With Lillie's guidance, Lucas and Kukui reached the courtyard just as Guzma was finishing his rant.
"..."
Lucas fell silent.
Kukui, on the other hand, was visibly fired up.
Usually cheerful, always smiling, the kind "good guy" — for the first time, anger clearly burned in his voice:
"Guzma, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
His eyes flashed over to Kiawe's groaning Turtonator in the pit — it wasn't hard to guess who did it.
Kiawe was one of his first students as a teacher.
Kukui hated fighting, but Guzma attacking his student crossed the line.
Facing Kukui's rage, Guzma looked unconcerned, retorting:
"That's cold, Kukui. Is that how you treat an old friend?"
Kukui didn't buy it, supporting Kiawe and Turtonator, cold as ice:
"That's rich — you attack my student and then act like we're buddies?"
He passed Kiawe and his Pokémon to Mallow and Sophocles, standing protectively in Guzma's way.
"So sad — I wasn't gonna do anything bad to them!"
Guzma shrugged, obviously unconvincing.
"Alright, fun's over. My grunts misunderstood my orders, hence that farce earlier."
"But since someone hurt my best bros, as their boss, it's only right I come out myself — and crush whoever did it!"
Guzma's cold gaze swept the crowd, finally landing on Lucas.
Only Lucas matched the "culprit" description.
But Kukui again stepped between them, producing a Poké Ball:
"If you want a battle, I'll be your opponent."
He didn't want Lucas's vacation ruined by old feuds.
These two had the same master; Kukui would settle things himself.
A little further away, Mallow and others, having helped Kiawe and Turtonator, returned to watch. Sophocles wore a worried expression:
"Isn't Professor Kukui a Pokémon Professor? The other guy's so strong — will he be alright?"
Mallow and Lillie both looked anxious.
They'd only known Kukui a short while, treating him more like a non-battle teacher.
Lana, meanwhile, stared at Lucas's back, deep in thought.
"Heh — don't rush, once I break what you care about, then I'll destroy you,"
Guzma scoffed.
He didn't actually want to fight Kukui — there'd be plenty of time for that later.
Today, he just wanted payback for his grunts.
He had no interest in occupying the school — that was his dumb subordinates' idea. He'd just conquered Po Town; he didn't want to get arrested.
Kukui wanted to argue further, but Lucas, who'd been watching idly from behind, patted his shoulder:
"It's fine. If he wants to fight, let's fight."
He stepped forward, facing Guzma.
"So? How do you want to do this?"
"I like straight shooters."
Guzma grinned arrogantly, giving Lucas an appraising look.
"When I, the strongest, beat you, maybe if you beg, I'll let you join Team Skull!"
"…No need for that."
Lucas's mouth twitched.
He'd expected Guzma's unshakable "I'm the best" energy, but it was still a sight to behold.
If only Guzma broadened his horizons — even Kukui, after his training, could beat Guzma handily.
Guzma refused Island Trials, Z-Moves, and Z-Rings out of stubborn pride, splitting with Hala, his mentor.
And what came of it?
He had skills, but wasted years and grew narrow-minded, ultimately losing to Ash before even facing Kukui.
Fine—today, Lucas would give him a wake-up call… through battle.
Lucas turned and took his place on the field.
Guzma grinned and took the opposite side.
But before things got started, Kukui interjected:
"I'll referee the match."
"Whatever."
Guzma waved him off, all arrogance.
But as he walked off, he couldn't shake the odd look Kukui gave him — one of pity.
"Why's Kukui looking at me like that?"
Guzma snorted and ignored it.
He couldn't wait to see Kukui's reaction when he crushed Lucas.
…
"Per agreement, this is a three-on-three singles match."
"Whoever loses all Pokémon first, loses. Any objections?"
The rules were just a formality—really, they were what Lucas wanted.
Guzma, for his part, scoffed at the rules — it made no difference to him.
By now, a crowd had gathered to watch.
Kiawe, having left Turtonator with a teacher for healing, had returned.
"Will he be okay…?"
He looked at Lucas's back, unsure.
"He'll be fine,"
Lana suddenly spoke.
She couldn't say if it was true intuition, or the impact of Dragonite's earlier performance.
Everyone held their breath, watching the impending battle.
"If you want to use Z-Moves, go ahead. That stuff won't help you. Not against invincible Boss Guzma!"
"Assuming you even have one," he sneered, tossing out a Poké Ball.
"Vikavolt, let's go!"
With a flash of red, his Electric/Bug-type Pokémon — blending elements of beetle, pincer, jet fighter, and railgun — appeared, crackling with energy.
A dangerous Pokémon, especially deadly against Flying-types.
Lucas made his choice.
"Luxray."
Just simple words, but even Kukui was taken aback.
Was Lucas the type to get angry but not show it? Was he sending out his ace so quickly?
In fact, Kukui thought that unless he stepped in, Guzma was about to face tragedy.
When Luxray appeared, even more subdued and powerful, Guzma raised his eyebrow:
"Guillotine!"
Vikavolt lunged forward at blinding speed, jaws wide and glowing.
If it landed, the result could be fatal!
Lillie's eyes widened in fear, "If that hits, Luxray might be finished…!"
"Is it really that scary?"
Mallow gasped, worrying as Luxray didn't even flinch.
Lucas, unfazed, called out:
"Dodge."
In a flicker of sparks, Luxray vanished and reappeared behind Vikavolt, leaving it snapping at empty air.
"So fast!"
Guzma's face changed, but quickly adapted:
"Just being fast doesn't mean anything—Sticky Web!"
Guzma could win by any means, whether by overpowering or trapping his opponent.
Vikavolt spat out sticky threads, weaving a net overhead and flinging it at Luxray.
But Luxray nimbly dodged — for him, the net was like a slow-motion play.
Guzma laughed and ordered more nets; soon, Sticky Web blanketed the field, sticking to the ground, restricting movement.
It posed no limit to the flying Vikavolt—but grounded Luxray, it could.
"Let's see you use your speed now. Go all-out — Discharge!"
As his setup finished, Guzma showed why he's called "The Emperor of Destruction."
"Kuwaa!"
Crackling with energy, Vikavolt hovered, unleashing a storm of lightning at Luxray.
The students all held their breath.
To be fair: This Discharge was powerful enough to deserve the title of Kukui's one-time rival's Pokémon.
But that was it.
"Boring…"
Expecting more, Lucas just shook his head.
"Let's go too. Discharge."
Crack!
Electric energy erupted from Luxray like a great surge, arcing outwards like the branches of a world tree.
Though both used Discharge, Luxray's completely overwhelmed Vikavolt's; it shattered the latter's attack instantly.
Boom!
A massive explosion, with dirt and energy flying, forced everyone (Guzma included) to shield their eyes.
His sunglasses might as well have been decorative!
When Guzma opened his eyes—he saw the Sticky Webs burned away, and Vikavolt, blackened and twitching, dropped straight to the ground, already fainted from Luxray's Discharge.
Which meant:
Luxray had one-shot Vikavolt, and cleaned up all the Sticky Webs at the same time!
Guzma was shell-shocked.
Lucas shot a look to Kukui, hinting at 'time to judge'.
No matter how many tricks Guzma planned, against overwhelming force, nothing mattered.
Nowadays, with his Pokémon getting stronger, Luxray and Swampert had all improved rapidly—so Lucas rarely needed to demonstrate reality this harshly.
Unless fighting equals, he'd always go a little easier.
But since he meant to teach Guzma the folly of arrogance, he wasn't going to hold back.
"Sigh."
Kukui, knowing this was inevitable, sighed and raised his hand:
"Vikavolt is unable to battle. Guzma, please send out your next Pokémon."
The tension in the air finally broke, and the school was abuzz.
Lillie and the others squealed excitedly, clutching their friends' hands.
Guzma, in contrast, finally snapped back — making a fist.
Now he realized he'd kicked a steel wall.
His subordinates' boasting had led him to completely misjudge Lucas's strength!
But there was no way he'd run now—not in front of his old rival, Kukui. He had to win, no matter what!
With both Golisopod and Masquerain having type disadvantages—and Vikavolt had just been blown away—sending them in would only be more dangerous. Even if he suspected Luxray's Discharge was extra strong due to stored power, trying to scare him off—
His options were running out.
"You really think you have me? Golisopod — you're up!"
In Guzma's mind, Luxray's power must have dropped. Now for a quick assault to settle it in one blow!