The New Normal - A Pokémon Elite 4 SI by CartecFF

Chapter 25: 97-99

The New Normal – 5-12 – A Fighting Fight

I arrived at the Indigo Plateau where my fight against Bruno would be hosted in less than an hour. The previous week had flown by quickly, yet fruitfully, as I continued pushing my Pokémon in preparation for the battle against Bruno. I had politely called off and delayed any unessential meetings in order to not distract myself from the coming battle, which thankfully they were accommodating.

After all the complications with the Gym, Agatha and Karen had apparently settled in quite well in running the Pewter Gym. Though considering the amusing texts that I had received from Karen, Agatha was apparently disgusted with the sheer incompetence that she discovered within the Gym. Unsurprisingly, she forcibly roped Karen into helping to sort out through all the backlog of paperwork.

As she told me, despite all of the work that needed to be done, Agatha was hanging back and getting Karen to do all the work. I heard that Agatha was supposed to be 'overseeing' the work done to make sure it was all done properly, but that sounded just like a justified excuse to me. It was delegation at its finest.

The side effect of Karen's new role was that she was far too busy to train together, but that was along the lines that we expected. And with how poor the state of the Pewter Gym was and how they were behind in their paperwork, Karen was forced to work through the nights to get everything in order. I even heard that Agatha authorised the hiring of a few extra temporary assistants to help out with the work. I guess this was all the 'leadership experience' that Agatha wanted Karen to gain.

I did not envy her. I didn't think anyone sane would actually voluntarily subject themselves to paperwork.

Despite this, from the reports that I got from Karen, she found the entire experience of running a Gym to be novel and interesting. Sure, she complained about how hectic and busy it was, and how it caused her to have a constant headache, but she still found the work very fulfilling.

Still, she told me that she never really saw herself as a Gym Leader in the long-term, as administration and paperwork weren't really what she enjoyed doing, and she really wasn't used to having to hold back as much as she did for the 1st Badge challenges. She said that after the first battle, it quickly became monotonous and a chore to do. However, she recognized the value of Agatha's plans and would do her best, even if it greatly pained her at times.

Furthermore, she sympathized greatly with Brock and the other children's situation with their parents walking out on them. "I've seen this situation far too many times." She told me over the phone one night, "So if there is anything I can do to make these kids have a more comfortable future, then I will."

She reminded me that the situation brought up many unpleasant similarities to the stories she was told while she was in the orphanage and was determined to improve the Gym to be the best that it could be before their time as regent was over. At least so that the kids could have a slightly brighter future ahead of them.

It was a mixture of spite and sympathy that drove her, and I encouraged her all the way. I was happy and proud to see Karen working towards an objective like that. I wished her all the best.

"Elite John, please make your way to the waiting area." A League official approached me, "Your battle is about to begin."

I gave him a nod and made my way to waiting area, my six Premier Balls carefully fastened to my belt. I pulled my thoughts away from Karen and focused on the battle ahead. I knew I was ready; I had studied and trained extensively for this battle.

Now it was time to put that effort into use and secure myself a convincing victory.

I sat back down in the waiting area and passed the time idly by going over my plans and thoughts once again. Unlike when I was sat waiting for my battle against Drake, I wasn't as nervous as I was then.

Perhaps it was arrogance, but I liked to believe that I had developed a newfound confidence. A confidence that was born from my previous victories, which served as proof that my Pokémon most certainly had what it takes to win.

I reminded myself constantly to not underestimate Bruno. He made it into the Elite Four in canon, and so I knew to never treat him lightly.

He was a threat, but I was confident that I could overcome him as well.

"Elite John, it's time." Another official said to me. I wordlessly got up from my seat, and the official escorted me through a small tunnel into the arena, where I was promptly greeted by the blinding sunlight and the roars and cheers of the crowd.

As I shielded my eyes from the bright sunlight, I saw that many in the audience were waving or displaying my posters.

"YOU GOT THIS JOHN!" I heard someone scream out,

"YEAH, YOU WON'T LOSE!" Another cried out.

"SHOW THAT JOHTONIAN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TRAINER!" Another cheered.

I felt a smile form on my face as I felt their support wash over me. The cheers of supporters from the audience only bolstered my desire to win; I would not let myself disappoint my supporters by losing here.

On the other side of the field, my opponent walked onto the field. Bruno received muted cheers from the crowd, but I felt that he barely registered the crowd; his eyes were locked onto me, as if he was trying to observe my every movement. It was a gaze lacking in hostility, but to simply size me up and to take my full measure.

After a moment, he nodded, satisfied in what he saw. I didn't have time to think about what that meant before the announcer made his presence known.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO THIS EXCITING MATCH! NOT LONG AFTER OUR PREVIOUS CHALLENGE BETWEEN NOW ELITE LORELEI AND WALKER, WE HAVE A NEW CHALLENGER SEEKING TO MAKE HIS MARK ON THE WORLD BY CHALLENGING A MEMBER OF THE ELITE FOUR!!"

"NOW PLEASE WELCOME OUR DEFENDING MEMBER OF THE ELITE FOUR, THE HERO OF OLIVINE, ELITE JOHN!!" The cheers from the crowd were deafening, but I did my best to ignore them, even though a part of me wanted to cringe at the nickname. I gave the crowd a small wave, but now was not the time to acknowledge them and bask in the attention. Now was a time for focus. I could celebrate after my victory.

"AND HIS OPPONENT AND CHALLENGER, PLEASE WELCOME THE YEAR BEFORE LAST'S WINNER OF THE INDIGO CONFERENCE, AND A FIGHTING TYPE SPECIALIST, BRUNO!!" His reception was expectedly rather tepid, but he seemingly paid no attention to that. His posture was firm, yet relaxed. But every part of him screamed discipline.

This was a man that looked like he could stare down a Dragon and not flinch.

I zoned out the announcer, who began once again listing the rules and how the battle would be a 6v6 with 3 switches as usual and stared down Bruno. He was far bigger than me, and almost seemed like he was formed out of pure muscle. But I refused to let him intimidate me.

Drake's Dragons couldn't unnerve me, so what was his Fighting types to a Dragon?

"AND NOW, IT'S TIME TO START THE BATTLE! LET'S COUNT DOWN TOGETHER!!" The crowd roared out in approval.

"THREE!" I took a deep breath and let a feeling of calm wash over me.

"TWO!" I clutched onto my chosen Premier Ball, remembering the plan that I had laid out for this battle.

"ONE!" We both released our Pokémon.

On his side, a Hitmontop landed gracefully on the arena, spinning repeatedly as it balanced nimbly on the tip of its head. As it spun, it began kicking the air as if it was dancing, but each kick was delivered with such precision that it belied the technique and strength behind them.

On my side, Luna emerged from her Premier Ball with a wide smile, which quickly morphed into determination as she observed her opponent. I had spent the most time training with Luna out of all of the Pokémon on my team, so I was confident in her ability to secure an early lead.

Bruno made the first move.

"Fake Out, Hitmontop."

"Cosmic Power, Luna."

Hitmontop rapidly spun on the spot before it flung itself towards Luna, arms outstretched. Luna immediately began channelling mystical energies within herself, only to be almost immediately interrupted as Hitmontop clapped its hands right in front of her, causing her to flinch.

Before I could give another command, Hitmontop immediately followed up with a powerful straight jab to the gut. Luna cried out in pain as she stumbled backwards from the attack. Immediately afterwards, Hitmontop performed an impressive somersault kick and backflipped away from Luna, exiting her immediate range and creating distance.

I frowned at the sudden retreat. I had hoped that his Hitmontop would have sensed Luna's weakness and committed further into attacking. Before the battle, I had discussed with Luna my plan to have Luna fake her injuries by making it seem that she was weaker than she was to Fighting type attacks, hopefully causing Bruno's Pokémon to overcommit. But it seemed like Hitmontop chose to play safe and scout.

I knew that, with all the training that I had done, Luna's Moonblast was a formidable attack that was more than capable of badly wounding or even instantly knocking out Bruno's squishier Fighting types. While Hitmontop was the most defensive of the trio, I highly doubted that it could withstand a direct hit from a supereffective Moonblast. Or if it could, it would be severely injured afterwards.

I just needed to bait it in so that I could land it.

"Reflect, Luna!"

"Close in, Hitmontop."

Hitmontop flung itself forwards while spinning once again as it rapidly closed in on Luna. A shimmer of light barely managed to manifest in front of Luna before it was promptly shattered by a Brick Break from Hitmontop, kicking down from above and slamming its leg into Luna's skull. But Luna brushed the attack off.

"Psychic, Luna!"

"Fall back with U-Turn, Hitmontop."

Showing off its impressive reaction speeds, Hitmontop immediately threw a kick to Luna's face, knocking her back, and used it as a springboard to create distance from Luna. Then, showing off its pure martial ability, it began to spin mid-air to control its descent so that it could dive out of the way of the incoming Psychic, narrowly avoiding it.

"AGAIN, LUNA!"

"Power through, Hitmontop!"

Hitmontop spun and dashed right back into the fray, charging straight towards Luna. Luna let out a cry as she fired off a powerful Psychic that ripped through the ground of the arena. But Hitmontop continued its charge stoically as it began to channel Dark energy in one of its palms.

And then, just as the Psychic was about to land, it thrust its Dark-infused arm forwards, shattering the incoming Psychic as it dissipated on the Dark type attack. Bruno immediately exploited this vulnerability.

"Close Combat, Hitmontop! Follow through and commit!"

Making use of the sudden opening where Luna wouldn't be able to fire off another attack, Hitmontop closed in on Luna and began delivering a series of devastating punches straight into Luna; each punch powerful enough to cause an audible 'thump' as they impacted explosively on Luna.

Against a standard Normal type Pokémon, Hitmontop would have knocked them out already. Close Combat was already a very powerful attack, but Bruno had clearly trained up his Hitmontop to be able to deliver punches that were somehow even more destructive. He must have thought that the pain from receiving the supereffective Close Combat would stifle any attempts to counterattack. Which meant that his victory should have been secured.

Unfortunately for him, he had put Hitmontop exactly where I had wanted it.

"GRAVITY, LUNA! INTO MOONBLAST!"

"FALL BACK, HITMONTOP! PROTECT!"

Bruno's eyes widened slightly as he ordered his Hitmontop to fall back, clearly not expecting Luna to be able to form a counterattack at this moment.

However, the sudden shift in gravity slammed down on Hitmontop, slowing its normally agile movements as it struggled to adapt to the intense gravity. Hitmontop stumbled in its attempt to escape, tripping over its legs as they failed to move as it wanted them to.

And Luna was able to take advantage of Hitmontop's self-entanglement to charge up a blindingly large Moonblast, the light from the attack casting a huge shadow across the arena. Luna shot Hitmontop a victorious grin as she launched the orb of heavily condescended Fairy energy straight at her.

Unable to escape or dodge out of the way in time, Hitmontop formed a last-ditch Protect shield. Yet, the flimsy shield did little to protect it against the Moonblast, which crashed through it with contemptuous ease and ruthlessly detonated on Hitmontop, launching it across the arena as a crater formed where it once stood.

The crowd gasped at the sudden turnaround. But, surprisingly, despite being hit by such a devastating supereffective move, Hitmontop refused to go down just yet as it twitched slightly on the ground. Using what remains of its energy, it struggled to pull itself up as it continued to be pressed down by the intense gravity. It wasn't knocked out yet, but clearly could not fight any further.

I commanded Luna to cut off the Gravity, but before I could order her to finish it off, Bruno raised Hitmontop's Pokéball.

"Retire yourself, Hitmontop. You have lost today."

The crowd let out a cheer as Bruno retired his Hitmontop, understanding that it wouldn't be able to push itself any further. The announcer cut in over the crowd.

"WHAT A START TO THIS FIGHT! IN A SURPRISING TURNAROUND FROM JOHN'S CLEFABLE, IT MANAGED TO WITHSTAND THE SUPEREFFECTIVE CLOSE COMBAT FROM BRUNO'S HITMONTOP AND RETILIATED, KNOCKING OUT THE LATTER WITH A SINGLE MOVE! THIS PUTS THE SCORE AT 1-0!"

The announcer paused dramatically for the crowd, before continuing, "CHALLENGER BRUNO NOW HAS 30 SECONDS TO CHOOSE HIS NEXT POKEMON! I WONDER WHAT IT'LL BE!"

While Bruno pondered about his next Pokémon, I took the time to observe Luna's state. She had a big grin plastered on her face, but one of her eyes was unable to open fully. Furthermore, she seemed to be favouring her right side more, and had a small limp. I guess even with a resistance to Fighting type moves, Bruno's attacks really hit hard.

Still, Luna remained in fighting condition, and I trusted that she would be able to stay in the fight.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed that Bruno was eyeing Luna warily, as if he was trying to understand how she managed to tank through a Close Combat like that. Evidently, he was gauging whether she could endure through another. Bruno was far more than a musclehead.

And just before his 30 seconds was up, Bruno sent out his next Pokémon.

"Hitmonlee, avenge your partner."

His Hitmonlee appeared on the arena bouncing on the balls of its feet while firing off a series of kicks in the air, just like Hitmontop did. However, while Hitmontop's kicks were nimbler and came from multiple angles, Hitmonlee's kicks were quicker and seemed to cut through the air itself. The difference in power was staggering.

Bruno made the first move.

"Focus Energy, Hitmonlee. Concentrate, and gather up your strength."

"Softboiled, Luna. Heal yourself."

Bruno surprisingly gave me the opportunity to heal up Luna. I would have thought that he would capitalize on Luna's wounded state and pressure her so that she couldn't heal. And yet, he chose to spend time setting up instead and allowing Luna to restore most of her injuries.

A strange choice. It was almost like he was trying to give his Pokémon more of a challenge.

"Mach Punch, Hitmonlee. Close in."

"Icy Wind, Luna! Slow it down."

One of Hitmonlee's fists began glowing as it suddenly dived towards Luna. In response, Luna began letting out a freezing gust of wind that would have slowed the incoming Hitmonlee. However, seeing the attack coming, Bruno quickly switched tactics.

"Switch to Blaze Kick, Hitmonlee. Use the momentum."

Still being driven forward by the momentum from its Mach Punch, Hitmonlee quickly transitioned into a spinning kick of flames, burning through the incoming Icy Wind and striking directly at Luna's side.

Luna let out a genuine cry of pain from that attack, not like the fake ones she did against Hitmontop, and stumbled to the side. Bruno rapidly capitalized on that opportunity.

"Mega Kick, Hitmonlee."

"PROTECT!"

And yet, my order came too late. With near instantaneous reactions, Hitmonlee kicked through the air like a speeding bullet, smashing critically against Luna with an audible crack and causing her to careen backwards through the air as she crashed into the psychic shields of the arena.

I casted a worried look at Luna, unsure if she was able to continue the fight. Fortunately, despite being blasted backwards, Luna proved that her training was worthwhile as she pulled herself up with only a slight stumble from where she had fallen. I shot her a proud grin at that.

Seeing that Luna was still in the fight, Bruno gave his next command.

"Stone Edge, Hitmonlee."

"Psychic, Luna. Blast through them."

Hitmonlee began lifting up huge rocks around it, before kicking them towards Luna like they were huge projectiles. They flew with incredible accuracy, and I knew that Bruno had perfected his use of rocks as projectiles as counters for potential flyers. The rocks weren't voluminous, like with Vordt or Tyranitar, but rather they just flew with blisteringly fast speeds and with dangerous sniper-like precision. This was a clear example of quality over quantity.

Even Zephyr would have a hard time dodging past such accurate rocks flying at such high speed.

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However, before they even managed to get close, Luna fired off a destructive Psychic that ripped through the incoming rocks like they were nothing more than chunks of loose gravel, dissipating the incoming volley of rocks entirely.

"Earthquake and close the distance with a Mach Punch, Hitmonlee. You can't fight from afar!"

Hitmonlee pivoted out of the way of the incoming Psychic before it stomped on the ground with one of its legs. A terrible tremor shot through the ground, as a huge crack started snaking its way towards Luna.

"Protect, Luna!"

A circular shield formed around Luna just in time to protect herself against the Earthquake, but Hitmonlee exploited Luna's inability to attack by getting in close and timed it perfectly so that it struck Luna critically in the face with its fist just as the Protect shield dissipated.

"Low Sweep, Hitmonlee. Trip her up."

"Zen Headbutt, Luna. Knock it away!"

Luna recovered quickly and began channelling Psychic energy in the dome of her head, but before she could strike at Hitmonlee, it swept its powerful legs underneath Luna and knocked her off her feet. She fell helplessly onto the ground, and before she could pull herself up and reorient herself, Hitmonlee quickly followed up with a devastating series of kicks that all struck at Luna's critical points, the previous Focus Energy paying dividends right now as Hitmonlee narrowed down Luna's weak points.

I winced as I watched helplessly as Luna fell to the ground while being brutally hammered by an onslaught of kicks. Despite all the training that we had done, Luna still wasn't the best at fighting at close range. She had neither the physique nor the speed to take advantage of a close-range fight. If this kept up for even a short while longer, I knew that Luna would be knocked out even with her resistance to Fighting type moves.

I struggled to think of something, before my eyes flashed as I remembered what Hitmontop did to separate itself from Luna earlier.

"Psychic, Luna! Blast yourself away!"

Luna admirably pushed through the pain as she unleashed a blast of Psychic energy that detonated right in front of her. The force from the attack launched Luna backwards through the air, and more importantly, separating herself from Hitmonlee. Her injuries were severe, but Luna valiantly stood tall despite her battered body. She may have been on her last legs, but she wouldn't fall just yet.

In the meanwhile, Hitmonlee was unable to react in time to the sudden explosion of Psychic energy and was blasted backwards as well. Hitmonlee briefly fell onto a knee, its lack of endurance proving crippling as it struggled to recover its stance after tanking through one supereffective Psychic. Although its injuries looked far less serious than Luna's, I recognized that another good hit might be enough to take out the Hitmonlee.

Both Pokémon were injured, but neither refused to fall just yet. But I felt it in my gut that the next round of attacks would decide the victor.

A strange sense of calm settled down on me as I analysed what Bruno's next move would be. I was confident he would try to get in close once again; since that was what he had been doing every time and I knew that he had no long-ranged attacks to rely on. Thus, the question was how could I knock out Hitmonlee in close-range when it was superior at fighting in close range over Luna?

Then, my mind flashed back to my fight against Giovanni, and the odd training that I did in preparation for the match. And I had my solution.

"Mach Punch, Hitmonlee. Again!"

Almost feeling like déjà vu, Hitmonlee sped towards Luna with fist extended as it threatened to strike Luna with yet another critical attack. But this time, I waited patiently for Hitmonlee to strike, hoping that Luna's inherent resistance to Fighting type attacks would be sufficient at keeping her on her feet.

Hitmonlee crashed into Luna with a powerful strike of his fist, landing a savage blow that struck Luna critically. Luna skidded back, letting out a cry of pain, but held on enough to launch her own counterattack.

"Zen Headbutt, Luna! Meet it head on!"

Luna's psychically infused head descended downwards like a hammer, but to my surprise, Hitmonlee reacted quicker than I expected and struck at Luna's head with a Dark-infused kick, which knocked her backwards and also SOMEHOW nullified the attack entirely. Luna's head snapped backwards from the blow, and she wobbled in confusion before fortunately pulling herself together.

I was shocked at Hitmonlee's reaction speed to not only recover from its attack but to also nullify Luna's; it was an incredible display of discipline and focus. But I knew that we were at the critical moment in the fight.

"Play Rough, Luna!"

"Dispel it with another kick, Hitmonlee!"

Dark energy rapidly formed around one of Hitmonlee's legs, wrapping around it like a bandage before it was thrust out like a spear at my charging Luna. However, this time Bruno was the one to be surprised, as instead of dispersing the Psychic energy like he did with the Zen Headbutt, Luna's Play Rough seemed to cut right through the Dark energy.

But even after being caught out by surprise, Hitmonlee quickly surrounded itself with an orange glow as it instantly prepared a Counter just moments before Luna crashed into it with a Play Rough.

Both Pokémon fell onto the ground from the attack, and Hitmonlee let out a grunt of pain as it was struck by the supereffective move. And yet, channelling its mental discipline, it directed the stored energy from the Counter and retaliated with a brutal Mega Kick that critically smashed into Luna's side.

Luna was launched away by the attack, and this time, I knew she wouldn't be getting up. She slammed painfully into the psychic barriers with a loud cry of pain, and unfortunately slumped over; her injuries proving too much to handle. With a sigh, I grabbed Luna's Premier Ball and withdrew my fainted Pokémon from the fight.

Seeing my Luna go down, Bruno pondered things over for a moment before eventually deciding to also withdraw his severely injured Hitmonlee, retiring from the battle. He likely realized it was only going to be detrimental to leave it in the fight.

Even though that was the smarter move for him to do, I still breathed a small sigh of relief as Hitmonlee vanished into its Pokéball. What a monster that was.

"AND BOTH TRAINERS HAVE RETIRED THEIR POKEMON, AND WHAT A SHOW THAT WE JUST GOT!" The announcer's voice boomed out. "IN A DOUBLE KNOCKOUT, BOTH POKEMON HAVE GONE DOWN AFTER A BRUTAL CLOSE-RANGE BATTLE! THE MATCH IS NOW AT 2-1!! EACH TRAINER HAS 30 SECONDS TO SEND OUT THEIR NEXT POKEMON!"

The crowd cheered wildly at the effective double knock out, but I didn't have it in me to join in on their enthusiasm. I wasn't disappointed at Luna's performance, but I was hoping that Luna could have achieved more with her hidden typing and resistances.

I recognized that, if it weren't for the element of surprise, Luna would not have won in that final exchange, and probably would have just been knocked out unceremoniously. Bruno must have expected Play Rough to be a Psychic type move like Zen Headbutt, and it was only the surprising fact that my Fairy type attack nullified his Dark type move that secured me a double knockout.

Still, I took a breath to calm myself down. Things don't always go to plan, and Luna HAD secured me a one Pokémon lead over Bruno.

I just had to make sure that lead could sustain itself.

The New Normal – 5-13 – Fighting Power

I hesitated for a moment before sending out my next Pokémon, which I had planned to be Zephyr. Originally, I had hoped to send out Zephyr to finish off whatever weakened Pokémon that Luna would have been dealing with, since I was confident that Zephyr should be able to evade enough attacks from one of Bruno's injured Pokémon.

From the research that I had done, I had seen countless times how Bruno's Pokémon were able to secure a victory despite going against Flying types, reversing the Fighting type's normally unfavourable conditions, and striking the offending Flyer out of the sky with precise attacks.

But now, I was wondering if Zephyr could actually deal with an uninjured Pokémon from Bruno.

However, after taking a moment to think things through a bit and going over Bruno's entire team once again, I realized that it didn't matter if I sent out Zephyr next or not. I recognized that, despite differences regarding strength, speed, and bulk, ALL of Bruno's Pokémon fought the same way and with similar anti-air techniques. Therefore, it didn't really matter WHEN I chose to send out Zephyr, as any Pokémon that Bruno chose would try to knock Zephyr out of the air by firing rocks at him.

With that decided, I grabbed hold of his Premier Ball as I got ready to send him in. As I looked up, I felt Bruno's eyes scanning me. I refused to meet his stares as I readied myself mentally for the next round.

"TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY?!" The announcer hyped up as our 30 seconds were nearly up. We both nodded. "BEGIN!"

"IN THE AIR, ZEPHYR!"

"Hitmonchan, go!"

Foregoing any posturing, and just like when I went up against Drake, Zephyr emerged from his Premier Ball as he immediately screeched out and acknowledged my hidden command to swoop high up into the air and begin setting up with Work Up.

However, Bruno wasn't going to make things easy for me.

"Stone Edge, Hitmonchan. Punch it down."

Just like with Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan began tearing up the arena as large slabs of rocks floated around it. Then, with a hammering strike from her fists, one for each rock, she launched each slab like a missile that shot towards Zephyr, cutting through the air like bullets.

Even with all the training that we did against Vordt and his Stone Edge, I was unpleasantly surprised at just how close those rocks were to knocking Zephyr out of the air. Each rock narrowly whistled by Zephyr, despite his impressive flying speed. While Hitmonchan could not match the sheer volume of rocks that Vordt could fire off, but by physically slamming each rock forwards with its fists like it was doing, it meant that each rock shot through the air with dangerously fast speeds.

Instead of an overwhelming barrage of rocks, Hitmonchan fired them off like sniper rounds. Precise and deadly.

I had hoped that my practice with Zephyr against Vordt would make it easier to dodge past the rocks. It was one thing to witness this technique over a screen, but now, seeing it in person like this, I began to truly understand how Bruno was able to bring down the many Flying types that were commonly arrayed against him.

Despite Zeyphr's best and admirable efforts in utilizing the full range of his aerial manoeuvrability, performing an impressive combination of swoops, dives, and swerves to dodge out of the way, each slam of Hitmonchan's fists only caused more rocks to shoot forwards. As the rocks continued to fly, I was uncomfortable allowing this situation to continue any further as the pressure started to build up. Furthermore, Zephyr had quickly abandoned his attempts to setup with Work Up, as he couldn't afford to distract himself and was forced to dedicate all of his focus into purely dodging.

My fists clenched as I realized the horrible situation Zephyr was in. Unable to set up with Work Ups, Zephyr was effectively wasting time until one rock eventually knocked it out of the air.

I was tempted to swap Zephyr out, but I feared giving Bruno the opportunity to allow his Pokémon to set up. His Focus Energy boosted Hitmonlee was practically able to land critical hits with every one of its attacks, and I didn't want to face down another of his Pokémon like that. So the only option was to risk everything and go on the offensive.

It was now a matter of choosing between two bad choices, and I wasn't given any time to decide between them. I allowed myself a second to think, before an idea popped into my head and I discarded my hesitation and gave a new command, trusting in Zephyr's abilities.

"Fall into a dive, Zephyr! And set up Agility!"

"Knock it out, Hitmonchan."

With an affirmative screech, Zephyr began an almost meteoric descent out of the sky, diving down in a straight line as quickly as possible while his eyes shut in concentration as he began to set up with Agility.

I knew that Zephyr couldn't afford to slow down or else he would be struck out of the sky with consecutive impacts from the fired rocks. So instead, I ordered him to dive straight down like an arrow so that he could maintain his speed while also giving him the opportunity to set up.

Of course, now that Zephyr was moving almost perfectly in a straight line, Hitmonchan was given free reign to smash Zephyr out of the air with a perfectly shot slab of rock. However, I was betting on the fact that Zephyr could set up his Agility faster than Hitmonchan could line up a shot.

It was a huge risk. And I'm sure Bruno knew it too. Zephyr just had to hang on.

My eyes locked on to Zephyr's falling figure as I started unconsciously gritting my teeth in anticipation. I could hear the signature SLAM from Hitmonchan's fist launching yet another rock at my vulnerable Zephyr, and I had to hold back a wince as the rock narrowly missed him.

My fists clenched even tighter as another rock barely missed Zephyr.

I started holding my breath as the third rock almost clipped him in the wings.

And then, just as the pink glow surrounding Zephyr started fading, signifying the completion of his Agility, my frown deepened as a rock nailed him in his left wing. Zephyr let out a painful screech as he tumbled uncontrollably out of the air. He was hit!

I steeled myself and gave my next order, knowing that the next few moments would make-or-break the fight.

"Air Slash, Zephyr, then Roost! You need to cut down those rocks while you heal yourself up!"

"Move in closer and fire off more rocks, Hitmonchan."

Hitmonchan gave off a quick nod before it started sprinting towards Zephyr's falling figure, all the while maintaining its barrage of rocks as it swung its fists repeatedly. In the meanwhile, in a display of incredible discipline, Zephyr ignored the pain while he held off the incoming boulders by cutting them out of the air with powerful Air Slashes with its uninjured wing.

Hitmonchan easily sidestepped out of the way of any Air Slashes that came its way, not even hindered by Zephyr's attacks.

Rocks continued to fly and be slashed out of the sky in equal measure, and luckily for Zephyr, Hitmonchan's ability to perform geokinesis was slowly weakening as time went on as its' reserves of rock energy waned; allowing him to actually fend off the reduced volley without being knocked out.

After a moment of tense back and forth, Zephyr managed to land safely on the ground as he rapidly began healing up with Roost. However, he was barely able to begin the healing process as Hitmonchan quickly closed the distance.

"Mach Punch, Hitmonchan. Strike it while it's vulnerable!"

"Wing Attack, Zephyr. You have to block it!"

Fist struck wing as both Pokémon's attacks collided against each other. Here, type advantages once again proved fortunate for me as Zephyr managed to hold off against the much more powerful Hitmonchan simply through the fact that his Wing Attack was supereffective and resistant against Hitmonchan's Mach Punch.

Zephyr struggled and tried to bash Hitmonchan with its wing, but Hitmonchan simply ducked under the way before it dedicated even more raw power and punched even harder. One punch suddenly turned into a barrage as Hitmonchan landed a flurry of explosive punches on Zephyr. A Protect shield instinctively formed in front of Zephyr, only to be immediately shattered by a Brick Break from Hitmonchan, who continued laying into Zephyr with a brutal series of punches.

The whole exchange barely lasted over a second, but as Zephyr cried out once again, I knew I had to quickly find a way to make space for Zephyr to heal up so that he could fly again. Otherwise, with just a few more hits, Hitmonchan would have pummelled Zephyr into the ground.

My mind flashed through all of Zephyr's known moves before I found an answer.

"WHIRLWIND, ZEPHYR! PUSH IT AWAY!"

"Close Combat, Hitmonchan! Knock it down, NOW!"

Zephyr covered himself with a wing as he began gathering up a huge storm of wind within his bosom. Realizing what he was doing, Hitmonchan's punches intensified as its fists started glowing white, but it only managed to land a few punches from its savage pummelling before Zephyr unleashed his tidal wave of stored wind.

A huge torrent of wind unleashed itself directly at Hitmonchan, instantly blowing back loose rocks and clouds of dust. It tried to stand firm, placing its feet wide as it shielded itself from the howling winds with its fists, but it ultimately proved futile.

As if it was nothing more than a dust in the wind, Hitmonchan was carried away by the gale winds and was almost pinned against the far wall of the arena as the howling whirlwind engulfed the entire arena. Cries could be heard in the audience as some of their food items were knocked aside as well, the psychic barriers failing to completely stop the pressure from the winds.

Almost immediately after pushing Hitmonchan back, Zephyr immediately cancelled the Whirlwind and shifted his focus back to healing himself up.

"Get back in there, Hitmonchan! Don't let it heal!"

As the Whirlwind died down, Hitmonchan pulled itself off the ground and rushed back into the fight, leaping over much of the scattered debris as its eyes flashed with eagerness as it sought to interrupt Zephyr's healing with another ruthless pummelling. However, even while sprinting as fast as it could, the distance between Hitmonchan and Zephyr was too great for it to close the distance in time before Zephyr finished healing.

Thus, seconds before Hitmonchan reached striking distance, Zephyr let out a triumphant squawk as he swooped into the air, his wing now recovered sufficiently so that he could fly again.

Despite this, I knew that I didn't hold the advantage here. Even with the speed boost provided by Agility, it would only take one lucky strike from one of Hitmonchan's rocks to knock Zephyr out of the air once again. And I doubt that Bruno would be so merciful as to allow him to heal once more.

Therefore, I couldn't allow Hitmonchan to continue firing off rocks.

"Brave Bird, Zephyr! Keep up the pressure!"

"Get ready to Counter, Hitmonchan. Brace yourself."

Zephyr immediately pivoted and swooped high into the air before beginning his Agility-boosted rapid descent out of the sky once again, cutting through the air like a knife through butter. Seeing its prey was looking to come to it instead, Hitmonchan paused its pursuit and stood firmly still.

An orange aura began to surround Hitmonchan's still figure as it waited for Zephyr to get into its striking range. Its legs were spread slightly apart, its fists were raised to its head, and its eyes were alight with pure concentration as Hitmonchan tracked Zephyr descent through the sky. It was ready and waiting, seeking to deliver a devastating counterattack to knock Zephyr out.

It was now just a matter of execution; there was no strategy left to be had. We both knew what the other intended. Could Zephyr's speed and agility overcome Hitmonchan's concentration so that he could land a decisive Brave Bird? Or would Hitmonchan's battle senses be sufficient to predict and react to Zephyr's incoming assault and punish him for entering its' striking range?

I didn't even have time to hesitate as Zephyr suddenly shot forwards with an additional burst of speed and rammed straight into the waiting fists of Hitmonchan...

BUT THEY BOTH MISSED!

My eyes blinked rapidly as I tried to confirm what just happened. From what I saw, Hitmonchan had intended to pivot out of the way of the attack and retaliate with a devastating punch; but it failed to account for the sudden burst of speed and mistimed its counterattack. On the other hand, Zephyr failed to realize that Hitmonchan was going to dodge and misjudged his angle of the attack.

As a result, both Pokémon seemed to only manage to land glancing blows against each other. I quickly turned my eyes to Zephyr and saw that while he was suddenly favouring his right side more than his left, he was still able to fly and continue attacking. Likewise, Hitmonchan's left arm was flailing slightly, as it if couldn't really put much strength into it.

Seeing Hitmonchan's injuries, a part of me wanted to play it safe and spam Hitmonchan down with long range attacks. But then I was reminded of the fact that Hitmonchan didn't need BOTH hands to punch rocks like they were bullets, so I recognized that I couldn't take the risk. The battle had to be over NOW.

"ONCE MORE, ZEPHYR! PUT EVERYTHING INTO IT!"

"Get ready, Hitmonchan. No more chances."

Zephyr gave off one last affirmative screech as he performed an aerial somersault to position himself into yet another dive. A silver-aura encased him as he plunged downwards at such blistering fast speeds that he was little more than a silver blur.

In the meanwhile, Hitmonchan repositioned itself once again as it stoically prepared to meet Zephyr's all-out strike. Its right fist, the one that remained uninjured, began to glow as it readied its own avenging strike. This time, Hitmonchan's eyes seemed to promise as they flared in determination, it wouldn't miss.

Then, with another sonic boom, Zephyr launched itself forwards just as Hitmonchan thrust forwards with its fist as the two Pokémon collided against each other.

There was no cloud of dust, no dramatic explosion. But the instant that both Pokémon impacted against each other, they collapsed near instantly like they were puppets that had their strings cut.

It was almost too quick to see, but I thought I caught a glimpse of Zephyr's wing smashing straight into Hitmonchan's core, while Hitmonchan's fist landed a precise strike that found purchase in the side of Zephyr's face. Both landed direct blows against the other, and they both fainted instantly.

It was a double knockout.

A solemn silence descended onto the arena momentarily as the crowd attempted to process what they just saw. Of course, the announcer quickly dispelled the silence as he made himself known again.

"ANNND WHAT A DEVESTATING AND HEART-PUMPING ENDING TO THAT SPECTACULAR BATTLE! A SURPRISING DOUBLE KNOCKOUT FOR BOTH TRAINERS YET AGAIN! THIS HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE MATCH TO WATCH!! THE SCORE IS NOW 3-2!" His voice thundered across the arena. "AND NOW, EACH TRAINERS HAS 30 SECONDS TO SEND OUT THEIR NEXT POKEMON!!"

I withdrew Zephyr into his Premier Ball before whispering a few words to him. "Great job, Zephyr. You did better than I could have ever hoped for." His Premier Ball wiggled slightly, giving me all the acknowledgement I needed.

And now, with Bruno's trio of Hitmon's already knocked out, that left him with his Primeape, Hariyama, and Machamp. Annoyingly, I couldn't be sure which one Bruno would choose to send out next. At least I was confident that it wouldn't be Machamp.

If it was his Hariyama, then I would want to send out a faster Pokémon that could take advantage of Hariyama's terrible speed. Klaus would be the best option there to wear it down at a distance.

If it was his Primeape, then I would be more confident sending out one of my bruisers to fight against it, since it didn't hit as hard as Hariyama and had much less endurance. However, I knew from my research that it was surprisingly fast for a Pokémon not normally known for its speed and would easily catch an unprepared trainer unawares. Thus, I felt that I would have a better chance sending out Smough or Vordt to win against Primeape, relying on their overwhelming bulk to withstand against its attacks.

No matter which I decided, I had to commit to the decision because I couldn't afford to give Bruno time to set up when I swapped out. But I only had 30 seconds to choose.

In the end, I felt that I had better odds if Klaus matched up against Primeape than if Smough or maybe Vordt matched up against Hariyama. The former still had his type advantage, and he could hopefully still wear Primeape down with ranged attacks. I should still be able to pull out a win with him.

"TRAINERS, YOUR 30 SECONDS ARE NEARLY UP!" The announcer's voice cut in, "ARE YOU READY?!" I clutched tightly onto Klaus' Premier Ball and nodded.

"RELEASE!"

"Klaus, prove your training."

"Primeape, exploit your rage."

I cursed to myself as my guess proved wrong. Primeape came out from his Pokéball while hardly making a noise. It was unnerving to see a Pokémon that was normally full of rage and furious energy to be so calm and still. It spoke to the sheer amount of training that Bruno must have put his Primeape through to be able to achieve such mastery and control over its inherent rage.

The only hint of its signature rage was in its eyes, which were shining with restrained anger that was begging to be released, like a volcano waiting to erupt. To give credit to Klaus, he met Primeape's smouldering glares with a proud and dismissive snort, holding his head high as he emerged from his Premier Ball.

But just seeing the threatening aura that Primeape was exuding, combining with my memories of just how brutal Bruno's Pokémon were at close range, I had absolutely no intention to allow Klaus to get anywhere close to him. My plan was to just wear it down at a distance, and I started to enact it.

"To the air, Klaus! Set up with Calm Mind!"

Klaus immediately took to the air as he began forming floating Psychic platforms to leap from. But Bruno was not going to give Klaus any opportunity to set up.

"Stone Edge, Primeape. Just like we practiced!"

Stones began levitating around Primeape just like they did with all of Bruno's other Pokémon, before Primeape began hurling them like a pitcher. Klaus quickly began leaping away to dodge the rocks, but quickly realized that Primeape wasn't aiming to hit him.

Instead, Primeape was cunningly using those thrown rocks to shatter the Psychic platforms as soon as they formed, giving no opportunity for Klaus to escape into the sky. I grimaced as I understood Bruno's plan; he was looking to deny Klaus the ability to blast down his Primeape from above and forcing Klaus to remain grounded, where Primeape was able to reach him.

Fortunately, Klaus was able to finish channelling the Calm Mind just as the final psychic platform shattered from Primeape's rock missiles, forcing Klaus back down onto the ground as he tumbled out of the air. And Bruno rapidly took advantage of this.

"Close in, Primeape! Savage it!"

"Psychic, Klaus! And back off!"

Klaus quickly righted himself before firing off a boosted blast of Psychic towards Primeape, hoping to knock it away as he swiftly backpedalled away from the approaching Primeape. Yet, with an almost dismissive reaction, Primeape formed a large orb of Dark energy in its hands before punching towards the incoming Psychic, causing an explosion of darkness that safely dispelled it without interrupting Primeape's charge.

I frowned instinctively. This ability to just nullify my Psychic attacks was annoyingly impressive, and I didn't want to know just how much time Bruno put into this to be able to perfect it to this level. But, now with my supereffective attack nullified, I needed some other way to bring down Primeape.

But as I saw Primeape maintain its unrelenting charge towards Klaus, I realized what I had to do.

"AGAIN KLAUS! AND GET CLOSE TO IT!"

Displaying the full trust that he had in me, Klaus immediately pivoted away from his retreat and charged unquestioningly towards Primeape. As the two got closer, another blast of Psychic energy shot forwards from Klaus, only to be nullified once again by another swipe of Dark energy.

However, just before the two collided, I shouted out my next command.

"THUNDER WAVE, KLAUS! AND ZEN HEADBUTT!"

Just as Primeape was about to unleash its rage in the form of devastatingly powerful punches, Klaus sent out a small wave of electricity that Primeape was unable to dodge. As the sudden jolt of electricity coursed through it, Primeape's muscles were locked in place, greatly slowing down its movements as it became paralyzed.

But Primeape's willpower showed itself at this very moment as it forcefully pushed through the paralysis and savagely slammed its fist straight into Klaus, who was looking to follow up with a Zen Headbutt. The Close Combat struck Klaus hard, and he let out a bellow of pain as he cancelled his Zen Headbutt. Recognizing that staying in close range would be bad, Klaus immediately moved to retreat, but Primeape stepped forwards as it prepared another haymaker into Klaus' retreating form.

Luckily for Klaus, the paralysis took hold once more before Primeape could follow-up, hindering it for just long enough for Klaus to exit its immediate striking range as a follow-up punch narrowly fell short.

Just from that one exchange, I nodded towards Klaus at his decision to get out of range; there was no way we were going to get the better of any close-range exchanges. Even with just that one strike, the damage to Klaus was concerning, with Klaus now breathing hard with a visible limp as he staggered away in retreat, no longer galloping like he used to. A SINGLE hit did that!

But, even with his injuries, I was confident that this was a worthwhile trade for Klaus. Primeape HAD to be paralyzed to cut down on its speed and mobility. With no way to heal itself, the paralysis would cripple its' ability to close the distance and buy Klaus more time to blast it at range.

Klaus' new limp might be problematic, but I hoped that Primeape's own paralysis would make up for any loss of mobility on Klaus' end. That, and overwhelming firepower.

"Sunny Day, Klaus! AND SOLAR BEAM!"

"Rush it down, Primeape! Charge through it!"

With a defiant bellow, Klaus sent out a beam of light towards the sky that dispelled any clouds, causing the arena to be blanketed by a harsh sunlight. Immediately after, his horns began glowing brightly as radiant energy gathered within them.

In the meanwhile, Primeape exploded forwards with furious wrath in a burst of speed while valiantly pushing through the effects of paralysis. Its eyes were now completely consumed with rage, and it kept picking up speed as its now unleashed rage further drove it forwards. It looked completely unbothered by the attack that was about to come its way.

"RELEASE!"

On my command, Klaus released all of its stored energy as a wide gold beam of light cut through the arena, illuminating the entire battlefield in blinding radiant light as it shot straight towards Primeape. Primeape made no effort to even dodge as he took the Solar Beam head on, only stumblingly slightly as the beam impacted it.

And yet, it refused to be pushed back. With a howl of pure rage and frustration, it pushed against the Solar Beam and demonstrated its raw defiance by taking a step forwards. And another. And another.

And even though the Solar Beam gradually grew wider and brighter and was now almost boring a hole through Primeape, Primeape refused to fall. Refused to stop. Refused to allow the target of its rage to win. Even as Primeape caught fire from the intense ray of energy, it continued to push forwards. It was a figure of pure determination.

My jaws and fists clenched anxiously as I watched Primeape continued to fight against the Solar Beam. Klaus was straining himself to the limits as he continued channelling his Solar Beam as best he could. I recognized that I couldn't shift tactics now, as cancelling the Solar Beam would leave Klaus too vulnerable to the incoming Primeape. No, there was no going back now.

I gritted my teeth. I had never intended for this to become a battle of wills; I had expected Primeape to try to block or dodge! I wanted to wear it down over time! Not this!

But now both trainers were now forced to watch helplessly once again as our Pokémon determined their own fates. The battle was no longer in our hands.

Primeape continued to press forwards, each step seemingly more laborious than the last as the damage built up, and his energy and willpower gradually failed him. I was almost certain it was running off pure rage now, literally being too angry to go down. But at the same time, Klaus' Solar Beam was weakening as he began to tire, and his reserves began to dwindle. The once brilliant beam of radiant light was now dim and narrow.

I stared with tense anticipation as Primeape eventually got into striking range. It was stumbling heavily, almost like it was drunk, and both of its eyes were almost sealed shut from the injuries. But it held on for long enough for Klaus' Solar Beam to peter out, and as Klaus collapsed from exhaustion, I knew the battle was lost.

"Seismic Toss, Primeape! Throw it!" Bruno shouted out unnecessarily.

With whatever vestige of energy that it had left, Primeape lifted my exhausted Klaus and hurled him ruthlessly into the psychic barriers with a Seismic Toss. Klaus slammed into them, his body twitching as it did. But he did not get back up.

Fortunately for me, Klaus' fall meant that Primeape no longer had a target for its ire, and it too collapsed as the injuries and exhaustion finally kicked in. It was yet another double knockout, and this time I was deeply unsatisfied with it.

I shut out the announcer and the cheering audience as I withdrew Klaus. I gave him a few terse, but sincere, words of praise before I put away his Premier Ball. My mind racing with thoughts about what to do next.

The score was now 4-3, and while I still had a lead, Bruno's two remaining Pokémon were his two greatest fighters, his Hariyama and his Machamp. And I was all out of Pokémon that resisted Fighting types.

I could feel the self-doubt and uncertainty creeping up into my mind before I clamped down HARD on it.

'No.' I said to myself, 'Have faith in your team. You didn't train your trio of bruisers so much just to expect them to lose. No, they will bring you victory, just as you trained them to do.'

That's right. I reaffirmed my strength in my team, cursing at myself for ever doubting their capabilities. I still had my lead. And so what if Hariyama's or Machamp's typing countered my team? So what if Bruno put up a better fight than I expected? Plans always went wrong, and besides...

He hadn't met Vordt and Tyrant yet.

The New Normal – 5-14 – Fighting Back

"WHAT AN AMAZING FIGHT EVERYONE! DESPITE BEING DOWN BY ONE POKEMON, CHALLENGER BRUNO HAS REALLY SHOWN THE WORLD HIS STRENGTH! I SUSPECT THAT THIS BATTLE HAS BEEN CLOSER THAN WHAT MANY WERE EXPECTING. LET'S SEE IF BRUNO CAN OVERCOME HIS DISADVANTAGE AND CLAW HIS WAY TO A SURPRISING VICTORY!"

I felt my eyes twitch as the announcer tried to hype up the crowd, but I managed to shrug off and ignore his words. Bruno might have pressured me more than I was strictly comfortable with, but now he needed to deal with my three strongest Pokémon with only two of his.

I wasn't going to make things easy for him. No, I was going to use Bruno to remind the world why I managed to beat Drake. He had a good showing against me so far, but with my remaining Pokémon, I was going to do everything that I can to crush Bruno so completely to remind everyone why it would be a bad idea to challenge me.

"THE 30 SECONDS IS NEARLY OVER!" The announcer declared, "TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY?!"

I took a deep breath to calm myself down before I nodded to the announcer alongside Bruno. "RELEASE!"

"Vordt, crush them."

"Hariyama, power through."

Vordt emerged with an earth-shaking roar as he proudly displayed his strength to the world that seemed to overshadow Hariyama's own presence. The ground tremored and shook as Vordt landed on the ground with an audible thump.

On the other hand, Hariyama appeared with a silent grunt as it emerged from its Pokéball, looking like a menacing wall of bulging muscles had just appeared on the battlefield. The muscles in its arms and legs were so thick that they seemed to have enough strength to smash through anything.

Time seemed to freeze as the two bruisers stared each other down. At their level of training, they wouldn't be intimidated by anything, but instead seemed to be taking each other's measure.

After a moment of silence, Vordt let out a growl, eliciting a snort from Hariyama. Vordt gave off a small nod, before turning to me.

"Ursa...Ursa..." He said to me, asking for permission. My eyes widened momentarily as I listened to Vordt's request, but I nodded to him after thinking it through. In the distance, Hariyama had clearly done the same with Bruno and received the same affirmation.

Then, almost in sync, flames began spreading across the two of them as they both ignited themselves, simultaneously triggering their Guts ability and boosting their attack. This was what our two Pokémon agreed upon, to fight to their utmost capabilities with their Guts boosted attack.

The two of them wanted to challenge the other at their best. And given Vordt's sincerity; I wasn't about to say no to that.

And thus, I knew that this upcoming battle was going to be a quick and brutal one. With both Pokémon's attack skyrocketing from Guts, and since they would both be slowly worn down by the continuous damage from the Burn, there was no chance to play things safely.

It was going to be all-or-nothing. There would be no opportunity to test the waters, or to simply scout things out. This was going to be a beatdown, one way or another.

"HEADLONG RUSH, VORDT! SMASH IT!"

"Close Combat, Hariyama! PUNISH IT!"

Vordt let out another bellow towards the skies before he shot forwards like a speeding flaming bullet with blistering determination, his eyes alight with fury. Vordt's charge created a trail of blackened gash in the arena as the ground was torn up in the wake of his assault before he crashed into Hariyama with his full weight behind him.

Hariyama let out a pained grunt as it bore the full brunt of Vordt's assault, skidding back a bit as the full weight of Vordt slammed into him. But it quickly reoriented itself and with a grunt of its own retaliated with a devastating series of punches that repeatedly smashed into Vordt's face.

Without needing me to command him, Vordt immediately began reinforcing his head with Psychic energy, forming a protective shell around his flaming skull that blunted the impact from Hariyama's punches before letting out a roar as he smashed their heads together with a brutal Zen Headbutt.

Hariyama's body snapped backwards as it recoiled from the supereffective critical hit, and I swiftly capitalized on the opportunity.

"PLAY ROUGH, VORDT! NOW!"

"PROTECT AND COUNTER, HARIYAMA!"

A Protect shield quickly formed in front of Hariyama just before Vordt smashed into it. But the sheer might of Vordt's attack instantly shattered the Protect shield as it utterly failed to stop Vordt's ferocious momentum. Then, with a brutal swing of its Fairy-infused fists, Vordt savagely clobbered the retreating Hariyama in the neck.

Hariyama winced in pain and let out a groan as the Fairy type energy slammed into it. It tried to counterattack with the stored energy that it had gathered, but Vordt reacted quicker and grabbed hold of Hariyama with its arms in a vice-like clamp. Now desperate, Hariyama tried to break free and with a strike to the face, but Vordt let out a powerful roar before he lifted Haryiama's entire body as he threw Hariyama towards the psychic shields with a Seismic Toss.

"Stone Edge, Vordt! Follow it up!"

Not content to just let Hariyama fly harmlessly through the air, Vordt roared out once again as huge pillars of rocks impaled the vulnerable Hariyama while it was still in the air. Although the Rock-type attacks weren't very effective against the Fighting type Hariyama, it was enough to serve as a continuous distraction to prevent Hariyama from recovering from the attack.

All in all, this series of attacks had barely taken a few seconds. And Hariyama was already in a very precarious position.

Bruno looked surprised at the sudden turn of events. I saw that his eyes had widened when Vordt smashed through the Protect shield, and his fists clenched reflexively when Vordt tossed Hariyama into the air before it could land its counterattack. Did he underestimate the strength of Vordt? Or did he expect his Hariyama to be able to power through my attacks? If so, then I would punish him for his overconfidence.

Eventually, Hariyama smashed into the psychic shield and fell unceremoniously onto the ground, but I was unwilling to give the Hariyama any opportunity to reorient itself.

"Play Rough again, Vordt! Don't let up the pressure!"

"BLOCK AND CROSS CHOP, HARIYAMA! FIGHT OUT OF THERE!"

Vordt instantly wrapped himself in a thick, pulsing layer of Fairy energy that glowed a bright pink, before disappearing in a blur as he charged forwards, leaving a trench in the ground as he did. In the meanwhile, Hariyama pulled itself up from where it had fallen before its eyes refocused and it raised its arms as it took up a defensive stance, bracing for the incoming impact.

I noticed that this was the second time that Bruno had attempted to get Hariyama to block an attack before retaliating. He must have trusted his Hariyama's natural bulk to be able to tank through whatever attack was thrown its way. Such a strategy likely worked well against other opponents, allowing the enemy to get close enough to Hariyama that it couldn't avoid its counterattack. It was a good way to exploit Hariyama's natural bulk to make up for its poor speed.

Unfortunately, Hariyama wasn't bulky enough to stand against the pure destructive strength of Vordt. A Guts-boosted Vordt was NOT something you wanted to try your luck against, and Hariyama was about to take a beating for this mistake.

With a thunderous bellow, Vordt ruthlessly slammed straight into Hariyama, the force of which was so overwhelming that it forced its arms aside, the Guts-boosted attack proving too much for Hariyama to block. Haryiama's guard instantly shattered as it was unable to endure and block the supereffective attack, leaving it wide open and exposed.

Hariyama immediately moved to cover up this weakness, but Vordt's reacted quicker, pouncing on the opportunity as he struck Hariyama with a devastating strike with his paw, finding purchase in Hariyama's exposed belly.

Hariyama almost crumpled in on itself; the strike must have landed a critical hit. Recognizing the opportunity, I pushed to end the fight.

"FINISH IT!" I shouted.

"Reform your stance, now!" Bruno said, with a hint of desperation. The first time he gave off any sort of emotion in the fight thus far.

Hariyama threw its fists forwards blindly, hoping to catch Vordt off-guard and push him backwards. But whether it was something born out of pure technique or just luck, Hariyama managed to catch Vordt off-guard with a lucky punch that smashed straight into Vordt's face, landing a direct hit to the eye. Vordt stumbled backwards, a paw clutching his eye as he let out a groan of pain. And like a switch had been flipped, Hariyama's eyes flashed as it instantly shifted onto the offensive.

Not giving Vordt any time to recover, Hariyama stepped forwards with a powerful uppercut right into Vordt's chin, creating a loud crack as Vordt's head was snapped backwards. With the momentum on its side, and with its Guts-boosted attack, Hariyama then burst forwards and delivered a destructive series of punches with a supereffective Close Combat, each punch landing explosively as they impacted Vordt's center, before finishing off his combo of moves with a mighty Force Palm that knocked Vordt into the ground as he roared in pain.

"Ursa..." Vordt groaned out as he struggled to recover from the devastating onslaught of attacks, barely pulling himself off the ground. His once noble fur was now covered in bruisers, one of his eyes was sealed shut, and h was no longer able to stand on his legs.

In just a singular combo of attacks, Bruno's showed off Hariyama's devastating strength as he practically turned the fight around and evened the playing field, with both Pokémon injured and on a time limit as the Burn slowly leeched away their health.

But unlike before, I did not hesitate. Vordt may have taken a beating, but my earlier Play Rough against Hariyama proved that I could break through his defenses if I went all-out, which should be enough for me to secure my victory.

Not wanting to give Bruno any more to think, I made my move.

"Earthquake and Play Rough, Vordt! It's all down to this!"

"Counter, Hariyama. Flow like water!"

Exploding forwards in a blur of pink, Vordt rushed towards Hariyama as the latter braced itself for the attack as the ground cracked from the unleashed Earthquake. However, this time, Hariyama had adopted a slightly different stance, with one foot in front of the other, and had instead tried to narrow his frame as much as possible. All the while it had steadied itself to resist the incoming Earthquake, maintaining its centre of balance so that it didn't fall over and simply tanked through the tremors. I didn't have a chance to think any more of it before Vordt crashed into it with reckless abandon.

Hariyama instinctively flinched from the pain of the supereffective Play Rough, but this time, Vordt failed to break its guard as Hariyama took on a more flexible defensive stance. Immediately, Hariyama channelled all of that stored power from its Counter and threw it all back in a singular punch, slamming it straight into Vordt's jaw. A loud crack resonated across the battlefield as Vordt was sent instantly onto the floor from Hariyama's retaliation.

"HARIYAMA!" It shouted, grappling with the fallen Vordt as it tried to follow up as his other arm glowed with a bright light as it looked to finish the fight with a final retaliatory blow. But Vordt was not one to give up, and with defiance burning in his eyes, he forced himself through the pain and slammed the ground with his arms, sending powerful tremors that shattered the ground around him as he unleashed another powerful Earthquake.

The ground immediately began to shake violently as a spiderweb of cracks spread across the battlefield. Hariyama, this time unprepared to take the full brunt of the Earthquake, stumbled as the intense tremors coursed through its body and was unable to follow through with the punch. Then, while it was still unbalanced from the Earthquake, Vordt swiped an arm towards Hariyama's legs, causing it to stumble and trip over.

As Hariyama fell to the ground, Vordt fell on all fours and let out another deafening roar as he intensified the Earthquake, while rocks from all over the arena started to gather in the air. Then, before Hariyama could recover from the violent shaking and pull itself up, the enormous boulders all came crashing down like an avalanche, burying the Hariyama in a tomb of rocks.

Hariyama repeatedly tried to break free, using its raw muscle strength to try to shatter the rocks that kept it pinned down, but Vordt's geokinesis was eventually able to overwhelm what was left of Hariyama's energy. The barrage of rocks kept coming, repeatedly smashing Hariyama back down into the ground, and Hariyama was never able to reorient itself as it remained entombed by the constant barrage of rocks.

And finally, Hariyama's spirit finally broke under the unending onslaught of attacks. It tried for one final struggle as it tried to shatter the mountain of rocks that it was buried under, but it no longer had the strength to break more than a few. Despite the exhaustion evident on his face, Vordt kept up the pressure with his unending onslaught of rocks until Hariyama was finally knocked out of the fight. And I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Hariyama's head slump to the ground.

The crowd broke out into a roar as Hariyama finally went down. Despite how close that match was, I didn't let any of that showed on my face as I shot Vordt a proud smirk. Seeing my expression, Vordt raised its arms into the air, ignoring his litany of injuries, and let out a victorious roar as it waved his flaming arms triumphantly into the air while standing over the unconscious figure of Hariyama.

Though it was a closer fight than I liked, Vordt's performance and strength once again impressed me. Hariyama was a worthy foe, easily one of the strongest I had ever had to face, but I had won. Vordt's strength was once again reaffirmed. And I was greatly satisfied with Vordt's victory.

"...WHAT A BRUTAL TAKEDOWN FROM OUR ELITE FOUR MEMBER! JOHN REALLY MANAGED TO SHOW OFF HIS STRENGTH THIS TIME! THERE WERE SO MANY REVERSALS IN THAT FIGHT THAT I WAS ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT THE ENTIRE TIME!" The announcer finally spoke up after he recovered, "BUT THIS PUTS THE SCORE AT 5-3 FOR JOHN!! IT LOOKS LIKE THE CHANCES OF A REVERSAL GROW EVER SLIMMER FOR CHALLENGER BRUNO, AS HE IS NOW DOWN TO HIS STARTER! HE HAS 30 SECONDS TO MAKE ANY PREPARATIONS!"

As the crowd continue to cheer my name excitedly, I was about to withdraw Vordt from the fight due to its injuries before I heard Bruno speak up.

"Elite John!" He shouted out from across the arena, "I have a request for you!"

The crowd quieted down as everyone, me included, turned to Bruno, curious about his request. "And what would that be?!" I shouted back.

"I understand that I have likely lost this match, though I will not concede defeat quite yet." He said, eliciting surprised and shocked gasps from the crowd. "However! Before I face my inevitable defeat, I would like to challenge your strongest Pokémon with my own. I want to test how far I've come, and how far I need to go."

A grin split across my face as I heard his request. "I ACCEPT!" I replied immediately. If Bruno was so eager to challenge me at my best, then who was I to say no? "Can I assume that you would allow me a free switch to the Pokémon of my choice?"

"Of course." He nodded, and I gave a quick glance to the referees from approval. They nodded hesitantly since there was no explicit rule banning something like this from happening, which was enough for me to withdraw Vordt into his Premier Ball.

The announcer chose then to make himself known once again, "OH, WHAT A STRANGE REQUEST WE JUST GOT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! APPARENTLY, WE ARE GOING TO SEE BOTH OF OUR TRAINERS MAKE USE OF THE STRONGEST POKEMON! WHAT A TREAT!"

I ignored him as I patted Vordt's Premier Ball in apology; in my haste and excitement, I forgot to ask if he was okay with being withdrawn. Luckily, a slight wobble from the ball reassured me that he was fine with it.

I gave off a slight smile as I put away Vordt's Premier Ball before swapping him out for Tyrant's. My fists clenched with excitement as I prepared to release Tyrant to the world. He hadn't had much of a time to show off during my fight against Drake. Maybe this would serve as another excellent reminder.

I would demonstrate once again that, despite the devastating power of Vordt, Tyrant remained my ace and strongest Pokémon.

"TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY FOR WHAT MIGHT BE THE FINAL BATTLE!?" The announcer shouted out. We both stared each other down and nodded, determination firmly fixed on our faces. "BEGIN!"

"Machamp, time to show your training."

"Tyrant."

"SLAKINGGG!!" Tyrant emerged with a humongous roar, which was powerful enough to kick up some loose pebbles and dust scattered across the damaged arena. He slammed both arms down against the ground, cracking the ground and forming small holes in it, a quick reminder of his devastating power that was just screaming to be unleashed. Bloodlust lined Tyrant's face as he readied himself for his first real battle in a while. However, he made no effort to charge forwards, instead choosing to hang back and observe.

Opposite him, Machamp shimmered into existence with its muscled arms already pre-crossed in a defensive guard stance. Its stance was as perfect as I could see, two of its arms were crossing defensively to protect its core, while the other two waited patiently behind, perfectly positioning Machamp to be able to land a clean counterattack if Tyrant approached, and it was a clear demonstration of the sheer level of training that Bruno must have put it through. But it was braced for an attack that never came.

After a moment, Machamp looked around warily before dropping its guard when it saw that Tyrant made no move to approach it. Instead, Tyrant merely chose to stare at Machamp with an amused look in his eyes, as if mocking him for being afraid.

In my head, I smirked at Machamp's pre-emptive defensive actions. Bruno must have done his research on how Tyrant preferred to immediately close the distance with his enemies before pounding them into the ground with his raw strength. And normally, Tyrant would have done exactly that.

Which was why I had specifically informed Tyrant before the match that if I ever needed to release him, he wouldn't simply charge forwards without a plan. His usual strategy of getting in close and pressuring the enemy would work against a lesser foe, or a trainer that wasn't used to dealing with threats at such close ranges. But I knew that Bruno was neither of these.

In fact, looking at our battle thus far, I thought that he might be the most proficient trainer at battling at close range. He was certainly the strongest that I had fought from a technical perspective. Thus, making use of Tyrant's pure battle-lust driven rage would not be smart.

Instead, I was going to make use of Tyrant's full move pool to completely overwhelm Bruno's Machamp, to remind the world that Tyrant was more than just my strongest bruiser. He was also my most trained Pokemon, and the one that I had dedicated the most time into perfecting into an utterly unstoppable force of nature. If Bruno was expecting a pure brawl, then he was about to be sorely disappointed.

This fight had been far closer than I had anticipated, so I was going to take no chances. Tyrant's victory would be absolute.

"Flamethrower, Tyrant! TORCH IT!"

Bruno's eyes widened in surprise as he realized what I wanted to do.

"Get in close, Machamp!! Quickly!" He hastily commanded.

Machamp let out a grunt as it rushed forwards in a burst of speed, its muscled legs being put to use as it sprinted across the arena in a grey blur in hopes of pummelling Tyrant before it could charge up its attacks.

However, despite Machamp's impressive speed, Tyrant responded first, unleashing a scorching torrent of fire that was boosted by the harsh sun that still remained from after Klaus had set it up.

The stream of fire spread out in a wide cone, and while Machamp was able to quickly throw up a large chunk of rock to serve as an impromptu shield, the flood of flames quickly spread around the makeshift shield, continuing to engulf the charging Machamp in a coffin of flames.

"Push through it, Machamp! Drain Punch!

"Cancel it and Aerial Ace backwards, Tyrant. Kite it."

Machamp remained stoic, tanking through the Flamethrower as if it wasn't being affected it. Then, as soon as it got in range, a fist struck like lightning as it struck forwards with such speed that it was nothing more than a blur.

But Tyrant was ready, having already launched itself into the air with a backwards jump as it cut off the Flamethrower, quickly separating himself from the Machamp.

"Bulk up, Machamp! NOW!"

Thinking that an airborne Tyrant posed no threat to his Machamp, Bruno tried to capitalize on the opportunity by boosting its Attack. However, I was quick to disabuse him of that notion.

"Thunderbolt, Tyrant. Disrupt it."

Even as he soared through the sky, Tyrant was still able to channel enough electrical energy to summon a bolt of Thunder to crash down explosively from above, striking the Machamp when it thought it was safe and cancelling its Bulk Up. Further bolts of lightning smashed down right afterwards, following up on the initial strike.

I grinned at the surprised look on Bruno's face. He must not have expected Tyrant to have such a wide arsenal of moves besides simple close-range attacks. And that was where he was wrong; while Tyrant certainly preferred fighting at close range, he had the speed and mobility to be a terrifying long-range fighter with his functional Special Attack.

Sure, he didn't hit nearly as hard on the Special side as he did on the Physical one, but Tyrant was more than just a brute. And right now, I intended to engrave this very fact into everyone's very minds.

Despite the surprise on his face, Bruno showed no sign of hesitation and he continued to push on the offense.

"Stone Edge and Mach Punch, Machamp! Close in and stick to him!"

Shaking off the lingering traces of electricity, Machamp broke into a charge as it shot forwards with surprisingly fast speeds that would have left an ordinary Machamp in the dust. In a blink of an eye, Machamp had crossed the distance and rushed into striking range, all the while it constantly shot rocks forwards like huge sniper rounds. Its' entire stance was completely defenceless as he recklessly dedicated every little inch of itself into its attack, a side effect of his No Guard ability.

However, I gave no commands and patiently waited for Machamp to get closer. Tyrant, almost unconsciously understanding what I wanted to do, dug his feet into the ground as he prepared himself, and dismissively bashed the rocks out of the air like they were mere annoyances.

Not realizing the danger it was in, Machamp's fist began to glow as it readied itself to deliver a devastating pummelling towards Tyrant. One that was sure to do some serious damage to even my Tyrant.

Which was exactly what I was hoping for.

"GIGA IMPACT, TYRANT!"

"BRACE AND COUNTER-"

Realizing what was about to happen, Bruno desperately tried to order his Machamp to cancel its charge and transition into a defensive stance.

But it was far too late.

"SLAKINGGG!!" Tyrant let out a shattering roar as he exploded in an orange light as he erupted forwards, tearing up a huge trench in the wake of his assault. There was no warning. No charge-up time. It was just a complete and sudden shift, one that gave Machamp absolutely no time to react before Tyrant came slamming into him with the force of a meteor and collided into it with an ear-rupturing BANG.

The impact sent Machamp careening backwards that sent it flying through the sky. Machamp smashed into the psychic shields, crashing into them with such force that it left a crack in them from the backwards force alone.

Though Machamp fell limply onto the ground, it immediately tried to pull itself up and tried to reorient itself. But Tyrant's beatdown had only just begun.

Remaining completely un-winded despite just unleashing such a destructive Giga Impact, Tyrant immediately followed up on his attack by slamming both arms against the ground. The already shattered ground fractured even further as a violent Earthquake sent powerful tremors that coursed painfully through Machamp's fallen form.

The violent shaking forced Machamp onto its knees twice, but it still managed to pull itself up and tank through the Earthquake. But just before it could properly reorient itself, as if to add insult to injury, it was promptly knocked down again as huge rocks suddenly erupted from the ground, impaling Machamp from where it was trying to get up. The finishing 'gift' from Tyrant's Seismic Eruption.

Machamp let out a roar of pain as the rocks smashed into its body. In what was effectively 2 rounds of attacks, Tyrant had nearly knocked out of the battle. Yet, Machamp refused to fall. Not like this. Not so soon. No, the look in its eyes symbolized its determination to me, the flames of defiance burned brightly within. And I knew the fight wasn't over. Not yet.

It gave off a grunt of resolve before it ripped the rock spikes out of the ground, the crowd gasping as it did so, freeing itself from the impromptu cage and launching those rocks towards Tyrant as a return gift, and began stepping forwards to confront Tyrant once more.

Tyrant easily dodged out of the way of those rocks or simply smashed them out of the sky, before staring down at Machamp's approaching figure. Machamp was badly wounded, two of its arms hung limply at the side, and its eyes were almost sealed shut. Yet, it continued to move forwards, stalwartly ignoring its injuries as it continued to fight. Until the very end.

Bruno clearly thought the same. "MACHAMP, CHARGE FORWARDS! EVEN IF YOU LOSE, SHOW TO THE WORLD YOUR FINAL ROAR! YOUR LAST STAND!"

Machamp let out a defiant battlecry, one that was imbued with its full determination to see this through to the end. As if it was actively ignoring its injuries, it began to rapidly pick up speed as it broke out into one final sprint towards Tyrant.

It was a charge towards certain defeat. But one that was willingly sought.

I nodded at the display of willpower in front of me; I could have tried to kite it further with Tyrant and spam it down with ranged moves. Unlike with my non-bruisers, Tyrant had the sheer durability of being able to ignore Bruno's long-range options. Meaning that he was free to just slowly wear down Bruno's Machamp with ranged attacks until it was knocked out.

However, perhaps influenced by Bruno's martial spirit, I decided against doing that, even if it was the smarter choice. No, I felt that I should respect the effort that Machamp was putting in to land at least one good hit against Tyrant.

Thus, I simply said, "I'll leave this to you, Tyrant. End it as a warrior deserves." Tyrant let out an affirmative snort as it braced itself for Machamp's attack.

And then, Machamp slammed into the waiting Tyrant, putting every last bit of its energy reserves into unleashing a ferocious barrage of explosive punches, as if it tried to will every inch of strength and power into each of its punches. It refused to let its injuries blunt its attacks and used its unrelenting resolve as a warrior as fuel to allow it to continue driving one savage blow after another into Tyrant. Each punch landed explosively on Tyrant; each with enough force to shatter a large boulder. And Machamp was firing off a storm of them.

Tyrant roared out in pain as the devastating series of supereffective punches impacted his body, stumbling slightly from the impacts. To an unobservant viewer, it might have just looked like Machamp was about to suddenly turn the entire situation around and bring down the previously dominant Tyrant. A punishment for my arrogance.

Unfortunately, a turnaround was not going to happen. Despite putting its all into its final attack, emotion enough was not enough to bring down Tyrant. The attacks certainly hurt, but this was far from enough to bring down my starter.

And now, enough was enough. As soon as Machamp overextended itself with a punch, Tyrant let out a grunt and swung his arm in a powerful backhanded blow that simply overwhelmed Machamp's attempts to block it, and it knocked Machamp's arms wide, leaving it exposed as Tyrant stepped forwards and brutally bashed their heads together in a vicious Zen Headbutt.

Machamp instantly crumbled to his knees from the supereffective attack. And, not giving Machamp any time to recover, Tyrant took advantage of the momentary confusion and grabbed hold of Machamp's head in a crushing grip before he violently slammed Machamp face-first into the ground repeatedly. The ground cracked and shook each time Tyrant ruthlessly pummelled Machamp into the ground.

Not satisfied with that, Tyrant immediately pounced on top of Machamp, straddling its fallen body before releasing its full pent-up battle lust upon it in a barbaric series of punches with its Fairy infused fists. In an admirable display of discipline, despite having its faced repeatedly and painfully bashed in, Machamp tried to retaliate by thrusting blindly with its arms in hopes of landing a lucky strike against Tyrant.

But the strikes lacked momentum, and Tyrant's bloodlust was now in full display, the adrenaline allowing him to easily ignore the counterattack, merely grinning viciously at Machamp's efforts to fight back as he continued pummelling the helpless Machamp into the ground. Each strike of from Tyrant's monstrously strong arms cracked the ground beneath it, and Tyrant kept pounding ruthlessly onto the helpless Machamp until the ground beneath it cracked apart from the consecutive impacts and the two fell into a small hole of Tyrant's creation.

Despite not being able to see Machamp's body, everyone knew it was over when Tyrant suddenly stopped its barrage of punches and let out a triumphant roar to the skies.

"SLAKING!!" He shouted victoriously, pounding his chest repeatedly as he posed over the unconscious Machamp.

The audience didn't even hesitate as they immediately joined in on Tyrant's cheering with their own. I let out a breath of relief that I didn't realize I was even holding at my victory, before shooting Tyrant a proud smile at his fittingly tyrannical performance.

"...AND BRUNO'S MACHAMP IS NO LONGER ABLE TO BATTLE! THE CHALLENGER IS OUT OF POKEMON! ELITE JOHN IS THE VICTOR!!"

That only caused the excited cheers and shouts from the crowd to grow even louder. I was tempted to simply bask in the praise, but I had more important things to do. I turned to Bruno, who had withdrawn his unconscious Machamp and was now making his way towards me with a complicated expression.

"Well fought, Elite John." He said as he approached.

"Thank you. You did well too, Bruno. It was most impressive." I replied with a smile.

"I lost, but I was proud of my Pokémon's efforts." He said instantly, speaking shortly but firmly. "However, I did think I would have come closer to defeating you. Your Ursaluna and Slaking really took me by surprise. They were beyond my expectations and ability."

"I'll be sure to pass on your words to them." I said jokingly, "But I hope your Pokémon wouldn't take this loss too badly. I certainly struggled much more than I expected against you."

"Thank you, and no, they will not." He shook his head, "They knew that I had only challenged you as a way of testing their strength. They will not be too affected by their loss. In fact, I'm sure that it will only drive them to continue their training even further, as they now have a new challenge to overcome."

I let out a grin at the implied challenge, "I'm sure my Pokémon and I will be waiting for you. Don't keep your hopes up, I'm not one for neglecting my training either."

"Good." He nodded, "Then I hope to challenge you once more in the future. Well met, Elite John. And thank you for the battle. I hope we can meet each other again."

We shook hands and parted ways at that. As I walked out of the arena, I unconsciously glanced towards the VIP section of the spectator stands, where the other members of the Elite Four were.

I made a mental note to review the recording of the match to see what went wrong and how I could have done better, especially in the earlier parts of the fight. I knew I would be carefully thinking over this fight in the coming few days to see how I could improve. This victory was not as clean as I wanted it to be.

Also, I wanted to see how those on Pokénet were responding to the fight. As much as I enjoyed battling, training for these kinds of challenge matches required a lot of time and was a huge distraction from my political pursuits, so I hoped to not have to face many other challengers in the future.

But for now, my victory ensured that the world was reminded once again why challenging me was a foolish proposition.