Chapter 121:

Extermination

Pokémon List:

Luna (Kirlia)

Fay (Riolu)

Midna (Zorua)

Clair Reiz, also known as the Gym leader from Blackhorn, was infamous. Both in and outside of Johto.

She was an extraordinarily strong trainer, easily Elite 4 level, and on a good day, she could almost rival Lance's level of power. She was a dragon specialist who could work with almost any Dragon type Pokémon she could find, taming even the most unruly of monsters.

With a cape over her shoulder and her long blue hair flowing with the wind, she undoubtedly portrayed the iconic image of a true 'Dragon Master'. That was part of what made her famous, but her infamy came from her personality. To say she was controversial would be an understatement.

Multiple clips of her using excessive force during Gym battles were immortalized online. She had something of what we in the Gym circuit called a shitty personality.

Among other things, Clair was known to refuse challengers because they were 'not worth her time'. She was borderline obsessive when it came to the dragon Pokémon, and was known to get into arguments over innocuous things in public, sometimes calling other Gym leaders weak or stupid, and seemingly holding very little regard for what people thought of her.

However, she still had a large fan base that absolutely adored her 'unique' approach to things, while others thought it was a persona she was playing up as part of her challenge.

Online, people were rather vocal about her position within the Gym circuit while others thought she was a perfect fit, but regardless of all the rumors and opinions, one thing everyone agreed upon was to never mess with her.

And now she was here, in Alamos of all places, grinning like a madman.

Her dragons were slowly beginning to move, none of them appearing to be in a hurry to get the job done.

So that's the game. I glanced down at my phone to read the rules again. Rule 2, Contestants are not allowed to leave the designated game arena and rule 4: Survive.

The enemies during this game were not other contestants, but Clair, aka the Dragon Queen. A fitting title for someone whose entire personality revolved around being a Dragon Master.

If Flamera's lovely story were an indication, then it was our goal to take down the Dragon Queen. There was no other condition given to clear the game, so it had to be that.

A team based game, that's a nice mix up.

Down at the plaza, people started to realize the goal of the game as well. And as they did, the second realization kicked in. Hushed voices and whispers were exchanged between trainers. Others were louder and shared their thoughts with the crowd, seeking confidence and approval from others.

"Wait, we have to fight Clair, not each other?"

"That means we'll automatically win, right? She is on her own!"

"I have 7 badges. This should be a cake walk."

Morale started to rise, people eased up a little and looked at Clair with determined smiles.

"It's not going to be that simple," I said aloud. "There's no way Flamera would make this round this easy."

"Am I supposed to know that chick?" Midna asked, pointing her nose at Clair, who was scanning the crowd. It appeared she was doing a headcount. Midna sniffed the air. "Everyone else seems to recognize her."

"She's a Gym leader," I said. "Our goal is to take her out. That will end the game. Everyone who is still alive proceeds to the next round."

"That should be easy right?" Midna asked.

I leaned against the balcony. Again, I was really appreciating the privilege of not being part of the crowd. Truly, if I had popcorn, my day would have been complete.

There was going to be one more game after this— the finale. It made no sense to have only the person who would eventually defeat Clair progress to the next round, meaning, I could probably get away with letting the guys with stronger Pokémon deal with it while I strategically waited for other people to take down Clair.

Midna narrowed her blood-red eyes, gazing upon the scene with great distrust. "She seems awfully cocky." The tone of her voice was something between amusement and wariness.

I looked at Clair. Even though she was surrounded on all sides, and there were some mean looking Pokémon opposing her, she did not look remotely nervous or hesitant. But it wasn't as though she had been sizing us up or strategizing, either. She looked at the competitors like she didn't even consider us noteworthy.

Clair gestured to the contestants to approach her. Her Dragonair hovered in front of her, slithering through the air as if it were mere water.

Still, despite their odds, no one wanted to approach her. That smile of hers was just too confident.

When no one approached her, Clair slumped her shoulders in a theatrical manner, overacting the gesture far too much for it to look genuine. She let out a sigh and clasped her hands together.

As she did that I spotted the dark blue ribbon attached to her left arm, cleverly wrapped in a way that seemed like it was part of her look, but it wasn't. Instead, it was the same kind of ribbon used in the last game. A Tattletail.

Maybe that was the true win condition to clearing the game? Not taking her out, but taking the Tattletail. Or was that a red herring? What did taking out Clair mean specifically? It was such a broad description.

Clair shook her head. "No one brave enough to step up to the Dragon Queen? Fine, then I'll come to you instead!"

She swung her hand to the left. For a second, her cyan coloured eyes almost seemed to glow with madness, as if she were possessed by a demon. An unspoken command left her, and the signal traveled past all the people present until it reached its target.

A Gyarados, who suddenly opened its mouth.

It was still in the middle of the crowd. People backed away while the Pokémon moved to protect their trainers.

But it was too late; a beam of pure energy was sent right into the crowd.

Screams and yells were abruptly interrupted as the shaft of white light cut through people.

The light faded, leaving behind nothing but shock and a deafening silence. The area that had been struck by the Hyper Beam was devoid of life. Neither Pokémon nor people remained.

"What the fuck?!" one contestant yelled loudly.

"Did he—"

"No way they are—"

"But I though—"

"Wow," Midna said, her voice laced with awe. "She just offed them."

Has Flamera gone insane?!

"No, that would be stupid," I muttered, half in shock myself. I don't know what I exactly expected, but Gyarados firing an attack at people was not on my list.

Did Darkrai come early? Was it one of his plays? Or was it something else? The bomb? Someone interfering with—

I forced myself to calm down. This was an organized event; there were cameras. There wouldn't be any casualties during a public game like this. Clair wore a devilish smirk. There was no shock, and the people on fliers up above didn't make any moves, either.

So they knew this was going to happen. Yet they didn't interfere. Instead, they kept watch.

"It has to be staged," I murmured. "Flamera likes dramatics. So does Clair. They are playing a trick on us."

But what was the trick?

With this question on my mind, I continued to watch. My interest was especially focused on Clair's Gyarados. Her other Pokémon hadn't made any moves yet. People did back away from them, but they remained perfectly still after, as if they turned into statues, all petrified by the shock.

Gyarados remained still as well. Only slightly swaying to support its own enormous size. It wasn't enraged, which would have explained why it fired a Hyper Beam like that.

Under normal circumstances, Pokémon, especially trained ones, did not fire on people, especially not with attacks that could harm them. Even wild Pokémon would never go for the kill like that. They would just aim to maim or scare.

I read somewhere that part of their instinct restricted them from being overly lethal because it was in their nature to form partnerships with humans. Less pleasant theories suggested that social evolution killed off Pokémon that were too aggressive.

Regardless, it was uncommon. Even if this had to be a simulated environment, it made me question Clair's sanity.

Like a conductor, Clair once again made an elegant yet striking gesture with her hand, sending another wordless signal to Gyarados.

Gyarados responded almost immediately. Its body moved, causing the pavement underneath to groan from the weight of the beast. While it reared its head, a glowing sphere pulsed between its elongated fangs.

Another Hyper Beam!

Someone managed to snap out of the shock. A man who wore a ranger's uniform cried out for the Graveler that stood near him to use Rock Throw. Others managed to pull themselves free from Gyarados' intimidating appearance, and followed his example by yelling their own commands.

The ring finger on Clair's left hand retracted slightly, almost as if it were a tick.

At the same time, Gyarados swallowed the orb it had been powering. Immediately after its tail swept across the ground, throwing up rocks and debris. Deadly obstacles were launched at high speed towards both Pokémon and their trainers.

A Maractus and Misdreavus managed to dodge the strike of the tail, but were hit by the projectiles following its wake.

Speeding rocks took down the Maractus but only partly phased through the ghost. The blast of wind that followed did blast her back while sturdier Pokémon tanked the hit and stood their ground.

That had gone about as expected, but two human trainers got caught up in the attack as well. A tail swipe like that would have broken almost every bone in someone's body in a best-case scenario.

But the two trainers who were in Gyarados' path didn't go splash. Instead, the instant they were about to be hit and their deaths seemed inevitable, they disappeared.

There was no flash, no pop, or anything. One second, they were facing an incoming barrage of rocks and bricks pulled free from the road. The next second, they were gone.

Two of the Pokémon that remained standing after the attack, a Kricketune and an Absol, disappeared as well in the same fashion, if only a fraction later.

Above, far removed from all the hectic slaughter, the Xatu's eyes flashed white, ominously and soundlessly.

I gasped, finally understanding and grasping the way this game worked.

Below some of the Pokémon backed away from the sea titan, especially the trainers who saw what happened to their previous partners. Not everyone had seen it, but I saw trainers whose gears started turning.

"Okay, if you 'die'," I said, adding air quotes. "You'll get teleported out of the game arena. That makes sense." I couldn't help but let out a laugh. This game was extremely dangerous. I don't know exactly how Xatu's teleport functioned, whether it had a delay, or used some sort of precog ability, but if it had teleported the people a fraction of a second later, they would have died.

Like a maniac, Clair continued grinning, still beaming the same confidence out towards the crowd.

"Again!" She pointed skyward now. "Until all those puny humans are wiped away."

People were slowly catching up with the game, and this time, a proper response was given to

Clair's command. Multiple glowing barriers and walls were erected between Gyarados as the glowing orb materialized again. The humans backed away and Pokémon moved to the frontline.

So Flamera didn't actually go that far. I was getting worried. Even so, I understood the approach she was going for this time.

All kinds of moves were used. I saw Pokémon buff up their defenses, smaller Pokémon zipping away and some taking to the sky in an attempt to get away from the incoming Hyper Beam.

In normal battles, trainers were safe and on the side lines. The last game had us running around town, avoiding predators or hunting prey. Flamera had clearly aimed for this tournament to be a test of the trainer's own skill outside of battling.

And following that approach, she put us trainers right on the front lines, and unlike our Pokémon, most fleshy humans couldn't afford to take a hit. Not unless they were the Sinnoh Knight.

I stared at the people flying above the battlefield, the ones with the green marks. If I had to guess, they were there in case anything went wrong. But Xatu appeared to be the main teleporter. How exactly did that work?

Was it line of sight? No, that wouldn't have worked with attacks that obstructed the view, like the Hyper Beam.

Xatu's Pokédex entry said something about being able to see the future. It probably used that ability to a degree to determine whom to teleport out. It had to, since otherwise, it would be impossible to teleport people and Pokémon out of the game. If it needed even a second to think, it would be too late.

Sabrina had told me I was a blind spot. Which, if my assumptions were correct, was a fucking oversight on Flamera's part.

My choice to stay safe up here in the Space-Time Towers was becoming better with each passing second. I even retreated a bit from the window, remaining adjacent to it while attempting to blend in with the shadows of the inner room.

Gyarados' next attack was unleashed, but this time people around it were prepared. The laser scampered past barriers and blockades. No one got taken out this time, and instead, the attack faded away harmlessly.

"I see you all understand the rules of this game now," Clair said aloud, drawing all the attention towards herself.

"No we don't!" one of the trainers near her yelled. He was accompanied by a Sizzlipede.

"Too bad!" exclaimed Clair, pointing at the guy who yelled at her. Again I noticed the position of her fingers was off. Her index finger was slightly twisted.

Water started to gather around her Dragonair's tail. It lashed out its tail like a whip. A water echo of its tail continued forward. The amount of water it had hurled forward was nearly twice as much as the space Dragonair occupied could physically contain.

The Sizzlipede tanked the shot with its own body, but the entire blast was not absorbed. Like a shotgun blast, the trail of water continued their path and hit the guy on the chest.

Even though it had been just water, the guy was tossed back as if he had been hit by a truck. He landed several meters away, and tried to land on his feet, but tripped as he attempted to catch his balance. His landing was ugly, and from the looks of it, it hurt him like hell.

He wasn't dead, but he was breathing as if he had lost all the air inside his lungs. He stared at Clair with a petrified gaze, having trouble believing what had happened.

Clair turned away from that man and spun around. Fluidly, her cape followed her motion and accented her dramatic gestures while her long hair fell behind like an echo.

I now completely understood why some people who fought her called her a maniac. A devil.

She was completely in her element. It was hard to see where the act started and the real Clair began.

"I am the Dragon Queen!" Clair said dramatically. Her eyes practically shimmered with glee. "Take me down before I eradicate you all!"

She snapped her finger. An audible crack followed.

A Razor Leaf blew past her head. The boomerang shaped leaf threatened to cut her, but she leaned back right before it would have hit her. Again, she looked like this was all just another Pokémon battle to her.

The projectile had been fired by a young girl with freckles who was holding a Bulbasaur in her arms. From the looks of it, the girl was absolutely terrified.

"Watch out!" another trainer farther back yelled. "She's about to counter attack!"

I didn't know whether it had been an educated guess based on a clue, or if Clair took that as a challenge, but she crouched down and then jumped up the moment that warning sunk in.

At the apex of her jump, the Dragonair burst forward and wrapped around her hand before tossing her into a crowd of Pokémon and trainers, chasing after them and throwing a wave of thunder into the crowd.

At the same time, her Gyarados and Druddigon began to charge at the gathered trainers and Pokémon.

When I blinked my eyes, we were getting slaughtered.

What came next I could only compare to the incident at Seawave City, where Galactic had unleashed a bunch of supercharged Gyarados, and Pokémon trainers and rangers were forced to fight an onslaught of monsters that had no other strategy besides causing carnage.

Ironically, that was the first time I saw Clair online.

Below, the town square had turned into a battlefield really fast.

No, the battlefield was wrong. That suggested we were putting up a battle.

It was a one sided meat grinder. The wheels were Clair's Pokémon and our own teammates. Attacks of all kinds were thrown out. Weather storms erupted, Pokémon plunged forward while others did all kinds of bizarre shit in an effort to take down the charging Dragon Pokémon. None of the trainers present expected Clair to act like this. Nobody expected to partake in a fight like this, and it showed.

Above the fight, Xatu's glowing eyes flickered continuously, as if it were having a seizure of some sort, but it wasn't that.

It was teleporting Pokémon and people out of the fight at a rapid pace while Clair was tearing through the contenders at such a high speed, people hadn't even realized she was on the attack before she and her Dragonair were right in their face.

The other two Pokémon followed a similar pattern but acted independently.

Gyarados began to slither through the crowd, bulldozing through Pokémon and people alike while trying to throw others off balance by sending waves of water it generated outward. It swung its tail around to send Pokémon flying. People who were caught by its tail disappeared immediately.

Others were taken down by its continuous barrage of explosions and laser beams. Or if it felt like mixing up, the ground being shattered by a tail slam and launched away by a second slam.

Even if I had seen it happen multiple times before, my heart still raced whenever Gyarados sent another swarm of projectiles into a crowd of people.

Some were teleported right away while others, primarily those who were only scampered or got hit in a non vital area, were left in the game.

Despite Gyarados' overwhelming size and aggressiveness, the situation wasn't entirely hopeless. The trainers who had been near the monstrous snake had been caught by surprise twice before, and by now, managed to adapt to the circumstances.

Some trainers tried to counter attack. Lasers, shockwaves, and projectiles were all launched at the big target between strikes. Trainers took shelter behind their Pokémon or had taken to the sky. Everyone was painfully aware that they were the weak link during this game.

Between attacks, someone managed to get a good aim, and the Gyarados was suddenly being harassed by a Claydol that was continuously firing Psychic attacks at it. It flew above the waves it generated, remaining just outside the sea serpent's range. Each attack the Claydol fired had a different color and shape, as if it were trying to accomplish something. A set up?

The Gyarados had enough of its bullshit and abruptly made a sharp turn, ignoring the Pokémon and trainers in front of it and charging directly toward the Claydol.

As the Claydol flew up, its trainer, a small girl in a dress, was left behind. A shimmering barrier was erected between the charging monster and the trainer, but it shattered into psychic energy when Gyarados collapsed with it. The monster obliterated the pavement, and a burst of water swept forward as it came to a halt. The wave crashed into the girl and the building behind her.

By the time the water subsided, the girl and the Claydol had disappeared.

On the other side of the square, a whole other kind of battle was going on.

Claire's Druddigon was an entirely different beast. Whereas Gyarados was a big powerhouse, the green coloured Druddigon was much smaller. It didn't have the sheer intimidation factor, but it was faster, more agile, and had more tricks up its sleeve.

The Druddigon was sowing chaos around it as part of its battle plan. Unlike the Gyarados, trainers were attacking the Druddigon much more. But it was faster and dodged attacks, returning them in equal force. It ran on two legs towards a group of bug Pokémon, only to spin around and use its glowing tail to hit them.

A barrage of attacks was flung its way, each type represented in the colorful missile strike.

Druddigon split up into four different clones, each one heading towards a different ragtag collection of trainers and Pokémon.

Three of the clones were nothing but an illusion, but the real one materialized near an Alakazam that was executing a long and powerful move.

Its eyes shot open wide when Druddigon was breathing in its face. Its trainer was nowhere to be seen, but Druddigon didn't care that much.

With a strike of his glowing claws he tore through Alakazam's defenses.

A Stun Spore was launched towards the pair by a Carnivine from behind it.

Quickly, Druddigon dropped to all fours and maneuvered around the Alakazam, who was still reeling from its last attack. The dragon's tail swelled with energy before it hit Alakazam. The yellow Psychic was flung straight into the poison pellets.

By the time Alakazam was recovered by its trainer, Druddigon had already dashed away. It skidded to a halt in front of another trainer— an old looking man— and unleashed a stream of fire.

The final threat, the big Dragon Queen herself, was in the middle of it all. At first glance, she appeared to be the least threatening of all. She wasn't as destructive as the Gyarados, nor as fast as the Druddigon, but she took traits from both.

She was with her Dragonair in the eye of the storm. That was not a metaphor, either.

A massive amount of water had been created by her Dragonair, and started circling around Clair, keeping her at its center while the whirlpool twirled like a saw blade.

About a dozen people with their Pokémon were nearby, trying to pin her down, while others at the rear shot their own attacks at the whirlpool, hoping to dissipate it.

Dragonair was swimming around in its own whirlpool, continuously generating cyclones from its neck and manipulating the water in order to lash out at everyone near it, either by dragging them into the vortex for a quick game over, or by striking them with the liquid tendrils.

Clair was laughing like a madman throughout all of it, enjoying the sheer chaos and destruction she and her partner had caused. She pointed at isolated trainers or weak Pokémon nearby, marking them as targets to Dragonair.

Green beams of Dragon Breaths ripped through the water, striking targets that were preparing a counter attack or trainers who were left unprotected.

For all of Dragonair's powers, Clair was still human, and attacks were launched her way.

Explosions swelled and lightning crackled, but each time she was about to be hit, the whirlpool's tendrils rose back up to shield her. In the instances when that didn't happen, she would dodge the attacks herself, displaying great athletic capabalities.

It was almost as if she were performing a dragon dance in the middle of her own zone. The way she moved, it was almost deliberate, like there was a method to her chaos.

She wasn't just directing her Dragonair to attack. She was planning out an entire battle strategy, sending those signals through wild and mad patterns with erratic looking movements.

Unexpectedly, Dragonair jumped out of the whirlpool. The serpentine dragon floated through the crowd in a zigzag pattern, using the deadly combination of Thunder Wave and slam to paralyze opponents before delivering a fatal blow. By the time the competitors realized that the Dragonair was among them, it had already jumped back into the whirlpool to hide.

Clair herself also jumped out of the whirlpool at times, taking the opportunity to kick people or Pokémon, whichever pleased her drive for challenge.

I couldn't help but be amazed by the sheer mayhem and destruction this game brought to Alamos Town. Maybe it was because I was a bystander, or maybe one of my own gears had been broken, but I could finally see the beauty in this madness.

The last game was fun— it even managed to surprise me— but it didn't prepare me for this round. And I wasn't the only one. Everyone on the battlefield except Clair herself was way out of their league. All the rules that applied in a normal Pokémon battle were thrown out the window.

People themselves were thrown into the fight, and although nothing was lethal, the panic one experienced when they saw a Dragon Breath being directed at them, was more than real.

It wasn't even like a wild Pokémon encounter because everyone on Clair's team was an absolute powerhouse.

Even without Clair's commands, they not only held their own against a half a dozen Pokémon at any time, but they managed to dominate through sheer force, skill, or intimidation. Powerful attacks that normally would stagger even a fully evolved Pokémon didn't even register to them. Instead, they tanked the hits and charged through them.

So this is what Champion Level Pokémon truly look like? I couldn't help but feel intimidated. I had assumed I was making pretty good headway, and I knew I was still somewhere near the bottom of the rankings, but despite this, I thought that with a decent setup and some luck, I could put myself on the playing field. But despite this, I couldn't really think of any way my team would be able to take down any of Clair's teammates. They just lacked the firepower.

I shook my head and forced myself to abandon that train of thought. Thinking like that was bad, especially in a game like this. I knew that the despair and fear of the situation were part of the game. That was why the rules and the death mechanic weren't explained properly, unlike last time.

"Midna, what are your thoughts on this?" I asked, keeping my voice low in case any of Clair's Pokémon could hear me from up here.

"Oh we are fucked." Midna said, her voice holding the same awe and dread as I felt. She continued, "I am sure I can take a hit or two, but a fart from that Druddigon will take you out of the game, costing us both. I am sorry darling, but I suggest we strategically refrain from entering the battlefield."

"Wise words," I agreed.

This game was a team battle; I understood that much. As a team, however, we were a minute we had already lost about a quarter of our forces, and Clair wasn't slowing down.

The good news about losing that many people was that the remaining combatants were better, either because they possessed the skill to survive this long, or were intelligent enough to hang back. The weaker ones had been filtered out, and mostly strong Pokémon were left.

Through the chaos and mindless shooting and blasting of attacks, some sort of strategy had erupted, born from collective convenience rather than strategy and cooperation.

The large Shaker effects stopped, as they had proven to be useless and caused people to strike each other instead of their targets. Stronger, more bulky Pokémon were at the front lines, circling around the enemy, while weaker Pokémon hung back and fired attacks whenever they found an opening.

I saw trainers riding on Pokémon that could fly, trying to either strike from above or use their position as a reprieve from all the action. Some people had the good idea to hide and wait it out, hoping that the stronger trainers would take down Clair's Pokémon. But this didn't always work, as both Clair and her Druddigon sought those trainers out and took them down.

Our side's progress was agonizing. Up here, it looked absolutely hopeless. Nobody was really trying to do anything but inflict as much damage as possible deflect incoming attacks.

There was no overarching plan, nothing that went beyond just surviving the onslaught or hanging back. Praying to Arceus that someone else fixed this.

Every beneficial interaction that happened between players was a coincidence.

I couldn't blame them, but it was agony to see it unfold without being able to do anything.

While the fighting was going on, I recognized some trainers who I had seen before. There was the boy with the blue shirt and his Mr. Mime whom I had seen last game. The boy ordered his Pokémon to create barriers around Druddigon, trying to cut off his escape route. Coincidentally, the girl riding on a Dragonite was raining down fire from above.

What was her name again? Oh yeah, Alexandria Strike. She had been Flamera's opponent last game. I knew her Pokémon had to be very powerful.

Druddigon ran away to dodge the fiery breath that Dragonite was raining on it. It alternated between running on two legs and four. It was the first time Druddigon was on the run, and the people around it caught on.

A wall of electricity was erected by a Heliolisk, cutting off Druddigon's escape route. Druddigon skidded to a halt and was about to turn when a burning Rapidash came out of nowhere and crashed into it at full speed. The horse and its trainer were covered in flames at the moment of impact, and no matter how fragile the horse looked, Druddigon was launched up in the sky when it was hit.

At the top of its arc, its wings suddenly opened, and it shot a beam toward Alexandria and her Dragonite. She pulled up and dodged it just in time.

Druddigon landed on the ground and dashed forward, returning the hit of Rapidash with equal force, tossing the pair into someone else. Both were teleported away before they could hit the ground.

Interesting, but not what I was looking for. I was hoping to find Ash in all of this chaos. I knew he had fought her before, and that his Pikachu was also crazy powerful. But I couldn't find him in the crowd. Maybe he had been taken out earlier? Or was he hiding?

I thought that Ash would be on the frontlines, but he had his smart moments, and staying back was the better option in this case. His Pikachu was fast, and if given an opportunity, it could take out Clair.

A loud and dry crack suddenly caused my ears to pop.

My eyes went towards the Gyarados' part of the arena. A tall Machamp had its fist locked into Gyarados.

The large snake had a confused expression, as if it were trying to figure out what was happening. It did realize it was in danger because it coiled around and swung its tail.

It took out half a dozen trainers, but Machamp jumped over it and hit it again. Kinetic energy crackled across its muscles. The strike had been so powerful that plumes of dust swept across the town square.

Only then did I notice that there was a glowing red aura around Machamp. From behind it, an Eevee out of all Pokémon was assisting.

A silly expression caused Gyarados to look cross eyed. Instead of doing anything, the Gyarados appeared to be utterly out of this world.

That must have been the Confusion taking effect.

Around the Gyarados, people were shouting, yelling at each other. Trap it! Fire at it! Someone use Sand Tomb!

All of a sudden, everyone had a good idea of what had to be done, or at least what shouldn't be done. But the chaos only made things worse, as good ideas were drowned out by the sheer amount of them.

Luckily, the Machamp's trainer, a tall girl with shoulder length red hair, didn't listen to it and kept her gaze focused on the enemy.

Eyes turned in his direction as Machamp retracted his second arm. His fist was cast in a blue-ish aura. He pummeled it into Gyarados' exposed belly.

"Again, another Dynamic Punch!"

A second punch followed, and again, it hit so hard, it was as if a small bomb had gone off.

The Gyarados was locked in place, however, and Machamp wasn't done. It rapidly began to fire punches at Gyarados, sounding as if someone had set off a bunch of firecrackers. Each hit must have been enough to shatter all my bones in one strike.

For the final punch, Machamp pulled back his arm and yelled a battle cry. His arm began to brim with power.

He pummeled it forward and hit Gyarados at the center of its mug.

This time, the kinetic energy was properly transferred and the Gyarados was slammed against the stage before collapsing against it. The large pools it had for eyes finally closed themselves.

Its body went limp. Around it, people looked at warrily, none daring to come closer or to fire at the snake, for fear of waking it up.

Now that it wasn't constantly on the move or throwing around water, I could finally see its body fully. From bottom to top, its entire body was covered in wounds, scars and poisonous fumes. It had most likely endured every attack and withstood it without falling.

But the final hit did not only send it flying. It had put it down.

How long?

I wasn't the only one with that question, and dread started to build up as it twitched its tail in a frantic motion.

Then it disappeared.

Gyarados was no more. It left behind an empty ruin.

Up above, Xatu apparently deemed the Gyarados no longer able to fight.

The shattered stage remained broken and the fight wasn't over yet, but still. A victory was a victory.

People stared at the empty spot. Pokémon let out victory cries while trainers high fived or hugged each other. One trainer, a brunette who was around my age, dropped to his knees and was shedding tears.

Too soon.

An object was tossed into the air, following a long arc until it reached the spot where Gyarados had fainted. Like before it opened and exploded into a burst of radiant shining light.

For a split second it was as if a bomb had gone off above the crowd. The capsule's explosion cast everything in a white light before fading away.

Pokémon and people alike looked at this newcomer in horror, realizing the battle was far from over.

Or maybe, it had just gotten worse.

A terrifying roar escaped from the capsule, and the outline of a new dragon began to manifest.

The roar caused the ground to tremble. The creature spread out its red crescent moon shaped wings and tilted its spiked head up to the sky.

It opened its mouth, and flames blackened the entire area around it, wiping out everyone that was near it, safe for a few that had created barriers.

Salamence spread out its wings and took to the skies.

A/N And here we are, with the second game in the tournament. Personally, I really dislike tournaments where people only battle, and I think Flamera would agree that such a thing is boring. So yes, how about we introduce a little bit of chaos?

It took a while to write but I think I compensated for it with a decent word count. Also, I am writing like 2 other fanfics, so that's my out of jail card as well.

I want to thank my editor Atomic for helping with the chapter.

Also, for an unlimited time only, we are giving away free invitations to my fanfic discord server! (check out my profile page!)

So yes. This was this week's chapter, but don't rest too easy. We still have a dragon to slay and a whole insane world of Pokémon to explore.

-CaptainMoonShine-

(Reviews)

-Robyle3, Thank you for pointing out the error. I went back and fixed it!

-Guest123: Why does it take you so long to write chapters? I could hold my breath and read through this chapter twice, with time to spare, its so bloody short.

I can't wait for Chapter 700 when this stupid festival is over, or Chapter 1150 when the MC almost catches a 4th pokemon but then doesn't... 120 chapters... 3 unevolved Pokemon... Jesus Christ I've met paraplegics who moved faster than this story.

A: Very impressive, let me see your fanfics. I'll read them after I'm done with my work and writing for my other fics.

Martin-di-Arcov: nice, so someone needs to take down the Dragon Queen

p.s.

what? no sex scenes? where will I find Lemons in actually well written stories then?!

oh the huge manatee!

A: Sorry, if you want lemons I suggest you demand life to give you more lemons. Or burn Life's house down!