Clangorous Soulblaze, Kommo-o's exclusive Z-move.
The Z-Crystal Harrison slapped onto his bracelet was none other than "Kommo-oZ," one of the rare Pokemon-exclusive Z-Crystals in existence. As the energy from Harrison and the crystal surged into Kommo-o's body, the dragon halted its assault on Greninja.
With theatrical flair, Kommo-o began waving its arms and shaking its entire body. The metallic scales covering its form collided rhythmically, creating an otherworldly jingling melody that echoed throughout the arena. Several spectators covered their ears, while others leaned forward in anticipation.
Suddenly, Kommo-o's powerful legs propelled it to the highest point of the battlefield. Suspended momentarily at the apex of its jump, the dragon threw back its head and unleashed a deafening roar.
ROARRR!!!
Purple sound waves erupted from its maw, cascading downward like a tidal wave of sonic energy. The waves spread outward, enveloping the entire battlefield and bombarding the ground with relentless force.
That's when John realized Harrison's tactical brilliance.
He baited me into releasing all my Pokemon on purpose, John thought, gritting his teeth.
Harrison's strategy was devastatingly clear now. Clangorous Soulblaze wasn't just any Z-move, it was a battlefield-wide super attack capable of striking multiple targets simultaneously. Harrison had deliberately manipulated John into deploying as many Pokemon as possible, intending to cripple his entire team with a single devastating blow.
But John wasn't about to let that happen.
"Defensive positions!" John commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Mega Garchomp immediately dove into the ground, using Rock Slide to seal the entrance behind it. As a Dragon-type, Garchomp would be obliterated by the Dragon-type Clangorous Soulblaze if hit directly, there would be no coming back from that.
Meanwhile, Mega Gardevoir conjured multiple Light Screens to weaken the incoming attack. The psychic barriers materialized in rapid succession, forming a translucent dome of protection.
Greninja abandoned its opponent and retreated to John's side in a blur of motion.
Mega Tyranitar spread its massive arms wide, establishing a Wide Guard to help resist the impending onslaught.
Even Mega Gyarados swooped back from the sky, sensing the danger.
But Harrison wasn't going to make things easy. He too issued rapid commands to his team.
"Don't let them escape!" Harrison shouted. "Clangorous Soulblaze only targets enemies, intercept them!"
Espeon's eyes glowed as it unleashed Psychic toward Mega Garchomp. Though the special attack couldn't match Garchomp's physical prowess, it might slow the dragon down enough to ensure a hit from the Z-move.
Dragapult launched a Shadow Ball at Mega Gardevoir. The Fairy/Psychic Pokemon was vulnerable to Ghost-type attacks, and a direct hit could disrupt its Light Screen protection.
But Greninja, having broken free from its opponent, intercepted the Shadow Ball with a precise Cut attack, slicing the ghostly sphere in half when it was mere meters from Mega Gardevoir.
Across the field, Mega Glalie attempted to shatter Tyranitar's Wide Guard with a Water Pulse.
Mega Gyarados, descending from above, countered with its own Water Pulse, neutralizing the threat.
But Mega Gyarados itself couldn't escape the coming onslaught.
After evolving, its typing had changed from Water/Flying to Water/Dark—and Dark-types couldn't be transported by Mega Gardevoir's Teleport. With Dragonite's Extreme Speed keeping it pinned down from above, Mega Gyarados had nowhere to go.
And so, Mega Gyarados became the sacrificial shield, absorbing Dragonite's Extreme Speed and taking the full brunt of the first wave of Clangorous Soulblaze.
The attack filtered through the Light Screen next, and finally through the Wide Guard.
Even with these three layers of protection, the residual power still washed over John's entire team like a hurricane of sound and fury.
Z-moves were special, not just powerful, but rule-breaking. In official Pokemon matches, even moves like Protect and Wide Guard couldn't completely nullify them. A Z-move would still deal a quarter of its damage through such defenses!
But in this case, after passing through three defensive layers, the Clangorous Soulblaze had been reduced to perhaps a tenth of its original power.
If John had checked his Gameboy, he would have seen that except for Mega Gyarados and Mega Gardevoir, his other Pokemon had only lost a sliver of health.
Mega Gyarados, however, had reached its limit. Its HP completely drained, its Mega Evolution faded in a flash of light as it plummeted from the sky. John swiftly recalled it to its Pokeball.
Mega Gardevoir, on the other hand, had fared better thanks to its Fairy typing, which granted immunity to Dragon-type moves.
"Outrage!" Harrison immediately followed up, directing Kommo-o once more.
The armored dragon, landing from its airborne attack, let out another roar as dark green flames engulfed its body. Its eyes blazed crimson as it went berserk, charging wildly toward John with fists swinging.
Clangorous Soulblaze wasn't just devastating for its damage, it also boosted all of Kommo-o's stats by one level. Attack, defense, special attack, special defense, and speed, all increased in one fell swoop.
The dragon's combat power had skyrocketed instantaneously!
This had to be Harrison's trump card. John had watched his senior's previous battles but had never seen him use this combination. Harrison must have been saving it specifically for this challenge.
A Kommo-o with and without Kommo-oZ were practically different species altogether!
But John still had tricks up his sleeve.
With a decisive wave of his hand, he called out:
"Greninja, Ultimate Water Shuriken!"
Greninja leapt skyward, extracting its massive shuriken, expanding it to twice its normal size. At the center of the weapon, a spiral Aura Sphere formed, rotating in perfect harmony with the blades to increase their cutting power.
The technique was essentially a flying water shuriken, so it wouldn't be nullified by Kommo-o's Bulletproof ability.
The Ultimate Water Shuriken was even larger than usual today.
When Greninja underwent its "Battle Bond," its Ability remained unchanged, but it gained three powerful effects: after defeating an opponent, its attack, special attack, and speed all increased by one level, like an enhanced version of the Moxie ability.
And Greninja had just defeated Glalie moments ago!
With its attack, special attack, and speed all boosted, Greninja hurled the golden, spiraling, water shuriken toward the rampaging Kommo-o with pinpoint accuracy.