When Cynthia issued her challenge, Aiden Flint accepted without hesitation. After all, he had already promised her a battle back in the ruins.
Now that they were out, she walked straight up and demanded a fight against his Rayquaza. Aiden couldn't help but sigh inwardly—Cynthia was truly a battle fanatic.
Since she had chosen to battle, the Pokémon she sent out was naturally her strongest trump card—Garchomp.
At this moment, as her aura suddenly shifted, completely different from her usual calm demeanor, Aiden clearly sensed the presence unique to a Champion-level powerhouse.
"Quite the contrast. Interesting."
As he spoke, Aiden used the system to inspect Garchomp's status panel.
"Ding! Garchomp's current attributes are as follows:"
Pokémon: Garchomp
Level: 86
Ability: Rough Skin
Type: Dragon / Ground
Potential: Red
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Sand Tomb, Stomp, Slash, Dragon Claw, Sandstorm, Dragon Rush, Draco Meteor…
Seeing that Cynthia's Garchomp possessed a hidden ability and red-grade potential, even Aiden—who had already encountered the ace Pokémon of multiple Champions—couldn't help but marvel.
Cynthia's strength was easily among the very best across Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh.
Just this one Garchomp alone was already a notch stronger than Steven's Metagross, Wallace's Milotic, and Lance's Dragonite.
Truly worthy of her reputation.
"Then, I'm counting on you, Rayquaza."
As Rayquaza appeared once more, it let out a low snort, as if asking why it had been summoned again—another battle?
With a trace of confusion, Rayquaza turned its gaze toward Cynthia and Garchomp.
The moment it saw its opponent, Rayquaza understood—another reckless challenger had come to test its Trainer.
"Roar!"
The instant Rayquaza entered the battlefield, it unleashed overwhelming pressure. Feeling the unmatched intimidation radiating from Rayquaza, even the battle-hardened Garchomp instinctively raised its claws in front of itself, struggling to withstand the shockwave of that roar.
It barely managed to hold its ground without being blown away by a single shout.
Sensing Rayquaza's terrifying strength, Cynthia's eyes lit up instead. This was exactly the kind of opponent she wanted to face.
"Garchomp, go! Use Draco Meteor!"
Without the slightest hesitation, she opened with her strongest move. It had to be said—Cynthia's decision was extremely precise.
Because once Rayquaza launched an attack, no matter how strong Garchomp was, it would only end in instant defeat.
As Cynthia's order rang out, Garchomp roared and unleashed its full power, launching its ultimate move toward the sky.
With a thunderous explosion, brilliant light bloomed across the heavens, transforming into countless meteor-like projectiles that rained down toward Rayquaza.
But what kind of existence was Rayquaza?
This was a Pokémon that could devour meteors in outer space.
How could mere fragments formed by Draco Meteor possibly harm it?
"Dragon Tail."
Aiden spoke calmly, and Rayquaza obeyed instantly.
In the next moment, Rayquaza swung its tail, dense Dragon-type energy rapidly enveloping it.
Then, the incoming meteors were directly counterattacked and hurled back.
And their target was Garchomp.
Realizing that its own attack had been reflected back at it, Garchomp was shocked. Seeing this, Cynthia immediately shouted:
"Garchomp, full-power Dragon Rush!"
As her voice fell, Garchomp let out a furious roar, as if trying to bolster its own courage.
A blue dragon-shaped phantom emerged, colliding head-on with the meteors Rayquaza had sent back.
With a single clash, Garchomp had no real power to resist. Its body was blasted backward, smashing straight into the mountainside and embedding deeply into the rock.
"Ding! Rayquaza has defeated Garchomp…"
Still, it wasn't bad. Compared to Metagross, Milotic, and Dragonite, Cynthia's Garchomp had at least managed to launch two moves against Rayquaza.
Watching her ace Pokémon—her longtime partner, once invincible—fall so easily, Cynthia had already expected the outcome, yet her emotions still surged uncontrollably.
"How can it be this strong…?"
Unwilling to accept it, she recalled Garchomp and released another Pokémon.
"I'm counting on you, Lucario!"
Pokémon: Lucario
Level: 83
Ability: Inner Focus
Type: Fighting / Steel
Potential: Gold
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Aura Sphere, Rock Smash, Metal Claw, Reversal, Swords Dance, Bone Rush, Close Combat…
As Cynthia threw another Poké Ball and Lucario appeared with agile movements, Aiden immediately understood something.
At this moment, the Champion's mindset had already begun to shift.
In that case, he would use even more overwhelming power to completely crush the pride of this proud female Champion.
"Rayquaza, use Dragon Pulse!"
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
As both Trainers gave their commands simultaneously, Lucario instantly condensed a blue sphere of energy and launched it toward Rayquaza.
Rayquaza directly swallowed Lucario's Aura Sphere, then unleashed a terrifying Dragon Pulse that slammed into Lucario before its expression could even change.
Another single strike.
Lucario was defeated.
At this sight, Cynthia's expression grew increasingly heavy.
After recalling Lucario, she released her next Pokémon—Togekiss.
But unsurprisingly, Togekiss stood no chance against Rayquaza and fell in a single blow.
Losing three Pokémon in succession, all in crushing one-hit defeats, was something Cynthia had never experienced before. Her mental state began to falter.
Unlike Wallace and Lance, Cynthia had never truly tasted repeated defeat.
In Kanto and Hoenn, even though Wallace and Lance were Champions, there were still people capable of suppressing them, and they had suffered losses before.
For example, Lance had once been defeated by Lorelei, and even after becoming Champion, he still hesitated to return to Kanto—afraid of being humiliated again in front of the Trainers there.
As for Wallace, even without Aiden's presence, his close friend Steven was more than capable of overpowering him.
Seeing that something seemed off with Cynthia's condition, Aiden activated his psychic ability and began to probe her thoughts.
…
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