With the hot sun beaming overhead, thee murmuring voices of a great many people rang out, a cacophony of souls that all arrived for the sole purpose of viewing this gladiatorial showdown. This clash of warriors that would leave one warrior broken, worn and defeated.
"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Welcome to the famous Motostoke Stadium! Today we have a real treat for you all! A battle that is guaranteed to knock your socks off and have you on the edge of your seat!" he called, the audience erupting loudly, the stadium's energy a true spectacle to experience.
"Introducing first, the gym leader! A hardened man close to achieving the title of Champion in his homeland of Hoenn! An inspiration to many, proving that age doesn't affect one's ability as a trainer! Representing Motostoke City and Huo Guo Hot Pot, The Ever Burning Man of Fire, Kabu!"
A well built, obviously fit man with salt and pepper hair jogged out, wearing an elaborate black and red towel around his neck. He had a look of experience, his aura that of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. Infact, he was the largest obstacle to challengers, especially the younger ones.
Every year, many of the young, aspiring trainers fall to Kabu and resign. Infact, the number of trainers in the entire region that get past Kabu is hardly ever that large, with last year's Gym Challenge stopped by Kabu, all except for one hundred and three trainers.
"And the challenger! From Lumiose city in the Kalos region, an aspiring trainer with a tenacious style! Representing the Laverre Theatre Company, The Imp of the Stage, Dagda De Danann!" the man called, light cheers and a few boos ringing out as Dagda made his way out.
A few audience members noticed something was different about the trainer. He normally at least waved, or put on a smile, something to offset his scarred face. However, the trainer that stood in front of Kabu was much less friendly. Something was different.
Kabu could tell this was a weird child, and he inhaled. "I hope you're as scary to battle as you are to look at." he said, and Dagda frowned. "Big talk, coming from a washed up bastard like you." he said, the audience showering Dagda with boos as the two trainers glared at each other, stepping back before heading to their positions.
Kabu threw an Ultra Ball, the crowd erupting as a Ninetales took shape, standing poised an elegant, a form that exuded confidence and experience. Dagda closed his eye, his mind slowly shifting gears. It was showtime.
He held his arms out front, the crowd watching his still form as he held them on baited breath. He brought his arms close, crossing them over his chest, a Cherish Ball in his right hand. He cast his arms upwards, inhaling sharply. "Raging… Storm!"
He brought his arms down as he called out, the ball exploding open as it reached the ground, a bright red light shining through the stadium as a large shape began to take form. Rising back to a vertical base, he watched the light begin to fade.
The audience gasped in shock as the light faded on a crimson and pearl colored Pokemon. It's fur was bright, and well cared for, and it's long arms hung down, the paws at the end broad and heavy, swinging like fleshy pendulums as the creature stared with it's crimson eyes.
"I… I can't believe it! Challenger Dagda has started off the battle with an illegal Pokemon! A Lycanroc, something that shouldn't be in this region!" the announcer called, the audience still silent, almost afraid of the wolf.
"Ninetales, use Flamethrower!" Kabu called, and the trainer scoffed. He dropped his posture, an evil grin crossing his features. "You're all washed up old man! That's won't work! Ozzy, Stomping Tantrum!" the imp called, Ozzy springing into action.
Fueled by his anger, his hatred for the people that put him in that cage, his lost time, he threw his head back and roared. A deep, eerie note somewhere between a shout and a howl, the audience had yet to make a single sound since Dagda unleashed him. He bent his legs down, his muscles finally able to stretch.
The Pokemon surged forth, the flames licking at his fur meaning nothing, their heat not mattering to a Rock type like Ozzy. He lifted his massive, meaty paws, balling them into fists, the Ninetales freezing in fear at the sight of his face. He came down, slamming his fists into the fox like the hammer of a god, the ground beneath his foe exploding as the fox was driven into a crater, it's skull rattled dangerously by the blow.
Kabu seemed surprised, the demonic canine simply staring at him, it's nostrils barely flexing as it breathed. "Send out the next one! I don't have as much patience as you old man!" Dagda shouted, giving off the aura of an angry deviant.
With Ozzy returning to his side, the audience finally broke out of their trance. This challenger, this foreign menace that brought illegal Pokemon with him, his foul, disrespectful attitude even leaving the announcer and commentators struck speechless, he was winning.
And, just as Dagda planned, they began to boo. Loud, baritone boos that rung out from every single mouth in the stadium. Ozzy threw his head back and howled as Kabu returned the defeated Ninetales. Dagda looked to the audience, showing that he didn't even care about his opponent.
"How idiotic do you all have to be to cheer for this washed up geezer? He couldn't even respond to one attack!" Dagda shouted to the audience, loud chants against him, followed by chants to encourage Kabu, reverberating throughout the walls of the stadium.
Kabu sent out his next Pokemon, cheers running out at the sight of the large Arcanine, who glared at Ozzy, the two acknowledging each other. "Flare Blitz!" Kabu called, the Arcanine erupting in flames and surging forward.
"Thunder Punch!" Dagda called, Ozzy barking as he swung his right fist, colliding with the Arcanine's skull as they vied for supremacy. Ozzy pushed forward, sending the Arcanine sliding back. Dagda continued his act, holding his arms out wide. "Ozzy, make this old man regret accepting my challenge! Focus Punch!" he called, Ozzy whirling around and striking the Arcanine in the jaw with his massive left fist.
The huge canine's jaw broke, teeth flying out as the huge canine stumbled before falling over, unable to continue. The audience was shocked. They couldn't understand.
Why was this allowed? Why was this scarred monster able to come from a foreign land and use illegal Pokemon to defeat the trainers that they had idolized? Why did Milo, Nessa, and seemingly Kabu have to be victims of this monster's rampage? They hated seeing it, and they prayed for Kabu to win.
Kabu returned his Arcanine, closing his eyes as he grabbed a third Pokeball. "You might have gotten this far, but I promise that I'm still in this! I will continue to burn like a raging fire, and I will show you something that Milo and Nessa have yet to achieve! Come forth, Centiskorch!" he called, and his final Pokeball flew through the air.
Dagda watched as it popped open, and a long, flaming centipede took shape. Dagda narrowed his eyes, wondering exactly what he meant by that. He immediately returned the Pokemon before flipping his wrist over.
This was what Dagda was waiting for. He pondered it the night before, after Kenny had left. How could he prove that Ozzy was strong? What could he do to show the region that Lycanroc is a Pokemon worth respecting, worth training? How could he get into their skulls that Ozzy and his pack weren't made to be caged. He watched Kabu's Pokeball increase in size as he tossed it behind him.
Dagda watched as the Pokemon began to take shape from the blinding red light, and he noticed something. Instead of just being a giant Centiskorch, there was something different. This Pokemon grew immensely long. It wrapped around half the stadium, and it's tail's mandibles now had flames seeping from them. It was like an elevated form within Dynamax, something Dagda was not expecting.
"Incredible! Despite being beaten down by an illegal Pokemon, Kabu showed off his fighting spirit, his inner fire! Him and his partner Centiskorch have achieved the pinnacle of the Galar Region, the elevated form of Gigantimax!" the announcer called, the audience erupting louder than anything Dagda had ever heard.
There was a form beyond Dynamax? Something Pokemon could achieve that was even greater? Dagda couldn't believe it, the audience laughing at his visible shock at the sight. "You won't win, Child! I will teach you to respect your elders! Centiskorch, use G Max Centiflare!" he called.
Dagda watched as the centipede, over two hundred feet in length, began to coil up into a shape reminiscent of a radiator heater, it's underbelly a bright yellow riddled with circular markings. It began to glow and heat up, a monstrosity of a flaming attack barreling at Dagda like the sun. "Ozzy, quick! Stone Edge!" he called, the wolf howling as the two were swallowed in the flames.
The flames burst, circular explosions and flaming rings scattering about the battlefield, the audience cheering. It was like they were watching an angel bring his flaming sword down on a great demon, a victorious, righteous smiting that brings happiness to the masses. They all chanted for Kabu, the flames swirling around like angry spirits, the challenger nowhere to be seen in the blaze.
They began to hear something. There was something making noise within the blaze. Something that they could hear clearly. It wasn't very loud, but they could tell something was there. They strained their ears to here it, and they did. It was laughter.
Not the kind of joyous sound one would hear when telling a joke and pulling a prank. No, this was the sound of someone who enjoyed the misery of others, the flames appearing like the gates of hell. The laughter grew in volume, the flames stirring as the laughter reached even greater heights.
A gust of wind blew, the blaze vanishing. The Lycanroc stood unphased, Dagda standing in the blaze laughing. "That's it!? The pinnacle of the region is a giant bug spitting fire!? Don't make me laugh! That's not even good enough to burn the hair on my arms!" he called, turning his wrist.
"You idiots really believe making your Pokemon larger is the only way to achieve great power? Let me show you something that'll surprise you." he said, a toothy grin that looked a little too sharp, his long hair hanging across his features.
"Ozzy, Rock Tomb!" Dagda called. Ozzy threw his head back and howled, rocks falling from the sky, seemingly from out of nowhere. They pelted the insect, pinning it in place, it's mammoth frame far too long and large to avoid. It couldn't move, and Kabu noticed this. "Break out of it! Melt the rocks!" he called, the audience watching, an odd feeling between awe and worry in their hearts.
Dagda was ready. He'd remembered something from the play he'd seen, which just happened to feature a giant insect as the villain. The hero had turned something he didn't like, the power given to him by one of his old enemies, and turned it into something he could use against his foe. After much thought, and a little help from Mr. Felix, Dagda had finally put himself in a place to use what he'd trained for.
"It's over Kabu! That damn bug won't be able to melt those rocks before I can finish it off!" he called, crossing his hands again. "Ozzy!" he called, the wolf looking back to him before smiling, a vile look that the audience couldn't help but notice.
"Gravitate towards your victim, Crimson Wolf of the Forbidden Land."
Red energy began to erupt around Dagda, his Dynamax Band glowing brightly.
"Make them pray that the Iron Prison ensnares you. Give them no feeling but fear, force them to fall into despair at your might!"
Red energy began to form around Ozzy, the wolf beginning to pant in anticipation, a crazed look on his features.
"Shatter their world and make the pieces your claws! Break their spirits and make the fragments your fangs! Crush their hopes and dreams, wash away the Storm of Giants! Ozzy, Splintered Stormshards!"
The one eyed trainer called out, spreading his posture, a low, primal stance covered in vile energy that seemed to float off of him to Ozzy. The Lycanroc howled, the clouds overhead, caused by the power of Gigantimax, fading away.
When it did, the sky was bright, a dull blue moon's light shining overhead. The audience looked on in stunned awe, unable to understand how it was the middle of the day, and yet they saw the moon. The flaming ground of the stadium exploded beneath the feet of Ozzy as he leapt into the air.
The shards, jagged, uneven pieces of broken land, began to float. They surrounded the massive insect, who was still struggling to free itself from the rocks holding it in place. Ozzy held his hands up to the right side of his face, crossing his paws as energy seemed to leak from his presence.
The shards twisted, pointing towards the insect. With a roar, Ozzy flipped and extended his left leg, the shards of the stadium's floor pelting, striking, cutting and tearing into the centipede, who screamed in pain, throwing it's head up many feet in the air, it's eyes closed in agony. Ozzy's foot came in contact with it's skull, an explosion ringing out, shaking the stadium and it's silent audience.
When the dust faded, the rumbling stopped and the stadium fell still and silent, Ozzy stood with his back straight, his back to Centiskorch, whose battered, defeated frame was immobile on the ground. "Before a mountain like me, your flame means nothing."