Phantom Force.
It was a move Dragapult knew well — perhaps better than any other. Dragapult had long since mastered its advanced form, Spacial Rend, pushing the technique far beyond its standard application.
Jacob knew the move just as well. A high-power, two-turn attack that passed straight through Protect — it was one of the most reliable offensive tools in a Ghost-type's kit.
Houndstone's Ghost-type energy surged, tearing open a rift in the air. In an instant, it slipped through and vanished into the dinsional gap, leaving nothing behind.
Jacob had two options.
The first was to have Dragapult mirror the move and use Phantom Force as well. If both Pokémon disappeared into the sa dinsional space, Dragapult could ti its re-entry to avoid Houndstone's strike entirely — a small but reliable counter built into the move's chanics. In a Phantom Force exchange, the Pokémon that moved second held the advantage.
The second option was to use the window Houndstone's charge-up created. With the field temporarily clear, Jacob could have Dragapult set up another Dragon Dance or lay down a defensive move.
"Dragapult, Reflect!"
Jacob made his call. After a brief pause, he opted for Reflect rather than another Dragon Dance.
The reasoning was straightforward: this battle wasn't going to end in one hit. Rather than gamble everything on a single offensive exchange, it was better to build a buffer and fight a longer ga. Reflect would reduce the physical damage Dragapult took — and Houndstone was a heavily physical attacker.
Psychic-type energy rippled outward from Dragapult as it generated the barrier, a shimring wall of light settling in front of it just as the charge-up continued on the other side of the rift.
"Jacob's playing for the long ga."
"Smart. Houndstone leans almost entirely into physical attacks, and its special attack is weak. Reflect cuts that damage significantly. He's trying to outlast it."
"I thought Dawson would just roll right over him. It looks like Houndstone might actually have to work for this."
The comnts reached Dawson's ears. He kept his expression neutral, but the words had landed. He had expected to put this battle away cleanly — and it wasn't going that way.
Could he actually lose?
The thought surfaced before he could stop it. He pushed it aside almost imdiately. A peak-King-level Houndstone losing to a Quasi-King-level Dragapult? It wasn't possible. It simply wasn't.
But he looked at Jacob's face — steady, focused, no sign of doubt — and then at the Shiny Dragapult hovering in the air behind its Reflect, and for just a mont, he felt sothing uneasy stir in the back of his mind.
If he actually lost here, that was the end. He'd spend the rest of his career as the King-level Trainer who got beaten by a first-year. A cautionary tale. A footnote.
No. Absolutely not.
A cold resolve settled over Dawson='s face. On the field, the dinsional rift tore open again.
Houndstone burst through the gap, Ghost-type energy wrapped around its entire body, moving at a speed that surprised even so of the watching crowd. It launched upward and drove itself hard into Dragapult.
"Dragapult, Sucker Punch!"
Jacob countered imdiately. Dragapult didn't wait — it threw itself forward into the attack, eting Houndstone head-on.
"There's no way Dragapult keeps up with that. The gap is too wide."
"Houndstone's even stronger on the physical side. That Will-O-Wisp earlier hit harder than Dragapult's Dragon Pulse, and now it's landing Phantom Force directly—"
"Hold on. Dragapult used Dragon Dance before, so its Attack and Speed are up. And with Reflect still active — it might not be as one-sided as you'd think."
The crowd leaned in as the two attacks connected.
In the stands, Nina had her fingers laced together, watching without blinking. She hadn't expected Dragapult to be this strong so soon after evolving. The more she watched, the more she felt it — the quiet, building sense that Jacob might actually pull this off.
He always had a way of doing the impossible. She'd watched him do it before, more than once. Why would tonight be any different?
Dark-type energy gathered around Dragapult as it shot forward, a black streak cutting across the field so fast it left blurred afterimages in its wake.
"That speed—"
"I can barely track it!"
"This is what a Dragon-type built for speed actually looks like."
Dragapult's body pulled taut, arrow-straight, and it drove its triangular head directly into Houndstone. Dark-type energy collided with the dense Ghost-type power of Phantom Force.
The impact rang out across the arena. A shockwave rolled outward, and both Pokémon were driven back — Dragapult skidding through the air, Houndstone's heavy fra pushed several steps across the field.
Both held their ground.
"Dragapult didn't go down!"
"Houndstone's got the edge, but barely. With that power gap, Dragapult only coming off slightly worse is — actually impressive."
"Jacob has a real shot here. If he can manage the Reflect timing and get Dragapult onto Dragon-type moves—"
The crowd had picked up on sothing important: Dragapult had just taken Phantom Force — a Ghost-type move with full charge behind it — using Sucker Punch, a Dark-type move with no Sa-Type Attack Bonus. Despite being at a lower power tier overall, the exchange had been nearly even.
If Dragapult could land a Dragon-type attack with its current boosts and Reflect still active, the math shifted considerably. Jacob had a window. Whether he could use it was another question entirely.
Dawson's jaw was tight. He already understood what had happened the mont the collision settled — not just that Houndstone hadn't ended it cleanly, but what that ant. The mont this battle stopped being a quick victory, he had already lost sothing he couldn't get back. A King-level Trainer and a first-year student, trading blows on even terms. The crowd could see it. Everyone could see it.
But there was still a battle to win.
He set aside the noise in his head and focused. Since forcing a quick finish wasn't working, he needed to change the approach entirely.
"Houndstone, Sandstorm!"
Houndstone raised its head and let out a long, echoing howl. Rock-type energy built in its body and discharged in a burst — a dense surge that shattered outward in every direction, filling the arena with swirling, stinging grit. The overhead lights dimd slightly behind the brown haze as the weather took hold.
The reason was imdiately clear to anyone watching: Houndstone's ability was Sand Rush. In a sandstorm, its Speed doubled outright.
It would also chip away at Dragapult's stamina every turn.
"Dawson is taking this seriously now. No more blind aggression — he's setting the board."
Jacob's expression tightened slightly, his eyes scanning the field as the sand began to swirl.
At the King-level, nobody was reckless. The mont Dawson stopped swinging and started thinking, the match beca harder to read.
This was going to be more difficult than before.
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