This chapter's a couple hours late. And, as usual with my battles, ridiculously overlong. Sorry.

"Please welcome Chairman Rose, who will now introduce our Gym Leaders and Gym Challengers participating in this year's Gym Challenge!" Leon's voice echoed from outside into the room, audible even above the murmurings and shifts of the numerous Gym Challengers sequestered within. Gloria was only half paying attention, for her focus was partially on the dark-haired girl who had just introduced herself as Marnie and was now standing right next to her.

It wasn't until Marnie glanced over that Gloria realized she'd been staring. "What?" Marnie asked.

"S-sorry," Gloria murmured, looking away.

"So what's your name?" Marnie asked.

Gloria looked up again. "Gloria," she said hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you, Gloria." Marnie stuck out a hand. "I'm Marnie. And at some point during the Gym Challenge, I'd like to battle you."

Gloria frowned. "You're pretty upfront, aren't you?"

"You could say that," said Marnie. "Just know that I am gonna win."

Hop oohed from the side. "That's a real challenge, Gloria! Now you have to answer it!"

Gloria sighed. "Hop, I..." She shook her head. "You're on, Marnie."

"Wicked!" Marnie's eyes gleamed. "Got some fight in you, huh? Well, then...we'll just have to see who can back their words up the best. What's your team?"

"Scorbunny and Bunnelby," said Gloria.

Marnie smirked. "You some kind of rabbit-themed Trainer? Gonna get yourself a Buneary and an Azurill next?"

"That's just the Pokemon I got, okay?" Gloria said defensively.

Marnie chuckled. "Just messin' with you."

"So...what's your team?" Gloria asked.

"Now why would I tell my team to my rival?" Marnie retorted with a grin. "If I did, you could prepare for it, right?"

"Oh..." Gloria gulped.

Hop broke in again, this time to Gloria's relief. "Hey, hands off! Gloria's my rival!"

"And who says someone can't have two rivals?" Marnie asked. "Heck, I'll be your rival, too. After all, to prove myself the strongest...beating the Champion's younger brother seems like a good startin' point."

"Oh, you're on!" Hop said enthusiastically.

"Could you three please be quiet?" a girl asked from behind them. "The Chairman's starting to speak!"

The three fell silent. Sure enough, a couple seconds later a new voice began to echo into the room. "Ladies and gentlemen…"

"…I am Rose, Chairman of the Galar Pokemon League! And I know that everyone gathered here…"

Seismitoad glanced down at Sobble, who had been standing on the floor for the past few minutes, looking fairly overwhelmed. "Right, sorry," the large Water/Ground-type murmured. "Come on, squirt, up you get." He reached up and scooped Sobble up onto his shoulder; the tiny Water-type sat down, eyes gazing with wonder at the screen as Rose launched into a speech about how excited everyone must be for the start of the Gym Challenge.

"You seem to have some practice at this," Cloyster murmured, trying to glance at Seismitoad and watch the screen at the same time.

"Yeah, this ain't the first time Leon's done this," Seismitoad admitted. "Sobble here's the latest in a long line of Champion trainees. He likes to train them himself, evolve them up, then offer them to other Trainers or, very rarely, keep them for himself if that's what they want." He side-eyed Rhyperior. "That's how this guy got on the team. Seven years ago he was just a little Rhyhorn - now he's every bit as strong as the rest of us!"

Rhyperior grinned. "You know it."

"And he sat on my shoulder just the same way Sobble is now!"

Rhyperior's grin faded. "So help me, if you mention that one more time-"

Cloyster couldn't stop himself from giggling at the mental image of a sizable Rhyhorn struggling to balance on Seismitoad's shoulder. Rhyperior shot a glare at him but said nothing, though a low growl issued from his throat.

It was at this moment that the door that led onto the field hissed open and Leon stepped through, his eyes glittering as he saw Marcus. "Great, you made it!" he cried. "Right on time." He patted one of the Pokeballs on his waist, which unlike the rest was glowing. "Charizard can't wait to face your team in battle!"

"My team's certainly looking forward to it as well," Marcus replied. "Though I hope you don't just use Charizard."

"Oh, don't worry, I always like to whet the audience's appetites first." Leon's grin, if possible, grew even wider. "Oh, look, Rose is introducing the Gym Leaders - this is always my second favorite part of his speech!"

Marcus's attention was instantly locked onto the screen. Cloyster knew instantly that he was combing the stadium field for any sign of Piers. Cloyster watched as the group of Gym Leaders stepped onto the field one by one, each of them treating the crowd very differently. He'd done his homework on each of them (or more accurately, Marcus had done it and passed it on), and so Cloyster had a cursory understanding of each Galarian Gym Leader's specialty.

Milo came first. His burly physique clashed completely with his clear kind demeanor as he shot a smile towards the audience, looking as if he was happy just to be there. He was a Grass-type Trainer with a penchant for farming; Cloyster had heard murmurings that he'd been the primary pusher for Dubwool to gain a secondary Grass tying.

Nessa cut a fine figure as she strode out after Milo, looking far more confident than her fellow Gym Leader. She was a Water-type specialist, a famous model, and one of the two Gym Leaders Cloyster was most looking forward to meeting, though her strategies apparently flowed more towards rain-based battling.

The older, severe-faced Kabu jogged onto the field - apparently his favorite thing aside from Pokemon battling was keeping in shape. He was a Fire-type specialist, completing the Starter-typing trifecta, and was widely regarded throughout Galar as the Gym Challenge's first real roadblock.

Allister staggered, more than stepped, onto the field. The Ghost-type Trainer was a product of the UPW's Prodigy Law, a highly controversial law passed several years ago that had allowed special licenses to be given out to children if they passed a series of difficult tests - alongside Allister, beneficiaries of the law included Paldea's Steel-type Elite Four member Poppy and famous wartime Unovan Champion and Dragon-type master Iris. Rumor had it that Allister was a Ghost-type himself, and watching him, Cloyster could understand exactly why those rumors were so commonplace.

Opal steadied herself with her cane as she trotted after Allister. The Fairy-type Gym Leader was perhaps the second most well-known of Galar's Gym Leaders after Raihan, mostly because of her longtime search for a replacement. In battle, she was said to be uncompromising and somewhat ruthless, a far cry from Valerie.

Melony flipped her hair as she stepped out, seeming to mirror Nessa but with a slightly softer demeanor that more resembled Milo. She was an Ice specialist and known for her versatility with the type - as such, she was easily the Gym Leader Cloyster was most looking forward to meeting. It was well Marcus had come this year, for from what Cloyster had heard Melony was planning to announce her retirement at the end of the year, handing the Gym off to her son Gordie, whom Cloyster recalled Aegislash mentioning earlier.

Cloyster's heart sank as the next Gym Leader to come out revealed himself to be Raihan. Evidently Piers hadn't made it - unsurprising, all things considered, but Cloyster had hoped, and judging by Marcus's quiet sigh, so had he. Raihan, for his part, was easily the most famous of Galar's Gym Leaders; a Dragon-type specialist running a Sandstorm-based team, he was widely considered across the UPW to be Leon's primary rival and a favorite for next in line for the position of Galarian Champion.

"Unfortunately," said Rose as the seven Gym Leaders lined up, "one of our Gym Leaders couldn't make it. But…" He spread his hands wide. "These are the Gym Leaders that we of the Galar Region are proud to call our own!"

Marcus glanced at Leon, who sighed, his smile fading. "I understand…you're excited to see our own Dark-type Gym Leader. Don't worry, he just had a scheduling conflict - he'll be open for the Gym Challenge, I promise you that."

Cloyster immediately could tell Leon was lying. A scheduling conflict? For the second biggest event in Galar, just behind the Champion's Cup Tournament? Marcus seemed to have similar thoughts, but he remained silent as Rose spoke up again.

"Now," he said, "it is time we introduced to you this year's crop of Gym Challengers!"

Leon's team bunched up with cries of "Ooh, I want to see Hop!" And sure enough, there he was, walking out onto the field side by side with Gloria and a dark-haired girl Cloyster didn't recognize at the head of the pack of Gym Challengers. Many of the Trainers were either looking nervous in front of the cheering crowd or walking with confidence, their heads held high. Hop was in the former group, Gloria in the latter.

Cloyster was fairly astonished at just how many Trainers were participating, even though he reminded himself that the Kalos Pokemon League Tournament always had far more competitors - it was just that he'd never seen them all gathered into one place like this.

Leon's smile returned. "All right, that's my cue. Head into the tunnel - the audience won't want to be kept waiting!" Swiftly, he recalled his team (Cloyster could have sworn he heard a few renditions of "Awww…" as they disappeared) and stepped back out the door to the tunnel that led to the field just as Rose proclaimed, "Gym Leaders, Gym Challengers, please head to your assigned seats while I reintroduce your Champion, Leon!"

"All right," said Marcus fingering his Pokeballs, "you heard him. Let's get ready."

Hop was practically buzzing with excitement as he sat down in his seat. The Gym Challengers had been assigned three rows of a section of seats; there were plenty of chairs for all of them, but even so, so many Gym Challengers had flocked towards the front row that Gloria was swiftly regretting her decision to sit next to Hop.

Squeezed between Hop and another boy, Gloria twisted as best she could, her eyes swiftly scanned for Marnie; she found the dark-haired Trainer sitting a couple seats away from her on the row above. But her eyes also caught something else - the curly-haired boy she'd seen earlier, striding up the staircase past the Gym Challenger seating area. "Where's he going?" she asked.

Though she'd mostly been addressing the question to herself, Marnie clearly heard, for she turned to eye the boy as well. "Oh, him," said Marnie. "I've heard about him…he's the Chairman's sponsored Trainer. Bede, I think his name was. He's probably headed up to some top box area."

"The Chairman…as in Chairman Rose?" the non-Hop boy asked from Gloria's right. "He can sponsor Trainers?"

"Leon can sponsor Trainers," Marnie pointed out. "Why can't the Chairman do the same? Anyway, I've heard Bede's a real piece of work - you lot should probably avoid him if at all possible."

Gloria nodded as she watched Bede continue to ascend the stairs until he reached a landing and was lost from sight. Before she could say or do anything else, Leon's voice once more resounded across the stadium. "Thank you, Chairman Rose. And now…"

"…for the moment I know you've all been waiting for!"

The crowd led out uproarious cheers, though to Houndoom they did seem surprisingly muted in comparison to earlier. Perhaps that was a side effect of the echoing tunnel Marcus was now standing in. Leon smirked. "Of course," he said, "no offense to Raihan, but I doubt yet another battle between the two of us is what you want to see!"

In the Gym Leaders' section of the stands, Raihan let out a loud laugh alongside the rest of the crowd.

"Well, luckily for you, I've arranged a special treat for you all!" Leon cleared his throat. "As you know, the International League - formerly known as the Pokemon World Tournament - is fast approaching, where you'll get to see the Gym Leaders of Galar - and, of course, me - battle with Trainers from all across the world. Well, as it happens, one of those foreign Trainers is here today! Come on out, Marcus!"

Houndoom felt slightly bemused as Marcus emerged from the tunnel, walking out onto the field with the crowd cheering for him. He was already understanding why Galar was sometimes derided by other regions as favoring style over substance - there was no question that the Galarians were very spectacle-oriented in terms of Pokemon battles, and this was even before Dynamax entered the equation.

"Marcus here," said Leon, "is a Dark-type Gym Leader from all the way over in Kalos! He's actually in Galar to sponsor one of this year's Gym Challengers, but he very kindly volunteered to demonstrate what the other regions are bringing to the table in this year's rendition of the International League!"

More cheering. Houndoom offhandedly wondered how long it would take for the audience's throats to grow hoarse.

"Now," since Leon, "since we're entertaining a Kalosian, I figured it would be best to start off with a little taste of home! Go, Aegislash!" With a flourish he tossed out the Steel/Ghost-type; Aegislash landed on the field in Shield Form, braced for battle, its single eye glowing purple. The stadium erupted in even louder cheers, chants of "Leon! Leon!" filling the air as banners waved and horns blew. Houndoom recognized the horns as similar in style to those used by Team Yell. So what, did they just buy those instruments from a concessions stand or something?

"Well, then," said Marcus, "I hope you don't begrudge me making use of type advantage. Go, Houndoom!"

Naturally, the cheers were a little less for Houndoom's arrival, but they were still present, the audience clearly looking forward to watching Leon face down a type disadvantage. Leon didn't seem bothered by said disadvantage; on the contrary, he was grinning. "I know you're a Dark-type Gym Leader, Marcus," he said. "I encourage you to use whatever advantages you have! All the better to give Galar a good show!"

"This will be a three-on-three battle!" the referee cut in from the sidelines. "No restrictions on height! Each battle will only end when one combatant surrenders or is knocked out! Battlers…begin!"

"Houndoom, start off nice and simple!" Marcus ordered. "Flamethrower, spread!"

Houndoom inhaled. "Flash Fire: Flame Tongue!" he snarled, letting Blaze flow from his jaws in a stream. As it burst from his teeth and soared across the field, Houndoom called upon his Ability, taking control of the Flamethrower and splitting it apart into several smaller streams, expanding and expanding as it neared Aegislash.

Essentially, a discount Inferno.

"Away, and counter with Sacred Sword!" Leon cried. A second later, Aegislash materialized in a burst of Distortion above the fiery wave. "Stance Change: King's Blade!" Aegislash called; a second later he was hurtling towards Houndoom in Blade Forme, his blade glinting with Aura as he swung it towards Houndoom. Houndoom lashed out with a Dark Pulse, but Aegislash dematerialized once more with Shadow Sneak, reappearing just behind Houndoom with his blade already lashing.

"Flash Fire: Flame Barrier!" Houndoom snarled; Aegislash's Sacred Sword slammed into a wall of Blaze. Drawing on Flash Fire again, Houndoom willed the shield to explode outwards. "Enemy front!" Leon cried; spurred on by his Trainer's order, Aegislash teleported out of the way of the blast and reappeared right in front of Houndoom, blade swinging once again. "Flash Fire: Flame Blade!" Houndoom growled; in a flash he manifested a Blaze-formed sword and swung it into Aegislash's oncoming strike. Energy exploded outwards in all directions as the two blades met, to astonished gasps from the crowd; the Aura protected Aegislash from the type advantage of the Flame Blade, but his charge was still stopped cold.

At least for a moment.

"Stance Change: King's Press!" So quickly that Houndoom couldn't contest, Aegislash drew back, shifted into his Shield Forme, and rushed forwards once more, slamming into Houndoom's Flame Blade with enough force to drive it back into Houndoom's face and send the Dark/Fire-type stumbling backwards. "Enemy right!" Leon ordered, and Aegislash dematerialized again.

"Dark Pulse, all directions!" Marcus cried. Houndoom skidded to a halt and immediately unleashed an omnidirectional surge of Oblivion, but Aegislash retorted with a metallic cry of "King's Shield!" even as he rematerialized to Houndoom's right. A barrier of Iron sprang up in front of Aegislash, intercepting the Dark Pulse; a split second later Aegislash lunged forwards with a shout of "Stance Change: King's Blade!" and slammed a Sacred Sword into Houndoom's side before he could bring up another Flame Barrier.

The cheers of the crowd were near-deafening as Houndoom was thrown across the arena. He flipped over and landed on his feet, managing to stop himself before he slid into the wall. Houndoom huffed, shaking his head to clear it. I've seen Wikstrom's Aegislash in combat enough to know how Stance Change works. Shield Forme is highly defensive and incredibly dense, but is much slower than Blade Forme, whereas Blade Forme is fast and hits hard, but is much more frail than Shield Forme. But Wikstrom's Aegislash fights head-on, using King's Shield to intercept attacks - I've never seen it utilize Shadow Sneak. Whereas Leon's Aegislash seems to have a particular affinity for the move - that alone makes it twice as dangerous as Wikstrom's Aegislash.

Then again, I should have expected that - Leon is a Champion, after all.

"Follow up with Flash Cannon!" Leon cried.

Aegislash leaped into the air in - surprisingly - Shield Forme. "King's Cannonade!" he bellowed; the center of his shield glowed silver, and as Houndoom watched a powerful blast of Iron emanated from it, a silvery bolt streaking towards the Dark/Fire-type. Almost immediately afterwards, Aegislash dematerialized; he reappeared in another spot in the sky and fired another Flash Cannon half a second after the first one, then dematerialized again, reappearing in yet another spot to fire a third Flash Cannon.

"Dodge!" Marcus cried. "And fill the sky with Embers!"

Houndoom exploded into movement; the first of Aegislash's Flash Cannons slammed into the earth as Houndoom leaped to the side, sending up a massive spray of dirt. The Dark/Fire-type lunged forwards, pounding across the turf, dodging Flash Cannon after Flash Cannon; as he did so, his mouth filled with Blaze once more. "Flash Fire: Flame Storm!" he roared, and from his jaws came a torrent of Embers, an upwards rain that intercepted two of Aegislash's Flash Cannons and streaked towards the Steel/Ghost-type as he readied another.

"Break through with Head Smash!" Leon ordered.

Crap. Houndoom dimly remembered that being a favorite trick of Wikstrom's Aegislash, one he often busted out against unlucky Fire-types. Figures he'd know that one…probably learned that one straight from Wikstrom himself. "Stance Change: King's Smash!" Aegislash cried, shifting into Blade Forme once more. Ancient burst out of his body as he lunged straight into the teeth of Houndoom's Flame Storm, protecting him from the Embers, the motes of fire dissipating against his oncoming body.

"Houndoom, Solar Beam!" Marcus ordered.

Won't he just teleport away? Houndoom shoved that thought into the back of his mind and called upon his Power Herb. In the blink of an eye his Solar Beam was charged, and the torrent of Overgrow exploded from his jaws, streaking towards the Ancient-engulfed Aegislash. "Enemy rear!" Leon called.

"Shadow Ball, behind!" Marcus retorted near-instantly.

"King's Shield!" Leon cried, his eyes widening as Houndoom whirled. Aegislash materialized and immediately began shifting forms - "Stance Change-" - but it was too late. Houndoom's Shadow Ball exploded against Aegislash's form, and it was the Steel/Ghost-type's turn to go flying as the crowd gasped again, a many-throated intake of breath emanating from the stands.

"It takes time to change forms!" Marcus called. "I know how an Aegislash works - I've seen Wikstrom fight! Inferno, Houndoom! Burn it down!"

Houndoom smirked. "Flash Fire: Flame Surge!" he snarled, and just as he'd done against Team Yell in the Budew Drop Inn and even earlier against Corviknight's gang, he unleashed a storm of Blaze that made his earlier spread Flamethrower look like a tiny Ember in comparison. Casting out his will, Houndoom ordered the Blaze to descend, forming a fiery tidal wave that descended on the prone Aegislash.

"Not bad!" Leon called across the field. "But I'm not Wikstrom, and my Aegislash isn't even close to being out of tricks! Wide Guard!"

Dimly through the flames, Houndoom saw Aegislash rise in Shield Forme. "King's Aegis!" he cried; to Houndoom's surprise, a massive barrier of Ancient formed in front of him like an exaggerated, Rock-type King's Shield. The entirety of the Inferno was intercepted, swiftly dispersing against Aegislash's Wide Guard; as the Steel/Ghost-type rose to a floating position once more, the last of the flames flickering into nothingness, the crowd roared.

Houndoom planted his feet and glared at Aegislash. We've each landed one good hit, he reminded himself. It's still anyone's battle. But as he eyed Aegislash, he beheld a small glowing metallic object suspended from his tassel, shaped somewhat like the core of an apple. Leftovers, he realized, biting back a curse. Acts like a Black Sludge, but not limited to Poison-types - if I can't rack up the damage quickly, he'll just heal it off. And that'll be pretty hard with King's Shield and Wide Guard, not to mention having to deal with his powerful attacks.

It's like fighting a teleporting Drapion. Houndoom couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of the bulky Poison/Dark-type warping around a battlefield. Then Aegislash lunged forwards with a cry of "Stance Change: King's Blade!" and Houndoom's mind was thrown back into the battle instantly as he summoned a Flame Blade to clash once more with Aegislash's attack.

"This is awesome!" Hop cried; he'd been grinning ear to ear ever since the start of the battle. "I've seen Lee battle plenty of times, but I've never gotten front-row seats like this!"

"Marcus's Houndoom isn't doing too badly either," Gloria noted. "I knew he was strong, but keeping up with Leon…"

"Keepin' up is pushin' it." Marnie had chosen to sit down next to Hop and Gloria; now her voice abruptly pierced into their conversation. "He's got double type advantage and he's still on the back foot. An' I'm not sure you've noticed, but Leon's got Leftovers on that thing. I'm willin' to bet he's already recovered most of the the damage that Shadow Ball dealt."

Gloria shot a glare at Marnie even as she inwardly admitted the black-haired girl had a point. "I'm sure Houndoom has some tricks up his sleeve."

"He'd better," Marnie retorted. "Or else this'll be a pretty short fight."

Houndoom deflected another swipe from Aegislash with his Flame Blade, grimacing at how strong Aegislash's attack was. He'd begun mixing Ancient into his attacks, and now it was all Houndoom could do to even fend off Aegislash's blade. He wasn't using Shadow Sneak, but if anything that was yet another disadvantage for Houndoom, for even as he fought Aegislash off he had to constantly keep his awareness up, waiting for Aegislash to suddenly teleport behind him or to his side or even above or below him.

"Houndoom!" Marcus's voice rose above the clashing of blades. "You can't keep this up! Foul Play, quick!"

Houndoom grimaced. This is going to be tough - I'm already putting so much power into keeping this Flame Blade up. If I pour yet more into this attack, I'll be vulnerable to a Shadow Sneak. But Marcus is right - I can't keep this up.

Houndoom called upon Foul Play; Oblivion burst forth across his body as he lunged straight for Aegislash, teeth bared. He was unsurprised to see Aegislash blink out of the way - "Dark Pulse!" Marcus called - and Houndoom realized that, once more, Marcus had outplayed Leon. With Foul Play suffusing his body, Houndoom had easy access to that Oblivion. Normally it took time to summon a Dark Pulse, but here it was already summoned.

All Houndoom needed to do was unleash it.

"Slice it!" Leon barked. Rather than trying to use Stance Change like last time, as Aegislash materialized to Houndoom's side his blade immediately glowed with Aura. Twisting, Aegislash flashed upwards; his Aura-enhanced sword cleaved straight through the center of Houndoom's Dark Pulse, splitting the wave in two. The remnants of the wave passed by Aegislash harmlessly. "You can't beat me with the same trick twice, Marcus," Leon said faux-disapprovingly - a mid-battle taunt.

"I know," said Marcus. "I just needed Houndoom clear for a moment. Houndoom, put up a barrier and use Nasty Plot!"

Houndoom grinned. Of course. Aegislash is beating me because he's able to tear through my attacks with sheer force combined with type advantage. And Nasty Plot ensures I can counter that.

"Aegislash, stop him!" Leon cried. "Brick Break!"

"Flash Fire: Flame Barrier!" Houndoom roared as Aegislash teleported forwards, Aura erupting from his blade. But as the Brick Break landed, Houndoom called upon Flash Fire, willing more Blaze to concentrate against Aegislash's attack, and as such, though it struck the shield hard enough to leave a crack, Aegislash's Brick Break failed to shatter it. As Aegislash pressed, yearning to break through, Houndoom called upon the Distortion residing within his mind, but rather than shaping it into another shadowy sphere, he instead willed it to disperse throughout his body, strengthening his energy reserves and drastically increasing his overall power.

I don't usually bother with Nasty Plot - it's incredibly taxing to wield so much energy at once even with Flash Fire to help control and mitigate them - but I can't hold anything back against this Aegislash.

Houndoom narrowed his eyes and willed his shield to explode outwards. "Away!" Leon cried, recognizing Houndoom's intent - clearly he remembered when Houndoom had done this back at the beginning of the fight - and accordingly Aegislash blinked away just as Houndoom's Flame Barrier roared outwards in a colossal explosion. As the flames cleared, Aegislash reappeared some distance away from Houndoom, shifting back to Shield Forme. "King's Cannonade!" he called again.

"Flash Fire: Flame Tongue!" Houndoom roared as the first of Aegislash's Flash Cannons came at him. This time, what emerged from his jaws was similar in scope and scale to his earlier Inferno despite only being a mere Flamethrower. Aegislash's Flash Cannon barrage was swallowed up in an instant. "Wide Guard!" Leon commanded.

"Who's trying to win with the same trick twice now?" Marcus asked. "Houndoom, curve it!"

Houndoom understood immediately. "Flash Fire!" he roared as the massive barrier of Ancient formed in front of Aegislash. Reaching out his influence on the massive cone of flames, he willed it to split apart, half of it curving upwards, the other half curving downwards. The two halves of the massive Flamethrower twisted around the top and bottom of Aegislash's Wide Guard and came down on the Steel/Ghost-type like a set of fiery pincers. "Shadow Sneak!" Leon cried, but while that might have worked in Blade Forme, in Shield Forme Aegislash was a heartbeat too slow. Houndoom heard the beginnings of a cry of pain as he dematerialized, and when he reappeared next to Leon he was gasping, clearly having taken a not insignificant amount of damage from the attack.

"Don't let up!" Marcus ordered. "Ember!"

"Flash Fire: Flame Storm!" Houndoom bellowed; this new Flame Storm was twice as powerful as the old one, and as a thousand fiery motes arced across the sky towards Aegislash Houndoom knew there was no way he could just bulldoze through them like he had before.

"This is gonna be tricky, Aegislash!" Leon warned. "Autotomize, then combine Close Combat and Head Smash! Slice those Embers out of the sky!"

Houndoom gaped as Aegislash flared Iron, Aura, and Ancient across his body all at once, glowing so vibrantly he was near-blinding. "Stance Change," he snarled, shifting into Blade Forme once more. "King's Whirlwind!" And then his blade exploded into movement, and Houndoom realized that Leon's command had not been hyperbole.

For before his eyes, Aegislash was slashing each and every individual Ember coming at him into nothingness.

It should have been impossible. Houndoom was using Flash Fire to ensure every Ember curved inwards, streaking straight towards Aegislash. Yet, thanks to Autotomize, Aegislash was fast enough to deflect each one. His blade was indeed a whirlwind as he slashed and slashed again, tearing through Ember after Ember with legitimately insane speed.

"Shadow Ball!" Marcus cried. He and Houndoom were on the same page - Houndoom was already forming the Ghost-type attack. Try cleaving through this.

"Enemy top!" Leon called.

Houndoom gulped - in his haste to bring down Aegislash, he'd left himself vulnerable to Shadow Sneak. Twisting upwards at such a strange angle his neck twinged with pain, Houndoom tossed his Shadow Ball upwards in a vain attempt to catch Aegislash. But as Aegislash materialized, his blade glowed with Oblivion - a well-timed Night Slash - and carved straight down through the Shadow Ball and into Houndoom's back.

Even not very effective, it still hurt.

"Dark Pulse!" Marcus cried. Houndoom barely managed to let off the attack as he sank to the ground, his spine erupting with pain. It managed to force Aegislash away; the Steel/Ghost-type reappeared some distance away, shifting into Shield Forme and blocking the Dark Pulse with a King's Shield. Houndoom couldn't take advantage; he was forced to pour all his energy into forcing back the pain and rising to his feet. I already took way too much damage before I accessed Nasty Plot. I doubt I can take even a couple more hits from this Aegislash.

I need to end this now.

"Flash Fire!" Houndoom roared, drawing upon all the Blaze he could muster. "Flame Conflagration!"

Blaze exploded out of his body like a miniature volcano, fiery plumes plunging down upon the battlefield, wreathing the entirety of the turf in flames. Aegislash was lost from sight completely as Houndoom's vision was consumed by fire. The shocked exclamations of the crowd were lost amidst the roaring of the Blaze.

Houndoom panted - even with his Ability, the attack had taken a lot out of him. Did I get him?

And then Aegislash materialized behind him. "King's Smash!"

Twisting, Houndoom beheld Aegislash streaking towards him, encased in a sphere of Ancient - Wide Guard, Houndoom realized, wrapped around him like a ball to stave off the flames. The bulk of the Ancient was dissipating even as Aegislash lunged, but even as Houndoom saw the Steel/Ghost-type he knew Aegislash's Head Smash would connect. And there was no way Houndoom could fight it off, not at such short notice.

But I can at least deal some damage in return.

Houndoom twisted and hurled himself at Aegislash, jaws opening wide, and even as the Steel/Ghost-type slammed into him he clamped a vicious Crunch down on Aegislash's body.

Gloria watched as the fires dissipated; a hush had fallen over the crowd as they watched the fiery expanse, waiting for a sign that either of the combatants was still up. They saw Aegislash first, rising out of the fires, shuddering slightly as his body trailed flames. Clearly he had not escaped unscathed, but at least he was still conscious. The same could not be said for Houndoom, whose body reappeared as the last of the flames receded, lying unconscious on the ashen turf.

The crowd let out a mingled cheer. Gloria did not join in. She did, however, lean forward slightly as Marcus recalled Houndoom. "Well, then," said the Gym Leader. "I don't usually bring out my Ace so early…but you did want a show, didn't you? Let's go, Drapion!"

He's starting to take to the crowd a little, Gloria realized as Marcus sent out his Drapion. The massive Poison/Dark-type eyed Aegislash as the Steel/Ghost-type slowly lowered itself back to Leon's side and let out a vicious snarl.

"The score is 3-to-2, Leon!" the referee called. "Battlers…begin!"

Within the first minute of their fight, it was clear that Aegislash was fighting Drapion in a completely different way than he'd fought Houndoom.

Against Houndoom, he'd played it slow, defending against the Dark/Fire-type's attacks and waiting for openings to strike. Even when Houndoom had used Nasty Plot, Aegislash had simply waited for him to slip up before streaking in for singular hits that had eventually whittled Houndoom down. Against Drapion, Aegislash had gone all in the instant it had become clear Drapion was a pure melee fighter, slashing and teleporting and slashing again or defending with King's Shield and striking back with blunt force. Drapion defended with Protect and Battle Armor, retaliated with swings of his claws or tail, and lashed out with Earthquake after Earthquake to force Aegislash back every time he seemed to be getting too overwhelming.

It was almost funny. Aegislash seemed built to counter a ranged attacker like Houndoom, his Stance Change Ability perfectly suited for a counterattacking fighting style. Against the defensive, melee-focused Drapion, he seemed almost overwhelmed, and in just a minute had already taken two hits - a Knock Off that had stripped away his Leftovers and an Earthquake he hadn't been able to dodge in time - whereas any light cuts Aegislash had dealt through Drapion's Battle Armor were being healed off by Drapion's Black Sludge.

It didn't help that Aegislash was still clearly hurting from his earlier fight with Houndoom. Nor did it help that, both times Aegislash broke away, teleporting into the sky for a King's Cannonade, Drapion's resulting Pursuit forced him back down to earth and back into melee. But even so, Drapion was more than a little surprised at just how little fight Aegislash was putting up.

And Leon clearly noticed it, too. As Aegislash bounced off yet another of Drapion's Protects, his breath ragged as he backpedaled away from Drapion's follow-up swipe, the Champion spoke up. "I can see why he's your Ace, Marcus!" he called. "But don't think you've won just yet! Aegislash, pull back and Giga Impact! Give it all you've got!"

Aegislash's eye gleamed as he, indeed, drew back. "Stance Change: King's Joust!" he snarled, his body blazing brilliantly with Energy. Drapion readied himself as Aegislash twisted and charged blade-first, the point aimed right between Drapion's eyes.

Drapion raised a Protect.

Aegislash's Giga Impact slammed into Drapion's Protect so hard that the force of the impact actually sent Drapion skidding backwards even through the barrier. But the Protect held, and as it dissipated Drapion stomped down upon the ground. "Quake!" he snarled, unleashing one final powerful Earthquake at the momentarily-stationary Aegislash.

Leon's eyes gleamed. "Destiny Bond!"

"Huh," Marnie murmured as both Aegislash and Drapion were recalled into their respective Pokeballs. "That felt a lot shorter than it was."

Gloria noted the dark-haired girl had a strange expression on her face, but pushed that thought to the side. "I didn't think Leon would pull something like that," Gloria murmured. "He doesn't strike me as that kind of Trainer."

Hop smirked. "That's Lee for you - he's never out of tricks. That's why he's the undefeated Champion!"

On the field, Gloria noticed Marcus looking slightly frustrated - understandably so - but the Gym Leader quickly rearranged his features back into a smile. "I'll admit, it's not every day I lose two Pokemon to a Ghost-type," he said.

"I'll bet!" said Leon; unlike Marcus, his smile was wide and not forced at all. "This has been fun, Marcus, but it's time I ended this! Come out, Charizard!"

The crowd's roars rose to outright screams as Charizard emerged onto the field.

"Here we go." Hop was actually rubbing his hands together - Gloria thought people only did that in movies. "Aegislash was an appetizer - this is the main event. I don't think Charizard's ever been defeated before."

Marnie snorted. Gloria privately agreed with her, but remained silent, eyeing Marcus as his hand dipped towards Medicham's Pokeball. She'd known he wouldn't win from the start - he was just a Gym Leader, and Leon was the Champion of Galar. But she hoped that at least Medicham would put up a good fight against Charizard.

The crowd was really getting into it now - clearly they shared Hop's view. Gloria steadied herself and watched with bated breath as Marcus opened his mouth, staring around at the audience. "Something you all should know about me," he shouted, "is that I'm not just a Dark-type Trainer! Before I became a Gym Leader, I was a generalist! And so while Drapion is the Ace of my Gym Leader team…I think it's time I brought out my real strongest Pokemon!" With a flourish, the Gym Leader released Medicham onto the battlefield as the crowd loudly called out their approval.

The sound of hundreds, even thousands of voices hit Medicham's ears full force, calls of encouragement filling the air as the audience cheered for their Champion's Ace, clearly excited to see the great Charizard reinforce his reputation. She could hear Hop's voice loudest of all; she glanced over at the stands to see Hop, sitting in a front-row seat, pumping his fist in the air while Gloria, looking a little overwhelmed by the noise, simply watched amidst the excited crowd.

Medicham cracked a thin smile. If it's a show they want, I'll make sure to give them one.

Across the massive field, Leon's Charizard spread his wings and roared, shooting a gout of flame into the sky, an action that drew an even louder cheer from the audience. He lowered his head, eyes fixed on Medicham; Medicham could see his gaze shift over to her missing arm for a moment, and only now did she realize the massive Fire/Flying-type had never actually seen her before. At around the same time, Medicham began to hear a few murmurs of surprise from the audience, cutting through the cheering as watchers began to behold the lost appendage. Charizard lowered himself into a fighting position, but watching him closely, Medicham could see he was still a little bit relaxed, his posture a little slouched, his stance not as rigid as it could have been.

He doesn't see me as a threat. Time to rectify that.

Medicham narrowed her eyes, focusing on her missing forearm, and as with the battle against Arbiter-Of-Fates, she called upon the Aura within her body to erupt from the stump, manifesting into a blue-glowing facsimile of an arm. She was pleased to see Charizard shift in response, and even more pleased to hear the clear awe from the audience.

"Now that's something you don't see every day!" Leon smiled widely. "Let's have a great battle, Marcus!"

"Agreed," said Marcus.

"Battlers…" the referee began. It seemed like the moment between the referee's words stretched out for an eternity. "…begin!"

"Psychic," Marcus ordered. "Adjust as necessary."

Right. Medicham focused her mind; Charizard's Flying typing would make her Aura-based attacks less effective. Psychic would be the way to go until she could get up close, at which point she wanted to land a Thunder Punch if possible…or her other move that she and Marcus had collectively decided to save for a decisive point in this match.

Concentrating, Medicham unleashed a burst of Mind expansive enough to set the air around her to shivering. It had taken a solid year of training with Darkrai before she'd finally managed to consistently utilize Mind in her attacks; now, though, it only took a small amount of concentration to unleash the base form of Psychic energy. It was difficult enough that she still had to resort to standard Psychic energy when letting off rapid, instinctive Psychics, as she had against Corviknight's gang, but in a situation like this she could at least take her time a little.

Charizard's response was as casual as it was swift; raising his wings, he flapped them forwards, firing out a burst of Air strong enough to dissipate Medicham's Psychic before it even came close. Shifting one foot forwards, Charizard growled, "Bonfire Jet." A streak of Blaze - a Flamethrower, stronger and faster than anything Houndoom had been able to muster in his fight without assistance from Nasty Plot - flew from his jaws, spearing through the air towards Medicham.

"Pure Power: Aura Shield!" Medicham's Aura-made arm shot upwards, its form changing as it went. The arm twisted, forming a circular barrier of Aura that caught Charizard's Bonfire Jet; the Blaze exploded against the Aura Shield, the force of the impact enough to send Medicham skidding backwards a couple inches, but she remained untouched. Leon shouted out an order, his words rising over the sound of flames meeting Medicham's barrier. "Take to the air, Charizard! Fire Spin!"

Charizard launched himself upwards, mouth open. "Psychic again!" Marcus cried as Blaze gathered around the edges of Charizard's jaws. "Bonfire Ring!" Charizard cried; a burst of Blaze shot from his mouth once more, but was met by another blast of Mind from Medicham. The sheer power of the flames was enough to punch through Medicham's Psychic, but it was diluted enough that Medicham was able to evade, leaping forwards as the area around where she'd been standing erupted in a ring of Blaze.

Rolling to her feet, Medicham twisted, throwing out both arms towards Charizard's aerial form. "Pure Power: Aura Beam!" she cried; it wouldn't do much damage, but she hoped it would be enough to force him to descend.

But Charizard twisted faster than Medicham had expected. He dove, flicking a wing sideways as he did so; even as he shot downwards a blade of Air flew from his wingtip, slicing straight into Medicham's Aura Beam and splitting it in two. Two streams of Aura flew off to either side, dissipating into the air as Charizard slammed back onto the ground. Earth shot outwards as Charizard landed; Medicham was forced into Aura Avoidance, leaping aside to avoid the Earthquake Charizard had fired at her.

With a low, swift growl of "Bonfire Fist," Charizard shot forwards and slammed a Fire Punch into Medicham's gut while she was still in midair.

Medicham was thrown backwards forcefully, flying towards Leon; quickly, she twisted in midair as she dropped, ensuring they were the first parts of her body to hit the ground. She fired off a swift Aura Blast as she skidded backwards, just enough to force Charizard to break off his pursuit in favor of countering with a defensive burst of Air. Medicham glanced over her shoulder as she stopped and saw Leon, smiling widely as he watched the two fight - unlike with Aegislash, who he'd been commanding from the jump, the Champion still hadn't given Charizard a single order.

Medicham's chest burned, but she readied herself anyway. As expected, he's fast - it looked like he was using some kind of modified Tailwind, or Acrobatics. Not sure which - possibly both?

The audience roared with delight as they saw Charizard had landed the first blow of the match. "Yes, Lee!" Hop's voice rose above the crowd once again. "Come on, you've got this!"

Gloria said nothing, her hands at her sides as she watched the match carefully.

"Medicham, wave!" Marcus's order rose above even Hop's cry, and Medicham raised her foot instantly. "Pure Power: Aura Wave!" Medicham called, slamming her foot into the ground to unleash a burst of Aura in all directions. Charizard leaped upwards, wings spread wide, easily evading the attack, but Medicham had expected that, and from the look in Marcus's eyes, so had he.

They'd just been hoping to get Charizard into the air. "Fill the sky!" Marcus cried.

Medicham thrust her hands outwards and upwards. "Pure Power: Aura Blast Barrage!"

Once upon a time, that had just meant several spheres in quick succession. Now, a veritable flood of Aura Blasts flew from Medicham's outstretched hands, and Charizard's eyes actually widened at the sight of so many spheres hurtling towards him. "Wildfire Wrath!" he bellowed; to Medicham, it was as if the sky lit up with fire, and her storm of blue Aura was met with an inescapable wave of red Blaze. Her Aura Blast Barrage was consumed, each sphere dissipating against Charizard's powerful attack. That has to be Overheat, or something similar, Medicham thought, clenching her fists in preparation for Charizard's next attack-

"Psychic at him, quickly!"

Marcus's words galvanized Medicham into instant action; even as she fired the Psychic blindly upwards, a cylindrical blast of Air ripped through the center of Charizard's Wildfire Wrath, carving through what little remained of her Aura Blast Barrage as it scythed down towards her. Again, though it wasn't enough to completely blunt the attack, the Psychic gave Medicham enough time to evade, lunging forwards even as Charizard reappeared, flying over the dying flames of his Wildfire Wrath.

"Ember!" Leon's voice finally sounded.

"Bonfire Storm!" Charizard roared, and fire flew forth from his wings and his jaws; the eruption of fiery motes made Houndoom's Flame Storm look tiny by comparison, and once more a wall of Blaze blotted out the sun and turned the sky red, thousands upon thousands of tiny Embers falling down upon Medicham like a tidal wave. Medicham crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Pure Power: Aura Expulsion!" she shouted, her voice carrying through the air as she unleashed the same attack that had sent Arbiter-Of-Fates flying on the train.

Astonished cries arose from the spectators as Medicham and Charizard's twin waves slammed into one another, creating a massive explosion of blue and red light, an explosion that blinded both Medicham and Marcus to Charizard's whereabouts. The sound was thunderous, a low rolling burst of noise that forced Medicham to summon Aura around her ears to cover them. Marcus, with no Aura to his name, simply clamped his hands upon his ears, trying and failing to block out the sound.

In that moment, Charizard burst through the remains of the colliding attacks, trailing fire behind him as he rushed Medicham with Blaze roiling around him. "Wildfire Slam!"

A Detect was the only thing that allowed Medicham to evade the attack; Charizard slammed into the ground in an explosion of Blaze and Earth - clearly he'd combined Flare Blitz with another ground-pounding Earthquake, and the sheer force of the combination sent Medicham flying away even though the main attack had missed. That attack might have knocked me out instantly if it had connected.

Charizard twisted and lunged as Medicham came down. "Let's do this, then!" he snarled as he did so. "Bonfire Fist!" A burning Fire Punch narrowly missed Medicham's face as she ducked backwards. Medicham had to recoil again as another Fire Punch swung past in a left hook, and then Charizard twisted and Medicham had to leap away from a swinging Iron Tail, the steely appendage whistling as it swept past her retreating stomach.

"Offense!" Marcus called.

He's right; I have no shot at winning if I keep running away. Crouching, Medicham hurled herself forwards, her fist crackling with Electric energy. Unexpectedly, Charizard met it with a Thunder Punch of his own, and his was formed from Lightning; their fists collided in an electrical explosion.

It was in that single moment that Leon's voice rose again. "Blaze Kick!"

In the blink of an eye, Charizard lashed out with a foot surrounded by Blaze, and once more Medicham was thrown backwards in an explosion of fiery energy, pain erupting across her stomach. "Shield!" Marcus cried as she landed on the ground; out of the corner of her narrowed eyes, Medicham saw Charizard unleashing another Bonfire Jet at her, and swiftly raised an Aura Shield in defense, deflecting the stream of Blaze and giving herself time to recover from the hit Charizard had dealt.

Rising, Medicham could hear the crowd exploding with renewed cheering, Hop's cry of "Finish it!" noticeable amongst their yells. Gloria was gripping the railing in front of her now as Leon's voice rose over them all. "Flare Blitz!" he cried, sounding almost theatrical; Medicham suspected the order had been for the benefit of the crowd rather than Charizard, for Charizard was already exploding forwards, Blaze surging around his body, before Leon even called his order. "Wildfire Slam!" Charizard roared, hurtling towards Medicham with shocking speed.

Medicham grimaced. I'm not finished yet…but it's not looking good.

He's faster than me. He's stronger than me. The sheer versatility of his techniques means he's able to counter everything I can throw at him. Even in melee, where I'm best, he can best me.

But I'll be damned if I'm giving up that easily. I think…

I think it's time I went full power.

Medicham crouched, summoned all the Aura she could muster. She flooded her entire body with it, willing it to strengthen her muscles, increase her speed and strength. Her form erupted in blue light as she dug her feet into the ground, the power coursing through her body strong enough that the ground around her rattled under the sheer amount of energy that flowed forth from Medicham.

She hadn't needed to use this against Corviknight. She hadn't managed to use it against Arbiter-Of-Fates. This would be the first time, then, that she drew upon this technique in a real battle. Let's hope this at least gives me a chance.

"Pure Power Times Two!" Medicham shouted. "Aura Finisher!"

Medicham lunged, kicking off the ground with so much force that the ground cratered under where her feet had been. Spinning, she delivered an Aura-boosted High Jump Kick straight to the crown of Charizard's head. Another explosion split the air as both combatants' momentum was halted, the power of their attacks sufficient to cancel one anothers' charges.

Pure Power Times Two had been Darkrai's idea. "What if," he'd suggested during a training session, "you infused your body with Aura in a fight, using your Ability to make yourself stronger and faster?" Medicham had taken to that suggestion like a Ducklett to water - the result was fairly similar to an Aura-based Nasty Plot combined with Swords Dance, and now she was fairly certain that this, rather than Aura Expulsion, was her single most powerful Aura-based attack.

A hush fell over the cheering crowd, and Marcus's voice arose to fill the sudden void. "Close Combat!" Swift to obey, Medicham flipped backwards, landing smoothly on the ground, and rushed Charizard in an instant. "Pure Power: Aura Strike Barrage!"

Charizard rose up, claws ablaze, and responded in kind as Medicham unleashed a flurry of Aura-enhanced fists at his form. He was just as fast as before, but now Medicham was twice as fast as she had been, her attacks flung with twice as much force behind them. Their fists clashed again and again, both of them blocking some hits and avoiding others with well-timed ducks and dodges, their punches flying too fast for the watching crowd to see. At some point Charizard tried a Blaze Kick again, but this time Medicham was fast enough to counter it with a Low Sweep, following up with a swift Thunder Punch that Charizard only barely managed to dodge with a swift flick of his head.

Both Medicham and Charizard had the same idea at the same time. As Medicham narrowed her eyes, unleashing a point-blank Psychic, Charizard slammed his tail to the ground, firing an Earthquake right into Medicham's chest. Both were struck, and both flew backwards, both landing smoothly on the ground. Medicham saw Dark energy glinting across Charizard's teeth - he'd used a split-second application of Crunch to blunt the power of the Psychic, ensuring that while it had been enough to send him skidding backwards he hadn't taken nearly as much damage as he would have. Wow…that's actually really impressive, Medicham thought. Then again, this is a Champion's Ace - I'd expect nothing less.

"Pure Power: Aura Blade!" Medicham cried, extending her Aura-formed arm; at her mental command, the arm began to morph, the fingers coming together, the hand narrowing to a point. With a flick of her newly-made sword, Medicham lunged again, moving so fast that wind buffeted her face.

"Your Pokemon certainly love their swords and shields!" Leon noted. "Heh…you definitely fit right in here in Galar! Flamethrower, Charizard - and put more into it!"

"Wildfire Jet!" Charizard roared; the stream of Blaze that shot from his jaws was larger and faster than the previous ones had been, but Medicham would not be stopped. Leaping forwards, she brought her Aura Blade down upon the center of the Wildfire Jet, and it was Charizard's turn to have his attack carved in two, the halves flying past either side of Medicham's face, radiating an uncomfortable amount of heat as they did so. The blade fluctuated, the force of Charizard's attack overwhelming it, but Medicham forced more Aura into the sword, keeping it steady in the face of Charizard's barrage. "Psychic, forwards!" Marcus called; Medicham swiftly obeyed, unleashing a swift blast of Mind over the top of the stream of fire, forcing Charizard to break off the stream. Even as he fired off another defensive burst of Air to dissipate the Psychic, Medicham sprang forwards once more, Aura Blade raised.

Charizard was forced to recoil as the blade slashed through the air, narrowly missing his chest. Medicham slashed again, and this time Charizard was not quite fast enough to evade; a thin red line opened across his stomach. Spinning, Medicham lashed out with a swift jab; Charizard, refocusing in an instant, reached out with both hands and grabbed her blade in midair, holding the point inches away from his torso.

Grinning, Medicham willed the sword to extend; her Aura obeyed, surging into the blade, and the point of the sword shot forwards into Charizard's body.

Time seemed to slow. Gasps arose from the audience as they realized Charizard had been wounded. Hop actually cried out "Charizard!" in shock and concern, but it was Gloria's reaction that surprised Medicham the most, for she exploded upwards with a full-throated cry of "YES!". Near-instantly she sat down again, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Charizard himself glanced down at the blood that was now running down his chest. His eyes narrowed and he raised them again, glaring straight into Medicham's own eyes, a mixture of fury and what almost seemed like respect glinting in them.

"Smokescreen!" Leon cried, his voice the slightest bit more urgent. "Get into the air!"

"Bonfire Smog," Charizard whispered; an acrid burst of smoke burst from his maw, blinding Medicham and forcing her to stumble backwards. She felt Charizard rip himself free of her Aura Blade; a second later, a blast of wind slammed into her, sending her staggering further and blowing the smoke away. Through eyes narrowed against the remnants of the smoke, Medicham saw Charizard rising higher and higher; clearly, both he and Leon had realized that he was now at a disadvantage in a melee duel.

If he thinks he's safe in the air, though, he'd better think twice.

Marcus clearly had the same idea. "Get up there!" he cried. Medicham crouched, summoning more Aura to her legs and reforming her Aura Blade into an arm, and leaped upwards, extending her arms outwards, calling upon the same technique that had allowed her to defeat Corviknight. "Pure Power: Aura Platform!"

Aura shot out, forming into a circular disc that hung in midair. Medicham landed on the disc before it had finished forming; crouching, she looked up in the air, and was delighted both to hear several cries of "Whoa!" from the audience and to see surprise glinting in Charizard's eyes once again. "Hurricane!" Leon called; Charizard once more unleashed a cylindrical blast of Air from his body, a blast that cleaved towards Medicham as she stood upon her Aura Platform.

No way I can maneuver this platform fast enough to avoid that…but I don't need to.

Medicham leaped to the side, creating another Aura Platform under her as she did so; skidding to a halt, she began to rush forwards and upwards, springing from newly-created platform to newly-created platform as she jumped towards Charizard. Charizard twisted, swinging his Hurricane towards Medicham, but Medicham was able to evade, leaping to the side upon another Aura Platform, then jumping over the Hurricane as it ripped through the platform she'd been standing on and landing on yet another platform.

Charizard spread his wings. "You think you can take me on in the skies?" he snarled. "Come on, then, let's see how you handle this!" Air and Blaze coursed across his wings as he spread them, appearing as if he was borne upon wings made of pure energy as he rose even higher.

"Tempestuous Wildfire!" Charizard roared, and what flew from his body wasn't a focused beam, but a cataclysmic expanse of fiery winds, a roaring swirling fire that buffeted Medicham as she stood upon her Aura Platform, gazing up at the hellstorm that was coming down upon her. This power…Medicham swallowed at the sight. No wonder this Charizard is so widely regarded as second only to Red's in terms of strength.

"You can do this, Medicham!"

Marcus's voice sounded faintly, penetrating the wind rushing through Medicham's ears, and she swallowed. I can't give up…not now. Raising her hands to the sky, she cried out once more, calling upon her deepest reserves of Aura to come forth in her defense.

"Pure Power: Aura Expulsion!"

Once more, blue light surged forth, clashing with the red in a titanic explosion that thundered across the sky. Medicham had to crouch, pouring more Aura into her platform in order to prevent it from dissipating from the sheer force of the explosion of energy. She looked upwards in time to see her Aura Expulsion fading and a surge of mingled Air and Blaze continuing onwards - even that attack, boosted by twice the Aura she could normally muster, had not been enough to completely dissipate the sheer amount of energy Charizard had unleashed. Medicham braced herself. "Pure Power: Aura Bubble!" she cried; a translucent sphere of Aura formed around her entire body as the Tempestuous Wildfire came down upon her.

Blaze and Air surged around her Aura Bubble; instinctively, Medicham crouched, tucking them into her body to try and limit the exposure to heat. It still hurt even through the bubble, burning and stinging at her flesh. She threw as much Aura as she could into her bubble and her platform - if either went down she was most likely done. But though they fluctuated, they both held against the barrage; wind howled around Medicham's Aura Bubble so loudly that she couldn't hear anything, not even the cheers she knew were coming from the watching crowd.

Finally, the barrage slackened, and Medicham straightened up. She dropped her shield and stood tall, gazing up at Charizard; the Fire/Flying-type looked absolutely shocked at the fact that Medicham had managed to tank through his attack. Medicham raised her hands high. "Pure Power: Aura Beam!"

"Down!" she heard Leon cry; Charizard dropped as the Aura Beam scythed through the sky where he had been. Twisting, Charizard launched himself at Medicham, Air and Blaze coursing around his body as he charged. Medicham swiftly dropped her Aura Beam, realizing she wouldn't be fast enough with it to counter Charizard's charge; instead, she drew back, finally drawing upon the move she'd been hoping to land since the very start of the fight, but had never quite found the right time to utilize. A move she'd learned via TM, specifically to help against Flying-types like Charizard.

The surprise factor was somewhat ruined by Marcus calling out "Rock Slide!"

Charizard stopped in an instant, backwinging as Medicham unleashed a sudden blast of Rock energy at his onrushing form. Medicham had expected him to have a counter to Rock-type moves, and sure enough, Charizard quickly twisted, his wing becoming encased in Steel energy. The Rock Slide slammed into Charizard's Steel Wing, the energy dissipating against the impromptu shield. But Medicham was not going to let this opportunity go to waste; she lunged forwards, creating another Aura Platform underfoot as she went, and hurled herself at Charizard. "Electric Strike Barrage!" she cried, tapping into both Close Combat and Thunder Punch to unleash a flurry of crackling punches at Charizard.

"Mud-Slap!" Leon called from below.

Mud-Slap? Medicham's eyes widened as Charizard's entire body erupted with Ground energy. Her first Thunder Punch slammed into Charizard, who didn't even flinch from the now-ineffective attack; with a flick of his wing he unleashed the Ground energy surrounding it straight into Medicham's face, sending her falling backwards, landing on her back on her own Aura Platform.

Kriesh uses that same technique…I should have been prepared for that!

Charizard sprang, fist drawn back, coming down upon the fallen Medicham with a Fire Punch aimed at her stomach. Medicham rolled to the side, allowing the punch to slam into her Aura Platform; in a flash Charizard's neck lashed out, and Dark energy filled his mouth once more as he sank a Crunch into Medicham's shoulder.

Medicham cried out in pain, but as she reeled, she realized her head was right next to Charizard's. In an instant she slammed a Zen Headbutt into Charizard's cheek; the Fire/Flying-type's head was snapped sideways by the hit and he stumbled, allowing Medicham to roll to her feet. She did not hesitate for an instant; with a shout, she fired a Rock Slide right into Charizard's stomach before he could recover.

The crowd, as one, let out a shocked gasp.

It was Charizard's turn to cry out, doubling over in pain; he toppled over the edge of the Aura Platform and fell a good several feet before managing to regain his bearings. Medicham couldn't pursue; the pain from Charizard's Crunch had finally hit, and she had to drop to one knee, clutching her stomach.

Leon's voice sounded from below as Charizard spread his wings, flapping them slowly to maintain altitude; both the Fire/Flying-type and his Trainer were grinning broadly. "You've certainly earned your position, Marcus!" the Galarian Champion stated. "I daresay Charizard hasn't been pressed this hard in months! But it's time we ended this! Charizard, Sunny Day! Tap into your Ability, and hit her with Blast Burn!"

Charizard spread his wings; the resultant outpouring of Blaze was so huge, so bright, that Medicham had to shield her eyes. Slowly, she released her hand, a little at a time so that she wasn't blinded, and so she saw as Charizard rose back into view, his entire body surrounded by a miniature sun. His body was silhouetted against the fiery mass, a black shadowy form with glowing red embers for eyes. Medicham felt a sudden surge of primal fear; she'd known, somehow, that Charizard hadn't been fighting at full strength. But now she knew he was. She knew this was Charizard's true power, the power that had earned Leon his place as Galar's Champion, and Charizard his place as one of the very strongest Pokemon in the world.

"Solar Power!" Charizard thundered. "Wildfire Blast!"

"Pure Power: Aura Barrier!" Medicham cried, flinging out both arms to form another Aura-made shield. But as Charizard exhaled, unleashing a titanic cylindrical beam of orange-red Blaze so large in diameter that the size of the beam dwarfed Medicham, she knew it wouldn't hold. And as it hit, it was even worse than she'd expected.

The Aura Barrier held for five seconds. Then it shattered, and Medicham's world became heat and pain.

Her entire body was ablaze, agony searing every inch of her form. She felt her Aura-formed arm dissolve, felt the Aura deplete from her body as she lost all her concentration. She couldn't see anything, her eyes squeezed shut as if not being able to see would somehow dilute the pain somewhat; she dimly heard cries of alarm from somewhere below, but they were faint and formless.

Then something caught her; she hadn't even realized she'd been falling. She opened her eyes to see Charizard, the sun gone from his body, a concerned look on his face as his arms held Medicham tightly. He descended slowly; Medicham turned her head and saw Marcus, hand clutching Medicham's Luxury Ball tightly, ready to recall her in an instant should the need arise.

"Thanks," Medicham gasped.

"No problem," Charizard replied. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said Medicham. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Charizard landed lightly on the ground, allowing Medicham to slide off his arms and land on her feet. She stumbled as she landed; she felt as if she would fall unconscious at any moment, but she managed to keep her feet.

She heard the audience cheering, Hop once more the loudest of all; it took her a moment to realize some of them were chanting her name, cheering for the Pokemon that had given their Champion's Ace an actual fight. Their chants made the pain worth it; as Marcus finally recalled her, relieving her from having to stand, Medicham smiled, basking in the cooling gel of her Luxury Ball as she watched Leon place a hand on his Charizard's shoulder, congratulating him. Charizard was standing tall and unbowed, panting slightly but nowhere near exhausted; there was no question as to who had won their bout, but Medicham felt content as she watched Leon spray a Hyper Potion on the wounds adorning Charizard's chest.

As if to corroborate, the referee stepped forwards. "Medicham has been recalled!" he cried. "As such, with two Pokemon to zero, the winner is Champion Leon!"

Marcus stepped over towards Leon, who saw him coming; reaching into his pocket, the Champion tossed Marcus another Hyper Potion. "Thanks," said Marcus. "That was a good battle."

"Indeed it was!" Leon grinned. "I daresay we all had an absolutely Champion time!" Grasping Marcus's wrist before he could even spray the Hyper Potion Leon had given him, Leon raised it up. "Everybody, Marcus Grayson, Kalosian Gym Leader! Give him a hand!"

The crowd roared.

"That was awesome!" Hop cried afterwards as he, Gloria, Marcus, and Leon stood in the lobby together. "I didn't know you were that strong, Marcus!"

"Well, to be fair, Medicham's the strongest on my team by a fair amount," said Marcus. "Though the others are no slouches themselves, of course."

"Still," said Leon, "that performance was nothing to be ashamed of. Even young Gloria got into it!"

Gloria glanced away, looking embarrassed.

"Eh…I'm a little embarrassed about that Destiny Bond," Marcus admitted. "I had to fight a Ghost-type specialist in order to get my Gym in the first place - he took out two of my Pokemon with pretty much that exact trick. You'd think I'd have learned by now."

"Don't sweat it, Marcus, every Trainer has weaknesses." Leon glanced over at Hop. "Yes, even me. And-"

"Congratulations!" A fifth voice broke into the conversation. "What a truly wonderful battle. If that is what the other regions have to bring to the table, I daresay this year's International League will be quite spectacular!"

"Chairman Rose," Leon greeted. Medicham glanced out of her Luxury Ball to see the Chairman in question striding up.

"You must be the Gym Challengers endorsed by these two Trainers!" Rose said, smiling at Gloria and Hop. "Welcome! It's a delight to meet you! And…I see you already have Dynamax Bands! How wonderful! Did you know it was my company, Macro Cosmos, that invented the first Dynamax Bands?"

"That was quite the opening ceremony, Chairman Rose," Marcus interjected.

"Please, Rose is fine," said Rose. "You know, Marcus, I used to be a Gym Leader myself. I preferred Steel-types - I have a Bronzong, in fact. Sadly, he's not with me at present, but perhaps your Medicham would someday enjoy meeting him?"

"Perhaps," said Marcus. "I have to ask, Rose - I was hoping to meet one Gym Leader in particular. I missed him at the ceremony - was he sick or something?"

Medicham sucked in a breath. This is dangerous. He's been asking a lot more about Piers recently…

Rose's facial expression shifted almost imperceptibly. "Actually, Marcus…we should talk about that. Leon, if you could allow us some privacy."

"Certainly!" said Leon. "Come along, Hop, Gloria - let's get you your League Cards!"

"Yes! League Cards!" Hop swiftly followed Leon towards the stadium doors. Gloria trailed behind the two, shooting a worried glance back at Marcus as she did so.

Medicham couldn't blame Gloria for being nervous - she herself was feeling her stomach twisting in a knot as Marcus followed Rose to an isolated corner of the stadium.

"Marcus," said Rose, his voice dropping a few octaves as he turned to face the Dark-type Gym Leader. "Marcus, Marcus. I understand. Truly, I do. You must be quite worried about your fellow Dark-type Gym Leader after he didn't show up to today's event." He smiled thinly. "Rest assured, he is not ill, nor is he injured. You have nothing to worry about. Piers is perfectly fine. He merely had a scheduling conflict, that's all."

"For the second biggest event in Galar?" Marcus asked with a frown.

Rose heaved a sigh. "Piers is a Gym Leader of Galar," he said. "You are, pardon my language, a foreigner. We of Galar are perfectly capable of handling our own Gym Leaders. So do me a favor and focus on enjoying the Gym Challenge. After all, that is what you're here for…is it not?"

Marcus nodded silently.

Rose chuckled softly. "I have my own sponsored Gym Challenger this year. His name is Bede, and he's quite the Trainer. Perhaps Gloria and Bede will meet some time - now that will be an interesting fight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm afraid I have a rather pressing matter to attend to. I wish you and Gloria good luck."

The gray-suited man turned on his heel and strode off, leaving Marcus to stare after him. Slowly, he looked down at Medicham's Pokeball.

Medicham swallowed as she sent the telepathic message. "Do you think he knows?"

"Do you?" Marcus responded.

"I'm not sure, but…" Medicham hesitated. "Whether he knows or not, it's clear both Rose and Leon are being very cagey about the situation. I'd assume Piers has disappeared and they're trying to cover it up, but the fact that they haven't promoted one of the Minor League Gym Leaders to his place is…weird."

"I agree," said Marcus. "You'd think that would be the first thing they do."

Medicham sighed. "I hate to say this, but…I think our best option is to continue sticking with Gloria. Rose and Leon clearly would rather we stay out of this, but once Gloria gets to the seventh Gym, though, we'll have the perfect excuse."

"Exactly," said Marcus. "I don't like leaving this situation untouched for so long, but you're right, it's our best option. All the same…"

He heaved another quiet sigh. "What with the Absols, Hunter J, and now this…it's clear there's something big going on in Galar."

"So, Morpeko." Marnie slid onto the bed of her hotel room, legs dangling over the edge. "Funny thing...that Gym Leader, Marcus? He's the same one who Connie's working under. I thought I recognized the name, but it wasn't until the Drapion started fightin' that I figured it out."

Morpeko had been wondering why Marnie had departed the stadium so fast after the exhibition battle was over.

"Look, Morpeko," Marnie murmured. "I'd love to talk to him. Catch up with him, ask how Connie's doin', all that. But...with what's goin' on in Spikemuth, I can't. Piers needs me. And for this to work...Marcus can't know about me. 'Cause when he met me, I was with Piers, and..."

She heaved a sigh. "It just doesn't feel proper, skulkin' around like this."

Morpeko, recognizing his Trainer was in need of comfort, swiftly snuggled up close. Marnie wrapped her arm around him and hugged him tightly. "This is gonna be tough," Marnie admitted. "But I have to win the cup. I can't prioritize anything else - not even friends."

Morpeko rubbed his soft fur against Marnie's face, trying to comfort her as he had so many times before.

"The cup's all that matters," Marnie muttered. Morpeko felt a drop of wetness soak into his fur. "The cup's all that matters."

And there's the end of the Hunt Arc! Next up is the second Interlude. I am, however, going to be taking a break for finals, which are coming up fast - as such, the Interlude will come out in three weeks rather than the usual two.

Hope you enjoyed Marcus's battle with Leon, as well as Rose and Marnie's characters. As usual, please drop a review if you have the time - I always enjoy reading them!