"Dragonite, take the sky! Air Slash!"
Pikachu was forced into a desperate retreat. Silver Wolf didn't give Julian a second to breathe, capitalizing on the distance. Dragonite's wings beat with a heavy, rhythmic thrum as it ascended, raining down translucent blades of pressurized air that sliced into the holographic turf.
"Pikachu, Agility! Don't let them lock you down!"
Pikachu became a golden blur, weaving through the barrage. Afterimages flickered and popped as wind blades tore through them. But from the high vantage point, Dragonite had a predator's view of the entire arena; no matter how Pikachu dodged, the Dragon's eyes stayed locked on the target.
"Bring it down with Thunderbolt!" Julian commanded as Pikachu hit a clear patch of ground.
"Counter it! Dragon Pulse!"
The jagged yellow lightning collided with the roaring, dragon-shaped energy wave mid-air. The atmospheric explosion filled the center of the stadium with a thick shroud of ionized dust and smoke.
"Pikachu, Tackle into the smoke!" Julian yelled. Even without a line of sight, the sheer area-of-effect of a full-body lunge from the "Soul-Linked" Pikachu was enough to catch anything nearby.
"Ascend! Extreme Speed!" Silver Wolf countered. Without vision, she chose the only safe direction—up.
A streak of white light burst through the top of the smoke cloud as Dragonite shot toward the stadium's rafters. Pikachu's golden form followed a split-second later, missing the Dragon's tail by a mere hair's breadth.
"Now, use Charge!" Julian seized the momentary lull to buff.
Silver Wolf gritted her teeth. She had tried to reset the neutral game, but Julian had turned her defensive retreat into a window to power up. If she tried a slow buff like Dragon Dance now, Pikachu would be on her before the first rotation.
"So what if you have a buff? You have to hit us first!" Silver Wolf focused. The distraction of the 'Soul Connection' was gone; she was back in the zone. "Dragonite, Dragon Pulse from the zenith!"
The dragon-wave roared downward.
"Thunderbolt!"
With the Charge multiplier, Pikachu's lightning didn't just meet the Dragon Pulse—it tore through it. The bolt consumed the energy wave and raced upward, exploding just in front of Dragonite. The resulting soot provided the exact cover Silver Wolf needed to dive.
"Dragon Rush, change your vector!"
Dragonite plummeted through the smoke at an angle Julian couldn't predict.
"Pikachu, Double Team! Scatter!"
A dozen Pikachus erupted outward like a blooming flower. Silver Wolf knew she couldn't find the real one in time. She changed her objective: "Forget the hit, land and secure the ground!"
BOOM!
Dragonite slammed into the arena floor, the impact creating a localized dust storm that obscured everything.
"Tackle, wide sweep!" Julian shouted into the fog.
"Hold your ground! Safeguard!" Silver Wolf called. She knew Dragonite would take a hit here, but she needed to prevent Pikachu's Static ability from paralyzing her Dragon during the coming close-quarters brawl.
Dragonite took the Tackle head-on, sliding backward as Pikachu slammed into its chest. The Dragon roared, the Charge-boosted impact clearly drawing blood—or the digital equivalent—but the green veil of Safeguard kept its muscles from seizing.
"Now we have you! Extreme Speed, catch it!"
"Brick Break!" Julian countered.
Dragonite was on Pikachu in an eyeblink, but the mouse was ready. It channeled energy into its small paw, delivering a devastating chop to Dragonite's head just as the Dragon tried to grapple.
"Fire Punch!"
"Brick Break again!"
The two were locked in a vicious melee. Fists of flame met glowing palms. The audience was on its feet, roaring at every impact. This wasn't a turn-based menu selection; it was a high-speed martial arts duel between a dragon and a lightning bolt.
"They're actually trading blows..."
"Is this even the same game we're playing at home?"
"I'm buying the VR rig tonight. I don't care about the price!"
The struggle reached a fever pitch. Dragonite, leveraging its superior reach, finally managed to pin Pikachu's arms.
"Got you! Hyper Beam, point-blank!"
Dragonite's maw began to glow with a terrifying, destructive orange light.
"Pikachu! Full output Thunderbolt!" Julian screamed.
Neither could move. Neither would dodge.
KABOOM!
The explosion was the loudest yet, a blinding flash of white and gold that sent a shockwave through the front rows of the stadium.
Pikachu was thrown clear of the smoke, sliding across the grass until it hit the boundary wall with a sickening thud. Julian looked on, his face pale with concern. On the other side, Dragonite stumbled out of the haze, its scales scorched black, its breath ragged. It dropped to one knee, its wings drooping.
Silver Wolf gripped the railing of her box, her usual cool detachment replaced by genuine worry.
Pikachu struggled, its tiny paws trembling, but it managed to stand.
Dragonite let out a low rumble and forced itself back onto its feet.
"Magnificent!" Owlbert's voice cracked with emotion from his drone. "Both partners have endured a catastrophic collision and they're still standing! Give it up for these two!"
Julian suddenly burst into a wild, joyous laugh. "Hahaha! This is it! This is the feeling!" He looked at his partner. "Well done, Pikachu! Let's finish this with everything we have!"
"Pika... CHU!"
Despite the wounds, Pikachu wore a fearless, sharp-toothed grin. Suddenly, the air around it began to hum. Its electric sacs ignited with a blinding intensity, and a pillar of golden lightning erupted from its body, reaching for the clouds. The pressure in the stadium spiked, the sheer aura of the "Soul-Linked" Pikachu evolving beyond the game's known limits.
Silver Wolf stared at the towering column of gold. "You... you still want to tell me you didn't cheat?"
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