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"I'm here! Let's begin the battle!"
With an eager attitude paired with a flat, expressionless face, the person already standing at the command platform was none other than the final member of the Johto Elite Four—Harribel, who had once fought side by side with Liam.
Before the commentator could even speak, Harribel had already thrown the PokeBall in his hand.
"Go, Sharpedo!!"
"Shaaarp!!"
To everyone's surprise, the Pokémon Harribel sent out was actually a Sharpedo from the Hoenn region. The moment it entered the field, Sharpedo dove straight into the river, leaving only its razor-sharp dorsal fin cutting through the surface of the water.
"Liam, this is the first Pokémon I ever obtained. It's been with me since childhood, and it's also my strongest Pokémon. I'll be going all out in this battle—so I hope you'll face me with your strongest Pokémon as well."
Harribel looked at Liam calmly as he spoke.
Liam frowned slightly after hearing this. After a brief pause, he smiled and replied, "Is this because of that favor?"
Harribel was momentarily stunned, then gently shook his head.
"I see. In that case, I can't help it. I still have even fiercer battles ahead of me, so please forgive me for not meeting your request. However, I will still take you very seriously. Among my partners, this one has always ranked near the very top. Go—Aerodactyl! Win this battle!!"
"ROAR!!"
As Liam's PokeBall flew out, Aerodactyl's massive body appeared on the field. Beating its enormous wings, it hovered in the air and let out a thunderous roar!
"Aerodactyl, huh… indeed very strong. But don't think that just because you sent out a flying Pokémon you can defeat me! I'll show you the true power of my Sharpedo!"
"Sharp!!"
"Use Hydro Pump!"
"SHAAARP!!"
Completely ignoring the commentator—whose face had already darkened to the extreme—Harribel immediately ordered Sharpedo to attack!
Sharpedo burst out of the water at once, opening its mouth full of jagged fangs and firing a powerful torrent of water straight toward Aerodactyl in the air!
"Dodge it, Aerodactyl! Use Rock Slide!"
Aerodactyl had the Rock type, which was weak to Water, so tanking Hydro Pump head-on was out of the question.
"ROAR!!"
Facing the incoming blast, Aerodactyl beat its wings violently and shot upward, easily avoiding the attack—then immediately dove back down!
"ROAR!!"
Aerodactyl flew directly above Sharpedo and let out a mighty roar. Large chunks of rock rapidly gathered around it, and with a powerful flap of its wings, the stones rained down like a meteor shower toward Sharpedo on the water's surface!
"Sharpedo, use Dive!"
"SHARP!!"
Just before the rocks could hit, Sharpedo plunged straight back into the river at Harribel's command.
Splash—crash—!
Countless stones slammed into the water instead.
"Grrr…"
Losing sight of its target, Aerodactyl let out a low growl and quickly beat its wings, swooping closer to the river while scanning the surface for Sharpedo.
"SHARP!!"
The instant Aerodactyl neared the water, a dark shadow shot upward from below! Wrapped in a violent surge of water, Sharpedo smashed directly into Aerodactyl's body!
"ROAR!!"
Aerodactyl cried out in pain as the tremendous impact sent its massive body flying backward!
"Be careful, Aerodactyl! This opponent is strong—don't underestimate it! Use Supersonic!"
After this brief exchange, Liam clearly understood—this Sharpedo was a formidable enemy. Combined with the type disadvantage, if he didn't take this battle seriously, the winner would be impossible to predict.
"ROAR!!"
Ignoring the pain in its abdomen, Aerodactyl roared furiously. Rings of tangible Supersonic waves spread outward from its mouth!
But this time—
"Dive again, Sharpedo!"
"SHARP!!"
Harribel once more chose to have Sharpedo retreat underwater, and Sharpedo immediately submerged.
"Hmph! I knew you'd go back down! Aerodactyl—use Hyper Beam!"
"ROAR!!"
Sharpedo's dive was completely within Liam's expectations. Supersonic wasn't just for confusion—the powerful sound waves had already penetrated the water. Though weakened by the water and unable to confuse the target, they were more than enough to locate Sharpedo's position!
"BOOM!!"
Almost instantly, Aerodactyl fired the fully charged Hyper Beam straight into the river! A violent explosion erupted, sending massive waves surging skyward!
"Hmm? Did it hit?"
Liam murmured softly as he watched the water begin to fall back down.
But—
"Don't underestimate me! Sharpedo—use Aqua Jet!"
"SHAAARP!!"
The moment Liam spoke, Harribel shouted back! From the crashing waves above, a figure wrapped in powerful rushing water burst forth—leaving a long, spiraling water trail as Sharpedo shot straight toward Aerodactyl!
"Climb fast, Aerodactyl!"
Seeing Sharpedo attack unharmed, Liam instantly realized that Hyper Beam must have missed. Otherwise, with Sharpedo's poor defenses, it would never have survived a direct hit.
"ROAR!!"
Annoyed and fired up, Aerodactyl flapped its wings violently and surged upward, trying to evade the incoming Aqua Jet!
"Change direction, Sharpedo! Chase it!"
"SHARP!!"
At Harribel's command, Sharpedo abruptly altered its trajectory at a sharp angle, blasting upward as the water jet intensified! Its speed increased even further—and it slammed hard into Aerodactyl's back!
"ROAR!!"
Hit yet again, Aerodactyl was carried forward through the air by Sharpedo for a distance. The pain ignited its fury—it twisted its body midair with a furious roar, sharp claws snapping out as it slashed viciously at Sharpedo!
"SHARP!!"
But Sharpedo was clearly prepared. The water around its body surged again as it veered away in an instant!
"ROAR!!"
Missing its strike, Aerodactyl became even more enraged. Beating its wings wildly, it roared and pursued relentlessly!
In this unusual aerial chase, Aerodactyl—once proud of its flying speed—was now being overwhelmed by Sharpedo's Aqua Jet. It followed closely behind, its body soaked by the splashing water, yet it still couldn't catch up. Worse still, Sharpedo's speed continued to increase midair, widening the gap between them!
"Hmph! So this Sharpedo has Speed Boost, huh? Stay calm, Aerodactyl—use Tailwind!"
"ROAR!!"
Seeing Sharpedo grow faster and faster, Liam immediately understood—this was the extremely rare Speed Boost ability! Continuing the chase like this would be pointless. With a quick change of tactics, he ordered Tailwind!
As Aerodactyl beat its wings, powerful air currents surged through the area. With the wind's support, its speed skyrocketed! One more mighty flap—and its massive body became a dark blur, rapidly closing the distance until it was right behind Sharpedo's rushing water trail!
"Now, Aerodactyl! Use Thunder Fang!"
"ROAR!!"