Emerald Knights: A Pokemon Sword Story

by Mixedfan8643

Sequel to Knights of Galar. Ruby Silverlock has become the Champion of Galar! Now her sisters, Emerald and Sapphire, plan to follow in her footsteps and become trainers too! What will their journeys be like compared to Ruby's? They're also not the only ones hoping to challenge Ruby for the title of Galar Champion on this journey of theirs...

30. Chapter 28: Emerald vs Ruby

Chapter 28: Emerald vs. Ruby

The big day had come at last. Emerald thought that it would never come, and yet against all odds, she really as just seconds away from beginning her battle with Ruby. What seemed like an impossible goal to reach was now becoming reality, and it wasn't just Emerald and Ruby that were ecstatic for the battle to begin. The whole audience seemed to be trying to scream the stadium down as they chanted for both trainers, supporters on both sides keen to see a great Pokémon match between the Champion and the hot-shot rookie that had made it to the final.

Emerald had managed to get a good night's sleep thanks to the talk she'd had with Ruby putting her at ease and she felt refreshed and ready to take on the day, even though she was going to be battling her toughest opponent yet. The three sisters all ate breakfast together in the canteen and Sapphire and Ashley had left first to get their seats in the audience while Ruby and Emerald went to get ready for the match. Emerald was in her Gym Challenger uniform again while Ruby was clad in the Champion T-shirt she'd been wearing since defeating Leon last year, his trademark cape and for the first time ever, she'd chosen to come into the stadium wearing the silver crown that Bugs and Bryce had made for her last Christmas*. She was only wearing it because Emerald wanted her to. The crown sparkled in the sunlight peering over the open stadium roof. It made Ruby look like a queen of the arena and she was about to face-off with an outsider that was attempting to seize her throne. The girls took up their positions in the centre of the pitch while everyone cheered for them. Sapphire and Ashley were sat together again while Paul was watching from a seat of his own, more interested in Ruby than Emerald. Hop and Leon were also in the audience, as were Annie and Michael. Hop wasn't going to miss his two neighbours, one of them his girlfriend especially, duking it out together in a battle and Leon was keen to see if Ruby could defend her title. Michael and Annie had come to see Ruby's battle with Leon in person last year and they wanted to see her again as she was going up against Emerald. The proud parents didn't care who win, they knew that their daughters were going to be amazing and they wanted to give them all the support they could give their girls. Michael had a video camera with him and was already filming. This would be worth treasuring, just as Ruby's battle with Leon had been.

Down on the pitch, Ruby placed her hands on her hips and swept her eyes over the audience while Emerald stood still, fidgeting nervously again.

"I dunno if this crowd's bigger than the one that watched me and Leon last year or not." Ruby remarked, "All I know is that we've got a lot of people to entertain here! I'm honestly starting to feel the pressure a little!" she joked.

"Not as much as I am…" Emerald mumbled, "This is bigger than any match I've had before! I'm against THE Champion of Galar, and my own sister all at the same time! How will I be able to concentrate with so much to take in?!"

"You'll be fine Em, don't worry." Ruby insisted, smiling supportively at her sister, "Just do what you did against Paul, Sapph, Nessa, Bea and Raihan these past couple of days and you'll forget all about the audience. Just think of me, yourself and our Pokémon."

"I'll try to." Emerald said meekly, "And I'll also try to give you my best! You're the Champion, and I wanna give you nothing less!"

"That's the spirit!" Ruby praised, "Come on, let's do what Leon would often say: Let's have a champion time!"

She drew her arm across her chest, threw it out and held two fingers up while winking at the audience. She only did her signature pose when she was battling against a challenger, which in her mind made it more special that way. Emerald just grinned like an excited fangirl. Seeing her do it up close like that was enough to make her feel energized and ready for anything. The crowd went wild with many holding their hands up the same way Ruby was down on the pitch. Then Ruby and Emerald took up their positions and stood by as the announcer's voice boomed out of the speakers.

"From Postwick Town, Emerald Silverlock." boomed the electronic announcer's voice over the speaker systems, "Also from Postwick Town, the reigning Champion…Ruby Silverlock!"

Ruby gave a cool smile and waved her hand up and down to egg the audience on as they cheered for her and her sister. Michael filmed the whole thing while Annie whistled loudly. Sapphire leaned close to Ashley, her hands resting on the Unova girl's thigh.

"They both look so cool down there together!" Sapphire said excitedly, "I can only imagine what it would've been like with me down there with Ruby!"

"I bet you would be feeling as nervous as Emerald looks right now." Ashley teased, her own hands on top of Sapphire's, "But I know that I'm pumped right now! Golly, I haven't been this excited since I had my Champion battle with Alder!"

"Believe me, you'd have loved to have been here to watch Ruby become the Champion last year." Sapphire said, her voice full of nostalgia as she thought back to that amazing day.

Was she going to see one of her sisters remain a Champion or was she about to witness a change of hands as the other sister took over? Sapphire wished it could've been her down there, but she knew it was right that it was between Ruby and Emerald. She hadn't actually wanted to become Champion anyway so Emerald would be worthier of succeeding Ruby than her by a long shot.

"Pokémon Trainers: Standby."

Emerald breathed in slowly and exhaled steadily to keep herself at ease. She didn't want to start hyperventilating. She could do this! There was no need to panic! Ruby and Sapphire believed in her, and if they thought she could do it, then she could do it! Ruby folded her arms and closed her eyes, looking like she was reaching into the zone and finding her place before the action started. She looked at ease, almost as if she was one with the stadium and the audience and they were one with her. Emerald watched this and tried to focus on Ruby's calmness. It was so cool to see her able to just stand there and look so at ease despite everything.

"Three…two…one…BEGIN!" roared the announcer.

This was it! All systems were go and the battle had started! Ruby suddenly became animated again, her eyes shooting open and her arms unfolding to spread the cape around.

"Ha, ha, yeah! It's go time!" Ruby yelled, high adrenaline coursing through her veins, "Let's drive the audience wild, Emerald!"

She then threw the cape off and left it to fall behind her as she whipped out her first Pokéball. Emerald admired how neatly she'd thrown the cape off before whipping out her first Pokéball. They both threw them simultaneously.

"Soundwave, you're up first!" Ruby shouted.

"Razer, let the fun begin!" Emerald cried.

The two Dragon-type Pokémon materialized into battle and gave savage roars that were meant to intimidate each other and excited the audience. Soundwave and Razer fixed eyes on each other and awaited their trainer's commands. The audience was excited to see what a big start this was going to be. Dragon vs. Dragon, what better way to start off an exhilarating match like this one?! Michael aimed the camera at Soundwave and Razer, determined to film them both in action and not miss a second of the battle. Hop whooped for the girls while Leon stared at Razer with interest. As a proud owner of his own powerful Haxorus, he couldn't wait to see Emerald's in action. Sapphire and Ashley stared, feeling as excited as the audience was to see a titanic match-up like this while Paul watched observantly. Razer had done well against his own Dragon-type Pokémon so he was interested to see how she'd fare against the Champion's Dragon-type Pokémon. He had no doubt in his mind that Soundwave was in a league of his own compared to his Dragapult. Down on the pitch, Ruby grinned with anticipation. Her trusty Noivern against Emerald's mighty Haxorus! This was going to be awesome!

"You know, I defeated Leon's Haxorus when I battled him." Ruby purred, "I bet yours will be a powerful opponent."

"Trust me Ruby, Razer's a real trooper and you're in for a good match with her!" Emerald declared, "Razer, start off with your mighty Outrage!" she commanded.

Razer tensed up as draconian energy flowed through her body. She glowed blue and orange with the energy build up and then she shot forward, her powerful legs acting like coiled-up springs that launched her towards her opponent. Soundwave didn't show any signs of fear despite this bladed dinosaur creature stampeding towards him with enough force to knock a house down. Even Ruby didn't seem worried, remaining cool and collected as she gave her first order.

"Fly out the way and hit back with Dragon Pulse!" she yelled.

Soundwave flapped his large wings and took to the air, leaving Razer to zoom past and miss him entirely. As soon as he dodged, the bat-dragon turned around and opened his mouth. He blasted Razer in the back with Dragon Pulse, making her cry out as she was hit. Emerald had expected that Soundwave wouldn't be easy to hit. His speed was what made him one of Ruby's most reliable Pokémon to battle with. Very few opponents had ever been able to keep up with him. Razer winced from the attack but she was far from down. If anything, she looked as if she could carry on going and take a few more Dragon Pulses before going down. Emerald tried again with Outrage, this time ordering Razer to jump up towards Soundwave. The black and gold Dragon Pokémon bent down as far as she could go and sprang up, her huge legs effortlessly launching her upwards as if she'd been standing on a catapult. She soared towards the Noivern above her, surrounded by energy once again. But like before, Soundwave was too fast for Razer. Ruby ordered him to fly out the way again and as soon as Razer missed, he blasted her a second time with Dragon Pulse. Razer yelled and found herself plummeting straight down towards the ground. Soundwave gave a low, ominous cackle as he watched his opponent hit the grass. He always enjoyed it when he was making light work of his opponents in a battle. Ruby ordered Soundwave to fly down after Razer and use Dragon Pulse while she was down. The wyvern Pokémon obeyed, swooping down towards the ground as if he was pursuing his prey. But Razer had managed to get back up and Emerald ordered her to use Earthquake. Of course it wouldn't actually work on Soundwave as Ground attacks didn't work on Flying-types, but that wasn't Emerald's plan.

As Soundwave came in for the kill, Razer stomped the ground and created a huge shockwave that ripped through the ground and punched its way towards Soundwave. He had flown very close to the ground so the resulting shockwave hit him and knocked him back a little. It did no damage but it did stun Soundwave for the moment. Now he was distracted, Emerald ordered Razer to use Outrage again. This time, she didn't miss. The Haxorus charged into Soundwave and rammed into him, knocking him down onto his back. The super-effective hit had left Soundwave stunned for the moment but he wasn't down yet. Emerald knew that with a trainer as strong as Ruby, a one-hit-KO was just not going to happen. All she could do was just hope her Pokémon could hold out long enough for her to land enough meaningful hits to take the win. Soundwave picked himself up and spread his wings out. Ruby gave a smile of approval to her sister.

"That's a tough Haxorus you've trained." she complimented, "Razer's certainly no slouch in a battle."

"I did tell you she's a real trooper!" Emerald replied, "Ever since she escaped from her abusive trainer and came across me, I've worked hard on bringing out her true strength, and all without feeling the need to abuse her!"

"I wondered how Razer ended up like that…" Ruby murmured, taking in the Haxorus's scarred face, "Lucky for her she found you and you took her in. But enough talk. This battle's just getting started! Soundwave, use Air Slash!" Ruby commanded.

Soundwave flapped his wings and took off again. He charged towards Razer, moving so fast that the scarred Haxorus had no time to react. Then he swiped at her with his wing, slicing the very air in front of her and making her grimace. She staggered back and then coiled up in fright as if Soundwave had managed to frighten her somehow. Emerald knew what was happening. Air Slash could cause an opponent to flinch, which wasn't good for her as now Razer momentarily couldn't retaliate. As a result, she was left wide open for another Dragon Pulse attack from Soundwave. The powerful Noivern blasted Razer again and she fell down on one knee, grunting from the pain of Soundwave's attack. Emerald could see this was all going very badly. Razer wouldn't last much longer if she didn't act now! She was about to order her to use Outrage but the brunette girl suddenly thought again and realized that she had a better idea. Why keep Razer out when she could swap her for a Pokémon that wasn't weak to its own type? She returned Razer to her Pokéball, stunning the audience as they hadn't expected a switch around so soon.

"I don't blame her." Sapphire commented, "Razer's clearly a bad match-up for Soundwave so why keep using her?"

"She'll probably bring out a Pokémon that can exploit Soundwave's other weaknesses while also not being weak to other Dragon types." Ashley deduced, "I wonder if she thought to bring that Starmie with her. It does know Ice Beam…"

Funny enough, her prediction was 100% correct for Emerald's next Pokémon she'd switched Razer for was indeed Gemstone the Starmie! The purple starfish Pokémon materialized onto the field, its gem centre sparkling in the sunlight. Ruby didn't even look surprised to see Gemstone making its appearance in this battle. Having watched Emerald's battle with Paul earlier, she remembered that Gemstone knew Ice Beam so who better to use against a Noivern than a Starmie with that attack? Starmie were also very fast Pokémon so Gemstone would have an easier time keeping up with Soundwave. The teen Champion folded her arms confidently.

"Don't think that Starmie's Ice Beam will help you, Em. I've been working on overcoming Soundwave's double ice weakness ever since he was defeated by Leon's Mr. Rime last year." Ruby crowed.

"I'm sure you have." Emerald said daringly, "Use Ice Beam, Gemstone!"

The starfish Pokémon pointed one of its points at Soundwave and blasted the ice beam towards its draconian opponent. But as Ruby had said, she'd trained Soundwave to get around his ice weakness and she showed this now by ordering Soundwave to use Flamethrower. The dragon-bat threw his head back, opened his jaws and threw his head forward again, unleashing a huge tongue of flames that stopped Gemstone's Ice Beam dead in its tracks. The flames melted the ice before it could touch him. Emerald wasn't deterred for Gemstone had more ways of dealing with Dragons than just Ice Beam. She ordered her Water-type Pokémon to use Dazzling Gleam next. Gemstone's centre gem glowed pink for a moment and then fired a beam of fairy energy towards Soundwave. Ruby cursed herself for forgetting that Gemstone knew that move. She'd watched it use Dazzling Gleam to give Raihan's Turtonator trouble in the final eliminator round yesterday! Soundwave tried to dodge the attack but he was a fraction too slow and the Dazzling Gleam just caught him across the side. Soundwave cringed from the fairy energy that seemed to burn him like acid. If the attack had hit him full on, Gemstone might've won the match. He shook himself off and growled menacingly. Ruby remained cool and gave a single command:

"Use Dark Pulse!" she cried.

Emerald gasped. She should've expected that as she'd seen Soundwave use Dark Pulse before, especially in Ruby's Champion Cup battle with Allister last year! Soundwave opened his jaws again but instead of flames, dark energy shout out towards Gemstone. Gemstone jumped up and spun itself through the air like a shuriken to dodge the attack but Soundwave turned his head to follow Gemstone's movements. He managed to hit Gemstone and the Dark Pulse sapped away a large chunk of its health. Emerald wished she'd remembered that Soundwave knew Dark Pulse, otherwise she wouldn't have brought Gemstone into this match. Despite the hit, Gemstone still seemed ready to continue. It shook itself off and flexed its arms. Delighted, Emerald ordered her Pokémon to try again with Dazzling Gleam. She knew it was pointless to try using Ice Beam as Soundwave would only melt it with Flamethrower again. Gemstone fired Dazzling Gleam again but this time, Soundwave was ready for it and was successfully able to dodge it. He weaved out the way with a perfect barrel-roll, a move that Ruby had spent much time perfecting with Soundwave to dodge attacks like this. Now Soundwave had avoided the attack, he shot back with another Dark Pulse. Gemstone was hit full on by the attack and this time, it wasn't able to take it. The aquatic Pokémon fell onto its back and lay there, its centre gem flashing to signify a knock out. Emerald gasped in dismay. She'd been so sure that Gemstone would've been the perfect Pokémon to stop Soundwave but he'd taken it down in a couple of hits! The Noivern cackled triumphantly.

"Soundwave: superior. Starmie: inferior!" he crowed.

"Starmie is unable to battle! Noivern is the winner!" the announcer boomed.

The audience cheered for the Champion, who just stood there taking it in. She didn't need a round of applause to let her know she'd scored a good win. Paul had watched the whole match, impressed with Ruby's skill and how well her Pokémon seemed to be trained. She was clearly the Champion of this region, alright! Sapphire turned to Ashley.

"Can't say I'm surprised at that. Ruby NEVER has a match in where she doesn't score the first knock out. Not even Em can break that perfect streak!" she blurted.

"Yer sis is certainly showing why she's the champ." Ashley agreed, "That Noivern of her's is in a league of its own, no doubt about it! I'm excited to see what the rest of her team's like!"

"I'm just curious how Em will come back from a blow like this…" Sapphire murmured.

All eyes were on the challenger as Emerald returned Gemstone to its Pokéball. She was tempted to bring Razer back out for a second try but that wouldn't work. She wasn't fast enough to keep up with Soundwave. She had to rely on a Pokémon that was notoriously speedy to have a chance. And she felt that she had just the Pokémon.

"I have just the Pokémon that can keep up with you, Soundwave!" Emerald cried, "Thor, let the fun begin!"

Thor the Raichu was brought into battle and he was thrilled to have the chance to challenge such a strong Pokémon. He of course knew how powerful Dragon-types could be, especially when he'd been facing Paul's Dragapult back in the semi-finals. Ruby nodded approvingly. Thor was a good choice for Soundwave had no attacks that were super-effective against him. Thor didn't either as the Dragon-typing dropped the usual Flying type weakness for Soundwave so it would depend on who had the most stamina rather than who had the advantage. Thor flexed his stubby arms, trying to look imposing while Soundwave grinned tauntingly, unimpressed with his meagre looking opponent. He didn't think the little Raichu would give him much trouble.

"Don't let your guard down, mate. That Raichu's a lot stronger than he looks." Ruby warned, "We'd do best to keep our distance. Use Flamethrower!"

Soundwave opened his jaws and blasted Thor with flames. But before the flames could engulf him, Emerald ordered her electric mouse Pokémon to use Dig to dodge it. Thor felt the heat of the flames behind him just as he disappeared underground at the last minute. A second later and he wouldn't have been able to dodge the flames. Soundwave looked around after his attack had finished, wondering where Thor had disappeared to. Ruby knew that Dig wouldn't do anything to Soundwave as Ground attacks didn't work on Flying-types like him but she knew Emerald wasn't aiming to hit Soundwave with that move. She soon saw exactly what she expected as Thor suddenly shot up from underground and rocketed towards Soundwave like he'd been fired from a cannon. As soon as Thor was within range, Emerald ordered him to use Thunderbolt. The Electric-type Pokémon aimed his tail at Soundwave and electrocuted him with a powerful electric attack. Soundwave let out a rumbling wail of pain as he was zapped by Thor. Despite his small size, he really packed quite a punch! Thor then fell back down to the ground, using his tail coiled up like a spring to cushion the blow. He landed safely, only to get immediately hit as Soundwave blasted him in the back with Dragon Pulse. He was whisked off his feet by the blow and he landed flat on his face, digging up a mound of dirt as he skidded across the grass. The pulse had left his back stinging a little but he wasn't too badly hurt.

He picked himself up just as Soundwave flew towards him again. He was about to use Flamethrower again. Thor could see the flames building up in his throat. To try and counter attack, Emerald ordered Thor to use Quick Attack. The orange furred Pokémon shot towards Soundwave, moving at a blinding speed. Soundwave grunted as Thor slammed into him. He was so caught off-guard by the Quick Attack that the flames died in his throat and the Flamethrower didn't come. Before Thor could fall back down to the ground, he aimed his tail at Soundwave again and just as he started to fall, he used Thunderbolt again. Soundwave wailed as he was zapped, trying to resist the pain. But in the end, fatigue caught up to him. After Razer's earlier efforts and Gemstone's Dazzling Gleams, he couldn't take another Thunderbolt. Thor landed on the grass safely again while Soundwave plummeted down like a falling bird. He hit the ground back first and lay still, a low rumble coming out of his throat that made it sound as if a demon had taken the fall.

"Ugh…Raichu…superior…Soundwave…INFERIOR…" he lamented as he passed out.

"Noivern is unable to battle! Raichu is the winner!"

"Wow! Go Emerald! That was quite a comeback!" Sapphire cheered.

"Using a Pokémon that wasn't weak to any of Soundwave's attacks was a good call." Ashley complimented, "So they're down five-to-five now. This match maybe closer than we expected…"

Annie and Michael had been enjoying the fight so far with Michael getting really stuck into the filming. He hadn't missed a single moment to get some good shots of his daughters and their Pokémon in action. He trained the camera on Ruby as she returned Soundwave. What was her next Pokémon going to be? The silver-haired teen whipped out another Pokéball.

"I had a feeling this battle wasn't going to be one-sided." Ruby said happily, "If anyone can give me an even contest, it'd be my own sisters. Now let's see if you can handle the mighty power of Vesuvius!" she yelled, throwing the ball.

Emerald had suspected Vesuvius the Coalossal would be appearing in this match at some point. She was one of Ruby's aces and the very Pokémon that had saved her life back in Glimwood Tangle, along with helping Zacian and Zamazenta defeat Eternatus and stop the Darkest Day so why wouldn't she use her? The fiery rock golem bashed her hands together and roared, her body glowing from the heat inside her, an apt-metaphor for how she was getting "all fired up".

"Allllllllllllright, who's ready to rumble?!" she bellowed excitedly.

"We are!" Emerald cried in determination, "Thor, use Dig!"

Thor jumped into the air and dived down into the ground, disappearing from view. Ruby could see why Emerald had chosen that move. Vesuvius had a double weakness to Ground attacks due to being a Fire/Rock type so Dig was the best move Thor could use. Unfortunately, Ruby had the perfect counter strategy.

"Nice try Em, but that won't save you." Ruby crowed, "Use Earthquake!"

"OH NO!" Emerald shrieked in terror.

Earthquake was not only a ridiculously powerful move, but it hit all Pokémon on the field that didn't have a Ground-type immunity…even if they were underground with Dig! Ruby had taught Vesuvius Earthquake sometime after becoming Champion, finding it a better attack to use than High Horsepower. Vesuvius jumped up and stomped down on the ground, creating a massive fissure that threatened to split the entire pitch wide open. The audience clutched their seats as the entire stadium seemed to shake around them. Poor Thor didn't stand a chance. He was hit full on by the Earthquake and he shot out from the ground, looking as if some monster living under the pitch and punched him out of it. Emerald put her hands to her face in shock as Thor spiralled through the air and crashed down on his side. He had fallen unconscious before he'd even crash landed. Vesuvius just punched the air triumphantly, feeling very pleased with herself.

"Aw yeah, that's what I call an Earthquake!" she cried, "I'm amazed I didn't make the stadium fall apart!"

"Be glad you didn't." Ruby chuckled.

"Raichu is unable to battle, Coalossal is the winner!" barked the announcer.

"So it was that easy, and done with one hit." Paul murmured observantly, "Emerald better think hard if she's gonna overcome a Pokémon as powerful as that one…"

He was already wishing he'd caught a Coalossal of his own as this species seemed very powerful. Emerald returned Thor to his Pokéball, disappointed that he'd gone out so quickly. She'd hoped he could've at least landed a hit on Vesuvius before going down. At least she still had a Pokémon that would be great to use against the fiery hot rock Pokémon. She breathed out slowly to keep herself at ease and chose her next Pokémon.

"Good thing I brought a Fighting-type with me for this match-up!" Emerald declared, "Mei-Mei, let the fun begin!"

Ruby wasn't surprised at all to see Mei-Mei was part of Emerald's team for this battle. It only seemed logical to bring a powerful Fighting type like her to a Champion battle, especially as Mei-Mei was good at more than just battling. The bulky panda fighter took up a battle-ready stance while Vesuvius stood her ground and dared her to come and have a go if she thought she was hard enough. Both Pokémon were strong battlers with solid attack power so this was going to be a true titanic tussle between them.

"Show them what you're made of, sweetie!" Emerald yelled hotly, "Use Zen Headbutt!"

Mei-Mei lowered her head, which coated itself in psychic energy, and she charged towards Vesuvius. Ruby had expected her to use Superpower but she suspected Emerald didn't want to use it just yet in case the side-effects gave Mei-Mei trouble later, so she was saving it. Vesuvius held up her arms in an attempt to block the attack. Mei-Mei slammed into Vesuvius with enough force to knock her back and send her skidding. Vesuvius stayed standing, but she ended up recoiling in fright and finding herself unable to move. Ruby could see why Emerald had done that. Zen Headbutt's side effect of making opponents flinch would stop Vesuvius fighting back and give Mei-Mei free time to just whale on her as much as she liked.

While Vesuvius was stunned, Mei-Mei came in with a Night Slash attack. Emerald hoped that she'd score a critical hit and do extra damage as a result. Mei-Mei raised her hand and sliced at Vesuvius with dark energy coating her hand. Vesuvius winced from the hit but she didn't take the damage Emerald had hoped for as no critical hits were landed. It also didn't help as Mei-Mei suddenly found herself bursting into flames briefly and wailing in pain. She'd fallen for Vesuvius's ability, Flame Body, and had gotten burnt for her troubles. Ruby smiled. This would hopefully give Mei-Mei trouble now that her attack would be lessened by the effects of her burn status. Vesuvius shook off the pain and retaliated by using Flame Charge. Vesuvius stampeded towards Mei-Mei, coated in flames as if emerging from a volcano. Mei-Mei held out her hands and stood her ground.

"Halt in the name of me!" she yelled.

Vesuvius kept on charging and slammed into her panda-like opponent. She fell backwards after being hit and the flames around Vesuvius burnt her even more. She lay on her back, wincing as the burn status shaved off a little more of her health. Emerald could see that things were going to get tough for her now. Mei-Mei was burnt and Vesuvius's speed had gone up a little thanks to Flame Charge. She had wanted to use Superpower as a last resort and now it seemed she really needed to use it. A strong Fighting attack would hopefully bring the match in her favour. Emerald gave the order and Mei-Mei charged towards Vesuvius, her body glowing red with energy. Ruby hoped to counter that by having Vesuvius use Earthquake. Vesuvius jumped up and crashed down heavily, creating the ground-shaking force again. The earthquake exploded towards Mei-Mei but to everyone's surprise, she jumped up and performed some kind of twirl through the air to dodge the attack! Everyone was gobsmacked to watch such a move being performed by something as bulky as a Pangoro. She looked like some kind of graceful dancer in that brief moment. Mei-Mei landed in front of Vesuvius and socked her directly in the face with both fists. Despite suffering from a burn, Superpower's raw power was enough to finish the fight in her favour. Vesuvius felt as if a volcano had erupted right in front of her with how powerful that attack had been. She fell onto her back and passed out. Mei-Mei stood where she was, panting heavily and grimacing as the burn did more damage to her. Despite this, she still managed to cheer happily, glad she'd managed to win.

"Coalossal is unable to battle! Pangoro is the winner!" cried the announcer.

"Not surprising that Pangoro was what Emerald needed." Paul commented, thinking back to how Mei-Mei had defeated two of his Pokémon by herself during his battle with Emerald, "Emerald's really giving the Champion a close battle."

Over to Annie and Michael, they were just as impressed as Paul was.

"This is amazing, dear! Our Emerald's only just started her journey and she's doing really well against Ruby! Oh how my children have grown up so fast…" Annie said with pride.

"Our girls have all proven themselves very capable trainers." Michael agreed, "And Emerald's proving to be Ruby's perfect match. I wonder if we're in for a new Champion at this point…"

Annie doubted that it would end like this but she had to admit that it would be quite a feeling to know that for two years running, her own daughters had been the ones to become Galar's next Champion. Everyone watched as Ruby returned Vesuvius to her Pokéball. Emerald had decided to return Mei-Mei for the time being to let her rest. She didn't think it was worth keeping her out for now with a burn status giving her trouble and her Attack and Defences being lowered after using Superpower so it was best to use another Pokémon instead.

"Time to come back out again, Razer!" Emerald cried, throwing her Pokéball and returning Razer to the field.

Razer growled eagerly, glad to have another chance in this battle, especially with Soundwave out of action for now. Ruby smirked with confidence as she selected her next Pokémon.

"I beat one Haxorus with this one, so why not let him beat another?" she said humorously, "Spearhead, you're up next!"

She threw her Pokéball and out came the silly and kooky Barraskewda, Spearhead. Despite his dim nature and tendency to talk nonsense, Spearhead had been one of Ruby's best Pokémon during her run for the title. Fast in action and able to hit hard, Spearhead proved that one mustn't under estimate the silly ones. Emerald remembered all too well that Spearhead had been used by Ruby to defeat Leon's Haxorus with a couple of Ice Fangs. He'd nearly been defeated but Ruby had given him a Focus Sash to hold so Spearhead had been able to survive long enough to finish it off. Well he wouldn't defeat HER Haxorus! Razer would win this battle! Spearhead, as usual, didn't seem quite all there as he started shaking his tail back and forth and clapping his fins together.

"Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to the show everybody!" he cried merrily, "Watch as I conquer the arena for my mighty silver-haired Champion of the Stadium! Whoop, whoop!"

"Still as cheerful as always, isn't he?" Emerald giggled.

"I wouldn't want him any other way." Ruby said affectionately, "Let's make it quick Spearhead! Use Ice Fang!"

"Yay! Time for ice lollies!" Spearhead hollered excitedly.

His tail fins spun together and he shot towards Razer like a living torpedo. He had his long, narrow jaws opened wide and his teeth glowed with icy energy. Emerald was determined not to let Razer lose the same way Leon's Haxorus did so she ordered her Dragon-type Pokémon to use Outrage. Razer surrounded herself with blue and orange energy again and she charged towards Spearhead while he was simultaneously charging towards her. Both Pokémon collided into each other, a mixture of draconian energy and icy power exploding together and throwing both opponents back from the resulting explosion. Razer and Spearhead flew backwards but both managed to keep standing. Razer skidded across the grass and stopped in front of Emerald while Spearhead was able to stop just in front of Ruby and remain hovering. Both Pokémon shook their heads and regained their senses as the battle continued. Razer was still in the middle of Outrage so she came charging again towards Spearhead. This time, she missed as Spearhead whizzed out the way, darting to the side just as she closed in. Razer pivoted around on one foot and charged again but Spearhead was just too quick for her. He darted out the way again and then manoeuvred around behind Razer, coming in for another Ice Fang attack. Razer heard Spearhead coming and just as he was about to bite her, Emerald gave a command just in time.

"Flick him away with your tail!" she yelled.

Razer did just that, swinging her thick, scaly tail up and upper-cutting Spearhead with it. The barracuda-like Pokémon grunted from the hit and fell over backwards. He shook himself off and frowned bitterly.

"Oy, it's not polite to hit people in the face with their tails!" he complained.

"We're in a Pokémon battle you dummy so you'll have to get used to it." Razer retorted.

Both opponents faced each other, ready to go again. Emerald decided to try something else this time by ordering Razer to use Poison Jab. Razer obeyed, her tusks glowing with purple energy as she came in to jab Spearhead with them. She came close but before the attack could land, Ruby ordered Spearhead to counter it with Brick Break. The Barraskewda swung his tail into Razer's tusks, slamming them and knocking her head aside so she couldn't land with her Poison Jab. Razer recoiled, surprised that a rather frail looking Pokémon like Spearhead could whack so hard with that tail. Razer tried again but Spearhead only used Brick Break to block the Poison Jab again. Emerald could see that this wasn't going to work so she tried something else. Razer came in for a third time with Poison Jab and once again, Spearhead lashed out with Brick Break to block it. But at the last minute, Razer drew her head back so Spearhead's tail missed by centimetres. As soon as his tail was in front of her mouth, Razer grabbed hold of him by using Crunch. She now had Spearhead by the tail and her strong fangs were too tough for him to wriggle out of. Spearhead squirmed frantically but he couldn't get free. Ruby grew worried. What could Spearhead do now Razer was holding him by the tail with her jaws? Now Razer had Spearhead in her jaws, Emerald ordered her to swing him down into the ground. Razer did so, slamming Spearhead against the ground as if she was using a hammer. Spearhead cried out as he was whacked down on the grass and dirt. Razer did it again, swinging him around and around and hitting the ground each time.

"Hey! I'm not a full body hammer, I'll have you know! Go grab a mallet if you need one!" he wailed.

"Calm down Spearhead! We can get outta this!" Ruby cried encouragingly, "Try using Ice Fang while Razer's holding you!"

Too late did Emerald realize she'd made a big mistake. Now Spearhead was in Razer's jaws, he was within range to bite her back! She watched worriedly as Spearhead bent his body far enough for him to reach around and bite down on Razer's back with Ice Fang. Razer let go of him the moment his fangs sank into her scaly skin and chilled her to the bone. Razer shivered from the icy bite but she tried her best to ignore it. She shook herself furiously to try and get Spearhead to let go of her but his bite was too strong. Now he was holding onto her, he wouldn't let go. In fact, he was holding on for so long that his Ice Fang was gradually starting to freeze her alive! Ice formed around Razer and she was finding herself unable to move. Spearhead let go of her and the audience gasped in astonishment as a completely frozen Razer stood immobilized on the spot, the ice twinkling in the sunlight. Spearhead stood back to admire her while Emerald stared in horror. Her precious Pokémon couldn't move!

"Hey look, I made a Hax-icle!" Spearhead cried cheerfully, feeling very pleased with himself, "You know she's so much nicer when she's not smacking me into the ground."

"It's not over yet, buddy." Ruby reminded him, "She may be frozen, but the fight's not over because of it. Let's take advantage of this by using Drill Run!"

"Alright, eat body spinner!" Spearhead hollered.

He spun through the air like a drill, laughing dementedly as if he was somehow enjoying this sensation of spinning himself around like this. Emerald called out to Razer, desperate for her to break free of the ice but it was useless. Spearhead landed a clean hit and Razer was broken out of the ice by his attack. She was thrown back and sent crashing down at Emerald's feet, completely wiped out by the blow. He'd landed a critical hit, which had helped in finishing her off. Razer looked up sadly at Emerald, disappointed to have lost, before passing out on the grass. Now both sisters had lost their Dragon-types to each other. What an amazing match this was turning out to be!

"Haxorus is unable to battle, Barraskewda is the winner!" boomed the announcer.

"Sweet mother of Arceus, that was quite a battle!" Ashley exclaimed, "Razer gave it all she had but that Spearhead guy just made a Mankey outta her! How does a Pokémon that cuckoo manage to be such a solid fighter?!"

"Believe it or not, love…me and Em don't know either." Sapphire confessed, "Spearhead just defies all expectations and makes a real show out of his craziness, and then goes on to win against all odds. It's why we love him."

"I doubt Emerald loves him very much at the minute." Ashley joked, "But Spearhead's a Water type and I bet Emerald's brought Kerchak with her, so she might be able to turn this around."

"If Spearhead's Ice Fang doesn't defeat him first…" Sapphire noted.

Down on the pitch, Emerald was thinking the same thing Sapphire had pointed out. While Kerchak would be the obvious choice to pick out to go up against Spearhead, Spearhead had type-coverage with Ice Fang so it would be a 50-50 chance on who would win this match. It was risky, but Emerald decided it was worth taking. She and Ruby would get to see who would exploit their Pokémon's weakness first.

"I was hoping to save him for last, but here goes…" Emerald murmured, "Kerchak, let the fun begin!"

She threw the ball and brought out the very Pokémon that had started her journey in the first place. Seeing him fully evolved from a Grookey to a Rillaboom made Ruby smile. If felt like yesterday since she'd given Kerchak to Emerald and here he was, fully evolved and looking as strong as ever!

"Hey Kerchak. Long time, no see." Ruby said softly.

"Likewise." Kerchak said, bowing politely, "I'm glad you're looking well. Being your sister's Pokémon has been a great honour." he said, looking back at Emerald affectionately. Emerald smiled sweetly in return.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Ruby said brightly, "And Emerald's really trained you well over the weeks that have passed! I'm glad I get a chance to see you in action up close and personal!"

Kerchak grinned confidently.

"Watch out, I might be a bit much for you to handle…" he purred.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from my sister's first Pokémon." Ruby replied, "Spearhead, use Ice Fang!"

"Here I come, Tarzan! Prepare to freeze!" Spearhead cackled, his tail fins spinning rapidly as he shot towards his opponent.

He opened his mouth and his fangs glistened with icy energy. Kerchak tried to react but Spearhead came in too quickly and he bit down onto his arm. While he didn't freeze Kerchak with the attack, he did the damage and made him recoil from the chilling bite. Kerchak rubbed his arm, trying to shake off the numbness that had followed from how cold the attack was. Kerchak was fresh in the battle so he would take a little longer for Spearhead to take down than Razer did earlier. He was far from down. Once Kerchak had got the feeling back in his arm, he picked up his drumsticks and pounded on his drum as Emerald ordered him to use Drum Beating. Vines shot up from the ground as he pounded and they snaked their way towards Spearhead. The barracuda Pokémon used his great speed to weave out of the way of the vines, making it look effortless. The vines tried to catch him but he was just too evasive. They couldn't hit him at all. Emerald watched helplessly, wondering how she was going to counteract that. If she didn't do something and fast, Spearhead would get in with another Ice Fang and really start giving her trouble! Then she had an idea. She waited until Kerchak's Drum Beating had finished and Spearhead was ready to attack again. The barracuda Pokémon torpedoed towards his opponent, aiming for another Ice Fang attack. Now was Emerald's chance!

"Use Brick Break!" Emerald commanded.

Kerchak raised his arm and swiped at Spearhead, timing the attack perfectly. His huge hand slammed down on Spearhead's head, stopping his attack dead in his tracks and making him cry out. Ruby stared incredulously as Spearhead found himself dazed by the attack, stars dancing in front of his eyes. She'd never seen anyone use a Brick Break like that before! Trust Emerald to be unpredictable again!

"Ma, did anyone catch the number of that lorry that hit me?" Spearhead burbled stupidly.

"Perfect! He's stunned!" Emerald cried, "Now use Drum Beating while he's out of it!"

Kerchak banged on his drum and this time, his attack was successful. His Drum Beating hit Spearhead due to him being too dazed to realize what was happening. The vines slammed down on him vigorously, every blow feeling like he was being battered by a crowd of people swinging hammers at him. One last vine blow slammed him down into the ground and he lay there, his head still swimming from all the abuse he'd taken. Despite being defeated, the gormless grin on his face never went away. Somehow, against all odds…he was even laughing to himself! Kerchak just stared incredulously with a raised eyebrow and his mouth hanging open.

"Eee, hee, hee…I'm so battered they could serve me with chips!" Spearhead droned dopily.

Ruby couldn't help smiling at that.

"Oh Spearhead, you're such a lovable dope." she chuckled.

"Even when he loses, he somehow finds a reason to smile!" Emerald giggled.

"Barraskewda is unable to battle! Rillaboom is the winner!" the announcer barked.

"Flippin' heck, this battle's really going back and forth, isn't it, Lee?" Hop exclaimed from where he was sitting.

"A lot closer than when me and Ruby battled, that's for sure…" Leon commented, "I think she's truly found her equal. And we thought Dawn gave her a good match!"

"If Emerald's lucky, she might succeed where Dawn couldn't." Hop noted, "I wonder if my girl's got a way back from this…"

Ruby returned Spearhead to his Pokéball and exchanged it for her fourth Pokémon.

"And so we're both down to three each." Ruby commented, "And I think we all knew this match-up was going to happen eventually. Bugs, you're up next!"

She threw her Pokéball and brought out her very first Pokémon, Bugs the Cinderace. Bugs jumped from one foot to the other with enthusiastic glee, clearly eager to be fighting against another Rillaboom. He'd had plenty of practice against Hop's Rillaboom last year and he was keen to see how strong Emerald's Rillaboom was going to be. But to everyone's surprise, Emerald returned Kerchak to his Pokéball! Hop stared at Emerald. Why had she done that? Surely she wanted a battle like this between Bugs and Kerchak, type-advantage or not?

"Sorry Ruby, but I was hoping we'd save that for last." Emerald declared, "That and its suicide to take on a Pokémon as powerful as Bugs with no type-advantage. So Bugs will have to make do with a different opponent!"

She threw another Pokéball and out came Mei-Mei for another battle. Emerald knew that if Kerchak had even the slightest chance against Bugs, it would be wiser to wear him down first before bringing Kerchak back out. Mei-Mei clenched her fists and prepared to battle while Bugs folded his arms and smirked.

"N'yah, what's up doc?" he purred.

"I'll show you what's up when we get battling." Mei-Mei retorted, "Don't think I'll go easy on Ruby's first Pokémon."

"We don't do easy in Champion battles." Ruby agreed, "Bugs, use Pyro Ball!"

Bugs leapt into action, kicking a pebble from one foot to the other until it became a huge fireball that he then proceeded to kick towards Mei-Mei. Emerald had expected he'd do that as Pyro Ball was his signature move and Ruby loved to have Bugs use it whenever he could. Mei-Mei waited until the Pyro Ball was close to hitting her before she got up on her toes and spun out of the way in a neat pirouette. The ball shot by, missing by inches. Glad that she'd managed to dodge it, Emerald ordered Mei-Mei to use Night Slash. The panda Pokémon's hand was coated in dark energy once more as she came in with the attack. But at the same time as this, Ruby ordered Bugs to use Low Sweep. It was an attack he'd learnt some time after Ruby had become Champion and he put it to good use in many battles. Bugs kicked out at Mei-Mei's legs, tripping her over and bringing her down onto the ground. Mei-Mei grunted but she got back up to her feet and swiped at Bugs with Night Slash. But weirdly enough, the attack barely seemed to hurt him. Bugs took it like it was nothing. Emerald was confused.

"What's going on? Fire types aren't resistant to Dark attacks!" the teen trainer commented, "Why did Night Slash barely hurt him?"

"Because he's no longer a Fire type." Ruby explained, "You see, I managed to unlock Bugs's Hidden Ability thanks to a challenger I defeated some time ago generously donating me an Ability Capsule to unlock it. It's called Libero and it's a VERY handy ability! His type changes depending on what attack he's using, which can help him overcome his weaknesses and gives him a STAB bonus on every attack he uses. So because Bugs used a Fighting move, he's changed to a Fighting type, which grants him a resistance to Mei-Mei's Dark attacks."

"Wow…that's so clever!" Emerald cried, "Libero sounds like a great ability! But you've just given me an idea. If Bugs is a Fighting type now…then Mei-Mei's Zen Headbutt will be super-effective against him!"

Despite that declaration, Ruby didn't seem too worried about that. If anything, she seemed to already be aware of that for before Emerald could order Mei-Mei to use Zen Headbutt, she ordered Bugs to use Acrobatics. Bugs jumped through the air and performed several acrobatic flips before kicking down at Mei-Mei. The attack was super-effective thanks to Mei-Mei being weak to Flying attacks and as Bug's new ability worked, he changed into a Flying type after his Acrobatics attack had landed. Now Mei-Mei's Fighting moves would be useless against him. Emerald could see that this battle was very quickly going against Mei-Mei and that she had to do something now or else Bugs would take the win. At least he no longer had a resistance to Dark moves now he wasn't a Fighting type anymore so Night Slash would be able to do some damage. If she was lucky, she might score a critical hit and do more damage. Emerald gave the order and Mei-Mei came in with another Night Slash. The panda fighter came in and was able to land the hit successfully, scything across Bugs's chest with Night Slash but unluckily, she scored no critical hits. Bugs staggered back from the hit, but he wasn't hurt too badly. He shook off the pain and Ruby ordered him to come at Mei-Mei again with Acrobatics. The fiery rabbit jumped into the air and landed another clean hit on his opponent, and because his typing had change to Flying, his Acrobatics hit much harder than before. Mei-Mei cried out from the hit and she fell over onto her back, too weak to fight on any longer. Despite her best efforts, it hadn't been enough and Bugs had emerged victorious. The rabbit-like Pokémon just produced a carrot from nowhere and chewed it casually.

"Gosh, ain't I a stinker?" he sneered.

"Pangoro is unable to battle! Cinderace is the winner!" boomed the announcer.

"Aw yeah! Go Ruby and Bugs!" Hop cheered, "You two are the best!"

"I have to hand it to her, I never would've known she unlocked Bugs's Hidden Ability." Leon acknowledged, "Whoever gave her that Ability Capsule really gave Bugs a big upgrade."

"It must be awesome getting your Pokémon to change its type based on the attack it's using!" Hop agreed.

Over to Paul, he was fascinated with Bugs's Libero ability and the whole subject of Hidden Abilities.

"I'll have to see if I can find any of those Ability Capsules myself and see what Hidden Abilities I can unlock with my Pokémon…" he murmured.

As for Ashley and Sapphire, the Unovan teen turned to the Galarian teen.

"Did you know Ruby did that ta Bugs?" she asked.

"No! She never told us that she'd unlocked his Hidden Ability!" Sapphire insisted, "I guess she only did it recently because we never saw that ability in action during the battles me and Em watched on TV. Even against Dawn, Bugs never showed such an ability so she must've done it sometime afterwards! I bet this came as much a surprise to Em as it did for me!"

"I have to say, Galar keeps on amazing me." Ashley remarked, "You guys have capsules that can unlock Hidden Abilities! I wish we had something like that in Unova…"

All eyes were on Emerald again as she returned Mei-Mei to her Pokéball.

"Given I want our battle to end with Kerchak against Bugs, now's a good time to bring out my newest member…" she declared, "Time for your first Pokémon battle, Broadsword!"

She threw out a Master Ball and all eyes in the audience lit up with amazement as they found themselves staring at one of Galar's heroes. The mighty Zacian had been summoned into battle, her Crowned Form activated for she was holding the Rusted Sword. Sonia's book on Galar's true history had included pictures of Zacian and Zamazenta based on ancient artwork and the statues found in Stow-on-Side so the audience knew that they were looking at one of them. Seeing the real thing was absolutely wonderful and they got more excited than ever to see the battle continue. The challenger had brought a Legendary to the battle! They had no idea the tournament was going to go in such an exciting direction! It was the first time they'd ever seen anything like this as not even Leon had Challengers bringing a Legendary to battle him in the past. Paul and Ashley stared in awe at the sight of Broadsword as she howled to the heavens.

"Is that…one of Galar's legendary Pokémon?!" Ashley exclaimed.

"One of them at least." Sapphire noted, "That's Zacian, one of Galar's legendary heroes who helped to stop the Darkest Day in the past, and last year too. Hop has Zamazenta, the other legendary hero. I can't say I'm surprised Emerald decided to bring Zacian into this battle, especially as Ruby has a legendary herself."

"You mean that Eternatus guy, right?" Ashley asked, "I wonder if Ruby will bring it out so we can have a Legendary-to-Legendary battle."

"Either that or Ruby might try to wear Broadsword down first before bringing Doomsday out…" Sapphire guessed.

Ruby returned Bugs to his ball, deciding that it would be foolish to try using him against a legendary like Broadsword. Even though she had a Fire-type weakness thanks to being half Steel-type, Ruby wanted to save Bugs so that he could face Kerchak to finish off. As Sapphire had accurately guessed, Ruby didn't bring Doomsday out yet. She was going to try wearing Zacian down first before letting Doomsday finish her off.

"It's show time. No Pokémon match is complete with you, buddy." Ruby declared, "Freddy, you're up next!"

She threw her ball and the audience exploded into ecstatic applause as Freddy the Toxtricity, Ruby's most popular Pokémon on her team, entered the field. The purple-and-yellow salamander Pokémon waved to the audience and bowed, grateful for the applause. He knew the audience loved him and revelled in their cheers. Even Emerald was excited to see him here today. Whenever Freddy was on the field, the fun really began as he loved to sing and perform in the middle of a battle. He even started strumming his chest organs and burst into another Queen classic to really hype up the audience.

The show must go oooooooooooooon!

The show must go oooooooooooooon! Yeeeeeeeeeeah!

Inside my heart is breakiiiiiiiiiing,

My make-up may be flaaaaaaaaking,

But my smile, still, stays oooooooon.

Whatever happens, I'll leave it aaaaaaaaaaaaall to chance.

Another heartaaaaaaaaaache, another faaaaaailed romance.

Oooooooooooon and ooooooooooooooon,

Does anybody knooooooooow what we are living fooooooooooooooor?

I guess I'm learning,

I must be waaaaaaarmer now.

I'll soon be turning,

Round the cooooooooorner now.

Outside the dawn is breaaaaaaaaking!

But inside in the daaaaaaaaaaaark, I'm aching to be freeeeeeeeeee!

The show must go oooooooooooooon!

The show must go oooooooooooooon! Yeeeeeeeyeeeeeeeeeah!

Inside my heart is breakiiiiiiiiiing,

My make-up may be flaaaaaaaaking,

But my smile, still, stays oooooooon…

Everyone applauded Freddy for his song. Emerald clapped merrily while Annie and Michael filmed the whole thing. They couldn't get enough of Freddy's singing. Ashley was gobsmacked at the sheer vocal talent that came out of this Pokémon while Paul was completely bewildered, unsure what to think. Broadsword herself was equally as stunned, dropping the sword in her mouth in astonishment.

"That was…interesting." she said bluntly.

"Thank you darling. Getting a compliment from one of Galar's heroes is quite an honour." Freddy purred.

"It's nice to see you haven't lost your touch, Freddy." Ruby said brightly, "But show time's over. We're up against a Legendary Pokémon here so I can't stress enough that I'll need you on you're a-game for this one."

"No problem." Freddy concurred, "I'll show this Legendary that I'm quite legendary myself…"

Ruby was sure that Freddy would give it his all but she knew that it was going to be a tough match. She'd seen for herself how powerful Broadsword was when fighting against Eternatus last year. Her Behemoth Blade especially was an attack to watch out for and she had an ability that boosted her attack just from entering the arena. Also, her half-Steel typing gave her an immunity to Poison attacks. But Ruby had trained to work around that.

"Use Sludge Bomb and aim for the face!" Ruby yelled.

Freddy opened his mouth and coughed up a pile of purple ooze that sailed through the air and plastered itself over Broadsword's face. Broadsword hadn't expected the fight to start yet so she hadn't been ready to defend herself. Although she was immune to poison attacks, that didn't mean poison attacks couldn't work in different ways on her, as Ruby had been aiming for. Her face was covered in the filthy ooze and because of this, she was momentarily blinded and couldn't see. The audience was impressed. Only the Champion could think up a plan that could momentarily stall a Legendary Pokémon in battle like that! Broadsword rubbed at her face furiously to try and get rid of the ooze but it was very sticky so it wasn't easy to peel off. While she was distracted, Ruby ordered Freddy to follow up with Growl. Freddy made a menacing growling noise that made Broadsword shudder and her body flashed blue for a moment as her Attack dropped. That was also part of Ruby's plan, to try and nullify Broadsword's obscene attack power by lowering it. She got Freddy to use Growl at least twice before Broadsword was finally able to get the sludge off her face. She shook her head, relived she could see again.

"We won't let a lowered attack bother us!" Emerald declared, "You're still ridiculously strong Broadsword! Now use Behemoth Blade!"

Broadsword obeyed, picking her sword back up off the ground and rushing towards Freddy with it. Her sword glowed with energy and she swiped it at Freddy. The electric/poison salamander creature grunted as the sword sliced across his body but due to his typing, he had a resistance to Steel attacks and Broadsword's attack being lowered a couple of stages meant she wasn't able to use Behemoth Blade at its full power. It was still ludicrously powerful but Freddy was able to take the hit for now and carry on fighting. If Broadsword had been at full strength, he'd have been finished. Now Freddy was still able to go, Ruby ordered him to use Overdrive. Freddy strummed his chest organs and created a huge electric shock that was mixed with a massive soundwave that pounded into Broadsword. The noise was loud and much of the audience had to cover their ears for the moment. The Fairy/Steel Pokémon grimaced as the electrifying noise tore into her. Overdrive was already a powerful attack but Freddy's Punk Rock ability made sound-based moves even stronger so it hit harder than usual. Emerald was astonished to see that Freddy was actually holding his own well against Broadsword. Then again, this was Ruby, the Champion of Galar. Of course her Pokémon would be strong enough to stand up to Legendries! Broadsword shook her head, her ears still ringing from the noise of Overdrive.

"I see how Ruby is the current Champion of Galar. Her Pokémon are well trained…" she murmured with admiration.

"They sure are! But we can still win this!" Emerald declared, "Use Behemoth Blade again!"

Broadsword did so, charging straight into Freddy and slashing at him with Behemoth Blade. That was enough to finish the fight in a victory for the Legendary Heroine of Galar. Freddy yelled as he was hit by the move and he collapsed onto his back, unable to battle anymore.

"Ungh…and so my adoring fans witness their superstar taking the fall…goodbye audience." he muttered before he passed out.

"Toxtricity is unable to battle! Zacian is the winner!" boomed the announcer.

"Whoo-hoo! Emerald really put Zacian to great use! She nailed that battle!" Hop cried, "Pity about Freddy though."

"He sure showed that not even a Legendary Pokémon will scare him." Leon complimented, "Still, it's quite exciting to see one of Galar's heroes in action! I wonder if we'll see you and Zamazenta in battle together one day."

"Hold that thought, Lee!" Hop said with a wink, "Me and Ruby might another friendly match one day and I can use him then."

Leon nodded. That would be quite a match, just like this one was. He looked back as Ruby returned Freddy to his Pokéball. She smiled affectionately at her hard-working Pokémon.

"You put up a great effort. Thank you." she complimented, "Now it's time that me and my sister fought Legendary to Legendary!"

She threw out the very Ultra Ball she'd used to catch Doomsday with last year and gasps rang out all around the arena as the Poison/Dragon Pokémon made its entrance. To some people, it was unnerving seeing the very Pokémon that had nearly doomed Galar out here on the field and in person but most felt relaxed knowing that Ruby had caught it and trained it so it wouldn't do any harm. No Darkest Day was going to happen again! Emerald had expected this. Both she and Ruby had anticipated they'd bring a Legendary to the battle and now here they were, ready to duke it out in a match that would determine who was going to be the Champion! Broadsword fixed her eyes on Doomsday.

"I see the Champion still has Eternatus as her Pokémon." she remarked, "And I can see it has…changed in its nature. She has done well to tame Eternatus."

"You bet she has!" Emerald concurred, "Ruby's got Doomsday to be much nicer now and she even used it to stop Team Royal from blowing up the Hammerlocke Power Plant! You won't have to worry about Doomsday being a threat anymore!"

"I am most relieved to hear that. I'm also interested to hear that Ruby's named it too as you've named me." Broadsword commented, "Very well then…Doomsday, let us have a valiant battle to entertain the very people me and my brother have sworn to protect!"

Doomsday nodded agreeably. Time with Ruby had caused it to develop a love of battling for sport and proving its strength against worthy opponents. It was excited to have the chance to fight its former nemesis again, this time for sport with no lives on the line. Emerald knew that Broadsword wouldn't be strong enough as she was thanks to Freddy lowering her attack so she decided to start off with Swords Dance. If Broadsword could attack at full power, she'd have more of a chance. Broadsword swiped at the air multiple times with her sword, her body glowing with energy as her Attack went up. Ruby decided to take advantage of this by ordering Doomsday to use Flamethrower while Broadsword was using Swords Dance. The skeletal dragon creature opened its jaws and blasted at Broadsword with Flamethrower. The sword-wielding wolf cried out as she was engulfed by flames. It was the only way Doomsday could attack Broadsword as she was immune to Dragon and Poison attacks, plus she was weak to Fire attacks so it was the best way to attack her too.

Broadsword shook herself to cool her body down now that she'd become heated up by the flames. She jumped into action as Emerald ordered her to use Behemoth Blade again. Broadsword hurled towards Doomsday, her sword poised and ready to strike. But at the last minute, Ruby ordered the alien Pokémon to use Cosmic Power. Doomsday tensed its body for a moment and glowed pink with psychic energy as some kind of power took effect on it. Broadsword hit her opponent but as a result of Cosmic Power, she hadn't been able to do the damage she'd been about to inflict. Cosmic Power was a move that boosted the user's Defence and Special Defence, so Doomsday would take hits better than before. It was clever of Ruby to compensate for Broadsword's raised attack by raising Doomsday's defences! While Broadsword knew Sacred Sword, an attack that ignored stat changes and did damage anyway, Emerald knew it would do no good as Doomsday had a resistance to Fighting types. It was best to keep using Behemoth Blade for now and hope for the best. Doomsday struck again by using Flamethrower again on Broadsword. The poisonous dragon creature engulfed its opponent with flames once more and Broadsword winced from the blazing attack. Her defences were solid, but they wouldn't hold out forever. She had to finish the fight and fast.

Emerald was tempted to use Swords Dance again but it would be pointless. Doomsday would just use Cosmic Power again to boost its defences and catch up to Broadsword's attack boost. It was best to just keep attacking. She commanded Broadsword to use Behemoth Blade once more. The lupine Pokémon charged towards Doomsday, her sword ready to strike. But then Ruby surprised both Emerald and the audience by ordering the Poison/Dragon Pokémon to use Dynamax Cannon. What was she thinking? It wouldn't work as Fairy Pokémon were immune to Dragon attacks! But Emerald soon saw that Ruby wasn't using the attack with the aim to cause damage. Doomsday's power core lit up and he opened his jaws, unleashing a huge beam of raw concentrated energy at the ground. Just because Broadsword was immune to Dragon attacks, it didn't mean the arena wasn't! The huge blast tore through the pitch and a huge shockwave punched out towards Broadsword. The wolf Pokémon was thrown into the air by the force of the blast, her sword falling out of her mouth as she was flung away. Then before she could land, Doomsday blasted her again with Flamethrower. Emerald shielded her eyes from the blazing flames as they were too bright to look at. The heat could be felt even from where she was standing. Broadsword fell to the ground, scorched and with barely any energy left to carry on. She strained to get back up again while Doomsday loomed before her, looking far healthier than Broadsword at the minute. Deep down inside, it felt good for Doomsday that for once, it was actually winning against one of the Pokémon that had defeated it years ago.

The audience held its breath, wondering if Broadsword could actually get up again after that. Emerald was convinced that the announcer was about to call a win for Doomsday. But somehow…Broadsword was able to get up again! The Steel/Fairy Pokémon got back up and howled, showing everyone watching that she was far from done yet. Doomsday just growled with anticipation, clearly excited the battle was still able to go on. Satisfied, Emerald ordered Broadsword to use Behemoth Blade one last time. The legendary heroine picked her sword back up and charged towards Doomsday. Determined not to let her land a hit, Ruby ordered Doomsday to use Flamethrower again. But to her surprise, Broadsword jumped towards the flames and spun through the air. Her sword sliced through the flames and she continued spiralling towards Doomsday. Her sword scythed across Doomsday's head and it roared in pain from the attack. Broadsword landed and everyone watched as Doomsday flailed about for a moment before it fell to the ground. Ruby and Emerald squealed as they fell onto their bottoms from the ground shaking after Doomsday landed. Broadsword stood where she was, panting heavily for a moment. It looked as if she was the winner of this match. But then suddenly…she grimaced in pain and collapsed onto her side! Fatigue caught up to her so she was too tired to continue. Ruby and Emerald both gasped as their Legendary Pokémon lay unconscious on the pitch together. The audience exploded with surprised gasps as the announcer declared the result.

"Both Zacian and Eternatus are unable to battle!" he boomed, sounding surprised to be saying that.

"Holy crap, did anyone see that coming?!" Hop exclaimed incredulously.

"Both Legendries…down and out!" Leon gasped, "Not what I would've expected either!"

"Well I'll be…I really thought Emerald had this one but nope, it ends in a draw!" Ashley gasped.

"And now both my sisters have one Pokémon left." Sapphire remarked, "Just as they'd hoped for, it's going to end with Bugs vs. Kerchak. I think Ruby may win this but we'll see…"

Annie and Michael were as astonished as everyone else. At least they'd filmed it so they had the proof that this amazing result had actually happened and it wasn't somebody joshing them. Ruby and Emerald returned their Pokémon, amazed that it had ended in a draw like this. They drew out their last Pokéballs. Ruby smiled at her sister.

"Em…I want you to know that this has been, without a doubt…the BEST battle I've ever had! I'm almost sad it's over!" she said cheerfully, "You've been an amazing opponent and seeing your skills for myself…I can't tell you how proud I am of my little sister!"

"R-Ruby, p-please, you'll make me cry…" Emerald said, her eyes welling up from how touched she was by her sister's words.

"I'm just saying what's true." Ruby said kindly, "Now…ready to finish this?"

"More than anything!" Emerald declared, "May our first Pokémon decide this match!"

"It's all down to them." Ruby agreed, "Bugs, you're up to finish this fight!" she yelled, throwing her Pokéball.

"Kerchak, let's close this battle!" Emerald cried, throwing her Pokéball.

Bugs and Kerchak materialized onto the field together, the first time since Emerald and Sapphire's journey had started that they'd ever had the chance to meet face-to-face like this. Bugs eyed up his opponent and grinned confidently.

"If it makes ya feel good doc…ya at least look tougher than other Rillabooms I've fought." he preened, "Don't tink I'll go easy on ya just cause yer Emerald's foist Pokémon."

"I wouldn't expect the same from you." Kerchak sneered, "Let's see if you're as tough as you make yourself out to be…"

Both Pokémon braced themselves for battle as Ruby and Emerald thought about their first attacks. They'd decided to give the audience some excitement before the big finale with their Gigantamax forms, so they were going to battle as normal for the moment. Ruby had an idea on how to start off.

"Use Zen Headbutt!" Ruby commanded.

Bugs lowered his head and charged towards Kerchak. While it would be wise to use Pyro Ball or Acrobatics, Ruby was aiming for Bugs to make Kerchak flinch so he couldn't retaliate and then he would be free to launch another attack. Bugs slammed headfirst into Kerchak with his psychic-powered head butt but unfortunately, Ruby's plan didn't work. Kerchak didn't flinch and to her dismay, she'd accidentally played into Emerald's hands. Bugs's Libero ability had transformed him into a Psychic type…which meant he was weak to Dark attacks and Kerchak just happened to know one, which Ruby saw as Emerald gave her command.

"Use Darkest Lariat!" Emerald cried.

Sapphire remembered Kerchak using that to block an attack from Celestia in one of her battles with Emerald so unlike Ruby, she knew Kerchak could do that. The gorilla drummer spun around like a top, his body glowing with dark energy as he closed in on Bugs. He slammed heavily into the fiery rabbit and threw him off his feet. Ruby cursed herself for wasting a turn on Zen Headbutt and allowing Bugs to be made vulnerable to Dark attacks like this. What also didn't help was that Kerchak had another way of exploiting Psychic-type weaknesses too, which he demonstrated as Emerald ordered him to use the Bug-type attack U-turn. Bugs cried out as Kerchak lashed out and punched him hard in the stomach. As he was the only Pokémon left, he didn't return to his Pokéball in place of another one but he still did the damage and Bugs was left wincing from the hit. Ruby decided to do something about it quick by ordering her fiery companion to use Pyro Ball. Bugs's type turned back to a Fire-type now he was using a Fire attack again, ridding him of the Psychic weakness to Bug and Dark types. He kicked a powerful fireball straight into Kerchak and he was knocked off his feet by the powerful blow. He landed on his back and grunted from the blazing attack. He'd never felt an attack so powerful before. While he was down, Bugs came running in and jumped towards Kerchak with an Acrobatics attack. He somersaulted and came hurling down towards Kerchak but Emerald counter attacked by having him use Drum Beating. Kerchak played his drum and several vines snaked up towards Bugs. They blocked his attack, shielding Kerchak and keeping him safe for now. Bugs jumped away and landed while Kerchak pounded his chest. Ruby was impressed. She could see that Kerchak was very well-trained and Emerald had been the right trainer for him. Hop was impressed too.

"I should teach my Rillaboom moves like that…" he thought.

The girls decided that now was the perfect time to unveil their Gigantamax forms. Ruby and Emerald returned their Pokémon and activated their Dynamax bands. They threw the balls and their Pokémon emerged from out of them, growing in size and changing in appearance. Bugs was standing on top of a giant fireball with a face that resembled his own while his ears had grown much longer. Weirdly enough, the rest of his body hadn't grown much. Kerchak was the same with his four hair "arms" and larger drum kit being the giant part of his Gigantamax form. The audience whooped with anticipation. It had been a long time since they'd last seen Gigantamax forms of the Galarian starters in action as so few trainers had them. Bugs and Kerchak stared each other down, both keen to show each other what they were made off with these new forms.

"This is it Em! It all comes down to a battle of Gigantamax forms!" Ruby cried excitedly, "Bugs, wrap it up with G-Max Fireball!"

Bugs jumped off the giant fireball he was riding on and kicked it towards Kerchak. The enormous fiery sphere whooshed through the air, threatening to incinerate anything in its path.

"Not so fast Ruby!" Emerald declared hotly, "Use G-Max Drum Solo!"

Kerchak pounded on his expanded drum kit, all six of his limbs banging on the drums and cymbals to great giant roots that extended up from the ground and formed a protective shield in front of Kerchak. While it didn't stop the G-Max Fireball, it did take much of the blow for Kerchak so that when it burnt through the roots and reached him, it didn't hit as hard as Ruby had aimed for. Kerchak shook off the damage and retaliated with Emerald ordering him to use Max Knuckle. She hoped that boosting his attack would give him an edge over Bugs. Kerchak conjured up a giant fist of energy and slammed it into Bugs. He was so overwhelmed by the hit he nearly fell off his fireball. He used his elongated ears to hold on right and keep himself standing. Kerchak flashed orange for a minute to signify his Attack boost. Ruby smirked, refusing to be deterred by this.

"Boosting your Attack won't save you, Em!" she declared, "Use Max Airstream!"

Bugs flapped his enlarged ears and sent a tornado of wind spiralling towards Kerchak. The winds battered him mercilessly and after that was done, Bugs's body flashed orange to signify a stat boost, this one being Speed. Emerald could see that Ruby was aiming for Bugs to work around Kerchak's increased Attack by simply being faster. She was still confident that Kerchak could win this match.

"We can do it Kerchak! We've come too far to lose now!" Emerald cried, "Use Max Darkness!"

Kerchak conjured up a sphere of dark energy that surrounded Bugs and closed around him. The dark energy sapped away some of his energy and came with the added side effect of lowering his Special Defence. It didn't matter for Kerchak didn't know any Special Attacks, but Max Darkness had still done the damage, and Kerchak's earlier Attack boost had made it more powerful. Bugs shook himself off and retaliated by using G-Max Fireball once again. This time, he landed a clean hit and Kerchak found himself crying out as the attack blazed away at him. Emerald shielded her eyes, unable to look as the fireball was too bright. She looked back and saw that Kerchak looked as if he was at the last reserves of his strength. But then suddenly, his eyes glowed green and he roared loudly. He seemed to get some kind of power boost from nowhere, looking more pumped up than he was seconds ago. Ruby knew what was happening.

"Looks like Kerchak's Ability is kicking in…" she observed.

"Oooooh, awesome! I haven't used Overgrowth much!" Emerald cried delightedly, "Maybe this'll give us what we need!"

Overgrowth was an ability exclusive to Grass-type starters and it boosted the power of Grass attacks when their health was low. Kerchak's G-Max Drum Solo would be much more powerful than before now. Bugs wasn't weak to Grass attacks, but he wasn't exactly high on health at the moment. The attack could be enough to finish him off. Emerald gave the command and Kerchak banged his drums. But at the same time, Ruby ordered Bugs to use G-Max Fireball. Both G-Max moves hit their respective targets and both Bugs and Kerchak cried out from the battering and blazing they received. Then suddenly, the Gigantamax energy dissipated in both opponents and they returned to their normal forms. Bugs and Kerchak were down on one knee together, panting heavily as their battle was taking its toll on them. Ruby and Emerald stared intently, anxious on what was going to happen next. Could the battle go on? Bugs and Kerchak looked each other in the eye and gave a smile of respect to one another.

"Dat…was really good work, doc…" Bugs panted.

"You were…very strong…too…" Kerchak puffed.

Then…they fainted. Both Pokémon collapsed onto the grass together and didn't get up again. Ruby and Emerald stared so hard in surprise that their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Michael nearly dropped his camera in astonishment and the audience let out huge gasps of amazement. This was the first time that ANYTHING like this had happened in a battle with a Galarian Champion! History had just been made here in Wyndon Stadium today! No match with the Champion had ever ended in a tie before!

"Both Cinderace and Rillaboom are unable to battle!" the announcer declared, sounding as astonished as the audience to be announcing that turnout, "Both Ruby and Emerald have used all of their Pokémon! This means the battle ends in a draw and Ruby Silverlock remains our Champion!"

So that was it. The battle was over and nobody was the winner! Emerald and Ruby were still unable to believe what had happened, the voices of the audience exploding with surprise and amazement at what had happened. It was incredible enough to see Emerald not only go toe-to-toe with the Champion, but fight her to a draw no less! Annie began to cry, overwhelmed with happiness that her daughters had managed to end with a result like this. It was the best way the battle could've ended in her eyes. Sapphire and Ashley were going ballistic with excitement and astonishment.

"I don't believe it! I. DON'T. BELIEVE IT!" Ashley hollered, "I never in a million years could've guessed that the battle would end in a tie!"

"You're telling me! I thought Ruby had it in the bag given Bugs was left and had the advantage!" Sapphire squealed, "But I'm so happy that it ended like this! Ruby gets to stay the Champion but Emerald can walk away knowing she's strong enough to fight her to a draw! I don't think I would've wanted this to end any other way!"

Hop and Leon were equally as gobsmacked by what had happened.

"A tie…that's a first for us." Leon remarked, "Not even me or my mentor ever had a battle end like this!"

"I think it just proves Ruby and Emerald are both as awesome as each other!" Hop cried, "I bet if Sapphire had been down there, it would've ended in a tie as well!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it did!" Leon chuckled, "Still, Ruby gets to keep her title for now. I wonder if Emerald will try again next year…"

Down on the pitch, the sisters had finally snapped out of their daze and they walked up to their Pokémon. Emerald patted Kerchak on the back softly while Ruby stroked Bugs's head gently.

"You were amazing Bugs. I'm so proud of you!" Ruby said sweetly.

"I couldn't be happier, Kerchak! Thank you for everything!" Emerald said appreciatively.

Both Pokémon smiled graciously at the compliments. Ruby and Emerald returned them to their Pokéballs and they faced each other. Ruby smiled and shrugged casually.

"Well…what can I say?! I wasn't expecting a result like that!" she exclaimed.

"I'm glad it ended in a tie." Emerald said happily, "Cause it means we're equal and you get to keep your title. I don't think I'll be trying again a second time, I think once is enough!" she laughed.

"Fair enough." Ruby said brightly, "Thank you so much for a great battle, Emerald. You may not be my successor…but you were certainly an amazing opponent for me. I hope that whatever you decide to do next, you'll continue you be amazing."

"Thank you Ruby…for everything!" Emerald cried, her eyes welling up, "And…and…you keep being amazing as our Champion!"

She threw her arms around her sister and cried, overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions. Ruby hugged her back, shedding a few tears herself. She couldn't be prouder of her sister. Fighting her to a draw! What were the odds of that?! She was glad that Emerald was OK with the result and now she no longer had challenging her as an end goal, she could find something else to set her mind to. Ruby knew that she wanted to be there when Emerald found her new calling and would do what she could to steer her sister in the direction she needed.

As for her, she was far from ready to give up her title. Ruby would continue to be Galar's protector and keep the region safe, and she was keen to see what challenges she would face next…

---

What a battle that was, and it ended in a draw no less! So Ruby gets to stay as the Champion but Emerald can at least say she's on an even keel with her sister with an achievement like this! So the tournament's over and Galar's Champion remains unchanged. What'll be next for the Silverlock family? Tune in next time was wrap everything up with a neat little epilogue...

Trivia: Some of you maybe wondering why I had the battle end in a tie. Simple: I didn't want to undermine Ruby's achievements from the previous story by having her get succeeded in this one, but I also didn't want Emerald's accomplishments to feel for nothing by just having her lose so the best way to satisfy everyone was to have it end in a draw. That way Ruby stays Champion but Emerald finishes the story on a high note by at least finishing with a draw. It's better than her just losing, would you agree? :)

Also, I was originally going to end this fight with both Legendries fighting each other, but it dawned on me that it made much more sense to have the final battle be Bugs vs. Kerchak so I switched the order around.

*See "Ruby's Gift" for the full story.