"Agility!"
"Dragon Dance!"
The battle began with John and Magnus issuing simultaneous commands.
Dragonite surged forward like lightning, a faint white glow flickering across its body as its speed increased exponentially, like a streak of white light racing across the battlefield.
RAAAAH!
Garchomp raised his head and roared again, dark green Dragon-type energy blazing around his body like flames, boosting both his attack power and speed.
"Dragon Claw!" Magnus added his follow-up instruction.
Dragonite had already reached Garchomp, raised claws moving forward with his body. Thanks to the kinetic energy blessing, the move packed considerably more power than if delivered from a stationary position.
"Dragon Claw!" John's command followed immediately.
CLANG!
A thunderous crash echoed across the battlefield.
Two sets of dark green Dragon Claws collided, shattering the ground within a three-meter radius around Garchomp, a testament to both sides' incredible strength.
Even so, Garchomp never backed down.
The two combatants were evenly matched.
"Hurricane!" Magnus struck again after his first attack failed.
Dragonite's arms suddenly exerted force, using Garchomp's own momentum to retreat while his wings beat powerfully.
The Hurricane kicked up soil and debris, creating what looked like a sandstorm in the blink of an eye.
"Again! Dragon Claw!" John called out, silently raising his hands.
Garchomp's body surged forward, arms swinging as his Dragon Claw became razor-sharp, slashing through the air!
A dark green beam of light shot forth, cutting the sandy hurricane clean in half like a blade.
But the moment the Hurricane was severed, Dragonite burst out at astonishing speed, his form nearly blurred.
Everyone barely registered that Dragonite had reached Garchomp in the blink of an eye.
Clearly, this had been a premeditated attack.
The Hurricane wasn't meant as offense, it was mere cover using sand and dust for Dragonite's follow-up Extreme Speed sneak attack.
BANG!
Another deafening explosion rang out.
Garchomp blocked it again, no, to be precise, it should be called Mega Garchomp now!
While using Dragon Claw, John's raised arm had revealed his Z-Power bracelet, and Garchomp's entire body glowed as he underwent Mega Evolution.
As for why no verbal command was issued...
Wasn't this the perfect timing?
'You're preparing to ambush me? Coincidentally, I'm preparing to counter-attack you!'
Mega Garchomp's physical attack ability had increased dramatically after Mega Evolution! His left arm, now resembling a scythe, used Dragon Claw to cut through the air like a blade through wind.
His right arm delivered a second slash aimed at the sneaking Dragonite.
Dragonite was sent flying on impact, though the injury wasn't severe.
There was a subtle detail that only masters could perceive.
Dragonite had shifted away at the last possible moment.
Even when caught off-guard, he could almost instinctively and accurately avoid vital points. Either this Dragonite's battle instincts were extraordinarily terrifying, or he had mastered Mind's Eye.
Mind's Eye was essential for all close-combat Pokemon, whether a Pokemon could learn it often served as the threshold distinguishing the truly strong.
When Mega Garchomp faced Dragonite's Extreme Speed surprise attack just now, he'd been able to react and counter-attack because of his own Mind's Eye.
Many trainers who had reached Gym Leader strength but hadn't yet become Elite Four members were secretly stunned.
"As expected of a championship battle. If I were up there, I'd probably lose a Pokemon in just this first exchange."
"Aerial Ace!" Magnus issued another command, his strategy becoming obvious, swift attacks and overwhelming pressure!
Compared to Garchomp, Dragonite held the speed advantage, not in terms of base stats, but the aerial mobility granted by his Flying-type.
The airborne Dragonite rolled mid-flight, diving down abruptly before rising from near ground level, staying low to the surface.
The move naturally transitioned from Aerial Ace to Dragon Rush.
Dragonite, cloaked in dark green energy, roared as he charged like a true dragon.
This technique looked familiar to John, he liked using similar combinations himself.
It was commonly seen among Flying Pokemon, or bird Pokemon specifically. Use Aerial Ace to accelerate the descent and adjust positioning, then rush forward upon landing, switching to Quick Attack paired with Drill Peck.
It suddenly reminded him of Zapdos.
"Dragon Claw!" John responded to change with consistency.
Mega Garchomp's scythe-like arms glowed with dark green energy once more, the cold gleam in his eyes undeniably dazzling as he prepared to directly intercept the incoming Dragonite.
Dragonite arrived in a flash, but unexpectedly, instead of striking Mega Garchomp with his accumulated momentum, he suddenly veered and began circling Mega Garchomp while staying close to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, another Hurricane rose.
But this time it centered on Mega Garchomp, with dark green Dragon-type energy overflowing everywhere.
'Twister?'
Yes and no, it was a Dragon-type storm, but its power far exceeded an ordinary Twister. This was Flying-type Hurricane combined with Dragon Pulse.
This could already be classified as a newly developed move.
John's eyes lit up slightly. Magnus had finished his testing phase and was about to launch a serious offensive.
The move before him had been dubbed Dragon Storm Vortex by Magnus!
And this was just the beginning of the assault. The massive tornado itself had no direct lethality.
Trapped within it, Mega Garchomp was like standing in the eye of a typhoon. No matter how violent the external forces, the interior remained relatively safe.
Silently, Magnus retrieved a Z-Crystal and embedded it in his Z-Power bracelet.
"Dragonite, Z-Move: Subzero Slammer!"
Dragonite, soaring like a majestic dragon, immediately positioned himself atop the Dragon Storm Vortex. His expression became cold and emotionless, eyes locked onto Mega Garchomp as his mouth filled with ice and snow.
Then he unleashed it all.
Countless bursts of frigid ice and snow erupted like an avalanche, seemingly filling the entire interior of the Dragon Storm Vortex.
A question mark appeared above John's head.
Uh... what?
Both Dragonite and Garchomp were quadruple-weak to Ice-type attacks, and now Magnus's Dragonite not only mastered Ice-type moves but was using an Ice-type Z-Move.
Garchomp: You bug-eyed traitor!
This scene felt strangely familiar to John.
Oh right! The retired Gym Leader's Dragonite, Hank, could also use Ice-type Z-Moves!
In that previous duel, he'd also used Garchomp and ultimately lost due to Dragonite's Multiscale ability. So... did this Dragonite also possess Multiscale?