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Even though it was covered in wounds, Darkrai was still a Legendary Pokémon, and its combat power remained astonishing. A Dark Pulse blasted the Vigoroth, which was charging forward with Fire Punch, sending it flying backward.
Dakota did not continue his assault. Instead, he ordered Vigoroth to retreat.
Luther wanted to fight more cautiously, but Darkrai's condition was deteriorating. Its battle with Froslass had drained every ounce of its stamina, and this final burst of strength was merely a desperate struggle before complete exhaustion.
Dakota had noticed this as well. Just as Darkrai had waited for Froslass to run out of stamina earlier, he now chose to pull back and wait.
"Let's go for broke, Dark Pulse at point-blank range!"
Taking the initiative, Darkrai condensed a Dark Pulse in front of itself and charged directly at Vigoroth. It was determined to land this attack at maximum power.
"Thank you, Luther. After waiting so long, he's finally taking his last step on this stage."
One of Vigoroth's arms swung in a wide arc toward the incoming Darkrai.
That slender ape arm gradually became thicker and longer in midair. The powerful limb continued to grow as its body expanded, rising higher and higher.
By the time Darkrai reached it, the dazzling light had begun to fade.
A pair of gigantic hands suddenly seized Darkrai's body and slammed it downward.
Darkrai crashed violently into the ground with a thunderous boom.
The entire stadium instantly fell silent.
The spectators seemed as though an invisible hand had gripped their throats.
Mai covered her eyes.
After a brief moment of shock, the Referee wiped away cold sweat and announced,
"Darkrai is unable to battle. Slaking wins!"
Misaki, who had been leaning over the railing the entire time, suddenly straightened up.
"Of all times..." Misaki gripped the railing tightly and gritted her teeth. "Come on! The person who beat me can't lose in the semifinals!"
Luther breathed heavily, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Slaking, the Lazy Pokémon. The laziest Pokémon in the world. When it appears to be sleeping, it is actually storing up strength for a counterattack."
After recalling its Pokédex entry, Luther remembered its Ability as well.
Its exclusive Ability, Truant, greatly slowed the speed at which it could execute moves. Often, other Pokémon could use two moves before it managed to use one.
However, whenever it did attack, its body became extraordinarily agile.
The move it had used against Darkrai just now was Facade, a move that dealt tremendous damage while the user was suffering from a status condition.
Jumpluff's poison had failed to wear Vigoroth down.
Instead, it had become Slaking's deadliest weapon.
"When did it happen?" Luther asked.
Dakota pointed at the Jumpluff beside Luther.
"Right after it defeated Jumpluff. Its body reacted then. When I recalled it, I told it to suppress the transformation for the time being."
"Come on, Luther. What's next? Chansey, or that Pokémon that's still at full strength? Which one are you choosing to have knocked out first?"
Luther gripped his Poké Ball.
His expression regained its calmness, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.
"I choose neither."
"I'm going to defeat you, advance to the finals, and claim the championship."
"To prove myself, I'm going to beat you."
Carrying Luther's powerful determination to win, Kirlia appeared in front of Slaking.
Dakota said,
"I thought you'd send out Espurr. The scene where she released her restraints left quite an impression on me."
The corner of Luther's mouth lifted slightly, as though he had returned to the very day he first arrived in this world.
"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever told you this, my first Pokémon was a Ralts."
Dakota froze for a moment, and the way he looked at Kirlia changed.
Compared to Slaking's enormous body, Kirlia was nothing more than a tiny figure. Yet there wasn't the slightest trace of fear in her. She calmly stared back at Slaking.
The Referee swallowed nervously and raised his flag.
"The battle resumes!"
"Calm Mind."
After evolving, Slaking's physical capabilities had increased dramatically. Its explosive power and raw strength were terrifying. If Kirlia wanted any chance of winning, she had to take advantage of the brief interval while Slaking was gathering its energy and boost herself.
As soon as Calm Mind was completed, Kirlia felt the ground tremble beneath her feet.
The over-two-meter-tall Slaking stomped the ground violently, leaving behind a massive footprint. The earth beneath it split apart as it launched forward with terrifying momentum, relying on pure explosive force to arrive in front of Kirlia in an instant.
In Kirlia's vision, it was as though a gigantic figure had appeared out of nowhere.
Even the Psychic Power she used for perception was distorted by the fist Slaking swung toward her.
Again, it was Facade.
The pressure generated by Slaking's punch was so intense that Kirlia heard something akin to rolling thunder.
"Protect!"
Kirlia focused her mind and erected a barrier.
When Facade struck the Protect barrier, it paused for the briefest moment.
The instant Luther noticed that Slaking had suffered no recoil damage from the attack, he realized something was wrong.
The next second, the barrier shattered into pieces.
Already feeling uneasy, Kirlia had moved preemptively and barely avoided the punch itself, but the force of the punch's shockwave swept her away.
The fist slammed into the ground with a deafening crash.
Debris exploded in every direction as Kirlia was hurled backward by the impact.
After throwing that punch, Slaking yawned as though it were sleepy and lazily remained standing in place.
Using her Psychic Power, Kirlia lifted herself out of the cloud of debris.
"Psychic."
Kirlia enveloped Slaking in Psychic energy, attempting to force it to fall.
But Slaking was like an immovable mountain.
No matter how hard Kirlia tried, it didn't budge an inch.
Before Slaking fully recovered its mobility, Kirlia tried again, using Psychic to compress and crush Slaking's body in an attempt to inflict pain.
A look of annoyance appeared in Slaking's lazy eyes as it glanced sideways at Kirlia.
Danger alarms rang in Kirlia's mind.
At the same moment Luther warned her, she floated backward.
Slaking moved again.
This time, it wasn't Facade.
It was Hyper Beam.
The immensely powerful beam shot across half the battlefield, instantly carving a massive trench through the newly repaired arena.
Kirlia's Protect barrier was further reinforced with a layer of Psychic Power to resist the Hyper Beam.
Even so, the barrier nearly shattered.
It was like a turn-based game.
Whenever Slaking acted, Kirlia could only dodge or defend.
Otherwise, a single hit would be enough to knock her out.
Luther quickly calculated the benefits provided by Calm Mind.
Kirlia would need at least six Calm Minds before she could deal enough damage to seriously threaten Slaking.
But by the same logic, she would also need to survive at least six of Slaking's attacks.
Considering the accumulated fatigue from repeatedly using Protect and Calm Mind, Luther estimated that Kirlia could only afford to use Calm Mind one more time.
Furthermore, Slaking wasn't completely immobile after attacking.
It simply remained where it was, conserving strength and gathering power for its next strike.
Just like now.
Slaking wasn't attacking.
It was merely walking slowly toward the Kirlia who was trying to use Calm Mind.
This was the pressure Dakota was applying to Luther, not allowing him to boost his stats comfortably.
After finishing another Calm Mind, Kirlia could only wrap herself in Psychic energy and continue widening the distance between them.
"Don't let Kirlia keep running."
"Giga Impact. Smash straight through her Protect barrier if you have to."
A devastating Normal-type signature finisher.
Seeing that Kirlia could only defend passively while searching for an opportunity to counterattack, Dakota decided to overwhelm her through sheer, absolute power.
Slaking pounded its chest and roared.
The gigantic beast, over two meters tall, became wrapped in crackling electricity and immense energy. Like a bolt of lightning, it charged directly at Kirlia.
Kirlia landed on the ground.
Protect.
At the same time, she reinforced the barrier with Psychic Power.
A tremendous shockwave erupted upon impact.
Kirlia felt her vision blur.
Giga Impact slammed into the barrier created by Protect.
The shield was already covered in cracks.
Had Kirlia not poured every ounce of her Psychic Power into relieving the pressure, the barrier would have shattered long ago.
(End of Chapter)