----
Trinity, face pale and shaken, recalled her Gyarados.
The sight was almost unbearable its body stained with blood scales torn away, leaving raw flesh exposed. It clearly couldn't continue.
Was this even a battle anymore?
In all her time as a Trainer, Trinity had never experienced anything like this.
The referee, equally alarmed, raised his flag and declared Gyarados unable to continue.
Unlike when Kai had withdrawn Blastoise earlier, this wasn't a tactical retreat Trinity's Gyarados were done. It hadn't fainted yet, but another attack would've been lethal. The damage it had taken was already dangerously close to the limit.
And as the official overseeing the match, the referee couldn't allow it to go on. If anything worse happened, he'd be held responsible not just by the league, but by public outrage.
Trinity didn't protest.
She took a slow breath and looked up once again locking eyes with that towering red Gyarados.
Her fear had dulled slightly. Not because the beast had grown any less terrifying, but because she had grown used to the dread. It no longer crushed her the way it had before.
Still, that didn't solve her biggest problem:
How the hell do I beat this thing?
Trinity hesitated.
She considered sending Chinchou back in its Electric-type moves were a perfect counter. With Gyarados being Water/Flying, a well-placed Thunderbolt could deal four times the damage.
But then she remembered how Chinchou had frozen up. It couldn't even move in Gyarados's presence.
She sighed.
No. Not yet.
Chinchou had to be her last resort. She needed time to let it mentally recover.
With a reluctant expression, Trinity pulled out her final Poké Ball.
The light burst out, revealing her third Pokémon: Poliwrath.
A murmur swept through the crowd.
Poliwrath? Against that?
Even the audience didn't understand. Gyarados had obliterated her own Gyarados in seconds what chance did Poliwrath have?
But the truth was, Trinity didn't have any other options.
Poliwrath was her last remaining Water-type. She wasn't hoping for victory just to buy time. If Poliwrath could stall long enough, maybe Chinchou would regain its fighting spirit.
Kai didn't change his Pokémon.
He could have. With Chinchou off the field, Blastoise could have returned.
But the red Gyarados were already out.
There was no need to hold back anymore.
Time to end this.
As the match resumed, Trinity changed tactics.
She ordered Poliwrath to play evasive to stall, not strike head-on.
Poliwrath climbed to the top of a tall stone pillar, gaining the high ground before launching an attack.
A jet of water [Water Gun] shot from the spiral on its belly and arced through the air, hitting Gyarados right on the head.
The result?
Nothing.
The red Gyarados didn't so much as blink.
It turned toward the stone pillar, waves rippling behind it, and began to close in.
Trinity's eyes narrowed.
No counterattack?
She started thinking.
Could it be… this Gyarados can't use long-range moves?
It made sense. Poliwrath's Water Gun wasn't weak. Not against ordinary Pokémon. And yet, Gyarados had ignored it completely.
Trinity's earlier observations came rushing back the way it fought, the brutal up-close style, the total lack of distance-based techniques.
Could this be the weakness she was searching for?
That possibility gave her hope.
Moments later, Gyarados reached the base of the pillar.
With a light thrust of its body, it smashed the structure to pieces.
Poliwrath reacted quickly sprinting and leaping to the nearest intact pillar just as the first crumbled.
Frog-like in both design and behavior, it easily cleared the five- or six-meter gap between platforms. Once it landed, it spun and launched a new attack [Hypnosis].
A wave of psychic energy rippled through the air, aimed straight at Gyarados's head.
The beam struck.
Dead center.
And… nothing happened.
Not a flinch.
Trinity's jaw dropped.
Even the announcer sounded stunned: "What?! Hypnosis had no effect?! Did it miss? Is Gyarados holding an item?!"
The audience broke into hushed, confused whispers.
In the stands, Ash turned to the others, baffled. "Why didn't it work? That should've put it to sleep!"
Brock rubbed his chin, thinking carefully before answering.
"Maybe… it's emotional."
"Emotional?" Ash and Misty asked in unison.
Brock nodded. "Hypnosis is a Psychic-type move that works by influencing the brain to force the target to sleep. But Gyarados is known for its rage. That constant anger might override the effect. The brain stays too active, too intense. The technique can't take hold."
Ash and Misty blinked. That… actually made sense.
But Erika, sitting nearby, frowned slightly.
"That might be true for an ordinary Gyarados," she said, "but this one listens to Kai too well. It's calm. Controlled. That's not something we usually see in a Gyarados, let alone one that's supposedly in a constant state of rage."
She paused, then added, "No… I think the reason Hypnosis failed is something deeper. This Gyarados isn't just unusual. It's… different."
Her voice trailed off as all their gazes returned to the crimson leviathan, still looming silently at the edge of the arena.
No one said it aloud but they all felt the same thing.
With this Gyarados, nothing made sense anymore.
And somehow… that only made it more terrifying.
----
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