Chapter 123: Railgun Barrage
"Not good!"
Gurkinn's heart trembled violently as he sensed overwhelming danger.
After witnessing that Flash Cannon earlier, there was no way he would allow Blaziken to recklessly test Magearna's attacks head-on.
He immediately ordered it to evade.
And reality proved him correct.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Centered around Magearna, Psybeam bombarded the surroundings in every direction.
Wherever the beams passed, blackened craters were left behind.
As for Blaziken, it darted nimbly through the barrage of Psybeams, fully displaying the countless hours of effort and training it had devoted to combat and footwork.
"No, something's wrong!"
Gurkinn knew Magearna's energy control speed was absurdly fast.
Psybeam itself was being fired at incredible speed.
Which meant his judgment hadn't been mistaken.
But—
"Magnetic Flux Control."
"And then…"
Amid the bombardment of Psybeams, Sora's calm voice echoed through the arena:
"Zap Cannon. Five-shot burst."
Bzzzz~~
"What?!"
Under Gurkinn's horrified gaze, Magearna—while still maintaining the large-scale Psybeam assault—suddenly unfolded a golden electromagnetic field from within her body.
"She's maintaining that bizarre Psybeam barrage…"
"And still preparing a second move at the same time?!"
"Can energy control really reach this level?!"
Not just Gurkinn.
Everyone watching was stunned.
The refracted multi-directional Psybeam bombardment had already been shocking enough.
Who could've imagined something even more outrageous would follow?
You're already sustaining a high-intensity area attack!
How could you possibly still have the focus to prepare another move?!
Don't ask.
If you must ask—mysterious science!
The principle was actually quite simple.
Sora had installed temporary energy storage units inside Magearna's body, allowing her to pre-convert attribute energy whenever idle.
For example, Psybeam's energy reserves had already been prepared during the earlier battle against Alakazam.
So while Magearna appeared to be actively using Psybeam—the only move she truly needed to prepare at this moment was Zap Cannon.
Crackle! Crackle!
Thus, within the electromagnetic field, golden arcs of electricity crackled continuously.
Magnetic Flux Control—a status move from the Electric type.
As far as Gurkinn knew, the move merely manipulated positive and negative charges to provide buffs for Pokémon with specific abilities.
But in Magearna's hands, the move had transformed into something entirely different.
Electric arcs spread everywhere.
They dealt little actual damage, nor did they hinder Blaziken much.
Yet a deep sense of unease abruptly rose within Gurkinn's heart.
He realized—
he was probably going to lose this battle as well.
Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
Sure enough, as the Psybeam barrage faded, Magearna spun gracefully in place like a princess before tossing golden Zap Cannons from her palms one after another.
These Zap Cannons displayed absolutely no apparent accuracy.
Magearna wasn't even looking at Blaziken's position.
Even so, the five electric spheres traced beautiful arcs through the air at terrifying speed, hurtling directly toward the rapidly moving Blaziken.
"Quick, dodge them!!"
Blaziken leapt backward in retreat.
But the Zap Cannons pursued it relentlessly as though locked on.
"The electromagnetic field earlier…"
"It gave the attacks tracking capabilities?!"
Realizing this, Gurkinn immediately ordered Blaziken to use offensive moves to destroy the incoming Zap Cannons midair.
Unfortunately—
he had underestimated Magearna's power.
Flamethrower successfully struck one Zap Cannon.
But only one.
The remaining four completely ignored the flames.
They scattered through the air—
left and right,
up and down—
approaching Blaziken from every possible direction simultaneously.
"Hah!"
Faced with such an unprecedented crisis, Blaziken truly proved itself worthy of Gurkinn's ace.
Once again, it displayed astonishing agility.
Couldn't dodge?
Couldn't block?
Then force the Zap Cannons to collide with one another through clever movement!
BOOM!!
BOOM BOOM!!
As three Zap Cannons failed to adjust in time and collided midair—everyone present felt their ears ring violently.
The surrounding battlefield near the explosion was instantly engulfed by surging energy.
Rock and earth alike were devoured and shattered.
"Hah!"
Blaziken had no time to focus on any of that.
Its breathing had already become ragged.
That series of extreme evasive maneuvers had consumed massive amounts of stamina and concentration.
Just as it prepared to finally relax and focus on the final remaining Zap Cannon—
it looked up.
And saw even more golden spheres.
"Zap Cannon. Eight-shot burst."
The moment Sora's words fell—
Blaziken found itself completely surrounded by Zap Cannons.
"Blaziken!!!"
Gurkinn shouted in horror.
Magearna's Zap Cannons possessed terrifying destructive force.
Blaziken could barely withstand even one.
The explosion from merely three colliding together had nearly blown apart half the battlefield.
If all eight struck Blaziken directly—
even if it survived, its foundation would likely be permanently crippled, left on the verge of death.
"Stop."
"Dido!"
At the critical moment, Magearna raised her hand and clenched lightly.
The eight Zap Cannons immediately froze in midair, forming a prison-like cage around Blaziken.
Bzzzt… Bzzzt…
The nearest Zap Cannon hovered less than ten centimeters from Blaziken's head.
It could clearly feel the terrifying energy contained within.
"Hah…"
"That's enough, Blaziken."
Gurkinn quietly calmed his violently pounding heart.
"We've lost this round."
If Magearna hadn't shown mercy, Gurkinn didn't even dare imagine what would've happened just now.
"Thank you, Mister Sora."
"It was only a sparring match."
After Sora spoke, Magearna waved toward the suspended Zap Cannons.
Then, under the disbelieving gazes of Gurkinn and the others, the Zap Cannons flew back toward Magearna one by one, being reabsorbed into her body and converted once more into life energy within Soul-Heart.
"What utterly shocking energy control…"
Gurkinn now completely believed his granddaughter's judgment.
The young man before him had truly stepped into the Hall of Masters—
and comprehended a divine technique that transcended common sense itself.
"What an eye-opening experience for this old man."
Gurkinn recalled Blaziken before taking out his third Poké Ball.
As expected of a veteran master.
This mentality—remaining unshaken despite defeat alone—was something Sora felt worth learning from.
If it were Korrina instead, she'd probably already be questioning her entire existence.
There was no way she could continue battling as calmly as Gurkinn.
After all, anyone with eyes could see just how vast the gap between the two sides truly was.
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Pat reon Advance Chapters: /YonkoSlayer