Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

Gary, full of confidence, commanded Mega Scizor to launch an attack.

To him, losing wasn’t even a possibility.

Under Gary’s command, Mega Scizor swung its two serrated pincers and lunged at Mega Gengar.

Moving at high speed, Mega Scizor became nothing more than a red blur in the eyes of the spectators.

But for Gengar—whose base Speed stat far surpassed Scizor’s—its opponent’s movements were completely visible.

As Mega Scizor charged forward, Gengar’s face twisted into a mischievous grin.

Then, just as Scizor was about to strike, Gengar’s entire body sank into its own shadow and vanished.

Boom!

Scizor’s attack slammed into the ground, creating a massive crater.

At that exact moment—without a sound—Gengar reappeared right behind Scizor.

With its now-thickened [Mega Evolution] arms, Gengar raised both fists—

And swung down viciously on the unsuspecting Scizor.

[Shadow Punch]

Gengar aimed to flatten its opponent with a devastating blow.

"Scizor!" Gary shouted in warning.

But Scizor wasn’t completely unaware.

The instant Gengar emerged, it felt the chilling presence behind it and reacted swiftly.

Bang!

Gengar’s fists came crashing down—

But they didn’t land as expected.

At the last moment, Scizor crossed its massive pincers in front of its chest, bracing itself in a defensive stance.

Its steel-like body gave it immense resilience.

Gengar’s attack had been completely blocked.

One failed hit wasn’t enough to discourage Gengar, though.

With a quick flicker, it vanished again, retreating before Scizor could counterattack.

Almost at the same time—

Scizor spun around and slammed its pincers down toward where Gengar had just been.

But it hit nothing but air.

From the sidelines, Gary felt a headache coming on.

His Blastoise had already lost to this annoying hit-and-run strategy.

Now, judging by how Mega Gengar was moving...

It was trying to pull the same trick again.

"I won’t fall for the same strategy twice!"

Gary clenched his fist, then swiftly gave his next command.

"Scizor, [Air Slash]!"

Mega Scizor reacted instantly, slashing the air with rapid swings, sending out a barrage of razor-sharp air blades toward Gengar.

In response, Gengar merely let out a giddy, eerie laugh.

It raised a hand—

A [Shadow Claw] materialized, forming a barrier of dark energy that completely blocked the incoming [Air Slash].

Then, without missing a beat, Gengar launched its own counterattack.

A [Shadow Ball] came flying straight at Scizor.

At that same moment—

Scizor had already begun charging its next move.

Raising one arm, it used the other to brace it for support.

Then— 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A blinding silver glow burst from the tip of its pincer.

[Flash Cannon]

[Shadow Ball] vs. [Flash Cannon]!

Both Pokémon attacked at the same time.

In the next instant—

Their moves collided in the center of the battlefield.

On one side: Gengar, stronger in Special Attack, launching a single powerful [Shadow Ball].

On the other: Scizor, physically stronger but less skilled in Special moves, firing a continuous beam of [Flash Cannon].

The two attacks clashed, neither giving way.

The stark contrast between black and white energy was striking from a distance.

The commentator raised the excitement in his voice, hyping up the battle’s intensity.

For over ten seconds, the two moves struggled for dominance.

Then—

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted in the center of the battlefield.

A powerful shockwave surged outward from the blast!

Luckily, thanks to the sponsorship funding for this year’s Silver Conference, energy barriers had been installed around the arena.

The shockwave dissipated halfway through, stopping before it could reach the audience.

Otherwise, Lance or Luo Yuan would have had to step in to protect the spectators.

Both Gary and Karen were affected by the explosion.

Gary was left covered in dust, his usually meticulous hairstyle now completely ruined.

Karen, being a Team Rocket executive, had plenty of experience with explosions. She had already taken precautionary measures in time.

Compared to Gary, she looked far less disheveled.

The battlefield told a similar story.

Although Gengar had taken damage from the explosion, only a few minor scrapes marked its body.

Scizor, on the other hand—

Its shining metal armor was now riddled with scorch marks and deep gashes, caused by the shockwave and debris.

It was clearly worse off than Gengar.

Its energy was noticeably weakening.

"Damn it..."

Gary gritted his teeth.

He had tried to stop engaging in close combat with Gengar, instead opting for a direct firepower battle.

But the results were worse than he expected.

Even in raw strength, his Scizor was losing to Gengar.

He quickly ran through his options.

How do I turn this around?

But—

Gengar wasn’t about to give him the time to think.

Sinking into the shadows once more, Gengar rapidly closed in on Scizor.

It struck with [Shadow Claw] and [Shadow Punch], relentlessly pressing the attack while Scizor was still recovering.

The battle looked fierce on the surface—

But to any experienced observer, it was clear—

Gary was steadily falling behind.

Gengar controlled the pace.

If it wanted to attack, it attacked.

If it wanted to retreat, it retreated.

Scizor simply couldn’t keep up.

Gengar’s speed advantage gave it complete control over the fight.

However—

Gary hadn’t been training in Johto all this time for nothing.

Ever since arriving, he had been constantly honing himself, setting Luo Yuan as his ultimate goal.

Now—

His hard work was about to show.

He made a quick hand gesture toward Scizor.

Upon seeing it, Scizor’s entire battle style changed.

Its previously calculated, defensive approach transformed into a wild, relentless assault.

No longer caring about injuries, it threw itself into the fight, attacking with reckless abandon.

It was like it had become a berserker, willing to trade blow for blow.

"The battle has taken a turn! Is Gary planning to go all-in for a double knockout?"

Despite all its advantages, Gengar had one major flaw—

It was frail.

Unlike Scizor, which had low HP but high defense, Gengar was a glass cannon—low stamina, low defense.

Now that Scizor had shifted to an all-out offense, it wasn’t going down alone.

Though it suffered multiple new wounds, Gengar also took several serious hits.

Karen was caught a little off guard.

This kid... he’s actually quite bold.

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