Emiya POV
"Tyrantrum, return." The massive dinosaur was converted into red light and recalled back into Diantha's pokeball.
Diantha looked at Tyrantrum's ball, thanked it for doing its best then put the ball away.
She looked up at Blaine, who was giving her a smug smile. Rather than be upset or annoyed by the attitude, Diantha instead smiled.
"I have a confession to make to you, Blaine. Despite my fellow champions' reasons for challenging you, I merely did so because I was curious."
Blaine raised a brow, "Curious you say? Of what may I ask?"
"Of you. I was curious to know about the war veteran and former Elite Four who regularly stood toe to toe with one of the strongest generalist champions in the world. How would a man like that fight when he is backed into a corner?"
Blaine's smirk widened, "Diantha, if you wanted to battle me so badly, all you could have done was ask. I would have gladly given you a good tussle between just the two of us."
Diantha just smiled, "Perhaps, but I am afraid that I am a busy woman, and I have other duties to attend to that prevent me from just making a declaration like that. That being said, you've not disappointed me in the least so far. "
She took out a pokeball and expanded it, "I must commend you for taking down Tyrantrum, not many can and those who do are people I take very seriously… so I hope you can continue putting on a good show!"
"You're on, Gardevoir!!" Diantha tossed her pokeball with a backhand throw. The ball popped open and the flash of light transformed into an elegant humanoid pokemon with short green hair that was done in a bobcut.
It had a long white dress with a green lining, and its most eyecatching feature was a vivid red teardrop shape embedded in its chest.
Like many of the pokemon before her, instead of saying its name, the Gardevoir let out an alien, instrumental sound as it sang its battlecry.
He noticed a necklace hanging from its neck, it was made of a silver and gold alloy with a gem at its center. The gem was beautiful and at a glance, he knew that if Rin caught sight of it, she would be drooling.
With a quick focus of his structural analysis, he confirmed that the stone itself was like one of Rin's gems, except it was significantly more potent energywise than what he had seen her use.
Analyzing the energy coming off from the stone, he saw that it was densely packed with an absurd amount of od.
Right, Infinity energy is basically their equivalent for Od over there, so it made sense. He also noted that Diantha wore a necklace of her own, with a much larger and visible stone embedded on her swan shaped necklace.
"Ah Gardevoir, the fan favorite among a certain demographic of cultured people. " Romani said with arms crossed while nodding like he was some wise sage.
Mash meanwhile, just saw the man with a suspicious deadpan, "And are you by any chance part of this cultured demographic Dr. Roman?"
"Of course I'm not-"
"Liar."
Romani sent a look at Kiyohime, but the girl didn't look away from him. She was daring him to make a rebuttal.
Romani didn't, instead he gave up and sighed,"I walked right into that one didn't I?"
"Yep." Master said with a pop of the letter p.
"Incidently, I don't find Gardevoir attractive in the 'cultured' way, I just like her design and also because I had one as part of my team during my first playthrough of Pokemon Sapphire." Master said, and for a moment, he feared Kiyohime would call him out as a liar.
Kiyohime, much to his relief, did not do such a thing when she verified his claims,"Truth."
Da Vinci closed one of her eyes and made a finger frame gesture at the screen.
"Hm, I see the appeal in this pokemon's graceful beauty. Her face and body is worthy of being painted into a masterpiece… but the sex appeal is sorely lacking. A shame the real deal isn't like the drawings you have in your computer, eh Romani?" Da Vinci asked in a teasing and all too knowing tone in her voice
Romani spluttered at the accusation, "H-How?! I mean I don't have-"
"Filthy Liar."
Romani slumped in his seat, didn't say another word, and just looked back at the screen.
Thankfully, the battle resumed before this conversation got more awkward.
"Alright Gardevoir, let's show them the strength of our bond. Mega Evolve!!"
Light shone brightly from Diantha's necklace, and it synchronized with the light coming from her Gardevoir.
Just like with the gigantimax/dynamax gimmick from the previous matches, a wave of pure magical energy flooded into the room. It held as much potency as the former transformations, but it came with a different flavor.
A shell of infinity energy enveloped Gardevoir like a cocoon. Power flooded the dome inside the cocoon, which became more and more volatile as time passed.
It reached its critical point and the cocoon shattered into pieces and decayed back into energy.
A helix shaped symbol appeared over its head, which was the identifying marker of Mega Evolution.
Another melodic warcry rang out, but unlike last time, it was more serene and elegant. The new sound matched the new form Gardevoir took in its mega form.
Nearly all traces of the color green had vanished from the pokemon's body, with the exception of its hair. The pokemon looked like she was wearing a pure white ballroom gown. Her red oval had multiplied by two and gave the Gardevoir a more human feminine appearance.
"That's it? She got a pretty new dress and grew another boob?" Jalter said, unimpressed by the transformation.
"Of course a toddler wouldn't understand the intricacies and appeal of such an elegant magical girl transformation. How sad." Stheno lamented while shaking her head disapprovingly at Jalter.
Jalter just scoffed, "It's still rather bland if you ask me, even when compared to that electric rat that just got bigger and gained a yellow tail of electeicity."
"Well, her shiny self is more interesting, given how she has blue hair and gets a black dress rather than a pure white one. That's why it's much more coveted by the playerbase." Romani said, which made the evil Jeanne look at Gardevoir in a new light.
"Yeah, a black dress would look better on her… though my opinion still stands," Jalter said.
"Gardevoir, Safeguard!!" Mega Gardevoir crossed her arms and extended them out. A bubble of green light emerged from her and spread out to her teammates.
The light enveloped the pokemon and adhered to them, leaving the pokemon with a corona of green light glowing from their bodies.
"What does that do?" Boudica asked.
"Safeguard keeps pokemon safe from status conditions like burns, paralysis, and the like. Which is an annoyance for Blaine since he can't lower any of their pokemon's physical attacks while Safeguard is active."
"Oh, that sounds like a very useful ability to have for whenever a fire breaks out." Boudica said, though he agreed, he didn't think it would be as useful as having portable fire hydrants (water type pokemon) blasting water at a house fire.
"Torkoal, bring the sun back and make sure it stays up at all costs, Rapidash boost your teammate with Flame Thrower."
Hm, if there was one glaring flaw of triple battles, it was how long each command took to give out. After being given context with previous battles, he understood that the gimmick of triple battles had a glaring flaw. Mainly, that the match was slowed down by excessively long commands, even when made brief.
If this was an actual life or death scenario, Blaine would have already had his throat slit before he could have uttered a word. Even the normal battles had the same problem, but to a lesser extent.
The chaos just made the triple battle seem more of a disorganized performance rather than just a show of skill. It was just like a kids friendly version of the coliseum, which is why Nero was eating it up like it was candy.
Torkoal let out another tortoise grunt and the sun returned in full strength, the rain evaporating to mist under the harsh sunlight.
Rapidash then turned to Ceruledge and bathed it in a hot stream of fire.
A red aura exploded from the lancelot looking pokemon, increasing the strength of its flames which was indicated by the plume of fire on his helm growing into a blazing inferno.
It still surprised him that his Unlimited blade works actually traced and copied the chestplate of the armor from that pokemon. Part of him did feel disappointed that the swords were not originally part of the armor, but rather, they were a part of the soul of the pokemon.
Which meant all he got was a banged up piece of scrap metal with lingering grudges.
"Reset with Haze!" Milotic took a deep breath and released a thick cloud of white vapor into the field.
Once the haze touched the pokemon on the field, many of them slumped, like they had the strength sapped out if them.
"Oh!! A brilliant but risky move from Cynthia with that Haze! Sacrificing her team's stat boosts just to deny all those Flash Fire boosts Blaine had been accumulating to nothing!!"
The announcer said, but honestly it wasn't a risky move at all. None of the champions had abused stat boosting moves like Blaine had, so it was the only logical choice.
Blaine clicked his tongue but took the opportunity to give his next order, "Solar blade."
Ceruledge lifted one of its blade arms to the sky and unlike the last time, the blade of light manifested instantly.
The attack was significantly larger and more powerful than Sirfetch'd's. Given how Blaine from that world was supposedly a former elite four, it was only to be expected his pokemon would be this powerful.
What he didn't expect was for the pokemon who had no hands to hold a sword with also manage to use the same move. And to make matters even more unexpected, Rapidash's Solar Blade was even larger and more powerful than the pokemon with literal swords for appendages!!
"Incredible, a steed that can wield the light of Apollo and use it against its enemies. Truly the other world is filled with many wonders." Hippolyta said while looking at the scene with awe.
Both light blades fell towards the Milotic like pillars of judgement.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted the Gardevoir looking back at its trainer.
He noticed Diantha's gaze looking elsewhere and followed it. His eyes landed on Gardevoir, who was now standing in front of Milotic, with her hands reaching out as if they were going to stop the two solar blades from striking the water eel.
Which is exactly what happened, because both Solar blades were stopped cold with pure psychic power.
Ah, so Diantha was using her vision to direct her pokemon's actions. Clever, but a bit obvious to anyone who was observant enough.
Both Rapidash and Ceruledge grunted as they were met with unexpected resistance.
With the ease of a conductor directing a concert, Gardevoir moved her hands and the solar blades moved against their owner's wishes, away from Milotic.
With a casual cross of the arms, the Solar Blades then twisted and fell upon new targets.
Ceruledge was struck by Rapidash's Solar blade, while Rapidash was struck by Ceruledges's solar blade.
Both pokemon exploded in a flash of yellow sunlight and emerged from the experience with smoke wafting from their bodies.
"Well, that's one way to deal with a sword beam. Nicely done." The hound of Ulster said with pride before indulging in another beer.
Iris had not waited idly during this moment and called out a move that made him raise a brow at her, "Earthquake!!!"
So it seems the pokemon champions weren't beneath hurting their own allies if it meant hurting their opponents; however, his observation was slightly debunked when Diantha called out her next move.
"Float away with Milotic." Gardevoir followed through and used her own psychic powers to levitate both herself and Milotic into the air. The pokemon world proved once again that it wasn't limited by silly game logic and was flexible enough that trainers could get away with creative stunts that the rpg games could never replicate.
"Eruption!!" Blaine desperately called out, but his command was too late as the Haxorus had already stomped the ground with enough force to break the earth and send a wave of earth that struck all three of his pokemon at once.
"Recover until you regain your full health!!" Cynthia saw the moment for rest and took it. Milotic glowed and the scratches began to heal in real time.
Despite taking such a strong blow, the Torkoal still managed to hold out and unleashed another pillar of fire, except it was significantly weaker than before.
Gardevoir casually stopped the boulders from reaching her side of the field with barely any effort.
To add insult to injury, she redirected the attack back at Torkoal, and solely at the Torkoal, but with significantly more speed.
The boulders smashed into the turtle, launching it away from his position like he was a hockey puck.
"Hm? Why did the Torkoal take damage from the eruption attack? Shouldn't it have absorbed it?" This time, one of the silent staff members blurted out a question. If he recalled correctly, the girl's name was MaoMao, one of the few Chaldeans who actively interacted positively with Master.
"Oh!! I know!! It's because the Torkoal's mere presence called forth the sun. Which means its ability is different from the others. That's why the fire could hurt it!!"
Altera eagerly pointed out, which made Master pat her head in pride.
"That's right, pokemon only have one ability they are born and stuck with unless they are modified with a manmade item." Master looked to MaoMao, who had a warm smile on her face, clearly loving that the small girl answered her.
"Does that answer your question MaoMao?"
The girl nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, it did thank you so much Altera, you are such a smart girl!!"
Altera preened under the praise, and he couldn't stop himself from being caught up by the amusing scene, even as the battle raged in the background.
"Drown them with Surf" Milotic let out a cry and swan dove from high up where Gardevoir had levitated her.
Water violently sprayed out in all directions when Milotic fell on the ground and somehow didn't splay herself on the ground. The water continued to pour out from where the pokemon was and quickly turned into a literal flood.
A powerful tsunami wave rushed at Blaine's pokemon with the sole intent of snuffing their fire out.
"Survive the flood!!" Blaine called out what was effectively just a generalized protocol command to evade these kinds of attacks.
The three pokemon nodded and each one did their own thing to evade the wave of water. And this was just an attack while the sun was up, he could only imagine what Milotic's surf would look like if it was still raining.
Rapidash leaped into the air, evading the flood from above, Cerledge bypassed reality by sinking into the shadows, and Torkoal used Protect just in time before the wave washed over the protective layer.
The forcefield refused to buckle and endured the water move completely.
When the water vanished, Rapidash took it as a signal to fall from the sky and strike Haxorus, who had also escaped the surf with a Protect.
Iris noticed the pokemon was trying to take advantage of the weakened protect and called for a move which drew gasps from the crowd.
"Guillotine." A massive construct of energy emerged from the ground. It looked like the jaws of a crocodile, readying itself to snap shut.
It was a very slow move that normally would have been easy to evade, but moving midair was not possible for a pokemon like Rapidash. The jaws snapped shut, clamping over Rapidash's body and delivering an unbelievable amount of power into its body.
The jaws vanished and Rapidash fell on the ground, defeated with its eyes swirling.
He heard a pained grunt come from Hippolyta, the woman having already grown attached to the fire horse that its vicious defeat had hurt her.
"Wow, Iris got really lucky that attack managed to land." Master said, while looking at Rapidash with pity in his eyes.
"Why do you say so, Senpai?"
"Attacks like Guillotine, Sheer Cold, and Fissure are attacks that can instantly KO an opponent no matter the state of their health. Though they usually have horrible accuracy to balance out this overpowered attack." Master explained, already used to explaining pokemon facts to people who are unfamilliar with the franchise.
"Rapidash is unable to battle! Gym Leader Blaine, please release-"
The referee was interrupted by a cry of pain from Gardevoir as she was struck by Ceruledge's Phantom Force.
…please release your next pokemon." The man finally said.
Blaine recalled Rapidash,thanked it like the rest and released his next pokemon.
The pokemon that emerged from the ball was a giant fire dog with a fluffy mane and a tail equally as floofy.
Its red fur was covered in lightning shaped black markings that resembled a tiger's and the muscles of a powerful predator.
Arcanine.
"There it is, Blaine's ace has entered the field." Master said which earned him a raised brow from Romani.
"No? I'm pretty sure Magmar is Blaine's ace pokemon."
Master shook his head, "I thought so too, but the reason why people think Magmar or Magmortar is his ace is because of the anime. In most media on Earth, it's either Rapidash or Arcanine. This Blaine's is Arcanine. I know because I asked him."
Master shrugged his shoulders, "Though I am surprised he didn't lead with him in this battle. He usually likes doing that even in real life."
"Everyone!! Use Smokescreen" Blaine called out and all three pokemon unleashed a huge cloud of smoke that enveloped the arena.
"Hm, obscuring senses to throw off your opponent, not bad." Chiron said more to himself than to anyone in the room.
"Solarbeam on the Milotic!!"
The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, and even with the smokescreen blocking out everyone's vision, the attack still charged in a fraction of a second and shot out towards the Milotic just as quickly.
"Push it back with Hyper Beam!!"
A yellow beam shot out from the eel.
The beams met in the middle and exploded on contact, the generated wind thinning the cloud of smokescreen a slight amount.
A second glow of green light appeared next to Milotic.
Cynthia tried to shout at her pokemon to move, but the legendary pokemon move failed.
The solar beam struck Milotic at point blank range and the pokemon was thrown back from the violent grass type energy that struck its body.
Milotic emerged from the smokescreen with its eyes swirling, defeated.
"Milotic is unable to battle, Champion Cynthia, choose your next pokemon."
Cynthia recalled her Milotic, thanked it, and pulled out her next pokemon.
"Garchomp, come out, you have prey to hunt"
Cynthia threw out the pokeball, which popped open and released an imposing, 6 foot tall bipedal shadow inside the cloud of smokescreen.
"Sandstorm, then take down the Torkoal with Dragon Rush."
Garchomp let out a roar and a strong wind of sand emerged from its body.
The smokescreen was blown away by the sandy winds, revealing not just Blaine's pokemon but also the pokemon on the other side of the field.
The dragon both looked and felt as menacing as it did in the games, an image made even more eerie by the whistling winds of a desert storm echoing across the stadium.
Torkoal realized the sun he put up was snuffed out and tried bringing it back, but the Garchomp had already moved in front of the pokemon.
The Torkoal cried out as the dragon slammed into the tortoise and sent it flying.
It came to a stop near Blaine with swirls in its eyes.
"That was fast. " CasCu said, clearly not expecting the speed of Cynthia's Garchomp.
"Well, this dragon evolved to be optimally built for speed. It's fast enough to break the sound barrier, the Torkoal stood no chance."
"That just makes it more unfair! I can see how it could beat a cocky and lazy hare, but how is a tortoise supposed to keep up with a fighter jet?" Mash said, clearly pitying the Torkoal while forgetting just how many powerful attacks that tortoise tanked beforehand.
"Umu. Regardless, the tortoise has shown to have been a tough warrior to put down. Do not pity him, for it took a dragon to defeat him." Nero said wisely while nodding her head.
"Exactly, that fire tortoise endured for so long that it's not a shame for it to have fallen to such a mighty foe. It accomplished its mission of supporting its comrades with the sun, so there's no shame in its loss." Chiron said while looking at the pokemon with respect.
Blaine pointed his pokeball at the Torkoal and recalled it.
"Thank you for your hard work, it will not be in vain." The man put away the ball, then, he reached into his belt and pulled out a rather unique and expensive looking pokeball. How did he know it was expensive?
The was partially made with a gold alloy.
Blaine expanded it, and the ball rumbled in anticipation. It was shaking so much that sparks of electricity were arching around Blaine's hand.
He narrowed his eyes at the ball, and even from behind the screen, he could tell the ball was on its last legs.
Blaine was unconcerned by the electrical hazard and offered the champions an excited smile, "Alright ladies, time for a pop quiz!"
At the prospect of a 'pop quiz', both Iris and the audience groaned. It seemed like Blaine's reputation for being a 'Hotheaded Quizzmaster' wasn't just for show.
"I do not mean to sound rude Gym leader Blaine, but we are in the middle of a match. I am afraid we can't take a full length quiz the same way your gym trainers do when they challenge you." Diantha said while looking a bit apologetic at the old man.
Blaine looked unbothered by that fact, "Don't worry, I only have one."
Diantha exchanged looks with the other champions before Cynthia gave the final nod of approval, "Alright, we'll give you a chance to ask what you want, and we'll answer the best we can. Regardless if we pass or fail, you will release your pokemon so we can continue the battle."
Blaine's smile widened into a smirk, "Oh, it's not a very hard question really, its just… requires an open mind."
"Get on with it then!!" Iris demanded while crossing her arms.
Blaine shook his head, "An impatient one I see, well fine, here it is!"
He pointed a finger at the champions, "Pokemon like Garchomp or Hydreigon are known in our world as 'Powerhouse Pokemon,' but as I am sure you are all aware, in Gudao's world, they are known as 'Pseudo-legendaries.' The word 'pseudo' is often used as a stand-in for the word 'Fake' or 'False'... which means that a Pseudo Legendary pokemon is a Fake Legend."
Blaine looked at Cynthia in the eyes, which were furrowed in thought. His smirk still present, and the ball in his hand shaking even more violently.
The screen showed a close up of his face as he adjusted his sunglasses, "Using this logic, then how exactly do you beat a Fake legend?"
"By using a real legend." As always, Da Vinci was quick on the uptake and came to the conclusion before Blaine even finished his sentence.
It was an obvious answer, and many of his fellow servants were smart enough to understand it.
Master Ritsuka was looking at the screen intently, his body leaned forward, eagerly anticipating Blaine's next pokemon.
It was nice to see him be this excited about one of his hobbies for once, rather than just desperately putting everything he had to push himself to become a hero that could save the world.
Blaine's smirk curved up higher when he saw the realization on all three champions' faces.
"You can't possibly mean…" Cynthia breathed out half a response.
Blaine pointed the pokeball at the group, who were looking more weary of it now. It was shaking while crackling with dozens of electrical sparks while black smoke leaked ominously from the seams of the ball.
"Yes, I do! The answer to the question is: by pitting it against a real legend!!"
Blaine readied his pokeball throwing stance, the pokeball already looking like it could burst at any moment.
"Now My Princess!! Show these Fakers what a Real Legend looks like!!"
His eye twitched at Blaine's indirect jab at him.
Blaine threw the poke ball and it sailed in the air while leaving a long streak of smoke behind it. The ball hit the grass and rolled forwards.
It rolled and rolled until it came to a slow, gradual stop.
The world held its breath as the anticipation built.
And after that long pop quiz question and theatrical ball toss…. Nothing happened.
…
….
...
"Is something supposed to happen or-EEEP!!" Iris yelped in fear as the pokeball violently exploded into a massive fireball, sending shrapnel of gold and other expensive metals flying in every direction.
The sandstorm itself was violently stopped by the explosion, and the particles flash melted to glass from the heat.
The noticeable change in temperature was just as dramatic.
His senses immediately locked in on the new presence.
A maroon, quadrupedal pokemon coalesced from the fireball. It was spotted with orange and gray spots, iron bangles clasped its amphibian-like legs, and its face was covered by an iron mask.
It stood a full head below Garchomp, but its size was still imposing.
Its red-orange eyes were glaring at the three women and the pokemon in front of them like the champions had personally offended it.
It opened its maw and bellowed a garbled roar, unleashing a wave of heat that was so intense that it felt physical.
Unlike the flashy transformations of prior battles, this pokemon had weight, and he wasn't merely just talking about its physical weight.
He was referring to the metaphysical weight that it carried.
The champions themselves were looking at the pokemon with mixed reactions.
Cynthia looked at the new pokemon in disbelief. Based on her expression, she knew what pokemon this was, and she wasn't the only one since Iris also recognized the pokemon.
Although, she was more nervous.
Diantha was the most confused of all, but she felt the oppressive heat and was treating the pokemon like the threat it was.
"W-W-Who's that pokemon?!!" The announcer asked, completely unaware of what was in front of them.
[It's-ALWAYS-Pikachu: It's the legendary SUPER PIKACHU!!!]
[Is that a Heatran?!! No way!! The legends were true!!? ]
[GroundHippowdon: Not just the dusty books, but Gudao was also right!! Legends do walk among us!! ]
[Fyre&Flamez: I KNEW IT!! HEATRAN WAS REAL!! MY BOI WAS REAL AND NONE OF YOU FUCKERS BELIEVED IT UNTIL THEY WERE IN FRONT OF YOU!! ]
[... We've been living a lie this whole time
]
[Just_N: I don't know why it's such a surprise for you people. Legends are and have always been real, you've all just been too willfully blind and gullible to see them. ]
[Princess is a lame nickname for a Heatran tho. ]
[Nah, It's a GREAT name for a Heatran!! No one will expect it!! ]
"Huh, well well well, what do you know? Legendary pokemon DO exist in your guys' world after all huh Chat?" Master Ritsuka said in a tone with a bit too much smugness in it.
"You guys lied to me, you kept telling me no legends existed and yet the first time I look into your world, a legendary shows up. What do you guys have to say for yourselves?"
Was Master getting payback at chat for something in the past?
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: SORRY GUDAO IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET, I COULDN'T TELL YOU OVER CHAT SORRY!! (｡>﹏<) ]
[Dan-the-MAN: Welp, the Meowth's outta the bag now. I am going to have so much paperwork after this. ]
[MalasadaMayhem: The Meowth was always out of the bag, but it was alolan so you guys ignored it. ]
[MinaPaint: The Tapus are always being ignored and disrespected by the world as always. ]
"Huh, so that explains the sudden shift in mystical weight, that thing is a divine beast of their world… albeit a bit weak for what it's supposed to be." Hippolyta told it how it was, and it earned a nod from Chiron.
"You caught a Heatran?!!" Iris asked, still in disbelief at what she was seeing.
Blaine wagged his finger at the champion like she was a child, "Did you just ignore the exploding luxury ball? Legendaries do not get caught, they choose their trainers. Princess doesn't tolerate any pokeballs aside from Luxury balls, but those trinkets are incapable of withstanding their power for long."
"Where did you get it?" Cynthia asks while looking at Blaine with accusing eyes.
Princess sent a glare at Cynthia and let out a menacing growl. Blaine was also not pleased, "Ehem, excuse you, Princess is a she, not an 'It' and I'm not just making it up, Heatran does have male and female genders. One of the few legends that have both actually."
Cynthia winced before she sighed and corrected herself, "Apologies, but where did you capture her?"
"Humph, while the legends state that Heatran originated from under Mt. Coronet, their habitat spans across the entire planet's mantle. Any place with a volcano can potentially have a Heatran laying dormant at its deepest levels… unless an eruption occured."
A dawning realization comes to Cynthia's face, "The eruption of Cinnabar island…"
Blaine snapped his fingers. "Bingo, but before you get any dark ideas, she wasn't the one who triggered the eruption. She was such a tiny thing then, and nowhere near as powerful as you see her now! She imprinted on me and followed me around, and I've been taking care of her ever since!"
[V-is4Victory: That is quite a runt of a Heatran, and that's coming from me!! ]
[A runt… excuse you?! How is that Heatran a runt?!! She's huge! ]
[V-is4Victory: Yep yep!! Some Heatran can get pretty large. Mountain sized even!! Princess is a fitting name. ]
[Junior_Researcher: You have no proof… but at this point, random strangers on the internet have been proving me wrong time and time again… so I'll take your word for it. ]
"You do realize your actions today will come with consequences don't you? While I personally found those rules pointless, others will be cross with you for revealing their existence to the public," Cynthia said with a serious expression on her face.
Blaine did not deny it, "Meh, let those Interpol idiots come, I'll be ready for them. Anyways, we've prattled for too long. Princess, show those mean ladies how much you've grown, Lava Plume!!!"
Princess let out a cry that intensified the surrounding heat. The theater screen felt like an oven door that had been left open. Luckily the simulated AC turned to full blast and pushed the heat away, much to the relief of the people sitting in the front rows.
The ground beneath Princess the Heatran cracked and spewed fire into the air.
The molten rock sprayed in all directions, covering both friend and foe in a rain of molten rock and burning fire.
When the ash and smog cleared, Haxorus was laying on the ground, motionless. The swirling eyes were the only indicator the pokemon was still alive.
Garchomp and Gardevoir meanwhile, had both managed to put up a Protect on time and survived.
Princess stood on the molten ground, triumphant while her allies all received a fire boost from her attack.
"What a knockout! Even with its resistance to fire, Haxorus could not withstand the heat of the attack!!"
"Haxorus is unable to battle, Champion Iris, send out your last pokemon!!"
Iris pursed her lips and recalled Haxorus and gave it its send off befoee pocketing the ball and bringing out her other pokemon.
Before she could throw the ball, Cynthia interrupted her.
"Iris, Diantha, we are going to lose if we just fight him like we have been fighting so far. Can I count on you two to watch our backs?"
Iris and Diantha nodded.
"You can count on us Cynthia." Iris said, which made the woman smile.
"Good, now let's give it our all."
Iris called Hydreigon back into the field, but unlike the previous attempt, this time it managed to set up a tailwind.
Wind whirled around the champion's pokemon, but he couldn't recall what its effect was.
"Garchomp, buff yourself as much as you can, we're going to need to go all out." Cynthia ordered.
Garchomp nodded and began shuffling his feet while dozens of swords manifested from the ether and began to dance with him.
"Oh no you don't, Princess, use Dragon Pulse!!" Blaine called out and the legendary lifted its maw.
[DragoonRuleZ: Heatran can use dragon pulse?! ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: Her Majesty keeps pulling off one surprise after the other. ]
A rainbow colored energy shot out of Heatran's mouth, the energy taking the form of a dragon as it lunged toward the Garchomp.
"Ally switch!!" Diantha called out and Garchomp vanished before the dragon pulse struck him. The dragon crashed into the mega gardevoir, but it recoiled in pain and vanished into nothing.
"Ceruledge, use Shadow Sneak!!" The fire knight quickly melted into its shadow and zipped towards Gardevoir.
A menacing shadow with red eyes rose behind the pokemon. Gardevoir recoiled from the ghost type attack.
"Skill swap!!" Diantha called out and despite the pain, Gardevoir clenched her teeth and looked at the Ceruledge with glowing eyes.
Two orbs came flying from both pokemon, like they had forcibly traded something integral between each other.
Ceruledge was startled but he shook away the feeling and jumped away.
Blaine clicked his tongue at the move and moved accordingly, "Princess, use Metal Sound then Steel Beam."
A loud screech of metal grinding against metal hit his ears.
"Aarg!! What a horrendous sound!! This is not a sound worthy of my beautiful ears!! Cease!!!" Nero's complaints fell on deaf ears as the screeching sound had disoriented the Gardevoir.
The Heatran began to shine a bright silver light.
"Skill swap with Gar-"
The literal beam of metal flew out of Heatran's mouth and struck Mega Gardevoir in the worst place possible for any woman.
Her chest.
The Gardevoir let out a startled choir like noise as she was sent sprawling on her back.
Her body shone and reverted back into her normal form.
Gardevoir's eyes were swirling, preventing whatever trick Diantha planned to do to help Cynthia.
The referee raised his hand and blew his whistle.
"Gardevoir is unable to battle!! Princess is the winner!! Champion Diantha is out of usable pokemon and is thus out of the battle!!"
The crowd fell silent at the result.
A gym leader had just beaten a champion, and it was taking them a moment to process that.
The next moment, the crowd, once against Blaine, had exploded into excited cheers. The mood was infectious as a few of the staff members also joined the cheering.
"Oh dang, Diantha lost, who could have seen THAT coming?" Romani said with sarcasm in his tone while sipping his drink rather obnoxiously.
"Come on Romani, just because Diantha is weaker in the games doesn't mean she's weak in real life." Master tried to defend the actress but Romani shrugged.
"True, but I also calls it hows I sees it. Diantha lost to Blaine first, so it still proves my point."
"Hydreigon!! It's time for us to avenge Diantha and show Mr. Hot Headed Quiz Master what a real dragon type attack looks like."
"That's DR. Hot Headed Quiz Master to you girl!! I have a PHD!!"
Iris ignored Blaine and pulled up her sleeve to show off a white wristband. There was a diamond shaped crystal embedded on the wristband.
The Hydreigon then lifted its largest chin and showed off a collar hiding behind the collar like fur.
Once again, an immense amount of Od flowed out from the pokemon onscreen, but with the twist that it was also coming from its trainer.
It was as if the trainer was channeling the energy from the crystal in her wristband and sending it to her Hydreigon.
Then Iris got into a pose that made him question the sanity of the pokemon world.
"Behold, the ultimate dragon type attack!! One that surpasses even Draco Meteor!!"
Iris made a pose that looked like what a child would do when imitating a dinosaur roar. Her arms slowly opened vertically, with her hands imitating the teeth of a dragon, and the weirdest part of it was, it had actual power behind it.
A yellow arrow symbol appeared over the Hydreigon as it drank in his trainer's energy.
"Devestating Drake!!!" Iris bellowed out and the Hydreigon responded by doing the equivalent of a mana burst for dragons and shot out a powerful, purple colored attack.
An attack which morphed into the visage of a dragon.
He was barely paying attention to what Blaine said as his brain short circuited from the overwhelming power the attack generated when it crashed into the Ceruledge of all things.
Instead of targeting the legendary pokemon, instead, she went for the literal small fry. Not that Blaine's other pokemon were weak, but compared to a Heatran, they were.
A massive purple explosion shook the earth as the knight took the brunt of the attack head on.
"...What the heck was that?" The Hound asked, unsure of what he just saw.
That was a Z-Move, but he wasn't going to bother explaining that to that dog. Besides, it wasn't his place to say it, because the memories of this gimmick are something they got from his other selves's memories.
Luckily, he didn't have to.
[MalasadaMayhem donated 100 bits]
["That was a Z-Move. It's a special power that comes from my home region of Alola. You have to either take part in our island challenge to get one or you have to impress one of our legendary pokemon enough to bestow one to you.
Alola and Unova openly trade and are on friendly terms, so it's not too surprising Champion Iris has one since she has visited our region before. "]
"So basically it's the gimmick of whatever generation your region will be in the future. " Stheno said with a hum.
["Oi!! It's not a gimmick!! It's a special, sacred power that has been handed down in my culture for generations!! "]
Stheno inspected her nails, "It's an attack that needs to use an item to call forth the bonds between pokemon and trainer to unleash a devastating attack… but I assume it can only be done once per battle. So it's similar to both mega evolution and Dynamaxxing, am I wrong?"
["Well no, but it's different!!" ]
Stheno nodded, "Well. That is true, since it doesn't turn the pokemon into a different form, but that doesn't stop it from being a gimmick."
["Grumble grumble, fine… It's a gimmick, but ours is cooler!!"]
Stheno gave a smug grin. "That's what they all say-"
Hydreigon let out a grunt, which drew all of their attention back to the screen.
Ceruledge did not survive the attack, but neither did Hydreigon.
"What happened?" Stheno asked.
"If you weren't so busy bullying Chat, you would have seen Hydreigon defeat that knight pokemon but gettinf caught in a destiny bond." Jalter said.
"Destiny bond works on dark types? Oh right, dark types aren't immune to ghosts, but psychics. My bad, I completely forgot about that." Romani said.
Good grief, he got distracted too. Well, it can't be helped sometimes.
"Champion Iris is out of the Match!! This triple battle has concluded and will now transition into a double battle!! Let the match continue!!" The referee said and for once the odds were now in Blaine's favor.
Suddenly, the air became heavier as the intense weight of Garchomp's presence magnified.
Garchomp had finished buffing itself.
Cynthia took out a modified lipstick with an embedded Key Stone inside it. She nearly used it on her lips before she gave her order, "Garchomp, Mega Evolve."
The air became heavier as the intense weight of Garchomp's presence magnified.
The Garchomp went through the same process Diantha's Gardevoir went through, except it was much more potent and on an entirely different level than the elegant pokemon.
The pokemon that emerged from its cocoon was even more menacing than the previous form.
Bulkier, taller, and more angular.
It had literal teeth growing from its abdomen, and some extra red spikes on its knees.
It lost its arms and they both became scythes.
Biscione adjusted her glasses as she analyzed the new form of Garchomp, "It traded a bit of its speed for power, and a more vicious appearance to show off its dominance. A proper response when faced against a powerful opponent."
Biscione was right, the dragon's aura rivalled the aura of the Legendary pokemon. Both pokemon sized each other up and acknowledged each other.
"Arcanine, harass it with Extreme speed!! Princess, use Dragon Pulse when you see an opening!!"
The two pokemon nodded and continued the match.
Arcanine had already appeared in front of Garchomp but Cynthia did not order her dragon to stop the collision.
The Mega Garchomp didn't even flinch from the attack, instead it reflexively kneed the Arcanine.
The dog yelped from the blow, but it composed itself and gained distance.
The Heatran saw its chance and fired a dragon pulse.
"Dodge and use Sandstorm."
Garchomp evaded and called forth another sandstorm.
"Throw in a Play Rough while you're at it Arcanine!"
Arcanine zipped through the sand and went towards the dragon, fairy type energy already accumulating on its body, but Cynthia was not having it.
"Scorching Sands, full power."
Garchomp roared and the sandstorm became even more dense with particles.
Princess hunkered down, enduring the storm but Arcanine yelped as it was swept away by the sands.
When the sands lightened, Arcanine had swirls in its eyes.
Heatran took a massive amount of damage but held on, the same could not be said for Arcanine.
"Arcanine is no longer able to battle, Garchomp is the winner. This battle is now a one on one match. Gym leader Blaine, recall Arcanine and resume the battle!"
Blaine didn't need to be told twice as he recalled his Arcanine, gave the fire dog's pokeball a loving pet and put him away.
"This explosive triple battle has now been reduced to a one on one battle between a faker and the real deal!! Will Garchomp surpass the original or will the Heatran named princess prove too much for him?!"
✦✧✦
As it turned out, Mega Garchomp managed to put up a hell of a fight against the legendary pokemon.
While the mega evolution was slower, it was still fast enough that it could evade a lot of Princess's attacks.
And Garchomp never got slower, as it kept on spamming Scale Shots at Heatran. That move did nothing but annoy the temperamental fire/steel pokemon but Cynthia had not been aiming for damage.
She had been aiming to increase Garchomp's speed.
Garchomp cried out when a dragon pulse managed to hit it.
"Burning Jealousy!!!" Blaine called out and Kiyohime perked up.
The heart made a face that reminded him of the petite dragon girl whenever she saw another woman approach master.
Fire exploded outwards, but it never touched Garchomp as it took the opportunity to jump into the air. Unlike before, it could not fly and stay suspended in the sky, but it could still glide towards his target with blinding speed.
Though due to his speed boosts, it resembled more of a blazing rocket.
Princess let out a pained screech as the Mega Garchomp took a page out of Typhloshion's book and landed a brutal earthquake on top of Princess's body.
"Princess, no!!" Blaine's concerned voice called out.
Garchomp stood victorious over the whining Princess, who was also sprawled across the ground under ita feet.
Seeing the legend was not getting back up, the referee made the call to end the match.
But just as the man was lifting his arm, the screen exploded into a white hot vortex of Magma, engulfing everyone in the inferno.
The attack was so intense and powerful that it resembled a G-Max move. Which meant that it was still within the psychic barrier's tolerance and prevented the humans within its range from being flash cooked by the heat.
Garchomp was not so fortunate as Garchomp was swallowed up and trapped by a massive fire tornado.
"Fire spin?" This time, it was Master that was unaware of what the attack was.
"No it's not, but whatever it is, it hit Garchomp pretty bad." Romani said.
The fire vortex raged for a few seconds more before it vanished and dropped Cynthia's Garchomp on the ground.
Its body looked like it was covered in soot and burns.
The referee saw the motionless Garchomp and tried to call the match again, but Garchomp didn't let him.
It grunted as it sunk its scythe into the ground and pulled itself up on its feet. The dragon was now panting heavily, exhausted from the tough battle.
Princess was doing the same, as it forced itself up and stared back at Garchomp with what looked like a self satisfied grin.
Both Cynthia and Blaine were looking at each other now, waiting for the other to make the next move like they were cowboys in a shootout at noon.
Finally, they both called out their next moves at the same time.
"Earthquake!!"
"Earthquake!!!"
The two pokemon obeyed their trainers and slammed their feet on the molten and ruined ground.
The two Earthquakes slammed into each other and split the ground apart with a deep, but sharp crack.
A huge dust cloud rose into the air, and it was during that time when the sandstorm finally peetered out.
When the dust cleared, only one pokemon was left conscious by the end.
Garchomp was kneeling on the ground, panting like it had run a marathon. It grunted when its body caught aflame, the safeguard having worn off long ago and left its body susceptible to being burned.
Yet it held on.
Meanwhile, the Heatran named Princess was lying peacefully on the ground, its eyes swirling, and defeated.
"Heatran is unable to battle, Garchomp is the winner. Gyn leader Blaine is out of usable pokemon, the match goes to the three champions!!"
Master sighed "Man that was so close. Blaine almost had it!!"
"Yeah, it was!! Man!! That was so awesome!! Thanks for having such a wonderful cheat power Ritsuka. We would have never known what a real pokemon battle looked like without you."
Master seemed to get flustered by Romani's compliment.
Onscreen Blaine walked up to his legendary and affectionately petted its steel head.
"You did a magnificent job Princess, I'll be sure to spoil you later with all the super hot Escargo you can eat later."
Heatran grumbled something that sounded like: "you better" before it got put back into a new luxury ball.
The luxury ball rattled before it released three stars to signify its capture.
Martha observed the scene with a smile on her face, "I will admit, this was more enjoyable than I anticipated. While I still do not enjoy seeing the cute animals get hurt, I can see there's more to it than simple violence."
Martha's admission was surprising considering how skeptical she was of the concept when it was introduced to her.
"I am impressed with Blaine's tactics. While the ladies were fighting to punish an injustice, Blaine had prepared for war. I did spot a lot of jarring errors in the way he fought, but I understand that it's a flaw with formal pokemon battles like this, so I will reserve some judgement about it." Chiron said with a satisfied expression.
Blaine walked over to Cynthia and the other champions, his labcoat flowing dramatically in the wind.
Once he got close to them, he waited for Cynthia to recall her Garchomp before he offered them his hand.
"This battle was pointless and petty, but it was for a good cause, and it got me fired up in a way I haven't felt in decades. So I suppose I am okay with it. It was an honor to battle you three."
Cynthia looked down at the offered hand and nodded, "You're right. I got too caught up in the moment and made a kneejerk reaction to your suggestion, and I apologize for the trouble I brought you."
"I'm sorry too, we all ganged up on you like some Plasma grunts cornering trainers on the road. I hope you can forgive us."
"Well, Diantha had a better reason, but it's alright it's all water under the bridge." Blaine said.
The champions nodded at Blaine and shook hands with him, bringing an end to the battle.
__________________________________________________________________
AN: Yes, Princess was a Heatran all along, and yes, its name is meant to be ironic but she loves it. Seeing how Blaine had a gym in a literal volcano, him having a Heatran should not be too much of a stretch imo.
On a more serious note, I went to the doctor for my stomach pain because it got worse. Gonna get some tests done later this month to see what it is.
I got something to deal with the pain, so I am good right now, but hopefully it won't be something serious.
Hopefully you guys liked it, it was getting a bit hard to wrap up the battle without rushing, and the pain wasn't doing me any favors.
Anyways, I'll try my best, but next chapter's upload depends on how I feel throughout the week and how much I get done. I'll be posting comments on the chapter to let people know of future chapter delays from now on, because webnovel makes notifying you guys a pain.
We're going back to the normal programming after this chapter. See you later.