◉◉◉◉◉
Pure white light sheathed Snorlax's bulk then erupted.
The gluttonous titan converted every stored calorie into naked force, vomiting heat and shock into the world.
A deep hum swallowed the arena. Light, heat, and pressure rolled outward in a blinding sea. Even through the stadium's safety wards, spectators felt the breath of a furnace sweep their seats.
Spat.
Blood threaded with crackling gold splashed onto the blasted floor, then hissed to steam.
"…Careless," Kael thought.
He lay prone, arms shaking as he pushed himself up. His wool was scorched black in places; the impact had torn him ragged from the inside.
Blood leaked from the ears, nose, and mouth, then sizzled away in the heat.
At his chest, the Thunder Stone's green glow pulsed like a lighthouse, feeding dense electric plasma back into his veins.
"Good work, Snorlax," Nolan said mildly, returning the Poké Ball to a runner. He glanced at Kael, barely breathing, and the corner of his mouth tipped upward.
"It's over."
He flicked another ball. "Close the show, Goodra."
"Gyu—"
The Dragon landed with a wet thump. Lavender flesh gleamed, green slime dripping in ropes, pitting the stone with chemical burns.
Pale ringed patches along its neck pulsed faintly as it breathed; its emerald eyes slid lazily over Flaaffy.
"Gyu."
A plaintive little complaint, almost bored this opponent was already half-dead.
"All right, all right," Nolan chuckled, indulgent. "Next time I'll let you enjoy yourself longer. For now, get it done."
Goodra raised a hand. A sphere of thick, caustic green swelled in its palm.
Then it hesitated.
Something in Flaaffy stirred.
Zzzzz—
Threads of golden current laced from every inch of Kael's body, weaving themselves into a luminous garment. Cells screamed, wringing out the last dregs of power. A dusky, end-of-day gold hardened into steady electroplasma across his skin.
Power enough to break him rose.
For the first time in the League this year, Kael's ultimate technique reformed:
Volt Aegis.
Gold flooded his eyes. He was a precision engine run past its redline terrifying in output, one microsecond from failure.
"Parlor tricks," Goodra snorted and snapped its arm forward.
Acid Bomb (a dense, caustic knot) sailed across the gap—
—and passed through a golden afterimage. Kael was gone.
"Huh?"
Wind screamed behind Goodra. Instinct crossed its tall feelers over its head; viscous slime poured down, trying to ward off the blow.
Shhhh—
The moment the gold met green, the charge split the acids to colored vapor.
Kael's hooves kissed the ground; the impact vanished into Goodra's rubbery feelers like a punch into water.
Whip.
Goodra's tail carved the air toward him.
Kael stamped on empty air, magnetizing the field beneath the arena; the invisible platform kicked him skyward. Lightning bled from the Aegis as he gathered it, compressing until the air thrummed.
Zzzrak—
A jagged bolt tore down from the rafters, riding his call. Fire-hot voltage skittered across Goodra's slick hide.
The Dragon howled. Overload locked its limbs; paralysis seized the muscles in a full-body clench.
"Now!"
Kael poured everything left into his hands. Lightning wrapped his fists to the fingertips.
"Thunder Punch!"
He drove a gold comet.
Danger!
Goodra's mind screamed. Frozen, eyes wide, it could only watch the blow descend—
—and then the comet slowed.
A red thread bled through the gold. Kael's own body faltered.
Pop—
Blood misted from his lips. The overclocked Volt Aegis, forced up on a ruined chassis after Snorlax's blast, unraveled in under thirty seconds.
The light went out.
Electricity guttered. Blood replaced it, pattering from torn skin.
He fell.
The little pink body hit a stone and rolled to a stop.
Goodra's paralysis shook loose. Emerald pride narrowed to a poisonous gleam.
"Almost," it seemed to smile. "Almost died there."
Its shadow swallowed Kael.
"Is this it?" Audrey's voice chimed across the PA, brittle with pity.
"After Snorlax's Self-Destruct, Flaaffy's got nothing left."
Professor Ashford shook his head. "There isn't a miracle here."
High above, Damalanth sighed and rose, stretching his back. Time to ready the trophy.
In a shadowed corner of the stands, a hooded figure watched in silence. Under the cowl, violet eyes dimmed with disappointment. She turned to leave then stopped, hair brushing her cheek.
On the floor, Kael's eyes cracked open.
Pride towered over him in lavender flesh. Rage sparked inside the dark tiny, ember-red.
Blood and breath surged; broken channels flushed clear. The last speck of golden residue in his core lifted and dissolved into clean current.
"Made it…" Kael thought.
He raised a trembling finger. On the system overlay, only he could see a single option pulsing.
He pressed Evolve!
◉◉◉◉◉
~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!