Boom boom boom!
In the next instant, the two Pokémon were seen moving at the same time.
Meltan's body spun in the air and once again lunged forward, stabbing toward Blaziken.
Facing Meltan's thrust, flames erupted beneath Blaziken's feet, and it vanished from its spot in an instant.
A silver-red flash: the two Pokémon crossed paths again, one silver, one red, switching positions at extreme speed.
After missing its strike, Meltan quickly adjusted the magnetic field; its body left behind a trail of sword shadows in the air, and with a twist of its body, it launched another thrust, like a true flying sword cutting across the sky, layer upon layer of shadows overlapping.
"That Blaziken... does it have the ability Speed Boost?"
Seeing the ceaseless movement on the field, Ethan's expression changed.
In no time, he had already guessed Blaziken's ability: an ability that continuously stacked speed; otherwise, it could never reach such a level.
Boom boom boom!
While Ethan was thinking, explosions echoed around them one after another.
Obviously, the two Pokémon had already clashed in battle in the blink of an eye. Every metallic impact and burst of fire thundered across the stage.
To all the spectators, the only things visible were flashes of silver and bursts of flame exploding nonstop. For a moment, no one could even clearly distinguish the figures fighting.
"What ridiculous speed!"
"They're both insanely strong!"
The students in the audience were dumbfounded.
"The speed is terrifying."
"That Blaziken must have Speed Boost, but then... where is Meltan getting that kind of speed?"
"Don't tell me it's doing all that with just Electromagnetism?"
Amateurs only see the spectacle; experts see the depth.
The students from other universities watched without blinking.
Their scalps tingled. That Blaziken becoming faster and faster was understandable... but Meltan?
Had it really ascended... to an immortal?
Boom!
Another explosion rang out, and the two Pokémon separated.
Everyone could now see Blaziken's body covered in sword marks, and Meltan, its blade nearly entirely bent, reappearing on the field.
"Zzzt!"
At last, due to the massive energy consumption, Meltan could no longer maintain the sword form. Its body slowly returned to normal, plopping onto the ground. In the eye inside its bolt, exhaustion was unmistakable.
In front of it, Blaziken was breathing heavily, but the flames on its wrists blazed fiercely, showing it still had plenty of energy left.
"Finally... Meltan can't maintain that form!"
Seeing Meltan cancel its sword form, the crowd burst into cheers.
"Looks like this is over. That Meltan must have boosted its strength only recently; in combat power it's still below Sandslash, Cacturne, and Slowking."
Derek Ashford exhaled in relief. Letting Meltan be defeated directly by Blaziken would be the best outcome.
Thud!
But just as everyone expected Blaziken to finish everything, it suddenly dropped to one knee, bracing itself on the ground with both hands, its face twisted in extreme pain.
"What's going on?"
"What's happening to Blaziken?"
The sudden situation left everyone stunned.
"It's poison! Blaziken is poisoned!"
A sharp-eyed student spotted a purple glow leaking from the wounds across Blaziken's body and shouted.
"Hsss!"
Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.
Meltan's sword form... was poisonous!
Wasn't this way too dirty?
In an instant, the image of Meltan as an "immortal sword" shattered completely on its own.
"Hah, looks like it worked."
"Even without the bonus from Headbutt, using Poison turned out to be even more effective."
"After so many cuts, the poison had already seeped into Blaziken's body. And with such intense clashes, the activation of the poison sped up..."
Ethan smiled lightly. Yes, the tactic was a little dirty... but incredibly effective.
Now the situation was clear:
— Meltan was exhausted, yes, but with the moves Harden, Acid Armor, and Iron Defense tripling its defense, even after taking fire- and fighting-type hits, its injuries weren't severe.
— On the other hand, Blaziken still had strength left, but the poison had erupted all at once and drained all its energy.
And the poison was still eating away. In a short time, it wouldn't even be able to stand. At that point... the outcome would already be decided. Or rather, it was already decided.
The surrounding students were completely stunned, eyes filled with disbelief.
How could the situation flip in a single moment?
Was Ethan cursed or what?
"If even Senior Logan is going to lose, what are we supposed to do?"
Someone said it aloud, and everyone reacted: even Logan Pierce, number one of the intermediate campus... had lost!
Then the question was: how were they supposed to clean up this disaster?
"HAHAHAHA—"
A malicious laugh echoed from somewhere, and all the students of the Pokémon University of Duskwell City tensed up.
The onlookers weren't just their schoolmates... there were many students from other universities too.
If this wasn't handled properly... they would be losing face in front of the entire League!
And now?
What now?
Who could possibly help them now?
"Student... stop."
At that moment, a voice sounded inside Ethan's head.
He stiffened for a moment, then regained his calm and looked around.
It was clearly telepathic communication.
"I'm the one who's been wronged here, right? The one who should be receiving an explanation is me."
Ethan narrowed his eyes and responded within his mind. Heh, it wouldn't be so easy to make him back down.
The other party went silent for a few seconds, then slowly said: "If you stop now, you may enter the university treasure vault and choose any item."
Ethan's eyes lit up instantly.
The Pokémon University of Duskwell City was famous for being obscenely rich; their treasures certainly wouldn't be few!
(End of chapter)