Day four of the Doubles Championship arrived.
After three rounds of matches, the original 64 pairs had been mostly eliminated, leaving only eight true powerhouses still standing.
However, compared to the denser schedule earlier, clashes between strong opponents were obviously much more exciting to watch, which was why the audience's reactions were exceptionally enthusiastic.
For example, the very first match today was filled with cheers and applause from start to finish.
Mustard & Honey vs. Flint & Aaron—just looking at their raw stats on paper, there was an overwhelming gap. But when they actually fought, it was deadlocked for a while.
After all, facing a legendary "Battle Legend" head-on, if the two youngsters didn't go all out, they would absolutely be steamrolled at the speed of light.
Flint and Aaron didn't continue their unexpected playstyle from the last match, instead choosing to return to basics.
They sent out their absolute aces, Infernape and Drapion, to face Mustard and Honey's Rapid Strike Urshifu and Gallade on the field.
When facing Unseen Fist, many little tricks lost their value as stalling trump cards, so Aiden could understand their choice.
If they were doomed to lose anyway, it was better to go all out and fight with no regrets, losing while still standing.
At first, the synergy between Infernape and Drapion was indeed quite exquisite. With a combo routine, they even suppressed Urshifu for a bit.
But once Urshifu gradually adapted to the opponent's rhythm, it quickly used phantom footwork and masterful deflection techniques to turn the tide.
After several rounds of fierce exchanges, the opponents who had been burning through their stamina ran out of gas first, and were taken out by Gallade and Urshifu catching their openings and launching a fierce assault.
Since their aces couldn't even tough it out, the backups that came later were naturally easily defeated.
The result of the match wasn't surprising, but Aiden managed to grasp some of the underlying principles of "Unseen Fist" from the process.
Master Mustard's two Urshifu indeed had vastly different styles.
The Single Strike style was fierce and unyielding; every strike went straight for the vitals, making every punch incredibly threatening and impossible to ignore;
The Rapid Strike style, on the other hand, carried a Tai Chi/Wing Chun vibe. It wasn't in a rush to attack, quietly draining the opponent's stamina through frequent offense-defense transitions, until the timing was ripe to sweep them away like a flowing river with rapid strikes.
Both were equally tricky to deal with in actual combat. And because of the effect of the "genuine" Unseen Fist, defending against them was practically impossible—
So the only option was to trade blows with them, purely competing on raw strength.
As he got up and headed to the battlefield, Aiden was still recalling Master Mustard's battle from earlier.
Although when facing a Fighting-type specialist like Master Mustard, he could easily "skip the test" by using Mewtwo. If he had a supportive teammate to share the pressure, Mewtwo could handle any Fighting Pokémon with Psychic powers.
But—
This might be his only chance to go all out against a Battle Legend.
If he missed it, he believed not only he, but Lucario would definitely be disappointed too.
So, he really had to let Lucario be the mainstay.
It was both an important match to pass the torch between generations, and a "graduation battle" to show Master Mustard and the Urshifu masters how hard Lucario had worked along the way.
Besides, losing wouldn't be a big deal anyway. He might as well gracefully admit he wasn't as skilled and needed more practice.
It wasn't until he walked out of the competitor tunnel and locked eyes with the two middle-aged men walking toward him that Aiden finally ended his thoughts.
No matter what, to reach the finals, he first had to get past these two.
"Teacher Azure, I've been looking forward to this day."
As they shook hands, Lance, who had looked solemn, suddenly smiled.
"We've known each other for over a year now, right? I've learned a lot from you in that time."
"But this is the first time we're crossing swords in an official setting."
Aiden nodded.
Over a year ago, before he had any fame and was even busy trying to revitalize his Gym, he had already interacted with Lance online.
Even one of his current mainstay Pokémon, the Salamence blessed by the black Rayquaza, was a gift from Lance.
They had a few more interactions after that, and his impressions were all quite friendly.
If you didn't count their matches in Pokémon Champions, standing on the battlefield as opponents was a first.
"I've been looking forward to this day for a long time too."
Aiden replied, then turned and walked toward the boundary line.
He had always been someone who loved battling, and that hadn't changed even after coming to the Pokémon world.
And in this world, the number of experts you could challenge actually wasn't that high.
Lance was definitely one of them.
So, any words were better expressed through battle.
For a trainer, the best way to show respect to an opponent was to positively wipe the floor with them on the battlefield!
Seemingly sensing Aiden's increasingly burning aura, Cynthia smiled and nodded, pulling out her Poké Ball alongside him.
With a blow of the whistle, four Pokémon appeared simultaneously.
Lance and Bruno's choices were Dragonite and Machamp.
It was obvious their thought process was probably the same as Flint and Aaron's in the previous match: they didn't want to leave any regrets in Kalos.
So, they led with their aces right off the bat—
However, Aiden and Cynthia's side was actually doing the exact same thing.
"Pon~"
Ogerpon, wearing the Wellspring Mask, stepped onto the ground, letting out a cute cry from behind its mask.
As for Cynthia's choice, it was naturally Garchomp~
"ROARR—!"
Cynthia's Garchomp was naturally aggressive by birth. When it saw the two powerful, aura-filled Pokémon across from it, it immediately put on its battle face.
Its blade-like hands subconsciously began rubbing together.
"Aces against aces right from the start."
In the stands, Blue pondered.
"It seems like ever since reaching the Top 8, everyone's choices have become more—serious?"
"Even Teacher Azure stopped doing fancy tricks and chose to send out his main Pokémon to fight."
Blue understood the logic, of course. The probability of "styling on them" backfiring wasn't low. When the strength gap wasn't huge, even Teacher Azure probably wouldn't risk it.
"But wait, is Ogerpon actually the true heavyweight of Teacher Azure's team?"
Because he wasn't from Paldea, Blue's impression of Ogerpon wasn't that deep. He only remembered it seemingly hit very hard and had the absurd record of one-shotting opponents with a single cudgel swing.
But just how strong was it? He hadn't actually seen it with his own eyes.
Unlike Blue, Red had actually gone to Paldea and fought Teacher Azure.
So, he knew Ogerpon's strength much better.
"Ogerpon's strength is probably even higher than any of the Legendary Pokémon Teacher Azure has sent out before."
It was originally one of Kitakami's legends, called the Dreaded One by the locals because of its immense power.
Just from that alone, you could tell Ogerpon was incredibly tough.
As for the "experience of getting beaten"—
Red pondered for a good while before finding the best way to describe it.
"It only used one Arm Thrust, and it almost knocked my Snorlax completely unconscious."
"And it didn't even look like Ogerpon was going all out at the time."
"When I challenged him again later, it had already learned to hold back its strength when sparring with me."
"???"
Blue instantly lost his composure.
Red's Snorlax was no ordinary creature!
It didn't just have an appetite two or three times larger than a normal Snorlax, spending most of its day eating, which gave it a weight and stamina far surpassing its peers.
More importantly, it didn't just eat itself a huge belly; its whole body was packed with muscles. It was the kind of monster that could both tank and dish out damage.
It was basically Red's hidden trump card.
It could definitely go toe-to-toe with Elite Four aces, maybe even without falling behind.
If even this monster couldn't withstand a single hit from Ogerpon—
Just how absurd was Ogerpon?!
Red's words actually made Blue a bit curious, so he stopped chatting and rested his chin on one hand, starting to look forward to the upcoming battle.
Come to think of it, which side was he supposed to support?
On one side were the two seniors of the Kanto region, the two massive mountains he and Red would soon have to face;
On the other side was the guy who taught him a lot of strats and made his journey this year especially "exciting"—
"—?"
"Go, Mr. Lance!"
Blue only needed 0.001 seconds to make his choice.
He absolutely harbored zero grudges against Teacher Azure; at this moment, his heart only held the hope of seeing the two Elite Four members defend their region's glory!
The camera panned back to the battlefield.
Although the Pokémon on both sides were ready, no one took the initiative to command, and the scene fell into silence.
Until Lance spoke first: "There is a very interesting power here in Kalos."
"To win this match, even an old guy like me has to keep up with the times."
After Lance spoke, Bruno's expression next to him suddenly darkened.
You're having fun, but what about me?!
My Machamp doesn't seem to have a corresponding Mega Evolution form discovered yet!
And when he looked at their opponents—
Cynthia revealed the Key Stone on her wrist, and Aiden pulled out his Tera Orb, preparing himself.
Since it was a clash of titans, they might as well bring out their full power and have a head-on collision!
Both sides shared the exact same thought, so: "Dragonite/Garchomp, Mega Evolve!"
"Show them true Terastallization, Ogerpon!"
Aside from Bruno, the other three on the field looked quite busy.
Only Bruno stood in place, his face turning a few shades darker.
The power stuff didn't really matter; even without Mega Evolution or Terastallization, he had absolute confidence in Machamp's thoroughly forged physical body.
But—
What was going on with this feeling of being the only odd one out?
Bruno pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh hard and raised his hand high.
"Let's show them our spirit, Machamp!"
"ROAR—!"
Two pillars of rainbow light shot into the sky. Before their eyes, aside from the light, there was also a scattering of lightweight, drifting shards.
Only Machamp's side had no special effects, relying entirely on its roar to vent its emotions, even distorting the space for a moment.
After the light faded and the roar dissipated—
Ogerpon's mask had expanded significantly after absorbing Tera energy, making its already fierce mask look even more intimidating.
Dragonite's body structure didn't change much, but the pair of somewhat bizarre wings on its head and its now much thicker tail were particularly eye-catching.
As for Garchomp?
After Mega Evolving, unlike its previous Z-form, this time Garchomp didn't fly in the air. Its hands had transformed into much more lethal scythe shapes.
Its physique was indeed noticeably burlier than before, but it looked like it wasn't as agile as the Z-form, or perhaps even the original form?
Everyone on the field had undergone some changes.
But when the three Pokémon simultaneously turned their gaze to the side at Machamp—
"ROAR—!"
Machamp could only fiercely pound its chest again, letting out another earth-shaking roar to defuse the awkwardness.
"That's the way, Machamp! Keep that momentum and use Cross Chop!"
Bruno's voice followed.
Hearing its trainer's command, Machamp violently stepped forward, launching a desperate charge toward Ogerpon.
At the same time, it brought both elbows together, posing for a full-power slash.
"Ogerpon, raise your mask to block, then counter with Play Rough!"
Aiden immediately reacted.
To be fair, Tera Ogerpon in actual combat was indeed quite scummy—
The masks forged by the mask makers of Kitakami were absurdly hard. In actual combat, they could even be used as shields.
While it couldn't completely negate damage, using it to offset a portion of the impact was totally doable.
And that was already enough.
Machamp's full-power strike, rushing in like a dump truck, was mostly deflected by Ogerpon using the edge of its mask. The attack ended in nothing.
"PON!!!"
Ogerpon's counterattack immediately followed. It turned its head and suddenly pulled a thorny cudgel from behind, looking like it was about to smash it straight down onto Machamp's skull with all its might.
"Dragonite, use Hydro Pump on Ogerpon!"
At the critical moment, Lance joined the fray.
It was definitely too late for Machamp to dodge Play Rough, so it could only raise its four arms to block the attack as best as it could.
But if Ogerpon attacked recklessly without a care, the Hydro Pump from Dragonite right behind it would be impossible to dodge.
"Garchomp, rush over and use Protect to block the Hydro Pump!"
"GARR!"
Cynthia, who had been observing the situation, spoke up at the right moment, and Garchomp immediately sprang into action.
Although its footsteps were a bit heavier after Mega Evolving, Ogerpon wasn't far away anyway, so it didn't cause any issues.
Ogerpon still swung its cudgel with full force. After smashing into Machamp's four-armed defense, it actually sent Machamp flying back several meters, only stopping right at the boundary line.
It left two incredibly conspicuous indentations in the ground.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when Ogerpon couldn't dodge after its attack, Dragonite immediately fired its Hydro Pump signature move straight at the completely defenseless Ogerpon.
Ogerpon's mask fixed its Tera type; you could tell just by looking at the color of the Tera shards on its body.
Even without the Tera crown, it was incredibly conspicuous.
As long as this super effective Hydro Pump hit, Ogerpon would absolutely be hurting even if it didn't go down!
Compared to Bruno's thick-skinned Machamp, Ogerpon's small frame was obviously lacking in bulk.
It was exactly with this thought in mind that Lance decisively chose to force a trade.
However, the attack had barely crossed the midline before it was barely blocked by a Protect barrier deployed by the hastily arriving Garchomp.
Nothing happened.
After the first exchange, it looked like Bruno's side had eaten a silent loss, while Aiden and Cynthia made a small profit.
However, this outcome seemed acceptable to Lance and Bruno.
Even though its arms had suffered several gashes, at least Machamp hadn't immediately lost its ability to battle—
"It's that tough?"
Aiden was also secretly bewildered in his heart.
This was a Tera Fire Ogerpon we're talking about. It took a super effective Play Rough and is still full of energy?
Looks like it probably spars with Bruno (gets beaten up) a lot normally—
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