Draco: Yes, I would that Red and Leaf make appearances after you're in the Hall of Fame. They'll show up in both Trainer Mode and Play Mode.
If you talk to them on Main Street, Red will invite you to Arrival Colosseum for a battle with the Battle Legend. You may fight him once per visit to Trainer Mode, regardless of whether you've defeated him before. He has a finger-mounted Mega Ring, a Z-Power Ring, a Dynamax Band, and no level adjustment; his Pikachu is Level 100 with a Light Ball, the rest are in the 90s, his Charizard has a random Charizardite, his Venusaur has the Gigantamax Factor, his Snorlax is holding a Snorlium Z, and they're all packing perfect IVs and optimally maximized EVs to make you eat the same serving of Mulch that you did on Mt. Silver, if not more.
At Sunny Park, Red will show up in the Super Training Stadium and buy any unwanted Training Bags off of you for Poké Coupons (since being in the Hall of Fame makes it likely that you've got a team of Pokémon trained to your satisfaction, and some people are satisfied just raising one team per game); he'll also show up at the Poffin Bakery and contribute Sweet berries. Leaf may appear at the Pokéathlon Dome to compete with a Jigglypuff, Gyarados, and Aerodactyl.
+x+x+x+
Now that I've finished writing this as a Gen VIII game, I feel free to fully imagine Grand Stage getting a Gen IX update. (I TOLD you this was gratuitous.) Pokémon-wise, it seems simple enough. After your first time through each Colosseum in Battle Revolution, each of your opponents - as far as I could tell - had random Pokémon chosen from a pool, with the exception of Masters Battle. Simply add some Paldean Pokémon to those pools, maybe switch in a few for the random Trainers on your first times through.
The Indigo Disk DLC was kind enough to provide a reason why Terastallization might be available outside of Paldea, so no need for convenient coincidences like there was to enable Z-Power and Dynamax. Properly, I don't think Director Clavell would work as the vacationing Paldean who gives you a Tera Orb after Arrival Colosseum; maybe Briar would be more appropriate, be involved with constructing a Tera Core for Pokétopia. Or perhaps Larry, just because that dude needs a vacation. I'd also sub in Kaito's Z-Power Ring for a Tera Orb post-update... and maybe have Meiko pick one up for the Pokétopia Championship instead of a Dynamax Band. And of course, Miku as the final fight of the Championship would just add a Tera Orb to her repertoire; the big dramatic show-off poses I gave her in Chapter 14 would easily be able to sub in a Tera Orb for her "raise Ball over head" finishing pose.
Not that Tera Orbs are visible on your person like a Z-Power Ring or a Dynamax Band, but I would have the option to show them off in Grand Stage, same as your Key Stone. In particular, I would have it so that you can choose how you pose on your Battle Pass and in your battle intro, instead of having it fixed based on your chosen body type. Since some of those poses would be with a Poké Ball (the first one on your Pass, most likely), I would have the option to sub it in with a Tera Orb if you had unlocked that item.
Red would also get a Tera Orb added to his repertoire, and he does not show this one off in advance. I think a Psychic Tera Type Lapras would make a nice little reference to the Espeon from Generation II that she replaced.
As I mentioned, I think a chef could be added in Coronet Diner who can change your Pokémon's Tera Type on request, thus ensuring that you can have custom Tera Types even if your preferred Terastal Pokémon can't go to Paldea. And I bring this up because there's another chef that needs to be there for an empowerment - Gigantamax. In my head, I had this idea that there wouldn't be a need for a Max Soup cook in Pokétopia, because Dynamax is unique to Galar. By necessity, the only Pokémon that have a Gigantamax form can be moved to Galar, because Galar is where all those Gigantamax forms were introduced. I figured being able to get Max Soup in Galar was enough.
But that completely ignores my whole "Rental Pokémon that you can raise and customize as you please" shtick, especially considering that several of the Pokémon you can choose as your initial Rental Pokémon are or can evolve into Gigantamax-capable Pokémon. And I can't just have that every such Pokémon automatically comes with the Gigantamax Factor as a Rental Pokémon, because there are plenty of reasons - both legitimate and otherwise - why a Trainer might prefer a standard Dynamax over a particular Gigantamax.
+x+x+x+
Okay, I'm done rambling about empowerments. Let's move on to the subject of why I have another chapter to write.
As I've mentioned a few times, and implied many more, Grand Stage is a giant melting pot of wish fulfillment. And I would have it continue to be wish-fulfillment-y after release - with new Colosseums added in updates. Now, I specifically gave each Virtual Singer one Colosseum that had to be cleared to reach the Pokétopia Championship, and I wouldn't that that be changed in any way. Post-release Colosseums would be unlocked purely based on your version update, would be available as soon as you cleared Arrival Colosseum, and would not be part of the road to the Championship.
They also have their own esoteric battle formats, but would be available in Battle Mode if you just want that battlefield for ordinary matches. The Virtual Singers would have different teams in these update Colosseums than in their base-game road-to-the-Peak fights.
Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo. Virtual Singers of Piapro Studio © Crypton Future Media.
Dancing Together
"They don't call him a Battle Legend for nothing..."
Jeanne swiped her keycard for her room in Gateway Inn; her party had been completely wiped after an encounter with an unassuming fellow who had turned out to be Red of Pallet Town. As she opened the door, she was surprised to find a note of some kind lying on the dinette - housekeeping must have left it after tidying her room. Curious, she made her way over to the PC and set her Poké Balls on the mounts, running the healing process while she grabbed the note. It seemed to be some sort of news article, and Jeanne sat down on her bed as she opened it up to began reading.
"New Colosseums opening in Pokétopia," she read aloud. "Well, this is interesting." She glanced through the announcement and quickly found the details on the new Colosseums. "Graveyard Colosseum is hosting... wait, 'Little Battle'? A fighting chance for the small ones, huh. That sounds like quite the scene." Her mind immediately conjured images of an Elekid and Magby duking it out at Dynamax size. "Megalopolis Colosseum with a 'Launcher Battle'... as in the Wonder Launcher? I've gotta try that sometime, those things are awesome." The next image drew her attention. "Is that a floating battlefield in the sky?! Skyward Colosseum... how the Mulch do you even get up there to challenge that?" She found herself wondering if they could even have a Power Spot on a flying Colosseum. "And Nightlife Colosseum has Multi Battles."
She set the paper aside and laid back on the bed. "Do I even know anyone I could invite to tackle a Multi Battle challenge together? Or should I just pay a visit and hope I run into someone friendly?"
+x+x+x+
Ultimately, she did decide to just make acquaintances there instead of trying to get there after the fact. Nightlife Colosseum was on the roof of a skyscraper not far from Main Street; the building's ground floor served as the Colosseum lobby, and as Jeanne stepped in, she found Rin and Len sitting on a comfy couch.
Though they did quickly shoot to their feet when they saw who had arrived. "There's the one we've been waiting for!" Rin cheered.
Jeanne's face must have spoken for her surprise, as Len promptly spoke up; "After all the awesome battles you've had, we were hoping you'd come by for the new ones!"
"I mean, it's not just me, right?" Jeanne pointed out. "I've gotta find a partner for this..."
"Don't worry about that!" Len assured her. "We've set this place up so that you can meet people here for the battles!"
Rin nodded. "Yeah. We've got floors dedicated to meeting up with people if you're waiting for someone you know, or you can meet up in the public rooms if you want to make some new friends."
Len chuckled. "Either way, hope we see you on the field!"
They made their way to the far side of the lobby, where Jeanne noticed there were no less than five elevators to deliver people up and away. Once they'd left, the Trainer took a deep breath. "Right. Making some new friends. I can do that."
She started towards the elevators. "Yeah... I can do that."
+x+x+x+
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the nightlight!"
The crowd gave a ferocious cheer in response to Rin's call; the skyscraper was wide enough that the rooftop could host two Dynamax Pokémon for the Power Spot, and the bleachers seemed to be reaching slightly off the top of the building. It wasn't the tallest building in Pokétopia, either - a few other skyscrapers were visible above the bleachers, and combined with the starry night sky above, it truly gave the feeling of being out on the town.
Len chuckled in response to the noise. "That's what I like to hear!" he proclaimed. "This is no place for hateful conflict - here, our Colosseum is meant to be a place we can mingle!"
Rin nodded. "Whether you're in the crowd, rooting for the combatants on either side of the field..."
"...or you're on the battlefield, standing alongside a like-minded fighter..." Len continued.
"...we want you all to come away from this as friends!" Rin concluded.
"With that said," Len called out, "let's let our combatants take the stage!"
He gave a bow as Rin pumped her fists, and the two of them made their way towards the red corner as Jeanne turned to her partner - a somewhat older man by the name of Zane. "You ready for this?"
"...Not really," Zane admitted, "but I'm already here, aren't I?"
Jeanne chuckled. "True enough."
The two of them made their way out onto the field, arriving on the markers for the blue corner at roughly the same time as the red corner was occupied by their opponents. One was a rather strongly-built woman going by Angela; the other was a much younger boy whose Battle Pass had proclaimed him to be called Leon.
"Bring it on!" Leon yelled, thrusting a Poké Ball forward in his grip. "I'll wreck you!"
Angela pounded a Poké Ball between two hands. "Try to keep things interesting," she requested.
Zane seized a Poké Ball and held it before him sideways, palm-out. "I'm not about to back down," he promised.
Jeanne nodded, readying one of her own Poké Balls. "Yeah. Let's do this!"
Four Poké Balls were thrown forward, filling the center of the Colosseum with light. A blazing simian figure opened his eyes beside an operatic ocean blue, and he turned his attention across to find a giant glacial visage and a four-armed musculature standing on the opposite side of the field. "The blue corner: Primarina, Infernape!" Rin announced as a light appeared on Jeanne's Dynamax Band. "The red corner: Glalie, Machamp!"
The two Pokémon on the red corner traded worried glances as Infernape cracked his knuckles and Primarina rose up on her tail. "Things are shaping up to be hectic!" Len proclaimed.
"Get the brute!" Jeanne called.
"The goalie's yours!" Zane instructed.
Infernape gave a joyous screech as he barrelled towards Glalie, flames whirling around him; a phantasmal moon appeared above Primarina, and she swept her flippers out to fling a burst of light across the battlefield. Machamp crossed his four arms before him as the Moonblast slammed into him full-force... yet it wasn't quite enough to knock him out, and the Superpower Pokémon promptly lashed his arms out with a yell and made to close the gap.
Glalie loosed an Ice Beam into the charging Flame Pokémon, hoping to freeze him before he was close enough to strike; Infernape took the shot and keep on dashing, diving into a roll along the ground and then catapulting into the air with continued flips before slamming into the Ice Face Pokémon with a bursting Flame Wheel. Footstooling backwards off the Ice-type, Infernape landed a couple meters away and glanced over in time to see Machamp drive a Heavy Slam into Primarina, leaving her reeling.
The Soloist Pokémon wasn't knocked out by the attack, and promptly finished off Machamp with a point-blank Hyper Voice, throwing him across the battlefield. Glalie was about to take aim at her next before Infernape hurled a blast of aura into his side, knocking him out as well.
"Bombed out by Aura Sphere!" Rin proclaimed. "The blue corner has got a strong lead!"
Leon withdrew Machamp before the Superpower Pokémon could collide with him, sending out an Alakazam next as Angela withdrew the unconscious Glalie. A powerful Psychic slammed into Infernape, knocking him out in one blow as a Luxray appeared next to the Psi Pokémon; Jeanne elected to withdraw Primarina before she could get shocked, sending out Goodra in his place, and Zane was about to send out his next Pokémon when his own Dynamax Band lit up.
"...Heh."
He lowered the Poké Ball at his side as Luxray slammed into Goodra with a forceful Wild Charge; the Dragon Pokémon hurled a Sludge Bomb in retaliation, leaving the Electric-type poisoned as Zane's Poké Ball expanded. He turned round and hurled it backwards one-handed, and with a surge of Dynamax, an Aurorus emerged and landed with a powerful stomp. Alakazam swept his spoons outward, causing particles of Psyshock to appear around the Tundra Pokémon and converge; Aurorus only cried out in retaliation, and a towering Max Rockfall burst out of the earth before her, fell forward, and came down hard.
As the Psi Pokémon staggered to his feet, he found a Hyper Beam coming at him from the size to finish him off. Luxray took advantage of the distraction, slamming into the Dragon Pokémon with another Wild Charge; Leon withdrew Alakazam and sent out a Gengar to take his place, and the Shadow Pokémon rapidly took advantage of Goodra's incapacitation to finish him off with a flying spectral projectile.
"Struck out by Shadow Ball!" Len called as Jeanne withdrew him. "The red corner is not going down easily!"
Aurorus retaliated with a Max Hailstorm, bringing gigantic shards of ice down on Luxray to knock him out as well; Jeanne sent out Primarina as Angela sent out a Meowscarada. The Magician Pokémon grinned as she saw the Water-type before her... then her grin fell as she noticed the hail coming down, and a look of despair appeared upon her face as she realized there was a giant Tundra Pokémon looming behind. Quickly realizing her moments of consciousness were numbered, she quickly brought down a Flower Trick on Primarina, knocking out the Soloist Pokémon in mid-Moonblast as Gengar tossed a Shadow Ball at Aurorus.
Another Max Hailstorm came down on Meowscarada, landing a vicious blow - but not enough to knock her out entirely. As Aurorus' Dynamax subsided, the Grass-type hurled a Seed Bomb at her to finish her off; Zane withdrew her as Jeanne sent out Froslass to take Primarina's place. The Snow Land Pokémon looked around in admiration of the cold weather and immediately unleashed a biting Blizzard towards the red corner; Meowscarada was in the middle of an indignant screech when the ice slammed into her and Gengar, knocking out the Magician Pokémon in short order.
Gengar had a little more in him, tossing another Shadow Ball at Froslass as Zane sent out a Lopunny. With a sinister cackle, the Shadow Pokémon dove into the ground; Lopunny only glanced back at her Trainer, who shook his head. Jeanne noticed a stone gleaming on an armlet the Rabbit Pokémon was wearing before she sighed... and then, as Gengar emerged behind her with poison welling up in his mouth, turned around and drove a vicious Thunder Punch into his left eye.
The Sludge Bomb was spewed into the ground as Gengar reeled backwards, hitting the ground unconscious.
"Curtains, fall!" Len proclaimed. "The blue corner has claimed a swift victory!" Lopunny hopped towards Froslass with a hand raised, and the Snow Land Pokémon raised her own hand to high-five it.
"Here's hoping the challengers keep this momentum going!" Rin cheered as everyone withdrew their Pokémon.
Jeanne turned to Zane. "Think you've got four more of those in you?"
"What," Zane mused, "are you gonna be satisfied with just seeing them take the field?"
Both of them laughed as they started back towards the blue corner to heal up.
+x+x+x+
Zane did indeed have four more wins in him; the two Trainers and their Pokémon were able to synergize quite well together, and they earned their fifth win after only one knockout - self-inflicted by a slightly overzealous Infernape.
"What an amazing performance!" Rin praised. "The blue corner nabbed a definitive win on that one!"
"Challengers, that makes five wins in this Colosseum," Len announced. "Time to take things up a notch!"
Jeanne glanced at the Battle Passes displayed on the pre-fight screen. "There they are."
"Looks like we made it," Zane mused.
"Let me take over," mused a voice that they recognized as Luka's; they quickly seized their Poké Balls and started out onto the field. "It's time for the climax! Our challengers have one last battle between them and total victory in Nightlife Colosseum!"
Rin and Len were walking in step, their movements mirrored and synchronized. As they got into position, Jeanne noticed the Key Stones gleaming on each - Rin wearing hers in a necklace, and Len on a lapel pin. As they reached position, they were standing rather closer to each other than most of the opponents they'd faced thus far; the reason became clear when they seized a Poké Ball off each others' belts, threw them to their outside hands, then tossed them up in a wide arc before spinning away and seizing the falling Balls.
"Are you ready?" Rin taunted.
"Then let's go!" Len proclaimed.
Zane rolled his eyes, drawing a Ball for himself. "Twins always love to show off," he muttered.
Jeanne chuckled. "You'd think they're the same person," she observed.
The Kagamines hurled their Poké Balls forward, prompting the challengers to do the same; a beauteous pale figure appeared next to a seraph in red and white, and they turned their gaze forward to find an blazing figure in crimson and yellow beside a focused red-and-pink figure. "Milotic, Volcarona in the blue corner! Blaziken, Medicham in the red corner! Oh, my..."
Jeanne noticed the Mega Stone bound around each of the opposing Pokémon's arms. "Oh, no."
Zane stepped back in terror as he realized they were going all-out right out the gate. "Oh, Mulch!"
"Looks like our Colosseum Leaders have no intention of letting limits go unbroken!"
Rin and Len stepped towards each other, locking their arms and then bringing their opposite hands into an arc to touch their Key Stones. The Medichamite and Blazikenite reacted, and the two Fighting-types struck poses like their Trainers as the light of Mega Evolution wrapped them both; when it faded, Medicham looked damn near armoured, with four phantasmal arms floating around him, and Blaziken, with a larger crest and scorched-looking fur, had flame streaming from her cuffs.
The Kagamines parted and swept their hands forward. "Beat them down!"
"Make it rain!" Zane yelled.
"No holds barred!" Jeanne called.
Blaziken and Medicham were already charging forward as Milotic twisted into a Rain Dance, bringing down a deluge of water; the rain was already falling as a Blaze Kick slammed into Volcarona in mid-Quiver Dance, and Medicham drove a three-fisted Force Palm into the Tender Pokémon. Realizing that flame wouldn't serve her here, Blaziken lunged at Milotic instead, landing a leaping Sky Uppercut that launched the Water-type off the ground. She quickly twisted in the air and unleashed a forceful deluge down on the Blaze Pokémon, enough to knock her out swiftly amidst the rain.
"Washed out by Hydro Pump!" Luka called. "The blue corner pulls forward!"
Volcarona loosed a forceful Bug Buzz on Medicham while Rin was withdrawing Blaziken; the Meditate Pokémon was battered by the sound, but not knocked out, and as Milotic landed he lunged forward and landed a forceful Zen Headbutt to finish her off. As Zane was withdrawing her, Rin sent out an angry-looking Beartic, and Volcarona was hitting Medicham with another Bug Buzz before a vicious Brine came down on her to knock her out in the rain.
Zane sent out a focused-looking Metagross while the Sun Pokémon was being withdrawn; then he drew out a Tera Orb, thrusting it over his head as light gathered around it and hurling it forward. Terastal energy solidified around it, and then shattered to reveal a dark spectral hue had crystallized over the Iron Leg Pokémon; Medicham had no chance to even try to attack before it brought a shimmering Shadow Claw down on him, carving through his phantasmal arms and leaving him tumbling backwards across the battlefield. Len withdrew him as Jeanne sent out Lucario, then quickly reached for her hair dec to touch her own Key Stone and set off his Mega Evolution.
An furious-looking Pangoro appeared on Len's side of the field as the light shattered; Lucario glanced at Metagross, and the two Steel-types nodded at each other before they charged at the red corner. Pangoro roared before dashing forward to meet the Aura Pokémon, but Lucario raised one paw to meet his forceful Hammer Arm, taking the supereffective blow as power gathered around his other fist. A Drain Punch slammed into the Daunting Pokémon's jaw, throwing him back and leaving light in the air that soared back to Lucario to ease his wounds.
Beartic brought an Icicle Crash down on the incoming Metagross, who took the howling cold and launched itself forward to drive an Iron Head into the Ice-type. An unexpectedly hard-hitting blow knocked her out instantly; as the Freezing Pokémon was withdrawn, Pangoro charged at Metagross' side for a knifehand Night Slash. Lucario quickly closed the distance to finish him off with another Drain Punch, prompting Len to withdraw him as well.
"Can't take much more of that," Zane observed. "How durable is your fighter?"
Jeanne glanced at him. "...Not that durable," she admitted.
One of her Poké Balls shook.
"...But it looks like someone else is willing to take the heat," she admitted. "Lucario, get back!"
With a nod, Lucario leapt away; the rain was starting to give out Jeanne withdrew him, and the Kagamines sent out a Magmortar and Electivire in return; after a quick glance at her Dynamax Band, she held out her next Ball to her side, and power surged around it before she hurled it backwards to deploy a supersized Goodra. Rin and Len traded glances and nodded before thrusting their hands forward; Magmortar took aim with one cannon, light welling inside it, and power surged around Electivire as he charged towards the Dynamax.
Jeanne grinned.
Goodra roared, and a Max Strike burst out of the ground below Magmortar a moment before she loosed a vicious Hyper Beam into the Dragon Pokémon. It connected a moment before Electivire leapt at him with a Giga Impact, the blow colliding with enough force to throw the Thunderbolt Pokémon back as Goodra stumbled away. The Dynamax blast as Goodra's form began to recede, and Electivire landed next to the Blast Pokémon... just in time to notice the light welling up around Metagross.
The Kagamines started in terror as the Terastallized Ghost-type tucked its legs in, whirled forward, and then blast.
"Explosion makes a wreck of them!" Luka exclaimed as the detonation consumed the battlefield; Zane raised Metagross' Poké Ball to withdraw the Iron Leg Pokémon before he could even see its unconscious form. "The blue corner will do anything to keep this lead!" When the smoke cleared, Magmortar was knocked out; Electivire didn't look much better for wear, and he raised his gaze in terror as Jeanne and Zane sent out their last two Pokémon. Lucario's Mega Evolved form looked all the more threatening to a Pokémon on the edge of unconsciousness, and the Gardevoir at his side was holding a Z-Crystal.
"You want to finish it off with a show?" Jeanne invited.
"That would be rubbing it in," Zane argued, "don't you think?"
"They opened with Mega Evolution," Jeanne countered, "I think they deserve it."
With a laugh, Zane crossed his arms in front of him, then thrust them forward as the light gleamed off of Gardevoir's Psychium Z. "Come on, Gardevoir!" He swept his hands in an arc to set his fingers on his temples, then brought his feet together as he moved one hand forward. "Let's wrap this up!"
Z-Power converged on the Embrace Pokémon, and she twisted into a spin as a beam of light seemed to bounce around the Colosseum, soaring towards Electivire before he was thrown into the air. Her hands moved in time as the Thunderbolt Pokémon slammed into nothing, psychic ripples emerging around him as he ricocheted in another direction, slamming into another invisible plane and then another. The collisions continued until one such strike left him forced against it, and Gardevoir's hand halted a midst a downward swing.
She grinned and thrust it the rest of the way down to horizontal; cracks of darkness extended across the air, and then shattered, leaving Electivire plummeting into darkness before suddenly reappearing with a forceful collision into the floor of the Colosseum.
"Checkmate!" Luka proclaimed as Len withdrew a well-battered Electivire. "The blue corner finishes with a flourish!" Lucario approached Gardevoir, who turned and gave him an agreeable high-five. "Which means the challengers have emerged victorious over Nightlife Colosseum!"
Jeanne and Zane withdrew the two Pokémon before starting towards the center of the field; Len and Rin looked more than a little frustrated by this turn of events. "You made a mess of us," Rin praised.
"I haven't enjoyed a loss that much in a long time," Len admitted, offering his hand to Jeanne.
Jeanne shook it with a smile as Zane shook Rin's. "Not like you didn't make us earn that win."
"Indeed," Zane concurred. "Well fought."
The Colosseum Leaders stepped away and waved off before heading back to the red corner; the challengers turned away as well. "So," Jeanne mused, "you want to do this again some time?"
"I like that idea."
Draco: Disclaimer, Jeanne and Zane's remarks are coming from the player character stand-ins, not part of the game as written, and should not be taken as indicative of any sort of definitive claim as to the Kagamines' relationship.
Yes, Multi Battles! That will not be exclusive to multiplayer interactions this time. I had to give Rin and Len the opportunity to fight alongside each other, didn't I? At Nightlife Colosseum, you need another Trainer at your side; each Trainer picks a team of three and then marches in.
Getting an ally is the primary question. Like with Battle Mode, you can communicate with other players via local or online communication, or have the CPU or a Player 2 handle a saved Battle Pass. (Which, yes, technically means you could one-man both Trainers, if you had the patience to handle two controllers - just like you can do so in the core series' battle facilities, if you have the patience to handle two consoles.) Or, if you prefer, some of our friends from Trainer Mode can be enlisted to help, like the Stat Trainers from Sinnoh. Every ally on that list has a randomized team chosen from a group.
Having defeated Miku in Arrival Colosseum, Kaito or Meiko can be chosen. Their parties use the same pools available for their leadership roles in Ocean and Volcano Colosseums. Meiko will wear her Z-Power Ring, and there's guaranteed to be a Z-Crystal on someone in her party; Kaito will wear a Dynamax Band, and someone in his party will be guaranteed to have the Gigantamax Factor.
If you've cleared Looker's storyline, Zossie, Zinnia, and Micheal can be chosen. Each of their three slots has its own possible pool of Pokémon.
Zossie's first slot is an Ultra Beast (an unevolved Poipole is not a possibility); her second slot is a fully-evolved Alolan-form Pokémon, or its Kantonian counterpart; her third slot is the final evolution of any Pokémon that might be found in an Ultra Warp Ride destination. She has a Z-Power Ring, and someone in her party will have a Z-Crystal.
Zinnia's first slot is a fully-evolved Dragon-type Pokémon; her second slot is "not technically a Dragon" Pokémon like Gyarados or Charizard; her third slot is any Pokémon that might be found in Generation VI Hoenn. All three of these slots have Mega-capable Pokémon as possibilities, because Zinnia still has her Mega Anklet; someone in her party will have a Mega Stone.
Micheal's first slot is an Eeveelution; his second slot involves the Unova Pokédex (remember that he's coming from a Gen VI Orre; I included a lot of Unovan Pokémon in Eternal Colosseum). His third slot is any last-stage evolution of a Pokémon that was available in XD (including cross-generational evolutions that were introduced later, and any regional forms). Yes, that included the legendary birds and Lugia. He does not have any empowerments, but his AI is the best out of these three.
If you've cleared the Pokétopia Championship and the Kantonians have showed up, Leaf can be chosen. Her team is fully random, but does come with a script to avoid type-based defensive redundancy.
Her pool consists of Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Gyarados, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Aerodactyl, Kabutops, Omastar, Espeon, Umbreon, Hitmontop, Milotic, Cradily, Armaldo, Leafeon, Glaceon, Bastiodon, Rampardos, Carracosta, Archeops, Sylveon, Tyrantrum, or Aurorus. She packs a Dynamax Band in Gen VIII and a Tera Orb in Gen IX; either way, she'll use it on the last Pokémon she sends out without dedicating it to one or another.
Arena details - Nightlife Colosseum may randomly open a battle with Electric Terrain, Camouflage will make your Pokémon Normal-type, Nature Power will turn into Tri-Attack, and Secret Power may inflict paralysis. Rin and Len serve as tandem announcers with the same mechanics as the group covering Miku's fight on Peak Colosseum. They're each packing a Key Stone but no Dynamax Band, and they will open with Mega Evolution. Mostly because I want them to strike a double-pose while they set it off and there's no guarantee that they'll both have their Megas on the field if they don't lead with them. Speaking of which, if two Trainers on the same side in a Multi Battle both trigger Mega Evolution at the same time, it will show them both at once rather than one-by-one.
=x=x=x=
Now, I am not going to promise a chapter for EVERY update Colosseum. I'm not putting this game together as just my wish-fulfillment, I'm designing this to fulfill as many wishes as possible. But I can't necessarily write all those wishes myself, so I'm gonna mention them here. (If I do end up writing chapters for any of these, the notes will be moved to the bottom-side of their respective chapters.
+x+x+x+
At Graveyard Colosseum, Luka hosts fights for the unevolved. (Yes, all those Baby Pokémon in her Colosseum intro was me hinting at the Little Battle.)
Me discovering that unofficial Little Cups are still hosted among the fandom all the way up to Generation IX came as a surprise to me. I personally don't have the patience for IV breeding or Egg Moves, so the idea of a battle between Lv. 5 Pokémon who are prohibited from evolving does not tickle my fancy. I've never dabbled in that even by the official options... which consequently means I never realized you could cheese the frick out of it with i.e. a Scyther.
After a glance through Sashay's possible roster, I feel comfortable saying that Luka and the other designated Trainers at Graveyard Colosseum would adhere to the spirit of the format rather than the letter - none of the already-respectable Pokémon who got evolutions in later Generations. If you enjoy the limitations for the competitive format, you would be able to do so in Grand Stage without being at a disadvantage... and if you want to bring in a Galarian Farfetch'd to carve things up like Cloud, you go right ahead.
Arena details - Graveyard Colosseum has perpetually clear skies, Camouflage will make your Pokémon a Ghost-type, Nature Power will turn into Shadow Ball, and Secret Power may cause flinching. Little Battles are restricted to Single Battles in all bouts, and levels are not adjusted because the entire format requires Lv.5 or lower. Colosseum Mode battles take place at night. Luka brings her Z-Power Ring into the fight; Mega Evolution is specifically for Pokémon who are already at the end of their evolutionary line; any Pokémon that qualifies for "unevolved and can evolve" cannot have a Mega Evolution.
+x+x+x+
At Megalopolis Colosseum, Kaito brings back the Wonder Launcher.
The Colosseum itself is based on Ultra Megalopolis, otherworldly city skyline and all. The Wonder Launcher functions more or less as it did in Unova; one point accumulated per turn (two points if you have less Pokémon remaining than the battle format calls for), maxes out at 14 points, spend points to use items. X-[stat] items in tiers of 1, 2, 3, and 6; a full selection of Potions and status heals, Revives of either type, and bog-standard Ethers.
Arena details - Megalopolis Colosseum may randomly open a battle with Psychic Terrain, Camouflage will make your Pokémon a Psychic-type, Nature Power will turn into Psyshock, and Secret Power may lower the opponent's Defense. Colosseum Mode battles take place at sunset; the first bout is mandatory Rotation Battles, and Kaito brings his Dynamax Band into the fight.
+x+x+x+
At Skyward Colosseum, Meiko is doing Mix Battles. (Yes, she's the one in charge as another joke about mixed drinks.)
This was a format you could request in Generation IV, and one that I enjoyed when I had an opponent who was equally capable. Basically, you and your opponent would each choose three Pokémon (and the order they would be in); then you would choose one of your opponent's Pokémon, and they would choose one of yours. You proceed to have it out with the one you've chosen of your opponent's plus the two of yours that your opponent didn't take. That said, in Gen IV it was locked specifically to Single Battles. For compatibility with all battle formats, I would have you choose the order for all of your Pokémon, and then choose two of your opponent's Pokémon.
Now, if you're having bad memories of Fortune Battle at Neon Colosseum, I would remind you that (a) this is not randomized, and (b) all of the Colosseums as I have written them have had fully capable Pokémon from the randos as well as the Virtual Singers. You're not gonna be left with a deliberately weak Pokémon with a moveset that's not worth Mulch; at worst, you'll be short one of your empowerment options.
The Colosseum is a giant transparent floating battlefield at cloud level. Different times of day will not only have different lighting, but also have the battlefield over a different part of Pokétopia. It stops above specific Colosseums; you might not be able to have a Power Spot specifically on a flying Colosseum, but you can park the flying Colosseum at a Power Spot.
Arena details - Skyward Colosseum may randomly open a battle with Misty Terrain, Camouflage will make your Pokémon a Flying-type, Nature Power will turn into Air Slash, and Secret Power may lower the opponent's Speed. Colosseum Mode battles take place in broad daylight; the first round is mandatory Triple Battles. Meiko brings her Dynamax Band into battle in Gen VIII, and her Tera Orb in Gen IX.
