Of course, Pokémon battles always involved a certain amount of luck.
Among the original Masters Eight, the only Trainer who was genuinely lacking in strength was Alain.
He truly did not possess the power expected of a member of the Masters Eight.
Iris was also relatively young, so she was somewhat weaker than the others. Even so, the fact that she could battle Cynthia on nearly equal footing was already proof of her strength.
Alain, on the other hand, had practically been defeated by Leon in an instant.
As for the remaining six—Leon, Ash, Steven, Lance, Cynthia, and Diantha—they were all exceptionally powerful Master-tier Trainers.
Wallace might also have had a chance of competing for a place among the Masters Eight.
Even so, Aiden still did not have much confidence in either of his two friends against Leon.
Their chances of losing were clearly higher.
However, since both of them had insisted on battling Leon, Aiden naturally had no choice but to stand on Steven and Wallace's side.
After all, they were currently representing the Hoenn League.
They were also supposed to be the final obstacles Leon had to overcome before challenging Aiden.
...
The order of battle was soon decided.
Leon would first face Wallace, then Steven, and finally Aiden.
Everyone agreed.
Since these were only friendly matches, each battle would be a one-on-one contest.
When the four of them arrived at the special battlefield inside Hoenn League headquarters, the staff members who had heard the news quickly filled the spectator stands.
They had come to witness a clash between Hoenn's three strongest Champions and the Champion of the Galar region.
"Hey, did you hear? That dark-skinned Champion from Galar traveled all the way to Hoenn just to challenge Champion Aiden!"
"I heard about it too. But before anyone can challenge our Champion, they first have to defeat Vice Champions Steven and Wallace!"
"I wonder who'll win."
"He's the Champion of another region. I don't think we've ever seen a battle like this before!"
Amid the crowd's excited discussions, Wallace walked to one end of the battlefield.
Leon stood at the opposite end.
Aiden and Steven took their seats in the spectator stands.
Although this was not an official competition, it was still a match between Champions from two different regions.
Naturally, it also attracted Hoenn's Elite Four—Drake, Glacia, Phoebe, and Sidney.
"Leon, the Champion of Galar?"
Sidney studied the man on the battlefield.
"He looks pretty strong."
Phoebe nodded.
"Regional Champions these days are all monsters."
"I wonder what kind of tricks this Leon has."
As she spoke, Phoebe glanced toward Aiden.
This was the man who had forced her to surrender during the Elite Four challenge.
He was a true monster.
Glacia spoke next.
"I looked into Leon's records."
"Apparently, he has never lost a battle in the Galar region."
Drake sighed.
"Then he must indeed be powerful."
"Let's hope Wallace can stop him."
"If Wallace loses, it'll be rather embarrassing for Hoenn."
Hearing their conversation, Aiden sighed helplessly and turned to Steven.
"His ace is Charizard, a Fire-type Pokémon."
"You'll be at a considerable disadvantage, Steven."
Steven nodded confidently.
"Don't worry."
"I won't lose."
Seeing how confident he was, Aiden said nothing more.
At their level of strength, victory or defeat in a Pokémon battle could never be considered absolute.
During the first Masters Eight tournament, the final battle had been between Leon and Lance.
Lance had only lost by a narrow margin.
Yet in the second tournament, Lance failed to advance beyond the opening round.
Steven had suffered a similar fate.
Soon, under the referee's direction, Wallace and Leon each took out a Poké Ball.
Two flashes of white light appeared.
A powerful Charizard and an elegant Milotic emerged onto the battlefield at the same time.
"The battle between Champion Leon and Champion Wallace will now begin!"
"Each side may use one Pokémon."
"Battle—start!"
The moment the referee gave the signal, Wallace took the initiative.
"It looks like we have the type advantage."
"Milotic, use Hydro Pump!"
At Wallace's command, Milotic raised its long, graceful body and fired a massive jet of water at Charizard.
"Charizard, dodge it and use Steel Wing!"
Following Leon's order, Charizard beat its wings and shot into the sky, avoiding the Hydro Pump.
It used the blazing sunlight overhead to create a glare that obstructed Milotic's vision.
Then its wings shone with metallic light.
Charizard descended at high speed and slashed across Milotic's body with Steel Wing.
Boom!
The tremendous force sent Milotic flying backward.
Wallace's expression changed immediately.
From the moment Charizard had appeared, he had sensed that this Pokémon was anything but ordinary.
But once the battle truly began, even his Milotic—whose strength had already reached a terrifying level—was still being suppressed by Leon's Charizard.
How was this possible?
Could Leon be another monster like Aiden?
Still unwilling to believe it, Wallace continued,
"Milotic, use Rain Dance!"
Since a direct clash had failed, he would use weather to strengthen Milotic.
Milotic let out a soft cry and activated Rain Dance.
Dark clouds began gathering overhead, and heavy rain seemed ready to fall.
Leon immediately responded.
"Charizard, use Sunny Day!"
Both sides had used weather moves.
However, Charizard's strength clearly surpassed Milotic's.
Just as the storm clouds formed, the sunlight suddenly became even more intense.
The brilliant rays dispersed the clouds and completely shattered Milotic's weather effect.
Wallace's expression changed drastically.
"Use Surf!"
"Charizard, counter with Flamethrower!"
A massive wave surged across the battlefield as Charizard released a scorching torrent of flame.
Under the enhancement of Sunny Day, the flames collided with the rushing water.
The heat began boiling and evaporating the water until the entire wave was consumed.
Seeing this, Aiden frowned.
Steven, Drake, and the others also changed their expressions.
It appeared that Wallace truly was not Leon's match.
"Milotic, use Hyper Beam!"
"Charizard, use Blast Burn!"
Both Pokémon unleashed their strongest attacks.
Two terrifying forces collided head-on, triggering an enormous explosion.
Smoke and dust swept across the battlefield.
Charizard beat its wings, instantly blowing the smoke away.
Milotic was still locked in the brief period of immobility caused by Hyper Beam.
Charizard seized the opportunity.
Its claws glowed with draconic power as it charged forward and struck Milotic with Dragon Claw.
Milotic was hurled across the battlefield.
After suffering such a heavy blow, it could no longer endure.
Its body collapsed to the ground.
"Milotic is unable to battle!"
"Charizard wins!"
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