"Hit a little lighter, we still have more than twenty minutes left."
Just as Garchomp was suppressing Pyroar, Julian's voice suddenly echoed in its mind. Though a bit frustrated, Garchomp obediently eased its attacks considerably.
Julian had no choice—the closing exhibition match was supposed to last half an hour, yet only five minutes had passed and Pyroar was already about to get flattened by Garchomp.
After all, it was an exhibition match—the key word being "exhibition."
Besides, Julian felt that Williams wasn't a bad person after all, so he naturally wanted to save him some face.
Pyroar had been bracing itself for a devastating punch, yet when Garchomp's fist actually landed on its face, the force was only about half of what it had been earlier.
Garchomp: "Going easy on you, you weakling."
The taunt infuriated Pyroar, who snapped back, "If you've got guts, fight me with one hand!"
Garchomp: 'This guy has absolutely no shame.'
Julian, who also heard Pyroar's remark, wore a slightly peculiar expression.
Meanwhile, its trainer, Williams, blushed faintly, feeling a bit embarrassed by his Pokémon's behavior.
Of course, Garchomp wasn't foolish enough to actually agree to fight with one hand. If it did, the match really might flip on it.
With Garchomp holding back its strength, the battle with Pyroar finally became a back-and-forth affair—the match now looked far more exciting than when Garchomp had been overwhelming it.
Of course, many sharp-eyed spectators noticed that Garchomp was holding back—its displayed strength now was worlds apart from what it had shown earlier.
But the crowd's cheers only grew louder.
Garchomp: 'Why are you all so happy watching a rigged match?'
---
> "Garchomp is so cool! That Dragon Pulse earlier—some Dragon-type trainers would need two and a half years to learn that level of control."
> "Why do I feel like Garchomp isn't as fierce as it was at the start?"
> "It's an exhibition match, people. Don't take it seriously."
> "Pyroar is actually pretty good too—it's just that Garchomp is way too strong."
> "Why are Champion Walker's Pokémon all so powerful? Garchomp is one of his second-team member, yet even while holding back, it's stronger than many trainers' main aces."
---
The match time flew by as Garchomp continued to hold back. Seeing that it was almost thirty minutes, Julian and Williams exchanged a glance.
Julian: "Let's end the match with a ranged clash."
Williams: "Agreed."
"Garchomp, Dragon Pulse!"
"Pyroar, Flamethrower!"
Both Pokémon adjusted their stances—aware that the match was about to end.
The emerald-green Dragon Pulse clashed with the deep red Flamethrower, their energies scattering in all directions as the two moves proved equally matched.
BOOM!!
With that loud explosion, the time was up.
The blast sent waves of wind rippling across the field. Pyroar's edgy punk-style mane was blown into a messy float, while Garchomp stood coolly with its arms crossed.
The atmosphere at the venue had reached its peak. Being able to witness a battle between the two youngest Champions made every penny spent on tickets utterly worth it.
As Julian smiled slightly at the surrounding audience and prepared to return Garchomp to its Poké Ball, a sudden sense of alarm surged through him, making every hair on his body stand on end.
"Gen—"
Gengar shot out of Julian's shadow instantly.
Jirachi, nestled in Julian's arms, also reacted swiftly.
But Gengar had already intercepted the assassination attempt launched by a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion Gourgeist.
Only then did the audience let out a collective gasp of shock.
From their perspective, just as Julian was about to recall Garchomp, a Gourgeist had suddenly appeared behind him.
Its Shadow Claw was less than half a meter away from Julian, but fortunately, Gengar had blocked the attack in the nick of time.
"Williams!!"
Julian's mind raced, furious and shocked, wondering who would dare to openly assassinate him in such a setting. His first suspicion fell on Celestria—they had both the motive and capabilities.
But the next second, he saw that Williams, the Celestrian Champion, was already dead—killed by a Gengar that had torn his heart out from behind.
Celestria: 'Our suspicion is cleared now, right?'
Julian: 'Cleared.'
Dead. A dignified Champion had died—right in front of tens of thousands of spectators.
The attempt to assassinate Julian had failed, but the assassination of Williams had succeeded—his body now lay in a pool of blood.
But things weren't over yet.
The Gourgeist began to emit a blinding white light.
It was preparing for a massive Self-Destruct.
"Metagross!!" Julian roared.
He couldn't allow the Gourgeist to Self-Destruct. With hundreds of thousands of spectators present, Julian might survive, but countless innocents would undoubtedly perish.
The Self-Destruct of a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion was beyond something Gengar could contain. Only a Champion-level Pokémon could handle such a threat.
"Meta!"
Metagross's overwhelming psychic energy surged out like a tidal wave, sealing the space around Gourgeist completely.
BOOOOM!!!
Gourgeist self-destructed.
But thanks to Metagross, the blast was confined to an area less than three meters in radius. However, because the explosion was so compressed, its destructive power within that space became even more intense.
The space within the three-meter barrier shook violently from the explosion, but thankfully, it was ultimately contained.
As for the Gengar that had successfully assassinated Williams, it had already vanished without a trace.
The rapid succession of life-threatening events left the live audience utterly stunned and struggling to process what had happened.
Now that the threat seemed to have truly passed, the venue erupted into chaos. Many people slumped weakly in their seats, drained and shaken. The moment they witnessed the Gourgeist about to Self-Destruct, they were certain they were doomed.
Fortunately, Julian reacted in time.
---
> "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap—what just happened in those ten seconds??!!"
> "Thank goodness I didn't go in person—I would've died of fright."
> "Who has the guts to assassinate Champion Walker? Luckily it failed."
> "I was going to blame Celestria, but their own Champion is dead… so it shouldn't be them."
> "Could it be Babath?"
> "Don't joke—Babath wouldn't dare kill the Champion of their own 'godfather.'"
---
Online viewers were all in heated discussions.
Meanwhile, governments around the world, especially those of Drakoria and Celestria, had already convened emergency meetings.
The Celestrian president was slumped in his chair, staring at the footage of Williams' body. This was it—he really was going to be kicked out of office.
With their own Champion assassinated, his resignation was inevitable.
Back in Drakoria, the six Elders were also breaking out in cold sweat. Thankfully Julian's Gengar reacted instantly and blocked the assassination attempt. Otherwise, Julian might have ended up just like Williams.
The main reason Williams was successfully assassinated was because he had let his guard down. After all, even Julian had never imagined that someone would attempt an attack in front of such a massive audience.
Under normal circumstances, Williams would have had a Pokémon by his side for protection. But this time, he was completely unprepared.
Julian, on the other hand, always kept Gengar hidden in his shadow. Even when he recalled Metagross at times, he never recalled Gengar.
This time, Gengar had performed exceptionally well. It definitely deserves an extra chicken drumstick tonight.
Julian had faced many dangers from the start. Before becoming a Champion, he had been kidnapped; now that he was a Champion, someone still tried to assassinate him.
*****
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