After Swampert evolved into Mega Swampert, its strength received an astonishing boost almost instantly. In particular, after its Ability transformed into Swift Swim, its previously weak Speed received a tremendous increase under rainy conditions.
Because of this, Mega Swampert temporarily gained the ability to walk through the air. Of course, Mega Swampert wasn't actually stepping on empty air. What it was stepping on were ice platforms formed by condensing rainwater in midair.
With its powerful ability to control water, Mega Swampert could effortlessly manipulate and shape the rainwater within a radius of ten meters. It then released the Ice Punch it had already trained to an extremely proficient level through its feet.
Thus, Mega Swampert stepped on the ice platforms that had condensed in midair, repeatedly using them as footholds to accelerate forward. In the blink of an eye, it closed in on Zapdos.
In fact, Sato had conceived this method of walking through the air for Swampert a long time ago.
Unfortunately, because Swampert's base Speed hadn't been high enough back then, it had never been able to put the idea into practice.
Now that Mega Swampert had gained Swift Swim, it was practically a massive iron tower of a Pokémon that moved as lightly as a swallow in the rain. The ability to glide effortlessly across water was nothing difficult for it.
Mega Swampert might not make a move often, but whenever it did, it struck with thunderous force.
It immediately launched an Earth Ice Hammer straight at Zapdos's face.
As Zapdos watched the fists rapidly multiply before its eyes, its pupils instantly contracted to pinpoints. It immediately brought its wings back in front of its chest, coating them in a metallic sheen.
Mega Swampert's sudden burst of speed had caught Zapdos completely off guard. Knowing that dodging was probably impossible at this point, it could only respond hastily.
Zapdos had ultimately underestimated its opponent.
Subconsciously, it still regarded Swampert as nothing more than a Pokémon that had only recently reached the Elite-Four level and therefore wasn't worth worrying about.
Because of this, it wasn't willing to use its life-saving move, Protect, to defend itself. Instead, it chose the offensive and defensive move Steel Wing to deal with Swampert's attack.
The consequences of underestimating an opponent were always severe.
The instant Mega Swampert's fists struck Zapdos, Zapdos knew something was terribly wrong.
Mega Swampert's fists slammed into both of Zapdos's wings.
A sharp crack rang out.
Zapdos's wings, which had gained astonishing defensive power through Steel Wing, were actually broken on impact.
The next moment, accompanied by a painful cry, Zapdos transformed into a streak of yellow light and plummeted from the sky.
Sato had deliberately chosen a barren rocky area as the battlefield, where towering stone pillars were scattered everywhere.
Mega Swampert had smashed Zapdos violently out of the sky. During its diagonal descent, Zapdos crashed through several stone pillars before finally slamming heavily into the ground.
A violent tremor immediately shook the earth.
A crater more than ten meters in diameter appeared in the ground, while icy energy spread from Zapdos's body. A thin layer of ice quickly formed across the surface of the crater.
That single punch from Mega Swampert had sent Zapdos flying hundreds of meters away.
However, Zapdos had been an Elite-Four level Pokémon for many years. It possessed the naturally powerful body of a Legendary Pokémon and had spent countless years tempering its body with its domineering electrical energy. Its physical constitution was even considerably stronger than that of Swampert, which had only recently reached the Elite-Four level.
Furthermore, it had used Steel Wing to defend itself.
As a result, Zapdos had managed to withstand Mega Swampert's punch without immediately collapsing.
Of course, Mega Swampert's strength after Mega Evolution had not increased by just a little.
Although its Earth Ice Hammer had failed to defeat Zapdos in a single blow, it had still inflicted severe injuries upon it.
"Press the advantage. Finish it with Ice Beam."
Sato sensed that Zapdos still had a breath left in it and immediately used telepathy to order Mega Swampert, still suspended in midair, to pursue the attack.
Mega Swampert, which was still descending, immediately fired an icy-blue beam from its mouth toward the crater where Zapdos lay.
At the same time, with a thought, a water platform rapidly appeared beneath its feet, formed from condensed rainwater.
Mega Swampert stepped down forcefully with its right foot, which radiated bone-chilling cold.
In an instant, a gigantic ice platform formed in midair.
The enormous ice platform generated tremendous air resistance as it moved through the atmosphere, causing Mega Swampert's descent to slow sharply.
Taking advantage of that resistance, Mega Swampert forcefully stepped on the ice platform and propelled its entire body toward Zapdos.
Unfortunately, the distance between Mega Swampert and Zapdos was still enormous. It couldn't close the gap quickly enough using this powerful aerial movement technique.
After being struck by Mega Swampert's punch, Zapdos felt as though its entire body had nearly fallen apart.
Its broken wings, in particular, caused excruciating pain, so much so that it wanted nothing more than to lose consciousness immediately.
But at that moment, its pride and fierce self-respect refused to let it fall.
It could lose.
But it absolutely couldn't afford to lose this miserably.
It hadn't even managed to leave enough scars on Mega Swampert yet. How could it possibly accept defeat like this?
Relying on its incredible willpower, Zapdos forcibly straightened its broken wings and immediately used Roost.
Because of Roost, Zapdos temporarily lost its Flying typing, while its injuries rapidly recovered.
It successfully endured the Ice Beam Mega Swampert had fired from the air.
Then, taking advantage of the fact that Mega Swampert had yet to reach it, Zapdos dragged its injured body upward, spread its wings, and once again took to the sky.
"You're incredibly tenacious. Swampert, catch up to it and hit it again!"
Seeing Zapdos take flight once more, Sato's expression changed immediately, and he ordered Mega Swampert to pursue.
Under the rain, Mega Swampert stepped on one ice platform after another as they instantly formed in the sky, continuously accelerating as it rapidly closed the distance to Zapdos.
But Zapdos had learned its lesson.
The moment it saw Mega Swampert approaching, it immediately used Double Team to interfere with Mega Swampert while simultaneously launching Ancient Power.
Faced with Zapdos's strategy of combining Double Team with Ancient Power, Mega Swampert, despite now possessing the ability to move through the air, was unable to do much against it for the time being.
"Damn it. Swampert simply hasn't been at the Elite-Four level long enough. Even though Mega Evolution has considerably increased its strength, it still can't completely make up for the gap created by a lack of practical battle experience."
"And Zapdos's physical constitution really is extraordinary. If an ordinary Elite-Four level Pokémon had taken that Earth Ice Hammer head-on, it would probably have been defeated."
Sato's mind was racing as he continuously considered how to break Zapdos's tedious hit-and-run strategy, but for the moment, he couldn't come up with any good solution.
In truth, Sato understood very well why Zapdos had been caught off guard earlier.
It had underestimated Mega Swampert because it hadn't understood how much Swampert's power had increased after Mega Evolution.
Now that it was prepared, it wouldn't be nearly so easy for Mega Swampert to approach it.
There was ultimately still a difference between freely flying through the sky and walking through the air.
The former was simply far more flexible than the latter.
Thus, over the next several minutes, Mega Swampert and Zapdos continuously battled in the sky.
Overall, however, Zapdos maintained the upper hand, repeatedly using Ancient Power to inflict damage on Mega Swampert.
Moreover, as Zapdos used Ancient Power more and more frequently, its additional effect finally began to manifest. Zapdos's overall physical capabilities received a comprehensive boost, making the situation increasingly unfavorable for Swampert.
But in the end, the scales of victory still tipped toward Sato.
It turned out that Zapdos's wings had never fully recovered.
The Roost it had used earlier had merely forced its broken wings back together, allowing it to fly again with difficulty.
At first, this wasn't much of a problem.
Zapdos could endure the pain radiating from its wings.
But as it continued engaging Mega Swampert in fierce aerial combat, the pain in its wings grew increasingly intense.
Eventually, Zapdos's wings could bear the strain no longer.
They broke once again.
For a bird flying through the sky, there was nothing more fatal than having its wings broken.
The instant Zapdos's wings snapped, Sato knew that he had won.
Therefore, instead of ordering Mega Swampert to take advantage of the opportunity and inflict further serious injuries, he instructed it to safely bring Zapdos, which was falling from the sky, back down to the ground.
Zapdos also understood that it had lost.
It had nothing to say about the result.
So when Sato took out a PokeBall, Zapdos offered no resistance.
It willingly allowed Sato to capture it.
"Welcome to my team, Zapdos."
Sato looked at the PokeBall in his hand, which had finally stopped shaking, and smiled.