Gyarados -a textbook example of a Pokémon that starts weak and becomes overwhelmingly strong- evolves like a carp leaping over the dragon waterfall.
And the Gyarados before them was longer and larger than any ordinary one. Its massive body took up nearly half the battlefield. Its ferocious jaws looked like they could swallow all three of Hydreigon's heads at once… effortlessly.
No pleasantries, no hesitation. Lance raised his hand and gave a loud command: "WATERFALL!"
The next moment, a towering wave nearly ten meters high surged up beneath Gyarados, lifting its entire body, then crashing down with overwhelming force toward Hydreigon.
Behind Sato, the audience instinctively clenched their fists and curled up their bodies.
The surging wall of water looked like it might wash them away too.!
Take off, madly take off!
Without needing Sato's command, Hydreigon immediately floated diagonally backward. Its three pairs of slightly thin black wings flapped wildly, but still failed to gain much speed.
Sato furrowed his brow. He hadn't expected Lance to play this dirty…
Intimidate Ability + massive size + a tsunami-level Waterfall!
Even with Hydreigon's incredible resilience and its natural Dragon presence suppressing some of the external pressure, it still lost its will to fight for a moment, instinctively retreating.
But Gyarados's tactics didn't stop at the obvious…
Suddenly, Gyarados plunged its head into the massive wave. Its huge body vanished into the water without a trace.
The next second, Gyarados's terrifying jaws reappeared, its cold, gleaming fangs snapping down toward the retreating Hydreigon!
Crunch Crunch… C-Crack!
Ice Fang landed. Gyarados clamped down hard on half of Hydreigon's body, holding it firmly.
Frosty blue energy rapidly corroded Hydreigon's form, freezing most of its body in mere moments!
"Dark Pulse! Fire Blast! Shock Wave!"
Sato's commands rang out. The first to respond was the head farthest from the damage: Righty?
Despite the searing pain, it fired a point-blank Dark Pulse straight into Gyarados's snout!
"G-GYAR!"
The searing pain from Dark Pulse made Gyarados immediately abandon the idea of tearing deeper. It opened its massive maw and released Hydreigon.
But before Hydreigon could even catch its breath, Sato's voice shouted from afar.
"WATCH OUT!"
The warning came just in time. Hydreigon was struck by a sudden swing of Gyarados's massive tail!
BOOOOOM!!!
Rocks flew.
Dust exploded.
Hydreigon was slammed directly into the arena's side wall by Gyarados's tail. The nearby spectators could even feel the ground shake beneath them.
When the smoke cleared, Hydreigon lay sprawled on the ground with all three heads drooping, completely unconscious and unable to stand.
"GYARAAAAA!!!"
Another earth-shaking roar rang out. Gyarados stood in absolute dominance, displaying its terrifying strength and ferocity.
Sato silently recalled Hydreigon, a faint trace of regret in his eyes.
This Gyarados had not only an astonishing body size. It had somehow been trained to move with shocking speed, catching him completely off guard.
But now that the outcome was set, Sato didn't hesitate. He immediately sent out his next Pokémon.
A flash of red light revealed a radiant golden Cacturne on the field. Standing three meters tall, it was already far larger than its kind; but in front of Gyarados, it still looked a bit petite.
So, could Cacturne really defeat Gyarados?
Many in the crowd were full of doubt. Gyarados had looked overwhelmingly powerful. It was hard to believe Sato could win without sending out one of his ace Pokémon.
But the battle wasn't over yet!
Facing a towering opponent, Cacturne showed no fear at all.
'Just bigger, huh?
Watch me grow too!'
And then, to the shock of everyone watching, Cacturne suddenly started swelling up ;its body expanded rapidly at a pace visible to the naked eye. Within a few breaths, it had grown to match Gyarados in size!
◓---
"WH-WH-WHAT…?"
Flint in the audience pointed at the now-giant Cacturne on the field, at a loss for words.
Beside him, Volkner was equally stunned.
'Was this… yet another new form of evolution?'
Only Fujin, now watching from a different location, nodded slowly. Behind him, a Serperior had appeared at some point.
"Not bad control over Max Gigantification. It reminds me a little of how you used to do it."
"Ssssserp~" 'Hmph~'
Serperior turned its head with a tsundere flick, clearly implying Cacturne still had a long way to go!
…But its gaze then shifted briefly to the Cacturne already grabbing and pummeling Gyarados, and it thought, 'At least my student didn't embarrass me. Otherwise…'
Hmph, hmph, hmph!
---◓
On the field, fists beat fins. Or rather, Gyarados, which didn't even have arms, stood no chance against Cacturne's unrelenting flurry of punches and kicks.
Tried to launch a Hydro Pump? Cacturne uppercut it right back into its gut.
Tried to slam with Aqua Tail? Cacturne caught it barehanded, then followed up with a brutal Thunder Punch that left Gyarados dazed.
If the field had been any bigger, when Cacturne grabbed Gyarados by the tail, it might've actually swung it around like a club…
Luckily, Sato remained rational and stopped Cacturne from following through with that crazy idea!
…Though he secretly kind of wanted to see it too~
What followed was hard to watch. Gyarados's massive body ended up being a hindrance. Cacturne beat it senseless, leaving it no chance to counterattack.
When Cacturne used Thunder Punch for the eighth time to slam Gyarados into the ground, the monster finally twitched and passed out. Completely unable to continue.
Sato had evened the score again.
Even after Lance recalled Gyarados into its Poké Ball, he was still a bit stunned by Cacturne's size.
Gyarados being that big was understandable. It was already large by nature, and with training, this size wasn't unthinkable.
But Cacturne had just poof~ Gotten huge right in front of everyone…
What kind of broken Pokémon was this?
◓---
Far away in the Kanto Region, Goodshow was also watching the match via livestream.
When he saw Cacturne activate that massive form so easily, he couldn't help but sigh emotionally.
"Haaahh… So even that secret technique was passed down to him… You really didn't hold anything back, huh?"
---◓
He took a deep breath.
And slowly exhaled.
Lance quickly adjusted his focus. His gaze sharpened once again.
'So what if you had a giant form? You found a way to counter my Gyarados. …Who says I can't find a way to counter your Cacturne?'
"The next one's up. Charizard!"
No booming Dragon roar, no terrifying pressure sweeping the field.
A Charizard with no particularly notable features quietly stepped onto the battlefield.
But anyone who knew Lance well understood.
This Charizard was truly his original Starter Pokémon.
As for why it wasn't Dragonite, that secret was known only to the Dragon Master Clan.
Regardless, this Charizard had been with Lance the longest, and its strength was anything but ordinary…