Want to read ahead. You know where
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Cynthia's breath caught as she stood at the edge of the battlefield.
Her hands were clenched tightly, nails pressing into her palms.
Garchomp beside her let out a low growl, its golden eyes locked on the black and white dragons above.
The pressure rolling off them was overwhelming, like standing in the middle of a storm while fire raged all around.
Cynthia reached out and gently stroked Garchomp, steadying both herself and her partner.
Even she could barely stand under that crushing aura.
On the battlefield, Sam stood tall. His expression was calm, almost casual, though the faint pride in his eyes betrayed the storm raging inside him.
"Even under this kind of pressure… he doesn't waver," Cynthia thought, her heart beating faster.
"I really have great taste."
The battlefield itself seemed to shiver as Reshiram's body ignited, white flames flaring brighter than ever.
Its wings beat once, drawing in heat from the world around it until the very air shimmered.
Sam's voice rang out clear and steady.
"Reshiram, Fusion Flare!"
"ROAAAR!"
Reshiram's cry wasn't the melodious song it once carried; it was a roar that rattled the ground, like the scream of an engine ready to explode.
Flames swirled and coiled into a blazing column that shot upward, the sheer heat making it hard to breathe.
Across the field, N's expression hardened. He thrust out his hand.
"Zekrom! Fusion Bolt!"
"ROOOOAR!"
Dark thunderclouds surged overhead, lightning splitting the sky again and again.
Zekrom spread its massive wings, and electricity poured into its body, condensing into a sphere so dense it shook the air around it.
When fire and thunder collided, the world seemed to crack.
The explosion tore across the battlefield, violent winds lifting stones and hurling them like missiles.
Boom!
A massive boulder skidded toward Cynthia, but Garchomp leapt forward, slicing it clean in half with a single strike.
Cynthia's hair whipped in the gusts, her eyes never leaving the clash of legends.
The shockwave rolled on and on until the flames and lightning finally dispersed, leaving the arena scarred and smoldering.
Sam's lips curved slightly.
"That's more like it… The difference before and after overclocking really is like two different Pokémon."
He glanced at Reshiram, satisfaction glinting in his eyes.
"And this is only a fraction of their true strength."
N, however, wasn't smiling. His brow was furrowed tight.
He knew Zekrom well; Fusion Bolt had just now eaten away at least thirty percent of its stamina.
Overclocking made their power soar, yes, but the cost was brutal.
Sam raised his hand again without hesitation.
"Reshiram! Blue Flare!"
"ROAAAR!"
Reshiram's cry split the air once more.
Flames surged along its body, but this time they burned hotter, deeper.
The glow of its pure white feathers turned crimson, fire reflecting across its wings like molten steel.
The gathered flames twisted into a searing mass, burning blue at the core, and then Reshiram hurled it forward.
"Blue Flare!"
The attack ripped across the battlefield like a falling star.
The heat alone made the ground crack and smoke.
N's face darkened. His teeth ground together as he muttered, "Madman…"
He couldn't understand it.
Why would Sam push like this? Why unleash moves that drained so much energy without hesitation?
It was like throwing down the strongest card at the very start of a game.
And yet… Reshiram roared, and the battlefield burned with its power.
N's expression tightened, his thoughts racing.
There was no time to hesitate. He thrust his arm forward sharply.
"Zekrom, Bolt Strike!"
"ROOOAR!"
Electricity burst from Zekrom's body, arcs snapping violently across its black scales.
Thunder rolled as if the heavens themselves answered its call.
Sparks gathered faster and faster until the air was alive with blinding light.
Reshiram's Blue Flare surged at the same moment.
Boom!
The battlefield shook as fire and thunder collided, not just energy clashing, but the very bodies of the two dragons slamming into one another.
Reshiram's scorching flames tore into Zekrom, while Zekrom's lightning crashed down on Reshiram in return.
The shockwave forced both legends backward, claws digging into the cracked earth as they roared in defiance.
Neither side gained ground this time.
But N felt it instantly.
Through his bond with Zekrom, he could sense the sharp drop in its energy.
The toll of constant attacks was brutal; already, Zekrom's stamina had fallen to half.
"Only three exchanges…" N thought grimly, his jaw tight.
"And my strength is already down by fifty percent. At this rate, "
He had planned to shift strategies, to use Zekrom's speed and timing to counter, but Sam's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Reshiram! Fusion Flare!"
"What?!"
N's head snapped toward the white dragon.
Reshiram's tail blazed like a roaring furnace, spinning wildly, glowing brighter and brighter.
There was no hesitation in its movements, no sign of weakness.
"Impossible…" N's eyes widened.
"Is its energy infinite?"
By all logic, Reshiram and Zekrom were equals, two halves of the same origin, born from the same ancient dragon.
Their powers should have mirrored each other perfectly.
Fire and lightning, ideals and truth, balanced.
No attribute advantage, no overwhelming superiority.
And yet… Reshiram showed no decline at all.
Its flames raged as strong as the first strike, as though exhaustion didn't exist.
"Why?!" N thought desperately, teeth gritted.
"Why does it still burn so brightly while Zekrom grows weary?"
There was no time left to ask me.
Reshiram's fiery light filled the battlefield once again, forcing him to shout his next command.
"Zekrom! Fusion Bolt!"
The two forces crashed together once more, fire that could reduce the world to ash, lightning that carried the weight of divine judgment.
"ROAR!!"
Zekrom's growl carried exhaustion now, a heaviness Reshiram did not share.
The black dragon's chest heaved with every breath, its muscles trembling under the strain of overclocking.
Sam, however, remained calm.
His hand didn't waver, and Reshiram's flames only grew brighter, hotter, fiercer.
Though in raw strength the black and white dragons were equals, the trainers behind them were not.
N commanded Zekrom with all his will, but his partner's stamina was finite.
Every clash burned away precious reserves, and the end drew closer with each exchange.
Sam, on the other hand, carried within him something different, three divine powers that flowed through his body like an endless spring.
That power poured into Reshiram, replenishing what it lost in every strike.
It was like two soldiers facing each other with identical weapons.
N's side carried a single clip of bullets.
Sam's side carried an expanded magazine.
And that difference changed everything.
This was why Sam had chosen to attack recklessly from the start, why he hadn't bothered with tricks or drawn-out tactics.
He didn't need them.
He could burn through the battlefield again and again, because unlike N… he would not run dry.