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Dark storm clouds churned above the battlefield, shadows swirling across the cracked stone floor.
Brilliant golden electricity snapped and sizzled, announcing its master's arrival. The dazzling aura pulsed like an army obeying silent command.
At its center stood Flaaffy, Kael's pink arm flicked lightly at his side, and at once the haze and lightning coiled back as if saluting a general.
"Snorlax, huh?" Kael muttered, his black eyes reflecting the looming mountain of fat and muscle across from him.
He had watched everything from inside the Poké Ball. He knew how dire the situation was.
Three of Nolan's Pokémon remained at full strength. Even Kael, confident as he was, couldn't say with certainty that he could topple them all.
Snorlax opened its massive mouth. Drool dripped in thick strands as a blinding white light gathered deep in its throat.
"Hyper Beam!" Nolan's voice rang out.
A colossal beam of destructive force roared forward like a laser cannon. There was no probing, no half-measure just raw annihilation.
"Too slow!"
Electricity made Kael sharper, faster. By the time the attack had fully charged, his body was already in motion.
Magnetic fields folded around him like invisible wings. Lifted from the ground, he darted upward, a streak of light. The beam tore beneath him and detonated against the arena wall.
Boom!
The shockwave rattled the stadium, but Kael was already accelerating again, the air cracking with sonic booms as he rocketed toward Snorlax.
Snorlax didn't flinch. Instead, it curled inward, its stubby limbs pressed against its belly as a silver sheen flowed over its body.
"Defense Curl!"
Kael's electrified body slammed into the giant stomach. Ripples spread across the silver glow like stones skipping over water.
But electricity was invasive. The current surged into Snorlax's flesh, searing as it spread. The Normal-type groaned, fat rippling as arcs scorched it black.
Pain only enraged it. Snorlax's small eyes glinted with savagery.
With shocking speed for its size, it lunged. Its tongue lashed out, blue energy coating the slimy surface.
"Lick!"
The grotesque organ whipped toward Kael like a serpent. The air sliced across his cheek, stinging as it opened shallow cuts. He saw every detail the swollen taste buds, the backward barbs, the poisonous saliva. One brush and his flesh would have been ripped raw.
Kael's eyes hardened.
He twisted, his tail snapping like a whip. A surge of magnetism yanked him into a sideways skid, barely slipping past the strike.
Then—he struck.
His left hand blazed with magnetic force and sparking current as he caught the edge of Snorlax's tongue.
Ssshhh—!
The flesh seared instantly, filling the air with the sick stench of burning meat.
Kael's arm bulged with borrowed power, muscles twitching under the electric stimulation.
"Got you."
With a roar, he wrenched Snorlax's massive head forward, pulling the beast off balance. Its moon-round face loomed close, vulnerable.
Kael's right fist blazed gold, lightning condensing around his knuckles.
"Thunder Punch!"
The impact cracked like a thunderclap. Sparks sprayed. Snorlax's face warped under the blow, blood and teeth spraying into the air.
The behemoth's enormous body lifted for an instant, impossibly, before crashing down like a fallen mountain.
Thud!
Kael landed lightly, chest heaving. The green glow of the Thunder Stone at his chest flared, refilling his reserves.
"First one down," he thought grimly.
But then his instincts screamed.
A pulse of energy swelled inside the fallen Snorlax. It wasn't unconscious. Its body convulsed, aura ballooning to catastrophic levels.
Kael froze, eyes wide.
"…No."
From the corner of its mouth, Snorlax grinned. That hideous, crooked smile matched perfectly with the calm curve of Nolan's lips behind it.
In a guttural whisper only it could hear, Snorlax rumbled:
"Self-Destruct."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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