Chapter 603 - 603: 603. Dragon Star Group

The surging Dragon-type energy gathered into a towering pillar of light and shot straight into the sky.

The color of the sky changed at once. Dark clouds rolled in and swallowed the sun, and within moments the clear afternoon looked as dark as night.

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion rang out from within the black clouds, like the beat of a giant drum. Red light spread through the clouds like spreading flames, until the whole sky looked as though it were on fire.

"What a terrifying Draco Meteor!"

"Even a Draco Meteor from a Heavenly King-Level Pokémon might not hit this hard!"

"Jacob's Dragapult... I think it might already be stronger than most Heavenly King-Level Pokémon."

"Incredible. Just incredible."

Everyone in the stadium tilted their heads back to watch the sky. Within the churning dark clouds, several small meteors wrapped in Dragon-type energy broke free and plunged toward the ground, trailing thick smoke and burning with fierce light.

Draco Meteor — the strongest move a Dragon-type Pokémon can learn.

"Incineroar, Protect!"

"Kingambit, Protect!"

Watching Dragapult's devastating Draco Meteor descend, Thurstan felt a chill crawl across his scalp.

Just how much potential did Jacob's Dragapult have?

For a Pokémon that hadn't even reached its final Pseudo-Legendary tier to unleash a Draco Meteor with this much destructive force, it had to be sitting at Champion-level potential at the very least.

With power like this on display, it seemed almost certain that Jacob would become a Champion himself one day.

Champion-level potential. A Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon. And on top of all that, a Shiny.

Thurstan couldn't help but let out a breath. He had always thought of himself as a prodigy, but standing next to Jacob, he felt like a firefly trying to outshine the moon.

How could a firefly ever hope to rival the moon?

And yet, the thought of facing a genius like this only made Thurstan's fighting spirit burn brighter.

But first, he had to survive this Draco Meteor.

A shimmering barrier sprang up in front of Incineroar, shielding it completely — but Kingambit's Protect failed to activate.

Kingambit had used Protect only moments earlier, and with so little time between uses, the move's success chance had dropped sharply. This time, its luck ran out, and it had no choice but to take the Draco Meteor head-on.

The falling meteors traced burning arcs through the air as they bore down on Kingambit.

Watching the flaming rocks approach, a hard, determined look crossed Kingambit's eyes. It let out a roar, and the blade crowning its head flared with black Dark-type energy as it prepared to meet the meteors in a direct clash.

BOOM!

The huge meteor, wrapped in raw Dragon-type energy, slammed straight into Kingambit, swallowing it whole and driving it into the earth, carving out a massive crater.

One hit. That was all it took.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The remaining meteors struck the field a heartbeat later, setting the entire arena alight. The ground trembled under the impacts, and flames burst up on every side, turning the battlefield into something out of the end of the world.

By the time the barrage of Draco Meteor finally stopped, Kingambit lay motionless on the scorched ground, completely knocked out.

"What an overwhelming Draco Meteor."

"Even a typical Heavenly King-Level Pokémon might not manage a Draco Meteor this powerful."

"This is terrifying. Jacob's Dragapult is completely outclassing everyone else in the Gym Leader League."

The crowd sat in stunned silence, still shaken by the sheer force of the attack they had just witnessed.

Up in the commentary booth, the two announcers were talking rapidly over one another. "There's really no doubt left in this match. Even with Dragapult's Attack and Special Attack lowered by its own Intimidate and by using Draco Meteor, it can still finish off Incineroar easily with Indeedee backing it up."

"Jacob's Dragapult truly deserves its reputation as an ace capable of trading blows with Heavenly King-Level Pokémon. It's frighteningly strong, and it's hard to find a real weakness in it."

While the commentators kept talking, Jacob gave his next commands to Dragapult and Indeedee, turning their attention to Incineroar.

"Dragapult, Dragon Darts!"

"Indeedee, use Helping Hand on Dragapult!"

"Incineroar is unable to battle. Jacob wins the match!"

Two Pokémon against one — a total, one-sided victory. Jacob cruised through the doubles battle without much trouble, securing his place in the semifinals and, with it, his qualification for the G2 League.

"Jacob!"

"Jacob!"

The crowd rose to their feet, waving their arms and shouting his name.

Jacob raised a hand and waved back at the cheering stands before turning and heading toward the backstage area.

Winning this match meant Jacob had not only reached the semifinals but had already locked in his spot in the G2 League.

Backstage, the other three semifinalists wore looks of quiet relief, as though a heavy weight had finally been lifted from their shoulders.

That made sense — the first two rounds were always the most nerve-wracking. From here on, the semifinals and finals mattered less for their outcome and more as a stage to show off each Trainer's skill.

Jacob's next opponent would be the only woman among the final four.

Ashlie: neat, short hair, around thirty-five years old, tall, and athletically built. Beyond being a skilled Trainer, she was also a well-known athlete across China, with sharp eyes and a bold, commanding presence.

"The semifinal round is about to begin! Please welcome our two competitors!"

Jacob and Ashlie stepped out from backstage and took their places facing each other on the huge battlefield. At once, the crowd burst into cheers and applause.

"Welcome back, everyone!" the commentator announced. "This semifinal match pits contestant Ashlie against contestant Jacob."

"Honestly, out of every match today, this is the one I've been waiting for most," the male commentator said. "Besides Jacob, Ashlie is my favorite among all sixteen competitors."

The female commentator beside him raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Because Ashlie is one of the rare Trainers who specializes in Poison-type Pokémon — a type that doesn't get nearly enough respect. 'Restoring the Poison-type's honor is our duty!'" he said with a laugh. "And on top of that, her team and her strategies are genuinely unique," the commentator went on. "If Jacob isn't careful, this match could give him more trouble than he expects."

"The match will now begin!" the referee's voice cut through the commentary booth's chatter.

"Go, Haxorus!"

"Go, Toxapex!"

Ashlie sent out Toxapex, a well-loved Poison-type Pokémon among competitive Trainers.

Its signature move, Baneful Bunker, made it an especially frustrating opponent to face.

Toxapex was, in many ways, a nearly perfect wall of a Pokémon. Its HP, Attack, Special Attack, and Speed were all quite unremarkable, but its Defense and Special Defense sat near the top of what any Pokémon could reach, making it an incredibly sturdy tank in battle.

On top of that, its Poison/Water typing gave it excellent defensive coverage, leaving it weak only to Ground-, Electric-, and Psychic-type moves, while resisting a wide range of other types.

Its Ability, Regenerator, restored a portion of its HP every time it switched out of battle — a perfect fit for a Pokémon built around outlasting its opponents.

Finally, Toxapex's move pool, including Baneful Bunker, Recover, and Haze, made it exceptionally difficult and irritating to break through.

Taken together, all of these traits explained exactly why Toxapex had become such a popular choice for defensively minded Trainers.