"Charizard, use Blast Burn!"
Leon knew that his Pokémon were still ordinary Pokémon.
Naturally, he intended to have Charizard unleash every one of its strongest moves from the very beginning.
Without the enhancement provided by Gigantamax, even Charizard would not possess the strength—or the qualifications—to battle a primary Legendary Pokémon.
But because Gigantamax existed, Leon's Charizard had earned the right to clash with Aiden's Rayquaza for three turns.
As even fiercer flames erupted across the battlefield, Rayquaza twisted its long body and soared into the sky.
It looked down at Charizard from above.
At Aiden's command, Rayquaza opened its jaws and unleashed a blazing orange beam.
Hyper Beam fired with overwhelming force.
Blast Burn missed its target, but the attack still completely devastated the battlefield.
Had Aiden's psychic power not remained in place to reinforce the arena, Hoenn League headquarters might have suffered the same fate as the Sinnoh League and been reduced to ruins.
Hyper Beam struck Gigantamax Charizard head-on.
Charizard let out a pained cry, staggered backward several steps, and crashed heavily to the ground.
Gigantamax provided an extraordinary increase in power.
However, the enormous increase in size also made it nearly impossible to evade attacks.
Its speed had been greatly reduced, turning Charizard into a massive target for Rayquaza.
And now, only one turn of Gigantamax remained.
"Rayquaza, use Hurricane!"
At Aiden's command, Rayquaza raised its head and released a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and earth.
A terrifying storm began to form.
Violent winds spiraled around Gigantamax Charizard, continuously tearing away at its stamina.
Seeing this, Leon immediately issued an order.
"Charizard, use Flare Blitz!"
"Break through the Hurricane and charge straight at Rayquaza!"
At Leon's command, endless flames erupted from Gigantamax Charizard.
Its entire body was engulfed in raging fire as it threw itself directly into the storm.
Even Aiden, who had witnessed countless powerful Pokémon, could not help but admire Charizard's courage.
However, the full power of a Legendary Pokémon's attack was not something Gigantamax Charizard could simply break through.
The two forces collided.
A massive explosion erupted.
Charizard suffered heavy damage, and the duration of Gigantamax finally came to an end.
Its colossal body shrank as it returned to its original form.
"Rayquaza, use Dragon Tail!"
"Charizard, use Dragon Tail too!"
Even now, covered in wounds and barely able to stand, Charizard refused to surrender.
But against Rayquaza, determination alone was meaningless.
Boom!
The two tails collided.
Without the enhancement of Gigantamax, Charizard was instantly overwhelmed by Rayquaza's immense strength and sent flying across the battlefield.
It smashed into the ground and became deeply embedded in the shattered arena.
Yet even then, Charizard had not completely lost consciousness.
"It's over."
"Rayquaza, finish it with Hyper Beam!"
This time, Charizard no longer had the strength to use another move.
It could only stare helplessly as Rayquaza opened its enormous jaws.
An orange beam erupted forward.
The attack struck Charizard directly, and its consciousness finally faded.
"Charizard is unable to battle!"
"Rayquaza wins!"
"All three of Champion Leon's Pokémon are unable to continue."
"Therefore, the winner of this battle is Champion Aiden Flint of the Hoenn League!"
The moment the referee announced the result, Steven, Wallace, Drake, and the other members of Hoenn's Elite Four all breathed sighs of relief.
Before the battle began, Leon's terrifying strength had made them genuinely worry.
Had Leon defeated Aiden after already overcoming Steven and Wallace, the Hoenn League would have suffered a humiliating loss.
Fortunately, things had not reached that point.
"I knew it! Champion Aiden is far too strong to lose!"
"That's right! He's the strongest Champion in the Hoenn League!"
"I heard he's defeated Lance and Cynthia before. Now, after Steven, Wallace, and Leon, he's beaten Champions from five different regions!"
"Hahaha! As long as Champion Aiden is here, the Hoenn League will prosper for another hundred years!"
Earlier, everyone had been holding back their frustration after watching Leon defeat Steven and Wallace so easily.
Now Aiden had used Rayquaza to defeat all three of Leon's Pokémon with ease.
In a three-on-three match between Hoenn and Galar, Hoenn had emerged victorious.
That was enough to satisfy them.
When Leon heard that he had lost, however, he stood in a daze.
Ever since beginning his journey, he had never suffered defeat.
He possessed overwhelming strength and had defeated every opponent who stood before him.
How had he lost to Aiden?
This shouldn't have happened.
Leon remained silent for a long time.
Only then did he recall Charizard.
A somewhat unnatural smile appeared on his face.
"Aiden, you're very strong."
"But next time, I hope we can have a fair battle."
"No Legendary Pokémon."
After speaking, Leon threw out another Poké Ball.
Corviknight emerged.
Leon climbed onto its back and prepared to leave.
"Aiden, we'll meet again."
"And next time, I won't lose!"
Corviknight cried out and took to the sky.
It flew into the distance, gradually disappearing from view.
Watching Leon leave with an obviously unconvinced expression, Aiden could not help but smile.
"That's fine."
"That day will come soon enough."
"The Galar region, huh?"
"It seems there are quite a few powerful and rare Pokémon there."
...
After the battle ended, Aiden returned to his Champion's office.
Now that Leon's matter had been settled, there was still one other issue requiring his attention.
Had the Pokémon League successfully brought the Paldea region under its authority?
According to the intentions of Pokémon League headquarters, it would naturally be best if Paldea agreed to join willingly.
But if it refused...
Then the League would resort to force.
That was simply how the Pokémon League operated.
Of course, many of the stubborn old men at headquarters had already been removed by Lance.
There was no need for Aiden to worry too much.
Even if he had no interest in the matter, no one would dare force him to participate.
However, now that Leon had appeared, another thought crossed Aiden's mind.
Was it finally time for the Masters Eight tournament—the competition between the strongest Trainers of every region—to emerge?
Some time ago, Aiden had already heard that many regional Champions had submitted proposals to Pokémon League headquarters.
Although each of them was considered the strongest Trainer in their respective region, they rarely had opportunities to battle Champions or Elite Four members from elsewhere.
They lacked worthy opponents.
Judging from the current situation, it appeared that something like the Masters Eight tournament might begin earlier than expected.
The only question was what form it would take.
Would it be a direct competition between regional Champions?
Or would every powerful Trainer from every region be invited to participate?
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