Narrator / 10pm
A massive explosion went off as Inkay crashed into the ground at mach speed, having been hit by a Burning-Thunder Fist from an electricity-amped Mega Charizard. Pumpkaboo was next, landing on top of Inkay after being hit by the same move.
"Meowth, use Scratch!" James commanded in fear
"No way! That's like asking to die!" Meowth shook his head rapidly
"He completely annihilated our Pokemon in one hit..." Jessie mumbled, utterly shocked
Charizard landed back down onto the ground next to its trainer: a red-robed figure with black hair, and bandages over their eyes. They weren't too far away from the inn where Kalos resided - Team Rocket had been up to no good; they were going to try and attempt to steal the Pokemon while everyone slept.
"Enough games Team Rocket, I know you've had contact with the Gates of Purgatory"
"So what if we have?" Jessie retorted. "It's not like we're going to tell you what was said"
"Trust me, I have no use for you, so if you don't tell me what I need, then Charizard will burn you until there's nothing but ashes left"
The mega-evolved Charizard shot a column of flames mixed with electricity into the air as a warning, which intimidated Team Rocket - they had been burnt by hot flames before, but nothing looked as a hot as that Charizard's attack, not to mention the fact that it was backed up by electricity.
"Alright, fine" Jessie gave in. "Their head wanted us to help them with their plan. It has something to do with breaking the twerpette's heart so that they can form the bonds of something"
"The bonds of armor!" Meowth said
"No, I believe it was amour, like love" James corrected the talking Pokemon. "I didn't know the twerp found himself love. Now I understand the plan that they explained"
"I hope we don't cross paths again" Jason said. "If you join the Gates of Purgatory, there'll be no mercy"
February 7th / Day 3
"Let's never talk about that again" Calem said, as he entered the hallway after having been chosen for the day's mini-game
"You can say that again" Miette agreed. "I'm not even on the team and I feel let down"
"I can't lie though, you do have a strange weakness" Gary said
"I said that we don't talk about it" Calem grumbled
"Before we begin today's one-on-one battles, let's review the results" Mr. Simmons said. "Tied for first place is Johto, Kalos, and Alola, at nineteen points. Hoenn is second with eighteen, Unova in third with seventeen, Sinnoh at fourteen, and Kanto as twelve"
"At least we're still in first" Clemont said
"Which means we have to win this battle if we want to stay ahead" Zack pointed out
"Going first will be Leo of Kanto against Sawyer of Kalos!"
"Looks like I'll be battling today" Sawyer closed his notebook with one hand and put into his pocket
"You sure you'll be fine battling?" Serena asked. "After all, Leo is suppose to be one of the best trainers in the world"
"Come on, don't underestimate him, Serena" Calem said. "After all, he's got a secret weapon"
"A secret weapon? Cool!" Ash said. "What is it?"
"It wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you" Sawyer chuckled nervously. "But don't worry, I'm sure I'll have to use it when fighting an opponent as powerful as this"
Sawyer and Leo, who looked bored, met down on the battlefield, where the referee stated the rules of their battle; Sceptile and another unfamiliar Pokemon came out from Leo's Pokeball.
"Obstagoon, the Blocking Pokemon. Its voice is staggering in volume; it has a tendency to take on a threatening posture and shout—this move is known as Obstruct"
"Interesting. That's another Pokemon from Galar" Professor Sycamore said
"I wonder why Leo and Victor have Galarian Pokemon" Serena tried to figure out the reason, but no ideas came to her head
"Let the match begin!" the ref declared
"Alright Sceptile, let's show them what we can do from the start" Sawyer made a fist around the small orb attached to his notebook; beams of light connected between Sceptile and the orb, causing a Mega Evolution
"Looks like Sawyer is going for Mega Evolution right off the start" Lance, Kanto's champion and one of today's commentators along with Agatha, said
"Mega Sceptile! So is that his secret weapon?" Ash said
"Kind of strange that he would use it right off the bat, especially after not wanting to tell us" Gary added
"It's not" Calem informed, his face going serious
"I wonder what it could be then" Shauna said
Sawyer put his notebook away and smiled confidently. "Sceptile, use Nature Roar!"
"Stop that" Leo simply said
Green particles gathered in the air around both Pokemon, who then proceeded to fire the same attack at each other; they clashed in the center, cancelling out almost instantly and setting off an explosion.
"He copied Sawyer's move" Aria noticed
"The normal-type doesn't have it's own basic roar attack, which means he can use the opponent's" Anna explained
"Use Leaf Blade Dance!" Sawyer commanded
"Obstagoon, use White Slash" Leo countered
Mega Sceptile dashed forward rapidly, it's arm-blades growing bright green; Obstagoon lunged, landing a large slash to Sceptile before it could be hit.
"Demeter's Fist!" Sawyer continued
Obstagoon was hit by a large uppercut from Sceptile, whose fist was glowing green; roots then rose up from the ground, wrapping around the Galarian Pokemon mid air, and tossing him against the wall behind Leo.
"It seems the grass-type master has the early advantage on the normal-type master" Agatha, one of Kanto's elite four, said
"Leo's a man of many surprises" Lance assured
"Use Rapid Talons!" Leo resumed the fight
"Stop that with Leaf Blade!" Sawyer responded
The two Pokemon charged at each other, but Obstagoon jumped over Sceptile's slash and hit him once with each of his feet, which had a white outline to them; Mega Sceptile quickly jolted around and launched a pointblank Nature Roar that hit Obstagoon, who was carried with the attack and crashed into the wall again as an explosion was set off.
"It seems I underestimated you" Leo smiled. "Obstagoon, Change Mode: White Drive!"
In an instant, the smoke cleared as a white aura exploded out of Obstagoon, as his features began to change - his claws became sharper and turned white, and a chest plate was conjured around his chest.
"Use Frenzy Plant!" Sawyer said
Sceptile smashed both of its fists into the ground, summoning massive vines that shot out of the ground, traveling towards White Drive Obstagoon.
"Secret Art: Omega Slash!" Leo timed his counter
Obstagoon slashed the air in front of him, and the vines were slashed in half, along with Sceptile who was hit by the seemingly invisible attack; the Galarian Pokemon dashed forward and uppercutted Mega Sceptile into the air, before firing a Nature Roar that carried Sceptile all the way up to the roof of the barrier, over a hundred feet in the air, where it exploded.
Everyone watched as Sceptile fell from the roof of the barrier all the way to the ground, where it crashed in front of Sawyer and ignited a small dust explosion.
"You should give up unless you want your Pokemon to get seriously hurt" Leo suggested, grinning
"If there's one thing I've learned, it's to not give up" Sawyer said, as Mega Sceptile stood up. "We're going to give you everything we have all the way until the end"
"Then show me what you can do" Leo requested
"Alright Sceptile, it's time to use our secret weapon" Sawyer said, and the Pokemon nodded. "Change Mode: Razor Leaf!"
A silver glow encased Sceptile as its sharp features transformed into pure metal, along with arm gauntlets and a chest plate made of steel; the crowd exploded into cheers at the mixed-elemental form, or in other words, sixth stage evolution.
"Secret Art: Jungle Construction!" Sawyer exclaimed
Mega Sceptile smashed its fist into the ground, summoning a mixed frenzy of metal poles and vines that shot out of the ground; Obstagoon attempted to dodge them, but was trapped by vines, and then forced to slam against a pole.
"Iron Nature Roar!" Sawyer pressured
"Secret Art: Vicinity Neutralize!" Leo quickly said
A shockwave shot out of Obstagoon, and the summoned poles and vines retreated back into the ground, and Sceptile's roar attack disintegrated into particles; Obstagoon charged forward, hitting Mega Sceptile with hard punch to the gut.
"Use Dragon Claw!"
Sceptile activated the attack and hit Obstagoon, sending a few feet away; white bands of energy than rose from the ground and chained Sceptile to the ground, keeping him in place as Obstagoon lunged and landed a sickening punch to the face before returning back to his side of the battlefield.
"White Pulse!" Leo commanded
"Leaf Blade Dance!" Sawyer countered
Obstagoon shot forward a ball of white energy; Sceptile dashed forward, slashing through the attack, and then slashing again against Obstagoon, who quickly countered with a kick to the chest that staggered Sceptile.
"Secret Art: Jungle Smash!" Sawyer said
A large tree root shot out of the ground beneath Obstagoon, before arching down and smashing the Pokemon, against the ground on the other side of the battlefield, several feet beneath the floor.
"Heaven's Fist!" Leo said
"Demeter's Fist, one more time!" Sawyer replied
Obstagoon jumped out of the hole in the ground, which was then repaired automatically; both Pokemon clashed their fists in the center of the battlefield, sending a shockwave out that slightly shattered the protective barrier around the audience.
"Knight's Blade!" Leo then said
"Razor Sword!"
One of Obstagoon's hands turned into a sharp sword blade; Sceptile's, now metal, arm-blade inverted outwards, pointing forward instead; the two Pokemon dashed around the battlefield, almost too fast for the eye to see, exchanging strikes.
"I almost can't keep up" Clemont adjusted his glasses
"They're pretty fast" Ash said. "Though I didn't expect that to be Sawyer's secret weapon"
"He's ate some of Bisharp's metal from a Secret Art and obtained the dual-elemental form" Calem explained
Mega Sceptile prevailed, clubbing Obstagoon with a hard slash that caused the Pokemon to stagger; the grass-dragon-and-steel-type Pokemon turned around and fired a frenzy of leaves that exploded against Obstagoon and sent him flying.
"We'll finish this with our ultimate move now" Sawyer announced. "Sacred Art: Seal of God!"
A small tornado blitzed around Sceptile as the ground began to shake heavily.
"You've got no time to use that" Leo said. "Sacred Art: Soul Punisher!"
Obstagoon raised one of its hands into the air, and a small ball of rainbow sparkles solidified above it; the Galarian Pokemon made a fist around it, lunging forward and hitting Sceptile midway through charging its move.
For a moment, nothing happened, until Sceptile spat out blood from the impact; its eyes faded to white as sparkles escaped its mouth; Obstagoon opened up its hand, which ignited a large explosion that caused Sceptile to go flying against the barrier next to Sawyer, like a fly that had been swatted out of the air.
"This battle's over" Leo raised his hand. "If he doesn't get treatment soon, he could die"
"Sceptile is unable to battle, Obstagoon is the winner! That means Leo of Kanto is the victor, earning them five points!" the ref declared, and the crowd cheered
"Don't you think he went too far?" Ash said
"He'll pay the price for using it" Anna replied
"There's a price?"
"The price for using Sacred Arts: one day of your lifespan" Anna revealed. "It's not much in the long run, but they can add up"
"So Sawyer was ready to lay down one day of his life just to win" Tierno said
"I'm more concerned about how he learned to use it" Anna said. "Sacred Arts can easily kill another Pokemon if the user doesn't know how to limit its power"
Cafeteria
"Well, look who I happened to run into" Drax said as he finished his bagel
"Drax" Jason replied
"I'm surprised you aren't using one of your staffs as a walking stick" Drax joked
"I can still see in different ways" Jason said
"You remind me of this dude in a comic I once read" Drax attempted to recall. "Matt something"
The fire-type master sat down at Drax's table across from him. "You aren't one of the seven Gates of Purgatory, but you're working with them"
Drax chuckled. "I don't work with them... I lead them"
"Lead?"
Drax placed his left arm, which he had been hiding up until now, onto the table - it was completely made of metal. "I'm X. Calem's dead, but I figured I would take up his work for my own personal benefits"
"What are you doing with Johto then?" Jason asked
"Oh, we'll win, but that's not what I'm after" Drax answered. "This tournament is just for fun, it's the Bonds of Amour that I'm interested in"
"I figured as much, though I don't understand what your reasoning is"
"I'm sure we both know about that top-secret, dangerous, unpredictable southern continent" Drax said. "I only want to harness the power of bonds for defensive purpose. It'll be a great benefit to all of us"
"You want the power of the bonds in case of war" Jason guessed
"Correct" Drax nodded. "I heard rumors that the emperor's been making threats, and behind the scenes with the eight region council, tensions are rising"
"Somehow I don't believe you"
"Well, of course there's a catch" Drax admitted. "Once I harness the bonds, and I will, then I'll be the emperor of all eight regions, no, the entire world"
"There it is" Jason stood up from the table. "You'll have to defeat Ash to get your goal"
"The boy with the Greninja who was the same power as mine?" Drax asked. "Please, he'll be nothing more than a nuisance. He hasn't even mastered Bond Phenomenon, let alone has the ability to activate it at will. He's got no chance against me"
"But he's also activated the Sea King form once before" Jason informed
"Ah, the legendary water-type transformation. It's still a power beneath Bond Phenomenon, but I suppose that'll be a fun fight"
"He'll be stronger when the time comes," Jason assured as he walked away, "and he'll beat you"