◉◉◉◉◉
A haze of gray-white smoke spread across the battlefield.
Articuno narrowed its icy-blue eyes, staring into the dense fog, a creeping unease swelling in its chest.
A bitter wind swept through the arena, scattering the smoke and dust. Slowly, a slim black-and-yellow figure emerged Zeraora.
Despite taking the brunt of Articuno's earlier onslaught, it stood unscathed.
Articuno's pupils contracted sharply, disbelief flashing across its face.
Impossible!
For centuries, Articuno had honed its Ice-type powers to perfection. Its [Ice Beam] had been drilled day after day, refined to maximize speed, power, and precision.
The beams it had unleashed on Zeraora carried a potency strong enough to force even its most troublesome rivals to retreat. Yet this strange Electric-type Pokémon had endured them head-on without a scratch.
A chill ran down Articuno's spine. With a powerful flap of its crystalline wings, shards of light scattered into the air as it instinctively tried to retreat.
"Wait…"
Something about that black-and-yellow figure wasn't right.
Articuno halted midair, its battle-honed instincts urging caution. The Zeraora in front of it remained frozen in place, its piercing eyes oddly vacant.
Looking closer, Articuno noticed faint distortions around its body crackling arcs of electricity flickering at the edges, its form shimmering like a mirage.
This is…
Articuno's eyes widened.
"[Substitute]…!"
"Too late."
A sinister presence flared from Articuno's blind spot. Zeraora's decoy had been flawless so convincing because it carried traces of real electrical energy interwoven with its aura, making it nearly indistinguishable from the true Zeraora.
The real Zeraora had already moved, hidden by smoke and its unmatched speed, closing in from Articuno's flank.
Silver-white lightning burst across its lean frame, condensing into a dense aura of raw voltage that burned like flame.
If Kael were here, he would have recognized it instantly the technique bore a striking resemblance to his own [Thunder Armor].
Zeraora's jaw clenched, every muscle tensed, its eyes locked savagely on its airborne prey.
With a thunderous stomp, it cratered the ground beneath its feet, propelling itself forward like a living missile.
"[Wild Charge]!"
Wrapped in blinding lightning, Zeraora tore through the air like a comet, the sheer killing intent rolling off it like a tidal wave.
The icy Legendary Pokémon reacted on instinct. Centuries of battle experience kicked in as it conjured a glowing barrier of light.
"[Reflect]!"
A translucent wall snapped into place only to shatter like glass as Zeraora smashed through it with overwhelming force.
But that instant of delay had bought Articuno just enough time.
"[Blizzard]!"
Its wings glowed with frosty power, unleashing a howling storm of snow and razor-sharp ice crystals. The temperature plummeted, the wind cutting like knives.
Even with electricity roaring across its body, Zeraora felt its momentum drag as the blizzard's force slowed its charge.
"[Ice Shard]!"
Not stopping there, Articuno hurled massive chunks of jagged ice toward the oncoming threat.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each shard exploded against Zeraora's lightning-cloaked body, shattering but steadily draining its aura. Step by step, its wild speed faltered until its earlier [Wild Charge] flickered out completely.
By the time Zeraora skidded to a halt just before Articuno, its silver aura had thinned to almost nothing.
Articuno allowed itself a brief breath of relief.
But then it saw Zeraora's face.
No frustration. No disappointment. Only a feral grin.
"Got you."
It had never expected [Wild Charge] to land in the first place. The attack was just a setup to force Articuno into close range.
"In the skies, you rule. But here, in close combat…" Zeraora's eyes burned with wild light. "…this is my domain!"
Electricity surged around its fists, shrieking like a storm of a thousand birds. The air itself buzzed with raw, violent energy.
"[Plasma Fists]!"
Zeraora's twin fists slammed forward with catastrophic force.
BOOM!
A deafening crack ripped through the canyon, a wave of energy exploding outward. Silver lightning and shards of ice collided violently, the shockwave tearing through the gorge.
Articuno's diamond-like crest was shattered, its elegant tail feathers burned and frayed. Blood spilled from its beak as its body was hurled from the sky like a broken kite.
"Thud."
Zeraora landed lightly, its body trembling as its legs buckled before it forced itself upright. Its icy-blue eyes scanned across the canyon, meeting the stunned gazes of Louis's squad.
The oppressive aura it exuded was suffocating. None dared to move. Even knowing Zeraora was wounded, they didn't dare breathe too loudly, fearing the predator's gaze might fall on them next.
Deep within the canyon, the golden pool of electrical plasma bubbled ominously, as though something far worse was about to awaken…
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!