"No, if you're alone, the Lightning Release Mode won't be that powerful."
But Nathan shook his head directly, his voice resonating through Zeraora's body.
At this moment, from an outsider's perspective, less than ten seconds had passed.
Garchomp let out a low roar and lunged at Zeraora with its bloody maw wide open!
Through his synchronization with Zeraora, Nathan could clearly see the savagery in Garchomp's eyes!
At this moment, Nathan possessed two types of vision at the same time—one from Zeraora's perspective, and one from his own.
The combination of the two gave Nathan the illusion of having a true god's-eye view.
"Dodge, then attack from Garchomp's side!"
Snapping back to his senses, Nathan gave the command immediately.
There was no need for words; just a mere thought was enough for Zeraora to understand!
If there was such a thing as levels among Trainers,
then synchronized Nathan would definitely be at the divine level!
"Zoar!"
Some sharp-eyed spectators noticed that Nathan suddenly seemed dazed, but apart from that, there was nothing unusual.
However, he suddenly stopped giving commands.
"Hahaha, I knew it. This guy is just a flashy poser."
"He can bully weaklings, but when it comes to real battles, it still depends on the Pokémon themselves!"
"I wonder if his Pokémon were trained by someone else or by him. Sigh!"
...
Such comments quickly spread, and cheers for Garchomp started rising.
But Nathan remained calm as still water, focusing completely on his synchronization with Zeraora without the slightest distraction!
Zeraora, too, fully cooperated with Nathan, using Lightning Release Mode to dodge Garchomp's crunching bite at a speed leaving afterimages.
"Zoar!"
Reaching Garchomp's side, Zeraora lashed out with a powerful kick,
sending Garchomp flying far away!
Unfortunately, Garchomp didn't even get airborne—it just tumbled a few times on the ground before getting back up,
then launched another attack!
If once wasn't enough, then twice, and if twice wasn't enough, then three times!
Under Garchomp's relentless attacks, Zeraora's lightning aura finally started to weaken.
Both Nathan and Zeraora began gasping for breath.
If someone had observed them closely, they might have noticed that their breathing rhythms were completely synchronized!
"This isn't going to work. This guy is way tougher than Venusaur."
"Is it because of Outrage? Plus, its attack power is higher!"
"If this drags on, there's no way we can win."
Seeing that Garchomp wasn't affected at all, Nathan felt a heavy sinking in his heart.
"Zoar!"
Zeraora once again dodged Garchomp's attack and let out a low roar, full of determination!
"You want one last gamble? Fine, then let's aim for a critical point!"
Feeling Zeraora's emotions, Nathan made up his mind.
He had already observed carefully—this Garchomp had a steady lower body, but its waist was a weakness!
Garchomp launched another deadly Crunch!
"Now!"
At Nathan's roar, Zeraora dodged the attack,
then—
Hit one point and reach the pinnacle!
Thunderbolt!
At that moment, Zeraora turned into a golden flash,
cutting across Garchomp's waist in a blink!
"Garchomp!"
Seeing Garchomp clutch its waist and collapse to the ground,
Moose shouted in panic, "No, don't leave me! I have nothing else to rely on!"
"No, you can't fail! You absolutely can't fail!"
Moose's voice turned into a hoarse scream, and he started to look disturbingly unhinged.
Seeing this, Nathan felt a vague sense of unease. Fearing the situation might worsen, he immediately shouted,
"Zeraora, quickly, deliver the finishing blow to Garchomp!"
Before Zeraora could move, Moose suddenly howled like a madman,
"Go berserk, Garchomp!"
"Chomp!"
At his command, the injured Garchomp abruptly stood up,
its eyes turning blood-red and its aura becoming even more violent—
stronger than when it was at full strength!
"What's going on? Why is Garchomp suddenly stronger? It looks completely unhurt! No, it's even stronger than before!"
The commentator stood up from his seat, face full of shock and confusion.
The audience was just as dumbfounded.
"What's happening?"
"Look at its eyes—Garchomp's gone berserk!"
"How can a Trainer's Pokémon go mad like that?"
"Is it Moose's power?"
...
The audience buzzed in useless speculation, but Moose no longer cared.
Underneath his hood, his face twisted in pathological madness as he stared at Garchomp and howled,
"Of course! Only you will never betray me, Garchomp!"
"Go! Crush that Zeraora! Tear its limbs apart!"
"After escaping from that place, I don't care about anything anymore!"
Moose's voice wasn't loud, but Nathan could hear it clearly,
and his eyes widened in shock.
Because if something like this happened, the Trainer who ordered it would be permanently banned from any competition, no matter what!
But would Moose care about the consequences now?
Clearly not.
And the Garchomp, now completely berserk, wouldn't either!
Garchomp, already at level 50 and a pseudo-legendary, was stronger than Zeraora to begin with.
Before, it was only because of Nathan's synchronization that Zeraora managed to injure it.
Now that Garchomp was fully berserk,
its strength far surpassed its previous peak.
Even with Nathan's synchronized commands, Zeraora began to fall behind.
After a few exchanges, Zeraora was struck down by the berserk Garchomp.
"Yes! That's it! Garchomp, tear it apart!"
Moose roared crazily.
Zeraora was in a critical state, and Garchomp was slowly closing in with its mouth wide open.
….
"Zeraora, return—!"
In this desperate moment, Nathan tried to recall Zeraora immediately,
but before he could finish speaking, a searing pain surged from his heart.
It hurt!
It felt like a heart attack!
No—it wasn't just his heart. His entire body was crying out in pain!
The pain surged through Nathan's body in wave after wave!
"If you want to recall it, that's impossible. If I can't have it, no one else can either!"
Moose roared maniacally upon seeing Nathan's state.
Even though his superiors hadn't ordered him to do this,
as an experimental subject of the organization, he had never intended to obey from the start!
"No!"
Nathan stared hard at Zeraora,
the intense pain making him unable to speak, his mind hazy and vision darkening.
An ordinary person would have passed out long ago,
but Nathan stubbornly forced himself to stay conscious!
His eyes were bloodshot, veins bursting in the whites of his eyes.
"Garchomp, quickly! Finish it!"
Moose shouted impatiently, his eyes flashing with a blood-red light.
"Move, move, move!
Surrender, switch Pokémon, anything—just move!"
Watching Garchomp getting closer and closer to Zeraora,
the blood vessels in Nathan's eyes grew denser.
His body and mind were both on the verge of collapse,
seconds away from triggering a self-protection mechanism—
which meant fainting!
"I absolutely, absolutely cannot pass out!"
Even the toughest soldiers would have lost consciousness by now.
But Nathan, relying on the unique nature of having lived two lifetimes,
gritted his teeth and endured!
At that moment, the power that had once vanished—his psychic ability and Viridian Power—resurfaced!
If a scientist with atomic-level vision were present, they might have seen—
as Nathan suddenly stood up, a fragment of Zeraora's genes began to shine!
And the source of that light was—
the seed of Raikou's power!
"Come on, Zeraora! One more time—synchronize with me and evolve beyond!"
A twisted yet determined smile tugged at Nathan's lips as he shouted in his mind.
Even though this situation had completely gone off his original plan,
even though it could destroy everything he had prepared—
Nathan no longer cared.
After all, the true purpose of working with the Mist family wasn't to become a billionaire or some tycoon—
it was for the sake of his Pokémon!
"Zoar!"
Heart to heart, Zeraora also stood up from the ground.
It recalled the days it had spent with Nathan—
ninety percent of which had been battles and harsh training.
There weren't many beautiful memories of warmth or bonding.
But that remaining ten percent—
Zeraora would never forget for the rest of its life.
The worried expression on Nathan's face when Zeraora fainted from exhaustion,
the desperate effort to heal and revive it when it was battered and broken,
his stubborn refusal to let Zeraora practice deadly techniques like the Navy's Six Forms because of the strain on its body…
These small, seemingly trivial things—things Nathan hadn't even noticed—
were the true key that built a bridge of hearts between Trainer and Pokémon!
[So, evolve! In response to everything he has given! ]
"Zoar!!"