Plot-Scorbunny 8: Ruby vs. Alain Part 2

"Tyranitar, let's go!"

"Jinx, you're up next!"

The next two Pokémon materialized onto the field. The audience were well impressed to see that Alain had a Tyranitar and they cheered for it. Tyranitar was quite popular amongst Pokémon fans for its rather intimidating design and immense power. Tyranitar looked like something out of a Kaiju film with its green body, dinosaur-like appearance, spiked back, horned head and fierce expressions. Tyranitar originated from the Johto region but could also be found in Galar so Ruby was very familiar with this species. She was so familiar that it didn't once surprise her that Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability kicked in upon its entrance. Anytime Tyranitar appeared in a battle, its Sand Stream ability started a sandstorm. Winds of sand blew around the arena, making it a little harder to see now. Any Pokémon who weren't Rock, Ground or Steel types would also take damage from the sandstorm.

The audience was confused with Ruby's second choice of Pokémon. Of all Pokémon to pick next, why Jinx the Crobat? The Champion should know better than to send a Flying-type out to fight a Tyranitar!

"What Pokémon is that?" Liko asked, looking at Jinx, "And…is it wearing a scarf? What's that about?"

"That's a Crobat." Hop explained, "It's the final form of Zubat and can be found in the Crown Tundra here in Galar. As for the scarf, it's just a thing Jinx wears. I dunno why. Do they not have Crobat in Paldea?" he asked.

"Not that I've seen." Liko replied, "It looks quite cool. But why is Ruby using it? If I'm to guess, it's a Flying type, isn't it? Aren't they weak to Rock-types?"

"Crobat are Poison/Flying types." Emerald explained, "So yes this would normally be a bad idea. But given this is Jinx, I have a feeling Ruby's going to use her to confuse that Tyranitar and spring a surprise attack on it…"

Liko looked back to the field with interest. Emerald seemed to think Ruby had a plan with that Crobat so she was curious to see what it was. Also she'd never seen a Crobat before so watching one fight was going to be interesting.

"I know it may seem like a strange choice to use a Crobat against a Tyranitar but believe me Alain, you ain't seen NOTHING until you watch how Jinx battles." Ruby warned, "Jinx, use Confuse Ray!"

"Aye-aye Silvilocks!" Jinx declared, saluting her trainer like a solider about to go out into battle.

She flew towards Tyranitar and, much to the shock and bewilderment of both the audience and Alain…proceeded to pull out a bazooka that literally had the words "Confuse Ray" written on it and began shooting it at Tyranitar. The bazooka fired a dizzying beam at Tyranitar and as the beam swept over the Godzilla-like creature, the world seemed to spin in front of its eyes and as Ruby had hoped for, it was utterly confused by what was going on. It swayed on its feet, trying to make sense of what was going on. Jinx blew smoke away from her bazooka. She'd quite literally shot it with a ray that confused Tyranitar.

"And that's how we use Confuse Ray my friend!" she said with a big smile on her face. The sandstorm blew over her and inflicted a little damage but she didn't let it bother her.

Much of the audience giggled. Mairin and Chespie looked to one another, both of them thinking the same thing: What the heck did they just watch?! Alain blinked heavily. He wasn't sure if this was a Pokémon battle or something out of a cartoon. He was looking as confused as Tyranitar currently was.

"What the…just…how did she even do that?!" he exclaimed.

"Don't ask. I'm as confused as you are." Ruby said with a shrug, "But this isn't even the wackiest thing Jinx can do. Just watch this! Use Toxic!"

"Cue Brittney Spears!" Jinx announced as she suddenly pulled out a blonde wig and a microphone from nowhere and started singing.

Too high, can't come doooooown

Losing my head, spinnin' 'round and 'rooooound

Do you feel me now?

With a taste of your lips, I'm on a riiiiide

You're toxic, I'm slippin' under

With a taste of a poison paradiiiiiise

I'm addicted to you

Don't you know that you're toxic?

And I love what you do

Don't you know that you're toxiiiiic?

As she sang, a poisonous puddle of toxic sludge suddenly appeared under Tyranitar and instantly poisoned the confused Pokémon. Thanks to Confuse Ray, it had no chance of anticipating this move as it was too confused to act on any orders. Now Tyranitar was both out of it and poisoned. Alain could see this fight was spinning horribly out of control and Jinx hadn't even used an attack yet! Ruby was right to warn him that he'd not seen anything like this before!

"Ha, ha! Take that Godzilla!" Jinx crowed as the poison puddle did its work on her opponent.

The moment Jinx had finished poisoning Tyranitar, Ruby instantly recalled her. The audience oohed with realization for they saw what Ruby's plan had been this whole time. Jinx was only there to weaken Tyranitar with status conditions so someone more fitting could take it down. Ruby whipped out her next Pokéball.

"And now it's time for the perfect Pokémon to handle such a powerful beast!" the Champion announced, "Bugs, you're up next!"

Her starter Pokémon and go-to-ace made his grand entrance on the pitch. Many of Ruby's fans, especially Hop and Emerald, cheered upon seeing Bugs appear. Liko took this in with fascination.

Wow, the crowd's really excited to see that Cinderace. I guess this is Ruby's strongest Pokémon? she pondered.

Mairin and Chespie felt the same way. If the crowd was this excited to see Bugs, he must be something special.

"You think that's Ruby's best Pokémon? Like Charizard is to Alain?" the red-haired girl asked curiously.

"Chespin?" Chespie said with a shrug.

"I guess we'll have to watch and see how strong it is." Mairin agreed.

Alain was curious at his next opponent for he'd never seen a Cinderace before. They didn't exist in Kalos and this was his first time actually fighting one. He guessed Bugs was a Fire-type from his colour scheme so that was odd. Why use a Fire-type against Tyranitar? Unless Bugs had some kind of unpredictable fighting style as well…

"We must turn this battle around!" Alain declared, "Tyranitar, use Stone Edge!"

The Kaiju style Pokémon tried to use Stone Edge on Bugs but thanks to the effects of Confuse Ray, it couldn't aim properly and as a result, it just flung stones around wildly and neither of them were able to successfully hit Bugs. They either crashed into each other or missed entirely. Bugs smirked at Tyranitar's efforts. He was LITERALLY standing still and he couldn't hit him! Jinx must've confused it real bad!

"Use High Jump Kick!" Ruby commanded.

The audience gasped as once again, Ruby's plan became obvious to them. So that's why she'd sent Bugs out! Tyranitar had a double Fighting weakness so she was using a Pokémon with a Fighting move to exploit that weakness! Bugs sprinted towards Tyranitar and drove his knee straight into the dinosaur Pokémon's gut. Tyranitar was whisked clean off its feet from that single kick. It was an impressive sight to behold with the huge Tyranitar being effortlessly thrown backwards by the leaner, smaller looking Bugs. Tyranitar crashed down heavily onto its back and Bugs's head glowed red to signify that his Libero ability had changed him into a Fighting-type. This was really bad news for Tyranitar now for Bugs would be able to get a same type attack bonus whenever he used High Jump Kick and now he was no longer a Fire-type, Tyranitar's Stone Edge was no longer super-effective against him. Bugs winced as he took damage from the sandstorm but that was downright miniscule compared to the damage he'd inflicted on Tyranitar. He was fine for now while Tyranitar would likely go down in another hit if things carried on the way they did.

Tyranitar picked itself back up, straining heavily but showing no signs of giving up. The poison from Jinx's Toxic kicked in and sapped away more of its health. But Alain could see at least that Tyranitar wasn't confused anymore. At least now he had the chance to turn this battle back around.

"OK Tyranitar, use Stone Edge again!" Alain commanded.

The Rock/Dark type Pokémon launched dozens of large, sharp rocks directly at Bugs and this time, it was more coordinated in its execution of the move. The rocks homed in on Bugs and prepared to slice into him. Ruby had other ideas and ordered Bugs to use Iron Head on all the rocks to smash through them. Libero turned him into a Steel-type as his head was coated in metal and he charged forwards. Thanks to this, sandstorm would no longer do any damage to him. Bugs smashed through the rocks with a single Iron Head, ploughing through them effortlessly. But Alain hadn't been aiming to hit Bugs with Stone Edge. The attack had been a distraction so Tyranitar could launch a powerful Hyper Beam at him! Tyranitar opened its mouth and blasted Bugs with a powerful energy beam that felt as if all the energy in the universe was trying to vaporise Bugs into atoms. Luckily for Bugs, he was a Steel-type now so a Normal move like Hyper Beam didn't do the damage Alain was hoping for. Despite the power of Hyper Beam, Bugs barely seemed fatigued by it. He even brushed himself off casually and smirked as if to say "that tickled". Alain was taken aback by this. What even WAS this Pokémon he was fighting?!

"I've seen your ace, now you've seen mine." Ruby declared, "And unlike you, I don't need Mega Evolution to show how powerful Bugs is. Use High Jump Kick one more time!"

Bugs sprinted towards Tyranitar. Tyranitar didn't even try to dodge. Thanks to the side effect of Hyper Beam, it couldn't even move at this moment. The fiery lapin landed his attack, sent Tyranitar hurling off its feet and Alain had to leap to one side as his huge Pokémon nearly crashed into him. Tyranitar crashed down outside the arena markings and rolled to a stop on the grass further up ahead. It didn't get up again. The damage from two High-Jump Kicks and being poisoned by Toxic had been too much for it and it couldn't fight on anymore. That now left Alain two Pokémon lighter while Ruby had five left with two of them having barely taken any damage. This fight was starting to look like Alain's downfall already.

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

"Yay! Bugs is the best! Wahoo!" Emerald cheered.

"That Cinderace fights like nothing I've seen before!" Liko exclaimed, "Ruby's so strong and skilled!"

"Why do you think she's still our Champion?" Hop said with a huge grin on his face.

Liko nodded agreeably. She could see very easily why this was Galar's Champion. If the Explorers were here, she imagined all three of them would be on their backs with their Pokémon knocked out in seconds! Mairin and Chespie sighed in disappointment. They'd hoped Tyranitar would pick up the pace after Charizard's early exit but no, Ruby was setting the pace and it seemed she wasn't slowing down anytime soon. She looked to Alain as he returned his Tyranitar.

"You're good Ruby…no, that doesn't sum it up well enough. You're VERY good!" Alain acknowledged, "You're proving to be as unpredictable and skilful in battle as even Ash was in our battle!"

"Funny you should mention that as I actually beat him a while back." Ruby informed.

"You two battled as well?" Alain said with interest.

"Oh yes, and it was quite a close match." Ruby went on, "Even when I wore his Pikachu down to the wire, he still brought me down to my last Pokémon. Let's see if you can do the same…"

"If Ash can make you work for this victory, so will I!" the Kalos boy cried, "Metagross, let's go!"

His next Pokémon materialized onto the pitch. Ruby whistled with admiration as she saw Alain's Metagross standing before Bugs. As the owner of a Metagross herself, she knew she was in for a tough fight, especially as Metagross was Alain's second strongest Pokémon he owned. Throughout the Kalos League, Alain had only used it and Charizard to win all his matches barring the final against Ash. While Bugs had the type-advantage, she knew it would be foolish to think she had the upper hand.

I remember that Metagross. It knows Rock Slide so it can cover Fire-types. Ruby observed, Bugs has no other moves that are super-effective against Metagross so I'll have to fight smart here…

"OK Bugs, use Pyro Ball!" Ruby yelled.

Bugs built up a huge fireball as he picked a rock from one foot to the other. He then kicked the fireball straight towards Metagross. The robotic spider bot stood its ground as the fireball closed in towards it. At first it seemed as if it was just going to let itself get hit but Alain commanded Metagross to use Agility at the last second. Metagross shot to one side, moving so fast that it looked more like it teleported than moved. Pyro Ball missed as a result and Bugs was left trying to keep up as Metagross began darting around the pitch at blinding speeds. Ruby pursed her lips in worry. If that Metagross was too fast to hit, Bugs would be in for a tough fight. Now Metagross had dodged, Alain ordered it to use Rock Slide. For the moment, Bugs was back to being a Fire-type so he was now vulnerable to Rock Slide. Ruby tried to command him to use Acrobatics to dodge them all but the rocks fell down too quickly for Bugs and he was soon bombarded by them all. Bugs was knocked down to the ground and seizing his moment, Alain ordered Metagross to use Meteor Mash next.

Metagross put its front limbs together and rocketed towards Bugs. The audience gasped, wondering if the Champion's ace was about to take an early exit. But that wasn't to be for at the last minute, Bugs was able to get back to his feet and somersault out of the way with Acrobatics. Metagross charged straight past him but it performed a U-turn and came back towards him. Ruby ordered Bugs to use Pyro Ball. With Metagross charging towards him, it was coming in too fast and wouldn't be able to dodge in time. Bugs kicked Pyro Ball towards Metagross and scored a direct hit. But Metagross kept on going in spite of that, although Ruby could tell the attack had still damaged it. Metagross slammed into Bugs and knocked him down onto his back. Metagross came to a stop so it could catch its breath and recover from the damage of Pyro Ball. Bugs stood back up again and rubbed his back and arms.

"N'yah…dat Metagross could give Galvatron some stiff competition!" he muttered, "Dat's a tough Pokémon!"

"I only wish I'd brought Galvatron with me as its Earthquake could've flattened that thing easily." Ruby murmured, "But I didn't want to be too copy-paste. Besides, I have other ideas on how to deal with that thing…"

She returned Bugs to his Pokéball and exchanged him for Sydney the Galvantula. The audience grew very intrigued upon seeing him. Ruby didn't use Sydney very often in her battles so it was a surprise to see him here. Liko was once again staring at a Pokémon she didn't recognize as Galvantula couldn't be found in Paldea. She watched with great interest to see how this Pokémon would battle. Alain felt that Ruby had messed up against as sending a Galvantula against a Metagross with Rock Slide was pretty foolish but he clamped down on the thought. He had very quickly learned if Ruby sent out a Pokémon, she had a plan and he just had to see what the plan was.

"Use Sticky Web!" Ruby commanded.

Sydney sprayed the pitch on Alain's side with huge sticky webs that threatened to ensnare anyone that stepped on them. Sticky Web was an attack that could stop particularly speedy opponents as it made their side of the field sticky and hard to move in. Alain guessed that was Ruby's strategy. With Sticky Web, his Metagross's Speed boost from Agility wouldn't matter as the web would slow it down. As soon as Sydney had finished, Ruby immediately called him back and exchanged him for another Pokémon. Alain expected Bugs to come back out but to his surprise, Ruby had sent out someone completely different. Soundwave the Noivern was her next choice. The bat/dragon Pokémon screeched with excitement, glad to have the chance to fight.

"So you have a Noivern too." Alain acknowledged, thinking back to the time he'd battled against Ash's and beaten it, "I bet yours will be a very different opponent to Ash's Noivern."

"You better believe it." Ruby confirmed, "Soundwave, hit Metagross with Dark Pulse!"

Soundwave opened his mouth and blasted Metagross full on with Dark Pulse. The black energy wave knocked Metagross back and caused it to stumble onto the Sticky Web. Metagross was caught by the web and it pulled on its limbs furiously, desperately trying to get free. But Sticky Web was just that, a VERY sticky web. Almost no Pokémon could get out of it once they were caught in it. Now Metagross was stuck, Soundwave was free to hit it again with Dark Pulse. Alain ordered his Steel/Psychic Pokémon to cut through the webs with its claws but it was too late to act. Dark Pulse hit Metagross a second time, dealing super-effective damage and the dark powers contained in the attack made it flinch in fear. Seizing her moment, Ruby commanded Soundwave to use one last Dark Pulse. Metagross couldn't move and was completely helpless to do anything as Soundwave hit it one last time. It was hit full on by the pulse and it collapsed onto the ground, unable to fight on any longer. Alain couldn't believe his eyes. Metagross was his second-best Pokémon after Charizard and yet Ruby had taken it down like a chump! He had lost half his team already and Ruby still have five Pokémon let to use! He was beginning to see Ruby's point that maybe Charizard was simultaneously his greatest strength AND his greatest weakness since now it was gone, he was struggling to pick up the pace. Soundwave spread his wings out and cackled with glee.

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

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

"Aw yeah! Go Ruby! You're totally owning this match!" Hop screamed excitedly.

"She proper knows how to utilize her Pokémon." Liko observed, "Using that Galvantula to slow Metagross down with Sticky Web so her Noivern could just whale on it until it fainted…that was really clever!"

"You should see some of her other strategies. She's full of them!" Emerald put in.

"No way! Alain's lost three Pokémon already?!" Mairin cried incredulously, "This can't be! Alain's super strong! He can't lose this!"

But it seemed as if it very much was. As Alain returned Metagross to its Pokéball, he was beginning to see the severity of his situation. How could he climb back from this pit he was in? He sighed heavily. No, don't give up yet. He still had a chance to come back from this! And this time, he would have a huge type-advantage…

"Weavile, this one's for you!" Alain cried.

His fourth Pokémon materialized onto the field. Weavile bared its claws and flashed a toothy grin at Soundwave as it prepared to fight. It was already in a tough spot for it had immediately gotten caught in the Sticky Web. Weavile's speed would be useless now it was stuck and couldn't move, but Alain was ready for that. He ordered Weavile to cut through the webs with its claws. Weavile bent down and began slashing at the webs around its feet. Unfortunately, that just left it wide open for an attack from Soundwave. And what was even worse is that Soundwave could cover his crippling Ice weakness!

"Your Weavile may have defeated Ash's Noivern, but it won't beat mine!" Ruby gloated, "Use Heat Wave!"

"Argh, it can use a Fire move too?!" Alain gasped in horror.

Soundwave flapped his wings furiously and conjured up blazing hot winds that swept down towards Weavile. Because the weasel like Pokémon was too busy cutting up the Sticky Web, it was too slow to dodge and was hit full on by the attack. Weavile cried out in anguish as it was blazed by the fiery winds. The audience were very impressed with this. In the past, Soundwave had used Flamethrower to cover his Ice weakness but Heat Wave was a stronger move and thus better coverage for him. Sprigatito buried its face into Liko's stomach as watching the fiery attack made it uncomfortable. Liko understood. For a Grass-type like Sprigatito, watching someone get burned alive wasn't exactly fun.

Once Soundwave had finished his attack, Weavile tried to retaliate with Ice Beam. Weavile opened its mouth and aimed directly at Soundwave. The chilling beam rushed towards him but Soundwave performed a barrel roll so he could dodge the attack. He then used another Heat Wave on Weavile but this time, Alain was able to stop it by ordering Weavile to use Protect. The clawed Pokémon conjured up a shield to defend itself from Heat Wave. It still felt the heat despite being protected from the attack. Once Heat Wave had finished, Weavile used Double Team to try and confuse Soundwave and launch a surprise attack. Multiple duplicates of Weavile danced around the pitch but Soundwave wasn't fooled. Using his sensitive hearing and echolocation abilities, the Noivern was able to pinpoint where the real Weavile was and use Heat Wave again. Weavile cried out as it was hit once again by the blazing winds. Alain recoiled as he watched his Pokémon get taken out once more. Ruby's Noivern was a completely different beast to Ash's, that was for sure! Weavile collapsed onto the ground and passed out, torched and unable to fight any longer. The audience were well impressed. Soundwave had just defeated two Pokémon in a row without taking a single hit! Even by Soundwave's standards, that was impressive!

"Soundwave: superior! Weavile: inferior!" he gloated.

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

"That's not surprising." Emerald said with a smile of admiration on her face, "Soundwave's very good at handling Ice-types. They always get a nasty surprise when they see he can use a Fire attack!"

"And so Alain's down to two while Ruby still has five left." Hop observed, "Alain's really learning the hard way that Pokémon battles require more than just brute strength to win. Maybe this fight will teach him a valuable lesson."

"I know it's teaching ME valuable lessons in battling!" Liko exclaimed, her eyes wide with awe.

Alain returned Weavile to its Pokéball.

"This is an unusual experience for me…" the Kalos teen muttered, "I'm not used to being on the back foot like this. I can't even remember the last time I've ever been in a tough spot like this before! I've focused so much on being the strongest that I see now there's a great importance on being skilled as well as strong."

"I was hoping that would be your take away." Ruby said happily, "As Champion, I like to educate my opponents as well as battle them. It just feels right to want to help others get stronger and smarter when battling and as Champion, I should set such an example for all trainers old and new."

Alain nodded with a smile on his face.

"Galar's lucky to have a Champion like you." he said kindly, "I may be down to my last two, but I'm still going to give it my all! Kingambit, let's go!" he ordered.

His next Pokémon materialized onto the field and Ruby's eyes widened in amazement as she saw that Alain had a Kingambit. That was surprising. Last time she'd seen it, it had still been a Bisharp and had been used to defeat Ash's Hawlucha and Goodra. Liko's eyes lit up excitedly upon seeing yet another Pokémon she recognized.

"Huh…so your Bisharp's a Kingambit now." Ruby acknowledged, "By any chance have you been to the Paldea region?"

"A while back." Alain confirmed, "I discovered that Bisharp could evolve into this whole new Pokémon so I knew I had to do the same and now I have this Kingambit. It was already strong as a Bisharp and it's even stronger as a Kingambit!"

"Oh don't I know it?" Ruby chuckled, "I went through the same thing with my own Bisharp. Does yours also have the Supreme Overlord ability?" she asked.

"Yes!" Alain confirmed, "All my fallen Pokémon will power Kingambit up and give it the strength it needs to turn this match around for me!"

As he said this, Kingambit suddenly glowed a bright red as it got a strength boost from its fallen comrades.

"In that case, why aren't you using it last?" Ruby asked in confusion, "Kingambit should ALWAYS go last if it's got that ability."

"My final Pokémon is a poor match-up against a Noivern. Kingambit's my best option for now." Alain explained, "Just four of my fallen Pokémon will still power it up enough! Kingambit, paralyze that Noivern with Thunder Wave!"

Kingambit sat up straight on its hair-seat and held out its hands. Electricity crackled between its hands and formed huge yellow rings that it then proceeded to throw towards Soundwave. The bat/dragon Pokémon tried to dodge them but it was no use. The electrical rings came in two quickly for him and Soundwave was hit by them. The Noivern was paralyzed instantly and he winced as electricity crackled over his body. His muscles contorted in response to the shocks. Ruby's gaze didn't falter. She was still sure Soundwave had this in the bag.

"A little paralysis won't save you in this battle." Ruby said smoothly, "Hit it with Heat Wave!"

Soundwave flapped his wings and blew hot winds towards Kingambit. Due to its half-Steel typing, it was weak to the fiery attack but Kingambit's defences were much stronger than Weavile so it withstood the blazing winds easier. Kingambit winced as its steel-coated body was heated up to extreme temperatures by the winds. It felt as if it was being cooked alive. But the attack didn't knock it out instantly and it was still fighting fit. The samurai-like Pokémon shook off the beat and launched itself towards Soundwave as Alain commanded it to use Iron Head. Kingambit sprang up, using its hair as a catapult to do so, and its iron-coated cranium smashed hard into Soundwave. The Noivern had been too slow to react thanks to Thunder Wave's paralysis and he was hit full on by the attack. Thanks to its Supreme Overlord ability, the move did even more damage than normal. Soundwave reeled backwards and flapped his wings to keep himself steady. He then tried to use another Heat Wave but unfortunately his paralysis kicked in and left him unable to move. Seizing his chance, Alain ordered Kingambit to use Guillotine. Ruby's blood froze as she watched the sharp, bladed Pokémon jump up again with the blade on its head glowing white. She remembered all too well that Alain's Bisharp knew Guillotine. It was a move that when it hit, it knocked the opponent out instantly and had been critical towards Alain's victory against Ash for precisely that reason. It had knocked out both Ash's Hawlucha and Goodra with it and now Soundwave was about to be on the receiving end of the attack! She frantically commanded Soundwave to dodge but again, paralysis stopped him from being able to move so Kingambit successfully landed the blow. Guillotine cut through Soundwave and the Dragon/Flying Pokémon collapsed instantly. Kingambit landed on its feet and left Soundwave to drop down unconscious behind it.

"Kingambit: superior…Soundwave…inferior…" he groaned as he passed out.

"Noivern is unable to battle! Kingambit is the winner!" barked the announcer.

"Alright! Alain finally took down another Pokémon!" Mairin squealed, punching the air excitedly, "That Kingambit's Guillotine never let him down! He's so gonna turn this around!"

"Chespin! Pin, pin!" Chespie cheered alongside its trainer.

"No way! That Kingambit knows Guillotine!" Hop exclaimed in shock, "Lucky break for Alain. I bet Soundwave would've won this easily if it didn't know that move!"

"Is Ruby about to lose her lead?" Liko asked anxiously, her hand closing to a fist near where her pendant hung, "If that Kingambit knows a one-hit KO move, it could all be over for her."

"Don't worry about it Liko." Emerald said confidently, "Ruby's got four Pokémon left and they're all fighting fit. Also Guillotine will only work if it hits so all Ruby has to do is make sure it never makes contact. Should be easy enough."

Ruby returned Soundwave to his Pokéball and sent out another one. She'd decided to use Sydney once again. Although he knew no super-effective moves, his Electric-typing at least made him immune to Kingambit's Thunder Wave so it wouldn't be able to paralyze him and she might be able to do some extra damage to soften it up for another Pokémon to finish off. Alain expected Sydney to use Sticky Web again but instead, Ruby ordered Sydney to use Bug Buzz. Ruby felt it would be pointless to use Sticky Web since a Pokémon as sharp as Kingambit would only cut it to pieces anyway so she decided a straight up assault was the way to go. The electric tarantula emitted a loud buzzing sound that cut through Kingambit and made it wince in pain as it felt like its ears were about to explode. Although it wasn't weak to Bug-type moves like other Dark-types were, it still took normal damage from them so Bug Buzz was still a powerful move to use against it. Alain was baffled to see Ruby was somehow able to put up with the noise for even he had to cover his ears to ease the pressure on them. Kingambit flashed blue for a second as Bug Buzz's second effect caused its Special Defence to go down. Kingambit didn't let it slow it down for a minute and retaliated by using Iron Head. Unfortunately, Galvantula's Bug/Electric typing gave it a resistance to Steel-types so even the power boost from Supreme Overlord meant Kingambit only did neutral damage at best. The head slam knocked Sydney backwards but didn't hurt him too much.

Sydney shook off the hit and retaliated by using Thunder next. Sydney called up to the heavens and conjured up a dark thundercloud that made it look as if it was about to start hammering it down with rain. Some people in the audience instinctively covered themselves for they worried it was actually going to rain. But no rain came, just a giant thunderbolt that surged down from the skies and struck Kingambit full on. With its lowered Special Defence, Kingambit took more damage than it would've done from that attack. Alain covered his eyes as he couldn't even see any more from how bright the Thunder attack was. Kingambit slumped forward in its hair-seat, panting heavily from the attack as steam drifted up from its body. It looked worn out and surely couldn't take much more hits. Despite this, Ruby didn't allow herself to relax. As long as Kingambit remained standing, it was a threat thanks to its Guillotine attack so she had to take it down before it could turn the match around.

She ordered Sydney to use Thunder again. The electric-powered spider conjured up another thundercloud but this time, Alain was able to intercept it. He ordered his Dark/Steel Pokémon to throw a Focus Blast attack straight up towards the thundercloud. Kingambit formed a giant energy sphere and threw it straight up just as Thunder was about to strike. It hit the energy sphere and an explosion of smoke billowed from the resulting energy clash. Now Sydney's attack had failed, Kingambit went on the offence again with another Guillotine attack. The shogun Pokémon sprinted towards its insect opponent and slashed down towards it with its head blade. Sydney scuttled away quickly but Kingambit came in too quick. It landed the blow and Sydney was brought down instantly by the attack. Guillotine had claimed another victory for Kingambit and now Ruby only had half a team left. The audience was impressed. Alain looked as if he was about to lose rather heavily and now he was actually posing a legitimate threat to their Champion!

"Galvantula is unable to battle! Kingambit is the winner!"

"Aw yeah! You rock Kingambit!" Mairin cheered, "That one's for Charizard and all the rest!"

Hop, Liko and Emerald were feeling a little anxious for their Champion. If Kingambit kept successfully using Guillotine then Ruby was going to lose for sure! Over in Unova, Sapphire and Ashley were sharing their anxiety. Could Ruby stop this one-hit KO menace she was up against? With half a team left, she still stood a chance and hopefully would be able to finish it off before it could use Guillotine again. All eyes were on the Champion as Ruby returned Sydney to his Pokéball and thanked him for the hard work.

"I now see I too was pretty flawed in my strategy." she muttered, "I prioritized so much on getting rid of Charizard that I neglected to plan ahead for Kingambit and that damn Guillotine attack! I should've bought Raven with me as Guillotine wouldn't have worked on her. Still, Kingambit's pretty weak from Soundwave and Sydney's efforts so my next Pokémon should seal the deal…"

She sent out her last Pokémon that had yet to see battle. She'd chosen Gene the Obstagoon, one of her most reliable Pokémon and one of her earliest catches on her journey. He'd been very useful to her during the Gym Challenge with only Raihan's Duraludon finally putting a stop to him but he'd proven himself to be very strong in Ruby's Champion defence battles and had helped win many battles since becoming Champion. Alain had never seen an Obstagoon before so he had no idea what to expect with this Pokémon. Liko was equally as curious for she also had never seen one before. Obstagoon sure looked like a strong Pokémon and she was sure Gene was going to end Kingambit's reign of terror. She noticed that Hop and Emerald looked pretty excited to see Gene in action so he had to be a big deal.

"I'm not taking any chances, especially with a Pokémon I don't recognize…" Alain muttered, "Let's make it quick! Kingambit, use Guillotine now!"

The samurai Pokémon zoomed towards the badger Pokémon with its bladed arms ready to slice into him. The audience gasped in shock. Gene was about to become Kingambit's third victim! Or so they thought…

"Use Obstruct!" Ruby yelled.

Gene crossed his arms in front of his chest and formed a protective shield around himself that successfully blocked Kingambit's onslaught. Guillotine failed to make contact on Gene thanks to the shield and thus, it failed to one-hit KO him. Upon hitting the barrier, Kingambit's body flashed blue to signify a stat decrease. Kingambit recoiled, surprised by Gene's defensive move. Ruby swore she could hear the audience sigh in relief upon watching what had happened. She was just glad Gene knew that move or he would've been toast!

"What's Obstruct?" Liko asked curiously, "Other than a defensive move that is."

"It's Obstagoon's signature move." Hop explained, "It's great for protection and it also lowers the attacker's defence if it makes direct contact so Alain's just made his Kingambit more vulnerable as a result!"

"Oh wow! So once Obstagoon hits it, it'll take even more damage!" Liko exclaimed, "Looks like Ruby's back in the lead with this Pokémon!"

"I can't count how many times she's thrown people off their game with Gene's Obstruct tactic." Emerald agreed, "It always seems to catch the opponent off-guard and soften them up so Gene can finish them off, or at least any other Pokémon Ruby has."

Alain refused to be intimidated by Gene's defensive tactics and he ordered Kingambit to use Guillotine again. Predictably, it failed as Gene simply used Obstruct to block the attack once more and Kingambit's defences fell even further. Alain could see that this wasn't going to work so he tried instead to use Thunder Wave on Gene so he could paralyze him. That would hopefully stop him blocking Kingambit's moves! Kingambit held up its hands and used Thunder Wave but just as the electric rings headed towards the Normal/Dark Pokémon, Gene leapt into the air to dodge the attack. Now he was airborne, Alain saw his chance and ordered Kingambit to use Iron Head. Maybe he could make Gene flinch and then come in for the kill with Guillotine? Kingambit jumped towards its opponent with its steel head aimed directly at Gene. It looked more like it was about to impale him with the blade on its head as it was pointed directly ahead at him. Gene raised his arm up and scythed down on top of Kingambit's head with Brick Break. He cackled wildly as he scored a direct hit and slammed down hard on the Dark/Steel Pokémon's steel-coated cranium. As a Pokémon with a double-Fighting weakness, Kingambit wasn't able to take the hit and was knocked straight down to the ground. Its lowered defences only made it so Gene's attack knocked it out even quicker. It was unconscious before it even hit the ground. Kingambit lay in a heap on the grass. The once mighty Kingambit now looked like a fallen warrior that had ended its military operations in the most undignified way possible. Gene landed back down on the pitch and waved to the crowd, basking in his glory.

"Kingambit is unable to battle! Obstagoon is the winner!" boomed the announcer.

"Aww! I thought Alain was really going to turn this one around!" Mairin whined, "But that Ruby just keeps on surprising us all! It really is something else when you're fighting a Champion, isn't it?"

"Pin, Chespin." Chespin muttered in agreement.

The rest of the crowd cheered for their Champion, glad to see that she wasn't going to lose after all. With half a team left, she couldn't possibly lose against Alain now! Not when he only had one Pokémon remaining. Alain would need a Legendary at this rate if he had any chance of winning! The Kalos teen returned his Kingambit and smiled sadly.

"We weren't quite strong enough, but you did very well. Thank you." he said kindly, "Now for my last Pokémon. I know I haven't got a chance considering what's left of your team Ruby…but we can at least go out in a blaze of glory! Chesnaught, it's all up to you now!" he yelled, throwing his last Pokéball.

His last Pokémon materialized onto the field and adopted a battle-ready stance as it prepared to do battle. Ruby now understood what Alain meant when he'd said this Pokémon would've done no good against Soundwave and why he'd had to use Kingambit before it as Chesnaught really would've fared no better. Mairin beamed with joy upon seeing Alain's last Pokémon for it reminded her of Chespie. Chesnaught was a Grass/Fighting type Pokémon that looked to be some bizarre hybrid of an armadillo and a chestnut. It was bipedal in stance and green, white and beige in colour with some red trim around its enormous shell. The shell covered all of its back and its shoulders and had large spikes sticking out from all over. It had powerful looking arms, a thick tail and a serious, determined expression on its face. While Ruby had never seen on in person before, she recognized Chesnaught from seeing it on TV before and she'd once read a book about Kalos Pokémon that Sapphire owned. Chesnaught was the fully evolved form of Chespin, the Grass-type starter for Kalosian trainers. Ruby thought it looked very powerful and very tough to damage. That large shell was likely going to make it difficult to hurt Chesnaught. But she knew how to handle a Grass/Fighting type. She returned Gene to his Pokéball.

"I've seen Chesnaught before but I've never actually battled one before." Ruby mused, "So this'll be interesting. It's lucky for me I have two Pokémon left that are extremely good match-ups for that. Jinx, you're up for the finish!" she commanded.

She returned Jinx to the field. The scarf-wearing Crobat flapped her wings excitedly, thrilled to get the chance to battle again. She eyed up her opponent and grinned, flashing her sharp fangs.

"Oh hoo, hoo, hoo! What's this I'm up against? Looks like a cross between a knight and something that fell off a tree!" Jinx observed, "Might wanna take care around those spikes. They look nasty!"

"We'll be fine Jinx." Ruby insisted, "Now use Sky Attack!"

"Whee, I get to go up in the sky and attack the opponent!" Jinx hollered, "Alley up!"

She took off into the sky, flying as high as she possibly could. Chesnaught could only watch her helplessly, unable to chase after her as it couldn't fly as well. But it could watch her movements and react accordingly. It watched Jinx with a careful eye while Alain waited for the right moment to react. The Crobat eventually stopped flying up and started to come straight back down. She charged towards Chesnaught at an unbelievable speed. The cameras were having a tough time actually following her descent because she was moving so fast.

"Alright here I come!" Jinx sang as she closed in towards Chesnaught, "Da, da, da, da, da, drrrrla da, da, da, daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Now Chesnaught, block it with Spiky Shield!" Alain commanded.

Chesnaught clasped its fists together and formed a round shield around its arms. The shield covered the front of its body and produced four large spikes that made it look like it could defend and attack at the same time with this shield. The shield also formed a protective force field around the chestnut Pokémon so nobody could attack it from behind either. Jinx crashed straight into the shield and screeched in pain as she found herself getting hurt by the spikes. Spiky Shield not only protected the user but did damage to those trying to attack the user. Jinx rubbed herself furiously.

"Owie, owie, owie, owie! And another suitcase full of owies on top of that!" the Crobat cried, "That was one prickly shield!"

"Quite so." Ruby muttered, "Alain's probably hoping you'll injure yourself too much just trying to break through it and then Chesnaught can finish the job. It's a handy defence against the Flying types that would normally cripple it too."

"That's the idea." Alain confirmed, "Flying types are Chesnaught's biggest weakness so if it can block those attacks while also doing damage at the same time, it'll give it a chance to fight them off. Now fight back with Gyro Ball!"

Chesnaught rolled into a ball and torpedoed itself towards Jinx. Chesnaught now looked like a bowling ball that was rushing towards the skittles at the end of the alley, and it looked as if it might score a strike.

"Block it Jinx!" Ruby ordered.

"Yay, I get to bring my bat out for this one!" Jinx cried, pulling a baseball cap from nowhere and putting it on her head.

She then proceeded to whip out a literal baseball bat from nowhere too and smack the oncoming Chesnaught with it. In her own cartoonish way, she'd blocked the attack. Chesnaught ricocheted away as Jinx hit it with her bat but it bounced off the ground and only ended up spin-dashing back towards her. Jinx just blocked again by smacking the huge Pokémon away with her bat but again, Chesnaught refused to back down and came back towards her. Eventually, it was able to ricocheted off the force field that protected the audience from Pokémon attacks and bowled straight into Jinx. The Crobat was knocked down onto the ground and she ended up getting a face full of dirt as she skidded across the grassy pitch to a halt. She lay in the dirt pile, dazed but not out of the match yet.

"Three strikes and I'm out! Swing batter, batter, batter!" she droned dopily.

Chesnaught landed back on the ground and ran towards its opponent as Alain ordered it to use Hammer Arm. The chestnut Pokémon raised its arm and swung down towards Jinx but the bat Pokémon flew out of the way just in time. Chesnaught's fist swung down and hit only grass, kicking up mounds of dirt as it hit.

"Hey, watch it with that thing ya crazy mug! Ya almost hit me!" Jinx jeered.

"Now it's our turn to land a hit!" Ruby ordered, "Use Confuse Ray!"

Jinx whipped out her bazooka again and blasted Chesnaught with it. Just like with Tyranitar earlier, the ray left Chesnaught looking confused and looking around stupidly for it no longer knew which way up it was standing. The world seemed to be twisting and turning all around it from each and every direction. Now it was confused, it wouldn't be able to defend itself with Spiky Shield. Jinx charged towards Chesnaught and bit down on it as Ruby ordered her to use Poison Fang next. Her fangs sank deep into Chesnaught's arm and the Grass/Fighting Pokémon howled in anguish as it was both bitten and poisoned. Its body flashed purple as the poison started to take effect. Satisfied, Ruby ordered Jinx to use Sky Attack once more. Jinx decided to spice things up by taking out her baseball bat and scribbling the word "sky" on it. Once she hit Chesnaught with it, it would literally be a case of the sky attacking it. Jinx flew up high and dive-bombed back down towards the ground. This time, she was successful and was able to hit Chesnaught for it was too confused to try and dodge. Sky Attack landed and Chesnaught was left reeling back from massive amounts of damage it had taken from the doubly super-effective move. Jinx just whooped and cheered, thrilled her attack had been successful. Chesnaught lay on the ground, wiped out by the hit and still suffering from poison. It tried to get up but the damage and the poison condition was ultimately too much for it. It collapsed and didn't get back up again. Alain was left in shock as the result settled in for him. Despite his desire to be the strongest…it hadn't been enough. He'd barely managed to keep up with Ruby throughout the battle and now she was triumphant while he stood there in defeat.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle! Crobat is the winner!" the announcer declared enthusiastically all around the stadium, "The winner of this Championship Title Battle is Ruby Silverlock and she remains our Champion!"

"YIPPEE! HALLELUJAH! Ruby did it again! She's so awesome!" Emerald squealed.

"Way to go Ruby! You showed that Alain what REAL strength is like!" Hop declared.

"What an exciting and thrilling battle!" Liko cheered, clapping wildly for Ruby, "That was so amazing to watch and it's inspiring me to get stronger myself so I can be as strong as the Champion!"

"Meow!" Sprigatito mewed in agreement, dancing with joy for Ruby.

"Awwww! No way! Alain lost! He tried so hard but he still lost!" Mairin whined, "I was really hoping he could win! That Ruby's so strong!"

"Ches, Chespin, pin, pin, Chespin!" Chespin exclaimed, unable to believe what it had witnessed.

Alain only returned Chesnaught to its Pokéball and sighed sadly.

"Well…that's that then. I lost and you won." he acknowledged, "You're like no opponent I've ever faced before Ruby. You deserve to be Galar's Champion."

"Aww, thank you very much." Ruby said appreciatively, "And thank you for such an awesome battle Alain. You're definitely a strong trainer and you gave me a thrilling match!"

"But I wasn't strong enough to defeat you." the Kalos teen murmured, "In my desire to be the strongest, I clearly have a long way to go still."

"No Alain, you don't need to get any stronger." Ruby said firmly, "As I said to you, you're a STRONG trainer, but you're not a SKILLED trainer. A true Pokémon trainer combines strength and skill to make a truly unbeatable team. That's why I continuously win battles and remain the undefeated Champion. If you put too much emphasis on being strong all the time as you do, you're just living on borrowed time, mate. Yes being strong will yield great results, but what's all that strength good for if you're against someone who can foil that strength with a skilfully executed battle plan that can throw you off your game? That's why you lost today Alain. If you were skilled AND strong at the same time, I bet you would've beat me! You need to re-evaluate your goals on "being the strongest" and learn that strength isn't everything. Your Charizard shouldn't be the MVP of every battle you're in and your Pokémon need to combine strength and skill together to truly be formidable. Only then will you truly be "the strongest". That is the lesson I'm hoping to have taught you with this battle."

Alain took in Ruby's speech with deep interest and curiosity. He'd never thought of that way before. There was more to being the strongest than just being strong? He would've thought such a thing sounded ludicrous. But Ruby had proven today that that wasn't the case. Ruby had won because she was skilled and strong. If he took this lesson to heart, then he could truly be the strongest he hoped to ever be. He smiled appreciatively.

"I'll definitely take your words to heart, Ruby." he said kindly, "I'm sure I still have a long way to go, but I'll re-evaluate my training style. I'll become a strong AND skilled trainer and then next time I face you, I will defeat you!"

"I welcome your attempts to try again Alain." Ruby said daringly, "I can't wait to fight the new you! Good luck in your future endeavours Alain. May we battle again someday."

The two trainers shook hands and they waved to the audience to thank them for attending this thrilling battle and cheering for them the whole time. Ruby once again remained undefeated, but she had a feeling that next time she and Alain battled, it would be a whole different story. She was sure he was going to learn the lesson she'd taught him well and become a much better trainer who was both skilled and strong at the same time. Then he really would be the strongest and he'd always be able to protect those that he loved, just as she was able to protect her loved ones as well.

Ruby looked to the audience and saw Hop, Emerald and Liko waving to her. She waved back to them. She imagined Sapphire and Ashley were cheering for her back in Unova too. Her loved ones were her true strength in her eyes and with them around, she would always be able to handle whatever threat came her way and whatever challenge she was faced with…


To nobody's surprise, Ruby wins again. Alain never really stood a chance against her. Hopefully he'll take her lessons to heart and stop being so overly-reliant on Charizard all the time. :) Join me again next time when we meet Liko again...but this time, Roy gets to join in the fun as the two pay a visit to the Isle of Armour for training in "The Boy With The Ancient Pokéball"...

Trivia: Alain with his Bisharp now evovled into a Kingambit was something I couldn't resist showing here. With the release of Scarlet and Violet, it's so easy to imagine him using one now. XD

Soundwave defeating Weavile is a deliberate role-reversal of Ash vs. Alain in the Kalos League where in that fight, Alain's Weavile beat Ash's Noivern. I thought you'd all appreciate the irony that this same Weavile ends up losing to a Noivern here. Also Alain, see what happens when you're against somebody whose Pokémon DOESN'T have shit movesets like Ash's do? =P Seriously, if Ash's Pokémon actually had decent movesets, he'd have become a Pokémon master much sooner and definitely would've beaten Alain. XD

I also had Alain use Chesnaught instead of Unfezant because I don't care for Unfezant. It's such a boring Pokémon and Alain shouldn't have one as it's too bland compared to all his other Pokémon. Chesnaught's way cooler so I made him use that instead. ^^

Liko not recognizing Crobat makes sense when you consider she's from Paldea and unless the upcoming DLC changes that, the Zubat line can't be found in Scarlet and Violet. Same goes for Galvantula and Obstagoon. Neither of them are available in Scarlet and Violet so she won't recognize them either. It's funny isn't it how Alain's team in this story can all be found in Paldea (Metagross is confirmed to be returning via DLC so it counts) whereas half of Ruby's team are Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Region. XD

Alain's Tyranitar has only used Stone Edge, Crunch and Dark Pulse in the only episode we ever saw it in action so I have no idea what it's final move is. Given the anime loves making Tyranitar use Hyper Beam, I can imagine Alain's Tyranitar probably knows Hyper Beam as well, so I made it that in this universe, that's what its fourth move is.

If you're wondering about Jinx, yes, Crobat CAN learn Sky Attack. In previous gens, it could learn Sky Attack via Move Tutor but in the Gen 8 games, it can only learn Sky Attack via a transfer from previous generations. Given this is Jinx, she doesn't obey the laws of which gen she's in and will do what the fuck she wants. If she wants to use Sky Attack despite coming from Galar, she'll do it! XD