Alakazam, thrown backward into the air by the previous exchange, had no footing to dodge. Dragonite roared, trailing a comet-like tail of blue energy. If this Dragon Rush connected, the match—and the championship—would be decided in a single explosion of force.
The audience stood as one. Even the fans in the front row leaned over the railings, eyes wide. Everyone knew Fu Xuan still had a battered Mr. Mime in reserve, but the momentum was entirely in Silver Wolf's favor. This was the final clash.
Fu Xuan's heart hammered. Her mind flashed through the options at lightning speed. Protect? No. At this altitude, the sheer kinetic impact of the Dragon Rush would likely shatter the shield and crush Alakazam against the stadium floor.
Suddenly, images flickered through her mind: Julian and Pikachu, Guinaifen and Charizard, Silver Wolf and Dragonite. She saw the raw, uncalculated trust between them. If they can reach that state, why can't I? As the Master Diviner, she had always relied on cold, hard data. But in this final second, she chose to gamble on something she couldn't quantify.
Fu Xuan's lips curled into a rare, sharp smile. She waved her hand forward, her voice ringing out across the arena. "Go, Alakazam! I believe in you!"
Telepathically, she sent the command.
BOOM!
Dragonite crashed into the earth with the force of a falling star. The tremor shook the entire Liuyundu district, sending a colossal plume of dust and grit hundreds of feet into the air.
The stadium fell into a deafening silence. Owlbert hovered frantically, his mechanical wings beating a frantic rhythm to clear the smoke. Julian and Welt stood in their boxes, eyes narrowed, waiting for the first silhouette to emerge.
As the dust settled, the result revealed itself.
Alakazam stood upright in the center of the crater, its breathing heavy but its posture regal. Below it, Dragonite lay prone on the ground, its eyes swirled into digital spirals.
"The battle is over!" Owlbert's voice cracked with excitement. "Dragonite is incapacitated! Alakazam is the victor! Congratulations to Fu Xuan of the Xianzhou Luofu! We have our first Pokémon Master!"
The Luofu home crowd erupted. The cheering was a physical wall of sound that drowned out the confused murmurs of the Silver Wolf fans.
"What happened?" Silver Wolf whispered, staring at the field. "The Dragon Rush hit. I saw it hit."
"It seems everyone is a bit confused!" Owlbert announced, pointing to the massive monitors. "Let's look at the frame-by-frame replay!"
The footage began to roll. The Dragon Rush arrived at Alakazam's face. The video slowed to a crawl—then slower, until it was moving frame by frame.
Just as Dragonite's glowing snout was about to make contact, the two Pokémon flickered. For one single frame, they seemed to occupy the same space. Then, they switched.
Dragonite's momentum, intended for Alakazam, hit nothing but air. It slammed into the ground where Alakazam had been standing a millisecond prior. The final freeze-frame showed Alakazam standing safely behind the crater, its hands glowing with a faint, icy frost as it delivered the finishing blow to the dragon's back.
"An Ally Switch!" Owlbert gasped, reading the technical logs sent by his staff. "I don't believe it! Fu Xuan used Ally Switch to swap positions with her own teammate—the fainted Mr. Mime on the sidelines—to reposition herself at the exact moment of impact! If she had been 0.01 seconds slower, she would have been crushed!"
The stadium erupted in a second wave of applause. It wasn't the visceral, emotional brawl they had expected, but a high-level intellectual trap that left everyone breathless.
Dragonite woke up a few moments later, nuzzling Silver Wolf's hand with an apologetic whine.
"It's not your fault," Silver Wolf said, a genuine smile replacing her frustration. She rubbed the dragon's head. "You were incredible. We just got out-calculated by the best."
Fu Xuan walked over, Alakazam floating calmly beside her. "You were amazing," the Diviner said. "That last move... it was a gamble. I chose to trust Alakazam's timing over my own divination."
"No need to be modest," Silver Wolf shrugged. "You're the one who turned the Psychic-type into a nightmare. But don't get comfortable. Next time, I'm bringing Dark-types. And I'm definitely asking Julian for a rematch with the intelligence projection active."
Fu Xuan nodded. She had entered the tournament as a duty, but she was leaving it as a player. The thrill of a battle where no lives were at stake—where she could simply enjoy the dance of strategy—was a drug she hadn't expected to crave.
"Next," Owlbert boomed, "please welcome Mr. Julian Reed, the producer of Pokémon and founder of Arceus Studio, to present the Championship Trophy!"
Julian felt a sudden, familiar wave of social awkwardness. Oh no. I have to give an award to my former boss?
He walked onto the podium, trying to keep his face neutral. Fu Xuan stood there with her full team of six, looking every bit the sovereign of the arena.
"Congratulations, Master Diviner," Julian said, offering the golden trophy. He tried to think of a professional speech, but looking at Fu Xuan's smugly satisfied face, he could only manage a wry smile.
Fu Xuan took the trophy, her eyes sparkling. "Your game is very well made, Julian. Perhaps even a genius could get lost in it."
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