Jubilife Pokémon Theme Park,
The top floor of the Battle Tower.
Like Cynthia, Dawn, and Dayou, everyone in the audience watched Li Wei and Iris's match closely.
Although most of them had already guessed who would win,
Iris's performance still exceeded their expectations.
She was thirteen?
A regional Champion at thirteen?
What had I been doing at thirteen?
"Lapras, Hydro Pump!"
A thick column of water roared forth, surging toward Arcanine!
"Extreme Speed!"
Arcanine's figure instantly blurred, leaving a golden afterimage where it had stood. Its real body had already appeared beside Lapras.
Hydro Pump struck nothing but the fading afterimage.
The corner of Iris's mouth twitched.
"So fast..."
"Wooo~"
Lapras was stunned too.
"Wild Charge!"
Golden lightning erupted around Arcanine as it slammed into Lapras!
"Woo!"
Lapras cried out in pain, its stamina instantly dropping to a dangerous level.
Arcanine took the recoil from Wild Charge, but merely shook its mane, looking completely unharmed.
"Lapras, hang in there! Blizzard!"
Bitterly cold wind and snow swept across the field.
This time, the attack covered too wide an area for Arcanine to dodge. Frost instantly formed over its body as Blizzard struck.
There was nowhere to dodge, but there was no need to, either.
A Blizzard of this strength barely even tickled Arcanine.
"Finish it! Flare Blitz!"
The flames that blazed around Arcanine were not orange-red, but a golden red brimming with life!
The frost on Arcanine rapidly melted, then quickly turned to steam.
The ice crystals and puddles on the field evaporated instantly, shrouding the battlefield in white mist.
As Arcanine drew closer through the mist, its golden-red flames as dazzling as the sun,
Iris made a snap decision.
"Lapras, full-power Hydro Pump!"
Yet those flames, imbued with a sacred aura, actually evaporated the Hydro Pump that should have had