.
"He has an aura no less powerful than my own," Bella explained. "If he unleashed it, the combat power of his opponent's Pokémon would plummet. But he didn't. Apparently, he doesn't see his opponent as a threat."
"Oh, a future champion trainer," the silver-haired woman's eyes lit up. To become a champion, a trainer needed to develop their own unique aura, a hurdle that stopped many Elite Four members. Without it, a trainer would be a liability in a champion-level battle, crushed by the opponent's sheer presence. As long as Zhang didn't falter, they both knew he was destined to become a champion.
"When he's done, maybe we can ask him to help with that," the silver-haired woman said softly.
"That's what I was thinking, sister," Bella nodded.
"23! 22..." the countdown continued.
"Hmph. You were just lucky," Raihan scoffed. "Next, I'll defeat you in a row. Winning the last championship in the Great Xia was also just luck. This time, the championship will be ours."
"Good luck?" Zhang's eyes turned cold. "Since you think I was lucky, then I will defeat you in one move. I will let you see my strength."
"Arrogant!" Raihan was furious. Even Leon didn't dare to look down on him like that.
"Not arrogance. Confidence," Zhang replied with a faint smile.
"Good! Fine! I'm going to crush you completely!" Raihan seethed.
The live chat erupted again.
"This Zhang Tian is really arrogant! One move to beat our Raihan? Impossible!"
"You're the arrogant one! You lost and you're calling our Zhang Tian lucky? Where's your face?"
"Raihan is right! He was just lucky to get a powerful Pokémon! It doesn't mean all six of his are that strong!"
"I'll believe Zhang Tian!"
"Go, Zhang Tian! One-shot this fool!"
"3! 2! 1! The battle begins!"
At the end of the countdown, both trainers threw their Poké Balls.
"Come out, Legiana!"
"Go, Flygon!"
A two-meter-tall Flygon appeared in front of Raihan. Across from it, the twenty-one-meter-long, yellow-and-white Legiana materialized.
Legiana
Level: 59 (Quasi-Elite Four)Item: Float Stone (Halves weight, increases speed)
Flygon
Level: 50 (Quasi-Elite Four)Ability: Levitate
The Flygon was only level 50; it had clearly just broken through to the quasi-Elite Four level.
"Roar!" The Legiana let out a deafening roar, and the thick stench of blood washed over the battlefield.
"What a beast," Raihan muttered, a cold sweat dripping down his forehead. Up close, the 21-meter-long wyvern was like a flying house, its presence overwhelmingly oppressive. His Flygon trembled in fear. The Legiana was far more vicious than the Redhelm.
"Legiana! Let's go! Settle this in one move!" Zhang commanded. "Kinship Skill: Frost Legion!"
His left hand shot into the air, and the Bondstone on his wrist blazed with a dazzling light.
"What's that?" Raihan's pupils shrank. "A Z-Move?" He didn't recognize the Bondstone, but he knew Zhang was about to unleash a powerful attack.
"What is that? A Z-Ring? It doesn't look like one!" The audience and even the champion-level commentators were confused. They had never seen anything like it.
"Interesting," Bella mused. "It's similar to a Z-Ring. I can feel the terrifying power even through the screen. This kid... I can't see through him at all. Is he really just a civilian trainer?"
"The fifth special enhancement method?" Professor Oak's eyes lit up with scholarly terror.
"Roar!" A white light erupted from the Legiana's body, mirroring the light from Zhang's hand.
"Flygon! Dig! Fast!" Raihan roared. He knew he couldn't block a move like this. His only chance was to hide. The Flygon immediately burrowed through the ice.
"Whooo!" The Legiana let out a piercing cry as thousands of ice thorns materialized in the air around it. It then dove towards the hole the Flygon had made, a giant meteorite of spiraling ice thorns.
RUMBLE!
The ice-thorn spiral pierced through the ice and plunged deep into the ground below. The entire battlefield erupted as three-meter-high ice thorns shot out from the earth, turning the 10-kilometer-long arena into a deadly, beautiful forest of ice.
"That destructive power! It covered the entire battlefield instantly!"
"A terrifying move, no worse than a Z-Move!"
"It's a natural disaster!"
The audience was speechless.
"So powerful," Bella said, her eyes burning with a warrior's fire. "He didn't use this when he fought me. I really want to fight him again, with all my strength."
"Is it the Legiana that's powerful, or the skill?" the silver-haired woman wondered. "Either way, what an excellent young man." Her interest in Zhang was growing.
So powerful. This is definitely a fifth enhancement method, on par with Mega Evolution. I must find a chance to study it, Professor Oak thought, his mind racing.
BANG! The Legiana broke through the ice, holding the unconscious Flygon in its claws. It tossed the broken Pokémon in front of Raihan. It had held back; otherwise, the Flygon would be dead.
"Flygon is unable to battle! Legiana wins!" Iris announced.
"Dammit! How is he so powerful?" Raihan gritted his teeth, staring at the Legiana in disbelief.
"Are you convinced now, Raihan?" Zhang asked with a smile.
"Not convinced!" Raihan shot back. "I still have four Pokémon! Let's see you talk after you've beaten all of them!"
"Is that so? Then I'll beat you until you are," Zhang said gently. "I'll let you see the gap between us. You are a genius, but I am a Chosen One. Genius and Chosen are not the same." His tone was calm, but filled with an arrogant, invincible confidence.
"Hmph. You really are arrogant," Raihan snorted.
"No, you are the arrogant one," Zhang replied seriously. "To think you can defeat me... that is truly courageous."
Raihan was so angry he laughed.
The live chat went wild.
"Hahaha! One-shotted him again! What do you have to say now?"
"Cat got your tongue?"
"Still think it's luck?"
"Raihan still has four Pokémon! He can still win!" the few remaining Raihan fans typed back feebly.
"Come back, Legiana," Zhang said, recalling his monster.
"Flygon, you worked hard," Raihan said, recalling his own. He didn't blame his Pokémon; it was a non-combat crime. His opponent was just too strong.
"Please get ready for the next round! The countdown begins now!"
"30! 29..."
"Now for the third round! Let's see my true strength!" Raihan roared, and his left wrist lit up with the red light of Dynamax. "Gigantamax! My trump card!" The Poké Ball in his hand grew to an immense size.
"Gigantamax? Who doesn't have that!" Zhang raised his own hand. "Let's go, Legiana! Let me see how powerful you are after you Gigantamax!" The Poké Ball in his hand also began to grow.
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