The Tournament of Champions, Semi Finals
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Ghostgate Cemetery, Wyndon City - Galar Region
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Chairman Leon himself began the ceremony, with the gathered Galarian Gym Leaders behind him. Sikandar, Isabella flanked them, and various other people of import in Galar, mostly from Macro Cosmos, were behind them. "Friends, Trainers, Champions, we are gathered here today to remember who the Imperium of Man took from us, with this brutal, and completely unprovoked attack on our visiting Champions. I have ascertained the reason for this attack as well, and unlike my predecessor, I will not keep this information from you."
A few Gym Leaders shared looks, and Sikandar raised an eyebrow, but nobody interrupted the dapper looking black and purple tuxedoed Chairman. "Champion Sikandar has long been a priority target of the Imperium, but upon learning Champion Fondacaro was learning from him to train her own psychic abilities, Malcador the Sigillite orchestrated their assassination. Using technology that amplifies Dark Type Energy, they kept the Champions from being able to use Barriers on their fans, and themselves. The Imperium of Man has long persecuted people born with psychic powers. Those with potential are trained as Librarians at the Obsidian Keep, while those with weak potential are simply killed. Either by being worked to death, or by being made into Servitors. Psychics are typically spat upon and reviled by Imperium citizens, all save for the Imperator and his sons."
Leon's face took on a darker tone then, as did his voice. "This…brutal hypocrisy will elicit an equally brutal response from Galar. Though many are not aware, the Imperium has recently attempted to expand their holdings in Europa, by invading the Romani Region. I am pleased to tell you that as of last night, the Roma people and their Polskan allies have begun swiftly repulsing the Imperium from Romani's borders!"
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There was a brief but passionate cheer that died off as suddenly as it began, since it was still a funeral, and the tone hadn't changed. Leon continued, raising a hand to help silence the murmurs that followed the cheers. "Galar, Indius, and Italia have promised to aid Polska and Romani in making their borders secure, and Galar will also be helping the Roma people specifically, to make sure that they securely establish themselves, and are never made slaves within their own region again."
His tone became somber again, and his expression softened as Leon finished his announcement and eulogy. "Our fans are the heart of why we Battle. They cheer us, support us, and raise us up to prominence in our society, but they are also from whence the next generation of Champions is drawn. I cannot speak for other Champions, but when I reigned, I Battled with the hope of inspiring the next generation," He paused, and chuckled softly, "and I'd say Victor, Gloria, and Hop all proved more than worthy of the partners I gave to them." The crowd chuckled, and the Gym Leaders had knowing smirks as well.
"Let us take a moment or ten now to remember the friends and fans we've lost, the passion they had for our Champions, and the lives that we have come to learn about since they were taken from us." Leon inclined his head, and not one person gathered resisted copying him. Behind him, a slideshow of the faces of the fallen cycled through all ten, accompanied by sorrowful Galarian music being performed by a violinist and her Skeledirge.
After a lengthy stretch of sorrow filled silence, Leon spoke again. "Asha Patel. Priya Sharma. Meera Desai. James Foster. Hannah Morgan. Charlotte Harris. Samuel Davies. Daniel Clarke. Olivia Greene. Liam Saunders. Though they will not all be resting here, all those gathered hope that Arceus will guide you…to whatever comes next."
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With Leon's address concluded, those who were being interred in Galar were lowered into their graves within the prominent section of Ghostgate Cemetery, in good company with Galar's other long passed icons, former Leader Opal now among them. Those who would be getting a more personal burial site closer to their families and homes had a pair of Corviknight per coffin delivering them home. First, the families paid their respects, followed by Leon, and Sikandar and Isabella. They were the first to speak to the families, and both Champions offered them whatever they needed to get through this tragedy. Their offers were politely declined, as it seemed many of them subtly blamed the Champions. One didn't have to be psychic to know that, but it certainly helped. The reasons differed but boiled down to blame for them not being fast enough. For not ordering their Pokémon to take the brunt of the explosion and die in their family member's stead. Sikandar kept his face mostly neutral and somber, but he could tell Isabella could hear their thoughts as clearly as he did. They weren't exactly quiet.
Once they paid their respects, the two Champions snuck off into the cemetery, wandering along the stone pathways. It was a dreary, standard Galarian day with standard Galarian weather, and the fog added a mystique to the graveyard that no doubt played host to some ghost typed Pokémon. They were sleeping now, though, as the sun was technically up, and the gray surroundings were more somber than scary. Isabella took his hand, and after five minutes of strolling until they found a secluded bench that seemed rarely used, Sikandar psychically cleaned it off and broke the silence.
"It's time we opened your final Chakra. Normally I wouldn't have waited this long but…the Muk hit the Fan Rotom, and we've been cleaning it up ever since."
Isabella's face managed a genuine smirk at her favorite saying being used so literally. "I understand. I was hoping we'd have time to finish what I started…I think I'm in the right headspace for it, too. Like I'm on the cusp of…something. So how do we open this thing?"
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Sikandar took a long breath. "I should warn you…connecting your mind to the energy of the universe is…a lot. You…learn things. About yourself. About reality. And there is…a bit of a cost. A price to be paid, for that level of power. And it does give you power…quite a lot of it. All at once."
Isabella raised a perfect crimson eyebrow at him. "A price?"
Sikandar nodded, sagely. "All power comes with a price, love. It's why I don't like paying it, but thankfully…the effects aren't…immediately permanent. But they can be, if you spend too long immersing yourself in the universal flow."
"What price am I paying, exactly, Sikandar?"
He breathed heavily, again. "You have to let go of your earthly attachments. Let your bonds, your emotions, your life's baggage be swept away in the greater flow of Universal energy."
"All of my emotions?" She asked, very calmly.
Sikandar nodded. "Yes…even those you have for me. And your team. This is the price of touching that power, of opening that connection. Thankfully, you only have to let them go while you're attempting to wield greater power, and much like the ocean's tide, the emotions and feelings will flow back into you, once you return to yourself. With a bit of time, they'll return to normal, but things will feel…distant." His face shifted to a frown then. "My Master told me I had too many attachments. To Bandar, and my team. To the people of Indius. To my family. I initially refused to let these things go, but eventually, I understood that I had to, if I wanted the power to stop the Imperium. I don't know how many times one can use this power, before your attachments fade completely. Perhaps they never will, but I do know that my Master and the other psychics of Indius have immersed themselves in the energy flow of the universe so often, they eventually abandoned their relationships entirely. Their Pokémon are the exception to this rule, and this is why our Champions typically use Medicham, as they too can open their Chakras and attain this power."
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"At the price of weakening your bond…" Isabella muttered. She didn't seem angry, but she did stare him down. "Could you let your feelings for me flow away so easily?" She tried hiding it, but he saw the hurt in her eyes.
He shook his head. "It's not…a difficult thing, per se. The flow of energy is…all consuming. Massive. Powerful. Like an endless, raging current. To open this Chakra, you simply have to focus on embracing that flow, for a time. As I said…I don't like doing it. I think the bonds we have make us stronger, and it's why I tend towards Mega Evolution instead. The power of friendship and love isn't just a meme, it does exist, and it can be quite potent in a dire situation. It can save your partners from a critical hit, push them score one, or push you and your other teammates beyond their limits in a way tapping into the Universe simply cannot. I don't think what my people consider 'enlightenment' is worth sacrificing my earthly attachments." When he still saw she was hesitant, he brought a hand up to her, in his eyes, perfect face, gently stroking her cheek. "No amount of communing with the Universe would be able to remove my love for you. I have not tried it since we met, though. There hasn't been a need to."
She nodded. "Alright. I'm ready. But you need to join me in doing this. I don't want our emotional attachment to be uneven."
Sikandar almost said that wasn't how this worked, but he nodded anyway, since she was nervous despite his words. "Alright. Focus on the crown of your skull and try to feel the torrent of energy around us."
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The area around the pair of psychics turned violet tinged, and Isabella's brow creased as she tried to sense the flow of energy Sikandar had mentioned, which he and his closed eyes seemed to find almost instantly. She felt like she was fumbling in the dark, until her lover and mentor mentally righted her, and then, just like he said, the aforementioned energy was there. It had always been there. She was just now in a state to feel its flow. 'Let go…' His words echoed to her, and she did so, reluctantly letting him, her Pokémon, and even her familial ties float away in the omnipresent current of universal energy surging through her being. She felt the power, felt she could use it. If she drew deep enough from this well of strength, she could be a Goddess. Create things with a thought. The temptation was real, but thankfully, Sikandar's words helpfully echoed as her Rossi family greed and ambition reared its head. All power had a price, and abusing it carried a worse one.
Since awakening her abilities, her eyes had been able to tell her a Pokémon's type with a glance, and glancing at the flow of this energy around her free floating and now unattached mindspace, showed a mixing of every type. And yet, oddly enough, the predominant type, by far, was not psychic or dragon, but normal. The normal typing was odd, in that it was normal. Every other kind of Infinity Energy had some characteristic, or resistance to another type, but aside from a ghost immunity and a weakness to fighting spirit, normal energy was just that. Normal, baseline energy. As simple as a Rattata but as potent as a Hyper Beam or a Giga Impact. The kind of energy that had always existed in the universe, and affected the Earth long before Arceus had, electrical in nature in some of its uses, but that was likely where it blurred into the electric type. Basic, normal energy was the foundation of life as their scientists understood it, and in this sea of mixed but primarily normal energy, Isabella was shown glimpses of the past, the future, and many other potential futures. She had some experience with Future Sight, thanks to Bianca and her species' ability to more clearly read the timelines than other psychics.
What she saw, worried her. In most of what she assumed were timelines that comprised the infinite swirling vortex, she saw the unmistakable gigantic, armored frames of the Imperium's Astartes, burning and subjugating everything in their path. Human, Pokémon, alien, it mattered not before the manifest destiny for Mankind that the Imperator had in mind. As she let the flow of energy slowly recede, she saw the imminent future, namely her match with Sikandar. She couldn't tell who won, but she did sense the intensity, the emotional investment, and the excitement that she realized was Sikandar's. The world was slowly forming back into the patterns of energy that her eyes perceived and as she opened them, she smiled at him, and then kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you in Wyndon Stadium. Train hard, Indius Champion."
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Sikandar simply nodded; his eyes almost magnetically drawn to her purposefully swaying hips as he watched her go. He shook his eyes free of hundreds of thousands of years of instinct, and focused. She seemed as calm as he did, so nothing had gone awry, and like her, at the end, he'd been given glimpses of their battle. What he saw meant only one thing: They needed to train harder.
Once Isabella was properly gone, Sikandar stood, inhaled deeply as he stretched his mind across the planet, and followed the lines of psychic energy connecting them all back to the hub that was Indius. Their training thus far in Galar had been fun, but this was where the fun ended and evolved into competition. Sport. A contest of skill with one goal: victory.
That was fun too, in its own way. Namely, when one won the battle, and Sikandar, chill as he was, hated losing. It was one of the few things he could honestly say he despised, but he'd been willing to risk it, to come to this region and battle its best Trainers. He didn't regret it for a second as it had led him to Isabella, but now, the nostalgia was over. The romance was on pause. All that remained for them was the flames of combat, and while Galar training areas were good, there was no place like home, for his team. It would also be a good chance to introduce the new members to their permanent residence, and so, with a final look around to make sure he was alone, Sikandar bamfed half a world away in a flash of psychic energy.
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Day of the Semi Finals, Wyndon Stadium - Galar Region
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Ten long days passed, and not much happened that was newsworthy. Sikandar and Isabella had disappeared, Victor and Gloria were as elusive as they always were, and Leon was busy dealing with the clusterMuk in Romani, namely keeping it from exploding into another full-blown war between Europa and the Imperium.
His calm demeanor made it easy to interface with the Imperium bureaucracy, who as it turned out, also did not want another war. They seemingly had their hands full conquering the Varangian hordes in what was classically called Siberia. Apparently, the War Hounds had started this ill-advised invasion of Europa for glory. While they'd had initial success, the combined forces of Polska, Romani, and Galarian assistance was apparently driving the genetically enhanced berserkers back into the Imperium.
Now, however, it was finally time to finish this tournament, or in Leon's case, finally start properly battling in it. "Ladies and gentlemen! Our mourning period is over! While we will never forget the lives that the Imperium took from us, we do know that they were fans, like you! We know they would want a proper ending to this epic tournament! With two of our Champions now fighting, and apparently winning, their own Battles in their home regions," He paused as the cheers erupted, "our two remaining Champions will now face each other! They have had ten days to prepare, and the entire challenge to learn their opponent's team! Now, Isabella Fondacaro will face Sikandar Jiyoshi!" Again, the crowd erupted, and again, Leon continued once the cheers lessened. "The rules for this final part of the Tournament are: ten Pokémon versus ten Pokémon! No Move limits! No power-up limits! And for the sake of expediency, no Potions! The winner shall go on to face Victor or Gloria, in another ten on ten, with the option to use up to five of their original team! The winner of that match…will get the opportunity to face Me. If they should lose, the losing Champion will have the chance to face Victor or Gloria and climb the Battle Tower as well. If both Champions fail to climb the Battle Tower and defeat my team, Victor or Gloria, whoever has their Finals Match first, will then have their own chance to face me."
Sensing he was losing people with his explanation, Leon raised his voice suddenly, "However! Once one of our remaining Champions manage to win against me, the Challenge will officially end! Without further ado, let's begin the match!"
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Once more, the roar of the crowd was deafening, as Leon introduced the battlers, not because nobody knew them, but because battles in Wyndon Stadium were also like a show. Entertainment that went beyond just the trading of moves. "From the south tunnel…claiming her title from her dear friend after she won the right to be Champion, but gave it up at the last moment, she has shown us all that she is a skilled Trainer! Give it up for Champion Fondacaro, of Italia!"
The roar of the crowd was deeper this time, as the majority of the male spectators made their favorite Champion clear. Leon continued. "From the north tunnel…he Battled against hundreds of opponents to be here, the tireless defender of Indius, it's Champion Jiyoshi!" As expected, the cheers that followed were louder, as the female spectators let out a much louder and higher pitched cheer. Sikandar gave a casual two fingered wave to his fans as he walked to his side of the pitch. Isabella didn't even acknowledge the crowd; her fierce eyes were focused on Sikandar.
There was a long moment as the cheers died down, and both Champions reached for a Pokéball. "Champions!" Leon shouted, gesticulating boldly from atop his Aegislash, "Choose your first Pokémon!" The two Champions threw their Pokéballs simultaneously. From Sikandar came Jalahastee, and from Isabella, came her Milotic, Sirena. Sikandar smirked at her choice, remembering the effort that catching her Feebas had taken. In terms of battle, Milotic was a watery tank, comparable to Blastoise, some might even argue it was better. It wouldn't matter, against his earthy hippo.
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Isabella shouted first, "Sirena! Drown the field!"
"Submerge." Sikandar muttered quietly in response, but Jalahastee's ears flicked, acknowledging the order. He'd grown much more…compliant, after growing so powerful, and after seeing Indius (and getting to know the local female Hippowdon) he had started to feel a bit of pride, being on this team. It suited him, being considered a part of the strongest team in Indius.
Drowning the field meant using Surf and Rain Dance to fill the energy barriers with water. Normally, given the Dynamax sized stadium, that was all but impossible to do during a battle. Sirena had no such issues, and pretty quickly, the field began to flood. Jalahastee however, was smart enough to hear his opponents, and sealed his Dig tunnel behind him.
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There was a lull in the battle then, as Sikandar smirked, put his hands in his pockets, and let Isabella turn the field into a watery paradise. Ty and Gabby filled the dead air. "It seems Champion Isabella has a plan today folks! Flooding a Dynamax capable field without a Max Move is impressive!"
"Champion Sikandar doesn't look too worried though, Ty. Despite having a Ground Type out." Gabby chimed in, as she pondered the battle below their desk. They had a great booth in Wyndon Stadium, very posh, and full of more than enough equipment they were free to use. Ty and some techs from Macro Cosmos were still bringing it online.
Ty chuckled from behind her, but his words still reached the audience. "If I had a Gyarados in my pocket, I'd be confident too." Down below, Sikandar stomped twice on the ground. "It looks like Sikandar's own plan is beginning!" Ty said, looking up from his tech work. Over the course of the tournament, he had very much become a fan of the Indius Champion. Not only did his chill demeaner make him likeable, but after their interview near the start, he had turned Ty on to a very enjoyable, but little know strain of Leaf.
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A surge of electricity was conducted through the freshwater, as Jalahastee surged through the Surf with a mighty Thunder Fang. "Well struck!" Sikandar shouted, as Jalahastee critically struck for him, eager for the praise. "Switch out, my friend! Come! Vidyut (Vid-yoot, like foot)! It's time for your debut!" With practiced skill, Sikandar recalled Jalahastee in midair, before he ever started falling back towards the damaging water, and Sirena was left to land in it, and start Recovering. Now that the field was set up presumably how Isabella wanted it, Sirena became the wall Milotic often was, when used for professional battling.
Sikandar let her raise all the defenses she wanted. She was facing a Magnezone in a storm, thanks to Rain Dance. That would only end one way. Ty, for his part, had now completely stopped working and was in full announcer mode. "IT'S A FINAL SLOT REVEAL, ladies and gentlemen! Sikandar Jiyoshi's last previously unknown Pokémon is a Magnezone! And he's brought it out in the best possible conditions! You all know what that means..." Ty had a big grin, as he guessed Sikandar's next word, shouting it out with him, as the Indius Champion dramatically extended his arm towards Sirena.
"THUNDER!"
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Using Recover and then Aqua Ring had left little time for Reflect, and despite Sirena's best efforts, and her skill with the move, Vidyut's mastery over lightning, and the ridiculous speed it struck with made the incorrectly named move known as Thunder stronger than her hasty psychic barrier. The massive bolt of lightning hammered her twenty-foot-long body, thoroughly electrocuting it before the psychic power could properly manifest into a shield. The Aqua Ring, in this case, actually made the move even more damaging, and the Magnezone roared in victory, as it sensed its opponent faint.
Isabella glared at her feet, as Sirena lay floating in the water she'd created, clearly unconscious. Apparently, the damage from Thunder Fang hadn't been healed quickly enough by Recover and Aqua Ring. Then, she remembered, it had been a crit from Jalahastee. She fumed in irritation. Sikandar had played her field changing to his advantage masterfully, and had she known about the Magnezone, she would not have led with Sirena. Her only real counter to the sturdy steel typed storm generator, Lucrezia, couldn't battle like this, and her method of forming land, like her plan called for, would probably be crispy fried before it did very much. Vidyut could also probably blow away its Rock Tombs with ease.
"A Mukking Magnezone? Seriously!?" She swore quietly. It made sense, though, in hindsight. There had been a few odd, localized weather patterns, thunderstorms naturally, around their camp on the Isle of Armor. And a Magnezone and its evolutions would not need to eat, or even leave the comfort of their ball, really. She quickly ran through her team in her head as Leon called the feint, and Sirena came back to her ball. Isabella apologized to her and kept thinking. Elsa, while useful in this terrain, would break to a Flash Cannon, she had no doubt. Marabecca did know Surf, but her Tyranitar's other attacks wouldn't form well in this much water, which she would also take damage from thanks to her typing. Ursarti needed some kind of land to launch his punches from, but he was an option. Just one she hadn't wanted to use yet. Then, she remembered. She had a dragon, who wasn't actually weak to electricity despite being a flying type, and suddenly she was very glad that Sikandar had kept her from switching him out.
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"Come, Fafnir!" She shouted, as she threw his ball. "Hurricane!" Her Noivern appeared with an impressive shriek, and immediately summoned the move requested by his Trainer. Vidyut and Sikandar had not been idle during her decision process, though. Challengers could take time with their picks, at the price of letting their opponents set up defenses or field changes. In this case, that was Electric Terrain, and Iron Defense.
The water was now sparking with a powerful current that would likely hurt whoever landed within it. As Fafnir raised the Hurricane, it drew from said water and given that both water and air energy were dominated by electric, it became charged with electricity too. "Send it back to him, Vidyut!" Sikandar shouted into the gale force winds.
As the Hurricane slowly changed its direction thanks to Vidyut's masterful control, Isabella shouted something, but Sikandar didn't hear it. Then, suddenly, Fafnir burst out through his own attack, the electricity almost uselessly rolling off his scales as he executed a forward roll. The Noivern's tail was limned with a familiar orange energy, and it hammered the Magnezone with critical effectiveness.
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The follow-through on the Brick Break from Fafnir nearly brought Vidyut into the water, but he wasn't nearly done yet. "Use the water!" Sikandar ordered. "Supercell Slam!" Vidyut's eyes focused on Fafnir, unmoving as he flawlessly executed a barrel roll to get above the Noivern, and hit him with his own critical hit, hammering Fafnir into the water. Electricity surged around them, and Vidyut rose from it, victorious, letting out a metallic roar as he spun his magnets. The crowd was eating it up. The cheers turned to cries of 'watch out!' and 'behind you'.
Before either he or Sikandar could react, Fafnir shot from the water into the air, which was now a combination of Hurricane and Rain Dance near the top. To keep Isabella from worrying, he'd hung onto consciousness and her wide, proud, grin spurred him to impressive speeds as she shouted, "Brick Break!"
"Discharge!" Sikandar shouted, and the speed of the sentient magnet's shift from showboating to attacking was impressive. The Discharge went off, the Brick Break connected, and the crowd roared in approval, as both Pokémon fell, fainted, towards the water. Sikandar and Isabella recalled them before they landed, and Leon called the double knockout.
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Ty, meanwhile, was losing his mind. "TWO CRITS IN A ROW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! The power! The bonds! This Battle is proving to be worth the wait and it's only the third round!"
Gabby was watching him, quite amused as both Champions took a minute to pick their next partner. "It may seem even, but Isabella is still down by one. Do you think she can claw back the lead?"
Ty shook his head. "I doubt it…Sikandar is kind of infamous for maintaining his one round leads…ohp! It looks like our Champions have made their picks! Let's see if Champion Isabella picks a wild card!"
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"Seiryu! I choose you!" Sikandar shouted, as his Gyarados roared into the stormy air, his favorite terrain, with that trademark screeching roar.
Isabella shouted simultaneously, "Go, Triossia!" And Ty got his wish, as Isabella picked a name that Sikandar didn't know. A mix of excitement and anticipation filled the Indius Champion, and the entire stadium, as his lover's choice manifested in a sparkling flash of white. Then, suddenly, the feeling disappeared, as the beast within appeared, vanished below the water, and then rose up again atop a pillar of stone, so it could stand. It made a flurry of rapid slashes in the air, followed by an ungodly roar at Seiryu. There was a beat of silence, and then, mostly the men in the crowd erupted in glee. A Kabutops was rare to see in a competition, since they were weak to common types and extremely rare, despite modern efforts to reintroduce their species. But Sikandar knew that her Professor Pino in Italia would love her for catching a rare and hard to obtain fossil Pokémon that apparently had once existed in Italia, but no longer did so. Any Dome Fossils had either been broken and unusable or were owned by a crime family and likely on display, gathering dust in some trophy room for the absurdly wealthy.
"Into the water!" Isabella shouted. "Set the field!"
Sikandar, by contrast, was much calmer. Once again, he let her play her field games. A few rocks would not survive his Gyarados. "Dance, Seiryu!" One of his hands started fumbling around in his hoodie's pockets, but nobody seemed to notice, as Triossia and her Swift Swim made multiple large rock pillars rise from the water, in varying sizes from wherever her folded claws poked the field below the water, though all were circular. Up above, Seiryu was shining with dragon energy that grew more and more intense as he just kept using Dragon Dance.
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The female Kabutops reappeared once there were enough platforms, and Isabella recalled her. "Great work! Now go, Saetta!" She smirked as she heard Ty losing his mind over her final slot reveal, which was much smaller and seemingly less impressive than a Kabutops. Her Jolteon, and her replacement for Felice, was her counter for Seiryu.
Sikandar still mocked it though, as Seiryu continued to swirl in an infinity symbol pattern above them in the roiling clouds. "A Jolteon? It was a good idea, trading out for a Special Attacker…" His fumbling hand left his pocket then, and Isabella's eyes widened as she saw what he'd grasped. "But it won't be enough! Now, Seiryu! MEGA EVOLVE!" Isabella's brow furrowed in confusion, as in his hand was a Draco Plate crystal shard. Not only very hard to find, but not a type Gyarados became when mega evolving. Unless…
Sure enough, the clouds from Rain Dance and Hurricane parted around Seiryu as the infinite stream of blurple dragon energy flowed into him, revealing the mighty water dragon. Where its dark typed Mega Form became a hyper speed water missile capable of splitting massive cargo ships in two in an eyeblink, Seiryu had somehow achieved a different form, one that still very much resembled a Gyarados, but Gyarados as a proper dragon like one might find in Eous. His forehead crest was white now, with four spikes, and a tuft of white hair hung down from his jaw. His tendril whiskers had grown in length, his tail now had three white webbed fin segments, and along his coiling torso were several vestigial claw-like leg protrusions that reminded her of a bug and could likely be used for a midair multiple Dragon Claw. But the most obvious change was the magnificent pair of white wings that had sprouted from around his 'shoulder' area. They were similar in composition to his tail and were now keeping Seiryu aloft. Yet despite being better equipped for flying, Seiryu had, according to her eyes, become a proper water dragon now.
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"Behold!" Sikandar shouted, one hand keeping his floppy Galarian hat on his head as the wind within the stadium whipped up in the mere presence of what Professor Banyan of Indius had called Mega Gyarados X, "Once Gyarados uses Dragon Dance enough, its Mega Form changes! Professor Banyan believes this is the true form of Gyarados, the ultimate expression of their line!" Again, Seiryu roared, and the crowd roared in response, raising his stats even further than the Dragon Dances had already. Wind, rain, and even electricity sparked within the storms around Seiryu, but his Trainer wasn't yet done expositing. "There is one more thing to note, about this…Mega Gyarados X…" He said into the microphone on his Galarian uniform's collar, "It trades its phenomenal physical Attack power…for Special Attack power."
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He dramatically gestured towards Saetta and Isabella then as he shouted, "Seiryu! HYPER RAIN!"
An even louder screeching roar shook the stadium, and multiple orbs of intense orange energy formed around the Mega Gyarados. Isabella frowned. Though Saetta was comparatively high level, she wasn't as close in terms of friendship just yet. One of the downsides of being stuck in her ball throughout most of her trip through Galar in the name of secrecy. "Saetta!" Her Jolteon looked back at her with an appropriate bead of sweat on her brow. "Use your speed, not your power! Focus on dodging! It has to recharge after an attack like this!" Her Jolteon barked an affirmation, and much like Felice, she began empowering her muscles with electricity. The Boltund didn't really care for battling, she'd discovered, but she did like teaching, as it turned out. Currently, she was training back home in Italia, with Papaya, who was apparently inconsolable without his 'mom' around.
It hurt Isabella's heart to leave the Togedemaru there, but she had to stay focused, and the past ten days had allowed for no distractions. Then, like what she imagined a Judgement attack must look like, the Hyper Rain struck, raining down on the pitch impossibly fast with thunderous booms that shook the entire stadium, if not all of Wyndon City. To her credit, Saetta was a yellow flash in between the rain of Hyper Beams, the only problem, was that they were coming in waves, and Seiryu didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. Indeed, her dodging only seemed to piss him off, which made him more determined to hit her, at the cost of power for the move. Eventually though, her luck ran out, and all it took was one of the beams to leave her crumpled in a circular depression on one of the stones Triossia had raised, unconscious. Seiryu screeched in victory, but Isabella could tell that the attack had stressed his body.
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Mega Evolution was already a strain on Gyarados, and she had to imagine he wasn't used to it yet. He couldn't be, there hadn't been nearly enough time. He was probably feeling like someone on a jog, who'd decided to sprint their last two miles. Spent, exhausted, lethargic, though he hid it well, and Sikandar either hadn't noticed or was convincingly pretending not to. Annoyingly, Sikandar had somehow managed to get a solid substitute for his Kingdra, and Isabella had no doubt she was looking at another wall that Indius League challengers would have to scale, if they wanted his title.
Fortunately, she had a dragon slayer on hand, though she wondered if this all wasn't a plan to get her to bring Kandra out early. He had multiple dragons on his team after all, and without Kandra, Isabella would have a harder time with them. She sent out her Gardevoir anyway, and Kandra bowed to the crowd, before facing Sikandar and Seiryu, and smirking. She had fond memories of the day they'd both been caught by Sikandar, and though he'd traded her, she had no regrets. She was just as fond of Isabella, and knew their bonds, hers and Raphael's and the two human lovers, were a source of unimaginable power. Right here and now though, they were being pitted against each other, and she would not disappoint. She too took her Mega Form, as Sikandar ordered Seiryu to attack. "Flash Bombard! Don't let her use her Moonblast!"
"Teleport." Isabella answered calmly. Obeying, Kandra easily dodged the damaging hail of steel typed energy by bamfing away, and after another miss from Teleport, Seiryu started shooting water attacks at her instead. First Water Gun, then a Water Pulse, even a Thunder surprisingly fell from the clouds, hammering her as she reappeared, and while the intense lance of plasma hurt, she was nowhere near done, thanks to her special defenses.
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Suddenly, Isabella's battling style shifted, and Sikandar narrowed his eyes as he sensed a shift in momentum, and had a feeling Seiryu was about to pay for it. "Double Team!" She shouted, and suddenly, at least a hundred Mega Gardevoir filled their side of the field. "Now Life Dew!"
Sikandar knew they had to strike, but he could tell his barely coherent rage beast was rapidly approaching his limit, where he'd need to be recalled, lest he live up to his Dex entries. "Seiryu!" He shouted, and the dragon's gaze acknowledged his Trainer with respect. Respect that Raajapani had beaten into him, as in this form, Mega Gyarados only understood one method of communication. Violence. Sikandar made a sign with his hands, both clasped together, with both pairs of pointers and middle fingers pointing upwards. Seiryu knew what move he wanted, and then Sikandar said, "Follow with Hurricane and Thunder Wave!" Seiryu made a show of twirling in the clouds around him, and then with a single tail flap, created a massive Hurricane within the confines of the pitch. The water level was slightly lower now, as the Hyper Rain had created deep pools in the field with its impacts, effectively lowering the water and turning the field into a downright clusterMuk to navigate for one who couldn't fly. The latest Hurricane was not helping things either.
"Get in there, Kandra! You know what to do!" Isabella ordered, and her Mega Gardevoir vanished, dodging the electrified Hurricane completely as it whirled through her clones. Seiryu kept it going, though, even as Kandra appeared next to him. "Dazzling Gleam!" Came the command, as Moonblast took too long to charge. At least against a Dragon Dance boosted Mega Gyarados. The dazzling Infinity boosted shining explosion went off point blank on Seiryu, and the crowd gasped.
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Sikandar masterfully let the suspense build, and then from within the smoke that came from a dissipating Substitute he shouted, "Seiryu! Flash Cannon!" The crowd roared as from within the Hurricane, three focused shining steel bullets shot towards Kandra's form, ripping it apart. Sikandar initially panicked as he thought Seiryu struck too hard, but no, his lover had simply seen through his ploy, and he probably shouldn't have found her absurdly hot as she shifted from fake panic to knowing confidence.
"Now, Kandra! MOONBLAST!" This time, she dramatically held her arm forward, mocking him, and he grimaced as the Moonblast from among her remaining Double Team clones struck critically. And yet, even with a crit, Seiryu proved he was, in every sense, a dragon. A dragon on his last legs, or vestigial claws, in this case, but a dragon, nonetheless.
Sikandar capitalized on his partner's high special defense and ideal typing for one last usage of his best move. "This is what I get for showing you Naruto…but there are still shows you haven't seen! We're NOWHERE NEAR DONE YET!" He shouted, "SEIRYU, HYPER BEAM!"
Seeing he wasn't down, Isabella countered with an arguably faster attack that made use of Mega Gardevoir's ability, Pixilate. "Hyper Voice!"
Seiryu rocked in the air as what was his species signature move rapidly formed, condensed, and fired at Kandra, while she let out a loud shriek, as visible waves of sound turned pinkish, and flowed over Seiryu, until they exploded. She was also hit however, but as the smoke from the attacks cleared, Kandra was still floating, with a hastily summoned Light Screen, while Seiryu's form, now once again in his base shape sans wings, fell to the field below. Sikandar recalled him before he crashed and murmured to his ball. "Well done, my friend. You did better with your first test against your only weakness than Raajapani did. Now rest."
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As Sikandar chose his next partner, Kandra used another Life Dew in conjunction with her clones and was then also recalled. It wouldn't help her exhaustion, but she could still battle later. Isabella wasn't allowed to wait though, and she immediately brought out her next choice. Ty used the moment to needlessly explain the tradeoff of moves they'd all just witnessed, in his usual loud fashion, and Sikandar tuned him out, as Isabella sent out Ursarti. Immediately, the Wyndon crowd roared, and Ursarti's intense eyes looked over them. A cocky smirk appeared on his ursine face, and in a rare movement that wasn't an attack, he gave them a cocky two-fingered salute. They ate it up, and all of his stats rose in response as he resumed his fighting stance. After steamrolling most of Leon's Champion team, calling a Single Strike Urshifu a crowd favorite was an understatement.
Sikandar simply nodded, expecting this response, and then sent out Jalahastee. The two males glared at each other, but the trading of moves was brief, as Jalahastee was still somewhat damaged from facing a Milotic, and the field's condition had not improved for a ground type. He did however use Earthquake to simultaneously hammer Ursarti and gather the water into a large central area on the shattered pitch. Ursarti then finished him with a single, perfect critically Wicked Blow, but not without taking a Fire Fang from the Hippowdon's powerful jaws for his trouble.
While the crowd enjoyed the spectacle, Sikandar didn't look concerned. In fact, he looked quite pleased, and Isabella slowly understood why. Her Legendary was already damaged, couldn't heal himself, and now they were even in terms of KOs. If he could bring Ursarti down, while he still had Bhaloo, his chances of winning would rise dramatically. Raphael came out next, and while she was tempted to switch, it would turn the crowd on her, just to spare an already damaged partner. She considered the trade, Ursarti for Raphael, and found it worth it.
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Sikandar mega evolved his Gallade, and the gallant fighter bowed to Ursarti, who simply seemed unamused by one he had, until this battle, seen as inferior. With that said, the unmatched ursine now realized he and Raphael had never actually sparred in a one-on-one battle. His stance tightened up, as he waited for Isabella's orders. Raphael, by contrast, was cool as an ice type. Sikandar went first. "Alright, Raph! Double Team!" The Gallade calmly walked towards Ursarti, and effortlessly cloned himself into at least forty targets, all of whom had weight to their steps and attacks, a sign of move mastery. "Now, Upsilon maneuver!"
Isabella furrowed her brow, as that was a new one, from Sikandar. A flurry of Psycho Cuts launched at Ursarti, who simply smirked and didn't bother dodging the mind-based projectiles. That arrogance was what Sikandar was counting on. A cloud of dust rose up around Ursarti. "Close Combat!" She shouted, knowing he'd take the initiative, but the sense of foreboding was rising in the back of her mind. The sounds of combat erupted from within the clouds of broken rock, and then, there was a blinding flash of pink Isabella recognized as Dazzling Gleam.
Slightly panicked, as fairy moves were the bane of her Urshifu's power, and something she hadn't expected, given Gallade's garbage special attack power, she tried recalling him for a Gigantamax, but the recall beam missed, and then, as she started to sweat, she realized what Sikandar's game was. Her eyes turned to his, narrowing. He shrugged and called out to her. "Sorry love, you should've Gigantamaxed as soon as Raph came out." His eyes shifted to the dust cloud. "Keep going, bud! Keep your cover up and remember your counters!" He heard a confident 'Lade!' in response, and more dust rose, along with the sound of more intense melee fighting.
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As another Dazzling Gleam went off amidst the dust and Isabella caught the faint sound of her partner grunting, she swore, and made her move. "Ursarti! Aerial Ace! Cut through the dust and take advantage of his weakness!" Her move choice was popular with the grumbling crowd, who was not thrilled that Sikandar had purposefully blocked their vision of the no doubt insanely cool sight of a Mega Gallade going hand to hand with an Urshifu. In a masterful series of strikes, Ursarti cleared the dust cover with his Aerial Ace, while also driving back Raphael, who tanked the strikes with his own Aerial Aces. Isabella didn't hesitate, once she saw Ursarti, and if she had, she might have wondered why Raphael was backing off from Ursarti now that he was visible again. More clones from Double Team appeared, replenishing those that had been punched through so far, as Ursarti was recalled into his ball, and Gigantamaxed.
The crowd roared in approval, the explosion of potent Max Energy blew away the dust completely, alongside her Urshifu's roar. Isabella's now tiny form shouted up to the titanic crimson kung fu bear. "Max Airstream!"
"Teleport." Sikandar ordered calmly, smirking the exact same way Raphael was. The Gallades bamfed, as the Gigantamaxed Urshifu comparatively slowly brought his massive fist forward, summoning the flying typed energy to strike an opponent who'd already left his line of sight. Cape flaring, Raphael and his clone army appeared above Ursarti, and Sikandar shouted again. "Dazzling Comet!"
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Impressed at Raphael's skill with fairy energy, despite his weakness to it, Isabella watched him, and his copies shine and then soar down towards Ursarti's head in a swarm of shining pink balls of brilliance. "Curve the stream!" She shouted, and with a quick movement, just fast enough to act before Raphael landed his third quadruply effective hit, the Max Airstream curved, since it was just wind and had more than enough space to do so, and hammered Raphael into the energy barriers of the pitch. The Max Airstream was large enough to hit all of his clones as well, in one move. Sikandar winced, and then his mouth opened in shock as Raphael's Mega Form broke, and his fainted Gallade fell towards the ruined field. He grit his teeth then, and grimaced, recalling him from across the massive field before he fell to the ground. He'd apparently gotten hit more than expected against Ursarti, and he was a Legendary Pokémon.
"WHAT A KNOCKOUT!" Ty shouted, as at this point, he was clearly far more invested in the match than Gabby, who was continuing to play the calm and collected one to his overhyped fanboy attitude. "Just like that folks, the leader has changed! Champion Isabella is up by one, and Champion Sikandar's lead is Gone! It's anyone's Battle, and now, and he has to keep things from getting more unbalanced against a Gigantamaxed Urshifu with no one left on his team with a Fairy Type Move!"
Gabby leaned forward, interested now, as the battle reached six on six, and was still basically tied. "I can't even guess who he'll pick next. Champion Isabella's Urshifu can pretty much one shot anything with its special attack, right?"
Ty nodded, practically vibrating with excitement. "That's right, Gabby! One Blow is so ludicrously powerful, it even gave Chairman Leon trouble! Oh! Sikandar has a ball! Let's see who- wait! He's just Dynamaxing from the jump!? Is that even allowed!?"
Gabby chuckled. "Leon doesn't seem to care, he's enjoying this Battle too much."
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Sure enough, the Chairman was watching each trading of moves eagerly with the best seat in Galar, inches from the action. He was also learning quite a lot about each Champion. From within the Gigantamaxed ball, came his Garchomp, Bhoomakshak, who roared his dominance for all of Wyndon to hear as he appeared. Ursarti didn't even flinch, his only movement in response to his Trainer as she shouted, "Take it out! ONE BLOW!"
Sikandar ordered their counter simultaneously. "Strike through it, Bhoomakshak! Max Knuckle!" His Garchomp lowered into an attack stance and charged across the pitch, each thunderous dragon foot shaking the stadium, as Ursarti simply brought one fist forward, this time, wielding the ultimate expression of his dark power. An unholy beam of black energy limned in orange shot forward from his fist, as Bhoomakshak put his claw fins together, and summoned the combined power of fighting typed energy enhanced by Max Energy. His forward momentum stopped completely, but his fierce attack power cut through the One Blow's shockwaves, turning it from a crit, into something more manageable. Waves of the intense dark energy being split by him hammered the energy barriers, but Bhoomakshak remained standing. His attack power surged as the crowd roared in approval, on top of the extra effect of Max Knuckle. "Again!" Sikandar shouted, knowing well that Max Guard would be useless, "Max Knuckle!"
The massive Garchomp charged towards Ursarti again, but Isabella gave him a quieter order, one hard to hear over the classic Galarian beats that accompanied every single instance of Dynamaxing inside a stadium. Sikandar thought that they slapped, but he would've preferred to hear what Isabella had said. Ursarti waited until Bhoomakshak was close enough, and in a display of martial mastery, dodged the double clawed Max Knuckle, and came up under his guard with a booming surge of that same horridly dark energy. It surged into the sky over the stadium, through the Garchomp, whose eyes went pure white as the critical strike to his midsection knocked his massive form into the air. He collapsed to the ruined field, and knelt there, as Ursarti shrank back to normal size, though even normal sized, the Galarian beats kept playing, and Ursarti hadn't moved an inch. He was smirking confidently, his fist still smoldering from impacting scales as hard and rough as a Garchomp's.
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Then, Bhoomakshak's eyes returned, and with a sliver of strength remaining, the Dynamaxed Garchomp roared, deciding for himself what his final move would be. Sikandar had to call it anyway. "Max Wyrmwind!"
Isabella's eyes narrowed, but unwilling to lose her lead, she shouted, "Sucker Punch!" The Max Wyrmwind was already called into existence, tearing Ursarti apart with intense draconic wind, but the dark martial artist would not be deterred, and his fist met the now shrinking Garchomp, sending him hurtling across the field as the draconic energy blades homed in on his now unmoving form and hammered him. Ursarti went down, but the Garchomp was also unable to battle further, and Leon confirmed that for both Pokémon as he called the round. The crowd went wild, as did Ty, who continued to excitedly narrate.
While Isabella knew she had her lead, she also knew Sikandar still had Bhaloo, who was more than capable of evening the odds. She had to save Carey for her. No one else she had left could handle the fighting and water type. Sikandar was lost in thought, and probably psychically talking to his team, and Isabella grimaced, as Bhaloo appeared to the roar of the crowd. Out came her starter for this challenge in response, and he set up his drum eagerly, giving Bhaloo a nod of respect as their eyes met. Unlike her Urshifu, Bhaloo was a lot more sociable, if aloof. Her calm demeanor had earned her many friends across their teams.
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For his part, Sikandar had a plan. He didn't like faking out the woman he loved, but he wanted to win, and he needed to tie things up. He made a show of getting Bhaloo's ball into his hand, and sure enough, Isabella took the bait. She recalled Carey first and ordered him to Gigantamax. When Sikandar didn't immediately do the same, her brow furrowed. He looked far too calm, pleased, even, with the fact that Carey's Gigantamaxed form was now looming over his Legendary partner. As he called his move, she realized she'd Mukked up. "Alright Bhaloo…U -turn!"
She didn't even have time to tell Carey to try dodging, not that he could. Drum sets were not known for their mobility, and she couldn't recall Carey while he was in this form. It was simply impossible. He'd baited her, and his Urshifu's speed made full use of both Carey type disadvantage, and U-turn's utility. The super effective move struck with critical effectiveness, and Sikandar praised her for it, as she came back to her ball. He already had another ball in his hand, and once again, he Dynamaxed from the jump. Her eyes widened, as she realized it wasn't a Dynamax, but a Gigantamax, and one previously not known, on top of that.
Much like a Butterfree, its wings were larger, almost comically too large for its body. There were four main wings now instead of six and another four were set slightly behind the first four. The black spots on them had coalesced into a pair of 'eyes' like many moths had at the tips of the main four wings. The rest of the appendages glowed with intense, fiery orange heat, his horns now seemed firmer, and arced up like a crown, and his legs were longer, almost resembling scythes, as they hung from his massive body. Sooraj let out a terrifying series of low rumbling clicking noises followed by an ethereal screech that echoed through the entirety of Wyndon City.
Capitalizing on his momentum, Sikandar shouted, "Sooraj! G-Max Corona!"
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Swearing as she realized Rillaboom did not have a rock move to take advantage of Sooraj's quadruple weakness and cement her lead, Isabella gave her order anyway. "Max Airstream, go!"
Carey used his knowledge of Acrobatics to translate that into a Max Move, but compared to the fiery, almost holy looking rays of heat that made the air shimmer around them, it had no chance. The Airstream made it about halfway across the ruined pitch, when Sooraj fired off his Corona in response. Multiple shimmering beams of heat burned brightly across the field, smashing through the airstream, and growing even more intense with the infusion of so much oxygen. The energy barriers even lit up as they traveled, a sign that their heat was very much deadly, or dangerous, to the thousands of gathered humans.
They struck Carey in quick succession, and with remarkable accuracy, completely burning away three of his four leafy arms, but because he wanted to hold on, and not disappoint his beloved Trainer, he remained conscious, holding onto his Max Form, despite the pain. He didn't cry out, but his elongated forehead vine quivered in response to losing three limbs. Several wooden parts of his set were also on fire, and in the air around him, bright orange scales were floating.
"Carey…" Isabella murmured, seeing his struggle. He looked back at her, nodded, and then faced the titanic fire moth. "We won't let you faint in vain! Once more, Max Airstream!"
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With great effort, Carey began drumming, again summoning the power of the air for a super effective attack. Sikandar winced, shaking his head. He'd only Gigantamaxed Sooraj once before, but it was enough to know what Max Corona did to an opponent. "Unfortunately, friend Carey…that's the worst Move you could have used." He said into the mic. The air surged forward regardless, and then the shimmering scales around him flared to life with residual fire energy, completely engulfing him in flames. The result was the mighty Rillaboom lying unconscious on the field beside his scorched sticks and his drum. Sooraj let out a rumbling screech of victory, and still had two Max Moves left.
Just like that, the tables flipped, the match was balanced, and now it was Isabella's turn to face down a powerful Gigantamax form with two attacks left. "Triossia! Stone Edge! Quickly!" Isabella shouted, throwing out her Kabutops. The revivified creature stared in surprise at the state of the field, now radically different from how she'd left it, but she obeyed her Trainer regardless and started sprinting forward with impressive speed across the field, unbothered by the upturned rocks or large central pool of water that was now slightly evaporated thanks to the heat from Max Corona passing over it.
Sikandar, for his part, looked confident. "You'll need more than Stone Edge for my Sooraj! You think he hasn't learned a Grass Move? He's a Master of the Sun! Sooraj! Take your mastery of Solar Beam and unleash it upon that Kabutops!" The massive burning moth shrieked an acknowledgement and fired off a Max Overgrowth much like a Solar Beam. The massive green energy beam landed behind Triossia, and then exploded with powerful grass energy. Realizing she was going to be hit, Triossia sank a claw into the field and unleashed her Stone Edge as the expanding wave of Overgrowth covered her with her quadruple weakness.
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Sooraj managed to score a critical hit, and while Triossia's attack landed, it didn't do nearly as much as Isabella needed it to. Once more, Sooraj shrieked in victory, and as he did, the bar representing his health rose. Isabella looked shocked, and angry, but Sikandar pre-empted her. "Max Corona's lingering effect heals Sooraj and his allies with the scales left in its wake. Your Airstream made those around you explode, and ones on my side of the field are now healing Sooraj of damage!" His face became neutral, as he met Isabella's gaze. "I'm sorry, Italia Champion…but your Galar Challenge ends with me!" Again, Sooraj roared, and the crowd roared with him, boosting his stats slightly as they did so.
Despite now being down to four Pokémon, Isabella wasn't going to give up. She still had plenty left to tackle Sikandar's team, even if victory was now looking much harder to reach. "We're not done yet, Indius Champion! Go! Marabecca!" She said, after recalling Triossia. Her Tyranitar appeared with her trademark roar, and the crowd ate it up. "Now, Mega Evolve!" With a flash of power, she became a Mega Tyranitar, and both she and the massive floating fire moth roared at each other as the next round began.
"It's a truly monstrous clash we have here, ladies and gentlemen!" Gabby said enthusiastically over the speakers. "The ultimate Tyrant with the strongest attack stat, Mega Tyranitar, versus the newly revealed Gigantamax Volcarona! It's a genuine Kaiju Clash!"
"It looks like the Champions have chosen their attacks!" Ty shouted, and sure enough, both magical monsters began summoning their respective powers.
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Very motivated, Marabecca, with a single stomp, sent an increasingly massive Stone Edge across the field. Sikandar recognized a crit incoming and changed his strategy. "Sooraj! Max Flare on the Stone Edge!" The flames obeyed the insectoid embodiment of the sun, and smashed into the Stone Edge, sending flaming rocks falling across the field. Marabecca snarled in annoyance, as the shards then rose into the air, and formed a Sunny Day. Sooraj returned to his normal size then, still largely untouched by damage and flared his wings, sending a spray of smaller scales into the air around him. "Now, Bug Buzz!" Sikandar ordered.
Taking advantage of the Sunny Day, Isabella shouted, "Marabecca! Flamethrower!" Fire launched forward from her toothy maw, hitting the sound-based bug move, but unfortunately, the move still hit the Tyranitar, and being a special one, it was unaffected by her nearly impenetrable armor. That didn't stop Isabella though, as she launched into a different tactic. "Raise Stone Edge around you!" Sensing her idea, Marabecca did so, and Isabella pointed at Sooraj as she shouted, "Now, Fire Punch them!"
As the mini meteors came soaring at Sooraj, Sikandar shouted, "Dodge with Flame Charge and Quiver Dance!" The flames helped Sooraj at first, and that following speed boost rose, as he performed a Quiver Dance next, gracefully dodging the flaming projectiles. "Now, Bug Buzz!" Sooraj, now much, much faster, flew across the field like a comet.
"Stone Edge!" Isabella ordered again. Marabecca complied with another mighty stomp, but then, Sooraj vanished. The only warning they had was an ungodly screech from above, followed by the powerful, boosted, and STAB enhanced Bug Buzz from above. That close, and unable to dodge, Marabecca fell to a knee, panting hard at the super effective attack.
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"Rock Slide!" Isabella shouted over the overpowering screeching sound from Sooraj. Marabecca tried to aim, but the stress of her Mega Form, combined with the Bug Buzz made her attack easy to telegraph. Sooraj saw it, dodged it, and let it land on Marabecca, as Sikandar called Sooraj back to his ball.
Marabecca shook off the stones, only to turn towards Sikandar and find Bhaloo there. Her eyes widened, as Sikandar shouted, "Brick Break!" And with a brutal chop, the Legendary ursine warrior smashed her rock tyrant friend across her armored chest, sending her sliding backwards, and then falling forwards, fainted. Bhaloo gave Isabella a sympathetic look, and the Italia Champion, faced with the fainted form of her Tyranitar, began to see how this battle was going to end. Bhaloo backflipped back to Sikandar, as Isabella brought out the logical counter to her. Only to then swear.
As Kandra took her Mega Form, Sikandar Gigantamaxed his Urshifu, and the towering battle bear didn't roar, but stayed perfectly still, like an untouched pond, as she assumed her Gigantamax Form. "Moonblast!" Isabella shouted to her tired Gardevoir. Sikandar countered with a Max Steelspike that was so tall, it absorbed the Moonblast completely and hammered Kandra. She wasn't down yet, but she was close. "Dammit…" Isabella muttered then ordered her next commands. "Teleport! Then Moonblast!"
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Kandra appeared above Bhaloo, and sent a powerful, and critical Moonblast into her, but she took it and remained standing, unmoving, until Sikandar shouted, "Rapid Flow!" In a surprisingly swift series of strikes, for a titan sized Pokémon, waves of critically effective water surged upwards and smashed into Kandra, breaking her Mega Form. Like Raphael, she began falling, fainted, towards the field, and Isabella recalled her before the fall hurt her more.
A somber toned Gabby spoke to the crowd then. "Just like that, folks, Champion Isabella is down to two remaining Pokémon, both of which have a Type disadvantage against Bhaloo."
Ty nodded in agreement. "It is…not looking good for her chances, Gabby. Let's see if she can turn it around."
Isabella tried to ignore them but couldn't. Somehow, Sikandar had usurped the momentum from her, and now she was down by three Pokémon. Sooraj was still conscious, if tired by this point, and he still had Kuranku and Ajagar waiting behind Bhaloo, assuming she could even bring Bhaloo down. Resigned to her loss, she sent out Lucrezia, and while her Salazzle did manage to poison Bhaloo and land a Dragon Pulse, it took only one Rapid Flow to take her down, with each brutally critical arc of water sending her Salazzle spinning through the air, to land in an unconscious heap.
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"It's down to you, Ice Queen…" Isabella murmured. Her Froslass appeared alongside a powerful and immediate Snowstorm, one that hid her and her Trainer briefly, as the ghost mentally spoke to her.
"Despair does not suit you, my Human…" She murmured.
Isabella felt a tear freeze on her cheek. "I'm sorry, Elsa…we trained…we trained so hard, but…Sikandar really is just absurdly good at Battling. It almost defies logic. It's almost…unfair."
Elsa nodded, sagely. "He is quite a powerful Human…but that is why you love him, I believe. One of the reasons, anyway. He would be sad, if we simply gave this match to him without a fight…"
Isabella nodded, wiping her cheek. "You're right…shall we go beyond our limits? Just for fun?"
Elsa's eyes gleamed. "I intend to win, Human. Let us claim victory from the jaws of defeat!"
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"Right, then!" She shouted, and the snow around them flared out in a frosty explosion as it began to cover the field. Sikandar smirked, glad that she'd found her fire again. He made a mental note to thank Elsa, at some point. "Elsa! Mega Evolve!" Sikandar blinked, then. That was a new trick from them, and he realized he had no idea what a Mega Froslass was like. He felt a tingle up his spine. He loved it when this happened. It certainly was a fun time to be alive, for the discovery of so many new Mega Forms.
Elsa had three horns now, with the newest one being the longest, rising from her forehead in a spiral of ice that glowed with an eerie array of colors ranging from ice blue to psychic purple. Her arms now lacked hands, and like the bottom of her 'kimono', gave off a constant stream of freezing air. In this form, it became clear that, much like Glalie, Froslass was primarily a head, and her 'body' was just an extension of that. The 'ribbon' that had been around her waist now floated out behind her back, creating a crimson snowflake. The barriers of the field hummed to visibility as the temperature around them became deadly, and those protecting Isabella were also strained bright crimson. Seeing this, Elsa floated forward, away from her Trainer, towards Bhaloo, who had one Max Move remaining. Isabella struck first. "Alright, now Blizzard!"
The temperature dropped further, across the entire field, and Sikandar's barriers went red as well. Frost coated it, blocking his sight, so he quickly shouted his command. "Max Darkness!" Hearing him, Bhaloo moved her titanic form, launching a condensed spherical projectile of dark energy at Elsa. It exploded under her, even as the worst of the Blizzard fired off towards Bhaloo. Sikandar psychically shattered the ice blocking his vision, only to find his partner unconscious and normal sized. He was sure the Max Move landed, though.
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"Sooraj! Heat Wave!" He ordered, as the tired Volcarona appeared again in a flash of fiery scales.
"Aurora Veil!" Isabella countered, as Elsa disappeared amidst the shimmering heat. The Heat Wave was expansive in all directions, likely affecting Elsa, and as it increased the temperature, her veil faded. She was much closer, now. "Good! Draining Kiss!" Elsa leaned in uncomfortably close to the burning moth, and pink energy flared as she drained its life force, knocking it unconscious, and recovering a little bit of the damage. With a dark grin at Sikandar, she vanished, appearing back by her Trainer.
She looked raring to go, but he knew bravado when he saw it, and he saw it often. Indius League challengers always had it, right as they were about to fall to his team. "This ends now." He declared. "Ajagar!" The Dragapult appeared on the field with a roar, and his eyes widened as he saw Elsa. "You're the last one I'll need, Ajagar. Mega Evolve! Then use all of your Dragon Darts!"
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"Snowstorm, and Aurora Veil!" Isabella ordered quickly. But in the end, it didn't matter. The Dragon Darts were fired and aimed with the precision of a mobile missile platform, leaving only one place for Elsa to float, and not be hit. Then, too late, Isabella realized the Mega Dragapult had vanished. He reappeared, striking seemingly empty air, and what followed was the sound of breaking ice, and the flash of a faded Mega Form. Elsa skidded into the ruined field after taking the powerful Phantom Force attack, unconscious.
Leon's charismatic baritone echoed once more. "And that's the match! The victor is Sikandar Jiyoshi, Champion of Indius! Galar, tell our visiting Champions what you thought of their match!"
The entire stadium was on its feet, cheering for a solid minute, as Isabella recalled Elsa, and hid her eyes under her hair. She was still trying to remember the moment the battle had turned. Her mind settled on Carey, accidentally setting off the lingering Corona scales. Had she but been aware of them, they could've used the Airstream to send them at Sooraj, and then set them off, she was sure. But that was the moment, she knew, that the momentum had swung back to favor Sikandar.
Hearing her thoughts, Sikandar spoke into her mind and gave his own opinion. "It was actually when you told me to join you, in opening our Chakras." Their eyes met across the field, and he saw the disbelief in hers. He continued, letting his blatant honesty speak for itself. It was hard to lie, in the confines of one's mind, and he'd never mislead her on something this serious. "I saw the future. I saw you win. But I also saw a way for me and my team to win. That's how close it was."
At some point, they'd started walking towards each other, but Sikandar's pace was faster, and he was also somehow effortlessly walking on the ruined pool of water in the center of the field, which he crossed first to meet her. "It really was just a matter of who got more critical hits. Both of our teams went hard for this one. I was just...luckier, in the end. Not that Elsa let that stop her."
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The crowd, which had paused in leaving now watched the pair, who seemed too absorbed in each other's eyes to notice the hundreds of thousands of people, very much invested in their romance by this point, staring intently at them. He brushed her sweaty red locks from her face. She leaned up to kiss him and raised his right hand. Another cheer erupted, and Sikandar raised the Victory sign, with a casual smirk. Those who were close enough knew it wasn't casual, though. It was aimed. Directly at Leon.
Leon, for his part, was grinning ear to ear as he met the Indius Champion's eyes with a subtle nod and flew off on his Aegislash.