My Gyarados remained with its head twenty feet above the ground. Venomoth hovered at the edge of Leviathan’s shadow, looking up at the dark form looming above it. The outline of its bone crest and its powerful yet lithe frame were illuminated by a brilliant corona, with a faint blue glow emanating from the halo of light. By now only a half-second had passed. A chilling silence filled the cavernous battle arena. No one breathed, and signs and banners waved slowly in the crowd. The deafening silence was broken as Leviathan began to howl. Its subdued, horrible shriek resonated sharply through my ears. It hesitated for a brief, yet endless moment, then attacked. One second had passed.

Leviathan was poised like a mighty tree in front of Danvers’ Venomoth. Its subsequent attack resembled the felling of that invincible tree. It maintained a tall stance, blocking out the sun, then swiftly struck downward at its target. Its body flowed at the Venomoth like a focused tidal wave. In that fleeting instant, the golden sunlight shone on Leviathan’s enormous jaws as they hyperextended. The foot-long, devastating fangs glistened as the serpent’s mandible, which was as long as a man, slid down.

Through the silence of the crowd, I heard a distinct, familiar sound. It was muffled, so I couldn’t yet identify it. It slowly grew louder, but was quickly drowned out by the mounting cheers from the crowd. Leviathan lurched forward and struck with the force of a freight train. Venomoth beat its wings frantically and began to soar upward as the horrible, noxious jaws careened toward their prey. With one final, exhaustive burst, Danvers’ Pokemon agilely flipped backwards and narrowly evaded Gyarados’ fatal bite. The gaping maw, a cavern of death ten feet wide, slammed shut with a sharp crack. Leviathan howled and crashed into the ground, shaking the immediate part of the battlefield. Bite had failed.

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