Back on the battlefield, the referee blinked in surprise when Latias remained standing after Froslass' Destiny Bond failed to take effect. After a brief pause, he raised his hand and declared:
"Froslass is unable to battle—Latias wins!"
"Return and rest."
With no change in expression, Paul silently recalled Froslass into her Poké Ball. While he had considered the possibility that Destiny Bond might not work against this enhanced Latias, he hadn't expected it to be completely ineffective.
This unexpected turn of events had no doubt disrupted many of his original plans.
But—it wasn't a problem.
Assessing his thoughts, Paul sent out his next Pokémon.
"Prepare for battle—Drapion!"
"Draaah~!"
Once again, Drapion entered the field—this time, facing an even stronger Latias, far surpassing Latios in sheer power.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Recover!"
Paul and Tobias shouted their commands simultaneously.
"Laa~!"
Latias lifted herself off the ground, activating Recover. Her body began to glow as her cells rapidly regenerated, healing the majority of her injuries in an instant.
"Draaah!"
Just as Latias completed her healing, Drapion's Hyper Beam rang out, slamming into her.
Due to Froslass having previously weakened Latias' Special Defense with Fake Tears, combined with a type advantage, the damage from Hyper Beam was far greater than expected.
Latias flinched in pain, and her Special Attack was sharply reduced. At the same time, Toxic Spikes activated, further damaging her as the venom surged through her system.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Shaking off the pain, Latias retaliated immediately with Dragon Pulse, unleashing a shimmering wave of draconic energy toward Drapion.
"Dodge it!"
"Aahh!"
Just then, Drapion completed another round of Acupressure, sharply boosting its Speed. With a sudden leap backward, it narrowly avoided the Dragon Pulse as it scorched the air where it had stood.
"Hyper Beam!"
No sooner had it dodged the attack, Drapion unleashed another Hyper Beam, sending another devastating shockwave across the field.
But rather than being rattled, Tobias responded with a calm, almost delighted tone:
"Agility! Then use Giga Impact."
Earlier, Froslass had managed to lower Latias' Special Defense and Speed, but she hadn't had the chance to use Charm to reduce Latias' Attack. Drapion, for its part, had boosted Speed but not Attack.
Which meant—if this came down to a raw power clash, Latias would absolutely dominate.
Latias endured the Hyper Beam's lingering pain and launched forward at blinding speed, her body glowing with energy as she prepared to deliver a devastating Giga Impact.
Her momentum was incredible—Drapion had just finished attacking and hadn't yet had a chance to power up with another Acupressure. There was no time to dodge.
But then—something completely unexpected happened.
Just as Latias closed the distance, Drapion's body was suddenly recalled in a flash of red light, and before anyone could react, a new figure appeared in a burst of white:
Aggron.
"Aggrrr~!"
Before Latias could stop, she crashed headfirst into Aggron, slamming into its massive steel-plated body with the full force of Giga Impact.
The impact echoed through the arena as Aggron was pushed back several steps, barely holding its ground. Even with its immense Defense, it was left barely hanging on after the sheer force of the blow.
But—this had all been part of Paul's plan.
Before Latias could withdraw or recover from her attack, Aggron's body lit up with an intense metallic glow. Energy surged to its mouth, and in a flash, it released a point-blank counterstrike:
Metal Burst.
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the battlefield, sending Latias backward. Her body crashed to the ground, covered in fresh injuries, and her stamina nearly depleted.
"Flash Cannon!"
Paul gave her no chance to recover.
Even before the dust from Metal Burst settled, Aggron unleashed a focused beam of pure metal energy, hitting Latias dead-on and dealing even more devastating damage.
The back-to-back hits left Latias completely disoriented—her body collapsed to the ground, and her mind was too dim to respond.
"Stealth Rock!"
Without even checking whether Latias could stand, Aggron's body pulsed once again. Jagged stones surged from the ground and scattered across the battlefield.
Half of the rocks vanished into the terrain, concealed as a trap, while the other half launched directly at the downed Latias—a finishing blow.
"Yaaaah!"
Latias let out a final cry. A flash of white light enveloped her as her radiant red form reverted to its original pink—she lay motionless.
"Latias is unable to battle—Aggron wins!"
"Aggrrr…"
As the referee called the result, Aggron slumped, breathing heavily. It was clear—it was in terrible shape. Even worse than Paul's Ninetales or Torterra earlier.
At this point, Tobias could knock it out with practically any attack from any Pokémon. There was no way Aggron could take another hit.
In the blink of an eye, Paul appeared to have only lost one Pokémon—Froslass—but every Pokémon he had used was already on their last legs.
With a bit of bad luck, Tobias' next Pokémon might be able to clean up everything on its own.
"Return. You deserve a good rest."
Tobias silently withdrew Latias and without a word, he tossed out another Poké Ball.
"Articuno, it's your turn!"
"Arrr~"
With the cry of a bird, a stunning Articuno, as if sculpted from pure ice, appeared on the battlefield. Its wings flapped gently, sending waves of freezing cold air that spread across the arena.
But no sooner had Articuno materialized, rocks began to rise from the ground, all converging on the legendary bird.
"Arr~"
Caught off guard, Articuno was struck by the Hidden Power attack from the rocks and took some light damage.
"Return!"
Seizing the opportunity, Paul decisively recalled Aggron and released Ninetales in its place.
"Ninetales, full power Gravity!"
The moment Ninetales appeared from its Poké Ball, its eyes glowed with a blue light, and in the blink of an eye, a Gravity Field was unleashed. The crushing force of gravity spread throughout the arena.
With the Gravity pressing down, Articuno, still recovering from the rocks' impact, felt its body uncontrollably fall toward the ground.
In comparison to the floating abilities and psychic powers of Latias and Latios, Articuno, at this moment, was unable to resist the pull of gravity.
Thus, under the weight of the gravity, its body crashed to the ground.
"Boom!"
The Toxic Spikes exploded, and the Toxic Spikes barrage struck.
In an instant, Articuno, who had just entered the field, not only sustained significant damage but was also poisoned by the Toxic Spikes.
"Overheat!"
Seizing the chance, flames erupted from Ninetales' body, and with the Flare Blitz activated, it opened its mouth and fired a terrifying Overheat attack at Articuno.
"Ice Beam!"
However, as a legendary Pokémon, Articuno's strength and willpower were formidable. Despite the pain, it fired an Ice Beam from its mouth, a blast of frozen energy that easily shattered the Overheat attack and surged toward Ninetales.
"Dodge!"
Ninetales, quick on its feet, immediately shifted its position, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Useless, Blizzard!"
Without using its Mind's Eye, Articuno unleashed a powerful Blizzard, a storm that swept across the entire battlefield.
In the snowstorm, Ninetales flickered like a candle in the wind, attempting to resist with the fire it held most proud of, but it was ultimately in vain.
The Blizzard raged for less than five seconds, and Ninetales collapsed, overwhelmed by the cold.
"Ninetales is unable to battle—Articuno wins!"
The referee's voice rang out.
Paul quickly recalled Ninetales and sent out Aggron back.
"Aggron, Roar!"
As the light from Aggron's Poké Ball faded, it immediately unleashed a mighty roar, its eerie sound echoing toward Articuno.
"Arr~"
Before Articuno even had a chance to comprehend what was happening, its body was transformed into a red light and returned to its Poké Ball with the force of the roar.
At the same time, Tobias' second Poké Ball automatically opened, and Darkrai appeared, ready to face the situation.
As it materialized, Darkrai was met with the same treatment as Articuno: Stealth Rock attacks and the crushing weight of Gravity.
Experienced as it was, Darkrai knew that resisting the Gravity would be difficult, and just as it tried, large rocks began to fall from above.
Rock Slide!
To avoid injury, Darkrai had no choice but to fire a Dark Pulse, destroying the falling rocks in an explosion of dark energy.
"Boom!"
However, even with the attack, Darkrai lost its final chance to resist the gravity, and its body was forced back to the ground as the Toxic Spikes exploded.
"Dark Pulse!"
Taking the damage in pace, Darkrai immediately retaliated with another Dark Pulse, launching it directly at Aggron, which had just finished clearing the rocks. The dark energy struck Aggron, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Aggron is unable to battle—Darkrai wins!"
The referee announced once again.
(To be continued...)
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