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Tyranitar still entered the field, but Misaki quickly realized that all the advantages she had originally planned to use against it were now gone.
There had been a period in the middle where she and Luther were clearly engaged in an intense offensive exchange, but as the fight went on, it felt as though Luther had pulled her off track.
Both Misaki and Luther had won crucial battles through sheer luck, but now, for the first time, Misaki felt under pressure.
She had seen Luther’s Darkrai from afar before, but had never faced it directly.
Only now, standing across from it in the Battle Arena, did she truly understand how those who had lost to Luther must have felt.
The reason Luther always had to fight these extremely difficult battles, gradually wearing down his opponents through strategy, was simple.
He didn’t have enough time.
A Pokémon Trainer who had only been traveling for a little over a year would inevitably face this limitation. It wasn’t Luther’s ability that restricted him, but time. He needed time to encounter Pokémon, to train them and to gain experience. These weren’t things you could cut corners on.
This is why every one of Luther’s matches had to be carefully planned, with his strongest attackers placed in the most crucial moments to finish the battle.
Marill, for example.
And Darkrai, for example.
Only when Darkrai or Marill were on the field would Luther display that kind of urgency, with that hungry, battle-thirsty expression. It was the look of someone who wanted to win through sheer force, rather than by strangling the opponent with layers of strategy.
Tyranitar turned its head towards Misaki, waiting for her command.
Should it fight steadily or clash head-on with Darkrai?
That decision would define its entire battle mindset.
“Annoying…”
Hearing Misaki’s voice, Luther froze for a moment.
“I should have restricted the moves from the outset. Then maybe the fight would have been more intense.”
“I also shouldn’t have tried to mimic your style. That way, I could have forced you into a chaotic brawl.”
“Just worrying about your moves is annoying enough… This feels awful.”
“Tyranitar, charge in with Mega Jump Kick. Mega Jump Kick!”
…What?
Luther had just ordered Darkrai to use Haze to remove the debuff from Parting Shot, expecting that Tyranitar might trigger something like Sand Stream.
But it didn’t.
Bursting through the white mist, Tyranitar leapt forward and delivered a flying kick straight at Darkrai. Darkrai was sent flying and had never been more stunned in its life. Enduring the pain, it wondered what was wrong with Tyranitar and Misaki.
This mountain-like beast was charging straight at it with absolutely no regard for defense, shaking the ground as it came.
This is the main tournament, loser gets eliminated! And you’re fighting like this?!
“Dark Void.”
Luther decided to put Tyranitar to sleep first.
However, Misaki immediately had Tyranitar dig a massive hole in the arena; just as the organizers had predicted, the battlefield was destined to be destroyed.
Dark Void missed completely.
Meanwhile, Tyranitar moved rapidly underground and burst out from beneath Darkrai’s feet.
Unfortunately, Tyranitar’s massive size made too much noise, and Darkrai was already on guard. Despite being within Darkrai’s optimal attack range, Misaki showed no intention of retreating. Instead, she ordered:
“Brick Break!”
Luther hesitated.
After thinking it through, he realized that the move Darkrai had that was highly effective against Tyranitar was also Brick Break. Darkrai and Tyranitar clashed with hand-blade strikes, then retreated, both clearly cautious of each other.
‘Why is it another pure strength exchange…?’
And yet, Luther didn’t dislike it.
As if she had made up her mind, Misaki’s Tyranitar closed in again, still using Brick Break. The same relentless style.
“Tch… We’ll use Brick Break, too.”
Just as Darkrai swung its attack, Luther added,
“Don’t let the other hand sit idle… Ice Beam.”
Misaki paused for a moment, then commanded Tyranitar to use Brick Break with both hands while firing Flamethrower from its mouth.
Seeing Darkrai dodge both the melee attacks and the Flamethrower, Luther briefly considered having Darkrai use a mouth-based move too.
Then he suddenly realized something: Darkrai’s mouth was kind of hidden.
It couldn’t do that.
Taking advantage of having an extra ‘attack channel,’ Tyranitar truly became a monster, its hands constantly pressuring Darkrai while its mouth alternated between Flamethrower and Ice Beam.
After Darkrai used its speed to slip behind Tyranitar and land a strike, Tyranitar retaliated with Iron Tail, sending Darkrai flying.
However, Tyranitar’s stamina was also dropping rapidly; this was the price of unleashing moves so freely.
Despite being a legendary Pokémon, Darkrai was still slightly confused.
Tyranitar had absolutely no intention of dodging. It was literally tanking damage just to land hits.
While Darkrai was thinking, Tyranitar charged again. Seeing the raised leg, Darkrai quickly pulled back, powered up and launched a Focus Blast.
“Hyper Beam!”
Misaki responded to the attack with an even stronger one, using a move that would cause recoil delay.
Without charging, Hyper Beam hit Darkrai first.
However, having completed its power-up, Darkrai fired Focus Blast with perfect precision, landing a direct hit on Tyranitar’s head.
The commentators had no idea what to say.
The scene was almost identical to the earlier battle between Marill and Gabite. A match that had attracted so much attention had somehow turned into this stubborn, head-on clash.
Luther finally understood why Tyranitar hadn’t used Sand Stream, it would have wasted stamina. Misaki had already decided to fight this battle by exhausting his stamina completely and relying purely on willpower until the very end.
Heavy footsteps echoed again.
Still dizzy from the impact of Hyper Beam, Darkrai realized that Tyranitar, having squeezed in a quick Dragon Dance, was already charging towards it again.
Another Brick Break.
This time, neither Luther nor Misaki had time to issue commands; the two Pokémon started fighting independently.
Flamethrower and Ice Beam flashed and crossed.
Brick Breaks clashed, producing dull, metallic thuds.
Misaki’s approach had worked, she had forced Darkrai into a close-quarters skirmish. It could neither use Dark Void nor perform large, slow-release moves.
Just like in the earlier Marill vs. Gabite fight.
When Brick Break became the obvious choice for both sides, the battle turned into a duel between swordsmen.
Darkrai struck Tyranitar across the face.
The next second, Tyranitar hit Darkrai twice.
Darkrai was knocked flying but immediately rushed back to retaliate.
Tyranitar staggered, barely holding on, but managed to steady itself and whip its tail, slapping Darkrai hard. To some, the fight looked chaotic and messy, but Cynthia kept cheering and laughing so hard that she was almost doubled over.
By this point, both trainers had finally revealed their true nature.
One only used strategy because he lacked the right Pokémon.
The other had never liked strategy in the first place, preferring brute force and only getting dragged into tactics by the opponent.
Now that things had escalated, Darkrai had completely abandoned any sense of composure. It leapt onto Tyranitar’s back and struck twice with Brick Break, knocking it to the ground.
Tyranitar gritted its teeth and went all in: its tail swept around, pulling Darkrai back. It then pinned Darkrai down and unleashed two Thunder Punches.
Luther was annoyed; he felt that Darkrai was doing it wrong.
“Fight smart… aim for the face! Use Brick Break on Tyranitar’s head!”
At the same time, Misaki corrected Tyranitar:
“Darkrai’s head is too small. Why are you aiming there? Hit its stomach!”
Dakota, watching from the sidelines, decided to retract his earlier belief that Misaki could defeat his Darkrai.
He also wanted to retract the praise he had once given Luther.
Only Ash Ketchum, who had rushed over after finishing his own match, seemed thrilled. Gesturing excitedly with Pikachu in the stands, he looked like he wanted to jump in and fight himself.
Both Tyranitar and Darkrai were panting heavily and struggling to stand up again.
Since the day it was born, Darkrai had never fought in such a chaotic battle. It could barely keep calm, its blood was boiling, and it just wanted to rush forward and land another Brick Break on Tyranitar’s rock-hard face.
Tyranitar was the same; it stared at Darkrai’s stomach, ready to charge in and attack again.
The commentators had completely given up.
There was no way to commentate on this.
Multiple moves were being unleashed in a single second: Brick Breaks clashing, bizarre fighting styles, relentless brawling…
Even if they had the words, no one could fully describe what had just happened.
Darkrai charged again; it had no intention of giving Tyranitar a moment to breathe.
As a legendary Pokémon, a mythical being to humans, it had pride too.
Luther stopped giving commands.
He had wanted to use ranged moves to secure an easy victory, but Darkrai had clearly entered its own rhythm.
And, to be honest, this kind of head-on clash got his blood pumping too.
Misaki also stopped giving commands.
This was exactly the pace she wanted: drag Darkrai into this kind of fight and decide everything here.
Win or lose… it didn’t matter anymore.
She had hesitated too much before, trying to imitate Luther’s style, only to feel constrained at every turn.
Now, both Pokémon had reached the decisive moment.
They were both fighting with everything they had.
Nothing but sheer willpower remained.
They raised their arms at the same time, both ready to strike with their Brick Breaks as they accelerated towards each other.
Darkrai bypassed Tyranitar’s tough chest armour, and both strikes landed squarely on Tyranitar’s head.
As it wished, Tyranitar landed another Brick Break on Darkrai’s stomach.
Tyranitar staggered backwards, swaying, then collapsed onto the ground.
Darkrai was sent flying backwards, crashing down in front of Luther. Luther wanted to rush forward and help, but the match wasn’t over yet.
The referee hesitated to step in, looking around nervously, unsure whether this shocking brawl had truly ended.
He was genuinely worried that Tyranitar and Darkrai might suddenly get back up and continue fighting.
In that state, they probably wouldn’t even notice someone like him.
Tyranitar struggled to sit up. Seeing that Darkrai hadn’t risen, it let out a triumphant laugh.
Suddenly, a Shadow Ball slammed into Tyranitar’s face, knocking it flat again.
Darkrai sank into the shadows, then emerged once more.
The referee waited a moment longer. Seeing Tyranitar lying motionless on the ground, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Tyranitar is unable to battle. Misaki has lost all six Pokémon. Therefore, the winner is Luther.”
(End of Chapter)
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