"What the—why is this guy's defense so ridiculously strong!"
Nathan stared in disbelief at Yveltal.
Although the attacks just now from Volcarona and Mewtwo weren't their absolute strongest moves, the two of them had already reached the level of legendary Pokémon. Even if those weren't their most devastating strikes, they were still far from being something that could be brushed off so easily.
Yet now, not only had their attacks failed to deal heavy damage, they hadn't even managed to scratch Yveltal.
"It's not that his defense is strong—it's that his recovery is terrifying!"
Xerneas spoke coldly.
As Yveltal's eternal rival, it understood very clearly what had just happened.
"Look at the plants around it."
Hearing this, Nathan focused his gaze carefully on the vegetation surrounding Yveltal.
Sure enough, after the combined attacks from Volcarona and Mewtwo, the plants in an even wider radius around Yveltal had withered away into nothingness.
It was obvious—Yveltal had absorbed their life force.
"This is just disgusting…"
Nathan cursed in frustration.
This ability truly was revolting. To be able to absorb life force at such a frightening speed during battle and then use it to heal its own injuries…
It was simply vile. Thank goodness he hadn't let Mewtwo rush into close combat earlier.
Otherwise, the one getting drained of life force might have been Mewtwo itself.
But now with things like this, was his only option to rely on constant long-range attacks, wearing Yveltal down little by little?
"Damn it—then I'll grind you to death if I have to!"
Nathan spat out a curse.
So what if it could recover fast? Did he really need to fear a battle of attrition?
"Volcarona, use Flamethrower!"
"Mewtwo, use Psystrike!"
"Xerneas, coordinate with them—use Hyper Beam!"
He couldn't be bothered to waste time letting his Pokémon go over and transfer energy to Xerneas.
As for Xerneas itself, if he let it act freely, who knew when it would finally finish this fight.
Xerneas didn't hesitate. Following Nathan's command, it fired off a devastating Hyper Beam.
A beam over a meter thick blasted forth, aiming straight at Yveltal's position.
Volcarona unleashed a torrent of roaring flames immediately after.
Lastly, Mewtwo released its invisible Psystrike.
Three Pokémon attacking in unison—the destructive force was earth-shattering.
"I refuse to believe that even this won't hurt you!"
Nathan fixed his gaze firmly on Yveltal's position as he spoke.
The combined attacks from the three Pokémon slammed into Yveltal head-on.
The plants Xerneas had just caused to sprout moments earlier began withering at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At the same time, layer upon layer of dark clouds gathered in the skies above.
Seeing the area of death creeping rapidly toward him, Nathan quickly ordered his squad to retreat.
The members of the Pokémon unit didn't dare delay. They hurriedly pulled back, terrified they might disrupt Nathan's battle.
Nathan himself also retreated along with them for quite a distance.
Originally, they were already far from the battlefield of the four legendary-level Pokémon, but Yveltal had closed much of that distance earlier, forcing them back again.
Just as they withdrew, a wave of evil aura suddenly erupted from Yveltal's position.
The malice in that aura stirred up the darkest thoughts within every human heart.
It filled the air with sheer terror.
At the same time, violent winds howled outward, with Yveltal at the center, a raging storm sweeping across the battlefield.
Volcarona's flames, Mewtwo's psychic force, and Xerneas's Hyper Beam—all of them were blocked outside by the storm.
If this were just an ordinary Hurricane attack, there was no way it could have produced such overwhelming results.
But within Yveltal's storm surged a power steeped in malevolence and destruction.
The storm didn't just appear—it spread outward rapidly in all directions. Yet instead of weakening as it spread, the gale intensified, growing wilder, like a tornado swelling out of control.
"Get out of here, now!"
Without hesitation, Nathan shouted at his squad behind him.
At this point in the battle, the squad absolutely could not stay anywhere near this place.
"Instructor!"
"Instructor!"
The squad's eyes grew wet with emotion at Nathan's words.
In such a critical, perilous situation, the first thing Nathan thought of was their safety. Who wouldn't be moved by that?
Facing their teary gazes, Nathan had only one thing to say:
"Hurry the hell up and get lost! You're just holding me back!"
Yveltal could absorb the life force of any living being.
To Yveltal, this hundred-man squad was nothing but a hundred walking blood packs.
The squad froze for a moment at his words, then immediately turned and fled at full speed.
"Volcarona, use Fire Spin—contain Yveltal's storm!"
Nathan bellowed.
The violent wind whipped against him, making his clothes flap furiously.
Then, a fire vortex even larger in scope than Yveltal's storm burst forth.
The blazing whirlwind completely enveloped Yveltal's raging storm.
The flames spun in the opposite direction, continuously compressing the storm within. Very quickly, the two moves clashed.
The storm, filled with evil energy, and the blazing vortex gnawed away at each other, canceling one another out.
Though the Fire Spin couldn't erase the storm completely, it at least stopped its spread.
"Mewtwo, use Rock Tomb—crush it to death!"
Nathan shifted his command to Mewtwo.
Massive boulders materialized in Mewtwo's hands.
Its muscles bulged, then with a fierce motion, Mewtwo hurled the rocks forward with terrifying force.
The projectiles, carrying the roar of splitting air, slammed toward Yveltal like a barrage of cannon fire.
Thunderous booms echoed one after another as Mewtwo threw more than twenty massive stones in quick succession, all smashing down upon Yveltal's storm.
"Xerneas, use Moonblast!"
Nathan directed again.
Without hesitation, Xerneas released its move.
Pale white moonlight descended from the heavens, falling straight into the heart of the storm.
What seemed serene and gentle transformed in that moment into a force of utter destruction.
Soon, the Fire Spin dissipated, and the storm, too, was extinguished.
Looking around, within several hundred meters of Yveltal's center point, the battlefield was utterly devastated.
Scorched earth stretched everywhere, blackened marks of fire and ruin, with massive piles of stone scattered about.
But as for Yveltal itself—its form was nowhere to be seen, buried deep beneath the rubble.
As for Draco, he was left completely dazed.
Months ago, he had secretly entered the mystic realm where Yveltal slumbered.
Within that mystic realm, under Yveltal's guidance, he had sealed it into a Poké Ball.
Back then, he had thought that capturing Yveltal was his great fortune.
Only now did he realize that Yveltal had merely been using him all along.
Yet he had foolishly believed himself to be some chosen child of destiny.
What truly shattered him, however, was Nathan.
Even though Yveltal had told him those words before, in Draco's heart, as long as Yveltal could defeat Nathan, nothing else mattered.
But he had witnessed the battle just now.
The Yveltal he had thought invincible was being suppressed by Nathan from start to finish.
And now, it had been beaten down without even a single response, as if it were dead already.
This result dealt a crushing blow to Draco.
From the moment he had obtained Yveltal until now, he finally realized—
The clown was himself.
How laughable. He had actually thought he could step on Nathan's head and become the strongest Trainer in the world.
"Mewtwo, go check the situation."
Nathan looked at the unmoving pile of rocks and gave his order.
Mewtwo nodded, cautiously approaching the rubble.
It casually shifted aside a few boulders—
But before it could even glimpse Yveltal, the unexpected happened!
Despite the onslaught just now, Yveltal still had enough strength left to counterattack!
Mewtwo had remained wary the whole time, but Yveltal's speed was terrifying, and with the two of them so close together, there was no time to react.
In just a split second, Yveltal's claws struck Mewtwo's body.
Sparks flashed across Mewtwo's chest.
The blow sent Mewtwo flying backward, crashing heavily into the ground.
A flicker of shock flashed in Yveltal's eyes.
Its attack… hadn't even broken through this Pokémon's defense!
Something like this had never happened before.
No matter the level of its opponents, under its claws, even if they weren't gravely injured, at the very least they'd suffer a serious wound.
But this time—not even a scratch. It was as if it hadn't just attacked flesh and blood, but a body forged entirely of steel.
Yet even steel—it should have been able to leave a mark!
(End of Chapter)