A high-stakes gamble.
The wager was a rare secret treasure that could drive any Electric-type trainer insane with desire—the Thunder Amplifier.
The combatants were two top geniuses both standing at the threshold of quasi–Elite Four level.
This news was like a Psychic-type bomb detonating inside the Glory Battle Club.
What had started as a mere quarrel among the younger generation fermented, in just a few minutes, into a major incident sweeping through the entire upper circle.
Countless trainers and social elites who had heard the news flooded in, packing the stands to the point where not even a drop of water could squeeze through.
Several high-ranking club executives, who usually stayed in seclusion and rarely showed themselves, were even alarmed enough to appear in the members-only VIP viewing boxes.
Every gaze converged on the central battlefield that represented the highest tier of matches.
The lights flared on, illuminating the arena as bright as day.
Shiba and Tao stood on opposite sides of the field, their opposing auras colliding in the air and throwing off crackling sparks.
The atmosphere had condensed to a breaking point.
"Kid, have you prepared yourself to hand that Shiny Metang of yours over to me nice and respectfully?"
Tao's face was twisted into a vicious grin. His voice boomed across the arena through the microphone, dripping with the arrogance of someone convinced of victory.
He had to win.
And not just win—
He had to trample this so-called once-in-a-century genius beneath his feet, viciously and humiliatingly, in front of everyone!
He wanted the world to know that talent is worthless in front of absolute strength and deep foundations!
"Come out, my fastest partner—Jolteon!"
Tao snapped his arm and hurled his Poké Ball high into the air.
A blinding flash of yellow light erupted, and a sleek, agile Pokémon covered in needle-like fur appeared on the field.
Its whole body was golden-yellow, its neck ringed with pure white ruff that emphasized its noble bearing. Every muscle line was packed with explosive speed.
"Zzzlaa—"
Golden electricity danced restlessly over its body, making a tooth-aching crackle.
The smell of ozone instantly thickened in the air.
That blatant aura of power made its strength crystal clear—
Quasi–Elite Four level!
"A speed-type Jolteon, huh? Perfect."
Facing Tao's in-your-face provocation that practically overflowed from the screens, Shiba's expression didn't change at all. He just gave a faint smile and reached for a Poké Ball.
"Dragonair, your turn to stretch a bit."
With a soft white glow, a graceful and noble lifeform appeared on the field.
Its body was long and slender, as if a god had carved it from the most flawless blue sapphire, its entire form radiating a gentle luminance. The crystal-blue orbs at its neck and tailtip added an air of mystery and sanctity.
The moment Dragonair entered, even the raging electric presence in the arena seemed to soften.
It and the wild, destructive Jolteon in front of it formed a stark, extreme contrast.
One was an elegant deity from ancient myth.
The other was a savage beast born of modern technology and raw elemental power.
"Dragonair?"
Tao froze for a moment, then it was as if he'd just heard the funniest joke of the century—his body started trembling uncontrollably with laughter.
"Ha… hahaha!"
His unrestrained laughter rang throughout the entire battle center.
"You sent a Dragon-type out against my Electric-type? Kid, did my aura scare you stupid?!"
The stands exploded in an instant.
"What the heck? Dragon plus Flying, that's four-times weak to Electric! How is he supposed to fight like that?"
"Did Shiba lose his mind? He's basically shoving his weak point right into the other guy's mouth!"
"It's over. In this bet, he's done for!"
Almost no one could understand Shiba's choice. In their eyes, this was no different from walking himself to the executioner's block.
"Battle, start!"
The referee's raised flags swung down hard!
"Jolteon, show him our true speed! Thunderbolt!"
Tao launched a fierce assault without the slightest hesitation. He couldn't wait to see Dragonair run through by lightning and crash to the ground, screaming.
"Growl!"
Jolteon let out a roar, legs shooting off the ground. Its entire body turned into a blur of yellow lightning, performing dizzying high-speed movements across the wide arena.
It was too fast.
So fast that most of the people present could only catch disjointed golden afterimages.
As it moved at incredible speed, powerful electrical energy gathered madly in its mouth, finally compressing into a massive golden bolt like a thunder spear that tore through the air and shot straight at Dragonair's true body!
"Dragon Dance."
Shiba's command was as calm as ever, as though that world-shattering strike was nothing more than a light breeze brushing past his face.
Receiving the order, Dragonair gracefully extended its mythic, beautiful body.
It didn't choose to dodge.
Instead, it began a mysterious, ancient dance right where it stood.
Its body swayed to some profound rhythm, and a brilliant reddish aura slowly wrapped around it.
Its speed and attack were steadily rising!
Just as that golden thunder spear was about to hit, there was only the slightest, exquisitely precise sidestep in its movements.
Boom—!
Thunderbolt scraped past its body and slammed into the energy barrier behind it, sending violent ripples across the shield.
Dragonair, meanwhile, was completely unscathed.
It hadn't even broken the rhythm of its dance in the slightest.
"Useless!"
Tao's face had gone a shade darker. He roared out a new command.
"In front of my Jolteon, your speed will never be enough! Wild Charge, smash it to pieces!"
"Graaaah!"
Every needle of Jolteon's fur stood on end. Endless golden lightning erupted from its body, completely wrapping it in light.
At that moment, Jolteon was no longer just a Pokémon—
It was a golden, frenzied, unstoppable thunder shell!
It carried terrifying momentum as it hurtled straight toward Dragonair, who was in the middle of using Dragon Dance for the second time!
And in that exact instant—
The corner of Shiba's mouth finally curled up in the arc of a plan fulfilled.
He spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but carried with perfect clarity to every corner of the arena through the mic on his chest.
"Tao, did you know?"
"My grandpa is Champion Kazuma. My dad, Kaito, is an Elite Four member who just broke through to Champion level."
His tone carried no emotion, as if he were stating something entirely mundane.
But the effect it caused was like a nuclear bomb exploding in the dead of night.
The shouting, murmuring, and gasps of tens of thousands of people in the battle center all stopped in the same instant.
The entire venue fell into absolute silence.
Time itself seemed to hit pause.
The confident, vicious grin on Tao's face froze and solidified into an absurd expression.
Shiba ignored his look of "I've just seen a ghost."
He calmly continued, in that same flat tone:
"Oh, right. I forgot to introduce them properly."
"That person over in the VIP box… that's my father."
As he spoke, his gaze passed over Tao and landed on the independent box at the very top of the stands.
He dipped his head slightly in that direction, offering the proper bow of a younger generation to an elder.
Having long since been signaled by his son and deliberately come to watch, Kaito understood at once.
He rose from his seat, his tall figure entering everyone's view.
Then, expressionless, he drew a Poké Ball.
A flash of red light.
"Roooaaar—!"
A dragon's roar filled with absolute majesty shook the entire Battle Tower.
This was no longer the bellow of some quasi–Elite level.
This was an order from the very peak of the life hierarchy—
The decree of a true king.
A massive Pokémon, its whole body covered in blood-red armor and radiating a terrifying aura, appeared on the VIP platform—Haxorus.
The overwhelming pressure of a Champion-class powerhouse, inexorable and crushing, crossed hundreds of meters of open air and slammed down, precise and merciless, on Tao and his Jolteon.
In that instant, Tao's face turned white as a sheet.
His mentality shattered.
That soul-deep pressure caused the calm and commanding skill he'd always prided himself on to collapse in an instant.
His mind went completely blank.
The battle commands that had always been crystal clear in his head suffered a fatal, irrecoverable, catastrophic error at this very moment.
(End of Chapter)
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