"How can this be... This guy is too strong, Aso!"
Staring at the battlefield before him, Eguchi's eyes were lifeless. His own Pokémon, as well as Aso's, were without exception being completely suppressed by Julian's.
And mind you, their Pokémon were all at the Elite level—while on Julian's side, only Metagross, Dragonite, Arcanine, and Kartana were at the same level.
Yet even the non-Elite-level Pokémon on Julian's team were dominating their Elite-level ones.
They had thought only Metagross had the power to fight above its level—but now it seemed every one of Julian's Pokémon had that ability.
It was simply unbelievable.
As Kartana cleanly beheaded Flygon with one slash—
Eguchi's face instantly turned pale. Flygon wasn't his Pokémon—it belonged to Aso.
But at this point, the two of them were like grasshoppers tied to the same rope.
Flygon's death meant that Kartana was now free to move.
They were already at a disadvantage, and if Kartana joined another fight, it would force one of their Pokémon to deal with two of Julian's.
Fortunately, Kartana was actually called back by Julian in the end.
Aso's expression was grim. Even in such a situation, he hadn't panicked—his mental fortitude was clearly exceptional. Right now, all his attention was focused on the battle between Hydreigon and Metagross.
To turn the tide, the outcome of the battle between Hydreigon and Metagross would be the key.
Both were the strongest Pokémon on each side. Whichever one won could then support the others.
However—
Looking at Hydreigon's left head, now smashed to pulp by Metagross's Meteor Mash, the flicker of hope in Aso's heart was rapidly dying out.
As long as Hydreigon's central head remained intact, it wouldn't die even if the other two were destroyed. However, for each head lost, its level would drop.
With the left head gone, Hydreigon's level had already fallen from 78 to 75.
As its level dropped, so did its strength. Now, it stood even less of a chance against Metagross.
In contrast, Metagross lay pressed against Hydreigon but hadn't sustained any significant damage.
The destruction of the left head caused Hydreigon to completely lose its remaining sanity. Its main head turned savage, overflowing with dark-type energy and a brutal aura—it now looked utterly terrifying.
"Eguchi, have Magnezone and Bronzong Self-Destruct!" Aso commanded.
"Got it!!"
Eguchi nodded.
They had already been pushed to the brink by Julian. If sacrificing their Pokémon could buy them a chance to survive, he was willing to go for it.
As for why it wasn't Aso's Pokémon doing the self-destructing—it was simply because he held a higher status in their country than Eguchi's, and his strength also surpassed Eguchi's. That was all there was to it.
"Magnezone, Bronzong—use Self-Destruct!"
As soon as Eguchi gave the command, he hurled a Poké Ball, releasing a Bastiodon—surprisingly, also at the early Elite level.
Self-Destruct was a last resort move.
And they weren't far from Magneton and Bronzong. Two Elite-level Pokémon self-destructing would easily flatten the surrounding area within a radius of over ten-kilometers.
Their only chance to survive the blast was relying on Bastiodon. With its incredible defensive power, Bastiodon was their only hope of staying alive through this.
Moreover, the combination of Self-Destruct and Bastiodon was a trump card they could only use in life-or-death situations.
That's why Aso hadn't let Eguchi send out Bastiodon earlier—because if Bastiodon went down, then using Self-Destruct would just mean mutual destruction with the enemy.
Eguchi looked at Magnezone with reluctance in his eyes. It was his first Pokémon, and after using Self-Destruct, survival was unlikely.
As for Bronzong, he had taken it from someone else, so there wasn't much emotional attachment.
Pokémon's feelings toward their trainers are pure—if you treat me well, then no matter how the world sees you, I'll still believe you're good.
I would even give my life for you.
A blinding white light began erupting from Magnezone's body.
"Arcanine," Julian said coldly.
He had long been on guard against this tactic. He'd been hit by Self-Destructs several times before.
Earlier, he had already used his Probing Eyes to inspect the pair's Pokémon and knew exactly which ones had learned Self-Destruct or Explosion.
Magnezone and Bronzong.
Magnezone, already half-dead from Arcanine's attacks, was determined to go out with a bang. But before it could, Arcanine's Roar forcibly interrupted the move.
Then came a devastating Burn Up, knocking Magnezone out for good. The extreme heat melted away a quarter of its body, though it still barely clung to life.
Magnezone's Self-Destruct had failed.
As for Bronzong…
Well—it simply ignored Eguchi's command.
This was the fatal flaw of forcibly taking someone else's Pokémon. At the most critical moment, it could betray you.
It's not that you can't seize another trainer's Pokémon—but you need to build a bond afterward. If the relationship is cultivated well, then there'll be no problems in the future.
Clearly, Eguchi's Bronzong was a prime example of failing to build that bond.
Julian was already preparing to have Moltres melt Bronzong on the spot—since Aggron was too slow to stop the explosion in time.
But unexpectedly, Bronzong didn't follow its trainer's order.
Aggron: "You're not exploding?"
Bronzong: "I surrender."
Bronzong made its stance clear—it never had much emotional connection with Eguchi. It had obeyed him before only because he fed it, gave it resources, and helped it grow stronger—even though he had already killed its original trainer.
Bronzong felt that the fact it hadn't turned on him yet—and had still fought for him—meant it had already done more than enough.
And now this bastard wanted it to 'self-destruct'? How was that any different from asking it to commit suicide?
Psychic-type Pokémon were highly intelligent.
With no real bond, Bronzong chose betrayal in a heartbeat. 'You want me to die? Then I'll just sit back and watch YOU die instead.'
Seeing this unfold, Eguchi coughed up a mouthful of blood, his rage nearly driving him mad on the spot.
He had never imagined that the Bronzong who had always seemed so obedient was actually faking it. All that loyalty had been an act—and he'd been completely fooled.
Magnezone's Self-Destruct had failed, leaving it critically injured and on the verge of death.
And Bronzong had outright betrayed them.
Their trump card was instantly rendered useless.
Aso's face turned dark as ink. He looked at Julian—clearly suspecting that the opponent had somehow known in advance that Magnezone and Bronzong had self-destruction capabilities.
The moment Eguchi gave the order, Arcanine and Moltres had reacted instantly—as if they'd been warned in advance.
Even if Bronzong hadn't betrayed them, even if it 'had' attempted Self-Destruct, Moltres would have stopped its explosion anyway.
Out of all their Pokémon, only those two knew Self-Destruct—yet Julian precisely targeted them.
Was it a coincidence? Or did he possess some ability that allowed him to see through everything?
Julian: 'You wouldn't understand… this is what it's like to play with cheats.'
*****
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