Like a samurai, his timing and technique are impeccable!
"No wonder he made it to the quarterfinals of the Nostia City regional tournament! Zeraora, ten o'clock direction—Quick Attack!"
Seeing Scyther execute such a seasoned and precise slash, Nathan issued her command with lightning speed.
Zeraora immediately spotted an opening in Scyther's stance and, in a flash of light, soared above it using Quick Attack.
"Not Chidori?"
Sai, who had originally intended for Scyther to use its specially trained area-of-control move, froze at the unexpected development.
At this distance, Chidori would have been too easy to dodge.
And then—
"Zeraora! Let's show them our ultimate move—Indra's Arrow!"
With a proud smile, Nathan shouted without hesitation.
"Zoar!"
Zeraora roared in response. Blue lightning gathered in its hand and took the shape of a bow!
A blue-and-white lightning arrow formed and was drawn back on the bowstring—then released!
The arrow, imbued with both lightning and force far greater than Chidori, hurtled toward Scyther.
Despite trying to cross its arms to defend against it, Scyther was no match for the ethereal power of the lightning and collapsed to the ground, scorched and defeated.
This was the prototype of Zeraora's future combo attack—a standard finisher forged from Discharge and Chidori!
Compared to Indra's Arrow, Chidori was starting to look more and more like a mere basic attack.
Right or wrong, who could say?
But now was not the time to think about that—
Sai's second Pokémon was about to enter the field!
…
"A crushing defeat! Although Sai's Pokémon were strong in their own right, they were no match for Zeraora's brand-new ultimate move!"
"Draven, what are your thoughts on that?"
Commentators Kat and Lee seemed to have joined forces to gang up on their co-commentator, the Draven.
And the audience loved it.
[Chat bullet screen comments:]
[Old Draven, eating your words yet?]
[All that talk, and now Nathan totally destroyed you!]
[Nathan is unbeatable! Zeraora is god-tier forever!!]
In the blink of an eye, public opinion fully backed Nathan.
Meanwhile, unaware of the storm in the chat, Nathan was still observing Sai's second Pokémon.
It was a Geodude. Though only around level 45, its typing was a major threat to Zeraora.
Clearly, Sai wasn't stupid.
After being overpowered in raw strength, he had turned to counterplay.
As a Ground/Rock type, Geodude could completely ignore Electric-type attacks—a frustrating opponent indeed.
But what made it even more annoying was that this Geodude hadn't even evolved into a Graveler.
It was almost insulting.
"Geodude, use Self-Destruct!"
Sai shouted furiously, not at all displaying the calm of a seasoned veteran, despite being bald.
Nathan, however, made no move to switch Pokémon.
If it were a Graveler, and at Zeraora's level, maybe he'd reconsider.
But a mere Geodude?
"Zeraora, Chidori!"
Nathan's voice was calm and emotionless as he gave the command.
It was true that moves like Discharge, Thunderbolt, and Volt Tackle might be countered by Geodude.
But Chidori? Absolutely not.
"Go, idol! Just like yesterday—smash through it!"
From the stands, Zoe hugged Bella excitedly as she shouted encouragement.
Others might not know, but she had witnessed it firsthand.
That Chidori—mocked by many as a mere basic attack—could pierce through even steel plates designed to resist Fire-types!
Ground types might be immune to paralysis and lightning damage,
but that piercing power—rocks couldn't stand up to it!
Sure enough—
Under Sai's shocked gaze, Geodude was defeated in an instant.
Its round body now bore a very obvious scar.
"Damn it! I refuse to believe that your Zeraora is truly unbeatable!"
Frustrated, Sai released his third Pokémon—Venusaur, level 48!
As a Grass-type, it had strong resistance to Electric-type moves.
"Tch, still not giving up?"
Seeing the rather tough Venusaur, Nathan gave a sigh of resignation.
If Sai had sent out another Ground-type, fine. But a Grass-type?
Was he trying to stall Zeraora and wear down its stamina?
"Forget it. Let's end this quickly. Zeraora—Bond Evolution!"
Guessing Sai's intentions, Nathan issued the command in a firm voice.
In that instant, his golden eyes turned an even radiant golden hue, gleaming with a predatory sharpness—
like an eagle's, scanning the entire battlefield with piercing clarity!
At the same time, Zeraora transformed into its Bond Form, glowing brilliantly.
Its claws, now wrapped in hard armor, shimmered with black lightning patterns.
With just a slight movement, Zeraora could unleash devastating attacks.
"F**k you— You're not even going to give me a break!?"
Seeing Zeraora enter Bond Form, Sai couldn't help but curse.
He only wanted to stall for some stamina. Was that too much to ask!?
But Nathan wasn't going to give him even a second to breathe.
Zeraora's body lit up with lightning, and the next second—it vanished!
"Venusaur, dodge! Quick!"
Sai's eyes went wide as he shouted,
but it was too late.
Zeraora appeared in front of Venusaur—
Finger Pistol Slash
Giving Venusaur no time to react, Zeraora's razor-sharp claws tore into it.
In just two seconds, Venusaur was on the ground, covered in wounds, still dazed and unsure what had hit it.
"My god! Geodude and Venusaur got one-shot back to back!
Draven, your commentary is seriously cursed!"
On the commentary desk, Lee couldn't help but exclaim while still taking a jab at his old partner.
[Bullet screen erupts again:]
[LMAO, Old Draven's ultimate cursed commentary has activated!]
[Sai's so damn unlucky—first he gets Nathan, then the Old Draven jinxes him!]
[Anyone got a serious analysis? What's Sai's chance of winning now?]
[I'll say it: ZERO. This girl speaks responsibly.]
Just like that last comment, Sai also realized—
his chances of winning were now virtually zero.
Nathan hadn't lost a single Pokémon. He had already lost half his team.
The situation was like trying to fly a kite with a dragon biting your face—
utter domination.
"But I won't give up! Come on out—Machamp!"
Sai wasn't ready to throw in the towel. He would fight to the last second.
His Machamp, level 50, was the strongest in his roster aside from his final two trump cards.
No one could say Sai was weak—his luck was just terrible.
"Zeraora— Thunder Beast Battle Form: Raijin Mode!"
Not giving the enemy a single chance to come back, Nathan activated synchronization.
Blue-white lightning surged around Zeraora, materializing into two large horns on its forehead.
Behind it, two clusters of lightning tried to coalesce into wings—
just like the day before.
Unfortunately, battle was different from rest.
Even with all its effort, Zeraora couldn't generate wings this time.
Even so—Zeraora was still terrifyingly powerful!
A Gym Leader-class Pokémon now operating in Elite territory!
Even as Machamp roared and threw its strongest punch, Zeraora blocked it with ease.
"Finish it, Zeraora."
Seeing the look of desperation in Machamp's eyes, Nathan gave her command without a hint of emotion.
There is no mercy on the battlefield.
And in combat—feelings are unnecessary.
"Zoar!"
Zeraora completely agreed with its Trainer's mindset—and with no suspense whatsoever, launched its next attack.
(End of Chapter)