The nearly five-meter-thick layer of ice began to crack under Gyarados's furious struggles—it looked like it was about to break free.
Meanwhile, Volcarona wasn't idle either. It launched a massive fireblast at Gyarados, a fireball over ten meters in diameter.
With a deafening boom, the fireball exploded upon impact with Gyarados, instantly shattering the ice that had trapped it.
The explosion caused waves over ten meters high to rise from the ocean's surface.
In fact, the blast was so powerful that it created a circular void around Gyarados's body, demonstrating the sheer magnitude of the explosion's force.
Thanks to Dynamaxing, Gyarados had not only immense physical defense but also extremely high special defense.
Even with such a devastating attack, it was only injured—it didn't lose consciousness.
At that moment, Mewtwo made its move.
Without any flashy techniques, it simply used Power Trick on itself. Its muscles swelled once more.
In a flash, Mewtwo shot behind Gyarados, clasped its arms tightly around it, and held on with all its might.
"What the—?!"
Nathan stood stunned.
After sending his three Pokémon to deal with Gyarados, he hadn't given any further commands. After all, they were all Champion-level Pokémon. If they couldn't handle one berserk Gyarados, he might as well hang himself with a noodle.
But what he didn't expect was just how brutal Mewtwo was.
From the looks of it, Mewtwo was actually trying to wrestle Gyarados into submission with raw strength!
Even though Mewtwo's body had grown significantly after Mega Evolution—reaching nearly three meters tall—it was still dwarfed by the Dynamaxed Gyarados. It wasn't even as big as Gyarados's tail.
Yet Nathan had underestimated Mewtwo.
Once it latched onto Gyarados's tail, it poured every ounce of strength into its grip.
Gyarados thrashed about in pain, trying to break free. But Mewtwo's arms clamped down like steel traps, refusing to let go.
Now, Gyarados was like a worm nailed to the ground—able to move everything except the one part that was pinned.
After gaining control over Gyarados's tail, Mewtwo boosted its power again with Power-Up Punch, muscles bulging with renewed strength.
And then Nathan witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
A Pokémon just three meters tall was gripping the tail of a nearly hundred-meter-long Gyarados—and swinging it around!
A dog swinging a slipper? That's child's play.
A crocodile swinging an antelope? That's a hunt.
But Mewtwo swinging a near-hundred-meter Gyarados?
That's a miracle!
There was simply no better word to describe what was happening.
Nathan was utterly speechless.
He wasn't the only one stunned. Volcarona and Frosmoth also stood frozen, staring at Mewtwo.
We're all Pokémon… but is the difference between us really this massive?
Mewtwo X: The King of Melee Combat!
With a crisp smack, Gyarados was slammed into the ocean's surface.
Again and again, Mewtwo spun and slammed it—using Gyarados like a living whip.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
After over a dozen throws, Mewtwo finally ran out of energy. It was strong, yes, but it was still only at Champion level.
That burst of strength had been pushed to its absolute limit.
Though the Gyarados hadn't fainted—its defenses were just that good—it was no longer in a berserk state.
Being tossed around by a Pokémon that was a fraction of its size left Gyarados terrified, as if it had encountered some kind of ghost.
Can I get a little dignity here? Don't I get any respect as a Gyarados?
In its heart, Gyarados was now filled with fear toward Mewtwo.
This wasn't just unnatural—it wasn't even something a Pokémon should be capable of.
With a miserable howl, Gyarados whipped its tail and dove into the ocean, disappearing from sight.
Nathan watched as his three Pokémon flew back toward him—or rather, he was staring at Mewtwo in awe.
Too strong… It really is a culmination of all the best traits from countless Pokémon.
With talent and power like this, Mewtwo was practically unrivaled.
"Good thing you can only Mega Evolve into X for now. If you could use the Y-Mewtwonite, I feel like you'd be flying straight into the heavens."
Nathan chuckled as he spoke to Mewtwo.
Mewtwo tilted its head, not quite understanding. Fly? But I'm already flying. Does he mean fly even higher?
The rampaging Gyarados had been dealt with. Judging by the look of terror on its face as it fled, it probably wouldn't dare return for the rest of its life.
At that moment, several navy ships finally arrived on the scene.
Nathan recalled his Pokémon and returned to the ship. When Captain Burks saw that Nathan was unharmed, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"At least you're safe."
"Hey, hey! Aren't you guys underestimating me a little too much?"
Nathan said helplessly to Captain Burks.
To be honest, Nathan felt like Captain Burks was only tagging along to help him with daily chores—eating, drinking, and sleeping.
As for actual protection? Pretty much useless.
After all, Nathan was traveling with three Legendary-level Pokémon. If he encountered danger, he could just casually release one.
"This is our duty."
Captain Burks replied firmly.
Even though he knew their Pokémon weren't as strong as Nathan's, Captain Burks remained committed to his mission.
"Yeah, yeah, I knew you'd say that."
Nathan could already guess what the Captain would say.
"But something feels off… That berserk Gyarados—it seemed like someone intentionally led it here."
Now that the rampage was over, Nathan recalled those suspicious individuals from earlier.
Were they the ones who lured the Gyarados here to stir up trouble?
But even if they were, why provoke a Champion-level Gyarados?
Nathan had already revealed part of his strength during the Pacific Regional Tournament. A single Champion-level Pokémon wouldn't make a difference.
Even if he didn't act, with so many world-class trainers present, someone else could have handled it.
"You guys head back. I'm going to check things out."
As he spoke, Nathan took off on his Flygon before Captain Burks could stop him.
Following the direction those people had left, Nathan flew past several small islands but saw no trace of them.
After checking over twenty islands, he finally spotted the group.
They were gathered together, seemingly reporting to someone.
That someone—a young man about Nathan's age—stood at the center, listening.
Just a few glances, and the man suddenly looked straight toward Nathan's direction.
The moment he looked up, Nathan clearly saw his face and committed it to memory before quietly flying away.
Back on their assigned island, Nathan rushed to his tent, where he'd stored the information Kelly had given him.
He began flipping through the documents quickly.
Soon, he found the man's file.
Samuel Light – Champion of the Liberty Union National Tournament, and also the Champion of the Avalonia Region.
He had an extremely high popularity in his home country. His primary Pokémon were Latios and Latias.
Both were Champion-level.
During the Avalonia Tournament, Samuel relied on just those two Pokémon to sweep through the competition and take the title.
After reading through his profile, Nathan only felt more confused.
On paper, there was nothing suspicious about Samuel.
Nathan figured his own information must be in the hands of the other competitors too—it was only fair.
So then why had Samuel sent people to provoke a Gyarados?
And not just provoke it—push it into a berserk rage?
Was he trying to test the strength of the World Tournament participants?
"Nathan! Dinner's ready!"
Mary's voice came from outside the tent.
Only then did Nathan realize he'd completely forgotten about dinner.
Mary had been waiting for him the entire time, ever since he left. But after he returned, he hadn't come out once.
Helpless, she'd come to call him herself.
Nathan stepped out, and Mary handed him a bowl of food.
The mountain of beef piled high stirred his appetite.
Just as he was about to take a bite, a voice shouted—
"Don't eat that—it's poisoned!"
Nathan instantly reacted, flinging the bowl to the ground.
He turned to the source of the voice—none other than Kelly.
After returning, Kelly had been starving. He hadn't eaten in nearly ten hours, so he couldn't help but eat a little of the beef.
Unlike Captain Burks and the others, who ate in a more disciplined manner, Kelly had no such restraint.
But just two or three minutes after taking a bite, he felt terrible.
At first, he thought he was just unwell and returned to his tent to rest.
But then—his stomach began writhing in pain, as if his internal organs were being run through a meat grinder.
(End of Chapter)