"GRAAAZARD!"
Charizard opened his jaws as flames surged from deep within his throat.
Rather than erupting outward immediately, the fire compressed into a blazing sphere before his mouth. It expanded with frightening speed until it measured nearly eight meters across, glowing like a miniature sun against the dark sky.
The surrounding moisture flashed into steam.
Even before the attack was released, the intense heat curled the feathers of the approaching Shadow Fearow and filled the air with the acrid stench of burning plumage.
Fear replaced fury in the flock's crimson eyes.
They tried to pull out of their dive.
Too late.
Charizard unleashed Fire Dragon King's Roar.
The enormous fireball tore through the formation and swallowed the first wave of Shadow Fearow whole.
A deafening explosion shook the sky.
Brilliant light flooded the aircraft windows as the detonation ripped through the clouds. The shock wave scattered the surrounding storm cover, allowing shafts of sunlight to spill through the opening like streams of molten gold.
When the glare finally faded, the passengers cautiously looked outside.
The attacking formation was gone.
Nothing remained of those Shadow Fearow but soot and drifting ash.
For several seconds, the aircraft was silent.
Then cheers erupted through every cabin.
"We're still alive!"
"He wiped them all out with one attack!"
"That kid has to be a Gym-level Trainer—maybe even Class Champion!"
"At his age?"
"The strongest Trainer in Sealine City is our Gym Leader. Since when did we have someone like this?"
A passenger suddenly remembered something.
"Wait. Didn't this year's top entrance-exam scorer come from Sealine City?"
"The student reporters were chasing for interviews?"
"What was his name again... Aaron?"
Phones came out almost immediately.
Within moments, someone found a photograph.
"It's him!"
"You're right. That's Aaron!"
"The top scorer from Sealine City is the Trainer standing on Charizard!"
News spread through the aircraft faster than the passengers could repeat it.
Aaron was not merely a talented young Trainer. He was the student whose results had drawn reporters from across the region—and whose name had dominated local news during the entrance-exam season.
The discovery brought relief and excitement to some passengers.
For those in economy class, it brought a great deal of discomfort.
They had assumed he was a poor, insignificant student because of his clothes and ticket. Some had insulted him, threatened his future, and even celebrated when they believed he had jumped to his death.
Now the same young man was holding their lives in his hands.
Several passengers avoided looking toward the windows.
The masked woman felt the regret most sharply.
She stared at Aaron's figure outside and clenched her teeth. Sitting beside him had given her the easiest possible chance to introduce herself, yet she had dismissed him without a word.
But she refused to believe the opportunity was completely gone.
"No. I can still turn this around."
Her gaze remained fixed on him.
"He may be powerful, but that doesn't mean he knows anything about women."
A calculating smile appeared beneath her mask.
"I refuse to believe I can't get his attention."
...
Outside, Mega Charizard Y's attack had wiped out nearly half the flock, but those had been the weaker Shadow Fearow. Every survivor was at least Elite-level.
"KREEEEAAAH!"
A deeper, far more powerful cry thundered from above the clouds.
Aaron looked up as an enormous shape tore through the cloud layer and descended into view.
It was another Shadow Fearow, but one that dwarfed the rest of the flock. Its body stretched nearly five meters from beak to tail, and old scars cut across its black plumage.
The pressure radiating from it eclipsed that of all the remaining Fearow combined.
Aaron immediately recognized what he was looking at.
"An Alpha Pokémon."
He focused on the giant Fearow and pulled up its information.
The System confirmed his suspicion.
It was an Alpha Shadow Fearow at Class Champion (Late Stage), and nearly every move it possessed had reached Perfect proficiency. This was a battle-hardened predator that had survived countless fights in the Inner World—and its strength was on an entirely different level from the rest of the flock.
This was no oversized wild Pokémon.
It was a veteran that had survived countless battles in the Inner World and earned command of the flock through strength.
"KRAAAAH!"
The Alpha Shadow Fearow gave a furious call.
The other Fearow answered at once.
Energy surged around the entire flock as they spread out and began preparing their attacks from multiple directions.
Their leader was no longer allowing them to charge blindly.
It intended to overwhelm Aaron and his Pokémon with concentrated fire.
Apparently, losing half its flock had driven the Alpha into a rage.
Aaron did not wait for them to finish.
"Gyarados—Thunder Annihilation!"
He pointed toward the flock.
"Charizard—Super Flamethrower!"
"GRAAAADOS!"
"GRAAAZARD!"
Both Pokémon attacked.
While the Flame Clouds continued supporting the aircraft, electricity erupted across Super Gyarados's enormous body.
Storm clouds gathered above the battlefield.
Thunder rolled across the sky.
Then lightning began to fall.
BOOM!
A bolt struck the first Shadow Fearow and blasted it from the air.
More followed immediately.
The space around the flock became a raging field of electricity as bolt after bolt crashed through their formation. Fearow caught by the attack were scorched black and sent tumbling into the clouds below.
Within seconds, the sky was filled with falling Shadow Pokémon.
The Alpha Shadow Fearow shrieked in fury as its flock was torn apart around it.
...