----
The match wasn't over.
After seeing Hypnosis fail, Trinity quickly adapted. She had Poliwrath fire another [Water Gun], the arc of water soaring through the air and striking Kai's red Gyarados dead-on.
No reaction.
None.
Even as chunks of collapsed stone crashed onto its body, the red Gyarados didn't flinch. It moved forward as if the world around it didn't exist.
Trinity's jaw clenched. Unbelievable.
She had her own Gyarados. She knew what they were capable of and more importantly, what their limits were.
Sure, Water Gun wasn't especially effective against water types, but being pelted with heavy stone debris? That was pure physical damage. And Gyarados didn't have the best physical defense.
Even an armored truck would show a dent. This thing didn't even blink!
Still, Trinity refused to give up.
If she couldn't overpower it directly, then maybe she could wear it down—bit by bit.
Anything's better than giving up.
In the water, Gyarados locked onto its target.
It swam toward Poliwrath slowly, deliberately. Its head dipped below the surface, crimson eyes focused like a predator stalking prey. Towering and terrible, it moved with the patience of a seasoned hunter.
Poliwrath stood on a pillar top, catching its breath, then fired another [Water Gun] as Gyarados approached. When it got close, Poliwrath sprang to the next stone pillar in a desperate escape.
This was its fourth leap.
Poliwrath was drenched in sweat. Jumping, attacking, dodging, again and again, it was exhausting. And this next jump… was too far.
Fourteen meters across.
It tried anyway.
Midair, Poliwrath faltered too tired, too stretched. It missed the top of the next pillar, barely managing to grab its base. With trembling arms, it climbed up.
But Gyarados was already there.
It approached calmly, unhurried as if savoring the hunt.
Poliwrath, now panting hard, fired another [Water Gun], only to be forced to leap again.
But there were no pillars left.
All of them except the one it stood on—had already been demolished by Gyarados's relentless charges.
Now Poliwrath stood alone. Surrounded by floating rubble, it had nowhere left to go.
From the stands, the crowd was holding their breath. Everyone could feel it—the helplessness, the dread, the looming inevitability.
Could Poliwrath even cross that much water now?
No.
Even if it could, Gyarados would catch it long before it made it across.
What was supposed to be a turning point—forcing Kai to switch out Blastoise—had become a horror story.
Trinity didn't draw a new hand.
She drew the boss fight.
And this was a boss you couldn't beat.
Her expression darkened. She watched as Kai's red Gyarados approached the final pillar… slowly… deliberately.
Poliwrath looked down, then back at Trinity.
It saw the worry in her eyes. But it also knew—it had nothing left.
Then, something strange happened.
Gyarados stopped.
Instead of smashing the pillar, it rose… and rose… its head lifting higher and higher until it towered above Poliwrath.
Only now, with half its body out of the water, did the crowd finally realize how massive this creature really was.
Even just partially emerged, it loomed taller than the stone pillars themselves.
It stared down at Poliwrath.
Then roared.
ROAAAAAR!!!
The force of the sound, moist and thundering, sent winds slamming into Poliwrath. The poor Pokémon dropped to all fours to avoid being blown off the platform.
To the crowd, this wasn't a Pokémon battle anymore.
This was a scene out of mythology.
A lone fighter standing before a monster.
Trinity's heart pounded in her chest.
Poliwrath…
She could feel it this was the end.
But she didn't recall it.
Not because she didn't care.
But because she was a Trainer. This was a final match. Backing out now, conceding without a fight… it would stain her dignity, her reputation, her identity.
Win or lose, she had to go down fighting.
"Poliwrath!" she cried. "Use [Double-Edge]!"
It was a desperate, all-or-nothing charge.
Poliwrath roared back, dug deep, and sprinted forward. One last leap its target, Gyarados's neck, the weak point.
It launched itself high, body glowing with energy.
A reckless, suicidal dive.
And Gyarados?
It simply opened its jaws, bared its gleaming fangs—
—and swallowed Poliwrath whole.
"POLIWRATH!!!"
Trinity's scream pierced the arena.
The entire crowd stood in stunned horror.
Even the announcer sounded panicked. "Gyarados has… it ate Poliwrath?! It just—?!"
On-screen, Gyarados closed its mouth.
Then—chomped.
Hard.
The crowd lost it. People jumped from their seats. Some screamed. Others looked away in disbelief.
This wasn't a battle anymore!
But on the sidelines, Kai stood calmly—unmoved.
He noticed their reactions. All the gasps, the panic.
But he also knew they were wrong.
His Gyarados was terrifying, yes. But it wasn't wild. It wasn't feral.
It didn't kill.
He didn't train it to be that way.
Gyarados was following his command to use [Bite]—but its sheer size and aggression just made it look like a devouring monster.
Seconds later, Gyarados opened its mouth again and… spat Poliwrath out.
The Water/Fighting type landed like a rag doll, bouncing limply off a ruined pillar before collapsing into a pool of blood and water.
Unconscious.
But alive.
The audience slowly sat back down, releasing the breath they didn't realize they were holding.
Even Trinity wiped the sweat from her forehead, heart hammering.
They weren't overreacting.
That red Gyarados was simply… too much.
A walking nightmare, masquerading as a Pokémon.
----
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