Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter Two-hundred and fifty-five: Sinister slandering, and other tales
The reborn trainers made their way down to Saffron City, Kanto, after hearing that some trouble had been levied against Ash Ketchum. In recent events, Ash had a battle against Bea the Galarian gym leader, the first battle the two of them ever fought against one another. In the anime in the previous lives of the reborn trainers, Ash had lost that battle. But here, Ash won the battle instead. But afterwards, Bea had accused Ash of cheating, and furthermore is trying to get him disqualified from the current season of the World Coronation Series as a result.
Worried for Ash, the reborn trainers flew out to Kanto, then made their way to Saffron City. Upon arriving in Saffron City, a number of persons recognized Dawn, who being the Sinnoh Champion aside also recently won an Ultra Class battle for the current season of the World Coronation Series. "Maybe you guys can answer a question for my group and I," Dawn began, "We came here when we heard there was some trouble brewing due to a trainer in the World Coronation Series, a girl named Bea, accusing a trainer who defeated her of cheating and is trying to get said trainer disqualified from the World Coronation Series as a whole due to it. Can you tell us where we can find the persons involved?"
"Oh, well the guy accused of cheating against her is at City Hall with a friend of his," a moderately plump and motherly looking mid-forties woman replied, "But from what all I heard, there's no base for the cheating accusation to stand on."
"Can you tell us more?" Trip asked.
Shrugging, the woman replied, "All else that I have is that it stems from a clash of local customs versus rules for the World Coronation Series. You can learn more by finding the boy and his friend over at City Hall." The reborn trainers thanked the woman for her time before asking for directions to get to City Hall, where Ash as well as Goh would be waiting. Given that a cheating accusation had been levied against Ash, the reborn trainers were wanting to get to the bottom of things immediately, in the hopes of clearing a friend of all wrongdoing.
When the reborn trainers met Ash and Goh at Saffron City's City Hall, Ash lit up a bit in amusement, and Goh noted it was the first time in the last few days he's seen Ash smile. "So what exactly is the situation here?" Dawn asked.
"Simple," Goh remarked, "Bea was being full of herself, talked down about Korrina and then Maylene when Ash brought her up. Ash got mad, he challenged Bea to a battle, even made it an official battle for the World Coronation Series. Ash's Gengar and Dragonite defeated Bea's Grapploct and Hawlucha, winning the battle for Ash and getting him a notable rank increase. Bea immediately accused Ash of cheating after he won the battle, so now we have to wait around for things to be processed all nice and neat."
The reborn trainers were getting a better idea of the picture as a whole. They also learned why Ash won his first battle with Bea here; rather than use Galarian Farfetch'd and Riolu, Ash used Gengar and Dragonite. Folding her arms over her chest, Dawn asked, "Did Bea give a detailed reason as to why she was accusing Ash of cheating, or is she just being a sore loser and blowing hot air out her butt?"
Gesturing to Dawn, Ash explained, "Bea gave some spiel about how only fighting type Pokémon can be used in battles in the Battle Dojo, even though the battle we had was an official battle for the World Coronation Series, thus its rules take precedent."
"Yeah, World Coronation Series rules are far less restrictive than a fighting types only rule," Trip remarked.
Ash briskly shook his head, showing some degree of frustration. "And to make matters worse, Bea accusing me of cheating comes after she was talking down about Korrina, and then Maylene after that. What, does she think that she can just talk down about other trainers and not only give no explanation why she does so but expect to be allowed to get away with it scot free, then be allowed to essentially throw a temper tantrum if she's tripped up?"
"That sounds like a pretty serious accusation, Ash."
Everyone stopped short when they heard the familiar voice of Leon, the Champion of Galar and current World Cornation Series Monarch, call out. Everyone turned to look and saw it as Leon, escorted by a City Hall clerk, walked into the room. "I heard what happened," Leon said, "I already spoke with Bea, but there were some holes in the defense she provided." Gesturing to Ash, Leon said, "Can I get your version of the events, mainly pertaining to the battle itself?"
Ash took a breath to calm himself down before he began to explain himself. He told Leon his side of the story, how he used Gengar and Dragonite to defeat Grapploct and Hawlucha. But Bea after she lost immediately accused Ash of cheating, citing how he used non-fighting type Pokémon in a battle that took place in the Fighting Dojo. Ash also explained how he was under the impression that, as it was an official battle for the World Coronation Series, he was free to use whatever Pokémon that he wanted for the battle, regardless of local customs.
After Ash finished telling his side, Leon nodded once in understanding. "...Yeah, the fault here is one-hundred percent on Bea," Leon concluded, "She forgot that if two trainers have an official battle for the World Coronation Series, then World Coronation Series rules take priority over local rules, traditions, and customs. You were well within your rights to use whatever Pokémon you saw fit regardless of their typings clashing with the Fighting Dojo's fighting-types only rule. And Bea talking smack about other trainers, as well as giving no explanation for why she was talking smack about them, was just petty. She's also being petty over accusing you of cheating after you defeated her."
"So what now?" Mina asked.
Leon let out a troubled sigh. "...Given my position as the current Monarch, I can pass an official judgment in cases like this and suggest appropriate disciplinary actions. But I'm going to first confer with the board running the World Coronation Series, tell them what all happened. Needless to say, Bea's in the wrong here and she will be made to own up in some way." Looking to Ash, Leon said, "I hope this incident hasn't put a dampener on your mood for the World Coronation Series as a whole, Ash."
Smirking a bit, Ash said, "You'd have to try a heck of a lot harder than that to put out the fire I got going for battles."
Letting out a bit of a chuckle, Leon said, "There needs to be more trainers like you, Ash." Leon then took off, although he said he'd need to be shown the way out as he gets lost easily.
After Leon was gone, Dawn turned to look at Ash. "Well that happened," Dawn said, "Hey Ash, will you be fine?"
"Yeah, this ain't the end of the world," Ash replied. Given that the reborn trainers got it that Ash was pretty much in the clear, they wished him luck before taking off, telling Ash to keep in touch with them and let them know of further developments.
It wasn't until the reborn trainers got to Motostoke, Galar that they got an update about the 'Bea accusing Ash of cheating' scandal. But it didn't first come from Ash calling them; rather, they heard about it because they returned to Galar which is the home region of Bea. As expected, Ash was cleared of all wrong doing, and Bea in addition to being required to publicly apologize to Ash also suffered a Board-mandated rank drop in the current season of the World Coronation Series. The rank drop was just enough to push Bea back down into the Normal Class, and she was told if she misbehaved two more times, she'd be disqualified from the current season of the World Coronation Series entirely.
The scandal also affected Bea's standing in Galar to a degree, with a number of other Galar gym leaders expressing disapproval. Dawn read a news article where some of the other Galarian gym leaders were talking about Bea's misbehavior, with Piers being quoted as saying the special needs girl he occasionally assists with is a more well behaved person than Bea had been. Speaking of said special needs girl, Nina was discovered by Mina to be doing quite well, soaring through the ranks in the Great Class. Piers's sister Marnie was also doing splendidly. Letting out a tired breath, Dawn said, "Wow, things have gotten pretty interesting, huh?"
"Boy, I'll say," Kenny remarked, "A girl was talking all sorts of good shit, then when she's called out on it and is made to eat a serving of humble pie, she throws a hissy-fit and tries getting her way anyway, only for it to blow up in her face and then be served more humble pie."
Dawn was about to speak up, but she was cut off when she and the others heard a commotion over in the direction of the hotel. "...Something's going on at the hotel with the statue of the hero with the sword and the shield," Dawn said, the look on her face and hint in her tole suggesting that she felt something was up.
Trip had right away picked up on the hint in his sister's tone. "You think something's going on, don't you?"
"Let's just head on over!" Dawn said as she ran on ahead, prompting the others to run after her.
...
When the reborn trainers got to the scene, they saw that a number of Team Scorn members were fighting off a few nearby trainers outside of the hotel. Among the Team Scorn members were two ladies who Dawn spotted as they were standing off to the side as if supervising everything; one was a female grunt who looked older than the uniquely dressed Team Scorn member standing next to her, with the uniquely dressed member looking to be pre-teen age while the female grunt next to her looked to be young adult, at minimum eighteen. The female grunt was fair-skinned, wore the standard Team Scorn grunt uniform for girls, had she a cute short style of hair that had a dark reddish hue to it, and her eyes had a certain aloof beauty to them.
As for the uniquely dressed Team Scorn member, she was a fair-skinned pre-teen girl with light brownish hair held up under a large yellow cowboy hat of some kind, aside from very long bangs framing her face. She wore a yellow dress that reached past her knees and the sleeves reached her elbows; the dress had a sort of western vibe going for it, looking like something a girl in a western setting would area around the collar of the dress was dark blue, as was the leather belt around her waist and the shows she wore. She wore a yellow colored Team Scorn heater shield insignia, with a dark blue Team Scorn 'S', as a metal belt buckle. Right away, the girl and her older companion spotted the reborn trainers.
"Girls, you go handle those two," Kenny said, "Trip and I will handle the peons here!"
"Got it," Dawn said before she and Mina ran up to confront the uniquely dressed member of Team Scorn and her older companion.
Upon Dawn and Mina reaching her, the uniquely dressed member of Team Scorn said, "Well now, this is certainly a surprise. I got it on good authority that you and your companions were in the Kanto region, looking into some matter involving your friend Ash Ketchum."
Dawn scowled bitterly. "You seem to be well informed. But then again I shouldn't be too surprised, Team Scorn is a multi-regional villainous organization." Her glare narrowing, Dawn said, "I don't suppose I can get your name and that of your companion here?"
Smirking a bit, the uniquely dressed Team Scorn girl said, "I suppose I owe you the courtesy. I am Captain Marika, third Captain of the Headphones Sector. The person next to me is my Captain's Assistant Aragaki."
"It's kind of weird that the older person is the Captain's Assistant while the younger person is the Captain," Mina remarked dryly.
"Yeah yeah, so I'm eighteen and Captain Marika is eleven, big whoop," Aragaki said, "She's a loads better person to defer to than may others I've had the displeasure to have to defer to in the past."
"Anyway, I bet you two won't let me and mine here get away so easily," Marika said, "So I think we're going to have to fight you off. Go, Maractus!"
"Go, Sunflora!" Aragaki called out as she sent out a Sunflora while Marika sent out a Maractus.
Seeing this, Dawn sent out her named Volcarona Zancrow while Mina sent out her shiny Flareon. The two fire types had an easy time against the two grass types, and a similar song and dance was performed when, after Maractus and Sunflora went down and were called back, Marika sent out Lilligant and Aragaki sent out Cherrim. Again, fire trumped grass. It took Dawn and Mina hardly any effort at all to defeat the Third Captain of the Headphones Sector and the Captains Assistant of said officer. But Dawn felt that things were too easy.
That ended up being the case when, after a moving truck was seen tearing out of a parking lot and speeding away before it could be stopped or even someone getting a good look at it, Marika smirked in amusement. "And that will be us having successfully gotten away with the statue of the hero from the lobby of the hotel we're standing right next to."
"You guys stole that statue?!" Mina exclaimed.
Shrugging, Marika replied, "We wouldn't of even had to fight for it if some chick with long blonde hair didn't get super paranoid about two guys I sent in to secure things even though they were disguised as workers and were acting perfectly." Before they could be stopped, Marika and Aragaki, as well as all of the Team Scorn members there, used smoke grenades to create a lot of sight-obscuring smoke, and by the time the smoke settled all of Team Scorn who was there had gotten away. Dawn gave a bitter scowl, she and the others having failed to stop Team Scorn's real goal.
...
After Team Scorn had left, the reborn trainers went into the lobby of the hotel that the hero statue was taken from. There was a rather large empty spot where the hero statue was previously standing. Additionally, the reborn trainers met with Cynthia, the former Sinnoh Champion, once again. "Yeah, I admit I was being a tad overly paranoid when I saw a pair of men dressed as workers move the hero statue out of the hotel while claiming they had orders to bring it in for repairs and touch ups," said Cynthia, "And they even had forms that the hotel staff approved of."
"But said paranoia ended up being justified here," Trip said.
Cynthia nodded in the affirmative, but still wore a grim look of regret on her face. "But we couldn't stop Team Scorn from making off with the statue." Folding her arms over her chest, Cynthia said, "I had let too much rust grown over my battle skills once again. I really need to stop slacking off, even though I'm a researcher of legend and myth now and no longer an actively competing trainer."
"Did the grunts in here defeat you?" Mina asked.
"No, but I still wasn't sharp enough to keep up to let me stop the hero statue from being taken," Cynthia replied. The reborn trainers still worried what Team Scorn in the Galar region was up to, and if they couldn't stop them, then Team Scorn could very well be able to get their hands on one of the major legendary Pokémon of the region. It would be very bad if Team Scorn was able to bring to Ayane's waiting hands either Zacian or Zamazenta or even Eternatus.
Given what any of those three on their own could do, Team Scorn had to be stopped from acquiring them.
Continuing their travels for the current season of the World Coronation Series, the reborn trainers went over to Hoenn, hanging in the area of Lilicove City. There, Trip and Kenny both won some battles in the Great Class, although both had some ways to go before breaking into the Ultra Class where Dawn currently sat. "Team Scorn is pulling off some rather bogus stuff," Kenny said, "We need to put a stopper to them before they get too far."
"Yeah, but how do we stop them from getting to the legendary Pokémon of Galar?" Mina asked.
Dawn was about to speak up, but stopped short when she and the others heard some excited commotion coming from a ways away. It didn't sound like villain-spawned panicking, so at the very least it wasn't Team Scorn acting up. Getting the others to follow her, Dawn led the way to go see what in blazes was going on. As such, when they all arrived to the scene, the reborn trainers saw it as Brandon, the Pyramid King of the Kanto Battle Frontier, had landed his Battle Pyramid in an open area along the shore of Lilicove City. A number of persons, all probably persons watching the World Coronation Series, were clamoring to see the Pyramid King.
"As, so it's his highness the Pharaoh of the Pyramid," Kenny remarked.
As the reborn trainers looked on, Trip said, "I bet that knowing him, he's probably already in the Ultra Class."
"Actually, he's in the lower end of the Great Class," a random male voice spoke up, making the reborn trainers turn to see that May's little brother Max was the one who had spoken up; he was standing there while May was looking on not paying attention to Max as she like many of the others was distracted by seeing Brandon there. Max still looked to be a bit on the slender side of things. As always, Max was accompanied by his shiny Mightyena.
"Oh, hey Max," May greeted, "And what's this about Brandon being in the lower end of the Great Class?"
Turning to properly face the reborn trainers, Max said, "Well first off, there's no denying how Brandon had seen a meteoric rise through the ranks when the current season of the World Coronation Series first started. He blitzed through the Normal Class, and had scored a number of wins in the Great Class against notable opponents. He was close to breaking into the Ultra Class, but it was at that point he started to suffer a chain of losses that had seen his ranking drop."
That got the attention of the reborn trainers. "Brandon's been losing some battles as of late?" Trip remarked, "What, had he been using Pokémon aside from Regirock, Regice, and Registeel?"
"No, he's been using his legendary golems exclusively," Max answered, "It's just that he'd been facing trainers in the upper parts of the Great Class who had been able to overcome such power with the power that they themselves had brought to the table." Listing off of his fingers, Max said, "Firstly, Brandon was noted to have suffered a loss to Ideku Badorigo. Then, Brandon lost a battle to an autistic girl named Nina from the Galar region. After that, Brandon lost to a Champion-ranked trainer from the Paldea region named Rimu. What made that battle notable was that Brandon reportedly had no trouble defeating the previous Champion-ranked trainer from Paldea that he had battled, some girl named Nemona."
Dawn and the others were surprised to hear it that Brandon not only had lost so many battles, but said battles were confirmed to have seen the Pyramid King use only his legendary golems. It was also surprising to hear that Ideku, Nina, and Rimu had all defeated Brandon in separate battles; Ideku wasn't too surprising as he has some legendary Pokémon of his own, but Rimu and Nina most likely owned no legendaries. The two of them both scoring wins against a man using only legendary Pokémon was a very impressive feat. Kenny became more impressed with his designated rival Rimu in the World Coronation Series, and the reborn trainers all knew it that Nina had it in her to prove herself as a trainer.
Gesturing to Max, Mina said, "Well what about you? How have you been doing in the World Coronation Series?"
Max gently shook his head in the negative. "I'm not doing anything there. I didn't enter."
"Too young to do so?" Mina guessed.
"No, May roped me into helping her practice and train for more Contests," Max replied. Folding his arms over his chest, Max said, "Also, I'm kinda sorta glad that I didn't enter. Things seem a bit stiff, and I don't wanna get into that."
Dawn looked over to where Brandon was still greeting people, although a hint of annoyance appeared in the Pyramid King's expression when he was asked about his recent string of losses. "...Hey Mina, can you look up Brandon's current ranking in the World Coronation Series?" Dawn asked.
"Sure, no prob," Mina replied. Mina took her phone out and used it to look up Brandon's rank in the current season of the World Coronation Series. "...Umm, wow," Mina said, "He looks to be one good loss away from being dumped back down into the Normal Class."
"Wait, Brandon has lost enough to be dangerously close to dropping down a Class?" Trip asked, looking surprised.
Putting her phone away, Mina said, "Yeah, Brandon's not looking too hot right now." After a few moments, a mischievous smile formed on Mina's lips. "...Hey Dawn, you should go challenge him to a battle for the World Coronation Series," Mina said.
"I can't," Dawn began to explain, "He's in the Great Class and I'm in the Ultra Class. Only other Great Class trainers can challenge him."
Stepping forward, Kenny said, "Then I shall be the one to challenge the Pharaoh of the Pyramid!" Proceeding to walk right towards where Brandon was standing as people clamored around him, Kenny continued, "With the twin powers of cringe and moxie, I shall-"
Kenny was cut off from walking forward by Dawn who saw something, or rather someone, walk up towards where the Pyramid King was being met up by so many gathered persons. A few people saw someone coming up towards Brandon with the clear intent to speak to him, and as such they parted to let the person through. Soon enough, even Brandon looked over and saw that someone was approaching him with clear intent, but who the person was that was aiming to speak to the Pyramid King caught even said Pyramid King himself off guard, although when the surprise settled down Brandon wore a bit of an unamused frown.
Dawn, as well as the rest of the reborn trainers, saw it as Paul the former jerkwad, currently on his (seemingly) never-ending quest for redemption, walk up and approach the Pyramid King. "You seem to be doing well in the World Coronation Series, Brandon," Paul remarked, "Given that a lot of people came here to see you."
"Well I am aiming to reach the top of the rankings," Brandon said, his tone towards Paul cordial but with a hint of being icy, "It's like reaching through to the deepest depths of a ruins. An adventure in and of itself."
"And as we all know," Paul continued, "No adventure is flawlessly smooth."
The gaze of the Pyramid King narrowed just a bit. "What do you mean by that, boy?"
Gesturing to Brandon, Paul explained, "I heard that you shot right through the Normal Class and likewise saw a similar streak through the Great Class. But then you began to see a number of losses. There's also how you've constantly indulged in your habit of talking down to people after you've beaten them, and you were even reported to have been officially reprimanded on the matter." Lowering his hand, Paul went on, "Also, I can't help but feel as if you've fallen into the trap you had once told my brother he had fallen into."
"Pardon?" Brandon said.
Giving Brandon a knowing look, Paul said, "The first time you and Reggie battled, and you beat him, you chastised him for apparently relying on brute strength." Gesturing to the Pyramid King once again, Paul went on, "It's been confirmed that you've been exclusively using your legendary Pokémon so far in the World Coronation Series. Sounds to me that you're doing much the same you had accused Reggie of doing. And similar to how you beat him, you yourself had been beaten. I even saw a video of your battle with that amazingly talented autistic girl from Galar who won against you, her Cinderace defeating two of your three legendary Pokémon alone."
Brandon scowled a bit more firmly. "Flukes, I assure you. I'm not one to lose my cool over losing, unlike you."
Paul arched a wry eyebrow. "I'm not so certain of that, Brandon. I can tell your tone's getting a bit icy, I can see the temper flaring in your eyes. It bothers you to have lost as often as you have as of late, even though you are using your legendary Pokémon to full effect." Paul's gaze narrowed a bit, but not with the same tone as how Brandon's eyes had narrowed; whereas the Pyramid King's gazed narrowed out of annoyance and slowly brewing anger, Paul's gaze narrowed out of suspicion. "You've been caught off guard by how big the world is outside of where you've made your stomping grounds, and you're so used to flexing what strength that you already have that you've been unable to adapt, hence your recent string of losses."
"And can you boast a flawless record in the current season of the World coronation Series yourself?" Brandon asked.
Gently shaking his head, Paul said, "No, I suffered a loss in the Great Rank to Ash Ketchum. Aside from that, I haven't lost." Looking to Brandon, Paul went on, "But the win Ash scored against me taught me where I needed to improve, both as a trainer and as a person. It also helped me to see how far I've come in applying some lessons imparted to me a while ago. You learn more from losing than you do from winning, but I think that the saying can go a bit further than that. You learn more from losing than you do from winning, but only if you reflect on your loss, think about why it happened."
Brandon frowned in unamusement at Paul. "A lesson I had tried to impart to you a while ago."
"Can you teach such a lesson without first having learned it yourself?"
Brandon took pause, a look of surprise on his face, as Pal continued on. "Sure, you can try teaching others that they learn more from losing than they do from winning," Paul began, "But up until the persons in charge of the Kanto Battle Frontier placed restrictions on you to keep you from using your legendary Pokémon against those challenging you for the Brave Symbol, you... haven't really lost at all, have you? How can you yourself learn from losses if you don't lose? Are you even used to losing battles, at least enough so that losing one doesn't bother you? Or have you gotten used to winning so much that you can't process losing a battle?"
Scowling, Brandon said, "You talk a big game for someone who-"
"Grew up." Once more, Brandon took pause when Paul interrupted him. "And I'm still trying to," Paul went on, "Still trying to learn where to improve, what's wrong and how to fix it. I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging, but I think I've gotten a fairly decent hold on things so far."
"Oh, you grew up you say," said the Pyramid King, "Sounds to me as if you're just a young boy trying to put on airs to sound cool in front of grown-ups. From what I can see, you still have a lot of growing up to do."
"That's fair," Paul replied. The reborn trainers, when they saw the look on Brandon's face, could tell that Paul's calm accepting of his comment had tripped up Brandon to a degree. "I mean, I still have to apply a lesson, an idea, given to me a while ago to see if I got things right," Paul went on, "And who better to help me practice than a trainer such as yourself?"
A hint of suspicion appeared in Brandon's eyes. "What are you trying to get at, boy?"
"You and I are both in the Great Rank of the current season of the World Coronation Series, are we not?" Paul asked, "As such, you and I are both free to challenge one another to an official battle for the World Coronation Series to try and raise our ranks. What do you say to a single style battle where we use three Pokémon each?"
Now Paul had elicited a chuckle from the Pyramid King. "You're seriously challenging me to a battle. You do know what happened the last time that you and I had battled one another, right?"
"Can you say for certain it'll happen again this time?" Paul replied, "Assuming, of course, you accept my challenge."
The gathered crowds were getting excited at the prospect of getting to see Brandon battle, no doubt because they wanna see legendary Pokémon in action. As for Brandon himself, he gave an amused smirk and a likewise scoff, clearly trying to play it cool. "Fair enough, I suppose I can try to educate you better," Brandon replied, "Assuming of course you're actually willing to listen this time."
"I'm all ears," Paul replied, and the reborn trainers saw a hint of annoyance run through the look in Brandon's eyes. Soon enough, everyone began filing into the Battle Pyramid where the battle was going to be held, and the reborn trainers who were still with Max met up with May, who was surprised to see Dawn and the others again, before they all headed into the Battle Pyramid and found seats in the bleachers around the arena inside. The reborn trainers felt that they were about to see some very major development for Paul as a person, as well as learn some more about Brandon.
This battle was going to be interesting indeed.
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE
Author's notes;
This chapter sees the fallout of Ash winning his first battle against Bea, rather than lose it like he does in the anime. Long story short, Bea lost her temper and made an accusation that came back to bite her on the butt. After that matter is settled, the reborn trainers go to Hoenn and see it as Paul issues a challenge to Brandon, the Pyramid King of the Kanto Battle Frontier. Brandon despite his meteoric rise through the Normal and Great Classes had seen a series of losses in the Great Class, and he is now in danger of dropping back down into the Normal Class.
As for Paul, aside from one loss he said he suffered to Ash, he's essentially flawless. But what's more important to Paul here is learning more that he can use to improve himself as both a trainer and a person. He's still wanting to better himself, he's still on his redemption quest. And the next chapter will see how all of Paul's efforts up to this point have worked for him as he tests himself against an opponent who was once seemingly insurmountable, but now some of his shine had worn off. Efforts of a bit more than two-hundred chapters in the making will be seen in the next chapter, but until then take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Froot Loop (Mew), Zancrow (male Volcarona), Germany (male Garchomp), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Cell (male Siczor; shiny), Zarbon (male Machamp), Godzilla (male Tyranitar), Moista Fista (male Ursaluna), Black (Giratina; Origin Forme)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Emploeon), Deelia (Dialga), Space Kitta (Celesteela), Suzaku (male Primarina), Foruze (male Electivire), Todoroki (male Goodra; alpha; Hisuian)
Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Dragonite (male), Lucario (female), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny), Flareon (male; shiny)