"Luxray, Ice Fang!"
With a powerful push off the ground, Luxray became a streak of lightning charging straight at Torterra. Its fangs gleamed with an icy blue aura, exuding a chilling frost.
Yet, Torterra seemed unresponsive, making no effort to evade. Luxray lunged forward and sank its fangs deep—
BOOM!
Just as Ice Fang was about to land, a faint green barrier suddenly materialized in front of Torterra, shielding it completely and blocking the attack.
PROTECT!
Having missed its mark, Luxray was immediately repelled by the protective shield and sent flying backward.
"Frenzy Plant!"
Before Luxray could adjust its footing, Torterra seamlessly transitioned from Protect into Frenzy Plant.
BOOM!
From the earth below, countless thorny hardened vines erupted, striking Luxray head-on. The force sent it hurtling through the air before slamming it down onto the ground.
As the vines retracted, Luxray lay on the battlefield, grimacing in pain completely vulnerable. Meanwhile, Torterra had only suffered a brief two-second recoil.
"Growth, full power!"
Instead of rushing to finish the battle, Paul instructed Torterra to focus on rapidly boosting its own strength.
He wanted to see how Volkner and Luxray would respond—and prepare for the next battle ahead.
"Luxray, Agility!"
Volkner's expression darkened.
"Roooaaar!"
Luxray sprang to its feet, moving at breakneck speed across the battlefield, leaving behind a trail of afterimages while maintaining a safe distance from Torterra.
Yet, Torterra remained completely unfazed, merely watching as Luxray dashed around while continuing to boost its Attack and Defense through Growth.
"Swift!"
"Roar!"
A barrage of glowing star-shaped projectiles shot toward Torterra, with Luxray concealing itself among them.
"Solar Beam!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Torterra's tree emitted a golden light as energy rapidly gathered in its mouth. In the next instant, it unleashed a powerful Solar Beam, sweeping across the battlefield and detonating the incoming Swift projectiles.
BOOM!
A thick cloud of smoke filled the air. And at that precise moment, a shadow suddenly emerged behind Torterra—Luxray!
Leaping onto Torterra's back, its fangs gleamed with a bright blue light as it bit down hard on the massive tree.
Super effective!
"Raaaaa!"
Torterra let out a pained cry, its eyes briefly rolling from the impact.
"Leaf Storm!"
"Double Kick, evade!"
Luxray was prepared to continue attacking, but suddenly, a green light flickered from Torterra's tree. The leaves began rustling unnaturally, despite the lack of wind—Luxray's instincts screamed danger.
It immediately backflipped, delivering two rapid kicks to Torterra's head before dashing away with Agility.
A fraction of a second later, a violent storm of razor-sharp leaves erupted from Torterra's back, pursuing Luxray.
Thanks to its enhanced speed from multiple Agility boosts, Luxray effortlessly outmaneuvered the raging Leaf Storm—
But then—
Torterra's eyes glowed faint blue.
Suddenly, the Leaf Storm veered sharply in midair and locked onto Luxray once again!
"Thunder!"
Still sprinting at full speed, Luxray realized there was no escaping this time. It roared and unleashed a massive Thunder attack, sending lightning bolts crashing into the Leaf Storm.
After an immense struggle, Luxray barely managed to neutralize the attack.
"Power Whip!"
Before it could catch its breath, the ground split open as countless vines lashed out toward Luxray.
"Double Team!"
In an instant, Luxray's figure blurred, splitting into dozens of moving illusions as it advanced toward Torterra.
One by one, the clones were destroyed by the vines—until only a few remained, leaping toward Torterra with fangs ablaze.
FIRE FANG!
BOOM!
"Raaaaa!"
The impact was direct! Two illusions vanished, leaving the real Luxray locked onto Torterra's tree, biting down fiercely.
Not only had it landed a devastating hit boosted by Harsh Sunlight, but—
To top it off, a burst of flames suddenly ignited across Torterra's body, inflicting additional damage.
It was burned!
Luxray had the upper hand—or so it thought.
Its triumphant expression quickly faded as its pupils widened in shock. The injuries from Ice Fang earlier… were almost completely healed?!
"That should do it. Giga Drain!"
A cold smirk formed at the corner of Paul's lips.
Suddenly, Torterra's tree radiated an eerie red glow, locking onto Luxray.
The moment the crimson light touched it, Luxray felt its energy rapidly drain away. This Giga Drain bypassed damage and directly absorbed stamina!
"Roooaaar!"
Panicked, Luxray unleashed a Thunder attack to break free from the absorption, then leaped off Torterra's back, putting distance between them before firing a Hyper Beam.
The orange energy blast streaked through the air—but Torterra simply opened its mouth and bit through the attack.
"Forest's Healing. Earthquake!"
The massive tree on Torterra's back glowed with an aura of pure vitality, releasing a soft green light. Leaves gently drifted down and fused into its body, rapidly healing its wounds and erasing the burn.
By the time the technique had finished, Torterra's Attack and Defense were fully stacked.
And in every other aspect—it was as if it had just stepped onto the battlefield, completely refreshed.
A moment later—the ground trembled.
Luxray collapsed on the spot, unable to withstand the devastating Earthquake.
"Luxray is unable to battle! Torterra wins!"
The robot referee declared the result.
"Return, Luxray… You did your best."
Volkner silently recalled Luxray into its Poké Ball, then fixed his gaze on Paul and Torterra.
If earlier, against Garchomp, he had at least believed his secondary team could hold their own—
Then now, Torterra was an insurmountable mountain. Even with Pokémon that had a type advantage, it meant nothing.
This Torterra had extreme defenses, constantly boosted itself with an unknown upgraded Growth, and could recover indefinitely with moves like Ingrain—it was practically unstoppable.
Even if he sent out his entire secondary team, a single Earthquake would take them all down—except for Rotom, which could fly.
Volkner had never imagined that a Torterra—one that wasn't even Elite Four level, at best a high-ranking Ace Pokémon—could apply this much pressure on him.
Paul watched Volkner in silence, waiting.
Did he realize now—just how powerful a fully boosted Torterra could be?
Even against Honor-tier Pokémon, it was overwhelming. And against Electric-types that couldn't fly—even Elite Four-level Pokémon had no guarantee of victory.
"Paul, you're strong… It's been years since anyone pushed me this far."
Volkner sighed.
If he lost to Red, it was understandable—just like losing to Cynthia. It was inevitable.
But Paul?
A trainer who had only been traveling for less than a year?
His Torterra wasn't even as strong as Volkner's Pokémon—and yet, it was terrifyingly powerful.
"…It's all up to you now, Raichu."
Volkner had no choice but to place all his remaining hope in Raichu.
Even though Raichu had almost no advantage over Torterra.
"Raiii-chuuu!"
Raichu pounded its chest and stepped onto the battlefield, ready for battle.
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