After the "dragon" Miraidon made its shining entrance, coldly locking eyes with the Gigantamax Charizard, the live atmosphere boiled over once again.
"Teacher Azure's Miraidon had this trick up its sleeve? It seems like we've never seen him use it before!"
"That's because he's never been to Galar before—Dynamax can basically only be used in designated venues."
"Just because he hasn't used it doesn't mean Teacher Azure doesn't know how. He's debuted so many tactics for the first time on stream, and still slaughtered everywhere, hasn't he?"
"That makes sense—I just get the feeling this Miraidon is likely going to be Teacher Azure's ultimate weapon."
"Charizard? Today, let me show you what a true dragon in the flesh looks like!"
Not only the audience, but Leon on the field was also frowning as he stared at this giant on Aiden's side.
As for intel on this Miraidon—
It could only be described as pitifully scarce.
It rarely appeared in formal settings. Even though it had debuted as a main force on the Champion's Path, its strength in battle was difficult to gauge.
'I see, another surprise force?'
And one that similarly used Dynamax, clearly aiming to challenge him head-on?
Leon revealed a smile.
"When it comes to Dynamax alone, I won't lose to anyone!"
"Charizard, use Max Quake!"
"Roar—"
The flames spewed from Gigantamax Charizard's breath instantly ignited, and a powerful energy erupted from within its body.
The afterimage formed by Dynamax stomped heavily onto the ground. In the next moment, the ground immediately began to shake violently.
Cracks simultaneously appeared in all four directions around Miraidon. The devastated ground unusually began to buckle upward, rapidly converging toward the center.
Even for Miraidon in its Dynamax state, taking this move that it was weak to head-on would absolutely not feel good!
Every spectator in the stands knew this clearly, yet Aiden seemed oblivious, not making any response for a long time.
It wasn't until "Max Quake" had already taken form that he suddenly looked up and sharply called out: "Miraidon, use Max Airstream!"
"Kaa-roar!"
Whether because it sensed the increasingly fiery atmosphere of the arena, Miraidon was actually rarely passionate today, its voice finally carrying a bit of a Legendary Pokémon's aura.
As Aiden's command fell, the Dynamax Miraidon, which had been prepared early, similarly stomped forward.
However, unlike Charizard.
Miraidon chose to use the force to launch itself forward with one step, and it actually managed to jump barely outside the damage range of Max Quake, gliding through the air without losing momentum as it charged forward.
"Miraidon can actually fly?"
"It clearly doesn't have wings, how did it learn Max Airstream!"
"The winged Charizard is using Max Quake, while the wingless Miraidon is using Max Airstream. This is truly—"
On the field, the two Dynamax Pokémon attacked and defended. In the end, Aiden, who had predicted Leon's playstyle, came out on top.
"Kaa-roar!!!"
"Roar—!"
The gliding Miraidon directly thrust a flying kick forward. The Gigantamax Charizard, having become much more cumbersome after Gigantamaxing, couldn't dodge and could only extend its two stubby little arms to try and block it as best it could.
Fortunately, Miraidon's close-combat ability was inherently not strong, so it ultimately failed to deal much effective damage.
But when it was Charizard's turn to attempt a counterattack—
Miraidon, still full of momentum just a moment ago, suddenly dodged in a flash, pulling a distance of over a hundred meters from it in one go.
It directly hid outside the effective range where the opponent could immediately counterattack. This action even made old Charizard laugh.
"It seems Miraidon isn't very adept at using Flying moves, is it?"
Leon watched and roughly guessed Aiden's idea in his heart.
"Doesn't matter, my goal has already been achieved anyway."
Aiden twitched his mouth and gave a thumbs-up to the Dynamax Miraidon ahead.
In truth, he himself had never even seen Miraidon in this form before.
Miraidon was a brand-new Pokémon that appeared alongside the Paldea region in the Scarlet and Violet series, while Dynamax was a phenomenon exclusive to the Galar region from the previous generation.
The connection between the two generations of games was very shallow. Naturally, when playing, Pokémon that appeared later couldn't possibly use Dynamax.
But that didn't matter. To put it simply, Dynamax boiled down to four words—just use Max Airstream and be done with it!
As it happened, Miraidon could indeed learn this one acrobatic move. Though its power wasn't great, it was enough.
Under the buff of Max Airstream, Miraidon's already absurd speed climbed even higher.
Now, even in its Dynamax state, its agility far exceeded Charizard's by leaps and bounds.
Leon clearly realized this as well.
If Aiden intended to stall for time, it might genuinely be possible for him to drag it out until the Dynamax energy was completely depleted and Charizard reverted to its original form.
By then, his only hope for a comeback would be shattered along with it.
Therefore, he spoke up without hesitation.
"This time, use Max Wyrmwind!"
If Max Quake would be dodged, then he'd use another ultimate move that couldn't be dodged and was equally effective against the opponent!
"Roar—"
Charizard's mouth immediately gathered a ball of deep purple energy. After merging with the flames, this power visibly began to grow violent.
Charizard's proud eyes also surged with a crimson glow.
The move's prototype should be Outrage?
Aiden narrowed his eyes, instantly understanding Leon's idea.
Is he trying to force a head-on clash?
But was there a possibility—
That from the very beginning, my goal was to seize the opportunity and instantly KO old Charizard?
'You really think I only know how to play underhanded tactics and slowly torture my opponents huh!'
"Miraidon—!"
Aiden's voice elongated, dragging out a long tail in the air.
The audience immediately held their breath, seemingly waiting for his final judgment.
"Use Max Lightning!"
Both sides once again simultaneously chose a head-on firefight.
Leon also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although both moves were mutually super effective, after using Max Quake, Charizard's defense against special attacks would become stronger.
And Miraidon's Max Lightning clearly fell into the category of special attacks.
No matter how strong it was, it shouldn't be possible to directly—
Boom!!!
A sudden clap of thunder interrupted Leon's thoughts.
He subconsciously looked up, only to discover that Miraidon's body, which had been dim and unremarkable just a moment ago, was now crackling with several arcs of electricity.
It was clearly accumulating power, preparing for its next strike.
And with every breath Miraidon took, the electrical light dancing across its body flowed throughout its entire frame, propelled by its engine.
Until its metallic shell suddenly emitted a white light. Miraidon, having fully unleashed itself, finally displayed its true power.
Utilizing electricity and magnetism, it effortlessly hovered above the ground using only its tail, its technology-filled limbs spreading freely.
Its extended body was like a high-precision operating turret. The electricity surging up from underground through its tail continuously aggregated toward the center, gradually forming a pure energy body similar to Hyper Beam—
Wait?
Leon suddenly realized something, sharply lowering his head to look at the battlefield, which had already been shattered by the previous assault.
After Indeedee had appeared, the ground should have been coated with a layer of psychic energy.
But now—
The pink psychic power, difficult to discern with the naked eye, had at some point been replaced by a crackling Electric Terrain?
??
Leon finally realized that something was very wrong.
Did Miraidon's ability also create terrain?
Earlier, his attention had been completely focused on activating Charizard's Gigantamax transformation. He hadn't noticed this at all—
With the boost of an Electric Terrain, even though Charizard had already been boosted, this Max Lightning would be extremely lethal to it.
At this point, using Max Guard in time might still save it.
"Charizard—"
Leon subconsciously wanted to speak, but when he looked up and met his partner's battle-filled gaze, his voice caught in place.
He didn't have much room to think right now; he could only rely entirely on instinct to make his choice.
So, after just a single breath, Leon suddenly smiled.
"Charizard, let's go win this head-on!"
"Roar—"
Charizard, its eyes crimson, took a heavy step forward. Wielding its fangs and claws, it carved several afterimages in the air, accelerating toward Miraidon.
But for Miraidon—
This time, it absolutely wouldn't give it a chance to get close. Just one Max Lightning would be enough to send this Charizard packing!
Having finished charging, Miraidon attacked with zero windup. Countless surging bolts of lightning instantly engulfed Charizard.
Amidst the flashing lightning and thunder, the audience could only hear Charizard's tragic roar from within, which was soon drowned out by the deafening thunder.
"Charizard!"
Leon gripped his hands tightly, calling out his partner's name with all his might, hoping to lend it strength through this method.
He did indeed succeed.
"Roar—!!!!"
From within the invisible cage formed by thousands of thunderbolts, a somewhat charred large hand was the first to reach out from within.
The battered Gigantamax Charizard dragged its broken body step by step out of the cage. Most of its body had been charred black by the continuous lightning strikes.
Yet even so, running on empty, it still marched forward step by step entirely on willpower.
Seeing this, Miraidon's expression also turned serious, subconsciously bracing for a potential counterattack.
But the worst-case scenario it had prepared for did not come to pass.
"Roar—!"
Charizard approached little by little. Only when Miraidon was within arm's reach did it finally get the chance to throw a punch.
But that was all it had—just this one punch.
Charizard's feeble little stubby arm only lightly touched Miraidon's body before seemingly exhausting all the strength left in its body.
Amidst its gradually relieved dragon's roar, Charizard's Gigantamax body could no longer be maintained.
Ultimately, the Gigantamax Charizard, bathed in flames, dissolved into an afterimage and vanished, leaving behind only a Charizard lying on the ground, unconscious.
"What just happened???"
The local Galar audience wore expressions of disbelief.
They simply couldn't imagine the scene of their strongest Champion and his Charizard partner losing.
But now, this had truly happened right before their eyes.
And it wasn't even a narrow defeat in a closely matched, one-move-short game—it was a comprehensive crushing.
Not just this Charizard that got instantly KO'd, but the entire match had been like this.
Their strength isn't even on the same level?
How is that possible!
In stark contrast to the Galar locals' crushed spirits, Aiden's stream viewers on the other side were much more jubilant.
"I told you Teacher Azure definitely had something prepared! This Miraidon ultimate weapon was probably saved specifically for Leon!"
"Teacher Azure is truly god-like, hiding things all the way to the Masters Tournament semifinals. His trump cards are endless, huh?"
"Don't overthink it, the one-sided beatdown speaks for itself. Hope Teacher Azure can keep it up and crush his way to the championship in the next match too!"
"..."
Leon narrowed his eyes, seemingly a bit dazed.
Even Charizard—
His good partner who had always brought him victory after victory, had actually been defeated so easily this time.
There was no doubt about it. He had lost this match.
The score looked like 3:0, but in reality, his backline was practically completely revealed. Facing Aiden's full lineup next, he had almost no chance of winning.
However—
"The match isn't over yet. Saying discouraging words now isn't my style!"
Leon suddenly raised his hand, smiling as he pointed at Aiden.
"Next, come and defeat me head-on, and advance to the path to the finals!"
"I won't sentence myself to death so easily!"
Aiden smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I understand."
"So, I'm going to go all out next!"
"What?!"
"Leon's final Dragapult was actually locked onto in advance by Aiden's Mewtwo."
"Future Sight, supported from earlier, lands with pinpoint accuracy!"
"Dragapult is down!!!"
"The match is over! Score, 6:1!"
"It's Aiden's victory!"
The commentator made the declaration with a passionate roar. On the big screen, Leon's portrait quickly turned black and white, and was ultimately pushed aside entirely by Aiden's portrait on the other side.
A large "Win" appeared in the center of the big screen, declaring that the first "supreme ticket" to the finals had been claimed by Aiden.
"Teacher Azure, you're way too strong!!!"
"I never thought Mr. Leon's undefeated golden body would actually be broken—"
"No matter what, it was a wonderful match!"
"Mr. Leon, please don't take it to heart. We'll have plenty of chances to catch up in the future. This Masters Tournament journey is absolutely not the end!"
On the Galar side, the audience's emotions went through multiple changes within the short span of the match.
From the initial hope, to the confusion and bewilderment in the mid-game, and finally the helpless regret upon realizing the precipitous gap in strength.
Everyone ultimately accepted Leon's defeat, and used their own ways to comfort him.
Leon saw all of this in his heart. He could only reveal a helpless smile, scratching his head as he looked at Aiden walking toward him.
"I lost."
"So, carry my regrets and keep moving forward."
"And—"
"I sincerely wish for you to become Champion, Aiden."
"Next time, it'll be my turn to storm the castle."
After finishing the battle, Leon, who had been somewhat lost, was actually relieved instead.
Not only did he take the initiative to extend his hand to Aiden, but he could even smile and candidly accept his defeat, teasing himself a couple of times.
Seeing this, Aiden also revealed a smile, extending his hand to bump fists with him.
"Yeah, I will!"
"After entering the finals, any trainer's goal is only one, and that is—"
"To go lift that damn championship trophy, and be crowned king amidst the cheers of the audience!"
"Therefore, whether it's Blue or Red in the finals, I will continue to go all out."
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