Chapter 431: Throne of Victory
"Pretty big words for someone barely out of diapers!" Victor scoffed. Even in his prime, he’d never claimed to be invincible. John was a pro
"Pretty big words for someone barely out of diapers!" Victor scoffed. Even in his prime, he’d never claimed to be invincible.
John was a prodigy, sure, but his reputation was built on Pokemon training and breeding. When it came to actual hand-to-hand combat, this twenty-something kid was still wet behind the ears compared to a veteran like Victor.
Besides, who said Victor didn’t have a few tricks of his own?
Victor stepped forward without hesitation, his fists wreathed in pale blue energy, the power of aura. Time to teach this arrogant youngster a lesson about respecting his elders.
Let him learn what it meant when people said there’s always a bigger fish in the pond.
"Blue-fisted warrior?" John muttered with amusement. "Well, that brings back some memories..."
John casually extended one hand toward Victor and gave a light tap in his direction.
Whoooosh!
A howling gust erupted across the battlefield.
The fierce wind formed an invisible wall that stopped Victor’s advance cold. No matter how much strength the elderly trainer put behind his charge, he couldn’t push forward another inch.
"You’re a psychic!" Victor’s eyes widened in surprise, suddenly understanding where this cocky kid’s confidence was coming from.
"Exactly right," John said with a casual shrug. The wind manipulation was courtesy of Rayquaza’s power contained within his Jade Orb.
If he had to describe his actual abilities, it would probably be something like "summoning legendary Pokemon at will through his Gameboy."
CRACK!
Suddenly, a massive stone spike erupted from the ground directly behind John, shooting upward with lethal intent to skewer him from behind.
John didn’t even turn around. He simply raised one foot and stomped down.
BOOM!
The entire island shuddered violently under that single stomp, and even the surrounding ocean trembled in response.
Sorry, Victor, John hadn’t transferred the Red Orb to Garchomp today. Groudon’s earth-shaking power was still coursing through his own body.
"Now I understand why the media can never decide whether to call you a Ground-type Elite or a Fighting-type Elite," John observed casually. "Beyond coming from a martial arts family, you’ve always been psychic yourself, haven’t you?"
That stone spike hadn’t come from any of Victor’s Pokemon launching a sneak attack. The source of that power had been Victor himself.
Victor didn’t respond. He just stood there in stunned silence, staring at John in complete bewilderment.
This guy... this guy could shake the entire island...
What kind of terrifying power was that?
At seventy-plus years old, Victor thought he’d seen every incredible thing this world had to offer. Very few things could surprise him anymore.
But this...
Was John even human? Or was he some kind of Pokemon wearing human skin?
Had Ditto finally evolved and invaded human society? Though John’s eyes weren’t the telltale beady black of a transformed Ditto...
Just as Victor’s mind was reeling through increasingly wild possibilities, a Lucario came flying through the air from the distance, landing beside Victor like a discarded rag doll. It rolled several times before coming to a stop, its eyes showing the telltale spirals of complete defeat.
Greninja approached calmly from the opposite direction, completely unscathed, not even a speck of dirt on its sleek form.
Apparently, Lucario hadn’t posed much of a threat to its opponent after all.
"That... that fast?" Victor’s voice cracked slightly. The battle between Lucario and Greninja had lasted less than two minutes.
And it was already over?
Of course, this wasn’t the end, Lucario’s defeat was just the beginning of a comprehensive rout.
Gallade had been slammed into the ground by Gardevoir’s overwhelming psychic force, creating a crater three meters wide and three meters deep around its unconscious form.
A tremor in the earth deposited the powerless Kommo-o at Victor’s feet. Mega Garchomp emerged from the dissipating Mist, its golden dragon eyes gleaming with predatory satisfaction and barely contained violence.
Close-quarters combat against Garchomp? Kommo-o had picked the wrong opponent entirely.
Zeraora had also finished its battle.
The Totem Machamp had indeed been unparalleled in raw strength, one of Victor’s ace Pokemon with superb combat experience and battle awareness.
But fighting against the speed-focused Zeraora, that massive body simply couldn’t provide fast enough reactions to dodge the electric cat’s lightning-quick strikes.
It hadn’t taken long for the Totem Machamp’s body to become covered in accumulated wounds. When the damage finally became too much to bear, it naturally lost the ability to continue fighting.
The massive body crashed to the ground, creating spiderweb cracks that spread for a hundred meters in all directions.
"Wobbuffet!" The patient Pokemon maintained its characteristic politeness, squinting and offering a sideways salute to John, as if formally reporting that its opponent had been thoroughly defeated.
Mamoswine, massive as a small mountain, lay sprawled in front of Wobbuffet, limply collapsed with rolled-back eyes and foam dribbling from the corners of its mouth.
Unlike the other Pokemon who had simply been defeated and lost their ability to fight, Mamoswine had repeatedly rammed its head into Wobbuffet, only to have double the force sent back through Counter. After just a few such exchanges, its brain had been thoroughly scrambled.
THUD!
Came the final crash.
The rock fortress pokemon, Rhyperior, plummeted from its self-made stone pillar.
It had been blasted by a move it was extremely proficient with itself, Hyper Beam. Despite its massive size and natural resistance, being knocked off its elevated position by that devastating attack had been more than enough to end the battle.
The attacker was, of course, the opponent that had been locked onto it from the very beginning of the battle.
Gyarados.
In the end, John and Victor had barely even begun their personal confrontation, not even exchanging a complete attack, before Victor’s entire Pokemon team had been systematically dismantled.
"Seems like your old partners didn’t buy you much time after all," John commented lightly. He hooked his foot, and a stone chair rose from the ground behind him for him to settle into comfortably.
"So... ready to concede?"
Victor stood before John in stunned silence, his slightly clouded eyes taking in the breathtaking scene before him.
John sat upon his improvised throne like an emperor surveying his domain, utterly unmoved by the storm raging around them. Heavy rain poured from the darkened sky, yet not a single drop touched his hair.
Gyarados descended from above, its terrifying visage positioned beside John’s throne like a draconic guardian.
Greninja leaned casually against the back of the throne, but its eyes remained fixed on Victor, ready to strike at the first sign of trouble.
Zeraora crouched on the throne’s backrest, watching Victor with feline curiosity.
Gardevoir stood at John’s side like an elegant queen, hands gracefully smoothing her flowing dress.
Garchomp positioned itself directly in front of John; a general ready for war. Its eyes blazed with fierce intensity, draconic gaze radiating dangerous energy. One word from John, and it would unleash devastating violence without hesitation.
If Garchomp was the general of war, then Wobbuffet served as the imperial knigth. Its slightly comical blue form was still maintaining its polite salute, but only those who had witnessed the power behind Mamoswine’s Take Down could truly appreciate just how ironclad that deceptively soft-looking body really was.
The scene burned itself into Victor’s memory like a brand, and he swore that even if he lived to be a hundred, he would never forget such an awe-inspiring sight.
"I surrender."