The New Normal - A Pokémon Elite 4 SI by CartecFF

Chapter 57: 221-224

The New Normal – 10-15 – The Other Battles

Unfortunately, my celebrations with Roxanne about our mutual victory was interrupted by the sounds of children sniffling as Agatha and the twins approached us.

The twins were 'unhappy' about their defeat.

"...Look at what you've done, John." Agatha scowled at me as she took out a handkerchief to wipe down the snot from their noses, "You just had to win with your Ursaluna. You couldn't have used a weaker Pokémon and allowed these two nice, adorable children to make it to the Top 3, could you?"

Roxanne frowned guiltily, but I was less affected since I was very used to what Agatha was like. Still, even though this was just Agatha being Agatha, I knew that there was no chance I was winning an argument when there were crying children involved, so instead I moved to change the topic.

However, Roxanne moved first as she kneeled down next to Tate and Liza with a smile on her face, "Hey, you guys did very well. You really are prodigies if you made it this far while being so young. Your parents must be so happy for you."

She was really drawing on all of her experience as a teacher right now.

Liza sniffed, "They are. They came to watch all our matches."

Roxanne leaned in closer, "Do you know how bad of a trainer I was at your age? The fact that you already have such a powerful Claydol and Solrock is very impressive."

"But they went down so quickly to John's Pokémon." Tate mumbled, and I felt the dirty look that Agatha was giving me.

"John is a very good trainer, and so is Agatha. He knew that he needed to take you out before he could focus his efforts on Agatha. It doesn't mean you're weak." She said soothingly, "In fact, it means that you were enough of a threat so that John couldn't just ignore you as he fought Agatha's Pokémon."

She gently patted them on the head, "So don't worry. You're strong. Right, John?"

"Yes they are." I agreed, quickly following on from her words, "Tate, Liza, both of you have the potential to become one of the strongest trainers in the world. You both have such incredible potential as Psychic trainers – I can't wait to see how strong you'll get when you both grow up. You will certainly be a force to be reckoned with."

Both our words seemed to be getting through to them, and they began to cheer up a little bit. Agatha spoke up as well, "If you have anyone to blame for losing, then blame it on me." She said, to my and Roxanne's surprise, "I should have done more to protect your Pokémon and warned you against the illusion trap from John's Zoroark. Your defeat was due to my complacency, not your own fault."

The twins immediately looked like they were about to protest her words, but Agatha quickly shushed them, "You don't need to say more. This loss is my fault, okay?"

The twins stared at each other for a moment before they both nodded hesitantly.

"Good. Then you don't need to blame yourself." Agatha stated, tapping her cane on the ground for emphasis, "Come now, your parents are waiting for you. I will bring you there."

She gave one last brief nod to the both of us before she escorted the twins out of the arena, leaving only Roxanne and I there.

Roxanne's frown returned as we watched them leave, "...I know I haven't done anything wrong, yet why do I feel guilty for winning?"

I sighed, "Because it feels like we just took candy from a baby?"

She snapped her fingers, "Yeah, that's probably it."

"Nothing we can do about it." I shook my head, "It was either us or them, and we at least won fairly. Take solace in that, at least. Plus, even if they fought a different team that wasn't us, there's no guarantee they'd win either."

A League official began waving at us to get off the stage so that they could prepare for the next match, so the two of us started walking out of the arena.

"At the end of the day, this is a tournament. There will always be a winner and a loser." I stated. Then, wanting to change the mood, I gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, "Let's not focus on that anymore. Congratulations, Roxanne. You made it to the Top 3."

"You mean we made it to the Top 3." She grinned at me, "Don't be humble. We both know I could have never have gotten this far without you. You definitely carried me in that last fight – I was next to useless against Agatha."

"No, you did what was needed of you." I denied, "Otherwise, Agatha would have been a far more frustrating opponent without your help. Your Probopass impressed me with its endurance." It really did. Without it surprising Gengar and tripping it up, Vordt would not have knocked it down so easily.

She smiled at my praise, "Thank you. It's good to know that my efforts training my Probopass weren't for naught."

"Anyways, do you have any plan for taking on the Champions?" She asked, "Fighting all three of them at once, even with six Pokémon on our side, won't be an easy fight. I probably will be relegated to a support role again – there's no chance I'd be able to stand and fight against those monsters."

"Actually, it might not be a 3v6 fight." I whispered.

She looked shocked, but she kept her voice down, "Wait, why?"

I looked around to make sure no one could overhear me, "Listen, keep this a secret, okay? But Lance and I actually have a plan to duel each other. We've been planning this for quite a while, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. Now that I've made it to the Top 3, I'm almost certain our duel can go ahead."

Roxanne's eyes widened, "...Ah, I see. So it's going to be a 2v5 instead?"

"I think so." I confirmed, "...I should probably reach out to Lance and confirm that our duel is happening."

"Knowing Wallace, he wouldn't say no." She said, "This is the kind of dramatic battle that he loves so dearly. And knowing you, you'd actually be able to match Lance's Emperor. I've seen videos of your Slaking fighting. If you actually used it against our Tournament opponents, you wouldn't even need me. You could have won by yourself."

"And that's exactly why I didn't want to use him." I replied, "This Tournament was an excellent opportunity for me to get some battle experience on my weaker Pokémon. Relying purely on my starter would go against that. Plus, could you imagine how bad of a look it would be if I just fought without caring for you? Since the Tournament is all about international cooperation, the public would skin me alive!"

"Yeah, you're right. It wouldn't be a good look." She agreed, "Anyways, you have anything planned for later? Or should we have a celebratory lunch together? We haven't eaten together since we paired up."

"Absolutely." I smiled, "Oh, before you say anything, it's my treat. I insist."

She frowned, "Absolutely not. You did all the hard work, at least let me pay for it."

"No, Roxanne. It was you that went above and beyond in those fights." I insisted, "And you should be rewarded for that effort. Let me pay."

The bickering continued all the way to the restaurant, and it was only paused as we both decided to stop arguing as we enjoyed our victory meal together.

However, I got the last laugh. As she slipped away to the bathroom, I paid for the bill.

Suck it.

================

?Since our match was the first of the Final Rounds, I still had some time before the fight against Lance would take place. I had already called Lance to confirm that the match would take place, and Lance told me that Wallace had easily given his approval.

"I'll make the announcement once all of the Top 3 have been decided." He said to me over the phone, "Then we'll have our fight."

Otherwise, I didn't have much to do until then. My parents and friends hadn't arrived from Indigo yet, and Cynthia was unfortunately unavailable and was only able to congratulate me over the phone. Apparently, she was wrapping up a few things with the financial investigations so couldn't spend time with me for the moment.

Since I had nothing better to do, and I really didn't want to throw myself back into training when I had just finished a difficult fight, I decided to spectate the other matches.

I was actually a little disappointed at the matchups; I was hoping for Drake's and Giovanni's teams to avoid each other, since I was rooting for them to make it to the Top 3. However, they ended up against each other, and that was why I was watching their match right now.

And sadly for Giovanni, Drake's Pokémon were expectedly dominant in this fight, just like they had been in every fight before that.

"Hydro Pump, Blastoise! Dominate them!"

That Blastoise of his was pummelling both Giovanni's Swampert and Norman's Kangaskhan with a full-powered Hydro Pump. Swampert may not be weak to Water types attacks, but that still didn't stop it from being absolutely blasted back from the sheer force of the torrent of water smashing into its face. The Ground type made a valiant attempt to endure and fight back, but its desperate struggles were repeatedly proving to be futile in the face of Blastoise's overwhelming attack.

Knowing that Swampert was a physical attacker, I recognised that Giovanni was trying his best to close the distance against Blastoise, since there was no way it could compete against Blastoise's tremendous firepower with its poor Special Attack. However, Swampert's attempts to Dig were quickly punished by a powerful Earthquake from Blastoise, nor could it force its way through the Hydro Pump with its own Waterfall. It was stuck being on the defensive.

In the meanwhile, the Waterflower's Golduck had free reign to set up the Rain before firing off a Grass Knot towards Swampert, which was barely interrupted in time by a last-second Stone Edge from Kangaskhan.

That Stone Edge saved Swampert.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop the unrelenting cannon fire of Hydro Pumps being fired off by Drake's Blastoise, especially now that it was further boosted by the falling Rain. Nor did it stop the fact that Golduck was still free to move around, constantly trying to find an angle as it threw out Hypnosis after Hypnosis towards both Kangaskhan and Swampert.

Kangaskhan did its best to try to throw off Golduck, but with its Swift Swim activated in the Rain, Golduck was simply too fast for the lumbering Normal type to catch up with as it easily dodged past Kangaskhan's Stone Edges and Double Edges.

Worse, Golduck applied just enough pressure with its volley of Hypnosis that it denied Kangaskhan from being able to change the weather with a Sandstorm.

Eventually, the massive speed difference between Golduck and Kangaskhan allowed the Water type to dive past another Stone Edge and finally land a single Hypnosis that put the Kangaskhan fast asleep.

And with Kangaskhan snoozing away, Swampert was no longer protected from Golduck's Grass Knots. Of course Swampert was aware of this, but there was little it could do when it was being constantly suppressed by the unending barrage of Hydro Pumps.

"Ice Punch, Swampert! You need to avoid that Grass Knot!"

Realising the incredible danger that it was in, Swampert desperately swung around its ice-covered fists, doing its best to avoid Blastoise's Hydro Pump while also cutting away at the small tendrils of Grass before Golduck could trip it up.

However, it only took one moment where Swampert was distracted, one instance where it had flinched for a little too long as it was blasted by another Hydro Pump, for Golduck to finally connect with a quadruply supereffective Grass Knot.

The Grass Knot forced Swampert to face-plant into the ground as its legs were constricted by a deceptively powerful tendril of grass. As soon as Swampert tripped up, Blastoise and Golduck wasted no time as they blasted it with a double whammy of both Psychic and Hydro Pump, overwhelming the hasty Protect shield that was set up and sending it tumbling backwards.

That spelled the defeat for Giovanni's first Pokémon, which was very bad for him. As far as I was aware, Swampert was Giovanni's only Pokémon that wasn't weak to Water types.

Of course, with Swampert's defeat, Kangaskhan was promptly given a very painful wake-up call as it became its turn to be bombarded by Blastoise's Hydro Pump. But Giovanni made his switch quickly, sending out his Nidoking that instantly released an Earth Power – catching Golduck while it was distracted and knocking the Water type into the air with its explosive tremors.

Kangaskhan tried to follow up with a Stone Edge, but another Hydro Pump quickly interrupted its efforts as it was forced to throw up a Protect shield. That was fine, as Nidoking unleashed his own Sludge Wave that drowned Golduck in a wave of deadly poison.

Seeing his partner now in trouble, Blastoise tried to reposition its Hydro Pump towards Nidoking, yet Kangaskhan refused to give it the opportunity. As soon as it was given a moment to breathe, Kangaskhan let out a determined roar as it charged forwards in a last-ditch Giga Impact, knowingly sacrificing itself so that its partner could secure the knockout on Golduck.

Drake grimaced at this, and ultimately decided to keep Blastoise's focus on the charging Kangaskhan; evidently trying to avoid his Blastoise taking a powerful Giga Impact. This left Nidoking free to spear the stunned Golduck through with a critical Thunderbolt, finishing off the Water type.

In the meanwhile, Kangaskhan had made use of the slight hesitation to power through the Hydro Pump and ram straight into the Blastoise, colliding into it with the full force of its Giga Impact. Yet that was far from enough to bring down the tanky Blastoise, and a point-blank Focus Blast finished off the injured Kangaskhan as it was too exhausted to keep up the offensive.

It was a one for one trade.

Starmie was sent out as Golduck's replacement, but my attention was on Norman's replacement. His Slaking was finally here.

"Get the Blastoise, Slaking! Thunder Punch!"

Slaking instantly took point, launching itself towards Blastoise before it could turn its Hydro Pump towards the new threat. Slaking barrelled into the Water type, and slammed a Thunder Punch right into its gut. But Blastoise didn't just roll over, and retaliated with a hard-hitting Skull Bash of its own. Slaking stumbled, but maintained the offensive as the two Pokémon began beating down on each other in a violent brawl.

Nidoking tried to support its ally, but Starmie intercepted it with repeated blasts of Psychics that forced a response from it. Using its faster speed to its advantage, Starmie kept a safe and evasive distance from Nidoking while constantly trading attacks with it, allowing Slaking and Blastoise to brawl uninterrupted.

I noticed that while Starmie didn't hit nearly hard enough to actually bring down Nidoking, it was still able to serve as an effective distraction thanks to its speed.

Of course, most of my attention was on the Slaking, as I was curious to see how it would compare to Tyrant. Ironically, I saw that Slaking was fighting with a familiar aggressive battling style as it tried to savage its opponent with a brutal series of haymakers in order to keep Blastoise disoriented and unable to fight back.

...That was exactly how Tyrant fought; it seemed like Norman had borrowed a trick or two from me.

However, as the brawl between Slaking and Blastoiste continued, the difference in strength between Tyrant and Norman's Slaking became pretty noticeable. His hits weren't as shattering as Tyrant's, his fists came slower than ours, and his technique wasn't as refined. There were a few times where Tyrant could have landed a counterattack that Slaking was too slow to capitalise on.

Yet, as the brawl continued, Slaking proved strong enough to finally be able to bring down Blastoise. For all of its defensiveness, Blastoise's ability to fight at close range was not its forte, especially against a brawler that could take a lot of hits. So as the two continued to trade blows, it was clear that Slaking was getting the better of every exchange.

And it was this difference that eventually caused its defeat as a final Thunder Punch crashed down on the dome of its head, causing the Water type to crumble to the ground.

But Drake just laughed as he withdrew his fallen Blastoise, "Phew! That's the second time I've been taken down by a Slaking! You haven't disappointed me so far, Norman, so show me your strength!"

"Come, Gyarados! Ravage them!"

His Gyarados emerged onto the field, making its presence known as it radiated such sheer explosive anger that immediately caught everyone's attention. Then the beast of rage locked eyes with Slaking, and without any commands from its trainer, instantly pounced towards Slaking with its fangs bared menacingly.

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Slaking let out a pained grunt as Gyarados bit down hard on its shoulder, and the retaliating Thunder Punch surprisingly failed to dislodge the raging Water type. As punishment, another Aqua Tail came slamming into Slaking's stomach, causing it to double over before an Iron Head caused it to flinch.

I winced at the beatdown that Gyarados was delivering onto Slaking, as the tables were turned from Slaking's earlier brawl against Blastoise. I was well aware of Gyarados' capabilities, having fought it myself with Smough all that time ago. And I was nearly certain that Norman's Slaking simply could not replicate Smough's feat, not when it was already tired out by fighting Blastoise.

The only chance that Giovanni and Norman might have had of beating Drake's Gyarados was if they teamed up on it in a 2v1 situation, like if Slaking distracted the Gyarados while Nidoking rained down powerful Thunderbolts from a safe distance.

However, the Waterflower's Starmie stifled these plans as it continued to be a constant annoyance for Nidoking, constantly denying any attempt for Nidoking to support his ally with a barrage of Thunderbolts by threatening him with Psychics and Confuse Rays.

A cracking snap caught my attention as I watched Slaking be slammed into one of the psychic barriers by a powerful hit from a Rain-boosted Aqua Tail. Before Slaking could recover, Gyarados rushed into it with a ferocious Waterfall, driving itself painfully into Slaking's gut. Slaking tried to counter with a Thunder Punch, but Gyarados merely let out an enraged snarl as it tanked the attack and hammered into Slaking's side with another brutal Aqua Tail.

At this moment, Gyarados didn't care about the damage it was taking, all that mattered was unleashing its furious, unyielding, and brutal might against Slaking.

I thought there were a few moments where Slaking might have had an opportunity to break through Gyarados' assault, but Gyarados simply never let up. Despite getting hit by repeated Thunder Punches, Gyarados refused to flinch, and the Rain made it hit all the more painfully.

Unfortunately, despite the valiant attempt to throw off Gyarados, there were no heroic displays from Norman's Slaking this time. Gyarados had more than matched Slaking in both strength and speed, and his Slaking simply didn't have the endurance to withstand against such a savage assault. Eventually, despite the ramping injuries on Gyarados, all that remained of the target of Gyarados' wrath was a fallen Slaking that had collapsed limply to the ground.

With Slaking defeated, Gyarados was free to change the target of its rage towards Giovanni's Nidoking. Needless to say, it didn't take very long before the Ground type found itself falling to the ground as well.

Drake and the Waterflower sisters had won, and the massive F-bomb that Drake dropped in celebration (which was broadcasted to practically the whole world) clearly made that known.

I turned away from their cries of victory as I looked at Norman and Giovanni. While there was an unmistakable look of disappointment on their faces, I didn't think they were upset. Perhaps they had already accepted the possibility of their defeat.

A part of me wanted to wait around to congratulate them, but they were busy exchanging words to each other. I thought about waiting for them, but seeing a Slaking lose had sparked something from within me, and I had already stood up and began walking away before I knew it.

Even if it probably wouldn't make a difference, I needed to check up on Tyrant and get some last-minute training done.

One Slaking had already shown itself to be lacking in strength in this Tournament. I would not be the next.

===============

?(Cynthia POV)

"I thought you'd be preparing for our match." Her fellow Champion said to her, "I know Lance sure is."

"Lance has a different battle to prepare for; his is more intense." She replied, "And besides, it wouldn't do for a Champion of Sinnoh to neglect a battle between two Sinnoh Gym Leaders." She pointed to the match where Volkner and Jasmine were about to fight against Pryce and Candice.

She admitted that was a little annoyed that Volkner and Candice, the two representatives from Sinnoh, would be fighting against each other. Although, that did mean that it didn't matter who won – a member of Sinnoh would make it to Top 3 regardless. Therefore, she kept that slight bit of grumbling to herself.

"Ah, true." Wallace nodded, "Well I shall leave you to it. I need to make sure my Pokémon are properly warmed up for our battle ahead. We have to ensure that our performance is unrivalled. I should probably speak to Lance to make sure that he's ready for his battle – it wouldn't do for him to slip up against John."

She inwardly smirked at his words, doing her best to hold back her desire to boast about John's capabilities. Agatha had put up a good fight, but John's Ursaluna had proven dominant. She was most impressed with that trick that he did with his new Zoroark – it made her hope that her own Kleavor could match it in the future.

Speaking of John, she had hoped that they could watch this match together since she was no longer busy, but he had absconded himself to some last-minute training after watching Norman's defeat. That was more than understandable, so she let him be.

Regardless, Wallace headed off after that, leaving her alone to spectate the match between the final members of the Top 6, who had just taken the positions on the battlefield.

Truth be told, she was rooting for Candice, but only because she was her friend. Candice had improved by leaps and bounds in this Tournament, and she hoped that her friend could see her efforts properly rewarded.

The fight quickly began with Volkner and Jasmine releasing a Jolteon and Magnezone respectively, while Pryce and Candice released an Abomasnow and Froslass.

She knew immediately that the battle would come down to whoever had better weather control.

But with Abomasnow instantly setting up the Snow with its Snow Warning, the advantage immediately swung to the Ice specialists' favour. Jolteon tried to make use of its speed to set up a Rain Dance, but Froslass proved no slower as it shut down that attempt with a Taunt.

A Flash Cannon shot out from Magnezone, but Abomasnow had already set up an Aurora Veil before it managed to hit, forming a shimmering protective screen in front of both their Ice types that blocked most of the damage.

Volkner then tapped Jasmine on the shoulder, and this time her Magnezone stopped and tried to set up the Rain while Jolteon distracted Froslass by blasting it with a barrage of powerful Thunders. Yet Abomasnow wasn't idling around either, and a huge Blizzard blanketed the battlefield in a wave of ice. Frost crystals rapidly spread around Magnezone's metallic exterior as it rapidly froze over, but it managed to complete the weather change in time.

...Only to be immediately struck by a supereffective Brick Break from Abomasnow, who proved that it could move and channel a Blizzard at the same time. Leech Seeds were also implanted into Magnezone, slowly draining it of its health before another Brick Break sent it crashing into the ground. Magnezone tried retaliating with a Flash Cannon, but Abomasnow brushed it off with its Aurora Veil as it continued its pummelling.

On the other hand, Froslass, now deprived of its Snow Cloak with the lack of Snow, was on the backfoot against the speedier Jolteon and had been struck by a few Thunder Fangs. Froslass continued to retreat while firing off Ice Beams that failed to hit their target, but there was only so much it could evade.

Only luck kept it from being paralysed.

Eventually, Jolteon's superior speed managed to back Froslass into a corner, and it looked like it was about to get hit by a powerful Wild Charge...until suddenly, Jolteon let out a pained yelp as it was thrown into the air as the ground erupted from below it.

Cynthia's eyes instantly snapped to Abomasnow, and realised that Pryce had the battlefield awareness to support his teammate with an Earth Power and create a crucial opening for them.

"Set up the Snow again!" Pryce shouted at Candice, who was surprised but scrambled to obey.

The heavy Snow began to fall again, and the tables began to turn once more. Now, with Froslass' evasion boosted by Snow Cloak, Jolteon was no longer able to suppress it with its greater speed. At the same time, Magnezone was being completely dominated by Abomasnow, who had mercilessly exploited Magnezone's lack of close range options to continue pummelling it to the ground. To make things worse, Magnezone was constantly on the edge of being frozen, thanks to Abomasnow infusing Ice into every attack.

Jasmine's relative lack of training was really punishing them right now.

'...Why isn't she Exploding?' Cynthia wondered to herself, knowing that it was probably Magnezone's best move available, 'Unless...she can't?...Did Pryce deliberately deny Magnezone the opportunity to Explode by freezing it over and over again?' If that was true, then Magnezone was in a hopeless position unless Jolteon rescued it.

Explosion was a move that, unless extremely well-trained, had a small wind-up process while your Pokémon gathered up all of its energies to detonate. But as Magnezone was always being on the edge of being frozen, it never got the opportunity to gather up that energy.

Worse, there would be no rescue attempts today. With instruction from Pryce, Froslass had formed a wall of ice to separate the two Electric types, and denied any opportunity for assistance. Therefore, Magnezone fell unceremoniously, without being able to charge up for a final Explosion.

With Magnezone going down, Jasmine sent out her Steelix as her final Pokémon. Yet as soon as she did so, Pryce unexpectedly swapped out his Abomasnow.

"Come out, Weavile."

His Weavile completely ignored the Steelix as it rushed out of its Pokéball, charging straight towards Jolteon. Knowing that there was no way that Jolteon could handle a 2v1, Steelix tried to intercept, but it was far too slow. Its Stone Edge's were effortlessly dodged by the incredibly fast Weavile, and the Earthquake was simply leaped over.

Cynthia immediately understood why Pryce had made the swap. Against the defensive Steelix, an Abomasnow would not be the best Pokémon against it. However, Weavile was more than able to exploit Steelix's slow speed, and was now abusing it to rush down Jolteon.

And the plan worked. Jolteon had just managed to dodge out of the way of an Ice Shard from Froslass before Weavile dashed up to it with an Ice Punch to the face. Jolteon slid backwards, and an Ice Beam from Froslass quickly froze it over.

Now helplessly frozen, Jolteon was subsequently finished off by a decisive Night Slash from Weavile.

...Pryce had really calculated this well. This must be his experience showing.

With Jolteon knocked out, Volkner sent out his last Pokémon, to the surprise of many – his new Electivire. Cynthia was willing to bet that many in the crowd would not even recognise what this was – the Electirizer and the Protector had only just been released, after all.

However, despite being momentarily shocked by the new arrival, Weavile had too much discipline to be unnerved by it, and continued to charge down at this new arrival, rushing it down with an Ice Punch that Electivire expertly parried to the side before it countered with its own Brick Break that narrowly missed thanks to Weavile's incredible speed.

Froslass also moved to join it, but this time Steelix was able to intercept it as a Rock Slide cut off its path.

Normally, a Froslass would have no problem outmanoeuvring a slow Steelix. But Froslass was slowed from its past injuries, and Steelix had clearly not wasted its time as it had boosted its speed with a Rock Polish. So it was to Candice's surprise when an Iron Tail came crashing into Froslass quicker than she expected, sending her frail Ice type tumbling to the ground.

"Destiny Bond, Froslass!"

Froslass' eyes flashed purple as in a last ditch attempt to take down Steelix alongside her, but the Steel type didn't fall for it and patiently waited for the effect to expire before an Iron Tail finished Froslass off.

She immediately set out her Glaceon as her final Pokémon. And with Glaceon's much higher Special Attack and Snow Cloak, it really was the perfect counter to Steelix. Yet instead of focusing all of its efforts on Steelix, another tap on the shoulder from Pryce had Glaceon fire off Icy Winds to slow down both Steelix AND Electivire.

Electivire and Weavile had been thus far entangled in a very even brawl, with Electivire proving that it was more than a match for Weavile as the two exchanged a plethora of blows against each other. In fact, Electivire even held the advantage as it fired off a Discharge in between one of its attacks and managed to land a crucial paralysis against Weavile, cutting its speed in half.

With Weavile now slowed down, Electivire began to dominate the fight, and Weavile was only barely able to narrowly dodge past a Brick Break, which managed to land a glancing blow against it. Yet that was already enough to cause Weavile to stumble – its quadruple frailty against Fighting type moves really starting to prove crippling.

As Weavile stumbled backwards, a Brick Break was about to smash it right in the face when Weavile was saved in the nick of time from the Icy Wind from Glaceon, which vitally slowed down the Electivire, buying Weavile just enough time to scramble away.

If the fight had continued to be between Weavile and Electivire, then there was no telling who would eventually come out on top. Electivire had more than proven that it was a massive step up from a mere Electabuzz, and it was a proving a serious threat to even Pryce's veteran Weavile.

However, this wasn't a 1v1. Steelix had tried to stop Glaceon with a Rock Slide, but the Snow Cloak Glaceon proved too elusive to be hit while it summoned a huge Blizzard that ripped apart the battlefield, causing a howling vortex of frost to freeze over both non-Ice types. Steelix was now once again slowed to a crawl, allowing Glaceon to easily keep its distance and slowly wear it down from a distance.

"Fire Fang, Steelix! Then Rock Polish!"

Jasmine tried desperately to repair Steelix's slowed speed by melting away the encroaching frost and buffing its speed, but that was like lighting a candle to warm up in a snowstorm. It wasn't very effective.

Ultimately, Steelix's lack of manoeuvrability doomed it, leaving it to be easy pickings for the Glaceon.

That just left Electivire, who was still holding even against Weavile. The two had adapted to their new speeds, and both Pokémon were sneaking in Discharges or Ice Shards respectively in-between their attacks to disrupt the other's counterattacks. But in Cynthia's eyes, Electivire actually held the advantage – it being bulkier meant that it only needed one good hit to take out Weavile while Weavile would need several.

However, now that Electivire's partner was knocked out, it was now in a horrible 2v1 position. And Volkner knew it.

"Thunderbolt, Elecitvire! Disrupt that Glaceon!"

A huge barrage of Thunderbolts came crashing down around Glaceon, keeping it separated from Weavile and interrupting its Ice Beam to buy Electivire a few crucial seconds to take out Weavile. This was its final gambit to even out the fight here.

Unfortunately, it didn't pay off. Weavile, even while paralysed, proved too nimble for the Electric Type to land a decisive knockout blow. And as the Thunderbolts dispersed, Glaceon was now given free reign to bombard Electivire from a safe distance with a volley of Ice Beams and Icy Winds that rapidly froze the Electric type over. All the while, Weavile constantly hounded it so that it didn't get a chance to fight back against Glaceon.

Yet, in a moment of pure luck, Weavile either got arrogant or its muscles had suddenly locked up from the paralysis. Either way, it moved a hint too slow and Electivire smashed a Brick Break right through Weavile's face.

Weavile instantly collapsed to the ground, but before Electivire could turn and face Glaceon, another Ice Beam finally froze over its legs, rooting Electivire on the spot. Leaving it wide open for the resulting Blizzard to shred through what little remained of its health.

Volkner had come close, but his Electivire had finally fallen.

With the last of the battles concluding, that meant that Pryce and Candice would be entering the Top 3. Therefore, her opponents in the Champion battle would be against Pryce, Candice, Drake, the Waterflower sisters, and Roxanne.

Cynthia clapped enthusiastically as she watched her friend celebrate. She felt a little bad for Volkner and Jasmine; even though she supported Candice, she still acknowledged the effort that went into making it this far. They had done very well for themselves; more than surpassing everyone's expectations.

However, Pryce and Candice had ruthlessly exploited the natural weaknesses of the Steel type in their slowness and forced Volkner and Jasmine into unfavourable engagements while also denying the vital Rain for Volkner.

It was a shame; there was honestly little to complain about with Volkner and Jasmine's strategy. Pryce and Candice just outmatched them.

Still, she hoped that Volkner wouldn't be too displeased. For whatever it's worth, that was one powerful demonstration for his Electivire. It's not every day that a Gym Leader's Pokémon is able to fend off a Pokémon from a still-respected Ex-Champion. So she didn't think it was much of a loss for Volkner.

And besides, from all the rumours she was hearing and the way that Volkner and Jasmine were currently hugging each other – she didn't think he lost at all.

====================

?(John POV)

"...So, you're telling me that we're going to be fighting in a 2v5?" Drake questioned aloud as the Top 3 had gathered together after the Final Rounds was over.

Pryce snorted, "Of course it's the Blackthorn making their own plans. I'm honestly impressed you had the consideration to inform us, last-minute as it was."

Yes, Pryce and Candice ended up beating Volkner and Jasmine, to little surprise for most. Even though I was personally rooting for the budding couple, I knew full well that Pryce and Candice was the far more powerful team. They managed to maintain the Snow for most of their fight, which ended up securing their victory.

Lance ignored Pryce's words, "Yes, and I have already gotten agreement from the other Champions." He gestured to his colleagues, "Once this meeting is over, Wallace will be making a public announcement."

"Why not have John fight Lance, then both of you come back to fight in 3v6?" Roxanne asked.

"That would be less exciting." Wallace spoke up, "Think of it from the public's perspective. You just had an amazing fight between the starters of the two most powerful Trainers in the world. And right after that, you have them fight again but in a team situation." He shook his head, "That would cheapen the experience of both fights."

"Oh, okay." Roxanne said easily enough, wisely deciding not to challenge Wallace's many, many years of contest experience.

"Not to interrupt, but you guys do realise you've made the fight easier for us, right?" Daisy Waterflower spoke up.

Cynthia let out a snort, "And if we feared such a challenge then we wouldn't be Champions at all."

"What we should really be concerned about is whether these two hotheads are actually capable of giving us a good fight." Candice said, "Sorry, John. All I really know about you is that you're friends with Cynthia. Are you sure you are ready for this? You must know the fates of the many hopefuls who had just challenged our Champion only to fall embarrassingly short. It wouldn't look good if the same happened to you."

I smiled, "Thank you for the concern – but I assure you that I'm fully aware for what's about to happen. Even if I lose, I promise you that you will be getting a good fight."

"What about you, fellow Dragon Master?" Drake grinned, "Are you prepared for the consequences if you lose? Friendly match or not, losing as a Champion isn't a good look."

"And if it was anyone other than John then I wouldn't have agreed to fight like this." Lance countered, "But John's strength is widely acknowledged in Indigo, to the point where he's publicly known as my second-in-command. Even if I were to lose, the consequences would not be as detrimental as you fear. I have done the research."

"Everyone already suspects that John's Pokémon are at the level of a Champion anyways." Cynthia gave me a subtle look, "This is just confirmation."

"Then I think there's no need to waste anymore fucking time." Drake declared, as he stood up, "All the best to you, John. But I've got a match to fight, and two Champions to beat."

He patted me on the shoulder, "Show the world why you managed to beat me. The stage is all yours, kid."

"Make them remember you."

The New Normal – 10-16 – A Clash of Kings

With the meeting wrapped up, Wallace subsequently made an announcement to the public regarding the change in plan, declaring that the upcoming battle of Champions would be a 2v5 and that there would be a duel between Lance and I.

Naturally, the public lost their collective minds over this sudden change, in a good way. Like Lance had mentioned in our previous meeting, there had been a lot of debate within the Indigo battling scene about whether Lance or I had the stronger starter, and now it was finally time to settle the question.

After the announcement was made, I saw on the Pokénet that there were some even clamouring for Lance and I to take this one step further, for it to be a full 6v6 battle between us. But Lance was quick to shut that down in an interview that he gave.

"The purpose of this battle is to allow both of our starters to battle against each other; to determine who is stronger. I have always kept an eye on the power of John's Slaking, and I'm excited to see how Emperor would fare against it." He explained, "It is not meant to prove who is the stronger trainer."

"But is that not the same thing?" A reporter asked him.

"No. In a 6v6, there are many additional considerations that need to be accounted for that could tip the scales of a battle." He said, "For example, I could setup with hazards in advance, or make sure the weather is favourable for me, or even pass on a few buffs beforehand. That is different from a 1v1, where both Pokémon start on the same level playing field."

"Therefore – and I repeat myself – this is only to see which starter is stronger in a pure battle of strength and skill." He finished, "Nothing more."

His words helped set the scene for our upcoming battle, making it clear that this – beyond the strength of our starters – there should be no official considerations from this fight.

Besides the announcement and Lance's follow-up interview, the one other thing of note before my duel was that my parents had arrived in Hoenn alongside Karen and Whitney. I had asked if they wanted me to show them around Hoenn, but they all said that there was no need as they didn't want to distract me from my battle preparations.

"We'll only be doing boring stuff anyways, since we need to finally meet Mr. Stone's contact in person and check up on our new store for ourselves." My mom told me, "There's no need for you to waste your time with that."

"You could always help out after the battle, but focus on that first." My dad added, "This is a big opportunity for you. Your Slaking has grown so far from the lazy Slakoth stealing our bananas to eat. I know how strong your Pokémon are. Go whoop his ass, John. Be a Champion."

Similar sentiments and words were given to me by Cynthia, Karen, Whitney, and a few of my other friends and colleagues, who all expressed their best wishes and promised to not disturb me. In the meanwhile, Roxanne and the other Top 3 members all were in a separate meeting as they discussed how they would approach their fight against Cynthia and Wallace in their 2v5 matchup.

Despite having a three Pokémon advantage on the Champions, they all knew they were in for a hard battle.

With that in mind, I threw myself into some last minute preparations, even though I knew that I was just doing it to keep my mind off things. I wasn't exactly anxious, but I was definitely feeling the pressure.

Even though there might not be any direct or political consequences to losing – this battle was definitely Lance's battle to lose – this fight still represented the culmination of every bit of effort for myself and Tyrant to become the strongest Pokémon ever seen, which had been our goal from the very beginning.

I didn't know whether this was the ego talking, but I wanted to prove, to myself, to all of my friends and family that believed in me, and to the public, that Tyrant was truly deserving of the unbeatable reputation that he had gotten.

I did not want to fall short of that goal. I refused for my starter to be known as the 'second strongest'.

With my conviction reaffirmed, I let out a steady breath as I settled my emotions into one of determined calm. I was ready for the fight to come.

And between Emperor and Tyrant, there was only room for one to wear the crown.

========

?The rest of the night passed by quickly. I had ran through Lance's previous fights again, reminded Tyrant of what was likely to come, and confirmed that there were no last-minute changes that we needed to make going into the fight. We both rested up early, making sure that we were properly energized.

Then, I quickly found myself alone in the waiting room. My fight with Lance was obviously scheduled first, and my Top 3 colleagues would be fighting right after me. They could have joined me in the waiting room, but they considerately gave me the space for me to settle my nerves and thoughts.

I almost didn't hear the announcement calling me to the podium, but a League official snapped me out of my thoughts and I promptly and silently made my way into the arena.

My eyes immediately locked onto Lance, who matched my gaze with one of his own. Neither of us said a word to each other. There was no need for any intimidation or jokes – just silence. We simply allowed the announcer to make his introductions.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! MANY OF YOU WERE LIKELY AS SURPRISED AS I WAS WHEN I HEARD THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM OUR CHAMPION, BUT THERE TRULY COULD BE NOTHING BETTER TO ROUND OFF THIS FANTASTIC TRI-REGIONAL TOURNAMENT!"

"INDIGO'S VERY OWN ELITE JOHN IS NOW GOING TO FACE OFF AGAINST CHAMPION LANCE, IN A SHOWDOWN 1V1 THAT HAS BEEN GREATLY ANTICIPATED! THIS WILL BE A BATTLE OF SHEER WILLPOWER, STRENGTH, AND DETERMINATION. A BATTLE TO DEMONSTRATE WHO, TRULY, HAS THE STRONGER STARTER!"

"WILL IT BE CHAMPION LANCE, WITH HIS MONSTER OF A DRAGONITE THAT IS THE DREAM OF ALL YOUTHS ACROSS THE WORLD!? WHO'S DRAGONITE HAS POWERED HIS WAY THROUGH TO BOTH THE ELITE FOUR AND THEN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION!? THE DRAGON OF DRAGONS?!"

"OR WILL IT BE THE UNDERDOG, ELITE JOHN?! WHO'S AWE-INSPIRING SLAKING HAS SHATTERED MANY OPPONENTS OVER JOHN'S EXCITING ELITE FOUR CAREER! AND WHO NOW STANDS ATOP OF A MOUNTAIN OF FALLEN AND BROKEN FOES, WITH HIS STARTER SINGLE-HANDEDLY DELIVERING THE FIRST 6-0 VICTORY EVER SEEN AGAINST A CHALLENGER OF THE ELITE FOUR?!"

"IS TODAY THE DAY THAT WE SEE A DRAGON BEING DETHRONED!?"

The crowd exploded into a cacophony of different shouts, and many began chanting their support for us. Hastily created banners could be seen lining the audience stands with encouragement written all over them. But neither of us bothered to indulge in the adulation of the crowd.

We were both here for one thing, and one thing only – to determine who had the stronger Pokémon.

And we both believed it would be us.

"TRAINERS, GET READY FOR THE SHOWDOWN IN...THREE!...TWO!...ONE!...FIGHT!"

Our Pokémon both came out at the same time, and their combined presence immediately caught everyone's attention as their sheer strength dominated the battlefield. But there was no time for posturing as Emperor instantly began the fight by swooping into the air before coming charging down with incredible speed as he crashed into Tyrant like a descending meteor.

However, despite Emperor's incredible speed, Tyrant caught Emperor's fists in his grasp. Not waiting to see if Emperor could pull himself out of it, Tyrant quickly threw Emperor over his shoulders and suplexed him painfully into the ground, cracking the earth from Tyrant's raw strength.

Tyrant immediately tried to pounce on top of Emperor and brutally smashed a knee into his gut, but Emperor swiftly retaliated by unleashing a powerful Hyper Beam that blasted Tyrant straight in the face.

Tyrant recoiled backwards as he clutched his face in pain, but still managed to land an Encore on Emperor, forcing Emperor to fire off another Hyper Beam that was barely blocked by the Protect shield that Tyrant threw up. Another Hyper Beam immediately began being charged up by Emperor, but Tyrant exploded forwards in a blur of blazing orange.

Emperor roared out in pain as Tyrant slammed him hard with a ferocious Giga Impact, crashing into the Dragon type so hard that an explosive BANG radiated throughout the battlefield upon the impact. The vibrations from the resulting shockwave alone caused the psychic shields to flicker wildly as they struggled to contain the impact.

Yet Emperor was no measly Dragon that could be subdued by a single Giga Impact. Even as he skidded back from the force of the Giga Impact, Emperor held firm and PUSHED back against Tyrant, making use of his massive strength to hold Tyrant back before a fist came smashing into Tyrant's jaw, striking so hard that an audible crack could be heard.

"Extreme Speed, Emperor."

Tyrant stumbled back, and then Emperor suddenly disappeared into a blur of his own as he began dashing around the battlefield with Extreme Speed, moving so quickly that I lost track of him with my eyes, and causing Tyrant's counterattack to go wide.

A part of me regretted not trying to slow down Emperor with a Thunder Wave early in the fight, but I had done my research. Lance had trained up Emperor so well that most paralysis and confusions would do little to Emperor.

No, trying to Thunder Wave him would have been a futile effort.

In that moment, Emperor reappeared right behind Tyrant and, with his fists clenched together, struck down onto the back of Tyrant's head like a sledgehammer, striking with enough force that Tyrant's legs were buried into the ground.

Yet all Tyrant did was let out a grunt of pain before he swung around quickly, parrying Emperor's follow up attack with an Ice Punch that knocked the incoming Brick Break wildly off target. Tyrant then kicked Emperor hard in the gut while he ripped up a slab of rock from the ground and tried smashing it down on Emperor's head.

But Emperor slashed the rock apart with a Dragon Claw with almost dismissive ease. Tyrant tried to capitalise on this with another Ice Punch, but a Dragon Tail snuck up from behind and hammered into Tyrant's side, sending him staggering back to the ground.

Seeing his opponent falling to his knees, Emperor launched himself forwards in an explosive Dragon Rush, thinking that Tyrant wouldn't be able to block against it.

However, proving our training wasn't for nothing, Tyrant immediately recovered and shot off the ground like a rocket with his own devastating Giga Impact.

"DRAGONITEE!!!"

"SLAKINGG!!!"

The two of them roared out to the skies above as the two unstoppable brutes crashed into each other with an utterly destructive and colossal BANG.

It didn't matter that the arena received additional reinforcements in preparation for this match. It didn't matter that the psychic shields were made to be extra thick because they knew how destructive this fight was going to be. It didn't matter that there was a secondary psychic shield behind the first layer as emergency protection just in case the first one broke.

All these protections shattered the moment our two starters collided against each other, just from the resulting shockwaves alone. An enormous cloud of dust was kicked up, and rocks and other loose debris in all shapes and sizes were launched in all directions, ricocheting dangerously off the walls and bouncing all over the place.

It was as if a bomb had detonated in the middle of the arena, completely obliterating everything around it.

I coughed and had to shield my eyes from all of the dust, and I could barely make out the surprised cries from the crowd as they too were covered in dust.

However, as the dust faded, I bore witness to the complete annihilation that resulted from the attack.

The immediate surrounding area around the attack was just gone. The only thing that remained was a conspicuously large hole that was filled with nothing. Not even loose wires. In the meanwhile, the rest of the arena had shattered apart, with cracks spreading all across them like miniature fissures.

The 'reinforced' arena did not survive the impact. What remained was little more than chunks of loose rubble.

Yet in the face of such overwhelming destruction, both of our Pokémon were amazingly still in the fight. As a testament to their respective strengths, even despite the utter destruction from their respective attacks, they were far from out of the fight.

They were reeling, sure, and both of them were clutching onto their heads as they didn't come out unscathed from the raw, explosive power of their attacks, but it would take far more than this to take them down.

On cue, a figure blurred forwards once more, dispersing the lingering cloud of dust as the unstoppable Emperor unleased another powerful Dragon Rush towards Tyrant. But Tyrant simply tanked the attack and caught the incoming Emperor with his arms, before retaliating by LIFTING Emperor by his arms and then throwing him mercilessly onto the ground, cracking the arena even further.

Anticipating Tyrant's follow-up attack, Emperor instantly swung around with a sweeping Dragon Tail that would have punished any follow-up, yet his tail hit nothing but air.

Instead, Tyrant surprised Emperor by stepping back and firing a powerful Ice Beam that caused frost crystals to freeze over his face. Enraged by this deception, Emperor tried for a Fire Blast to interrupt the Ice Beam, but it was then that Tyrant roared forwards and brutally bashed Emperor further into the ground with a fist to the face, shattering the ground around them into dust.

The two fell into the hole that was just made, and just as Tyrant's fist was about to crash into his face again, Emperor Outraged.

An overwhelming amount of draconic energy exploded forth from within Emperor, causing a terrifying blue aura to surround his form as his eyes literally glowed with unrivalled power. Tyrant was immediately forced back, while at the same time, glowing blue orbs of raw draconic energy were formed in the skies above as the Draco Meteors rapidly began to descend like an incoming apocalypse.

"DRAGONITEEE!!" Filled with insurmountable strength, Emperor burst forwards, ramming into Tyrant and driving his fist deep into Tyrant's stomach that nearly folded him in half. Tyrant tried to strike back with an Ice Punch, but with his Outrage, Emperor was an unstoppable entity of destruction as he didn't even flinch from the quadruply effective attack.

Worse, Emperor's attacks now came faster and with far more power. Tyrant, for all his strength, was not able to match this terrifying explosive increase in power created by the Outrage.

Emperor rained down blow after blow onto Tyrant. Each hit striking with enough force to break and shatter a weaker Pokémon, but Tyrant valiantly continued to block them with his arms, even if he was getting slowly overwhelmed as each hit from Emperor struck down like a hammer from Arceus.

Yet he wouldn't be able to tank through it for long – each destructive blow from Emperor caused Tyrant's arms to grow limper and limper as his endurance began to fail him. He even tried to sneak in a Thunder Wave in a desperate attempt to buy himself some breathing room. However, Emperor's Outrage-boosted strength was far too powerful, and the Thunder Wave was merely consumed and dispelled by the endless flood of Draconic energy radiating out of Emperor.

In his current Outrage-boosted state, I feared that one good critical hit from Emperor might be enough to bring down Tyrant, even despite my starter's immense endurance.

So far, over the course of the fight, I hadn't seen a need to give commands to Tyrant. The fight was enough of a brawl that my intervention would only muddle things. Nevertheless, with Tyrant being overwhelmed like this, it was up to me as his trainer to maintain objectivity and tell him when was the moment to strike back.

I watched Emperor's movements carefully, waiting for a single opening that would allow Tyrant to reverse the situation. My eyes narrowed as I saw the inherent wildness and lack of discipline from Emperor's strikes. In exchange for this huge burst of strength, the Outrage must have stripped Emperor of his technique as he succumbed to the primal wrath of a Dragon.

And then I saw it. A moment where Emperor had overextended on a Dragon Claw, and would need to reorient himself before attacking again.

"COUNTER!"

"SLAKINGGGGG!!!" Tyrant's body flashed orange just as the Dragon Claw slashed into him, leaving Emperor wide open. Immediately capitalising on the opportunity, Tyrant ROARED out as he converted all of that pent up rage from Emperor's beatdown and unleashed a single, critical Ice Punch that smashed down like a meteor.

This was the blow to topple an emperor.

Emperor's head snapped backwards with an audible crunch before another uppercut crushed his chin and sent him stumbling onto his knees. Not satisfied with just that, Tyrant spun around and delivered a deadly roundhouse Mega Kick to the neck which instantly sent Emperor crumbling to the ground, and Tyrant quickly pounced on top of him and unleashed a merciless Earthquake right on top of the fallen Emperor – but it was then that the Draco Meteors finally came crashing down.

Explosions ripped through the battlefield once again as the already-destroyed arena was broken down even further. The Draco Meteors detonated indiscriminately, hitting both Tyrant and Emperor and forcing both of them to the ground from the resulting shockwaves.

This attack would have completely annihilated a weaker Pokémon, and yet both of ours merely tanked through the attack with nothing more than a pained grunt. With Tyrant's Earthquake now interrupted, I was tempted to order a Protect, but Emperor denied that choice from me as he recklessly threw himself towards Tyrant, using the sudden opportunity to clothesline Tyrant, throwing him to the ground, before beginning to ferociously pummel down on him with a flurry of devastating blows.

It was the biggest demonstration of both of their endurance, and their ability to shrug off pain, that such a devastating Draco Meteor could be treated as a mere afterthought despite each detonation tearing a chunk out of both of their health.

But Tyrant was far from helpless. He wasn't just going to sit there and endure through this enraged pummelling. Roaring out in defiance, he infused his head with Fairy Energy and broke through an incoming Dragon Claw with his skull before savagely crashing their heads together. Emperor flinched from the attack, allowing Tyrant to tackle him with a full-powered Play Rough.

The Fairy energy forcefully broke through Emperor's Outrage, causing dizziness to set in. The situation was quickly reversed as Emperor found himself slammed ruthlessly into the ground once again, with Tyrant's hands gripped tightly around his head like he was trying to crush his skull within them.

"SLAKINGGG!!!!" With a roar that symbolised all of his rage and frustration, Tyrant brutally pounded Emperor head first into the ground again and again. Each time Tyrant slammed down with so much force it was like he was trying to break Emperor's skull apart by cracking him against what remained of the arena.

And Emperor was feeling the hurt. Now that he was beginning to flag due to the overexertion caused by his earlier Outrage, he couldn't withstand being bashed into the ground over and over like this for very long, not with Tyrant's absolutely monstrous strength. Knowing he needed to break free, Emperor forced himself up as he swung around a Dragon Tail as hard as he could, but it was blocked and caught by Tyrant.

Still, Tyrant was forced to use two hands to catch the Dragon Tail, forcing Tyrant to let go of Emperor's head. However, Tyrant refused to give up the momentum, and improvised by lifting Emperor by the tail and mercilessly unleashing a Stone Edge right underneath himself and impaling Emperor in a pit of razor-sharp rocks.

The rocks shredded through Emperor, but before Tyrant could follow up with an Ice Punch that would have likely ended the fight, a sudden Hyper Beam shot out from Emperor – instantly disintegrating the rocks and incinerating Tyrant.

Tyrant instinctively raised an arm to shield his face, allowing Emperor to disappear into a blur once again as he charged forwards with another Extreme Speed as he rammed straight into Tyrant, thinking that Tyrant would be vulnerable.

That was until a Thunderbolt came crashing down from above, smiting down on Emperor and catching him completely by surprise as a painful amount of Electricity forcefully coursed through him.

Tyrant had anticipated his charge and perfectly timed a Thunderbolt.

The Thunderbolt broke Emperor's charge and caused him to deliver himself right in front of Tyrant. Before Emperor could recover, Tyrant's legs came lashing out as he swiftly tripped up Emperor with a Low Kick, kicking Emperor's legs from under him and causing the Dragon to fall face first before his face was bashed in by Tyrant's Fairy-infused knee.

Then another brutal Mega Kick whipped out from Tyrant that struck Emperor perfectly in the neck with a painful CRACK, striking with such force that it caused Emperor's whole body to spin through the air before collapsing onto the ground.

Tyrant once again pounced on top of Emperor and kept him pinned to the ground, but Emperor refused to allow this beatdown to continue. He forced out what remained of his draconic energy as his aura exploded outwards, sending out a powerful wave of force that caught Tyrant by surprise and sent him stumbling back.

It was another Outrage.

"DRAGONITEEE!!" Emperor roared, pushing past his exhaustion as he smashed Tyrant with a bone-crushing Dragon Tail that shattered Tyrant's arms, breaking through Tyrant's attempt to block and sending him careening to the side. Not satisfied with just that, Emperor unleashed a blinding Dragon Pulse from his mouth that blasted the vulnerable Tyrant, pinning him momentarily to the psychic barriers.

But Emperor could not push his advantage any further as his exhaustion became too much for him to ignore, and he fell onto a knee in fatigue. His once radiating blue aura of draconic energies had considerably faded.

Tyrant was doing little better, as he barely managed to pull himself off of the psychic barriers. His indomitable strength had now left him, and his arms now hung limply by his side as Emperor's last attack had thoroughly crushed them.

I saw that the adrenaline was starting to fade from both Pokémon as their incredible amount of injuries made themselves known. It was a testament to the sheer strength of our team, their unyielding endurance, and their unwavering discipline, for them to be able to stand up and endure the raw brutality of attacks that just took place.

Still, even the unstoppable had their limits. Tyrant and Emperor had engaged in a violent beatdown of each other, pummelling the other with utter ferocity and with all of their monstrous strength. It had been a battle as close as the Legends themselves, for I doubted there had ever been a fight between two trained Pokémon this devastating and this destructive since the formation of Indigo.

Yet now both their energies were now expended. Their injuries were piling. Their bodies were failing them. But their spirit was as strong as ever. Their will still burned strong. And their determination did not waver. For victory was now closer than ever. And neither would fall before the other.

For this was a clash of kings – and there could only be one.

Ever the aggressor, Emperor rushed forwards one final time, putting his pride entirely on the line as he charged in with a final Dragon Rush. His blue aura flared up for a brief moment as he burned whatever embers remained of his draconic energies to ram into Tyrant and finish the fight, confident that Tyrant was now too injured to block his attack.

Unfortunately for Emperor, Tyrant had no intention of blocking. Rather than that, he fired off a sweeping beam of Ice that surprised and staggered the charging Dragon.

But Emperor did not allow a mere beam of Ice to stop him from achieving victory. Even as he growled out in pain, he pushed through his own exhaustion, pushed through his own injuries, pushed through the Ice Beam as he bulldozed straight into Tyrant – his fist came crashing straight towards Tyrant's face as he looked to end the fight with a final Brick Break.

Yet, instead of victory, Emperor found himself stunned as Tyrant reinforced his head with Fairy energy, dispersing just enough of the incoming attack before lunging at Emperor with a surprise Play Rough.

The two Pokémon tumbled to the ground, but since Emperor was the one to take the hit, it gave Tyrant just enough time to follow up with a point-blank Ice Beam that shot Emperor straight in the face. Ever defiant, Emperor struck back with an Iron Head, but even with limp arms, Tyrant continued to pin Emperor to the ground, tanking through the hit and refusing to lose the initiative.

Then, with what was likely the last kernel of energy that he had, Tyrant stomped down on the ground, releasing a final Earthquake right on top of the fallen Emperor. Now so exhausted that Emperor no longer had the strength to throw Tyrant off, he was forced to endure the entirety of that Earthquake.

But even then, even with ALL of the attacks that he had to tank through, Emperor refused to be knocked out. Even as his body was so marked by injuries that he couldn't even open his eyes properly, he let out a powerful roar filled with determination and vengeful pride, as if trying to will his body to grant him the victory.

Except pride could only make up for so much. Even if Emperor's spirit was unyielding, his body was a different story. At long last, Emperor's final roar began to fade out, and the Earthquake finally finished off the Dragon of Champions.

It was over. Emperor had fallen.

There was a moment of complete silence as everyone tried to process that. Yet my eyes were only on Tyrant, who was now slowly, and with great difficulty, pulling himself to his feet.

Then he stood – battered, near-broken, and with barely any strength left. But he still stood.

"SLAAAAAAKING!!!!" Despite wobbling, despite his broken arms, despite the pain that he must have felt by nearly losing to his rival, Tyrant roared out his power for all to hear, as if he was getting Arceus itself to acknowledge his strength.

And the crowd granted that acknowledgement as they exploded into cheers.

And a new King was crowned.

The New Normal – 10-16 – Interlude – Cynthia

Cynthia stood with her arms crossed as she stared stoically at the two titans of battle in action. She watched each blow with a critical look, trying to scorch the memory of the power behind each attack into her brain.

THIS was what she hoped to achieve with her Garchomp.

The sheer devastation, the unstoppable power, their unyielding strength – all of this was mesmerising to see. Her Garchomp may not be at this level yet, but one day, she vowed to train up her starter to be able to match these Legends of battle.

"It's humbling, is it not?" Her fellow Champion Wallace spoke up from next to her, "To think that someone like Lance is your peer. I'm known for my contests and my bulky Water types, but I don't think I hold a candle to Lance. Or John. Those two starters of theirs would put mine deep into the ground like a Magikarp out of water."

"Everyone mocks raw strength until they truly see it in action." Cynthia agreed, "They say that there's no skill in brawling, and while that may be true, I doubt you could find someone who could witness a battle like this and not be awed."

"Quite the statement from such a renowned generalist." Wallace smiled, "I thought you would have been espousing the benefits of versatility."

"Oh I still hold that being a generalist is the greatest path to strength, but once you witness something like this, you cannot deny the efficacy of raw power." She stated, "It doesn't matter how many strategies or plans you have on hand if your Pokémon doesn't have the strength to enact them. Or if they simply get knocked out in one hit."

"And even better is when you have a combination of both." She added, "To have a mixture of strength AND skill. Then you would truly be unstoppable."

It was the ideal that she sought for her team. For every member of her team, not just her Garchomp, to be able to hit as hard as Lance's Dragonite or John's Slaking and to be equally as durable. While she knew that might be an unachievable ideal, she wasn't going to stop trying to reach for it.

And she thought that training with John had allowed her to take a huge step forwards towards that.

"It's a wonder that John isn't Champion already." Wallace commented, "With strength like that, I'd say he has a decent shot of beating Lance in a full battle. Although...it's hard to say. Lance's full team is very much nothing to scoff at. Victory would be hard."

"He's not interested in becoming Champion either way." Cynthia informed him, recalling the conversations that she had with John, "He's happy enough where he is without being further burdened by the responsibilities that come with being Champion."

"So he's a Champion in all but title." Wallace muttered, "Yes, I can see that. He didn't seem like someone who chased after glory. I could tell that he hunted down those criminals in Hoenn because it was what needed to be done, rather than for his own popularity."

That might be the case for John, but she wanted John to be recognised publicly as more than an Elite Four. He was her partner, and he deserved no less than that. That was why she hoped for his victory.

Wallace chuckled, "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised at how strong John's Slaking turned out to be. Drake had hinted the same to me a while ago. But I guess I overlooked it because John rarely brings it out in official battles."

She shot Wallace an odd look, "Did John's 1v6 with his Slaking against Shin's entire team not count?" That was something that was still engraved into most of the minds of the public.

"Ah, it does count, but Shin's Pokémon didn't look very impressive to me." Wallace replied, "Not to undermine John's achievement, but with how easily he disposed of some Pokémon it was easy to assume that Shin was just far too weak for John to take seriously. And I was busy enough that I didn't really look any deeper into it, which was my oversight."

The two of them fell silent again as they continued to watch the battle unfold in front of them. As a spectator, Cynthia had a more objective view of the utter destruction that their battle had caused. The material used to reinforce the arena was supposed to be able to withstand against attacks by Elite Pokémon and higher, but both their starters tore through it like nothing.

There was no doubt that they would have to run a short break after John and Lance's battle to fix up the arena for the rest of them to fight.

The battle raged on, but both Pokémon were growing increasingly exhausted as their wounds took a toll. Seeing a lull in the battle, Cynthia turned away from it for a moment to observe how the other audience members were reacting to a battle like this.

As she had hoped, her boyfriend's performance had completely stunned them. They had open looks of admiration on their faces as their eyes were locked on to the battle in front of them. The crowd had stopped their cheering as they stared in undisguised awe at what the pinnacle of Pokémon battling looked like.

A small smile appeared on her face. If THIS was the reaction that the people watching live had, then she imagined that the reactions on Pokénet would be far more explosive.

That was what she hoped for. If John could achieve victory here, then it would prove once and for all that he truly deserved to be recognised as a Champion in all but name. His strength was already impressive before, but this would solidly cement him as someone who deserved the same amount of respect as any other Champion.

If not more, considering that Lance's strength was considered exceptional even amongst Champions.

And finally, as she turned back to the battle just in time to see John's Slaking ruthlessly slam Lance's Dragonite onto the ground with a Play Rough before unleashing a violent Earthquake right underneath it.

She could still see the fires of determination and pride burning in Emperor's eyes, but she knew the fight was over. And as Emperor's final roar petered out as his body could take no more, her hands unconsciously began clapping before she knew it.

John – no, her partner had done it. He had won. And the world screamed his name in revelry. For his Slaking had toppled Emperor, taking his title of being 'the strongest in the world'.

And with John having completed the first step towards their plan to reveal their relationship, it was up to her to make sure she also won her battle.

So when it came time to announce their relationship, they could both stand side-by-side, with the evidence of their combined strength fully engraved into the minds of the public. They would stand there as joint victors.

And as joint Champions.