Since there were five participants, a drawing was held to determine who would sit out.
The staff pulled out a slip of paper that read, "Gardenia."
Gardenia waved his hand casually.
"Thanks for the luck. I already have a reservation to challenge Cynthia. You just helped maintain the suspense until the very end."
With that, he returned to his seat.
The stage next to Cynthia lowered, revealing the battle arena.
During this time, the staff drew two more slips of paper:
'Aaron versus Lucian.'
Bertha and Cynthia exchanged a glance, laughed, and patted the staff before stepping onto the arena.
"Lucian, Aaron, do you mind if Bertha and I go first?"
Lucian nodded in agreement, while Aaron folded his arms at the edge of the arena and watched the show with Gardenia.
"How long has it been since we last battled?" Cynthia asked as she rummaged through her box, pulling out a Poké Ball and tossing it.
"I can't quite remember. I think we sparred once last year in my family's yard under the pretense of helping your Garchomp train," Bertha replied.
A confused Heracross—a Bug and Fighting-type Pokémon—appeared in the arena. It glanced at Cynthia, then at Aaron on the sidelines, clearly unsure of the situation.
Aaron loudly explained the circumstances, and Heracross, now understanding, flexed its powerful arms in a display of strength toward Cynthia.
Bertha threw a Poké Ball, only to discover that it contained her Hippowdon. With a sigh, she redrew.
This time, a Scizor—a Bug and Steel-type Pokémon—appeared in the arena.
Coincidentally, both Pokémon belonged to Aaron and seemed natural rivals. Now fully aware of the situation, they glared at each other, clearly intending to attack.
"Aaron, would you like to share your thoughts? Which do you think is stronger, Scizor or Heracross?"
Cynthia was clearly trying to provoke him. Aaron held his forehead and quickly said, "I don't know. Don't ask. Both are strong."
This sent Luther and the others watching the broadcast into a fit of laughter.
The referee took his position and the broadcast screen was ready for the battle. Bertha and Cynthia familiarized themselves with the Pokémon they had drawn before returning to their positions.
This was an Appeals Round at the New Year event. Neither side had much at stake; winning or losing didn't matter.
Yet, for many young Pokémon Trainers, this was a showdown between a former and current Champion.
Since Bertha stepped back to become an Elite Four member, she had rarely appeared in public like this. She only spoke for official Pokémon League matters, and she had barely participated in any of the offciial Pokemon battle at all in the past two years.
Her aura of mystery was the only impression most people had of her.
Though Bertha's old battle videos exist online, only one match against Cynthia has data available. Most who watched it concluded that it was evenly matched.
Now, years later, both trainers were battling with Pokémon they had just become familiar with, testing their instincts, battle sense, and personal strength.
Would Cynthia's continual improvement leave Bertha behind, or would the two be neck and neck?
The match whistle blew. In this unrestricted battle, Cynthia made the first move.
"Say hello to Bertha's Scizor! Use Brick Break."
"Face it head-on! Metal Claw!"
Scizor and Heracross clashed fiercely in the arena. This evenly matched exchange gave Bertha and Cynthia a clear sense of the situation.
"Megahorn!"
Cynthia's battles were always the most enjoyable because she prioritized offense.
Heracross charged directly at Scizor with its massive horn.
"Bullet Punch! Slam Heracross's horn into the ground!"
Scizor's punching speed was so fast that it was almost invisible. Just before Heracross's horn reached close range, it seemed as if Scizor merely lifted its arm slightly, and Heracross was slammed into the ground.
Heracross struck the ground with its horn, and Cynthia immediately gave her next command: "Lift the ground and Scizor into the air, then use Megahorn!"
The terrain beneath Scizor buckled. Before it could react, it was flung into the air, taking damage along with the dirt.
"Adjust your stance and use X-Scissor."
True to its training by an Elite Four member, Scizor deftly leveraged the flying debris to maneuver despite taking a heavy hit. Then, it flipped and dove toward Heracross.
Cynthia's command to use Aerial Ace was interrupted by Scizor's preemptive strike.
Scizor attacked Heracross in quick arcs. Unable to keep up with the sudden surge in speed, Heracross flailed desperately, trying to land hits.
Scizor moved like a streak of red lightning. From Cynthia's perspective, Heracross appeared to be under attack from a blurred red shadow.
"Speed-focused training? That's interesting." Cynthia smiled slightly before speaking. "High Jump Kick."
The battlefield trembled, and cracks spread across the ground near Heracross.
Scizor jumped at the last moment as Bertha had advised, but upon landing, Heracross caught up. Taking advantage of the momentary imbalance, Close Combat struck with full force.
Scizor was slammed away and collapsed in pain. It took him a long while to stand again.
While Aaron's Scizor was trained for speed, Heracross was trained for raw power.
Though X-Scissor put Heracross in a difficult position and took significant damage, Heracross only needed a couple of moves to regain control of the battle.
Luther was momentarily stunned. He noticed that Cynthia showed no sign of triumph. She simply watched Scizor get back up, looking serious and focused.
Could it be...
"X-Scissor!"
Scizor's speed remained astonishing. Heracross, now clearly seeing the motion, tried to block the attack with Slash. But the moment it raised its arms, a sudden surge of tremendous power pressed down on it, forcing Heracross to gather all its strength to resist.
This X-Scissor was nothing like the previous one!
Sure enough, Scizor's Swarm ability amplified the power of its Bug-type moves as its damage and status worsened.
Scizor had clearly taken heavy damage and was on the brink. Yet, this was also when it was at its peak combat potential; each attack could have knocked Heracross out of the arena.
Megahorn and X-Scissor clashed in a furious exchange. Heracross had to use all its strength to withstand Scizor's relentless onslaught.
Both Pokémon, impacted by decreased stamina, retreated to catch their breath. Bertha winked at Cynthia.
Cynthia smiled.
"Final move: Megahorn!"
"Cross Chop!"
The two Pokémon unleashed their most powerful strikes yet. The two devastating moves collided, further tearing up the battlefield. Winds whipped around, tossing Cynthia's hair.
Seconds later, as the smoke cleared, Scizor and Heracross were lying unconscious on the battlefield.
Bertha smiled slightly; this result was not bad at all.
(End of chapter.)
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