Chapter 200
Its mere presence seemed to cleave space itself, and—as the lightsaber took shape, the Rapidash began its rapid charge towards Zacian.
"Psycho Cut!"
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Rapidash's attack carries unparalleled energy; as an Elite Four-level Pokémon, its power far surpasses that of ordinary Pokémon.
However, Qiao Ran wasn't too worried about such an attack. If it came down to comparing "sword" abilities, no Pokémon in the Pokémon World could possibly be a match for this wolf-type Pokémon.
"Zacian!"
Seeing the Rapidash charging towards him, Zacian turned his body slightly and Bite the sword hidden in his mane.
In a normal battle, Qiao Ran couldn't use items on Pokémon from outside the arena, so before the battle started, he had Zacian hide his weapon on his person.
The moment she Bite the Long Sword, Zacian's aura surged once more, and at the same time, a strong light enveloped her entire body, within which her appearance also changed.
At the same time, Rapidash forward without hesitation, swinging its "Long Sword" with all its might, and the two Pokémon collided.
"Click!"
However, the Rapidash's long, sword-like horns seemed to be blocked by something.
"What?"
Nian Hai stared in astonishment at the scene before him.
The wolf-shaped Pokémon had an Illuminate blade firmly Bite in its mouth, and the blade, as if it were part of its body, blocked Rapidash's horn with an extremely strange arc.
Even with the power of the Rapidash, it couldn't move forward another step.
"And... it looks different too."
If the "wolf" from before was a scarred wolf, then the wolf now has a completely different appearance. Her mane spreads out on her back like wings, all the scars on her body have disappeared, and her fur shines with a bright luster.
This beautiful yet powerful posture may be its true form.
King of Sword!
"Clang!"
The two swords clashed, but this was only the beginning.
When Zacian first appeared, she was already level 50. After so many battles, she has now reached level 52, the highest level among all of Qiao Ran's Pokémon.
When she enters King of Sword mode, she becomes an ruthless killing machine.
Amidst the incredulous gazes of the audience and Old Man Nian Hai, the sword light from Zacian's mouth surged once more, emitting a dazzling blue-white glow. Then— the Long Sword of the Rapidash, which was originally capable of cutting through everything, was directly cleaved in two by this sword light.
"... What?!"
Old Man Nian Hai stared wide-eyed in disbelief, and the entire audience gasped in surprise.
What happened? What was done?
They couldn't comprehend what was happening before their eyes, but some people in the audience still gently shook their heads.
"... A very strong Rapidash. Although it looks a bit old, its condition and stamina are in excellent condition."
In the audience, Sabrina sat in the front row, occasionally offering her commentary on the Competition before her. As the Psychic Gym Leader of the Pokémon World, her research on Psychic type Pokémon was far-reaching.
She was beyond this world, yet she still held this powerful old man in the deepest respect.
"Yes, both the training and the skill release have reached a considerable level, but... using such a skill on Zacian is probably still... um..."
Mei, standing to the Zacian, hesitated, only managing a polite but awkward smile. How could she possibly win against Zacian?
"Rapidash! Dazzling Gleam!"
Although everything was beyond his expectations, Old Man Nian Hai quickly made adjustments. The Psycho Cut on the Rapidash's head dispersed, and at the same time, the thick mane covering its body emitted a bright light.
Zacian used the blade to shield his eyes from the direct glare, while Rapidash took the opportunity to quickly retreat.
"Don't let it get away!"
Qiao Ran certainly wouldn't let this opportunity slip by; the opponent's morale was low, making it the perfect chance to launch a counterattack.
Despite the intense magical light emanating from his opponent, Zacian continued moving forward. Although the Dazzling Gleam skill was powerful, it couldn't actually cause much damage to Zacian at this moment. After becoming the "King of Sword," Zacian, who possessed both Fairy Type and Steel-types, had a total of nine resistances and two nullifications, and Fairy Type and Psychic-type happened to be among his resistances.
"Whoosh!"
Zacian leaped forward at incredible speed, like a blue phantom. Although Rapidash's speed was beyond common sense, Zacian's speed was still superior.
Another sword strike was unleashed. This time, the Rapidash did not dodge. Instead, it stopped using the Dazzling Gleam and once again conjured the long blade on its horn, colliding with Zacian.
The two Pokémon were like swordsmen locked in combat, their sharp blades Ember fiercely in the air. The audience's breath seemed to stop; the intensity of this battle not only exceeded their expectations, but they couldn't even look away. Perhaps just glancing away would cause them to miss countless moves.
Is this still Gym Battle?
No, I doubt even the official Pokémon League convention could achieve this level of achievement.
The sword fight between the two did not last long. Just like before, the Rapidash was once again at a disadvantage. Zacian's blade directly cut the opponent's lightsaber in half. However—just as Zacian was about to continue attacking the Rapidash itself, she sensed the message from Qiao Ran.
"Behind you!"
Her body twisted instantly, and the sword blade that was originally aimed at the Rapidash drew an arc in the air, slashing behind her and colliding with something.
"This is also... Psycho Cut!"
Looking at the crescent-shaped energy blade that had been cleaved open by the Zacian, Qiao Ran recognized that it was a solid object.
Taking advantage of this time, the Rapidash once again widened the distance, and as Old Man Nian Hai listened to Qiao Ran's words, a faint smile gradually appeared on his face.
"That's right, or rather... this is the true Psycho Cut, the true power of my Rapidash."
"My old man's Rapidash can unleash these blasts from its horns and then control their trajectory."
Controlling... the angle of the attack?
Qiao Ran remained silent, not saying a word: "..."
He couldn't help but think of his battle with Sabrina a few days ago, when Sabrina seemed to have used a similar ability, although she did achieve it in a different way.
But --do all you Psychic-type people really enjoy playing this kind of game?????
Girafarig
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The Rapidash's ability is essentially just turning the Psycho Cut into a flying tool, one whose direction can be freely controlled.
Although similar to Sabrina's Alakazam, it can launch attacks from unexpected places, Rapidash does not have the same degree of freedom and flexibility Alakazam. Most importantly, Mega Evolution Alakazam is far more powerful than Rapidash.
Those flying blades did not pose much of an obstacle to Zacian at this moment.
"Zacian, continue the attack!"
Qiao Ran and Zacian share the same will, which allows Zacian to concentrate all his energy on the battle. Qiao Ran, who possesses the Aura Power, is an eye that observes the overall situation and can warn and inform Zacian of all dangers in advance.
All the flying Psycho Cut in the Battle Court were now under Qiao Ran's surveillance.
"Rapidash, leap away!"
The Old Man Nian Hai still wanted to create distance and then use ranged weapons to wear her down; this was a tactic that Sabrina had used before.
Law.
Having fought Sabrina once before, Qiao Ran naturally wouldn't let her get into his rhythm. The scene of being toyed with by Alakazam was still vivid in his mind. If these Psychic Pokémon really got into his battle rhythm, it would be a very troublesome thing.
"Zacian, follow them!"
Unlike before, this time the battle wasn't between the incredibly fast Mega Alakazam and the slightly weaker Mega Dianxi; the roles were completely reversed.
Although Rapidash's speed surpasses that of most Pokémon, it's utterly powerless against Zacian's lightning- Zacian.
Two shadows moved like phantoms across the vast Stadium. Soon, the Rapidash's escape route was blocked by Zacian. Zacian lowered his body slightly and began to Stockpile.
"... Young man, you've fallen for their trap."
The Old Man Nian Hai pointed with one hand. This was exactly the moment he had been preparing. He didn't need to communicate with Rapidash verbally. His mysterious Psychic had already linked him with the Pokémon. So, on the way to becoming a runaway horse, Rapidash had already launched more than ten Psycho Cut. And this blind spot was precisely the flaw that Rapidash deliberately exposed.
--The final destination of those sharp blades that have migrated is right here!
"Now!! Psycho Cut!"
No matter how powerful your strikes are, how can you withstand so many attacks?
If you block one, or ten, can you withstand twenty?
The Old Man Nian Hai clenched his fists, as if he had rediscovered the feeling of being Trainer, but the Competition was finally coming to an end.
He believed that any of his Pokémon would have a hard time dealing with an attack of this magnitude. Rapidash is a Pokémon that can store energy; it can store the Psychic it creates in its fur and then release them all at once.
These twenty-odd attacks are the culmination of years of preparation; even Champion's Pokémon would probably find them troublesome.
However--
He had no idea just how special and unique the Pokémon in front of him was.
Just when he and most of the audience thought it was all over, Qiao Ran's voice rang out again.
"Behemoth Blade!!"
At Qiao Ran's command, the blade in Zacian's mouth changed once again, and—in an instant, it expanded countless times, emitting a bright blue-white light.
Her entire body seemed to be brimming with power as she gripped the Long Sword, which was now longer than her own body, and then—she unleashed a sword strike that circled around her.
"...!"
A pale sword light flashed in mid-air, its brilliance seemingly capable of absorbing all attention in one's gaze. The surrounding space appeared to shatter, and the white sword light spread, turning everything around into darkness.
When the audience's vision returned, everything in the Battle Court had changed.
Beside the wolf-shaped Pokémon, more than twenty Psycho Cut, all retaining their original shapes, shattered instantly, leaving a circular trench around the Battle Court. The terrain itself was completely altered by the force of this attack.
"Hiss..."
Meanwhile, the Rapidash on the other side also seemed to have been affected by the attack, standing somewhat disheveled in the center of the Battle Court, letting out a painful neigh.