Chapter Text
"Rillaboom, return! You did well, get some rest."
"Come back, Charizard! Thank you, we'll take it from here."
The two trainers then locked eyes once more, wide grins on their faces.
"Don't give up now, Alain! My team's just getting warmed up!"
"I never back down, and neither will my team!"
"Exactly what I wanted to hear! Go, Dragapult!"
"Bisharp, I choose you!"
Bisharp scraped his arm blades against one another, the sound making Dragpult momentarily flinch, but only slightly.
"Alright Bisharp, use Night Slash!"
Bisharp rushed forward, arms glowing a dark shade of purple, ready to strike. Leon just watched him get closer and closer until…
"Phantom Force!"
Suddenly, Dragapult vanished from sight, leaving Bisharp very confused. His eyes darted every which way, trying to find his opponent when Alain noticed something rising out of Bisharp's shadow.
"Behind you, quick!"
Bisharp turned around sharply, hitting the emerging Dragapult with a Night Slash before being flicked away by Dragapult, skidding a good distance before coming to a painful halt.
"Metal Burst, Bisharp!"
In a sudden burst of metallic energy, Bisharp rushed forward, speeding towards his opponent before slashing at him with his arm blades.
"Dragon Darts!"
Before Bisharp could continue, Dragpult fired off two shots from his cannons, two little Dreepy hitting Bisharp with such force that he flew back, hitting the backwall of the arena. Once he had slid down, it was revealed that he was out cold.
"Bisharp is unable to battle, Dragapult wins!"
"Hold on, that man cheated!" Jessie shouted. "Where'd those Dreepy come from?"
"It does seem strange that the referee hasn't said something, doesn't it?" Meowth pondered as James nodded.
"Rotomphone, pull up everything you know about Dragon Darts!"
The Rotom phone groaned, but complied.
"Dragon Darts, the signature move of Dragapult. Dragapult launches two Dreepy-shaped projectiles at their opponent."
"Ah, so that's what it is!" James said proudly, while Jessie chuckled sheepishly.
"Um, never mind then."
"Bisharp, return! We'll take it from here, thank you. Go, Tyranitar!"
Leon chuckled.
"So, it's a battle of Pseudo-Legendaries you want? Alright then, bring it! Dragapult, use Dragon Breath!"
"Stone Edge, defense!"
Tyranitar quickly threw up a wall of rocks, blocking the blast of Draconic energy.
"Offense!"
With a mighty roar from Tyranitar, the stone wall exploded, sending jagged rocks flying out, Dragapult taking a few hits before dodging the rest.
"Dragon Rush, Dragapult!"
"Dark Pulse!"
Dragapult rushed forward, energy building up around him as he rushed towards his opponent. Tyranitar tried to slow him down with a Dark Pulse, but Dragpult just powered through, ramming right into him with so much force Tyranitar nearly fell over.
"Ice Fang!"
"Dragon Darts!"
Tyranitar acted quickly, biting down hard onto Dragapult's head and covering it in ice. But before he could do anything else to him, Dragapult retaliated with two Dragon Darts right into his mouth, forcing him to drop his prey.
"Alright Dragapult, use Breaking Swipe!"
"You too, Tyranitar!"
The two raked their claws across the other, dealing more damage to their already worn bodies. Both Alain and Leon could tell they needed to end this, and fast.
"Dragon Rush, Dragapult!"
"Charge up a Dark Pulse!"
Dragapult rushed in once more, energy building up around him as he rapidly rushed towards his opponent. Tyranitar stood still, charging up his attack while Alain waited patiently until…
"Now!"
Just as Dragapult made contact, Tyranitar fired his attack, covering the battlefield in a cloud of smoke. Once the dust had cleared, it was revealed that both Tyranitar and Dragapult were unconscious.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! This round ends in a draw!"
"Man, this battle is intense!" Lilie mused.
"I'll say, and Leon has only used two of his Pokemon."
"That's my big bro for you!" Hop said with a proud smile. "Alain will have his work cut out for him if he wants to win."
"Incredible," Steven mused as he watched the battle. "Alain's on his last legs, and Leon's barely broken a sweat."
"Hitting hard and fast, that's his style," Cynthia chuckled.
"One doesn't become The Monarch without power," Diantha agreed. "Still, it's a shame to lose so early."
"Maybe, but to even be able to take down two of Leon's Pokemon is quite a feat," Lance added.
"Alain can still turn this around!" Ash shouted confidently. "It's not over until the last Pokemon goes down."
"Ash is right!" Iris butted in. "Come on, Alain!"
"Tyranitar, return! You did well, get some rest."
"Return, Dragapult. We'll take it from here."
Alain wiped the sweat from his brow before taking out his next Pokemon.
"Alright, crunch time. Go, Unfezant!"
"Charizard, I choose you!'
Alain eyed Leon's next choice cautiously. He knew full well that this was his opponent's ace, and no doubt would be his toughest challenge yet.
"Alright Unfezant, use Air Pluck!"
"Ancient Power, Charizard!"
Unfezant sped towards Charizard, the stones thrown at him slowing him down, but he refused to let them stop him before he reached his target and began pecking at him.
"Throw him off with Seismic Toss!"
While Unfezant was busy pecking at him, Charizard grabbed him by the waist and chucked him as hard as he could. While the attack didn't do much to damage him, it did send him flying off course, and he just barely managed to correct himself before hitting the back wall.
"Unfezant, can you keep going?"
Unfezant grunted, shook his feathers, then nodded.
"Alright, use Brave Bird!"
"Dragon Claw!"
The two flew towards each other at high speeds, meeting in the middle as they ran past the other. While Charizard was still standing strong, Unfezant was starting to waver.
"Hurricane, Unfezant!
"Rock Tomb, Charizard!"
Before Unfezant could flap his wings even once, rocks began falling from the sky, trapping him in place. He tried to break free, but more rocks fell to entomb him further until he was completely buried.
"Blast Burn, now!"
Before Unfezant could escape, a huge wave of fire hit him, melting the rocks and burning him. Once the flames had died down, Unfezant was unconscious and lying in a pile of goop.
"Unfezant is unable to battle, Charizard wins!"
"Unfezant, return! Thank you, you did well."
Alain then paused as he took out his last Pokemon. It would be a long road to come back, but he had faith in his Pokemon.
"I believe in you, old friend. Go, Charizard!"
Alain's ace roared proudly as he emerged, ready to fight again. Leon's Charizard panted heavily, the recharge period of his last move preventing him from doing anything else. A fact Alain was all too ready to take advantage of.'
"Thunder Punch, Charizard!"
The Mega Charizard flew in, dealing a powerful uppercut to his opponent's jaw and making him reel in pain. Leon smirked, and raised his partner's Pokeball.
"Since you went all out against us, it's only fair that we do the same! Let's show them a Champion Time, Charizard!"
Quickly, Charizard retreated into the ball, Alain's Charizard flying back in anticipation of what would come next. When Leon's Charizard next emerged, it was now in its Gigantamaxed form and ready to end things.
"Hope you're ready, because we're bringing out the big guns! Charizard, use Max Lightning!"
"Dragon Claw!"
Alain's charizard flew upward, tanking the electricity coursing through him in order to reach his opponent and scratch him hard across the face, making him roar in pain.
"Don't back down, Charizard! Use Max Wyrmwind!"
"Flamethrower!"
Charizard barely managed to unleash a torrent of flames before being knocked down by a burst of draconic energy, nearly sending him spiraling to the ground. He managed to stay in the air, but just barely.
"Time to finish this! Charizard, us G-Max Wildfire!"
"Fire Spin!"
Alain's Charizard, knowing he was beat, decided to go down fighting, summoning up a tornado of flames to surround Leon's as he fired off his ultimate attack. Knowing he had given it his all, Alain's Charizard closed his eyes and waited for the attack to hit, covering the arena in smoke as it did.
For a minute, everyone waited with baited breath for the smoke to clear. Once it did, it was revealed that Alain's Charizard was out cold.
"Alain's Charizard is unable to battle, Leon's wins! Which means the match goes to the Monarch Leon!"
"And there you have it, folks! Our reigning champ advances to the next round, but don't you worry Alain fans! You have to lose twice in order to get knocked out here, so we'll be seeing him tomorrow!"
Despite his loss, Alain felt proud of his team, returning Charizard with a smile.
"Thank you, Charizard. Get some rest."
"You did great, buddy," Leon told his partner. "Take a well earned rest."
Once their aces were in their respective Pokeballs, Leon and Alain met in the middle to shake hands.
"That was a well fought battle," Leon told him. "I look forward to your next match."
"You'd better hope you don't run into me again this tournament," Alain said with a smirk. "Next time, we'll win!"
"I look forward to it!"
Over in Kalos at Professor Sycamore's lab, Mairin felt tears welling up in her eyes as she watched the final moments of the battle.
"Alain lost…"
Professor Sycamore nodded, giving her a gentle hug.
"Yes, but he gave it his all. Don't be sad he lost, be proud of him for doing his best."
Mairin smiled, and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"You're right! We'll just have to cheer for him during his next match, right Chespie?"
"Chespin!"
"That's the spirit! Speaking of which, they're about to announce who's up next."
"What a way to start us off, folks! But there's plenty more where that came from, so let's see who's up next!"
The screen changed to show the remaining competitors, with Leon and Alain's pictures darkened to indicate they had already fought. The pictures spun round and round for a few minutes before selecting…
"Number 7, Ash Ketchum!"
"Alright!" Ash shouted in excitement. "Finally, some action!"
"Pika Pika!"
"And his opponent will be…Number 4, Lance!"
"Wow, no kidding?"
Lance smirked, and offered Ash a handshake.
"It's been a while, hasn't it Ash? I look forward to seeing how far you've grown."
Ash smiled, and accepted it.
"It'll be an honor!"