The air in the arena was so thick it made it difficult to breathe.
Fierce Thunder stood opposite, like a charred log that had been struck by lightning but still remained standing.
The red orb on Ampharos's tail flashed at an extremely high frequency; every time it lit up, Ariel could feel the hairs on his skin trembling slightly due to static electricity.
Gyarados twisted its massive body in mid-air, its scales shimmering with a cold blue light under the illumination.
It had just defeated Charizard, and that instinct known as "Moxie" was rampaging through its blood.
It looked down at the Ampharos below, emitting a low, mocking vibration from its throat.
In its eyes, this small yellow fellow before it was nothing more than the next stepping stone.
Ariel stood motionless at the command position with his hands in his pockets.
He didn't give any commands, not even sparing Gyarados a single glance.
This silent indifference caused the audience below to start whispering.
Fierce Thunder had no intention of waiting for Ariel to make the first move.
He waved his hand sharply, a rough and forceful motion.
"Ampharos, Thunder!"
Fierce Thunder's voice was thick, causing the guardrails at the edge of the arena to hum.
Ampharos raised its head, and the red light on its tail exploded instantly.
A thick bolt of golden electricity descended from the sky without warning, striking directly at the top of Gyarados's head.
This was a major move of the Electric-type, almost guaranteed to hit in rainy weather; even in this battle arena, when unleashed by this exceptionally well-developed Ampharos, its power was enough to make one tremble with fear.
Gyarados never even thought about dodging.
Its mind, intoxicated by victory, contained only thoughts of attacking.
It opened its bloodthirsty maw, dense Hyper Beam gathering within; it wanted to meet the attack head-on.
Boom!
The golden thunder collided with the yet-to-form Hyper Beam.
The suppression brought about by the type disadvantage was manifested vividly at this moment.
The electric light spread rapidly along Gyarados's Water-type body, shattering its originally imposing posture.
Gyarados let out a shrill scream, its massive body convulsing violently in mid-air.
Tiny arcs of electricity leaped between the gaps in its scales, scorching its sensitive skin.
It fell heavily from mid-air onto the arena, shattering several specially-made stone slabs.
A gasp went through the audience.
A four-times type disadvantage; this was no joke.
Ariel remained standing, expressionless.
He watched Gyarados struggle on the ground, calculating the beast's tolerance limit in his mind.
This was the effect he wanted; if this serpent didn't know pain, it would never remember who the boss was.
Gyarados shook its head and stood up, the fierce light in its eyes dimming slightly, replaced by a frenzied irritation from being provoked.
It took to the air again, this time choosing close combat; its massive tail was wrapped in flowing water—it was Aqua Tail.
It wanted to use brute force to smash that little electric-discharging thing to pieces.
However, having just been hit by Thunder Shock, its speed was significantly slower!
"Too slow."
Fierce Thunder snorted coldly.
"Thunder Wave!"
Ampharos emitted a faint yellow light from its body, with ripple-like energy spreading outward.
Before Gyarados's Aqua Tail could strike the opponent, its body stiffened in mid-air.
Paralyzed state!
The side effect of the electricity caused it to lose control of its muscles.
Like a heavy piece of scrap metal, it slammed onto the ground again.
This time, Ampharos did not give it a chance to catch its breath.
Fierce Thunder commanded Ampharos to use Thunderbolt repeatedly.
One stream of electricity after another accurately struck Gyarados's abdomen, which was the relatively weaker part of its defense.
Gyarados's breathing became rapid, and the smell of burning filled the air.
In its huge eyes, arrogance was finally replaced by a trace of fear.
It struggled to turn its head, looking toward Ariel, who was standing on the command platform.
That gaze carried a hint of a plea for help, and even a little grievance.
Ariel caught this gaze, but he only stared back coldly; there was no pity in his eyes, only a nearly cruel scrutiny.
Gyarados understood Ariel's meaning:
"Since you think you don't need me, then solve it yourself."
It quickly withdrew its gaze, emitting an angry roar from its throat.
It was annoyed—annoyed that it would actually ask this human for help, and even more annoyed by its own incompetence.
Its self-esteem completely shattered at this moment.
Roar!
Gyarados only felt the blood surging within its body.
Forcing itself to overcome the paralysis effect, its body scraped violently against the ground; scales fell off, blood seeped out, but it actually managed to close the distance solely by the writhing of its muscles.
Fierce Thunder frowned slightly; this guy's vitality was excessively tenacious.
"Ampharos, final strike, Thunder!"
Ampharos gathered strength once more, draining all its electrical power to condense into an unprecedentedly huge pillar of thunder.
Just one second before the thunder fell, Gyarados moved.
It didn't use any flashy moves again, but instead, relying on the instinct for survival and extreme rage, it unleashed Crunch.
It opened its maw, its fangs covered in black Dark-type energy.
It no longer cared about the falling lightning, allowing the power capable of scorching it to pour into its spine.
Its teeth clamped tightly onto Ampharos's shoulder, then it shook its neck wildly.
Ampharos let out a painful scream.
It had never seen such a desperate opponent.
The lightning raged wildly on Gyarados's body, but Gyarados simply would not let go.
It used all its strength to fling Ampharos toward the pillar at the edge of the arena.
Bang!
Ampharos hit the pillar, slid down limply, eyes rolling back, having lost the ability to battle.
The entire arena was deathly silent.
Gyarados lay on the ground, black smoke rising from its entire body.
Its scales were charred over a large area, with blood still seeping in some places.
It panted heavily, every breath tugging at its wounds.
After a long while, it finally stood up, swaying.
It had not fallen.
It coiled in the center of the arena; although its momentum was no longer at its peak, that ferocious aura was instead even more concentrated.
It looked at Ariel again.
This time, it did not ask for help, nor did it Taunt.
It just stared fixedly at Ariel, with a stubbornness that refused to admit defeat.
Ariel looked at the battle-scarred Gyarados.
He knew that the beast's arrogance had been worn down a layer, but it was still far from being completely submissive.
Fierce Thunder recalled Ampharos and walked up to Ariel, his expression complex.
He glanced at Ariel, then at the smashed pillar.
"You are a ruthless person."
Fierce Thunder dropped this sentence and turned to walk off the arena.
Ariel didn't respond.
The corners of his mouth twitched—not in a smile, but in a coldness of controlling the situation.
Marius was dumbfounded watching from below the stage.
He had originally thought Ariel was too scared to give commands, but now it seemed clearly to be a long-planned taming.
"Brother Ariel... you were being too reckless."
Marius ran over, looking at the deep pit on the arena with lingering fear.
Ariel patted Marius's shoulder, his gaze looking into the distance.
"A disobedient blade easily hurts oneself. Only by breaking and recasting it can it be used comfortably."
His voice was not loud, but it caused several Trainers nearby who wanted to come up and challenge him to subconsciously stop in their tracks.
This man was more like a monster than his own Pokémon.
The referee at the edge of the arena wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and announced loudly.
"Ariel, wins!"
Ariel ignored the cheers around him.
He could feel that although Gyarados was heavily injured, that ability known as "Moxie" was merging with its self-esteem in a twisted way.
This was the Gyarados he wanted.
A fierce beast that understands pain, understands hate, and ultimately understands the fear of power.