Chapter 61: The Royal Twins

After saying goodbye to Leon, the group, realizing they still had plenty of time before the next train to the Isle of Armor, decided to check out Hammerlock on Leon's suggestion. When they got on the train, they were surprised to see a familiar face in the passenger car.

"Sonia? Is that you?"

"Oh, hi guys! Are you going to Hammerlocke too?"

"Yep! We decided to do some sightseeing before we go back to the Isle of Armor. What about you?"

"There's a mural about The Darkest Day there that I want to check out some more. Mind if I tag along?"

"The more the merrier!"

10 minutes later, the train pulled into Hammerlocke Station, and the quintet departed.

"So, where's this mural?"

"It shouldn't be too far from the stadium. In fact, it should be just outside of-"

Just then, a loud explosion was heard not too far away.

"What was that?"
"I don't know, but we'd better go find out!"

Running towards the source, they found the mural under attack by two men in red and blue suits commanding a Copperajah.

"Keep going! I know there are wishing stars in here, and we're going to take them!"

"Agreed, brother! Soon, we'll take our rightful places as kings of Galar!"

"What're you two doing? That's Galar history!"

The two men turned around, revealing that their hair was shaped like a sword and shield respectiively.

"Stay out of this! Peasants like you don't deserve to even be in our presence!"

Sonia just sighed in frustration.

"Not these buffoons again."

"Oi, show some respect!"

"Indeed, brother. Youths these days have no respect for their superiors."

"Do you know these guys, Sonia?"

"Unfortunately. They're Shieldbert and Sordward, two obnoxious rich snobs whose goal in life is to make everyone else's lives miserable. They've been trying to discredit all of my work on the Darkest Day. Luckily, no one takes their lies seriously."

"It's you who has been spreading lies! Our ancestor, the king of Galar, were the ones to stop the Darkest Day, not the two nobodies you try to put on a pedestal!"

"Indeed, brother! The people of Galar should be thanking us!"

Ash, enraged that they were insulting his friend, stepped forward.

"Listen here, I don't care if you're descended from royalty or not! You're destroying a historical monument, and I won't stand for it!"

Shieldbert scoffed.

"Fine then, I suppose I'll have to teach you a lesson. And just to make sure it sticks…"

He took out his Rotomphone, which was a dark shade of purple.

"How about we broadcast it for the world to see?"

"Fine by me!"

After confirming the match, a Rotomdrone buzzed in from above.

"Attention, attention! A World Coronation Series match is about to begin! This battle will between Ash Ketchum, ranked 300, and Lord Shieldbert, ranked 139! Each trainer will be allowed 2 Pokemon, with no limit on switching out! Trainers, are you ready? Battle…start!"

"Go, Sirfetch'd!"

"Falinks, trounce this fool!"

"Sirfetch'd, use Leaf Blade!'

"First Impression, Falinks!"

The Formation Pokemon charged, only to be batted back with a single swipe of their opponent's sword. This made Shieldbert furious.

"Close Combat!"

"Use your Shield to absorb the damage, then use Counter!"

The squadron of six tried to surround and attack Sirfetch'd, but he used his shield to block most of their attacks. While he still took some damage, he managed to deal even more to his opponents, knocking them all out with a single swipe of his sword.

"Falinks is unable to battle! Sirfetch'd wins!"

"Alright, way to go Sirfetch'd!"

"Fetch'd!"

Shieldbert, on the other hand, was far from pleased with the outcome.

"Pathetic! Next time, try to take more than a few hits."

"Hey, you shouldn't talk to your Pokemon like that!"

"I can speak to them however I wish! Go, Bronzong!"

The Bronze Bell Pokemon thudded onto the battlefield, ready for battle. Ash was worried, but determined.

"Alright Sirfetch'd, go in for Brutal Swing!"

The FIghting type charged, sword ready to strike…

"Bronzong, use Psychic!"

Only to be lifted clean off the ground by Bronzong's mental capabilities before being tossed around like a rag doll, thrown into the ground multiple times.

"Sirfetch'd!"

"Confusion, now!"

Just as Sirfetch'd pulled himself to his feet, he was barraged by a wave of psychic energy, overwhelming him and knocking him out.

"Sirfetch'd is unable to battle, Bronzong wins!"

Shieldbert laughed haughtily.

"That'll teach you to know your place, peasant!"

Ash gritted his teeth, but took out his next Pokemon.

"Go, Thwackey!"

"Psychic, Bronzong!"

Just like before, Bronzong lifted Thwackey off the ground, the grass type struggling to break free.

"You can do it, Thwackey! Use Magical Leaf!"

With great effort, Thwackey was able to break through Bronzong's hold to let loose his barrage of leaves, dealing enough damage to Bronzong to make him lose its grip, allowing Thwackey to drop to the ground.

"Now, use Wood Hammer!"

Before Bronzong could recover, Thwackey charged, swinging a massive hammer right into its face, making it flinch. Ash couldn't help but feel cocky.

"Looks like you're not so high and mighty after all!"

"Grr, you'll pay for that! Extrasensory, Bronzong!"

Suddenly, Thwackey was besieged by psychic energy right into his brain, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Thwackey!"

"Heavy Slam, Bronzong!"

Thwackey recovered just in time to see Bronzong about to land right on top of him. Luckily, he managed to duck out of the way just in time, though the vibrations from the landing shook him up quite a bit.

"Now use Sunny Day!"

Suddenly, small streams of light peaked through the overcast sky, illuminating the battlefield, much to Ash's confusion.

"What's he planning?"

"Now, use Weather Ball!"

Bronzong released a ball of fire from its mouth, which knocked Thwackey clear off his feet. Thwackey managed to climb to his feet, but he was extremely exhausted.

"Come on Thwackey, you can do it! I believe in you!"

"Pika Pika!"

Hearing his teammate's encouraging words, Thwackey growled furiously. Then, he began to glow and get bigger, much to everyone's shock.

"Woah, Thwackey is evolving!"

Sure enough, once the glow died down Thwackey was now a powerful Rillaboom.

"Rillaboom!"

"Sweet! Way to go, Rillaboom!"

The newly evolved grass type smiled, and flashed Ash a thumbs up. Shieldbert scoffed, not too happy by this turn of events.

"Your Thwackey may have evolved, but he's still weak! Bronzong, use Gyro Ball!"

Bronzong began spinning wildly, making his way towards Rillaboom. Rillaboom, furious at being called weak, took out a tree stump and began beating wildly on it with his single drumstick, summoning vines from the ground which began whipping at Bronzong wildly. Sonia was impressed.

"Looks like Rillaboom learned Drum Beating!"

"Drum Beating?"

"It's Rillaboom's signature move, and a quite powerful one as well."

After checking his Rotom Phone, Ash couldn't help but grin.

"That's not the only thing he learned. Rillaboom, use High Horsepower!"

Rillaboom roared, bounding over to Bronzong before smashing his tree stump over its head, before beating on it like it was a drum. This proved too much for the psychic type to take, and he passed out. The Rotom Drone only had to take one look at it before he knew what the outcome was.

"Bronzong is unable to battle! RIllaboom wins, meaning the winner is Ash Ketchum!"

"Alright! Way to go, Rillaboom!"

"Boom!"

"As a result of today's battle, there has been a change in the World Coronation Series's rankings! Stay tuned for further informtation!"

Shieldbert glared, returning his attention to the mural.

"Fine! If I can't rush you in battle, then I'll crush your spirit by destroying this mural!"

Luckily, the two of them couldn't get very far, for Officer Jenny had heard the commotion and came running up to catch everything that had happened.

"You two! What's this I hear about you destroying a historical monument?"

"Miss Jenny, thank heavens you're here! Arrest these heavens!"

"Us? You're the ones trying to rewrite history!"

"Don't listen to them! They were trying to destroy Galar's history!"

The officer just rolled her eyes, having heard it all before.
"Uh huh. Tell it to the judge, you two!"

And so, despite their protests, the two were led away. The quartet watched them go, astonished.

"Well, that just happened."

"Do you think we'll run into them again?"

"With any luck, no."

Just then, Ash got a notification on his Rotom Phone, indicating the results from his battle were in.

"Sweet! I'm now ranked 146! One more win and I'll be in the Ultra Class!"

"Great job, Ash! That training with Mustard is really paying off!"

At that moment, Chloe saw the time and panicked.

"Oh no, the last train for the Isle of Armor leaves in 15 minutes! We need to go!"

"Right! Sorry Sonia, we've got to go! Tell your grandmother we said hello."

"Will do!"

Night soon fell, and the two brothers were miserable in their jail cell.

"This is all your fault."

"My fault? It was your idea!"

"Well, if you hadn't lost to that nobody!"

"Well, I didn't see you do anything!"

Before their petty argument could continue, someone opened the door to their cell.

"Alright, you're free to go."

The two brothers, more than happy to leave, got up and walked out.

"About time you came to your senses!"

"Indeed! Imprisoning royalty like that, you're lucky you still have your job!"

The officer on duty just rolled his eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself. You're only free to go because someone paid your bail."

This made the two curious. As far as they knew, no one liked them enough to do that. Immediately, they wanted to know who did it and for what purpose. Luckily, they soon had their answer.

"Chairman Rose?"

"Evening, you two. I believe there's a way we can help each other achieve our goals."