Chapter 518: A Fight to the Death
Being pursued by Arthur and having to dodge Groudon's occasional bombardments had already left Kuisqi in a miserable state. He had narrowly escaped death several times. If Arthur hadn't fought Groudon so fiercely earlier, leaving all his main combatants, including Old Flame and Specter, exhausted, Kuisqi would have likely been cut down in their first encounter.
On paper, Kuisqi's team was still superior. But in reality, Arthur was practically thrashing him!
The gap in real-world combat experience and Poké Ball control was simply too large. Born in a peaceful era, Kuisqi had rarely experienced life-or-death battles, spending most of his career in competitions and military exercises. To Arthur, a battle without his life on the line was as bland as water.
This disparity had already put Kuisqi on the back foot. He had only managed to hold on by using his Psychic-types' tricky moves and constantly retreating. But now, with the arrival of the massive horde of wild Pokémon, true despair finally appeared in his eyes.
"How... how is this possible?! How did they gather so quickly?!"
Including the Krookodile and Nidoking Chieftains, five of the Ashen Desert's Seven Chieftains had arrived! The sky and the ground were swarming with wild Pokémon.
The hour Arthur had bought had been crucial. It had given the scattered desert Pokémon enough time to rally and find a leader. Thanks to the Krookodile Chieftain's tireless efforts and the Nidoking Chieftain's early warning, nearly half the desert's Pokémon were now gathered here, around Groudon!
A Legendary's call to wild Pokémon was absolute. Now, united to save Groudon, their fighting spirit was overflowing.
"You—" Kuisqi looked back at Arthur, realization dawning on him. "You knew our plan before the battle even started?"
Otherwise, there was no explanation for why these Pokémon could be gathered so quickly, their front so unified, all pointed directly at him.
Arthur didn't answer. But his silence was the best mockery.
Kuisqi, who had still held a sliver of hope that he could escape if he shook off Arthur, now gave up completely. Arthur's Lina was tired. Kuisqi had thought he could escape on his Metagross. But now, looking around, the sky was filled with Sigilyph and Archeops. On the ground, Krookodile, Nidoking, Duraludon, Aggron, and Tyrantrum—all capable of using Earthquake—made burrowing a death sentence.
There was no way up, and no way down.
Kuisqi took a deep breath. Suddenly, he understood how his Gallade must have felt. A pity my career wasn't without regret...
He took out his satellite transmitter and sent a distress signal. Then, he resolutely threw the device away. For the first time, his gaze on Arthur became sharp.
Seeing this, Arthur tightened his grip on his sword. The man finally felt like a Champion. So, he's decided to fight to the death.
"Young man, you're from the Kubfu Alliance, aren't you?" Kuisqi's voice started low. "Sometimes I really envy your land. So full of talent, always producing amazing geniuses. But unfortunately, I can't let you continue to shine. For Sinnoh! I stake my name as the Psychic Champion on this: you die here today!! Raichu, Electric Terrain!!"
His voice rose to a crescendo, ending in a roar reminiscent of his younger days. Realizing he had no chance of survival, the Sinnoh Champion finally unleashed his full fighting spirit. He was going all out!
Before he came here, he would never have imagined that a dignified Champion like himself would be pushed to this point by a boy who didn't even look twenty. But now, he had no time for confusion or regret. Today, staking his dignity as a Champion, he had to erase this terrifying genius from the Kubfu Alliance!
His Alolan Raichu, heavily injured from Groudon's earlier pursuit, emerged from its ball. With a squeak, it summoned a vast field of golden electricity. The Electric-type move: Electric Terrain!
It created a charged combat space, boosting the power of all Electric-type moves within it and preventing any Pokémon on the ground from falling asleep. At the same time, Raichu's signature ability, Surge Surfer, doubled its speed on the electric terrain. Surfing on its tail, trailing lightning and thunder, Raichu sped toward Arthur in the air at an astonishing speed!
But in his vision, the boy on the dragon's back showed not a hint of fear or panic. Kuisqi thought his desperate, all-or-nothing gamble would overwhelm Arthur. Little did he know, this seemingly unknown boy also possessed the pride of a Champion!
"Old Flame, Dragon Claw!"
Old Flame met Raichu head-on without hesitation. Champion-level? Big deal. Who wasn't one back in the day?
Having just used Electric Terrain, Raichu was still on cooldown. Kuisqi dared not take the hit and recalled Raichu just before impact.
"Continue the charge at Metagross!" Arthur reacted quickly, updating his command.
But in his final moments, Kuisqi also displayed his peak battle awareness. Swapping Poké Balls with lightning speed, he recalled Raichu and simultaneously sent out Starmie.
"Starmie, Thunderbolt!"
Borrowing the boost from Raichu's Electric Terrain, Starmie unleashed a Thunderbolt.
"Lina, pull up! Specter, Shadow Ball on Starmie!"
Arthur recalled Old Flame and commanded Lina to ascend, while ordering Specter, who had been hiding in Lina's shadow, to attack Starmie. The Thunderbolt's range was deliberately wide; Arthur instantly predicted that the attack was meant not just to intercept Old Flame, but to hit him as well. So his first command was for Lina to gain altitude.
Prediction and anticipation existed in real combat too! And in this field, Arthur's experience was even richer.
On Metagross's back, Kuisqi raised an eyebrow. Starmie's Thunderbolt had missed. The boy's combat experience far exceeded his imagination.
"The Kubfu Alliance... truly an enviable place for breeding geniuses," he muttered to himself. Then he commanded, "Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
At that moment, Arthur did something that completely exceeded Kuisqi's imagination. He jumped off Lina's back.
"Lina, Dragon Rush!" he shouted as he fell.
"What?!"
Kuisqi was stunned. During military exercises, he had sparred with several current Champions from the Kubfu Alliance, but he had never seen any of them fight so recklessly in a real battle! Jumping from hundreds of feet in the air without a word!
Are all the geniuses in the Kubfu Alliance lunatics?!
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