Chapter 575: Blaziken’s Nemesis — Sonic Resistance

Meanwhile, the battle in the arena was about to begin.

"Hahaha... Braveon, you might as well give up. My Blaziken's Speed is already up three stages."

"Noivern may be fast, but there's no way it can outrun my Blaziken now."

The moment Blaze saw Braveon send out Noivern, he burst into laughter and spoke with smug confidence.

"We'll see about that. There's only one way to find out."

Braveon gave him a knowing smile.

"Hmph... Then Blaziken can wipe that smile off your face."

That smile put Blaze on edge, though he refused to show it.

"Noivern, use Air Cutter continuously."

Braveon made the first move this time, calmly giving his order to Noivern in the sky.

"Noivern!"

Noivern roared as a deep blue light suddenly flared around its body.

It beat its wings, unleashing several blue blades of compressed air in rapid succession. They sliced through the air toward Blaziken below.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Blaziken, charge toward Noivern and dodge those blades!"

Blaze had absolute confidence in Blaziken's speed. At its current speed, avoiding a few Air Cutters should have been easy.

"Blazi!"

Blaziken gave a low cry and shot forward in an instant.

It raced across the arena in a streak of red.

Then, without warning, a piercing hum filled the air.

Noivern's two enormous, speaker-like ears began releasing waves of sound.

As soon as the sound waves reached Blaziken, its pupils contracted.

It suddenly felt as though an invisible force were pushing back against every step. Its speed dropped sharply.

This was Noivern's Ability, Sonic Resistance!

"Blazi?!"

Blaziken cried out in alarm.

The sudden loss of speed caught it completely off guard, and by then, the incoming blades were already upon it.

Blaziken frantically dodged several Air Cutters, but with its speed reduced, it could no longer evade them all.

One of the blades struck it directly.

Boom!

"Blazi!"

Blaziken cried out in pain as the impact sent it flying several meters before it crashed hard onto the cold arena floor.

"What?!"

"Blaziken!"

Blaze stared in shock.

"Is that Noivern's Ability?"

"It can reduce the opposing Pokémon's Speed?!"

Blaze quickly figured out the general effect of Noivern's Ability.

Wasn't this practically a natural counter to his Blaziken?

"Damn it... Last time was only three-on-three, so I never had to face this Noivern. I really got screwed this time."

Blaze silently cursed Braveon.

...

On the battlefield, Blaziken stood panting heavily.

Blaziken was weak to Flying-type attacks, and Noivern had just hit it with a STAB-boosted Air Cutter.

The hit had dealt tremendous damage, leaving Blaziken badly worn down.

"Blaziken, hang in there!"

"Use High-Speed Flare Blitz!"

Seeing Blaziken's condition, Blaze knew he couldn't afford to drag the battle out any longer and immediately shouted his command.

"Blazi...!"

Blaziken forced itself to endure the pain and let out a low cry.

Roaring flames suddenly erupted around its body, engulfing it completely.

A purple glow flickered within the blazing fire.

"Blaziken!"

With an angry cry from within the flames, Blaziken launched itself toward Noivern at tremendous speed.

The piercing hum rang out again.

Sonic Resistance slowed Blaziken once more, but even then, it was still moving incredibly fast.

"Noivern, finish it."

"Use Hurricane."

Braveon didn't hesitate.

"Noivern!"

Noivern roared as a powerful surge of energy erupted from its body.

A terrifying storm instantly formed in the sky.

The raging winds twisted together into an enormous dragon of violent wind.

The gale howled.

The storm dragon roared.

Then it surged forward, straight toward the flaming Blaziken.

The raging storm and blazing flames collided in the center of the arena.

KRAKOOM!

A massive explosion shook the entire Pokémon Arena.

Fierce winds swept outward in every direction like crashing waves.

The spectators in the stands instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces from the violent gusts.

The arena's powerful exhaust fans kicked into full gear, drawing away the thick smoke and turbulent air covering the battlefield.

Gradually, the wind died down and the smoke dispersed.

The battlefield finally came back into view.

Blaziken lay motionless on the ground, its eyes spinning as it remained completely unconscious.

Blaziken was unable to battle.

Meanwhile, Noivern remained completely unharmed, still soaring high above the arena.

"Noivern!"

It let out a triumphant roar, proudly showing off the presence befitting a Dragon King.

High above the arena, Noivern looked every bit the king it was.

...