At last, the dust settled. Latias lay on the battlefield, battered and bruised, her eyes swirling, while Tyranitar stood beside her, watching her closely in case anything unexpected happened.
"Latias is unable to battle. Tyranitar wins!" The referee glanced over. "Both of contestant Chinatsu's Pokémon are unable to battle, so the winner of this match is..."
He paused, then swept out the red and white flags in his hands to signal the end of the match. "Contestant Yingyue!"
Deafening cheers instantly filled the arena.
In the end, both Latias's power and elegance and Tyranitar's flight and explosive assault had given the spectators more satisfaction than they could have imagined.
That was where the depth and appeal of Pokémon battles lay.
"Thank you. I lost." Chinatsu sighed and walked over, accepting her defeat. She crouched beside Latias and stroked her. "I'm sorry, Lanlan. If only I'd stayed a little calmer at that critical moment."
Honestly, it would have been a lie to say she had no regrets. If she had told Latias to use Thunderbolt at that moment, she might have managed a draw.
But right up to the end, she had failed to face reality calmly. Deep down, she had still clung to the hope that Latias could shake her opponent off or withstand Tyranitar's attack.
Reality, however, was reality—and a lesson.
"Not at all. The way you used moves and types really opened my eyes, too." Dian briefly clasped her hand in a polite handshake, then was about to crouch down and give the poor, adorable little Latias, Lanlan, a few comforting strokes...
Suddenly, a chill spread from his back through his entire body. Instinctively touching the Red Feather tucked against his chest, he wisely straightened up, looked around, and coughed twice. "Lanlan, use Recover."
As he spoke, Dian