CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"And now it's time for our second round," the commentary began, dwarfed by a mixture of joyful and taunting screams from the Griffins' stand, who were still mocking their Manticores counterparts.

"And this time, it's a duel of giants... Witches and wizards, I give you the Griffins' Garchomp clashing against the Manticores' Rhyperior!"

This time, the Pokémon's entrance was not as swift nor as aggressive as the first round.

The huge four-legged land-shark-like Pokémon was the first to arrive at the center, just next to where its Griffin handler and defender were hovering.

Having watched the anime, Magnus knew both Pokémon were huge, but seeing them here with naked eyes and in their real form took the experience to another level...

He could see the saw-like teeth protruding from Garchomp's maw... Its blade-like fin tail swooshed patiently as it eyed its opponent, who was approaching slowly with heavy steps.

Even from where he was seated, he could feel a small tremor arising from Rhyperior's steps as he approached.

The Manticores had clearly gone for brute strength here.

Rhyperior looked like a walking fortress. The drill-like horn on its face made it hard to fully observe its facial features, but the rest of its features were a plain message of intimidation.

Almost every part of its body was covered with rocky armor, but what made Magnus begin to pity his Galleons was the cannon-like hand and the menacing battering-ram tail.

"One good hit from that tail, and your Galleons are gone, mate," Fred yelled above the noise of the crowd.

"Thanks for those encouraging words," Magnus yelled back, his eyes glued to the field.

"Anytime, mate," Fred said, patting him on the back.

The referee pointed his wand to his throat, and the next second, his voice boomed across the stadium.

"Players, please magnify your voice."

The four repeated the same action as they recast the Sonorous spell.

"And ready in three, two, one... Fight!"

Again, the ref's wand shot out, and the Protego shield charm shattered.

And stupid is what the Griffins proved to be.

Just like the first round, immediately the shield fell, the attacks were unleashed.

"Attack on the belly!" the Griffins' handler cried seconds before the Manticores' man yelled, "Slam!"

"The fuck?" Magnus cried in shock as he left his seat. If he had been in that field, it was the Griffins' handler who would get the slamming.

"What an idiot"… I mean, the intentions were good… The Griffins no doubt wanted to attack the less-armored parts on the Rhyperior, but the timing was seriously bad.

Garchomp lunged with its sharp teeth, preparing to tear through Rhyperior's rocky armor.

Now, Rhyperior was slow, and for a second, Magnus had thought that Garchomp might actually succeed.

He was dead wrong.

The rock cannon-like arms closed on the streamlined body seconds before the teeth found their mark.

"Pull back! Pull back now!" the Griffins' handler screamed.

But no matter how much Garchomp tried, it was like he had stuck his head into a glued wall. He couldn't escape Rhyperior's grip.

Then the vicious tail began to swoosh.

Slow they were, but with the target locked in place, the battering-ram attacks landed with reverberating force on Garchomp's exposed side.

One after another, and all the while, the poor Pokémon twisted helplessly.

"Pull back… pull back!" the stupid handler kept crying as if he could not see how useless that was.

"Fuckin' idiot." Magnus did not know exactly who he meant… Maybe it was him for risking all the money on the stupid team.

At this rate, all the bones in Garchomp would be broken into shards.

"They…." Magnus moaned as he slapped the seat in front of him. "They have screwed me," he groaned, slumping back into his seat and clasping his head in anger.

'What was I thinking…? Just like George had said, it's not like the Manticores would lose twice in a row, and worse, to a team that was fourth from the bottom of the league.'

A sudden shrill brought him from his mournful thoughts.

The Griffins' crowd was roaring madly, making it hard to hear what any of the handlers were saying.

Looking down at the field, however, the reason for the Griffins' fans' newfound voices was clear.

The pain must have given the Garchomp a newfound determination. Its saw-like teeth were buried in Rhyperior's rocky arm, and somehow it seemed to have weakened its grip… The monstrous hands still held it in place, but Garchomp had somehow managed to get room for some movement.

Its mouth kept opening and sinking into one of the arms, but still, the opponent seemed to feel nothing. The slamming tail kept hitting with shuddering force…

Magnus almost wished for the ref to break the locked Pokémon, but it seemed there was no hope of such a thing happening.

Magnus noticed the Griffins' defender casting some spell every time their Pokémon was attacked, but he could not tell what it was—probably something to absorb the damage.

"I am telling you, this is over… They should just forfeit. There is no way Garchomp will be able to fight after that."

George was about to support his brother when the Griffins' fans drowned him out.

Garchomp had pulled away!

Magnus had seen it.

It might have been Luck or maybe Garchomp's bites had finally touched an exposed spot.

Rhyperior's grip had slackened, and Garchomp had pulled out of the trap.

"Retreat!" its handler screamed as Garchomp dodged a tail slash and swiftly limped back towards where its team had retreated.

"Told you…" Fred said, indicating the limping Pokémon. "They are just putting off the inevitable."

The Silver Griffins were now attending to their Pokémon, which, to its credit, looked more calm compared to the Rhyperior.

The rocky Pokémon was rumbling at its defender, who was checking its arm. It seemed Garchomp had found its mark after all.

The ref first touched down at the Griffins' corner.

"Maybe they are resigning," George said hopefully.

But even from the determined way they were taking care of their Pokémon, Magnus knew it was not the case.

All of them must have broken the voice-magnifying spell because what they were saying was inaudible.

The ref, however, looked satisfied with whatever they had talked about, and he flew towards the Manticores.

The Rhyperior's handler actually had to meet the ref a good distance from the raging Pokémon, which was giving a hell of a problem to the defender who was fighting to finish putting final touches on its bitten arm.

"Both teams have agreed to continue," the ref said, taking off from the ground.

"Fight!"

The Manticore defender released their Pokémon from the restrictive spell, and it immediately sent miniature earthquakes as it ran towards Garchomp.

The Garchomp handler said something to the Pokémon before magnifying his voice again and joining his teammate in the air.

Garchomp immediately charged toward the oncoming opponent.

Magnus was relieved to see it was not limping anymore, but for the love of his Galleons, what the hell was it doing… Not running itself into another beating, was it?

Seconds before the two clashed, Garchomp gracefully danced sideways away from the closing hands…

Rhyperior screamed a guttural roar as he missed and cruised helplessly past the target.

By the time it had turned around, Garchomp's maw had closed on its foot in more than three bites.

The tail came swooshing madly, but by then, the nimble target had swung out of reach and circled back again.

"That's it… That is what I was talking about!" Magnus cried with renewed hope.

It seemed that the Griffins had realized what he had known all along: they could not beat the Rhyperior in a direct brawl. They were now clearly utilizing evasive maneuvers.

Garchomp danced playfully around the towering opponent, and with every missed attack, Rhyperior grew restless.

And so did its handler…

He was calling all manners of attacks, but by the time his Pokémon turned to deliver it, the enemy had already circled back and sank its teeth in one place or the other.

"Coward!" Fred was screaming. "How are they supposed to fight if it keeps attacking from behind?"

"Well, no one is stopping it from doing the same, is there?" Magnus screamed back scornfully. Not long ago, Fred had not allowed him a second of peace. Turns out karma was indeed a two-timing bitch.

The anger on Fred's face was equally mirrored by Rhyperior and his team. They were becoming restless and clueless. The Pokémon's only hope now remained on its tail, which also proved to be useless. It was slashing blindly, and so far, not a single swing had hit Garchomp.

The latter, however, had covered every inch of its opponent's exposed flesh with countless bites, all the while playfully dancing away from its attacks.

The Manticores did not seem to find a response to this tactic. The rules did not permit players to attack opposing Pokémon directly, but the vice versa could happen, and so they were wary of flying too close.

Rhyperior had now gone barking mad—it was screaming and slashing blindly, not caring about its handler's commands.

Slowly, however, even the battering ram tail began to slow down enough so that Garchomp got a chance to utilize its sharp tail fin.

Maybe it was not as powerful as Rhyperior, but neither was it weak.

It only took five well-timed fin attacks—the fifth hit ended everything.

Rhyperior froze, but Magnus knew what had happened before his three friends did.

"It's a knockout… it's a bloody knockout!"

Garchomp dived.

Its sharp snout slammed into Rhyperior's back, and just like a collapsing fortress, the Pokémon that had threatened to steal away his luck tumbled forward like a loose avalanche.

When it hit the ground, the drill horn sank cleanly into the dry earth.

Magnus screamed!

***

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