"Raaaargh!"
Dragapult forcefully suppressed the disorientation clouding its mind. It wanted to end this quickly. The strange status condition and the absence of the little Dreepy from its head had clearly disrupted its judgment.
A massive surge of energy gathered rapidly, and Dragapult's piercing eyes locked onto the Umbreon, who was barely holding it together through sheer willpower.
"Raaaagh!"
Hyper Beam!
"Protect!!"
Marie gasped, heart pounding with fear and excitement. Hyper Beam was immensely powerful, but it left the user open afterward. If Umbreon could withstand this one attack, the tide of battle would turn in their favor.
Umbreon understood this perfectly. The moment Dragapult opened its jaws, she synchronized with Marie's thoughts. Gritting her teeth, she forced her sluggish body to summon a protective barrier.
But…
With a shattering crash, the barrier flickered and broke instantly. A blinding white beam of energy engulfed her in an instant.
BOOM!!
The battlefield was consumed in smoke and dust. Waves of force blasted outward, making Marie stumble back two steps. On the sidelines, Yuri scrambled to protect their belongings and the smaller Pokémon from being blown away.
"Yeeaaagh!!"
Umbreon's anguished cry pierced through the smoke. Marie held onto a struggling Ralts with all her strength, forcing herself to stay calm.
Umbreon wouldn't go down so easily. Even a direct hit from Hyper Beam wouldn't knock her out. Right now, Umbreon was probably more rattled by her own mistake than anything else.
Marie couldn't afford to panic.
"Umbreon! Quick Attack!"
"Yeeaaagh! (Got it!)"
The moment she heard Marie's familiar voice, the panic in Umbreon's heart dissolved.
Quick Attack she had practiced this move endlessly. With her natural lack of speed, she'd turned this technique into second nature just to keep up with faster foes.
Swoosh!
A burst of wind tore through the smoke. A white blur shot forward like lightning.
Umbreon's body responded to both their hopes.
Even with the lingering paralysis making every step feel clumsy, nothing could stop her from answering her Trainer's call.
"Raaaagh!"
Dragapult knew something was wrong the moment it finished its attack. But having just unleashed Hyper Beam, it couldn't react in time.
Umbreon was already upon it.
She launched herself onto Dragapult's back, her strong hind legs propelling her upward. Dragapult started to struggle as its body recovered, but it was too late.
Umbreon knew this chance would last only a heartbeat. There was only one move that could turn the tide.
Her whole body trembled in pain. Muscles screamed in protest. Hyper Beam wasn't something one could shrug off. If it were any other Pokémon without Umbreon's defenses, they might not even be standing.
Even so, she endured.
Her vision blurred. The stinging burn of paralysis dulled her senses.
But she still clung to Dragapult with all four limbs and poured every last ounce of Dark-type energy into her next move.
Dragapult felt the energy gather and refused to back down. If this attack landed, it was over.
It had to stop it. Had to interrupt the move no matter what.
Its tail was out of reach, so it focused the energy into its claws, summoning a Dragon-type counterattack.
Foul Play!
Dragon Claw!
Even if its stiff body dulled its movements, it would still fight back.
Both Pokémon burned with the desire to win.
They struck.
BOOM!!
CRACK!!
"Raaaagh!!"
"Yeeaaagh!!"
The whole cave echoed with their howls as Dragapult's massive body slammed into the ground.
Umbreon had used her opponent's momentum against it. It worked.
But in the next instant, she was hurled high into the air.
Her body screamed with pain. She barely managed to right herself in midair before crashing heavily into the ground.
Blood trickled from a deep gash along her side.
She forced her trembling legs to stand. Her breathing was ragged. That move had taken everything she had.
And the Dragon Claw…
She coughed violently, clutching her side, vomiting up part of her lunch from the blow to her gut.
Still, she didn't relax.
She knew that her counterattack hadn't landed perfectly. Dragapult's interference, her own paralysis they had dulled the impact.
The enemy was still capable of fighting.
Marie saw the injuries and the look in Umbreon's eyes and understood immediately.
"Moonlight!"
It wasn't the best move here. In a gloomy cave like this, the healing was weak at best. But it was a rare moment to breathe and they had to take it.
Dragapult, meanwhile, had taken the full brunt of that Foul Play.
It dazed the already confused Pokémon and nearly kept it from rising again.
Still, it was alive. It could fight.
Dragging its tired body off the ground, Dragapult once again floated into the air, locking its gaze on its opponent.
This little one… had grown so fast.
From that tiny, trembling thing it had seen a year ago to this formidable fighter now.
"Raaaagh! (One last clash, little one! Let's go big!!)"
Dragapult wouldn't quit.
But it could no longer maintain that intense back-and-forth. There was only one path left.
"Yeeaaagh! (Of course! Marie!)"
"I know."
Marie took the Poké Ball from her waist, aimed it at Umbreon.
"Come back."
As Umbreon returned to the ball, the Dynamax band on Marie's wrist began to glow.
Stored energy surged in, splitting into several streams that poured into the ball.
On the other side, Dragapult's roar filled the cave. A surge of dark crimson energy engulfed it, and thick clouds swirled down from the sky, hiding its form.
____________________
NEXT CHAPTER : Regional Specialty Dynamax
(After a hard-fought battle in the wilds of Galar, Marie and Yuri encounter a powerful and prideful Duraludon guarding a hidden Dynamax den. What starts as a tense standoff quickly turns into an unexpected challenge a Dynamax battle! With Yi-chan pushed to her limit and Marie promising to show Yuri the full force of Galar's unique battle style, the next clash is set to shake the very earth. Don't miss the explosive showdown in Chapter 9: Regional Specialty Dynamax!)
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