"HOOOOOOOOOR!"
ga Gyarados let out a bone-chilling roar, its body suddenly encased in a
swirling, high-pressure veil of water.
Waterfall!
Over the last two years, Kenji had trained Gyarados to use its moves with
unorthodox versatility. While Waterfall was technically an offensive strike,
Gyarados had mastered using the water-shroud as a supplentary defense and a
kinetic booster. The spinning current acted as a liquid shield, dispersing the
impact of physical strikes while increasing the serpent's agility.
As Incineroar brought its hand down in a super-effective Brick Break, the blow
had to fight through the pressurized water before it could even touch the
serpent's scales.
THOOM!
The impact was heavy—a Level 100 "Master" strike was no joke. The Waterfall
shroud was torn apart, and the blow slamd into ga Gyarados's side.
"HOOOOOOOOR!"
The serpent roared in pain, but the trauma only fueled its bloodlust. It
abandoned all caution, coiling its massive fra around the tiger as it unhinged
its jaws.
Crunch!
CRUNCH!
"HU-HA!" Incineroar let out a muffled grunt of agony. ga Gyarados's teeth,
dripping with Dark-type energy, sank deep into the tiger's shoulder.
Instead of pulling back, Incineroar bared its own teeth. It was a natural-born
brawler, a veteran of the pit. It ignored the hole in its shoulder and unleashed
its own ultimate.
Close Combat!
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
At point-blank range, the "No. 1 Tiger of Asia" unleashed a flurry of savage
punches and kicks. Each strike caught ga Gyarados in the head and upper torso.
Because they were zero-distance trades, the serpent couldn't dodge. It was a
raw, bloody exchange of vitality.
Under normal circumstances, a Level 97 Pokémon taking a full-power Close Combat
from a Level 100 Master would be fainted or crippled. But Kenji's team was built
on "cheat codes."
As the punches rained down, a faint, translucent violet mist began to rise from
Gyarados's scales. It was so subtle that the caras—and even the Champion
Gange—could barely see it.
Hex Core: Radiant Edge of Night—Activated!
The item proc'd the mont Gyarados hit the lethal health threshold. For a
critical window of ti, the serpent beca functionally invulnerable, its body
absorbing the kinetic trauma of the Close Combat without taking a single drop of
further damage.
Incineroar realized sothing was wrong. Its punches felt like they were hitting
a vacuum. The serpent's eyes, which should have been glazed with pain, were wide
and focused, burning with a murderous intent.
Before the tiger could disengage, a jagged arc of golden electricity erupted
from Gyarados's jaws.
The current surged through its teeth directly into Incineroar's nervous system.
Thunder Wave!
ZZZZZZZT!
"HU-HE?!"
Incineroar's muscles locked up instantly. The paralysis was absolute at such
close range.
ga Gyarados didn't waste the opening. Its maw began to glow with a blinding
blue light as it funneled every drop of its energy into its throat.
Whoosh—BOOM!
Gyarados released its grip just as it fired a point-blank Hydro Pump.
"SHH-BOOOOOOOM!"
The high-pressure blast caught Incineroar squarely in the chest, launching the
tiger across the arena like a bullet. The physical force was staggering, sending
the Master-tier brawler skidding into the containnt barrier.
THUD!
Incineroar hit the shield and slumped. Its breathing was ragged, and one arm
hung limply at its side—the bone likely shattered by the point-blank impact.
Normally, a Level 100 Pokémon would have more resilience. But Incineroar had
just used Close Combat, a move that severely lowers the user's physical and
special defense. It had been caught with its guard down, and Gyarados's Radiant
items had amplified the damage to a catastrophic level.
The stadium was in a state of absolute shock.
"Is he... is he going to do it?" a fan whispered.
ga Gyarados didn't give Gange ti to forfeit. It blurred across the field,
its speed boosted by its previous Dragon Dance.
THWACK!
One Aqua Tail to the head.
WHAM!
A second Aqua Tail to the ribs.
The serpent rained down four consecutive strikes before the tiger could even
twitch through the paralysis. By the ti Gyarados finally coiled back and
hissed, the "Premier Tiger of Asia" was half-buried in the cratered earth, its
eyes rolled back.
Silence. Total, suffocating silence.
"Incineroar is unable to battle! Gyarados wins!"
"Grand Champion Gange has lost all six Pokémon! The winner of the match is Grand
Champion Kenji!"
The High-Sovereign Arena exploded.
It was another 6-0 sweep. Against a Grand Champion. Against a Master Tier.
The world was reeling. This wasn't just a win; it was a "System Shock." Kenji
had used two different Pokémon—Slaking and Gyarados—to wipe out two different
high-level teams without making a single substitution.
Gange stood on his platform, his face the color of slate. He recalled his tiger
in silence, his arrogant smile gone. He had been thoroughly, systematically
"out-gened" and out-played.
In the Neon League lounge, Rio actually let out a small, hysterical giggle. She
felt a profound sense of gratitude toward Gange. With the Bharat Champion being
humiliated so publicly, the internet would finally stop sending her death
threats and shift their focus to him.
"Thank you, you old freak," she whispered.
Kenji returned to the Huaxia lounge to a hero's welco. Zhurong Yun gave him a
massive thumbs-up, while Yuna Su just shook her head in mock-exasperation.
"You really don't know the aning of 'rcy,' do you?" Yuna teased. "He's a
Champion! You made him look like a preschooler."
Kenji shrugged, taking a seat and opening a new bag of chips. "If they want
respect, they should earn it on the field. I'm not here to make friends; I'm
here to win."
The qualifiers moved into the third and fourth rounds over the following days.
The "small" Leagues were being systematically culled. As the bracket narrowed, a
strange phenonon began to occur: Whenever a trainer from a mid-tier League saw
they were matched against Kenji, they didn't even show up to the tunnel.
They withdrew.
"Refusal to Battle" beca the the of Kenji's mid-bracket. No one wanted to be
the next person on a viral 6-0 compilation. They would rather forfeit their rank
than have their partners humiliated and potentially injured by his "Monster
Team."
This left Kenji incredibly bored.
"I ca here to show off," Kenji complained to Zhurong Yun. "How am I supposed
to look cool if everyone keeps quitting before the match starts?"
Yun just laughed. "That's the ultimate 'Flex,' Kenji. Winning without even
throwing a ball."
Finally, after four rounds of carnage and forfeits, the pool was down to the
final nineteen participants. The "Preliminary Phase" was over. It was ti for
the "Sovereign Phase."
The massive stadium screens flickered, announcing the next set of pairings.
Match 1: Yuna Su (Huaxia) vs. Shigesuke Matsumoto (Neon). Match 2: Kenji
(Huaxia) vs. Shinji Oda (Neon).
The stadium roared. It was a double Huaxia-Neon showdown.
And for Kenji, it was exactly what he wanted. He looked at the screen, a cold,
sharp grin spreading across his face.
"Oda," Kenji whispered. "I hope you brought a spare set of teeth."
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