Silas froze for a brief moment. He had deliberately kept Drapion concealed.
Even many experienced trainers wouldn't have noticed him hiding inside Silas' shadow.
Yet this man had detected him seemingly without effort.
Still, considering how powerful the bald man was, Silas realized he shouldn't have been surprised.
"Greninja, swap places with Drapion."
Greninja immediately rushed back toward Silas.
His body darkened before melting into Silas' shadow.
Something much larger began emerging from the darkness.
Drapion's enormous body slowly rose from Silas' shadow.
Her claws opened and closed while her tail swayed menacingly behind him. The purple armor looked like an impregnable wall.
"Master, this is perfect. I haven't been able to enjoy a real battle in quite some time. Thank you for calling on me."
"Good to know and luckily for you, these enemies are scum. Fight to your heart's content. I want to destroy them all."
Drapion's wicked grin unsettled the opposing pokemon. Her gaze was filled with malice, the kind that made you foresee your own death at her hands.
"Haha! Your wish is my command."
The bald man's eyes immediately widened with interest before he laughed.
"Hahahaha! Great! You are full of surprises, kid. This Pokémon has some real strength. I wouldn't have it any other way. Now let's punish these bastards trying to overwhelm us with numbers."
"Drapion, use Poison Fang."
Drapion rushed forward. Her pincers and tail attacked from several directions at once. The ability to use biting moves from her hands and tail made Drapion a formidable opponent.
Mega Garchomp twisted its body away. Mega Tyranitar shifted just enough for the attacks to narrowly miss.
Silas frowned.
The Sandstorm itself was affecting the attacks.
Dense waves of sand created slight resistance against anything moving through them.
The difference was tiny.
However, against Pokémon at this level, even an extra fraction of a second was enough to react.
Silas immediately adjusted.
"Politoed, activate Drizzle! Poliwrath, use Rain Dance!"
Dark clouds formed overhead and heavy rain suddenly began falling all around, drenching the battlefield.
The Sandstorm and rain violently collided causing the sand to be soaked into water and creating mud.
The dry battlefield rapidly transformed as the ground beneath everyone's feet became thick and muddy.
The bald man immediately understood the implication, given that one of his Pokémon was the Hoenn starter mudfish Pokémon.
"Ahahaha! You are in trouble now. Go, Swampert! Use Muddy Water and then Water Pulse on Tyranitar!"
Swampert slammed its arms downward.
Mud from throughout the battlefield began gathering toward it.
The mass of earth and water compressed together into a dense ball.
Swampert infused the attack with a huge amount of Water type energy.
The muddy sphere expanded rapidly and within moments, it had become enormous.
"Now, fire!"
The murky projectile shot across the battlefield with tremendous power. The energy from the environment further augmented its destructive force.
Despite its size, its speed was incredible.
Mega Tyranitar attempted to react but had no time to completely dodge.
The attack exploded directly against its green armor.
Mud and water burst outward in every direction.
For most of the battle, attacks had barely seemed capable of affecting Tyranitar but this one was different.
Mega Tyranitar staggered backwards a few steps before it released a furious roar. He stared at Swampert in disbelief.
This particular Tyranitar had fought in its mega form before so he had a deep understanding of his defenses and yet they had been broken through.
"Your pokemon seem to the sore loser type. When Tyranitar was dominating, he was having the time of his life. Now look at him paralyzed with fear. Just a big kaiju looking bitch."
Tyranitar heard this and roared in response.
Despite the fact that pain had finally broken through its defense, Tyranitar's mouth opened and filled with an orange sphere of energy that kept on growing.
This was the deadly move, Hyper Beam.
Silas immediately felt the danger.
Tyranitar fired the beam but Silas and the bald man jumped in opposite directions.
The actual beam passed between them, but the resulting shockwave slammed into both of their bodies.
Silas was pushed backward several feet. He immediately looked toward Tyranitar. Hyper Beam had left it temporarily immobile.
This was the opening.
Silas communicated with Drapion instantly.
"Now!"
Drapion charged toward Tyranitar.
"Poison Fang!"
But Silas wasn't satisfied with a single attack.
His voice turned vicious.
"Poison Jab. Aim for its eye!"
Drapion's body was perfectly suited for attacking from multiple directions.
His pincers, arms, and tail could all act independently.
Tyranitar was still recovering from Hyper Beam.
There was no better opportunity.
Drapion's Poison Fang struck first. His fangs scraped through Tyranitar's armor but it was incredibly durable.
Drapion could only inflict relatively shallow wounds but that was enough.
He only needed to break the skin. Deadly toxins immediately entered Tyranitar's body.
At the same time, Poison Jab struck directly into one of its eyes.
Tyranitar screamed.
The roar shook the nearby trees. Silas' expression remained cold.
"Again!"
Drapion's tail moved.
Toxic coated the tip before it stabbed toward Tyranitar's remaining eye.
The poison splashed directly into it.
Tyranitar reeled backward.
Both of its eyes were now useless. Silas had effectively crippled it, leaving the blind Pokémon in a horrible predicament. The weak tended to die on the battlefield.
Its false Mega Evolution was already draining enormous amounts of energy.
Now poison was spreading throughout its body as well.
Silas knew exactly what that meant.
Tyranitar would fall here and the only question was when.
"Hahahahaha! Odin, you have truly outdone yourself! You now have my approval, but let's get out of this mess first."
Silas barely had time to react to the praise when Mega Tyranitar suddenly stopped moving.
It's body began trembling and the ground even shook.
At first, Silas thought it was simply another attack.
The terrain itself began changing. Chunks of earth broke apart. Rock and soil crumbled into sand.
The newly created sand began swirling around Tyranitar's body.
The Sandstorm intensified violently.
Even the Court's own Pokémon were now being struck by the raging weather.
Tyranitar no longer cared.
Pain, poison, and rage had completely overwhelmed its ability to distinguish friend from foe.
The sand vortex continued expanding and more of the battlefield was consumed.
Trees shook violently. Small rocks were lifted into the air before being torn apart inside the storm.
Silas watched with growing concern.
Tyranitar's control over Sand Stream was terrifying.
This was no longer simply creating weather.
It was actively transforming the terrain around itself.
Mega Tyranitar threw its head back.
A savage roar tore through the battlefield.
Its ruined eyes suddenly began glowing with a sandy golden light.
The Sandstorm responded.
The countless grains of sand began converging.
Several huge spears formed within the storm.
The sand compressed so tightly that each spear looked almost solid before they fired.
The battlefield became chaos. Sand spears tore through the surrounding area causing several Pokémon to be pierced.
Court members screamed as the attacks struck indiscriminately.
One spear ripped through a tree completely while another buried itself deep into the ground.
Silas saw the largest one, it was heading directly toward him and the bald man.
Its speed was astonishing .
Silas immediately understood there was no time to dodge.
The spear reached him and pain exploded through his body.
Silas felt the attack pierce into him, but somehow he remained standing.
His hands closed around the spear.
Aura erupted from his body.
Psychic power surged through his mind. Every bit of strength Silas could gather was concentrated into resisting the attack.
His muscles screamed while his arms trembled violently in the struggle.
Blood immediately began spreading across his clothing.
The spear continued trying to force its way forward.
Silas looked behind him.
The bald man was directly in its path.
He couldn't completely stop the attack, but he didn't need to. He only needed to change its direction.
Silas clenched his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. His psychic energy pressed against the spear. Aura reinforced his body. He poured everything he had into one desperate movement.
The trajectory shifted.
The sand spear passed by the bald man instead of striking him directly.
It only nicked his side.
Silas paid a heavy price to divert it.
The spear had already torn through his body before he could properly redirect it.
His grip loosened.
The world tilted.
Silas collapsed heavily onto the ground. His hands immediately moved toward his stomach.
Blood poured between his fingers. The wound had gone through him completely. Blood leaked from both the front and back of his body.
His vision began darkening around the edges and he could feel his strength rapidly disappearing.
Even breathing became difficult.
Still, he forced himself to remain conscious long enough to communicate with his Pokémon one final command.
"Follow the bald man's lead. Do everything he says within reason and make sure to make it out alive. If I die here, avenge me!"
"Boss, you are scaring me! Hold on, we will save you, I promise."
Unfortunately these words never made it to Silas' ears.
"Damnit, kid! Who told you to play hero?!"
The bald man stared at Silas in disbelief then his gaze moved toward the path the sand spear had originally been traveling.
He immediately understood.
Silas' last-second redirection had only allowed the attack to graze him.
Without it, the spear would have struck directly through his chest.
Judging from the size of the attack and its original trajectory, it would have blown a tennis ball-sized hole through his heart.
Even with his powerful aura-enhanced body, there was no surviving something like that.
The bald man looked back toward Silas, at the kid had just saved his life at the risk of his own.
Silas barely heard his words anymore.
Sounds became distant. The battlefield around him blurred together.
His Pokémon frantically trying to communication with him, the fighting all around them, the screams of the defeated, everything gradually began fading.
For a moment, Silas felt regret.
There were still countless things he wanted to accomplish from the countless Pokémon he wanted to befriend to the goal of every transmigrator, to become the strongest in the world.
Strangely, as his consciousness continued slipping away, the regret was accompanied by peace.
Silas had fought with everything he had. He hadn't hesitated and definitely hadn't held anything back.
Whatever happened next, he knew he had given it his all.