Standing on solid ground, John gazed up at the darkening battlefield sky.
The arena plunged into shadow.
He didn't close his eyes.
John had just channeled Z-Power from his crystal to Aggron, and now watched in awe as the steel behemoth leaped impossibly high, nearly a hundred meters into the air, calling forth massive rocks to encase itself in a protective shell.
How Aggron managed such a leap with its tremendous weight was beyond comprehension. Perhaps this was the true power of Z-Crystals?
In an instant, a colossal golden boulder materialized in the sky.
The massive stone was large enough to fill the entire arena, possibly even the spectator stands. To anyone unfamiliar with Z-Moves, it looked like a golden meteorite transported from outer space!
"Feels like a planetary devastation technique," John murmured, a bold idea suddenly forming. "Perhaps we can try something different with this battle..."
The golden boulder began its descent with terrifying gravitational force. Though the audience knew energy barriers would protect them, facing a golden mass that blotted out the sky still sent involuntary shivers down their spines.
"Charizard, we're using a Z-Move too! Devastating Drake!" Damon gritted his teeth and gave the order.
He hadn't wanted to resort to Z-Moves under these circumstances.
Maintaining Charizard's MEGA Evolution required significant stamina, and Z-Moves demanded their own energy reserves. Using a Z-Move while maintaining MEGA Evolution consumed far more energy than either technique alone.
But without it, Mega Charizard X would definitely lose.
Damon had no choice but to fight fire with fire!
Dark green energy erupted from Damon's body and poured into Mega Charizard X's form.
Immediately, a massive black and green dragon materialized on the battlefield.
"ROOOOOAR!!!" A hysterical roar erupted as the spectral dragon spread its wings and soared upward, slamming directly into the enormous boulder in the sky.
BOOM!
Dragon met stone in a cataclysmic collision.
The explosion thundered like an earthquake, its sheer power causing the battlefield's energy shields to tremble from the shockwaves alone!
The audience no longer felt fear, only intense fascination. They stared intently, desperate to see the outcome: would the massive stone crush the dragon, or would the dragon shatter through the boulder?
The collision didn't keep spectators waiting long.
The golden boulder overwhelmed the dragon with unstoppable force, driving it down to the battlefield below.
BOOOOOM!!!
Another earth-shaking explosion.
The entire arena seemed filled by the colossal golden mass.
The outcome was obvious before the dust settled.
When the golden boulder finally crumbled like sand, Aggron stood proudly before John, its golden armor gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight. The lingering Sandstorm swirled around its form like an artist's brush, polishing its armor to an even brighter sheen.
Charizard lay motionless nearby, unconscious and reverted from its MEGA Evolution, eyes swirled in defeat.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Aggron wins!" the referee decisively announced.
"Holy shit, John's Aggron is incredible! Two down with one Pokemon! It doesn't seem any weaker than his Mega Garchomp or Mega Gardevoir!"
"Why is this Elite Four challenge completely different from what I expected? Shouldn't Elite Four Damon be teaching this young upstart that experience trumps youth? Why is the situation completely reversed?"
"Uh, excuse me, I just got here, is John the Elite Four member? Is that Damon guy challenging him?"
What was supposed to be an Elite Four challenge had become a showcase of John's dominance. The crowd was thoroughly stunned.
"I believe Aggron isn't even John's ace Pokemon yet," Damian commented, speaking as much to himself as to his mentor.
Principal Saul Badman nodded thoughtfully, though uncertainty flickered in his expression.
He'd once provided special training for John's Pokemon, but that felt like ages ago. Back then, Aggron hadn't possessed anywhere near its current strength.
But with Aggron's current power level, undeniably Elite tier, if it wasn't John's primary Pokemon...
The implications were genuinely frightening.
Seeing his teacher's reaction, Damian couldn't help muttering, "It seems John has already achieved genuine Elite-level strength. We should arrange some sparring matches..."
On the battlefield, Damon stood in stunned silence.
Staring at John's Aggron, he couldn't understand or believe what had transpired.
How had Aggron, without even MEGA Evolution, used a Z-Move to completely defeat his MEGA-evolved Charizard?
Not just resist, completely dominate!
Charizard was above average even among his main team. After MEGA Evolution, it ranked second only to his ace Pokemon.
How had it lost so thoroughly?
Moreover, this was a Pokemon that had been virtually unknown in John's roster until today.
Could John's strength have truly surpassed him by an entire tier?
"Whew!" Damon took a deep breath, forcing the distracting thoughts from his mind. He couldn't afford to dwell on this now.
Charizard was down...
This meant more than half his team had fallen.
From his original six Pokemon, only four remained in rotation, with just two losses left before defeat.
How to proceed, how to defeat this Aggron—that was the critical question now.
"Should I use my ace Pokemon? Or..."
He hesitated repeatedly before finally throwing out another Pokeball.
The Pokemon that materialized was his third choice: Altaria, with Dragon and Flying typing.
Altaria's appearance caught John somewhat off guard, since he remembered it not being part of Damon's main lineup previously.
So this was a new addition to the Elite's team?
"Probably acquired Altaria's MEGA Evolution stone," John speculated. Elite-level trainers rarely changed their core lineup unless they obtained the rare opportunity of a MEGA Stone to cultivate a new team member.
Just as John prepared to face the MEGA Altaria known as the "Dragon Traitor" for its Fairy typing, he heard Damon give an unexpected command.
"Altaria, Perish Song!"