Seismitoad collapsed to the ground, its eyes spinning in spirals.
"Seismitoad is unable to battle! Empoleon wins!"
"It actually evolved during the battle..."
Summer gritted his teeth and recalled Seismitoad to its Poké Ball.
Relying solely on an unevolved Piplup to reach the top sixteen would lead anyone to assume the opposition was weak.
However, only when actually facing Steven could one truly comprehend the overwhelming pressure.
Summer somewhat regretted his harsh words before the match.
Fortunately, Summer had already prepared countermeasures for this tournament's frontrunner.
"Go! Conkeldurr!"
Bang!
With a flash of white light, Conkeldurr materialized on the field.
Conkeldurr possessed a grayish-brown body surrounded by prominent pink muscular bulges.
Above its black and white eyes sat a furrowed brow, between them rested a round red nose, and it sported a tuft of gray whiskers on its chin.
Most notably, it wielded two concrete pillars that it allowed to rest on the ground.
A pure Fighting-type—Conkeldurr!
Its strength, in Steven's assessment, surpassed the Seismitoad from moments ago.
"So this is its true power?" Steven wondered.
Earlier, Steven had watched Summer's battles on the television in his room.
However, neither Seismitoad nor Conkeldurr had made appearances.
Although accurately judging an opponent's strength through television was impossible, Steven consistently felt that this Trainer, Summer, was somewhat suspicious.
His commands consisted merely of shouting move names, and his Pokémon simply executed them mechanically.
There was no evidence of the normal Trainer-Pokémon synchronization...
"So that's it," Steven frowned, comprehending the situation.
"Swords Dance."
Empoleon hadn't practiced Counter Shield techniques, and his Swords Dance remained a conventional execution.
Four ethereal blades suddenly materialized around Empoleon, beginning to orbit around him.
The swords bore a striking resemblance to the one Piplup had carried in Rota Town.
"Mach Punch!"
Conkeldurr stepped forward swiftly, raising one of its concrete pillars.
It might be more appropriately renamed Mach Pillar.
Empoleon's expression remained indifferent as he raised his flippers defensively.
Bang!
Empoleon blocked the Mach Punch, retreating only two steps.
"Drill Peck!"
"Empo..."
Empoleon surged forward in response!
His body began spinning rapidly, charging toward Conkeldurr like a top!
"Mach Punch!"
Conkeldurr quickly raised its concrete pillar, striking Empoleon directly!
Bang—
Empoleon shattered the extended concrete pillar completely!
The rapidly spinning form slammed forcefully into Conkeldurr's body!
Conkeldurr's form was sent flying backward, falling heavily to the ground.
"Conkeldurr is unable to battle! Empoleon wins!"
The referee observed Conkeldurr's condition and made the announcement.
Empoleon landed gracefully, straightened his posture, and gazed disdainfully at Summer across the field.
Witnessing Empoleon's contemptuous stare, Summer's expression turned ugly.
He desperately wished he hadn't uttered those arrogant words before the match!
The pre-battle handshake would be broadcast as well—wasn't this essentially slapping himself in the face?!
He'd believed he had prepared thoroughly, yet now he faced utter defeat!
"My last one, go!" Summer hurled his final Poké Ball skyward.
Bang!
An ape-like Pokémon materialized on the field.
Its body was predominantly red, with orange coloring on its face, hands, and the extremities of its legs, plus three orange dots adorning its abdomen.
It possessed flame-like eyebrows extending upward from its eyes, and two orange seagull-shaped markings decorated its back.
Darmanitan!
Steven observed this Darmanitan, remaining completely composed.
Although it had achieved Lord-tier status, its typing proved unfavorable against Empoleon.
Empoleon's specialty lay in Water-type moves.
Moreover, Empoleon's current state was, simply stated, Attack +2, Special Attack +6.
Steven couldn't fathom what this Darmanitan could accomplish.
"Flare Blitz!" Summer roared.
At the very least, he had to defeat this Empoleon!
Otherwise, being swept three-to-zero after his pre-match declarations would be tantamount to kicking himself in the face!
The evolved Empoleon, with its Water and Steel dual-typing, possessed no resistance to Fire-type attacks.
Empoleon calmly observed Darmanitan, engulfed in flames, charging fiercely toward him.
Suddenly, a current of water surged upward around his body!
His aura expanded to encompass the entire venue, causing the spectators present to feel the tremendous pressure emanating from Empoleon.
And this was merely Empoleon, who had just stepped into Champion-tier, projecting it!
This arena wasn't enormous, but it certainly wasn't small either.
To completely blanket the venue with one's aura...
It was extraordinarily difficult, although this was something Empoleon could only achieve by relying on his Torrent ability.
Nevertheless, it sufficiently demonstrated Empoleon's overwhelming power.
He truly deserved the title of "Lord of the Waves"!
This was a new move Piplup had learned upon evolving into Empoleon.
Wave Crash!
Flames and waves collided at the center of the field!
Instantly, massive amounts of steam, resembling thick morning fog, completely enveloped the battle arena.
Rendering everything invisible.
"Regardless, Empoleon should have sustained considerable damage..." Summer prayed that Darmanitan could defeat Empoleon with Flare Blitz.
Winning the battle no longer mattered—what mattered was defeating Empoleon!
Trash-talking before a battle was nothing unusual; it could even be considered strategic.
But being swept three-to-zero after such declarations...
That was an entirely different matter.
Compared to Summer, Steven remained considerably calmer.
He focused more on contemplating what impact a two-stage evolution in a single instance might have on Empoleon.
Unlike Aron's evolution, that particular Pokémon had completely accumulated energy beforehand, relying on evolution to breakthrough its bottleneck.
Piplup, conversely, had naturally encountered a bottleneck and had exhibited signs of evolving earlier.
Steven had never expected him to skip an intermediate form entirely and evolve directly into his final stage.
No prior examples existed of a Pokémon evolving two stages consecutively.
A post-battle physical examination was absolutely essential.
The steam gradually dissipated, revealing both Pokémon's forms.
Darmanitan and Empoleon stood opposite each other.
Neither appeared to have lost their ability to battle.
"That shouldn't be possible..." Steven felt genuinely surprised.
Empoleon's Wave Crash following Swords Dance should have been capable of defeating Darmanitan in one strike.
Not only was there a disparity in strength, but also a type advantage.
It should have been an absolute victory.
How could Darmanitan still be standing?
"No."
Steven examined the situation more carefully—Darmanitan was indeed standing.
However, it had already peacefully closed its eyes.
"Empo..."
Empoleon glanced at the approaching referee, then confidently turned and walked away.
"Darmanitan is unable to battle! Empoleon wins!"
"The winner is... Trainer Steven Stone!" The referee waved the green flag and made the final announcement.
"How could this happen..." Summer's complexion turned ashen.
He genuinely wished time could reverse itself so he wouldn't mock Steven before the match again.
Well... he could also choose to trust news reports more readily.
"You worked hard. If your sword broke, I'll purchase another. When we return home, I'll have a custom sword commissioned for you," Steven patted Empoleon's shoulder, speaking earnestly.
"Given your current condition, you'll need a comprehensive physical examination."
Steven suddenly missed the tiny Piplup.
He could still lift him up and affectionately rub his head.
His team's energetic little one, his carefree companion, had matured into an "Emperor" now...
"Empo."
Empoleon nodded gently, raising his flipper to touch his waist.
An Emperor...
It seemed perfectly appropriate for him to possess a sword!