Corona's voice trembled in the wind, a sign of extreme excitement.
"Side effects reduced by seventy percent, yet it forcibly squeezes out more than three times the Pokémon's potential. Lance, do you really think you've got us cornered?"
He abruptly crushed the capsule, purple powder diffusing in the air.
"Houndoom! Rapidash! Swallow it!"
Corona still couldn't bring himself to let his two main Pokémon consume this thing.
The two Pokémon swallowed the purple glow without any hesitation.
The next second, the grating sound of grinding bones arose.
Houndoom's body instantly swelled in size, the bone spikes on its back sharply elongated, the original red light in its eyes replaced by a dark purple, its entire body exuding a nauseating bloody stench.
The flames on Rapidash's body transformed from orange-red into a nearly transparent pale white; the ground where its hooves trod was directly crystallized by the high temperature.
Two violent auras shot into the sky, forcibly tearing a gap in this dragon's might.
"Oh?"
A trace of disgust finally appeared in Lance's eyes.
"False strength bought by draining life force, is this the pursuit of you Team Rockets members?"
"Winning is all that matters!"
Corona frantically waved his arms.
"Houndoom, Rapidash, tear it apart for me! Charizard, Blaziken, flank it!"
Four Fire-type Pokémon transformed into four streaks of flowing fire, charging towards the giant beast in the sky from different angles.
After its rampage, Houndoom's speed was shockingly fast. It kicked off the ground, its form becoming a black lightning bolt, opening its maw filled with fangs—a Crunch mixed with Dark and Fire energy!
Rapidash, meanwhile, charged head-on like a meteor, trailing pale flames.
Lance's Charizard moved.
It did not ascend to evade, but instead let out a scornful low growl.
Facing the pincer attack of the two berserk Pokémon, it merely raised its right claw.
A crimson light flickered on its sharp claws.
Dragon Claw!
Schlick—!
That wasn't the sound of energy collision, but the dull thud of sharp claws slicing through tough leather.
The rampaging Houndoom didn't even manage to let out a single cry.
Its defense, capable of withstanding heavy artillery bombardment, was as fragile as a sheet of thin paper before Lance's Charizard.
The Dragon Claw slashed down from its crown, drawing a glaring line of blood, followed by the crisp sound of shattering bones.
Under the horrified gazes of everyone, Houndoom's massive body was actually torn in two by this single claw.
Dark purple blood splattered onto the scorched black earth, sizzling.
"What?!"
Corona's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
A threefold potential boost, yet it couldn't even withstand a single basic attack from the opponent?
Charizard's movements didn't pause for a second.
It followed through with a Dragon Tail, its thick tail drawing a perfect semicircle, the ball of scorching flame at its tip painting a fan-shaped red light in the air.
"Boom!"
Rapidash's pale flames shattered the instant they made contact with this force.
It flew back like a baseball struck by a bat, its entire body twisted into a V-shape, fragments of internal organs mixed with a bloody mist sprayed out as it crashed heavily into the distant lake, raising a ten-meter-high water column.
Two berserk Pokémon, instantly annihilated.
The remaining Charizard and Blaziken, belonging to Corona, were intimidated by this terrifying power, their movements freezing for an instant.
And that instant was the line of death.
Lance's Charizard opened its maw, not using a flashy move, but simply a most primitive fireball.
Fire Blast!
The crimson "big" character rapidly expanded in the air, igniting all the air within a fifty-meter radius.
Corona's Charizard let out a shrill cry of anguish. It tried to shield its body with its wings, but under that absolute level suppression, its flame barrier instantly disintegrated.
Its scales curled and peeled from the high-temperature burning, large patches of flesh and blood were cooked in an instant.
The Blaziken nearby fared even worse. Its prideful speed was utterly useless against the blanket coverage of the Fire Blast. Its entire lower body was struck head-on by the explosion's shockwave, sent flying backward, and crashed onto the lake surface.
"No... impossible..."
Corona collapsed onto the ground, the Poké Ball in his hand falling into the grass.
His proud trump card, before a true genius, was as laughable as a child's toy.
Ariel watched all this with cold eyes.
He wasn't surprised by Corona's crushing defeat.
The drug indeed enhanced power, but Corona had overlooked a most fundamental fact—combat awareness.
The rampaging Houndoom only knew how to charge recklessly. That monotonous attack trajectory, in the eyes of a Trainer of Lance's caliber, was simply riddled with openings.
"Corona, fall back."
Dar spoke coldly.
But Corona could no longer hear.
His self-esteem had shattered along with Houndoom's corpse.
"It's not over yet! I haven't lost!"
He ran frantically towards the lakeside like a madman, pulling the barely alive Rapidash from the water.
Rapidash's spine was already broken, only barely sustained by its last shred of will.
Corona's hands trembling, he recalled the severely injured, unconscious Charizard and the dying Blaziken.
He glanced at Houndoom's remains, a flicker of disgust in his eyes, then without another look, he climbed onto Rapidash's back.
"Go! Hurry, go!"
He frantically slapped Rapidash's wounds.
Rapidash let out a mournful cry, enduring the intense pain as its four hooves stumbled, fleeing towards the dense forest on the side.
Lance did not pursue.
In his eyes, an enemy of Corona's level wasn't even worth wasting a second attack on.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze falling back on Ariel.
"The farce is over."
Lance's voice was terrifyingly calm,
"Next, it's your turn."
Ariel didn't speak.
He felt it.
That overwhelming, tidal wave-like pressure was crossing dozens of meters, firmly locking onto every single one of his nerves.
Krookodile anxiously pawed at the ground, the light on Malamar's tentacles flickered unsteadily.
The true fight to the death was only beginning now.
Ariel took a deep breath. The cold air entered his lungs, making his mind unprecedentedly clear.
He looked towards Suicune at the heart of the lake.
Could they really hold on?
"Krookodile, full-power Sandstorm."
Ariel's voice was low and powerful,
"Malamar, prepare multiple Light Screens."
Meeting Lance's gaze, sharp as a sword, the corner of his mouth actually curved into an extremely faint arc.
It was the expression a hunter would show upon seeing top-tier prey.
"Lance, the Alliance's genius? I've taken note."
Ariel raised his hand, three Poké Balls spinning nimbly between his fingers.
"But if you want to get past me, you'll have to leave something behind."
The cold wind by the lakeside blew past, whipping up a sky full of yellow sand.
Lance looked at the youth before him, a strange feeling rising in his heart.
This youth was completely different from that fool just now.
In Ariel's eyes, he couldn't see fear, couldn't see fanaticism, not even a desire for power.
There was only one thing there.
Absolute rationality.
This kind of person was the most terrifying enemy.
Facing such a vast disparity in strength, yet still able to remain calm in the face of danger.
Lance now truly felt that the youth before him was a worthy opponent.
"An opponent? A pity the gap in strength is too great."
Since childhood, he had always been ahead of his peers. In fact, among his peers, there was simply no one who could be mentioned in the same breath as him.
Looking across the entire Alliance, this level of strength was unique.
This was also why he, who had only just entered the quasi-Elite Four level, could overpower a host of quasi-Elite Four powerhouses, becoming the number one beneath the Elite Four, and also the Alliance's strongest Investigator!
But this strength also brought him loneliness.
Lance looked at the youth before him and said coldly:
"To possess such talent yet plunge into the darkness, what a pity."
"I'm curious, if you and I were both from the Alliance, with equal resources..."
"Would you have the qualifications to be my rival?"
Lance murmured to himself, his right hand suddenly sweeping down,
"Unfortunately, at this moment, the gap between you and me is an unbridgeable chasm!"
"Today, standing on the opposite side from me, you will not survive!"
"Charizard, Air Slash!"
"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!"
"Dragonite, Thunder!"
Three Pokémon at the quasi-Elite Four level attacked together, aiming to instantly annihilate all the Pokémon and Trainers before them!
Battle, erupted once more.