The way the two Champions answered in unison only made Raihan even more curious.
But it was obvious they had no intention of telling him.
Both of them knew perfectly well that if Raihan found out the identity of the Pokemon on the field right now, he'd probably lose half his will to fight on the spot.
After all, anyone who can still keep their fighting spirit up in front of the Divine Domain Peak God of Reversal is a genuine lunatic.
Standing in the middle of the arena, Ash gave an awkward little laugh.
Pulling out a Pokemon of this Level to stomp a weaker opponent, then getting called out for it on the spot by the people watching… the situation did make him feel a bit embarrassed.
He cleared his throat and called out to Raihan on the other side of the field.
"Gym Leader Raihan, there's something I need to make clear to you first."
"For this upcoming battle, no matter whether the result is a loss or a win, this Pokemon of mine will be counted as having lost."
"In other words, once this round is over, I won't use this Pokemon again. That way it's at least a little fairer—what do you think?"
Using Giratina in a battle at this Level still felt a bit too much for Ash.
So he took the initiative to say that regardless of whether Giratina lost its ability to battle in this match, he wouldn't send it out again.
And Giratina would be treated as defeated.
That way things would at least be a bit fair.
Raihan's brows jerked up sharply.
"What's that supposed to mean? You saying I'm guaranteed to lose this one? That none of the Pokemon I've got can even threaten It?"
"Ash, don't you think you're being a little too arrogant?"
Raihan's expression grew unpleasant. Sure, he'd already lost four Pokemon, and the opponent's strength was indeed overwhelming.
But the battle wasn't over yet. Being looked down on like this was without a doubt a stomp on his dignity!
Ash scratched his head and showed a somewhat helpless smile. "Gym Leader Raihan, this really isn't arrogance, it's just the truth… Anyway, you'll know once you've fought Giratina."
Since Raihan didn't recognize Giratina, then it was better not to let him know what kind of existence Giratina really was.
If Raihan truly learned the truth, then even with his mental fortitude, it might not be something he could withstand.
Just look at Cynthia and Lance around them… the impact of the Divine Domain Peak on people isn't something ordinary; even Champion Trainers are the same.
Raihan gave a cold snort, his eyes blazing with a fighting spirit that refused to lose.
"Fine, then let me see just how strong this Pokemon of yours really is, that you dare act so high-and-mighty!!"
"Dragapult, Shadow Ball!"
Once Dragapult got the order, the pair of holes on its head suddenly spat out the Dreepy hiding inside.
The two tiny Pokemon whirled rapidly through the air, gathering two dark-purple Energy Balls in their mouths.
The two Energy Balls were wreathed in thick, resentful aura, and just the process of forming them made the air in the center of the field tremble slightly.
The next second, the two Shadow Balls let out an eerie wail as they shot straight at Giratina on the field.
If an ordinary Pokemon got hit by Shadow Balls of this level, it would probably faint on the spot.
But just as the two Energy Balls were about to strike Giratina…
One of Giratina's six wing-limbs merely swayed lightly.
The movement was more casual than swatting away a mosquito.
The two Shadow Balls that had been roiling and surging a moment ago suddenly dissipated in midair like wisps of smoke blown away by a breeze.
They didn't even leave behind the slightest aftershock, as if those Energy Balls just now had been some kind of hallucination that vanished into thin air.
In the stands, Clair's red lips parted in shock.
"Th-that's it?"
"But that was a Shadow Ball from a Champion Advanced Level Pokemon!"
"How did it just scatter like that without causing the slightest ripple?"
Lance let out a bitter chuckle. "That's Giratina, the God of Reversal we're talking about."
"With just a casual flick, It can probably filter out attacks of that level like they're nothing but air."
"No way…" Raihan's face changed, and he hurriedly gave another command.
"Dragapult, Dragon Darts!"
The two sharp horns on Dragapult's head flared brightly, and from within those razor-red horns came a shrill sound of Energy charging up.
The next second, Dreepy returned to the holes in the horns.
This time, the little duo didn't come out to gather power. Instead, their bodies were wrapped in a layer of ghostly blue Energy light, reshaping them into tangible arrowheads.
"Shoo! Shoo!!"
Enveloped in Dragon-type Energy, the Dreepy were launched at near-sonic Speed, turning into streaks of ghostly blue light shooting toward Giratina.
This was Dragapult's signature Skill—Dragon Darts!
Firing the two little Dreepy themselves as live ammunition!
The combined power of the two little Dreepy already rivaled a major Dragon Type move—Dragon Rush!
Lance's eyes narrowed slightly; he knew the power of that move very well.
On an ordinary Pokemon, just a single Dragon Darts hit would be enough to seriously injure the foe. If both darts landed, then even an opponent of the same Level would suffer considerable damage.
However… the one they were facing was Giratina!
The Dragon Darts flying toward Giratina froze in midair a few meters away from It, as if they'd slammed into some invisible barrier.
Immediately after, the Dragon Darts that had carried terrifying kinetic force seemed to lose all their strength. The Dragon-type Energy coating Dreepy's bodies dispersed into a few wisps of smoke that gently drifted away.
And those two Dreepy poked their bewildered heads out of the smoke, floating listlessly in midair, completely clueless as to why they suddenly lost their ability to attack.
"Huh?"
"Eee~~"
The two Dreepy exchanged glances, and then their bodies stiffened, slowly turning their heads to see the cold expression of Giratina!
"Yaaah!!"
In the next moment, the two little fellows rushed back at a wind-like speed, darting back into the two pointed horn holes of Dragapult.
"It's not even on the same level..." Brock shook his head silently.
The gap between the Primary Divine Domain Level and the Champion Peak is worlds apart, with Divine Domain Peak facing Champion Advanced Level...
This is simply not a battle on the same tier.
Looking at Dragapult's two attacks, Ash issued no commands, and Giratina didn't even bother to counter.
It merely flapped its wings or used its intimidation to directly dissipate the opponent's strength!
The disparity is so vast it leaves one in despair!
Serena couldn't hold back her laughter.
"For some reason... I suddenly feel a bit sorry for Dragapult's side."
"Wouldn't you feel sorry~ If I knew the opponent was this kind of Pokemon, I would have just conceded," Misty said, holding Togepi, with a helpless smile on her face.
Ash's maneuver indeed caught everyone off guard, using a Divine Domain Peak for a Gym battle... It's truly extravagant!
Dawn blinked, entirely unable to understand what was happening.
But she could sense that the Pokémon Ash deployed this time seemed similar to when he deployed Gardevoir to battle Dragonair at the Blackthorn Gym.
Moreover, the disparity in power this time is even greater than before! To an astronomical extent!
On the field, Raihan was already too preoccupied to bother with the audience's commentary.
Cold sweat began to seep from his forehead.
The feeling of one's own Pokemon being unable to react no matter how it attacks is just too uncanny.
It's not just regular suppression of strength but seems as if the two sides aren't even on the same dimension.
"Dragapult, use Shadow Claw, charge!"
"Follow up with Dragon Pulse!"
Using two moves simultaneously, combining physical and special attacks, he couldn't believe it wouldn't work!
Raihan issued two commands in rapid succession.
Receiving the orders, Dragapult's streamlined massive body transformed into a shadow and charged at Giratina.
The sides of its body where two small hands are located suddenly lit up with a dark purple-black light during the charge, transforming into two tangible shadow-like claws.
At the same time, its mouth also formed an orb of eerie blue energy that exuded a dense Dragon-type aura, which in an instant turned into a massive stream of energy shooting towards Giratina.
The combined physical charge and long-range special attack enveloped the entire arena.
Against any champion-level Pokemon, this would be an immense dual pressure difficult to handle.
But this momentum in front of Giratina still seems as trivial as child's play.
When the eerie blue Dragon Pulse flew in front of Giratina, Giratina merely flapped the wings on its back.
The surging energy paused for a few moments in place and then silently dispersed into wisps of smoke and dust, without even touching a single scale of Giratina.
And as Dragapult charged in with Shadow Claw, Giratina finally made a move.
Giratina gently unfurled its enormous limb-wings, where one of its limbs had been floating beside it then slowly raised.
The next instant, the tip of that limb glowed with a dark purple-black light.
That light was tens of times denser than Dragapult's Shadow Claw, with the dark energies twisting even the surrounding air as they coalesced.
As they say, magic counters magic, physical counters physical.
Giratina was about to demonstrate the simplest way to Dragapult what disparity really means.
That limb wielding Shadow Claw gently swayed towards the charging Dragapult.
"Smack!"
A crisp collision sound was heard.
There weren't any earth-shaking explosions or deafening roars; it was almost like a mere slap sound.
In the next moment, the solidified shadow-claw lights in Dragapult's hands shattered instantly, turning into fragments of black scattering all around.
And its body was struck directly by the blow, sliding out a few dozen meters in the center of the arena before stabilizing.
Its streamlined body bore a clear scar, making it look like it wasn't heavily injured.
This wasn't the kind of damage a Divine Domain Peak Giratina should cause.
In the audience, Lance slowly shook his head.
"Giratina wasn't even serious."
"Even though it used Shadow Claw just now, it simply did so to shatter Dragapult's Shadow Claw."
"If it had truly acted seriously..."
Cynthia took up the conversation.
"Dragapult probably would have already lost its ability to fight by now."
"At this level, a Pokemon attacking fully, even with just a tenth of its power, is enough to defeat a champion peak-level Pokemon outright."
Dawn heard this and her blue eyes widened in shock.
"Why... why doesn't Giratina just end the battle then?"
Lance shrugged helplessly: "Look at Ash on the field."
Dawn followed Lance's gaze.
She saw Ash standing on the field with his hands on his hips, leisurely watching Giratina "perform" with a face showing a 'I really can't blame you' expression.
He hadn't issued any commands from start to finish, the posture was entirely like a parent watching their child play with toys.
"Unless Ash speaks up, Giratina just sees it as playing by itself."
"He's probably waiting to play a few more rounds, get a little thrill."
"Should Ash make a slight command to let Giratina get serious, this match could end immediately."
Cynthia nodded slightly.
"Ash probably wants to give Raihan some credit, sparing him from a one-move KO."
"Given that this battle isn't on the same tier at all, Giratina being allowed out means they might as well let Giratina play to the fullest while it can."
"..." Upon hearing this, Dawn truly felt uncomfortable.
She understood the gap between both sides was huge, but didn't realize it was this enormous!
For Raihan, a Champion Trainer releasing near ace-level Quasi-God, only to be treated like a toy by the Pokémon Ash deployed.
This... this is such a heavy blow, isn't it?
On the field, Raihan's breathing turned ragged.
"What on earth is this ghostly Pokemon? How can none of the moves work? Also, the Shadow Claw... it seemed like it wasn't using full power at all."
"That guy used just enough power more than Dragapult's Shadow Claw to release Shadow Claw? There's a limit even to mocking someone!!"
He clenched his teeth fiercely, eyes ablaze with reckless determination.
"Dragapult, Draco Meteor!"
Dragapult's two horns illuminated with a dazzling crimson light, its sharp tips transformed into antennae piercing through the sky.
The area above the Gym suddenly glowed as countless crimson meteors materialized from the void.
Those meteors shaped and clustered one by one densely into a barrage falling towards Giratina's position.
A Champion Advanced-level Pokemon fully utilizing Draco Meteor can flatten a building.
Dawn instinctively covered her eyes in the audience, but her fingers opened a gap.
"This time... it should work, right?"
"With so many meteors crashing down, at least some should hit."
Cynthia shook her head gently, her golden eyes full of tranquility.
"Watch it, Dawn."
*******************************
Enjoyed the action? Drop a review, fire off a comment, and send those Power Stones rolling! Your support keeps the updates coming fast—let's keep the momentum going! 🔥