"Noivern, go, finish it with Air Slash!"
Drake found Law's battle strategy odd.
No trainer would willingly let a fragile Pokémon take so many direct hits. With Mimikyu's speed, it should have been able to dodge at least some of them, right?
However, he couldn't afford to waste the opportunity that Salamence had sacrificed itself for. He immediately commanded Noivern to strike and take down Mimikyu for good.
"This is exactly what I was waiting for—Pain Split!"
A smirk appeared at the corner of Law's lips—his trap had been sprung.
After taking another Air Slash, Mimikyu—who should have collapsed—suddenly activated Pain Split.
Pain Split: Adds the HP of both the user and target together, then redistributes the total evenly between them.
Since Mimikyu had nearly no HP left and Noivern was at full health, the result was brutal—Noivern lost half of its HP instantly.
On the other hand, Mimikyu—if it had a visible health bar—was now back to 75% HP.
Because Noivern's base HP was naturally much higher than Mimikyu's, half of its HP translated to a much greater percentage of healing for Mimikyu.
"Tch."
Drake's expression darkened.
He had not expected Mimikyu to have such a move.
This was a trump card that Law had never used before in previous matches.
It was likely reserved for battles against the Elite Four, but Drake was strong enough that Law had no choice but to reveal it early.
Pain Split was one of the last moves Mimikyu naturally learned, requiring a high level to master.
Given that Mimikyu was already an incredibly rare Pokémon, very few people had even seen it used in battle—let alone anticipated this.
However, this move could only be used once per match. Using it repeatedly could cause severe mental strain on Pokémon, making it a high-risk, high-reward ability.
Now, Drake had two choices:
Forcefully swap Mimikyu out using a move like Whirlwind or Dragon Tail, hoping it would bring out one of Law's weaker Pokémon. Continue attacking.
"Air Slash."
Drake chose the latter.
His strategy from the beginning had been to focus Mimikyu down. Now that it was on the battlefield, there was no reason to hesitate.
There was no turning back—Salamence had already fallen for this cause.
"Fly up and dodge, then use Light Screen!"
Law had no intention of making Mimikyu take a direct hit.
Unlike before, where Mimikyu purposefully endured damage to use Pain Split, this was a true head-to-head battle.
Mimikyu's small stature made dodging relatively easy, especially in the air.
Meanwhile, Light Screen reduced the damage from special attacks, giving Mimikyu more endurance against Noivern.
"Hurricane!"
Drake almost laughed when he saw Mimikyu flying and setting up Light Screen.
A non-Flying-type Pokémon taking to the skies in front of a Flying-type?
Bad idea.
If it were Magnezone or Metagross, with their hefty defenses, it might have been fine.
But Mimikyu? A lightweight Pokémon floating in midair was basically asking to get blown away.
Even worse—Drake's Noivern had the ability "Infiltrator."
Infiltrator ignores defensive moves like Light Screen, Reflect, Substitute, and Safeguard.
With a powerful flap of its massive wings, Noivern unleashed Hurricane, sending waves crashing across the battlefield.
Mimikyu, caught midair, was tossed around like a ragdoll, completely losing its balance.
Law's expression twitched for a brief moment, but he quickly adjusted. He had to change tactics immediately.
"Follow up with Aerial Ace!"
Aerial Ace wasn't very powerful, but it never missed.
Drake was confident this move would secure the knockout.
With Mimikyu gone, and both Flygon and Torkoal still alive, Drake would finally turn the tide.
Cyclizar could also enter the battlefield freely.
"Use that move."
Law didn't name the move out loud.
He knew that if Drake realized what was coming, he might hesitate and change his approach.
Mimikyu, still tumbling midair, gave no verbal confirmation—but after nearly two years of training together, Law knew his Pokémon understood.
BAM!
Noivern slammed straight into Mimikyu, sending it crashing toward the lake.
Its eyes spun in defeat—Mimikyu was knocked out.
However—before anyone could react, Noivern suddenly froze midair.
Then—it also began falling toward the water, its eyes turning into spirals.
"Destiny Bond!"
Drake's fists clenched tightly. He gritted his teeth.
He never expected that Mimikyu—on top of Pain Split—would also have Destiny Bond!
Two "kamikaze" moves on the same Pokémon?
Mimikyu had fainted, but in doing so, it had taken down Noivern—Drake's main special attacker—as well as Salamence before it.
"Hah..."
Law let out a quiet sigh.
He blamed himself for not commanding Mimikyu better.
If he had played it perfectly, Mimikyu's final performance could have been even more spectacular.
Law hadn't expected Salamence and Noivern to have such tricky abilities.
It wasn't that he hadn't studied Pokémon abilities, but there were simply too many to remember them all. He could only memorize the ones he had suffered against before or the more common ones.
"Rough Skin" was manageable, but Noivern's "Infiltrator" completely caught him off guard.
With Mimikyu eliminated, Law sent out Gliscor, who was still not in perfect condition.
Drake, on the other hand, chose Cyclizar.
This battle was as fast-paced as it could get.
Both Gliscor and Cyclizar had exceptional mobility, making the fight a blur of rapid movements.
Despite the lake battlefield, Cyclizar moved across the water as if it were solid ground.
In the end, Cyclizar, being in better shape, managed to take down Gliscor first.
However, Cyclizar's moment of triumph was short-lived.
Persian followed up immediately, striking down Cyclizar in return.
While Persian wasn't much slower than Cyclizar, its feline reflexes gave it the edge in reaction time.
With this exchange, Drake was down to three Pokémon, while Law still had four.
But this didn't mean Law had secured the upper hand.
As long as Flygon and Torkoal remained in play, Metagross and Magnezone would always be at risk.
These two Steel-type powerhouses were the core of Law's team, but their weaknesses to Ground and Fire-type moves made them vulnerable as long as those threats remained on the field.
After careful consideration, Drake decided to send out Flygon.
Flygon could deal quadruple damage to Magnezone with Ground-type moves.
However, Magnezone could fly, making it difficult to land those attacks.
Goodra, being a special defense tank, wasn't suited for battling against Metagross, Darmanitan, or Persian.
As for Torkoal, Drake had already planned to save it for Metagross.
Torkoal's Fire-typing allowed it to deal double damage to Metagross. With a massive 135 base Defense, Torkoal could tank Metagross's physical attacks. Additionally, Torkoal was a Special Attacker, and Metagross's Special Defense was notably weak.
In a 1v1 battle, Metagross had almost no chance against Torkoal unless there was a major level difference.
However, this meant that Flygon or Goodra would have to bear the brunt of the battle beforehand.
Flygon did not disappoint.
As Drake's starter Pokémon, it had the highest level on the team.
Flygon not only took down Persian but even put up a solid fight against Darmanitan.
Despite pushing itself to the limit, Flygon couldn't manage a 2-for-1 trade.
The battle was too close, and it ultimately fell to Darmanitan.
Now, the battle shifted once more.
Goodra vs. Darmanitan.
Goodra Takes Down Darmanitan
Drake had anticipated this matchup.
As long as Flygon remained, neither Magnezone nor Metagross could be safely sent out.
Thus, Law had no choice but to send out Darmanitan next.
While Goodra had poor physical defense, it had access to powerful Water-type moves.
A single Muddy Water was enough to bring Darmanitan to the brink of collapse.
Drake wasn't even worried about Fairy-type moves, since Goodra wasn't weak to them.
With Darmanitan eliminated, Law finally had to send out one of his Steel-types.
Metagross vs. Goodra
"Metagross, Sandstorm!"
Law stopped hesitating—he immediately sent out Metagross.
At this stage, there was no more point in stalling.
Both Metagross and Magnezone were weak to Fire, so one of them had to fight Torkoal eventually.
Between the two, Metagross had a better chance against Goodra.
As soon as it landed, Metagross whipped up a Sandstorm.
In mere seconds, the battlefield was engulfed in swirling sand.
The harsh winds chipped away at Goodra, dealing small but steady damage.
"Acid Spray!"
Drake knew Poison-type moves wouldn't hurt Metagross much, but he used it anyway.
Acid Spray didn't just deal damage—it sharply lowered Special Defense.
Goodra could use Rain Dance to cancel the Sandstorm, but that would weaken Torkoal's Fire-type attacks in the next round.
Drake wasn't willing to risk that.
"Stealth Rock!"
The audience gasped.
This was the same strategy Beckman had used against Law three days ago—and now Law was using it himself.
With Stealth Rock and Sandstorm both active, Torkoal would take damage the moment it entered.
Magnezone, being a Steel-type, wouldn't be affected by Sandstorm.
Both Law and Drake were preparing for the final showdown.
After a drawn-out battle, Metagross finally took down Goodra.
However, by that time, it was down to half HP.
The Final Battle: Torkoal vs. Magnezone
Drake was confident that Torkoal could handle both Metagross and Magnezone.
Metagross was already weakened, and Torkoal had a clear type advantage.
But then it happened.
"Explosion."
The audience froze as Metagross self-destructed.
Drake's eyes widened in shock.
"No way…!"
Torkoal, with its high Defense, barely survived the blast—but it was left with almost no HP.
At this point, even a type advantage didn't matter.
Magnezone entered the field.
Torkoal, already on the verge of fainting, had no chance.
The match was over.
The winner of the Second Grand Tournament was:
"The 'Surgeon'—Trafalgar D. Law!"
After the battle, Drake learned something shocking.
Metagross had only remembered Explosion three days ago—after seeing Beckman's Florges and Golem both use it in battle.
Some Pokémon are capable of "remembering" moves they can learn naturally, but require external triggers to unlock them.
Metagross had learned Explosion simply by witnessing it in action.
With Stealth Rock and Sandstorm creating a brutal playing field, Drake was furious at Beckman for giving Law this idea.
For the next few days, Drake couldn't help but curse Beckman under his breath.
(End of Chapter)
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