Wallace hesitated, his hand hovering over his belt before finally selecting a Pokeball. The Pokemon that emerged was a Gyarados.
"Gyarados?"
Wallace's choice left everyone bewildered. Gyarados was Water/Flying type, it would take quadruple damage from electric moves!
"Champion Wallace, is there really no better option? Why send out Gyarados?" Phoebe wondered aloud.
"The champion's tactics are beyond what we Elite Four can understand," Sidney said coolly.
"Oh, so you understand them?"
"I said the champion's tactics are beyond what we Elite Four can understand, and I'm also an Elite Four member!" Sidney replied with smug confidence.
Phoebe rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Glacia and Drake remained silent, their attention fixed on the battlefield.
The moment Gyarados appeared, its ferocious visage radiated pure menace. Any Pokemon would feel intimidated upon first seeing it, even if they weren't afraid, they'd at least feel uneasy. There was no doubt this Gyarados possessed the Intimidate ability.
"Intimidate?" John frowned slightly. So Wallace had realized that Zeraora wasn't an opponent to be taken lightly. He was planning to weaken Zeraora as much as possible at the cost of his Pokemon's stamina, placing his hopes on either his next Pokemon or his final one.
This tactic was eerily similar to fighting a boss in a video game.
"Thunder!" John commanded.
Well, he'd gladly accept this Gyarados as his next victim.
"Ora!" Zeraora raised a single finger skyward.
On the battlefield, white lightning immediately began swelling within the storm clouds above.
"Gyarados, Mega Evolution!"
"Gymagma!" Wallace hastily revealed his Z-Power bracelet and Dynamax band, clearly, he had more in mind than just intimidation.
Gyarados evolved into Mega Gyarados, its back becoming thicker with elongated fins, blood-red streamlined stripes and scales adorning its sides. Beneath the scales were exhaust vents that continuously expelled white gas, allowing it to float in mid-air.
After Mega Evolution, Mega Gyarados's typing changed from Water/Flying to Water/Dark. Now it faced only double weakness instead of quadruple.
If he added Dynamax on top of that...
In Wallace's estimation, Mega Gyarados probably still wouldn't be Zeraora's equal, but withstanding the next Thunder and launching a counterattack to defeat Zeraora should be manageable!
John also saw through Wallace's intentions. Mega Evolution plus Dynamax, so he still wanted to fight.
But... did Wallace really think he could resist Zeraora's Thunder just by removing the quadruple weakness and boosting stamina through Dynamax?
How naive.
BOOM!
Thunder roared as white lightning descended like an impossibly bright beam projected from the heavens, intent on purifying all darkness and evil.
The lightning struck Mega Gyarados directly on the head, and in an instant
ZzzZZZzzz!!!
Crackling sparks filled the air as electricity coursed through Mega Gyarados's entire body.
The Dynamax transformation ended immediately, and the massive body collapsed.
Thunder's effect lasted approximately five seconds.
When the white lightning finally dissipated, only a charred, worm-like figure remained in midair, slowly falling toward the abyss Whiscash had created. No matter how much Wallace shouted orders, Gyarados didn't respond.
Because it had completely lost its ability to battle.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! Zeraora wins!" the referee announced in real-time.
"One-shot KO? How is that possible!" Sidney was the first to voice his disbelief.
"Even with type advantage, it should be impossible to defeat a Mega Evolved and Dynamaxed Gyarados in one hit, right?" Sidney couldn't comprehend it.
Phoebe, Glacia, Drake, and even Wallace were equally baffled.
But the facts had unfolded before their very eyes.
Could it be that Zeraora's individual strength had reached a level beyond ordinary Pokemon, rivaling those revered as "gods"?
If John knew what they were thinking, he'd probably burst out laughing.
Zeraora rivaling the gods? That was premature. It was currently only level 85.
Pokemon called gods like Groudon and Kyogre were estimated to have already reached the maximum level of 100.
Even that legendary Pokemon he'd encountered in the Mayan forest with was likely at least level 90 or above.
If Zeraora wanted to reach godhood, it needed to hit level 90 first.
The key to one-shotting Mega Gyarados was the The Orb of Lightning that Zeraora possessed.
[The Orb of Lightning: The power and range of electric moves are doubled, and the power and range of the next electric move are doubled every minute.]
Originally, it was double effectiveness, but with The Orb of Lightning, it became quadruple effectiveness.
Moreover, this was Zeraora's first electric move in this battle, doubling the power once again.
Sorry, but that's an eight-times damage multiplier!
Not to mention Zeraora was level 85.
Drop it down another 20 levels, and even a level 65 Zeraora could still knock out Wallace's Mega Gyarados.
"Wallace used Gyarados's Intimidate to reduce Zeraora's attack and also halved the damage of Zeraora's electric moves for the next minute, what a bargain," John muttered to himself.
Unfortunately, Wallace didn't know about the Divine Blessing's effects.
Zeraora's Thunder had nearly shattered all his confidence.
He couldn't think of which of his remaining three Pokemon could possibly withstand such a devastating attack.
"Trainer Wallace, please release your Pokemon immediately," the referee reminded him. A full minute had passed since Gyarados's defeat. If Wallace didn't release his next Pokemon soon, he could be penalized for lack of fighting spirit and forced to forfeit.
The four Elite Four members also turned their attention to him.
Wallace snapped back to reality.
"I can't let down my old friends. Even if I lose, I'll put on a spectacular show!" Wallace took a deep breath, speaking to himself.
He was psyching himself up, ensuring he wouldn't lose even the courage to fight.
He reached out and selected a Pokeball from his belt.
Wallace's fourth Pokemon was Starmie, Level 92.