The lightning that Angewomon had returned struck Raikou head-on.
His body was blasted backward, leaving a long trail across the battlefield before finally coming to a stop.
The tremendous force of the impact left the ground beneath him cracked and broken.
Raikou struggled to rise.
Blue-white electrical currents continued crawling across his body.
A look of unmistakable pain appeared on his face.
His muscles twitched involuntarily.
Even his movements had become noticeably stiff.
The attack just now had hurt him badly.
Raikou gritted his teeth.
He had used all of his strength to unleash Thunder, yet Angewomon had compressed the attack, seized control of it, and fired it straight back at him.
Just thinking about that method was terrifying.
The spectators had already been shocked speechless.
This completely unfamiliar, absurdly powerful creature had once again shattered the limits of what they believed Pokémon were capable of doing.
For Raikou, however, the feeling was even stronger.
He was the one personally fighting her.
He understood better than anyone just how frightening Angewomon truly was.
They simply weren't on the same level.
And yet...
That was precisely what Raikou found so strange.
In his extraordinarily long life, he had encountered countless Pokémon.
The species inhabiting this world had existed for an unimaginably long time, and virtually every known Pokémon had some recognizable origin or evolutionary lineage.
But the opponent before him...
Raikou couldn't connect her appearance to any Pokémon he knew.
Not even remotely.
Angewomon seemed completely detached from everything within his understanding of Pokémon.
It was incomprehensible.
Before Raikou could think any further, Angewomon attacked again.
She raised her longbow.
Sacred light gathered at her fingertips.
One arrow after another formed along the bowstring.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The arrows shot through the air in rapid succession.
Each one carried astonishing destructive power.
Raikou's pupils contracted.
He immediately moved.
His greatest advantage was speed.
Lightning flashed around his body as he darted continuously across the battlefield, leaving afterimages behind him.
Boom!
A sacred arrow struck the place where he had been standing a moment earlier.
The ground exploded.
Another arrow followed.
Then another.
Raikou continued dodging.
But gradually...
He noticed something was wrong.
Angewomon's attacks were becoming faster.
Not only that.
Her accuracy was improving as well.
It was as though she were gradually adapting to his movements.
At first, Raikou could avoid the arrows comfortably.
Soon, he had to concentrate.
Then he had to push his speed even further.
And eventually...
The arrows were already grazing past him.
There was no way he could continue like this!
Raikou roared.
Electricity erupted violently from his body.
He finally stopped fleeing and launched a counterattack.
Lightning and sacred light collided repeatedly across the battlefield.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Explosions blossomed one after another.
The spectators could barely keep their eyes open.
The entire battle had become a spectacular storm of light and energy.
Every collision produced another violent blast.
It was exhilarating!
The kind of battle that made everyone's blood boil!
Watching it was like seeing the climax of a blockbuster movie with every possible effect pushed to the limit.
High above the battlefield, thunder continued rumbling.
But gradually...
The storm clouds began to disperse.
The rain weakened.
The lightning flashing through the clouds also became increasingly sparse.
Eventually, the thunder disappeared altogether.
Angewomon remained floating in the sky, longbow in hand.
Raikou, meanwhile, stood on the devastated battlefield below.
The ground around him was covered with impact craters.
His once-majestic body was now covered in injuries.
His breathing had become heavy.
Anyone could see that his condition was terrible.
Even though he had managed to endure the barrage without falling, Raikou himself knew the truth.
He was going to lose.
There was no longer any question about it.
He simply couldn't think of a way to defeat Angewomon.
Energy attacks?
Those were useless.
He had already personally witnessed her decompose Zap Cannon and seize control of Thunder itself.
Trying to overwhelm her from a distance with energy attacks was practically meaningless.
Close combat?
That wasn't any better.
Angewomon could fly, and her ability to control the distance between them was extraordinary.
Even if Raikou relied on his superior physical strength, he first needed an opportunity to actually reach her.
And judging by the attacks he had endured so far...
Raikou doubted she would give him that opportunity.
For the first time in this battle, a faint chill ran through his heart.
How was he supposed to fight something like this?
At this point...
Perhaps the only thing he could still consider was how to lose without making the defeat look too miserable.
On the opposite side, Belotti quietly watched everything happening on the battlefield.
Her expression was grim.
She had already understood the outcome.
Raikou had no chance of winning.
But instead of focusing entirely on the battle, Belotti occasionally shifted her gaze toward Shiko.
There was something else on her mind.
Something that would happen after this competition ended.
The battle itself was almost over.
But for her...
That wouldn't necessarily mean everything was finished.
At that moment, Shiko suddenly raised his hand.
The spectators immediately froze.
Then...
Their eyes widened.
Again?!
A torrent of invisible data energy surged toward Angewomon.
The familiar radiance appeared.
Evolution Light!
The dazzling white light instantly enveloped Angewomon's entire body.
The stadium erupted.
"It's happening again!"
"She's evolving too?!"
"What is she going to become this time?!"
"You've got to be kidding me! She's already this strong!"
"If she evolves again, how is Raikou supposed to fight her?!"
Countless spectators stared toward the sky.
After witnessing the same phenomenon several times today, they already knew exactly what the white radiance represented.
Evolution.
But precisely because they understood it, they were even more excited.
Angewomon was already overwhelmingly powerful.
What kind of existence would she become after evolving?
Inside the light...
Angewomon's silhouette began changing.
Her general humanoid outline remained.
But the details were completely transformed.
Armor gradually appeared around her body.
Her form became even more imposing.
The light slowly faded.
And finally...
A completely new figure appeared before everyone.
Ophanimon!
She still possessed the appearance of a sacred female angel.
But compared with Angewomon's graceful and gentle beauty, Ophanimon carried a far more majestic presence.
Sacred armor covered her body.
A magnificent helmet concealed part of her face.
Golden wings spread behind her.
Her entire body radiated a brilliant, holy aura.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Noble.
And yet...
There was now something more.
Authority.
An overwhelming sense of sacred authority that made her seem less like an ordinary angel and more like a divine ruler descending from the heavens.
The transformation in her appearance wasn't the most frightening part.
Her aura was.
The instant Ophanimon completed her evolution...
Raikou knew.
This was bad.
Very bad.
The pressure coming from her had increased tremendously.
The balance that had already overwhelmingly favored his opponent had now completely collapsed.
Raikou's expression stiffened.
He had already been unable to defeat Angewomon.
And now she had evolved again?!
Was there even any point in continuing?
Ophanimon slowly raised one hand.
Sacred energy gathered.
A long spear formed within her grasp.
Golden light flowed across its surface.
Raikou's entire body tensed.
Danger!
His instincts screamed at him.
The next second...
Ophanimon hurled the spear.
Whoosh!
It shot through the air like a brilliant golden meteor.
Its speed was terrifying.
Raikou's eyes widened.
He wanted to move.
But there was no time.
The golden streak of light had already arrived before him.
(End of Chapter)
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