The fierce battle settled into calm beneath the spectators' watchful eyes.
The canopy of sky trembled slightly, rippling like water, and the lingering silver moon slowly faded with Gardevoir's defeat... In the end, Moonlit Radiance lost all its light beneath the abyss-like Water Veil.
"Gardevoir is unable to battle! Swampert wins!"
The referee left Gardevoir's side, returned to the edge of the field, and loudly announced the result!
Cheers finally rose again across the arena at the referee's declaration.
Swampert lowered its fist and returned to Yong's side. Its expression became simple and good-natured again, the ferocity in its eyes vanishing completely. It was as though the Pokémon that had wielded such a terrifying presence earlier had not been Swampert at all-the contrast was like two entirely different Pokémon.
As Swampert gradually set foot on its own "path," the power of earth and rock was already weighty and substantial, bearing all things, with the accommodating nature of the Water type added to it.
Water had no fixed form.
Yet it complemented the weight of earth and the solidity of rock perfectly.
Among Yong's team, aside from Steelix, which seemed increasingly detached from worldly concerns and focused solely on grasping the mysteries of energy, Swampert's understanding and control of energy at deeper levels also far surpassed those of its other companions.
Aggron was unyielding, but risked breaking from being too rigid. Tyranitar was fierce and excessively proud, unable to adapt. Aerodactyl only showed its gentle side when facing Yong, and the pride it retained from the past exceeded even Tyranitar's! Though its strength was considerable, the differences between the modern and ancient worlds in comprehending energy, its excessive wildness, and its crude methods of attack made it difficult for Aerodactyl to stand on its own.
It obeyed Yong's training, but memories