The blinding white light forced everyone to squint instinctively.
Even the dazzling golden Cacturne looked somewhat dim at this moment.
The energy released by Mega Alakazam, condensed from all its essence, spirit, and will, had already far surpassed the limits of an Elite Four. This familiar energy ripple… Sato had experienced it more than once from Fujin's Pokémon.
So strong!
But when the white light faded, the shriveled, lifeless-eyed Mega Alakazam stood in stark contrast to the silently imposing Tyranitar, who seemed completely unharmed…
"Alakazam is unable to battle. The match continues!"
'IMPOSSIBLE!'
Kōmei was shaken. Alakazam's full-powered strike had done absolutely nothing to Tyranitar?
'NO-!'
It had worked, but Tyranitar had forcibly held it in. Even Sato had only sensed this by using synchronized resonance with Tyranitar at the very start.
'This had to end quickly!'
Sato thought to himself, while turning his gaze to Starmie, who was being forced back step by step by Cacturne.
'Hmm… it was acting!'
"Tyranitar, Taunt. Cacturne, Cotton Spore."
Tyranitar, already exhausted on the inside, didn't change expression. It stood its ground and beckoned at the spinning Starmie in the air, forbidding it from using Agility again.
Meanwhile, Cacturne waved its massive hand, and in an instant, the entire battlefield was filled with floating Cotton Spores.
Unlike Cacturne's own massive size, the spores were tiny and dense, much harder to avoid.
Under the effect of double Speed reduction, Starmie visibly slowed down.
Too bad it didn't have a face, or one might tell whether it was angry, angrier, or furious…
But in the very next moment, a Hydro Pump suddenly blasted toward Tyranitar's back without any warning, moving too fast for the exhausted Tyranitar to react.
"…Tar."
At the critical moment, Tyranitar swung its thick tail and used brute force to weaken the Hydro Pump's impact.
But… Water beats Rock.
That single Hydro Pump completely shattered Tyranitar's last remaining momentum.
And yet!
IT. STILL. DIDN'T. FALL…
Tyranitar was holding on purely through sheer willpower!
At this moment, Sato finally understood what had just happened.
On the battlefield, two equally intimidating Starmie had Tyranitar and Cacturne surrounded. The red jewels embedded in their cores glinted with eerie light.
The referee hadn't blown the whistle, which meant Kōmei hadn't cheated.
But Sato suddenly recalled something he had once studied back at Celadon University, a detail from Starmie's research files.
Asexual reproduction…
The body can self-split!
There was no doubt, Kōmei's Starmie had now brought this "ability" into actual battle. It could even temporarily generate a split that wasn't much weaker than the original.
'No… maybe not just one!'
"Tyranitar… YOU'VE GOT THIS! Use Snarl! Cacturne, now's your chance. Lock onto your target, [Pin Missile: Homing Mode]!"
Tyranitar kept its head low, panting heavily. Encouraged by Sato's shout, it forced a roar out through clenched teeth.
"T-Tyr… TYRAAAN!"
Soundwaves laced with Dark energy rippled outward from Tyranitar like a shockwave.
In an instant, four faint energy disturbances appeared on the field.
Two were clearly from the already-visible Starmie, but the other two came from a massive boulder… and underground!
Four Starmie!
Sato guessed that while Starmie had been trading blows with Cacturne, it had been looking for chances to release its splits!
Fortunately, while Cacturne had been engaging it, it hadn't just been swinging punches mindlessly either.
In the next instant, countless Pin Missiles glittering with golden light shot out from the spikes all over Cacturne's body.
Though the Pin Missiles flew in seemingly chaotic patterns, they all ended up aiming at the four positions Tyranitar had roared at.
"Reflect! Hydro Pump!"
Kōmei's commands were simple, but the execution from the Starmie -plural- was shockingly coordinated.
The two remaining Starmie that had been hiding leapt out, pairing up into two teams.
Immediately after, two of the Starmie created Reflect screens to shield themselves and their "partners" from the relentless Pin Missiles.
The two Starmie behind the Reflect screens then began launching an all-out assault on the barely-holding-on Tyranitar!
"T-Tyran!"
Seeing every opponent targeting it while it was in such a weakened state, Tyranitar felt like it was dragging the team down…
It glanced at the energetic and battle-ready Cacturne beside it and smiled faintly inside.
'…The rest would have to be up to you now.'
"TYRAAAAANITAAAR!!!!!"
A final roar echoed through the stadium, and a violent sandstorm erupted once again across the previously calm field.
The unprepared Starmie were immediately disrupted.
At least one of the Starmie that had been aiming at Tyranitar veered off course, disoriented, and flew toward Cacturne instead.
"Perfect timing! Drain Punch!"
Sato's eyes lit up, and he issued the command without hesitation.
Amid the sandstorm, Cacturne's massive body suddenly vanished for a moment, tricking everyone into thinking it had disappeared.
Ability: Sand Veil!
The next second, a fist as large as a car lunged out from within the sandstorm and slammed into the disoriented Starmie with devastating force!
C-Crack…
The red gem was completely shattered; this split Starmie couldn't withstand Cacturne's ferocious blow at all.
But on the other side, another Hydro Pump struck Tyranitar's relatively softer side, dealing massive damage.
This time, Tyranitar didn't try to hold on any longer. Its eyes locked on Cacturne one last time before it slowly collapsed to the ground…
At this point, only Cacturne remained on Sato's side, while three identical Starmie were left on Kōmei's.
---◓---
In the audience stands, Lance had just arrived after finishing his match and furrowed his brow at the scoreboard displaying their results.
"…This close?"
"AHHHH! LANCE!" Clair jolted in surprise, only then noticing that Lance had come up beside her.
"Waaah! What should we do? Sato only has Cacturne left. Do you think he'll lose?"
Clair grabbed Lance's arm in a panic, completely unaware of the utterly speechless expression on his face.
She didn't even ask whether her own cousin had won, just worried about someone else.
'Mmh, as expected… daughters grow up and drift away!'
---
But it wasn't just Lance. The other two Elite Four, Pryce and Sen, had also finished their matches early and were hiding in a corner, secretly watching the fight.
"Heh. Today's new generation is much more impressive than we were back then, right Yanagi?"
Sen, whose whole presence radiated a refreshing breeze, turned toward Pryce with a warm smile.
Hearing Sen's question, Pryce didn't even blink. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield.
Sen didn't get a response, but he was used to it. He shrugged and prepared to focus on the match again, when Pryce suddenly spoke up.
"…Kōmei is going to lose."
Sen immediately turned his head in shock and stared at Pryce.
"Huh? No way. Kōmei's Starmie can be a nightmare even for me to deal with sometimes."
Pryce shook his head and said nothing more. He raised his chin slightly, signaling Sen to keep watching and see for himself.