Episode 168: History Competes Itself

Ryu stands on a grass-themed battlefield. In front of him is Dragonite, who looks severely damaged. Across from him is his opponent, Titania, the Fairy-Type trainer. She's recalling her fainted Granbull. According to the scoreboard, both trainers are down to their last Pokémon.

Ash is now sitting in the audience with Brock and Brenda. He's eagerly watching the match.

As the Tenno League's Cosmic Conference continues, everyone is giving it their all in order to make it to the finals. Everyone has spent countless hours preparing, and everyone sees themselves as the winner of it all. But, in the end, there can only be one…

Titania chuckles confidently as she pulls out her next Pokéball. "Congratulations on beating my Granbull. Maybe you really have gotten stronger. But it doesn't really matter. That big dumb oaf of a Pokémon you've got there has been pushed to its limit. It can't defeat my last Pokémon on its own. It's simply impossible."

Ryu doesn't give in to her chiding. He just stares silently at her.

"You still think you have a hope of beating me, don't you? How cute. Watch those hopes disappear. Time to sparkle." She throws a Pokéball to send out her final Pokémon. At first glance, it looks much like a Vanilluxe. This Vanilluxe, however, doesn't seem to be made of ice and snow. Its heads are a solid object with a rectangular shape. On one side, the head is colored white, while on the other it's colored pink. There's a strip of brown between the two. Instead of icicles making up the bottom half of its body, it looks like a metallic foil wrapper that once encased all of the Pokémon has been peeled away and left hanging past the part it still covers.

This encourages Ash to check his Pokédex. "Vanilluxe, Tennoan Form, the Freeze-Dried Pokémon and a Fairy-Type. With no water of any kind left in its body, Tennoan Vanilluxe weighs a fraction of its original form. This light weight has allowed it to travel into space with astronauts. Evolves from Tennoan Vanillish at level 47."

Ryu looks to Dragonite, who somehow senses his gaze and turns to look back at him. The two of them lock eyes for a moment, and both nod confidently at one another in wordless agreement.

Titania doesn't seem to catch this. She orders, "Vanilluxe, dear, use Fairy Wind!"

"Vaniiiiil!" Vanilluxe spins about and whips up a gust of pink wind.

Ryu promptly counters, "Ride the wind!" Dragonite lifts off of the floor, and instead of fighting the incoming wind, it flies along with it.

Ash gasps. "Woah! There's no way Ryu and Dragonite would have pulled a move like that last time we saw them battle! They're too stubborn!"

Brock suggests, "Perhaps their time with the Dragon Master really did them some good."

Dragonite flies swiftly over Ryu's head, then angles itself back around and flies straight at Vanilluxe with the momentum it has built up.

As the wind from Dragonite flying past him causes his hair and clothes to flap, Ryu holds an arm into the air and declares, "Ultimate Dragonic Technique! Dragon Overdrive!"

Dragonite roars as it simultaneously cloaks itself in dragonic energy for a Dragon Rush attack while also using Thunderbolt straight ahead of itself and flying into it.

Titania stomps a foot in annoyance and grimaces as she remembers the last time she and Ryu battled and how the Dragon Overdrive forced things to end in a tie. "Not so fast, Mr. Dragon Trainer! I won't let that happen again! Vanilluxe, use Freeze-Dry!"

"Vaniiiiiiiiiil!" Vanilluxe creates an orb of icy energy large enough to cover both its mouths. From this orb, a massive stream of super-chilled air blasts outwards at the incoming Dragonite.

Titania declares, "Dragonite are always so easy to beat! They have a double weakness to Ice! This will put you in your place!"

Ryu declares, "No, you fail to realize the full extent of our training."

As he says this, Dragonite, cloaked in a maelstrom of electricity and dragon energy dives straight down at Vanilluxe, into its icy attack. As Dragonite dives, the Freeze-Dry parts around, allowing Dragonite to charge into Vanilluxe unhindered.

Ash stands up in shock. "No way! Ryu and Dragonite have really mastered that move! They couldn't do that before!"

There's a massive explosion as the Dragon Overdrive crashes into Vanilluxe. When the smoke clears, Vanilluxe is lying on the floor, prompting the referee to declare, "Vanilluxe is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Ryu!"

Ash cheers, "It's a one-hit knock out! Amazing!"

Titania shouts, "No! Vanilluxe!" She looks to Ryu with hatred burning in her eyes. "How could you?"

Ryu recalls Dragonite to its Pokéball for a rest. He simply walks away without giving Titania any response. Titania looks like she's on the verge of throwing a tantrum, but then realizes the audience of thousands watching her.

In another match is Kage, who's using a Ceruledge in battle against a Haxorus. The two have engaged in a battle with their blades. They each trade off slashes and parries until the opposing trainer orders, "Dragon Tail!"

Kage's Ceruledge, locked in a blade lock with Haxorus, seems unprepared to dodge Haxorus' tail as it swings around. But somehow, it's able to nimbly flip backwards to avoid the attack entirely.

Kage orders, "Clear Smog!"

"Cerul!" The Pokémon releases a white smoke from the base of its burning blades, which quickly obscures its surroundings.

The Haxorus' trainer quickly orders, "Dragon Claw, before it can move and hide in the smoke!"

"Haxoooor!" Haxorus leaps forward with great speed and thrusts its claws at where Ceruledge stood only a moment before. But even with the speed of the attack, Haxorus ends up slashing through nothing but smoke.

"Go, Bitter Blade!"

Somehow, Ceruledge appears above Haxorus and slashes down with two intensely burning swords, leaving a trail of blue fire behind as they move. After bringing both blades down on Haxorus, Ceruledge leaps backwards and lands. At the same time its feet touch the ground, Haxorus' entire body does.

In Braydon's qualifying match, his last Pokémon is Slashogun up against a Solurtle. Braydon orders, "Cold Steel, let's do it!" Slashogun lunges at Solurtle while brandishing its blades.

The opponent orders, "Dodge, and use Solar Flare!" Solurtle rolls out of the way with an impressive speed for its species and launches a fiery stream of plasma.

Braydon orders, "Dodge!" Slashogun ducks under the flames.

Braydon has a flashback to a battle against another Solurtle, but in the very same stadium. Brandon orders, "Solurtle, use Solar Flare!"

Braydon orders his Kappaquarius, "Dodge!" Much like Slashogun, Kappaquarius dodged by ducking beneath the attack. But, Braydon was too focused on the Solar Flare to realize that Solurtle had switched into a Gyro Ball and was charging at Kappaquarius. Braydon's Pokémon was struck by the attack and knocked out.

"Kappaquarius is unable to battle! The winner of this year's Tenno League Cosmic Conference is Brandon!"

Back in the present, Braydon cracks a grin and orders, "Drill Run!"

"Slaaaash!" Slashogun pivots about and it spins its entire body to turn its horn into an intimidating drill. It drills into the oncoming Gyro Ball from the opponent's Solurtle. The Solurtle is flung back and knocked out.

"Solurtle is unable to battle! Moving on to quarterfinals is Braydon!"

Braydon chuckles to himself. "You see, Brandon? Even I can pick up a thing or two from a loss."

That night, Ash finds Braydon sitting atop a hill overlooking the ocean outside of League Village. Ash sits next to him and says, "That was a great battle today. And it puts you against me in the quarterfinals tomorrow."

Braydon nods. "It does, doesn't it?"

"So, what're you doing out here?"

"Oh, I'm just contemplating stuff."

"Stuff? What kind of stuff would that be?"

"Mostly the last time I was in the Cosmic Conference. I went into it so certain that I would win, but then had that certainty eroded away little by little during my battle with Brandon, until suddenly I had to question why I ever thought I could win."

"Losing to a rival is rough. Especially in such an important battle."

"Brandon was more than just a rival to me. He and I grew up together." Braydon grins. "He was about the only person who didn't think I was crazy for all my Team Planetary conspiracy theories." He pauses, then chuckles. "Actually, let me rephrases that. He was the only person who didn't treat me like I was crazy. I'm certain he still thought it." Braydon shakes his head. "But, despite that all, I still mistreated him. I acted like I was the superior one. Like I was the naturally talented trainer. Every time he beat me in a battle, I would come up with an excuse for why I lost. I wasn't really lying to him, but I was to myself. I don't think it truly sunk in that he was the superior trainer until he beat me that day in our final battle."

"Hey, just because you lost doesn't make him the superior trainer."

Braydon shakes his head. "Ash, I've accepted the truth. Don't worry about my ego. Look at Brandon now. He just accepted Galileo's invitation to challenge the Champion League. And if you ask me, he's going to win it. He's going to be the next Tenno Champion. Meanwhile, I'm struggling here to even make it back to the Cosmic Conference finals." Braydon considers something and chuckles as he takes a look over Ash. "But there you go again."

Ash is confused. "There I go what?"

"Reminding me of him. Brandon would have said the same thing about being the superior trainer."

"Well, if I'm so much like Brandon, then maybe you'll just have to beat me to prove that you are just as good a trainer as he is."

Braydon crosses his arms and look to Ash skeptically. "Why would you say that to me? Surely you want to win tomorrow."

"Of course I want to win. But I also want you giving it your all. I want to have the best battle possible. I definitely don't want you to think that you've already lost, just because I remind you of someone else."

Braydon cracks a confident grin. "As if I would give it anything but my all. You misunderstand me, Ash."

Ash nods. "Good. That's what I want to hear."

Braydon looks out to the stars in the night sky. "There's one more thing that's on my mind. Leo is going to show up to watch tomorrow's battle in person."

Ash grins. "That's great. How are you two getting along?"

Braydon sighs. "It's…complicated… You can't just mend a ten-year long bad relationship overnight. But he's trying. And I'm trying. So, I guess that's what matters."

Ash nods. "It really is."

Braydon takes a deep breath. "It's incredible how much has changed in the past year. It makes me wonder how much I've changed."

Ash smiles encouragingly. "I'm sure it's a lot, and it's all for the better. If you ever get that rematch with Brandon, I hope I'm there to see it. It's going to be incredible."

Braydon grins back at Ash. "Let's take things one battle at a time. First, I have to worry about beating you tomorrow."

"And I've got to worry about beating you." Ash stands up and offers a hand to Braydon. Braydon clasps it and Ash helps to stand up. The two stare each other in the eyes intensely as they keep their hands remained clasped.

Who's That Pokémon!?

Using the invisible poison spikes on its veil-like arms and legs, it paralyzes its enemies and causes them to drown.

James is sobbing. "They're gone! They're all gone!"

Jessie groans. "James, they're all your Pokémon. You didn't need to send them back."

James sniffles as tries to control himself. "No. It's what I had to do. Victreebel has a family it needs to support. Cacturne has become a valuable member of the Eterna Gym team, and it enjoys that role. Mareanie's home is in Alola with Bewear and Mimikyu. Carnivine, believe it or not, was actually in the middle of a special mission for Team Rocket, so it needed to go back to HQ. It would have been selfish of me to keep them here in Tenno…"

Jessie questions, "What about Chimecho?" As she asks the questions, Meowth is making frantic arm movements to tell her to stop talking. He groans as soon as she says Chimecho.

And the moment she does, James' sobbing is renewed. "Chimecho!" Fighting through the tears, he explains, "Nanny and Pop-Pop can provide a better home for Chimecho than I ever could… Chime!" He continues to sob.

Meowth sits next to James and pats him on the back. "Look, James, they may not be with you anymore, but at least you got another chance to see them all again. If it wasn't for the Tenno League, who knows if you ever would have. That's a good thing, isn't it?"

James sniffles. "I suppose…"

Jessie leans in. "Hey, you know what always cheers me up when I'm down?"

"Wobbuffet!"

"No not you!" Jessie forcefully recalls the Pokémon.

James asks, "What cheers you up?"

"A good, old-fashioned evil scheming session."

"Those are pretty great…"

"Well, I got some good news for you. We were hired for a job."

"A job…?"

"Yeah, a big one. One that could even land us Pikachu if we play our cards right."

James wipes the last of his tears away. "I'm listening…"

It's Frillish!

The next day brings another round of matches, and the time has come for Ash and Braydon's battle. The field has been transformed into a jungle setting with large trees covered in vines and thick undergrowth across the ground. Both trainers look excited for the battle. Ash pulls out his Pokéball and announces, "This will be our first real battle without any gimmicks."

Braydon chuckles as he also selects a Pokéball. "I suppose it will. Let's see how things turn out."

Both trainers throw their Pokéballs, shouting, "I choose you!"

In front of Ash appears his Snorlax, while Braydon has selected a Lichenthrope.

Ash kicks off the battle by ordering, "Snorlax, use Hyper Beam!"

"Snoooooor!" Snorlax fires off an intense energy beam across the field at Lichenthrope.

Braydon is quick to counter, "Lichenthrope, up and over!" Lichenthrope leaps up with great speed. "And now Dark Pulse!"

Lichenthrope howls, "Throoooope!" as it launches a pulse of shadowy rings at Snorlax from above.

But the attack entirely misses when Snorlax abruptly ducks down.

Braydon gasps. "For such a big Pokémon, it sure dodged that one fast!"

Ash chuckles awkwardly as he scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, about that, I think Snorlax just wanted a rest…"

A second look reveals that Snorlax simply moved to lie down and sleep, not to dodge the attack on purpose.

Braydon giggles. "In that case, let's move in for a closer attack! Use Crunch!" Lichenthrope rushes in and bites down on Snorlax's arm. But in Snorlax's current state, this seems to do little to Snorlax.

In fact, Snorlax, still deep in sleep, lifts the arm that Lichenthrope is biting and uses it to scratch its belly, which carries Lichenthrope with it. The werewolf Pokémon is left very confused and concerned by the motion. Then Snorlax rolls over onto its belly, and in the process rolls on top of Lichenthrope. "Throooope!"

Brenda watches with curiosity. "I can't tell if this is strategy on Ash's part, or if this is just what Snorlax does."

Brock suggests, "I think it might be a bit of both."

With Lichenthrope pinned down, Braydon pulls out its Pokéball. "Lichenthrope, return!" He switches Pokéballs. "Go, Slashogun!"

"Slash!"

"Slashogun, use Cold Steel!"

"Slashooo!" Slashogun leaps into the air and the blades on its wrists grow several times in size as they glow a harsh silver.

Ash orders, "Snorlax, use Mega Punch!"

"Laaaax!" Snorlax punches at the incoming Slashogun with a glowing fist, easily knocking the much larger Pokémon aside.

Braydon declares, "Snorlax's pure bulk may be an advantage, but it's slow! All we need to do is up the speed! Slashogun, use Drill Run!"

"Shoguuun!" Slashogun quickly rebounds and leaps once more at Snorlax, this time using its own body as a drill with its horn as the point.

Ash commands, "Same as last time, Snorlax! Mega Punch!"

"Snoooor!" Snorlax once again punches at Slashogun, but this time Slashogun is able to maneuver itself around Snorlax's fist so that its able to drill right into Snorlax's belly. While Snorlax's bulk seems to absorb the majority of the damage, the Pokémon is still pushed onto its back by the strike.

"Quickly, switch into another Cold Steel!" Still in midair after bouncing off of Snorlax's belly, Slashogun emerges from its drill stance and redirects its momentum back down towards Snorlax. It once more brandishes its oversized blades and brings them down on Snorlax.

Ash commands, "Stop it, Snorlax!"

But Snorlax is too slow at getting back up to be able to do anything. Slashogun brings both mighty blades down on it in a strike so powerful, the resulting shockwave kicks up a cloud of dust. When the dust settles, Snorlax is still lying down. But this time, it's not able to move.

"Snorlax is unable to battle!"

Ash recalls Snorlax. "Dang, you got us. Slashogun must be one powerful Pokémon to be able to take down Snorlax like that."

Braydon nods with appreciation. "You won't find a blade sharper than Slashogun's."

Ash nods. "Okay, then it sounds like I need a shield strong enough to withstand that blade." He grins, knowing which Pokémon to pick. He throws his next Pokéball. "Go, Torterra!"

"Torteeeeerra!"

Braydon commands, "Slashogun, use Cold Steel!" Slashogun runs at Torterra to attack again with its blades.

Ash orders, "Torterra, I know you withstand it! Do it!"

"Terraaaaa!" Torterra lowers its head and stands completely firm without giving an inch when Slashogun's attack lands.

"While it's close, use Leaf Storm!"

"Terraaaa!" Torterra unleashes an intense storm of glowing leaves that strikes Slashogun directly before it can back off. The Leaf Storm attack sends Slashogun flying back until it slams into a tree behind it.

"And follow up with Headlong Rush!" Torterra's entire body glows an orange-brown as it stampedes towards Slashogun with impressive speed, given its size.

Braydon shouts, "Get out of there, Slashogun!"

Slashogun tries, but the last hit is still hurting it and it isn't fast enough. Torterra slams into it with such force, that even the tree behind it cracks topples to the ground with a loud crash.

Braydon shouts, "Free yourself with Mega Horn!" Despite being pinned down by Torterra, Slashogun is able to use its glowing horn to flip Torterra off of it and free itself. Torterra tumbles back with several crashes.

"Torterra, use Frenzy Plant!" Torterra lands upright and slams its forelegs into the ground. All around it, massive vines erupt from the ground and move to attack Slashogun.

"Cut through them all with Cold Steel!"

"Slash! Slash! Slash!" Despite the size and strength of the vines, Slashogun is able to slice through each one that lashes at it, and it makes progress to get closer to Torterra.

"Don't let up, Torterra! Keep the vines coming!"

"Torterraaaaa!" Even more vines emerge from the ground to lash at Slashogun. Slashogun continues to slice through them, but the vines seem to replenish themselves faster than Slashogun can destroy them. It's only a matter of time until one vine slips past Slashogun's blades and slams down on the Pokémon. Once that happens, there's an opening for several more to do the same. And, within moments, Slashogun has been completely beaten down by the onslaught.

"Slashogun is unable to battle!"

Ash cheers, "All right, Torterra! I knew you could do it!"

"Toooooorterraaaaaa!" Despite its triumphant roar, Torterra is looking rather worn down from the battle. It's left panting.

Braydon recalls Slashogun. "Let's go, Vipyre!"

"Pyyyyre!"

Ash also pulls out a Pokéball. "Torterra, don't worry, you've earned this break."

"Terra." Torterra is pulled back into its Pokéball.

"Dashilisk, I choose you!"

"Dashi dashi dashilisk!" Dashilisk, as carefree as ever, dances about happily.

Braydon crosses his arms. "If you think we're going to let a simple thing like a bad type matchup stop us, then you've got another thing coming! Let's show him, Vipyre! Use Fire Lash!"

"Pyyyyre!" Vipyre uses its entire body as a fiery whip to strike Dashilisk.

"Dodge it, Dashilisk!" Dashilisk casually hops from one foot to the other to avoid the attack. Vipyre keeps trying to hit it, but Dashilisk keeps on hopping to dodge each strike. "Now use Aqua Jet!"

"Dashi!" Dashilisk cloaks itself in water and plows into Vipyre.

Braydon quickly counters, "Use Wrap and Turn up the heat!" While being carried through the air by Dashilisk's Aqua Jet, Vipyre leverages the physical contact to wrap itself around Dashilisk. Its flames burn brighter and hotter than normal. Steam starts to fly off Dashilisk as the water around begins to boil.

"Dashi!?" The heat is too much for it, and Dashilisk abruptly falls from the sky.

Braydon shouts, "Push it down!" Vipyre contorts itself around Dashilisk so that it's on top and Dashilisk will be the one to receive the full brunt of the coming crash landing. "And now Flamethrower!" Vipyre uses Flamethrower straight up in order to push Dashilisk down even faster.

Ash encourages, "Dashilisk, you know what to do! Use Scald!" Dashilisk fires water from its mouth straight down in an attempt to soften its fall, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Dashilisk will hit the floor hard in moments. "Come on, Dashilisk! You can do it!"

"Dashilisk!" The water coming from Dashilisk's mouth is suddenly several times more intense.

Brock realizes, "That's a new move! Dashilisk is using Hydro Pump!"

With its newfound Hydro Pump, Dashilisk is able to slow its descent enough that it can land on its feet.

Ash cheers, "Great job! Now use Dragon Claw!"

"Dashi lisk!" Dashilisk spins about, forcing Vipyre off of its back, and scratches at the Pokémon with glowing green claws.

As Vipyre is flung back by the attack, Braydon orders, "Grab the branch and swing around!" Vipyre uses its tail to grab a tree limb as it flies back. Grabbing the branch causes Vipyre to swing about and changes the direction of its momentum forward towards Dashilisk. "Fire Lash!"

"Dashilisk, out of the way with Extreme Speed!" Dashilisk moves away with incredible speed, leaving behind a white trail. This leaves Vipyre to slam into a tree behind Dashilisk instead. "And Hydro Pump!"

"Dashiiiiiii!" Dashilisk unleashes a torrent of water at Vipyre from behind.

"Flamethrower!"

"Pyyyyyyre!" Vipyre is quickly able to dislodge itself and turn about to use Flamethrower. The flames meet the water, and an explosion of steam erupts outwards.

Braydon shouts, "Quickly! Duck down and switch to Venom Spit!" With the time bought by its Flamethrower, Vipyre flattens its serpentine body against the ground and spits a spray of purple fluid at Dashilisk as the Hydro Pump passes overhead.

The spray hits and Dashilisk staggers back. "Dashi…"

Brock states, "Venom Spit is a powerful Poison-Type move that will always poison the target if it hits. Dashilisk is going to struggle now."

Brenda worries, "Poor Dashilisk…"

Braydon follows, "Now Fire Lash!" Vipyre once again whips its entire body at Dashilisk, and this time Dashilisk is too stunned by the poison to dodge. The attack lands.

Ash encourages, "Fight through it, Dashilisk! Use Hydro Pump!"

Dashilisk stumbles about and tries to use Hydro Pump, but its aim is entirely off. Meanwhile, Vipyre is able to continue its pummeling.

Ash shouts, "Come on, Dashilisk! You always find a way to keep everything positive! Don't let this poisoning get you down! I believe in you!"

These words seem to have an impact on Dashilisk. Even while feeling sick from the poison and being attacked by Vipyre, Dashilisk closes its eyes for moment to focus. And when they open back up, a smile has appeared once more on Dashilisk's face. "Dashi dashi dashilisk!" It begins to dance about in just the right way to avoid Vipyre's attacks, and it seems to be moving faster than ever.

Braydon orders, "Switch to Flamethrower!" Vipyre gives itself some distance from Dashilisk and attacks with fire.

"Dodge!" Dashilisk, with blinding speed, dodges out of the way of the fire.

Brenda asks, "How is Dashilisk so fast!?"

Brock realizes, "It's its ability! Quick Feet! Since it's been poisoned, that's given Dashilisk a speed boost!"

Ash declares, "Excellent! Now Hydro Pump!"

"Dashiiiiliiiiiiisk!" Dashilisk attacks once more with Hydro Pump, and this time so fast that neither Braydon nor Vipyre are prepared, so the attack squarely hits Vipyre and blasts the Pokémon away. When Vipyre falls from the tree trunk it was slammed into, it's been knocked out.

"Vipyre is unable to battle!"

Ash cheers, "I knew you could do it, Dashilisk!"

Dashilisk dances about in victory. "Dashi dashi dashi dashi!" But suddenly, it succumbs to the poison and collapses.

A somewhat surprised referee declares, "Dashilisk is also unable to battle!"

Ash grins. "Thanks, Dashilisk. You pulled through there." He recalls the Pokémon, as Braydon does his.

Braydon grins at Ash. "You're really testing me for all I'm worth, aren't you? Well, let's see how you fare against this one. Go, Aegislash!"

"Aegi!" The Pokémon that appears is a Tennoan Aegislash.

Ash nods. "I think we can handle it, don't you agree, Incineroar!?" He throws a Pokéball to send out Incineroar.

"Cinerooooooar!"

Ash grins. "You know what I just realized, Incineroar? This is the first time we've battled together since you evolved! It's time to see what you're capable of now!"

"Cineroar!"

"Okay! I've always wanted to try this one out! Use Darkest Lariat!"

"Inciiiiiiin!" Incineroar spins about with its arms outstretched and covered in flames. Like this, it moves in towards Aegislash.

Braydon orders, "Counter with Light Blade!"

"Aegi!" Aegislash uses its entire body as a blade to slash at the incoming Incineroar. While it doesn't seem to damage the opponent, it does force Incineroar to move in the opposite direction and crash into the fallen tree behind it.

"Now use Photon Beam!" Aegislash floats up and fires a golden beam of light from its blade at the downed Incineroar.

"Incineroar, use Flame Charge!" Flames burn around Incineroar's entire body as the Pokémon uses great speed to rush away from the Photon Beam and to tackle into Aegislash.

"Aegislash, King's Shield!" Aegislash takes out its shield and switches into its Sheild Form to block Incineroar. "And Light Blade!" As Incineroar bounces off of the shield, Aegislash switches back into Blade Form and slashes at the stunned opponent. Incineroar has no chance to avoid the attack and is struck back. Braydon grins. "Ash, we don't just have a perfect defense. Or just a perfect offense. We have a perfect offense and defense. Getting past Aegislash's shield and sword is not something that most Pokémon would be able to do."

Ash declares, "Then it's a good thing Incineroar isn't most Pokémon! Use Fire Blast!"

"Cinerooooar!" Incineroar creates massive burst of flames from its belt.

"King's Shield!" Once more, Aegislash adopts a defensive posture and creates a barrier around itself with its shield to block the fire entirely.

"Darkest Lariat!" Even the quick follow-up of the Darkest Lariat isn't enough to catch Aegislash off-guard. Incineroar instead bounces off of the shield and trips to the ground.

"Light Blade!" Aegislash thrusts its blade down on the fallen Incineroar.

"Dodge it!" Incineroar is only just barely able to roll to the side to avoid the attack.

"Photon Beam!" Without missing a beat, Aegislash fires another light beam at Incineroar, this attack being much more difficult to dodge. It strikes its target, blasting a tumbling Incineroar into the air.

Incineroar manages to grab a large tree limb before falling and perch atop it.

But Braydon has other ideas. "Light Blade!" Aegislash easily cuts right through the tree limb and Incineroar plummets back down to the ground. Braydon asserts, "I trained Aegislash specifically to deal with the best Brandon could throw at me! There's nothing you can do to counter our perfect defense and offense! Aegislash! Let's finish this with one more Photon Beam!"

"Aegislaaaash!" Aegislash charges for beam and prepares to fire it at Incineroar below, who has taken a hard fall and is struggling to stand back up.

Ash shouts, "Incineroar!"

A strategy designed to defeat the winner of the previous Cosmic Conference. Can our hero find a way to beat it? Or is this as far as Ash will go? Find out next time, when the battle concludes!

To Be Continued…

Reminder: Tomorrow, July 3rd, 2024, is Cosmic Quest's 10th Anniversary. You don't want to miss the massive announcement I have planned.