"Hang in there, Volcarona!"
Rosa shouted.
Faced with such an overwhelming attack, Protect wasn't going to hold for long. Once it broke, the battlefield would shift entirely in Volcarona's favor.
"Vooooh!"
Sure enough, within ten seconds, the protective barrier began to flicker as if it could vanish at any moment.
"Raaa."
Torterra stirred slightly, turning its head toward Paul.
"Ready? Then go for it."
Noticing this, Paul gave the order.
"Raaa!"
With a low roar from Torterra, the protective shield surrounding its body vanished. The ground trembled.
Countless massive, terrifying vines burst from the earth, transforming the entire battlefield into a sea of plants.
The swarm of vegetation surged forward, lashing and piercing through the fiery storm that had been raging.
Though many of the plants were burned away, a good number pierced through the blaze.
In an instant, the previously overwhelming Firestorm was shredded by the storm of plants like a sieve.
The collision of so many forces led to one outcome—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted. A mushroom cloud billowed high above the battlefield.
At the heart of the blast, Torterra remained anchored by its roots, its form obscured by thick smoke.
Volcarona, who had appeared like a divine flame moments ago, was now blackened and sent flying, crashing hard into the ground.
"Stone Edge."
Paul's voice rang out again.
Awaiting Volcarona was not the scorched earth or the sea of plants, but sharp stone pillars piercing straight through the vegetation.
The Stone Edge attack was like a blade rising from the cliffside, delivering a merciless judgment to airborne foes.
"Dodge it!"
Rosa tried to rouse Volcarona's consciousness, but—
Volcarona, injured from the explosion, couldn't respond in time. Despite its awareness, it couldn't move.
And so, Stone Edge struck.
BOOM!
Volcarona exploded midair, crashing to the ground in a faint.
Meanwhile, at the blast center, a faint Leaf Storm blew away the smoke, revealing Torterra's scorched barely conscious form.
This exchange had left Torterra severely injured.
"Volcarona is unable to battle. Torterra wins! Challenger Paul claims victory in this match!"
The referee declared.
"Incredible! After a fierce contest, the 23-win streak of ringmaster Rosa comes to an end at the hands of challenger Paul."
"Let's give our congratulations to Paul, our new ringmaster! And let's thank Rosa for such a spectacular performance!"
The announcer's voice lit up the crowd.
"Ah..."
Clap clap clap...
Cheering...
Amidst the applause, a disappointed Rosa recalled Volcarona and looked at Paul as if he were an insurmountable mountain.
"You really are strong... Even an attack like that couldn't beat you. The gap between us just keeps growing..."
As Volcarona's trainer Rosa knew its power best. Among her Pokémon, Volcarona had the strongest burst potential—once Firestorm was triggered, not even her two next-best Pokémon together could handle it.
Yet Paul's Torterra had defeated it head-on—using Grass-type moves, no less.
The impact shook her deeply.
She was certain: in a formal match, Paul could defeat all six of her Pokémon using only that Torterra.
That was her honest assessment based on their strength.
"Your Volcarona is well-trained."
Paul responded calmly.
Given its earlier performance, Volcarona was truly exceptional.
From what he saw, Volcarona could probably go toe-to-toe with Paul's weaker team members.
"Thanks for the compliment. Keep up the good work."
Rosa shook off the loss and encouraged him before returning to the stands.
She wanted to see for herself whether anyone could defeat Paul, or whether Paul could defeat Elite-Four Lorelei.
Lorelei, who had been watching from above, was also analyzing the clash.
Could her Pokémon withstand that Firestorm from Volcarona?
After all, even within the same tier, power differences weren't always vast. While her team stood at the peak of Elite level, that didn't guarantee an easy win over all other Elites.
After much thought, Lorelei concluded that at least half of her team wouldn't survive that move head-on.
Of course, with targeted strategies, she could likely take down Volcarona using two Pokémon. The rest of Rosa's team like her Serperior, would be easier to handle.
So then... even against her team, that Torterra might not necessarily lose?
As Lorelei considered this, Rosa, on her way back to the stands, passed by a green-haired boy entering the field—the next challenger to face Paul.
"I'm Wally, from Petalburg City."
Wally smiled and greeted Paul.
"Long time no see. This time, my partner and I are going to take you down."
"We'll see."
Paul looked him over calmly.
"Challenger, release your Pokémon."
The referee called out.
"Go, Gallade!"
Wally didn't hesitate releasing Gallade.
"Gaaaal!"
Gallade took a fighter's stance upon entry, arms raised and ready—but paused.
Its opponent was none other than the battered yet still strong, Torterra.
"You're not switching?"
Seeing Paul make no move to swap, Wally asked.
After all, Torterra had exhausted itself using Ingrain and stat boosts. At this point, one clean hit from Gallade could take it down.
"No need. Come on."
Paul replied evenly.
"Battle start!"
The referee signaled.
"Night Slash!"
Wally wasted no time.
Gallade's form twisted and blinked from view, reappearing behind Torterra. Its blade-arms extended to slash down—
WHAM!
Only to meet a faint green barrier blocking the strike.
"Synthesis."
With sunlight still bright above, Torterra glowed within its shield, visibly regenerating.
"Feint, Sacred Sword!"
Gallade's posture shifted, breaking through Protect with a swift Feint, following up with a Sacred Sword aimed at Torterra.
The move, which ignores defensive stat changes, was perfect against a buffed Torterra.
Torterra couldn't dodge, it simply braced itself.
WHACK!
Gallade landed the blow, then immediately flipped away.
FWOOSH!
A Leaf Storm roared toward Gallade in retaliation.
SWISH!
Gallade teleported to Wally's side.
"Swords Dance."
Wally called out, clutching the Mega Stone on his necklace.
"Gallade, Mega Evolve!"
"Gaaaaal!"
Gallade performed Swords Dance, raising glowing blades around itself, then began to glow as it Mega Evolved.
Mega Gallade's colors shifted slightly. Its main change, an elegant red cape and longer, sharper arm blades.
Though its ability had changed to Inner Focus, Wally had trained Gallade to retain the benefits of its old ability, Sharpness—boosting the power of slicing moves permanently, much like Garchomp's Rough Skin.
But while Gallade powered up, Torterra wasn't just standing by. It had fully recovered its stamina and retaken control of the field.
By the time Gallade looked up, the battlefield was once again a vast jungle.
"GAAAALL!"
Feeling uneasy, Gallade leapt high, seeing the plant sea surging below.
Countless thorny vines shot toward it.
"Psycho Cut, Swords Dance!"
Suspended in midair with Psychic power, Gallade's glowing arms swung repeatedly, launching Psycho Cuts that sliced through the plants.
Yet no matter how many it cut down, more closed in, surrounding it from every side.
"Sacred Sword!"
Just as the hardened plants struck, Gallade teleported again, appearing beside Torterra, slashing down.
"Raaaa!"
At that moment, Torterra unleashed its own prepared Leaf Storm, meeting Gallade's Sacred Sword head-on.
"Gaaaall?!"
Confident moments earlier, Gallade was shocked by the sheer power of the Leaf Storm—it was stronger than the vines it had cut through.
A TRAP!
Gallade realized too late.
Torterra didn't give it time to react—its Leaf Storm overpowered Sacred Sword, pulling Gallade into the gale.
Inside the storm, Gallade kept fighting back, trying to break free or teleport—but all efforts failed.
Finally, when the storm weakened slightly, Gallade tried to escape—
SWISH!
Three glowing green chains shot out, binding Gallade tightly.
Torterra yanked it in.
Gallade's vision blurred as Torterra's red-glowing tree drew near, combining Leech Seed and Giga Drain to drain its energy.
"Gaaaaall!"
Gallade struggled, using Reversal and Psychic but couldn't break free.
Five seconds later, its energy drained.
Then, Gallade collapsed—reverting from Mega Evolution.
"Gallade is unable to battle. Torterra wins!"
The referee declared.
"Return, Gallade. You did well."
Wally recalled his partner, then looked at Paul and smiled.
"Didn't expect that to be a trap. No wonder it's you, Paul."
Paul could have finished Gallade earlier, but chose a safer route that surprised Wally. If he'd known, Gallade might've survived a bit longer.
"Your Gallade has impressive adaptability."
Paul commented sincerely.
Against other opponents, Gallade might've stood a chance. But against Torterra who had spent the entire match setting up and rooting across the field, defeat was inevitable.
"Good luck. I hope you can beat Lorelei."
Wally smiled, offered a final encouragement and left.
Soon after, the next challenger entered with a Lapras, hoping to use type advantage.
But Torterra's stats were maxed. Before Lapras could act, Frenzy Plant buried it.
Subsequent challengers—seven or eight tried. As long as their Pokémon couldn't fly, they were instantly overwhelmed by the plant sea.
Even a powerful Charizard was eventually defeated.
Then, the arena fell eerily silent, no more challengers stepped forward.
No ordinary trainer needed to think twice Paul's Torterra, with maxed-out power, couldn't be beaten by anyone here.
The tournament, scheduled to continue, ended early.
"After a long wait, with no more challengers, I hereby declare the winner of this tournament—Paul!"
"Let's congratulate Paul for earning the right to challenge Master Lorelei!"
With that, the tournament entered its final phase.
(End of Chapter)
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