The Redwood Saga (Pokémon Fanfiction, Crossover)

[Sahqoreyth]

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[Sahqoreyth]

Chapter 65: Champion Gladstone VS Champion Cynthia​

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The World Stadium, Day Two - Unova Region​

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Connor Gladstone really thought he'd be doing better than this. As the honorable Mr. Parsons narrated his predicament, he struggled to counter the much older and more experienced Champion Cynthia's strategy.

"The Gladstone's heir is on the ropes ladies and gentlemen! Champion Cynthia leads by three, and her Gastrodon has been absolutely wrecking the current Kalos Champion's team! For those just joining us, the strongest Trainer in Kalos has lost his Florges, Elektross, and Crobat! They've all fallen to this Gastrodon alone, who seems determined to prove it deserves to be on Cynthia's team!" As if affirming that, Gastrodon roared hard enough to shake the arena, and the crowd loved it.

Cynthia looked down then, a sad smile on her face. Her mic picked up her words.

"Gastrodon wasn't with us when the Witch Morgana snared my mind…and they still feel guilty. For losing me, for not being there for Lucario…it's very determined to win!" Gastrodon roared again, and Connor nodded.

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It was bad enough catching a high ranker in the first round, but Cynthia, when she was motivated, was a whole different opponent. She hadn't battled this well in decades.

"I empathize." Connor answered. "The Witch's schemes have harmed many in Kalos. Dark Moth's attacks on Lumiose alone caused an emigration the likes of which we haven't seen since Unova was young. Unfortunately…the Pokémon I've used so far were largely new to my team…and Crobat's poison is taking its toll! Now's our time for a comeback! Itharius! I choose you!"

His Sceptile appeared in a three point stance, and rose slowly, arm blades humming with potent, refined grass energy. Cynthia went for Gastrodon's Pokéball, but Itharius was quicker. "Leaf Blade!"

In a flash of speed, Gastrodon fell as the quadruple effective hit combined with more poison damage finished them. Cynthia recalled them, murmuring to their ball. "I'm sure he saw the effort you made. You were excellent." She pulled out her next ball. "Glaceon! Go! Set up your terrain, and freeze it solid!"

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Glaceon nodded, and then raised her ears. Mist poured from them, filling even the massive field with a thick haze. The last thing Cynthia saw of Connor was a smirk she assumed was fake bravado. Once the Mist covered the field she shouted, "Good! Now give it your strongest Ice Beam!"

"Glace! Glaceon!" Was the response.

As Cynthia narrowed her eyes, Connor's voice rang out, "Rocket Punch!"

Steam rose high from part of the field, and all the audience saw was a line of rising steam, and then a very fainted Glaceon soaring out of the mist. Cynthia recalled her before she hit the ground, frowning. Only one of Gladstone's Pokémon could one shot her partner like that.

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With a roar and a burst of flame, the crimson Infernape responsible for the OHKO cleared the field of the icy mist and revealed the hidden switch Connor had made as he started showboating, gesturing to the crowd for more noise. And they gave it to him. The Infernape's head flame burned brighter as he fell into his Iron Fist stance before the rolling roar of the crowd.

"And just like that folks, Champion Gladstone has reduced Cynthia's lead by two! It's still anyone's Match on our second day of the World Tournament!"

"Milotic! It's your turn!" Cynthia shouted, as arguably the most renowned and beautiful example of the species appeared on the field to massive cheers and wolf whistles. Cynthia had many fans who still remembered the brief modeling stint she'd had with Leader Nessa and their Milotic back in the day. Even several decades later. "Drown the monkey. Surf!"

Both Ardor and Connor's eyes widened as the Milotic summoned a massive wave, seemingly from nowhere and faster than should have been possible even for a Pokémon. With an echoing cry, she started riding the wave towards the crimson Infernape.

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Connor didn't panic, though. "Stone Edge! Make a board!" Cynthia raised a brow as the Infernape punched the ground, then his own move, and started riding the Surf, but she wasn't worried. All she had to do was knock the monkey off, and he would not last more than a second. She snapped her fingers, and the sharp sound echoed through the water. Milotic knew what it meant. The Surf went from average late afternoon beachside swell, to proper tidal wave size. "Rocket Punch! Use the speed to ride it up!"

Putting his blazing fists behind him, Ardor rocketed up the skyscraper sized wave, and shot out above it as the attack lost steam. Cynthia grinned. "Nows our chance! Mud Shot!" Milotic soared up from the water as well, the ground energy already forming in her mouth.

"Brick Break through and Thunder Punch!" Connor countered. The inferno ape's tail glowed with fighting energy, cutting through the ground attack, before he rolled into the Thunder Punch. With a hard boom, Milotic went soaring into the water, damaged, but far too tanky to faint. "It's time, Ardor!" Connor ordered as he fell, "Mega Evolve!"

As Connor raised his Key Stone in a Mega Cuff that seemed rather new, Ardor became encased in a sphere Infinity Energ as it catapulted him to a higher form. His fur became white and shaggy like an Oranguru, but instead of a fan, Ardor now had a long red staff capped by gold on either end, and several pieces of golden body armor on his legs, shins, fists, and forearms. A gold face plate framing his ape features sat beneath a fiery crown that sometimes seemed to split into two separate tails of flame as it burned. Ardor was now perched atop a ball of flame that seemed not unlike a Gigantamaxed Cinderace. His tail was now similar to a Charizard's, but furrier, in that its tip was now home to an intense blue flame.

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Cynthia watched the Mega Form, and nodded. "Very well, then. Milotic! Let's match them! Gigantamax!" She recalled her partner, and with the Dynamax Band hidden under her classic black outfit's long sleeves, sent her back onto the field. Her ball expanded, before opening to reveal a slightly altered, and much larger Milotic. The hair like eyebrow appendages had become proper massive fins akin to an Aurorus's sails, and just as prismatic. Her body had changed in color, though it remained cream colored on top, it gradually shifted to an increasingly deeper blue the closer one got to its tail. The tail, much like Mega Milotic, had widened, but now more resembled a Wailord's tail rather than a fan shape.

Rain began falling from the sky above as the very heavens reacted to the intense energies at play in the stadium below. The crowd, of course, was enjoying every glorious second. Only Nessa had ever managed to use Gigantamaxed Milotic before, and since semi-retiring to focus on being a model, a mom, and a more present Gym Leader for Hulbury City, the form was rarely seen in Galar's tournament circuit in the modern era.

"Unleash your G-Max Cascade!" Cynthia ordered, and her Milotic roared in response. Rain clouds filled the sky, and another massive glowing, multicolored wave rose up before the smirking, completely undeterred Mega Infernape.

"Ardor!" Connor shouted over the roar of the wave, "We need to do the Thing! Push past your limits!"

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The Mega Infernape looked back at his Trainer and smirked. Then, he gave a thumbs up, and shot high into the sky. "That won't save you!" Cynthia shouted, "Send it straight up!"

Connor grinned. "Unleash the heaven's judgement! THUNDER SPEAR!" He shouted as loud as he could. Ardor's fireball disappeared in the clouds, and they began ominously sparking with lightning as Milotic awkwardly forced the wave higher with her move's power.

Then, Mega Infernape's crimson metallic rod, now somehow much larger and longer and radiating electricity, shot into the wave, the water killing its inertia. Ardor appeared coming down from the clouds, his head flame was now also blue, and he clenched a fist, activating multiple bolts of self-generated lightning in the rod, which transferred the powerful surge of energy into the water, frying Milotic as it struck. She cried out, losing cohesion of her move, and fell back towards the field.

"Ardor! End it! Electro Ball!" The Mega Infernape looked like a lightning god, the ball he rode upon now composed of lightning instead of fire. The mega monkey kicked it with both feet into the Gigantamaxed form of Milotic, and Cynthia frowned, as her defensive water wall exploded in a violent discharge of energy, her Gigantamax Form faded, and her HP at zero.

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She recalled Milotic, as Mr. Parsons called the round. "And just like that, ladies and gentlemen, we are once again tied! Just like earlier when we saw Champion Sikandar claw the win back from Champion Rosa, you never know what you'll see at the World Tournament! Victory is never guaranteed, the Champion of Kalos is once again in this Battle! Let's see who Champion Cynthia brings out next!"

The Sinnoh Champion looked up at the showboating monkey, now once more soaring around on a sphere of flame. She also noted it was much smaller than earlier. She smirked. "Togekiss. It's your turn."

The fairy typed angel, arguably the most powerful known example of the species trained and still active on the world stage, soared into the air from the upwards curve ball throw his Trainer gave him. He took in the monkey's Mega Form, and seemed to giggle. Then, waggling a wing his way, the Togekiss winked, and disappeared with speed that could rival a Greninja. Cynthia gave him a move to use, in a calm tone. "Air Slash. You know what comes next."

Unfortunately for Togekiss, Ardor regularly trained with a Greninja that also had a speed and type advantage. "Dodge!" Connor called out, "You know what to counter with."

Mr. Parsons immediately noticed what the Champions were up to. "Folks, it seems both Pokémon have been trained well enough to Battle on their own! Anything could happen next!" The crowd roared in anticipation, though all they saw was Ardor, now floating in place, his eyes darting around after a shape only he could see.

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Blades of compressed flying energy shot towards the Mega Infernape from above, but the mega monkey just grinned, grabbed a fistful of loose hair, and threw it into the air. The hair somehow turned into copies of Ardor, which then detonated in clouds of smoke as super effective air blades cut into them. The air filled with smoke, but Togekiss barreled into it, as he saw his target move. With a barrel roll and a dispersal of air, he blew away the smoke cloud, but Ardor was nowhere to be found.

As Togekiss looked around, the Thunder Punch came from behind him, but he'd been expecting that. The Togekiss floated downwards, avoiding the sparking fist, but before Ardor could adjust or counter, Togekiss flared with a brilliant corona of fairy energy, as a powerful Dazzling Gleam hammered Ardor, and knocked him off his fireball.

He struggled to reform it as he fell, and then another Air Slash hammered him, ending his round. Connor didn't waste time though. The recall beam hit Ardor as he fell. Mr. Parsons was barely done calling the round before the Kalos Champion shouted, "Ace! I need you!"

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In the stands, Alex's ears perked up. Ace was Thomas Gladstone's Pokémon. Apparently Connor had borrowed him from his father. The older Lucario had been groomed, and brought back into fighting shape for the World Tournament, and his eyes narrowed as he saw his opponent. He'd seen this very Togekiss battle on this stage before, but he'd never expected to be the poor 'mon that had to battle them.

Ridiculous speed, an aerial advantage, and the kind of 'kindness' that Mega Dragonite liked to employ. Ace growled softly, mostly to himself. They'd trained for a Togekiss, since apparently the Redwood boy had a golden one now, and was likely to use him in the tournament.

"You know the plan Ace. Stay mobile! Don't let'im pin you down!" The Lucario barked an affirmative, and then disappeared with Extremespeed, appearing just before Togekiss as he let the move's power fade, for something type effective. A hail of brutal Bullet Punches hammered the holy eggbird, but as he fell, he fired off a Dazzling Gleam. Or tried to. Ace knew what happened when opponents got close to this one, thus, he was prepared. Only one paw had used Bullet Punch, the other, had been simultaneously charging a Flash Cannon, which boomed, briefly blinding everyone as it mercilessly hammered the Togekiss into the ground, and unconsciousness.

Ace looked back at Connor, and barked. He nodded, and raised his Key Stone, while Ace's Lucarionite reacted. It took the old dog a bit longer, but age was a distant memory as the power of his Aura once again flooded through him, and then across the entire field. It seemed to charge up the fans, who roared as it rolled over them, and the Mega Lucario smirked as his stats were increased.

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Cynthia tapped her chin as Parsons called the KO, and then smirked. "I think it's time we saw one of my own new additions. Metagross, dear…come join us…and Mega Evolve."

"It seems Champion Cynthia has shifted to using Mega Evolution, folks! Once more proving that Dynamaxing effectively is quite hard to do against Mega Pokémon! Oh! There's the Moves!"

"Zen Headbutt!"

"Dark Pulse! Then counter it!"

A Mega Metagross came in with a high speed psychic headbutt, Ace blinded it with a wide Dark Pulse, and then hammered the ground once Metagross landed, and started searching for its target. An Earthquake rumbled the arena, and Metagross, but it had its target in sight again. Before Ace could even blinked, he was rolling across the field, the wind knocked from him with the super effective move. He nearly lost hold of his Mega Form, but he let the pain flare into rage, and focused it. Connor was ready with the order. "Aura Sphere!"

Metagross slashed through it with Brick Break, as it seemed to be taking mental orders from Cynthia now, which was technically allowed, provided the Pokémon battling was making the connection, not their Trainer. Metagross was one of the few Pokémon that could pull off reading its Trainer's mind and reacting to their chosen move in real time, fast enough for a battle. Unfortunately for Metagross, that was what Connor had wanted it to do. The dust from the collision of moves filled the air.

Then, the Kalos Champion shouted, "Shadow Ball!

"Shadow Claw." Cynthia countered, verbalizing now. "Finish it off, Metagross. We can't let it get stronger. Brick Break!"

Connor countered quickly. "Aerial Ace!"

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The two Mega Pokémon devolved into a frenzy of attacks. Metagross Thunder Punched the Aerial Ace, which was blocked with Bulldoze by Ace, only to be torn apart by Metagross's Trailblaze, which was again countered with Aerial Ace, and on the trade off went, until finally, both Mega Pokémon leapt away, their power spent, and panting. Metagross seemed fine, but its breathing was raspy and metallic, while Ace was showing his age, and struggling to maintain his Mega Form.

Well aware he was still tied, Connor reached for Ace's ball, only to pause as the Lucario growled at him. His mental voice echoed in his head.

"I'm fine…I can handle this one."

"But I may need you later…take a rest Ace."

"I said NO!" The Mega Lucario howled, and once more vanished with Extremespeed. A Dark Pulse, once more widespread, came down on Mega Metagross from above. It Brick Breaked through it with ease, but Ace was gone with Extremespeed again. By the time even its super advanced brains reached the calculation that an attack from behind had a ninety percent probability, a calculation it made within a second, Ace was already behind it, slamming his paws into the earth as hard as he could.

Metagross tried to surf ahead of the earth wave with Trailblaze, but the Mega Lucario was watching, and with the last of his strength, altered the attack's flow to overpower the Mega Metagross. It tried to raise a Reflect in response, but the psychic shield broke under the power of the attack, and the metallic blue Pokémon disappeared beneath the surging earth, only its blue claws poking up as it lost its Mega Form.

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"Woah! Both Pokémon have lost their Mega Forms folks, but…it looks like…indeed! From my spot down here I can see it-" His words paused as, with a final wave of his paw, Ace cleared the aftermath of his attack. "Ace the Lucario claims another victory!" Mr. Parsons exclaimed, only to take on a more somber tone. "Although…it seems that our valiant old fighter has Fainted while still standing. That's a Steel Type for you. It seems we are still all tied up, folks!"

The image of Ace, paw raised, victorious, but fainted, spread across the PokéNet like wildfire.

"Roserade!" Cynthia shouted, not waiting.

Connor glanced down, as it seemed he already had his pick in his hand, and given that it was his Alakazam, Sophos, there was a good chance the psychic type had known he was up.

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Cynthia wasted no time as Sophos appeared, and took his Mega Form. "Leech Seed! Then give us some Grassy Terrain!"

"Redirect it. Then Psychic." Connor countered.

Mega Alakazam simply glanced at the Leech Seed, and they went soaring uselessly in the opposite direction. Then, one hand raised and unleashed a brutal Psychic assault on the sentient plant. Roserade's eyes squinted as it cried out, stumbled, but stayed standing.

Cynthia grimaced, but had to admit she was just outmatched here. "Return! Go! Spiritomb!"

Connor smirked at her choice. "Just like we practiced, Sophos! Take it out!"

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The Mega Alakazam nodded, and shot into the air without so much as moving a muscle. From above, he fired off a barrage of quickly formed Shadow Balls that homed in on the ghost energy comprising Spiritomb.

Cynthia narrowed her eyes, wondering what Connor's game was. "Dark Pulse!"

The Shadow Balls exploded wide, and Cynthia figured out their plan. "Hypno Sphere!" Spiritomb aimed its face upwards, and fired off a Hypnosis. Like a slinky made of energy, the circular psychic waved curled down and around Spiritomb, as Sophos appeared beside him, and smirked.

As the Hypnosis faded, Sophos shone bright in a familiar corona of fairy energy, and too late did Cynthia remember that Alakazam could indeed learn a single fairy move. Dazzling Gleam lit up the field with a mastery that Cynthia recognized with a grimace. The Alakazam had likely foreseen this scenario, and trained accordingly.

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She sighed to herself, tempted to bring out her Luxray…but then she noticed the ground type energy being subtly built by Sophos, and changed her pick. She smirked as she saw his brows furrow. He hadn't expected her Garchomp. With a flash of power, arguably the strongest female Garchomp known to man hurtled up towards Sophos, a massive pair of jaws composed of dark energy hovering wide before her open mouth.

Sophos frowned slightly, and Teleported as the Crunch came down on empty air. Mega Garchomp kept the move going though, unwilling to stop so easily. Something was off, though. Cynthia wasn't giving her commands, and Garchomp seemed unlikely to listen to them. The way she lunged after Sophos was something Connor recognized, from his own Garchomp. She was angry, and attacking wildly.

"Sophos." He contacted his partner, knowing the enhanced psychic would hear his thoughts. "She seems stressed. Let's help her out. Give her something to chomp on."

"I understand." The Alakazam replied, once more Teleporting, appearing high above the Garchomp. He didn't bother telling Connor it was a waste of valuable move power and Teleports they may need later, his Trainer was convinced this would help Garchomp, and was therefore the right thing to do.

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A rain of tiny Shadow Balls came down on the Mega Garchomp, as Sophos was able to create about ten from the power it usually took to make one. Garchomp happily started chomping through them with Crunch and Bite while Sophos directed her by controlling where the balls of ghost energy flew. It took immense concentration, but Sophos managed.

Up in the stands, Psi was floating companionably beside his Trainer. Alex smirked, as he sensed his Alakazam's focus. "What do you think? Can you take him?"

Psi's heavy brow furrowed. "Not yet." He was quiet for a long time, then finally spoke. A finger twisted his mustache as he spoke. "His energy manipulation is far superior. I could not yet replicate this with Kalagon."

Alex nodded. "You're closer than you think. Talk with Arthur." Sigh groaned, but Alex persisted. "You've seen what he was like when he was younger. He knows his Types. Very few on this team can match that versatility. Just talk to him."

"Fine." Psi answered, now grouchy.

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Down on the field, the status quo shifted, as the Mega Garchomp was finally given an order. "Enough playing, Garchomp. Extremespeed, and then Crunch!"

Sophos Teleported, but the Mega Garchomp had his scent by now. She was able to follow it, turning on a dime in the air, and chomping down brutally as Psi reappeared. Despite the ridiculous speed and special attack power Mega Alakazam possessed, it was still very much a glass cannon.

"A single chomp, and Mega Alakazam goes down!" Mr. Parsons exclaimed. "Champion Cynthia is determined not to let the Kalos Champion take the lead folks, and even after chomping through hundreds of Shadow Balls, she's still raring to go!"

Mega Garchomp roared enthusiastically, as she heard the announcer, and the crowd laughed.

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Connor however, was not laughing. "It seems we're down by six. Which means it's time. Durus! Take your place." Cynthia saw Connor's Kingambit take the field, and chuckled lightly. "Return, Garchomp." The Mega Evolved dragon side eyed her Trainer, but nodded. She understood strategy, and a rest would help after chomping so much ghost energy.

Darkness flowed from the balls of Connor's fallen team, as Supreme Overlord took their power for the Kingambit's usage.

For her part, Cynthia raised her next pick's ball over her head. "Gigantamax!"

Connor furrowed his brow, and his head somewhat comically tilted up as Cynthia's pick quintupled in size, and revealed a Gigantamax Coalossal. "Now, Max Quake!"

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"Into the air!" Connor ordered, but the command came too late. Coalossal moved with deceptive swiftness, and the Max Quake hammered Durus as he floated into the air. Connor visibly swore, as his last best chance to stall Cynthia fell to a quarter of his health in one move.

Cynthia didn't let up. "Don't let it escape. Max Knuckle!"

Connor grimaced. He'd been hoping Kingambit would last longer. He still had a potion, but didn't want to use it yet. Against Cynthia, he needed to use it at the right time.

"Air Slash and then Aerial Ace! Lessen the power!"

Durus reacted immediately, launching sharp blades of air at the Max Move descending towards him. The giant orange fist of maxed out fighting energy barely shrank, and even Aerial Ace, which landed first, couldn't cut off a large enough chunk of it.

As the Max Knuckle landed, it detonated, boosting Coalossal, and fainting Durus. Or at least, that was what everyone had expected.

Still standing, smoldering, upright on a slicer of health, was his Kingambit, who looked back at his Trainer, and nodded his large, bladed head. Connor didn't wait. "Mega Evolve! Shogun Reversal!" He held up his Key Stone, and Durus's Plate shard reacted.

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As Kingambit assumed his Mega Form, complete with his haori made of steel filings, and the large head-sword now on his back, he vanished, and appeared before Coalossal, hammering it with Reversal, which was super effective, and had two hundred power behind it, with his health this low. Unfortunately, Coalossal was a tank, and while it stumbled back from the hit, it stayed standing, just too bulky to one-shot.

"End it, Coalossal." Cynthia ordered, and with a vengeful kick, the Gigantamaxed Pokémon sent Durus into unconsciousness.

Still grimacing, Connor recalled him, and sent out his next pick. "Gren! Take it out."

The Greninja appeared, and then vanished, but Cynthia had plans. "Max Overgrowth! Use it now!" Obeying immediately, Coalossal did, and in the surge of grass energy that lit up and revitalized the ruined battlefield, the lithe form of the Greninja was hammered with the grass energy, at least until he flipped in mid air, regained his focus, and a swarm of Water Shuriken KOed the living furnace.

---

The ninja frog landed hurt, but standing. He even recovered some health as the battlefield was now covered in grass energy. It had started as idyllic rolling fields of green, and now after all the battling, had become a crater-ridden hellscape.

Cynthia made her next pick, a female Luxray with a mane almost long enough to be mistaken for a male, were it not for the luscious curl it had, a style that mirrored her Trainer's own hair. Gren's eyes narrowed. He was well prepared for a Luxray…but Cynthia likely didn't know that. "Let's go! Spark!"

"Spikes." Connor ordered calmly. Gren put his fins together in a Shinobi sign. The Luxray charged straight into the sharp tack-like stone protrusions, snarling as she lost focus on Spark. "Mud Shot." Connor said, as her speed stalled. Once again, the electric feline was hammered with type advantage, hurt, but still up. By the time she cleared her eyes, Gren had assumed his Mega Form, and the crowd cheered as he controlled the omnipresent Water Shuriken most Mega Greninja hung from to float behind his back. It seemed Gren preferred to keep his feet on the ground. At least against an electric type.

"Thunder!" Cynthia shouted.

"Finish it." Connor ordered.

Luxray bristled with the strongest electric move she had, and launched it. Gren turned, slightly, dodging the thunderbolt with a single step, before holding a palm forward and firing off a condensed, swirling Mud Shot. Luxray took the hit as the projectile rocketed across the field, and sent her rolling. Cynthia recalled her newer team member, and recalled that Connor Gladstone had apparently almost soloed Alain's Kalos League with only a Greninja. This was likely that same Greninja.

---

"Roserade! Join us!" Cynthia ordered.

"Power down, Gren." Connor responded, and the Greninja did so, before being recalled. "Gar! You're up!"

As Connor's Garchomp appeared, Cynthia raised an eyebrow. Gar was a fine specimen of dragon, well trained, but no match for her own. "Absorb the Grassy Terrain, heal yourself." Roserade did so, as Gar assumed his Mega Form.

"A little extra HP won't save you. Gar! Earthquake!" Connor countered.

Cynthia smirked. "Let's see how strong this one is, Roserade. Leech Seed. Keep the field intact." Having already seeded the field just before absorbing it, as the sentient rose knew her Trainer, she encouraged the Leech Seed to grow, rapidly, right as Gar unleashed his Earthquake.

Leaning forward a bit in the stands, Alex, Saur, and Terra watched with great interest. They recognized this trick for what it was: a training tactic turned battle move, which they had a few of as well. Gar's Earthquake only managed to break the earth around him, and the rest of the field was held in place. Roserade chuckled, and then told him Cynthia's partner was able to break much more. Undeterred, Connor acted on his dragon's fury. "Bulldoze! Then Earthquake!"

---

Gar charged across the lengthy field like an unstoppable force of nature, but that was the plan. Roserade nodded at her Trainer in understanding, expanded her bouquets to absorb as much impact as possible, and waited.

Connor's eyes narrowed, and he guessed their strategy. "Break off, Gar! It's a trap!"

His dragon was too engrossed to hear him though. In their Mega Form especially, once they locked onto prey, Garchomp became tunnel visioned. A fact Cynthia knew, and made use of. Gar slammed into Roserade like a truck into an isekai protagonist.

Roserade went soaring, and Cynthia recalled her before she landed. Unfortunately for Gar, the impact had detonated the Poison Powder spores she'd loaded her flowers with. The dragon gagged as they infected him, and started doing damage.

"This is it ladies and gentlemen!" Mr. Parsons shouted, "Champion Cynthia is down to only her Garchomp, who has already battled in this Match! Champion Gladstone has three Pokémon remaining, his damaged, poisoned Garchomp, his Sceptile who we briefly saw earlier, and that Greninja that dodged literal lightning! It doesn't get any more exciting than this! Will Sinnoh's Champion claw out a win, or will the Kalos Champion be able to take down a world class Dragon Type!?" The crowd roared in response to his words, eager to find out.

Cynthia's Garchomp appeared with a purposefully lengthy roar that further hyped the crowd, and raised both Pokémon's stats. She once more assumed her Mega Form, with practiced ease. A fresh Sandstorm covered the field, powering up both of them. She barely even looked at Gar, barely even seemed to acknowledge him as the same species.

That was the gulf between them.

---

"Dragon Dive." Cynthia ordered, and her partner blurred out of sight.

"Copy it!" Connor shouted, and Gar disappeared as well. There was a loud clang, as two Mega Garchomp's scythe claws slammed together, and the resulting shockwave was strong enough to make the field barriers light up. They clashed several times, but the attacks were cancelling out. As both dragons landed hard enough to shake the earth, Connor gave another order. "Earthquake!" As the earth began to break and roar, Connor spoke quieter, "Then Dragon Rush again." Gar nodded from where he'd slammed his scythe-claws into the earth, and made the attack taller.

Cynthia countered. "Dig through, and Dragon Claw!" Her Mega Garchomp did so, only to find Gar was gone as her attack met air. She waited, assuming he was underground, but her predator's instincts shifted her eyes upwards instead, right as Gar finished his attack. He landed in an explosion of dragon energy, landing before his Trainer on the rebound, and roaring. The crowd roared with him.

---

Cynthia chuckled. She needed to find a way to thank the latest Kalos Champion. This was a great workout for Garchomp. A visible aura of deep blurple energy surrounded her body, as she rose, steaming, from the crater Gar had left. The Sinnoh Champion snapped her fingers, and an all too familiar theme began playing, filling the arena with the fast paced playing recorded, apparently, by Cynthia herself. Connor gulped. It was never good when there was actual Boss music.

"Garchomp." Cynthia said, the dragon growled in answer. "Three Moves."

"CHOMP!" Was her response, and she vanished again, somehow, even stronger now. The crowd was, of course, very much on her side now, and Connor knew he was in trouble. The fan favorite was now, supposedly, the under dog. That dog of hers though…was in no way under. Even after a Dragon Rush that had been critically effective. It barely seemed to bother whatever state Garchomp had now entered.

"This mountain can be climbed!" Connor shouted. "Gar, use-" He paused, as he realized his partner had fainted from the poison, and was also still standing. He recalled Gar, as the Mega Garchomp came rocketing down into the earth in an explosion of dirt and dragon energy that washed over the barrier around his Trainer box. She was not pleased to be robbed of her prey. A low, dangerous snarl was aimed at Connor, but the Kalos Champion just shrugged at the dragon. "He already fainted."

"Garrrrrr…."

Slowly, the mega evolved apex predator ran a claw-scythe down the barrier of Connor's Trainer box, then turned her head away from the human who'd taken her prey from her as Cynthia whistled, and then leapt back to her partner's side of the field in a single bound. Her Hyper Voice shook the stadium, as she made her displeasure known.

---

Itharius appeared once more to a quieted crowd, and immediately Connor had him Mega Evolve. "Five Moves." Cynthia told her Mega Garchomp. "Don't let it stall you. Take it out quickly." Unfortunately, she was well aware that Mega Sceptile was one of the few species that could rival Garchomp's speed.

"Dragon Dance!" Connor ordered, "You know what to do next!"

Itharius nodded, and used the dragon move, spinning in place as dragon energy surged around him and raised his stats. Then, he shot across the field, further speeding him up and boosting his speed with Trailblaze. Unfortunately for the grass dragon, Mega Garchomp had only been given five moves, and was already quite boosted from the crowd.

Thanks to the new weight of her Mega Form's wings, Mega Garchomp was actually slightly slower in the air than her base form, so as she chased Itharius down, it was by 'swimming' through the ruined earth of the field. Much like Terra, or other high level ground types, at a certain point, mastering ground energy made moving through it ridiculously easy.

Sensing the land shark closing in, Itharius leapt high into the air off a ruined raised part of the field, thinking that would keep him safe, but by the time he turned, Mega Garchomp was already soaring up towards him, jaw open wide. Itharius fired off a condensed Dragon Pulse, but Mega Garchomp Dragon Clawed through it, and then suddenly accelerated as she once more used Dragon Rush. With a loud boom and an 'oooo…' from the crowd, Itharius went hurtling back into the field, but Mega Garchomp was on the hunt, and her prey yet lived.

---

Connor gave another order, seeing his partner was in dire straits. "Grass Knot!"

Itharius used it just before another Dragon Rush, and Mega Garchomp slammed into the field, bound by grass. With a snarl, she had to turn to slice free her leg, but that gave Itharius time to get space between them, and launch a different kind of Dragon Pulse. Infused with grass and dragon energy in a perfectly balanced amount, Mega Garchomp flared her aura as she once more Dragon Rushed her target. It seemed extensive training had completely removed the low accuracy and recoil of the move.

The Taijitu Move was bisected, and exploded, damaging the mega evolved dragon, but not even near enough to slow her down. With a brutal chomp, Dragon Rush landed, and she drove Itharius into the ground, and stood over his fainted form, panting hard, as she fought the instinct to consume her prey. Once again, Connor recalled his partner, and once again, Garchomp roared with the frustration of a predator who had trained hard to control their hunting instincts, even if this far into the battle, Mega Garchomp had forgotten why she was holding back. She knew it was important though, and her Trainer would be furious if she hunted during a battle. Even in her Mega Form, Garchomp did not want to face her Trainer's anger again. She'd once almost eaten an opponent as a Gible, and Cynthia's chewing her out after forfeiting the match had left a lasting impression.

Mega Garchomp returned to her Trainer, and Cynthia carefully gave her underchin scales scritches. "Good girl. Remember, you'll get plenty of food later, dear. Just one more to go."

"Garrrr." She rumbled, affectionately. She was very hungry.

"I know. Now be careful with this one…and watch the Blizzard. If he hits you with it, fly back to me."

---

As Mega Garchomp turned back towards her opponent, it was to lock eyes with Mega Greninja. The ninja frog inclined his head, and Garchomp did the same. Then, both Pokémon vanished in a blur of speed. Mega Garchomp's burst was shorter though, and all the battling was starting to wear on her. That last weird Dragon Pulse had done more damage than she'd expected. From above, she sensed the change in air, the presence of the type of energy that her species naturally despised.

She dove into the ground as a Blizzard covered the field in unrelenting frost, but Gren wasn't done. The Blizzard was a cover. Several Ice Shuriken homed in on Mega Garchomp underground, and she roared in pain as they landed hard and in succession. The stadium rumbled, and what little was left of the field was eradicated as Mega Garchomp exploded up from the ground in a torrent of Earth Power. Stone and actual magma followed her, raising the field's temperature again.

Gren dodged the Crunch, but the Earth Power still hit him. He made another Shinobi sign with his fins, and the area became covered in a thick Haze. Now, all the boosts from the crowd were gone, and Mega Garchomp was surrounded by ice energy infused into the very air.

Cynthia stepped in, as she hadn't given her partner a move limit against a Greninja like this. "Fire Blast! Fill the air with Stealth Rocks!"

Gren's eyes widened as he heard the enemy Trainer's commands, and he vanished again, as Mega Garchomp shot a short lived Fire Blast into the air, the sheer power of the fire energy dispersing from it cleared the Haze. Then, the dragon stomped on the ground, filling the entire field with floating shards of jagged rock. There was no shortage of them. Very quickly, she found where Gren was trying to hide, and Dragon Rushed towards him.

---

He countered with a Blizzard that was simply too close to dodge. Mega Garchomp roared as it tore through her aura shield, and did quadruple damage. However, the Dragon Rush still landed, and Mega Greninja was still very much a glass cannon. He went rolling across the field, rising slowly and stoically, but by the time he did, Mega Garchomp had returned to her Trainer for a Max Potion.

Connor gave Gren one as well. "Both Champions have decided to use their only Potion right here folks! We are in the final stretch! Don't look away, the Match could be decided at any moment!"

Both Pokémon growled at Parson's words, and then once again vanished.

What happened next…was a battle of attrition. Gren kept any boosts from moves or the crowd away with Haze, and Mega Garchomp simply Flamethrowered or Fire Blasted the wide area ice move into nonexistence. Despite his tactics, Gren took the first brutal hit, another Dragon Rush. The Blizzard he'd formed came out more as an Icy Wind, one that Cynthia's Garchomp literally brushed off, before vanishing into the earth again.

To Connor and Gren's credit…they used every trick they had. Spikes. Haze. Even Substitute, despite the HP cost.

It didn't matter. Mega Garchomp was simply too strong, and after that Max Potion, too durable to take down with just Gren. Both Connor and Gren understood by the fifth exchange of moves.

Victory was no longer within their reach. This was as far as they could go, this time. They knew the feeling well, having felt it against Alain and his own dragon typed Charizard. Despite their weaknesses, well trained dragon Pokémon were simply built different than other species. Especially 'pseudo' legends like Garchomp.

---

But…they made Cynthia work for it. Icy Wind and Ice Beam took less time to use than Blizzard, and the longer they fought the inevitable, the more enraged Mega Garchomp became. They almost did it, too, almost managed to wear her down enough for a Blizzard to finish the job, alas, Dragon Rush was practically unstoppable, and as Gren started running low on power for his moves, another one finally landed, sending him rolling across the field. He tried to rise, but his Mega Form lost power as he was standing again, and that, made Gren fall into unconsciousness.

The crowd lost their minds as their fan favorite claimed a hard fought victory. Connor kept his eyes down, as he recalled Gren, and met Cynthia in the field to shake her hand. She opened her mouth to say something, but she knew that look. She also knew Connor's type. He would be back next time, stronger, and with a lot more hard counters for her pet dragon. But she had tricks for that, too. Ice attacks were actually quite easy to break…although they'd be harder to deal with without her fighting and steel aura hound.

With the handshake over and no words exchanged, Connor turned immediately and left, leaving the Sinnoh Champion to bask in the crowd's adoration alongside her tired, and very hungry dragon. She promised her partner a warm meal, and then departed the field to thousands of people chanting her name.

Despite having retired and returned several times now, Cynthia never got tired of big wins like this. There really was nothing else like it.

---

As she entered the tunnel she'd emerged from at the battle's start, she stopped abruptly, an expression of shock across her features.

There, standing casually against the wall in a baggy Trainer hoodie, durable traveling pants, complete with Trainer backpack, was her grandfather.

Volo's lightly lined features broke into a genuine smile as he saw Cynthia. "Hey, kid." He said with genuine affection as he stepped away from the wall, hands in his pockets, blocking her path. He didn't want her to just run off, and knowing her grandmother, she was likely to do just that. "You and I need to have a little chat."