Coral covered her burning cheek, shocked and furious.
Pheromosa's speed had completely surpassed her understanding. If that kick just now had been a little heavier, she probably would have already fainted.
Humiliation and fear tangled together, making someone who rarely suffered losses almost scream.
"Glalie! Freeze her! Use your maximum power, Ice Breath! Sheer Cold! Whatever you use, restrict its movement!"
Coral shrieked the order. Her voice twisted out of shape from anger and a faint, barely noticeable tremor. The pink ponytail on her head looked like it might stand straight up from rage.
Glalie's huge eyes locked onto Pheromosa. A terrifying wave of cold burst out again, dreadful frost mixed with fine snow.
It shot toward Pheromosa like bullets. Even stronger freezing energy tried to spread outward, lowering the surrounding temperature, even making the air feel thick and sluggish.
Yet Pheromosa's figure blurred once more.
She was like a streak of purple light gliding gracefully through a blizzard. Those drifting snowflakes couldn't even touch the edge of her clothes.
Sometimes she moved at high speed, leaving behind afterimages. Sometimes she stopped for an instant before bursting forward again. Every attack from Glalie missed, only leaving thicker and thicker layers of ice on the restaurant's walls and floor.
"Too slow," Axel's voice sounded calm, with a hint of obvious boredom.
"Your Glalie, in front of Pheromosa, moves like a video playing in slow motion."
Under Axel's careful training, Pheromosa had long been a Pokémon capable of threatening even first-tier legendary gods.
And with the recent training she received from the twin gods of sun and moon, even Axel himself could no longer guess the limit of her speed.
"Yoo~", Pheromosa responded with a light, cheerful cry. Her figure flashed again, easily circling to Glalie's side and rear. Her long leg lashed out like a whip.
Bang!
Glalie's heavy body staggered from the kick. Fine cracks appeared across the solid ice that formed its body.
It turned around angrily, but Pheromosa was already gone from where she had been.
The gap. A speed gap that brought despair.
Coral's pupils shrank. She finally understood completely. No matter how hard Glalie tried, even if the speed conditions of the battlefield were weakened to the extreme, it still couldn't keep up with this Pokémon's movements.
The opponent had been toying with her all along, like a cat watching mice struggle helplessly.
The realization of being played with burned through Coral's reason and fear like poisonous fire, leaving only towering rage and a madness that wanted to drag the enemy down together.
"If we can't keep up… then we won't follow at all!"
Coral's expression became hideously twisted. She suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Axel and Pheromosa. Her voice turned hoarse and sharp under the weight of extreme emotion.
"Glalie! Now! Maximum power, Explosion!"
"What?", Mela, Penny, and Briar cried out at the same time.
Explosion, a Normal-type move that trades the user's near-fainting state for terrifying explosive power.
Once used, almost no Pokémon could block it without injury.
Especially since there were several humans here, and even Coral herself was present. How dare she give such an order?
Using Explosion in such a confined space, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Glalie's massive body suddenly shone with a blinding white light. Terrifying energy gathered and swelled at extreme speed. A destructive aura instantly enveloped the entire restaurant private room.
It truly carried out its trainer's command without hesitation, even if it meant blowing its own trainer to pieces.
A mad, delighted smile appeared on Coral's face. She stared at Axel as if determined to drag him down to hell with her.
However, facing this suicidal attack, Axel's eyes didn't change in the slightest. He simply spoke calmly.
"Kick it away."
The command was so simple it was outrageous.
Almost at the same moment the order was given, the purple figure flashing around Glalie disappeared.
No, not disappeared.
It had simply become too fast.
In the next instant, Pheromosa's figure appeared like a ghost directly beneath the already swelling Glalie.
Her slender body held unimaginable strength. Her long leg swept upward from below, drawing a perfect arc as the tip of her foot struck Glalie precisely under the jaw.
"Yoo!"
Along with the clear cry, Pheromosa's kick seemed to carry a strange power that disrupted the flow of energy.
BOOM!
The explosion happened, but not at the intended location.
Glalie was like a soccer ball struck with full force, turning into a streak of white light as it smashed through the restaurant's reinforced glass window and shot toward the distant empty sky at incredible speed.
Only then did the deafening explosion sound arrive from afar. A massive burst of Normal-type energy and ice fragments blossomed in the sky. Even from such a distance, the shockwave made the restaurant's glass buzz loudly.
Inside the private room, there was complete silence.
The destruction everyone expected never came. There was only the cold wind blowing in through the broken window, and countless ice crystals drifting down as they slowly melted.
The crazed smile on Coral's face froze completely.
Then it cracked apart little by little, replaced by boundless shock and fear.
Her greatest trump card, the resolve to perish together, had been dealt with by the other side in such a crude yet casual way…
Kicked away with a single blow?
She looked at Pheromosa, who slowly landed beside Axel and elegantly adjusted her antennae. Then she looked at Axel, whose eyes were as indifferent as if he were looking at an ant.
Unwinnable… completely unwinnable!
"M-monster…", Coral's legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.
Her body trembled violently out of control. All her earlier arrogance had vanished without a trace, leaving only the most primitive fear.
Axel walked over to her step by step. His shadow completely enveloped the small Coral.
"Exploration team? Coral?", Axel crouched down and lifted her chin with his finger, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"Now, how about you introduce the function of that piece of jade to me?"
Coral shuddered violently. Tears poured out uncontrollably. She couldn't say a single word, only stared at Axel in terror.
A faint blue light flashed in Gardevoir's eyes. Invisible psychic power gently wrapped around Coral, making her completely lose the strength to resist or run.
At the same time, Axel lightly stretched out his hand. Coral's right hand lifted uncontrollably, placing the fish-shaped jade in her hand into Axel's palm...
"I… I'll tell you, okay? W-waaah!"
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