With the strength that Alolan Marowak had put into his bone strike, the rebound gave Blaziken even greater speed.
At that moment, the accumulated boosts in Mega Blaziken were already extremely significant.
Six increases from his Speed Boost ability, plus four from Swords Dance, had pushed both his speed and attack power to their absolute limits.
As he soared through the air toward Exeggutor, a golden flame burst from his head and spread instantly across his entire body.
The temperature of the fire kept rising, and the sand and rocks around him—under Tyranitar's control—moved aside to clear his path.
Below, Marowak looked on in frustration, wanting to charge forward again, but a massive figure suddenly blocked his way.
Aggron!
Although Aggron had been poisoned by the Synchronize ability transferred from Xatu before falling, his natural Steel-type resistance against Poison remained remarkable.
Furthermore, Florges was spreading the fragrance of her flowers, greatly easing the effects of the poison.
However, that Alolan Muk had been specially trained to release deadly toxins; within that lethal poison were countless unknown substances of terrifying potency.
With Aggron blocking his path, Marowak could only watch helplessly as Blaziken descended toward Exeggutor, engulfed in flames.
Flare Blitz!
Marowak was held back by Aggron, Jynx was tangled up with Drapion, a shadowy Gengar emerged before Gardevoir, and beside the opposing trainer, countless rocks spun under Tyranitar's control. If Muk dared move, Tyranitar would strike immediately.
Exeggutor seemed doomed to face the onslaught alone.
The man's cold gaze hardened. He knew that if he let Exeggutor take a full-powered hit from a boosted Mega Blaziken head-on, it would be tantamount to a death sentence.
"Aaahhh!"
A sharp, piercing scream echoed across the field. The fine psychic threads interwoven between Slowking and Gardevoir clashed violently, and Slowking's face turned pale.
Even as the passive recipient of the backlash, he was in such a state—so how much worse must it be for Gardevoir, who was forcibly detonating her own psychic power?
From her emotionless red eyes welled tears of blood, while her skirt flared violently.
As an Intermediate Elite Four-level Pokémon, after a faulty Mega Evolution, Gardevoir's power theoretically brushed the Advanced Elite Four-level. Slowking barely managed to restrain her, but now she chose to wound herself to unleash more power.
Freed from Slowking's control, the injured Gardevoir activated Ally Switch, trading places with Exeggutor and taking the brunt of Mega Blaziken's attack head-on.
Cain's expression shifted slightly, but he didn't command Blaziken to stop.
An arrow already nocked could not be withdrawn.
If the enemy was willing to make such a sacrifice to complete his strategy, Cain wanted to see if that Mega Gardevoir could withstand the full combo of a Mega Blaziken empowered by four Swords Dance boosts.
Boom!
Flare Blitz struck Gardevoir head-on, launching her through the air amid a brutal explosion.
Blaziken spun sharply upon landing, dissipating the recoil's force, and with a swift step immediately pursued the airborne Gardevoir.
He caught up quickly, grabbed her leg, and hurled her skyward, halting his own momentum through sheer brute strength.
As Gardevoir flew upward, she was mercilessly battered by the rocks swirling within Tyranitar's sandstorm.
Blaziken leapt again, leaving a burning crater beneath his feet, shooting straight toward the Gardevoir who had already stopped resisting.
In an instant, he was above her.
Then he unleashed his signature move—Blaze Kick.
From above, he raised his leg wreathed in golden fire and brought it down on Gardevoir's abdomen.
The impact sent her crashing downward.
During the fall, for the first time, Gardevoir reacted.
With her face still expressionless and tears of blood in her red eyes, a psychic light burst from them—she had used Pain Split, targeting Aggron!
Aggron, who was fighting Marowak, staggered suddenly, giving his opponent the chance to slam the bone into his face.
Standing three meters tall with a steel body, Aggron was sent flying from a single strike!
Despite Blaziken's fierce chain of attacks, Gardevoir could still calmly use Pain Split.
But it didn't end there.
Rumble!
The entire ground shook.
The Mega Tyranitar before Cain had both palms pressed against the earth.
Beneath the falling Gardevoir, a column of molten rock violently erupted upward, striking her squarely.
And at the moment of impact, the secondary effect of Precipice Blades triggered, detonating a colossal explosion that sent her flying once more.
This time, Blaziken didn't pursue. He let her fall, tumbling across the ground several times before barely coming to a stop.
For a few seconds, time seemed frozen.
Then, staggering, Gardevoir rose again. Her body was covered in wounds, but her face showed no emotion. She stood there, motionless, then turned her gaze toward Drapion, who was battling Jynx.
Drapion's pincers faltered for an instant, and Jynx took the chance to fire an Ice Beam at his feet, freezing him in place.
Cain's brow furrowed, his expression turning nearly sinister.
Since his rebirth, he had never felt such unease—such a suffocating pain in his chest.
Through clenched teeth, he spat, "You... really... deserve to die!"
The man showed no emotion. He looked at the staggering Gardevoir and smiled.
"Even if you discovered my strategy, isn't it easy to hurt oneself? This Gardevoir... it took me a lot of work to make her completely lose the sense of pain. What do you think? Hahahaha!"
Cain's pupils contracted sharply.
He had assumed that Gardevoir's lack of pain was innate—but it turned out to be the man's doing.
By forcing her to harm herself, then transferring damage to her opponents through Pain Split and her Synchronize ability, she could drag an enemy down even if she didn't survive to the end—using Destiny Bond as a final blow.
Cain had ordered his Pokémon to avoid contact with her after realizing the tactic, but he hadn't imagined the man would go so far as to sacrifice his own Gardevoir just to keep fighting.
Looking at Gardevoir's empty expression, Cain's fury erupted.
"At first, I planned to keep you alive for questioning," he said coldly, his gaze flashing like ice. "But now... I can't wait to send you straight to hell!"
Aggron and Drapion, weakened by Pain Split, suddenly lost much of their strength, giving their opponents the upper hand.
But Florges immediately used Grassy Terrain beneath them. If they could just hold out a little longer, she would use Wish to heal them.
Meanwhile, Cain's other Pokémon were already moving again.
Cain was furious!
(End of Chapter)