"They actually saw through it? Shadow Sneak."
Calem murmured with a trace of admiration.
The Greninja that had been struck vanished in a puff of smoke—replaced by a substitute doll in the form of a tiny dinosaur. The real Greninja had already split into dozens of clones, all of which easily dodged Drapion's Poison Sting barrage.
"Taunt!"
Every remaining Greninja raised its middle finger simultaneously—a deliberately provoking gesture that instantly enraged Drapion, preventing it from using Hone Claws or Acupressure.
Then, all at once, the clones launched a coordinated assault from multiple angles—some fired Hydro Pumps from afar, while others dashed in with Aerial Ace strikes.
"Dig!"
But this time, Drapion didn't take the bait. It dove straight into the ground, disappearing before the oncoming attacks could land.
Once the first wave had passed, Drapion suddenly erupted from beneath the earth, unleashing a bone-rattling Roar combined with an earsplitting Screech, shattering all of the shadows in an instant.
But just then—something happened that neither Drapion nor Paul had anticipated—
The real Greninja didn't retreat.
Instead, it surged forward.
Its tongue unfurled like a whip, wrapping tightly around Drapion's tail claw. With one powerful pull, Greninja launched itself through the air like a living cannonball, heading straight for Drapion.
"Thunder Fang!"
Drapion wasn't about to back down. It charged electricity into its tail and whipped it forward. One of its massive claws crackled with thunder as it snapped shut on the thick, red tongue.
But shockingly, even under the jolt of electricity, Greninja's tongue remained astonishingly agile. At the last possible moment, it slipped free from Drapion's grasp.
Riding the momentum of the cannon launch, Greninja rocketed toward Drapion's head like a waterborne missile.
"Secret Technique—Aqua Break!"
At Calem's command, Greninja twisted midair. Water surged around its limbs, glowing with a bright blue aura as it hurtled toward Drapion's exposed nape.
Aqua Break ×4!
But just before the move could land, Paul called out with perfect timing—
"Grab it!"
In the blink of an eye, just when it seemed impossible for Drapion to dodge, it suddenly bent its body low—its upper half nearly parallel with its lower.
Greninja, charging in at full speed, could no longer change course and flew clean over Drapion's head.
In that brief moment of evasion, a glint of sinister grudge flashed in Drapion's eyes. It lunged forward, pincers outstretched—and caught Greninja in its grasp.
Poison seeped in instantly, afflicting Greninja with Toxic and before it could react, Drapion sank its Thunder Fang deep into its opponent, ending the battle in one brutal strike.
"…To think it could dodge like that. Nothing more I could do—I gave it my all."
Calem, recalling Greninja to its Poké Ball, shook his head in resignation and stepped off the field, leaving behind another enhanced boss-level opponent for Wally to deal with.
"Not again…"
Wally stepped up, his expression tense as he faced the terrifying Drapion—whose attack and speed had already been boosted, and whose threat level clearly surpassed even Metagross.
Easy for you to lose and walk off—you always leave me to deal with the boss battles.
For a moment, Wally regretted letting Calem and Paul fight first. Maybe he should've taken on Paul himself right from the start!
But the battle wasn't over yet.
And among the Pokémon he brought with him, two still had a chance of defeating this monster.
"Phew…"
Wally took a deep breath to steady himself. Regaining his focus, he clutched his Mega Pendant in one hand and threw a Poké Ball with the other.
"Altaria, Mega Evolve!"
"Al-taa~!"
As soon as the Poké Ball opened, the elegant Altaria with wings as soft as cotton emerged, immediately enveloped in a radiant evolutionary light.
Upon Mega Evolution, Mega Altaria became wrapped in a shimmering coat of pearl-like feathers. These additional feathers didn't just enhance its grace—they fortified its defenses, reinforcing its body against incoming blows.
At the same time, Mega Altaria assumed an exceedingly rare Dragon/Fairy dual typing, a fusion as rare as it was powerful.
"Cross Poison!"
Drapion showed no fear of Altaria. With a swift motion, it crossed its claws—sending a purple X-shaped slash of poison flying toward its foe.
"Cotton Guard!"
Altaria didn't attempt to dodge. Its wings pulsed with light, fluffing up dramatically and its defensive power spiked to towering heights.
The Cross Poison landed cleanly—
Super effective!
But thanks to Cotton Guard, the damage remained within tolerable bounds.
"Keep going—Acupressure, Hone Claws, Roar, and Screech!" commanded Paul.
Drapion's claws sharpened themselves further, its tail jabbed pressure points on its own body, and a brawl followed—an earth-shaking roar mingled with an earsplitting screech, all directed at Altaria.
"Mist, then Dragon Rush!"
A soft white mist spread out around Altaria, shielding its body from any stat drops. Then, folding its wings close, it dove down at full speed—killing intent and draconic pressure locked firmly onto Drapion.
"Ice Fang!"
The opponent was bold—but Drapion, having once again powered up with Hone Claws, showed no fear.
Its chilling pincers shimmered with frost as it lunged toward Altaria, snapping its claws toward the cloud-winged Dragon/Fairy-type's wings.
Altaria had focused on boosting its Defense, not Attack. That proved critical—at the moment of impact, Drapion's offensive instantly overwhelmed it.
Both of Altaria's wings were caught tightly in Drapion's crushing grip. Freezing energy surged into its body, inflicting significant damage.
But just as Drapion whipped its tail forward preparing to strike with Poison Fang, Altaria suddenly exhaled a cloud of thick black mist—Haze—engulfing Drapion and resetting all its boosted stats back to baseline.
BOOM!
"Al-taa~!"
Poison Fang still landed, and Altaria let out a sharp cry of pain.
The move was super effective—but Drapion wasn't satisfied. Its narrowed eyes betrayed its irritation: the venom on its tail stinger had failed to take hold. Some mysterious energy within Altaria's body had blocked the toxic invasion completely.
It was Safeguard—quietly deployed in advance by Altaria to shield itself from status conditions.
The whole setup had been a calculated trap.
Altaria had deliberately taken the hit, baiting Drapion into a close-range attack.
Then, Haze nullified its stat gains, opening a window to either flee—or turn the battle around in one clean counterattack.
So far, everything had gone according to plan. Just one final step remained.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Taking advantage of Drapion's brief lapse in composure after its failed attack, Altaria unleashed a point-blank Dragon Pulse straight into its opponent's body, landing a solid hit.
Just as it tried to retreat, Altaria realized—its wings were still pinned. The grip from Drapion's pincers hadn't loosened in the slightest. Even with no offensive boosts, a Drapion was no easy opponent to escape from purely by force.
But Altaria didn't hesitate. If it couldn't run, it would fight. With another cry, it opened its beak and gathered energy for another Dragon Pulse, firing it directly at Drapion.
But—
"Clamp down on its neck!"
Paul's command was immediate. Drapion reacted at once, its tail claw glowing a chilling white as it snapped forward and sank an Ice Fang deep into Altaria's neck.
The frigid pain spread instantly, like needles piercing from within. Choking on the breath it couldn't draw, Altaria's Dragon Pulse was brutally cut off mid-charge.
"Ah… rrgh!"
And it didn't end there.
With a low sinister hiss, Drapion sneered, then lowered its head and bit savagely into Altaria's body.
Ice Fang—again. Four times.
"Altaria, hold on! Use Cotton Guard, then Outrage, and follow with Dazzling Gleam!'"
There was no way Altaria could escape at this point. Faced with that reality, its trainer Wally, could only pray that Altaria's heightened defenses would buy it a fighting chance.
"…!"
Face flushed from the strain, Altaria activated Cotton Guard, its body fluffing up to reinforce its defenses. Then, roaring with wild desperation, it launched into Outrage, thrashing violently in Drapion's grip—its shimmering body exploding with radiant light at near point-blank range as Dazzling Gleam lit up the battlefield and seared into Drapion.
What had started as a clean tactical match had devolved into something more brutal—a twisted tug-of-war for survival.
But the deadlock didn't last long.
Altaria struggled for breath as Drapion tightened its crushing grip with all its might. It held on for the first thirty seconds, but after that, Altaria simply couldn't endure any longer.
The heavy feeling of suffocation continued to crumbled Altaria's strength, overwhelming its resistance. At last, it could only hang limply in Drapion's grasp—before being slammed violently into the ground.
With that, Altaria lost the ability to battle.
(End of Chapter)
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