"Dragonite, fly over and block it!"
Lance quickly reacted, immediately commanding his Mega Dragonite.
Thanks to the Tailwind still lingering on the field, its speed was clearly much faster than Ogerpon's, so it quickly intercepted it.
It did manage to use Protect to barely block Ogerpon's reckless charge, but it was also knocked backward from the impact, having to use its wings to create distance and prevent Ogerpon from getting tangled up with it.
"Now, Garchomp!"
Seizing the opportunity, Cynthia commanded once more. "Use Sand Tomb to trap Steelix!"
However, because Dragonite had stalled for just a bit earlier, Bruno and Steelix were already glowing with white light, on the verge of completing their Mega Evolution.
"Steelix, use Magnet Rise to float up!"
Seeing Garchomp trying to use the same trick, Bruno instantly reacted.
"Magnet Rise, huh—"
Aiden clicked his tongue secretly, finding this a bit unexpected.
It was a bit absurd, but Steelix could actually pull it off.
After evolving from Onix, Steelix's body was covered in high-purity iron particles, gleaming brilliantly under the light of its evolution.
Because of this, its nearly one-ton steel body could actually slowly ascend through magnetic levitation and maintain a hovering posture, temporarily dodging attacks from underground.
The sand erupting from underground only managed to brush against its tail before being easily shaken off, failing to hit it.
Aiden's "zero sportsmanship" offensive certainly startled Bruno, but his years of frontline combat experience allowed him to easily defuse it.
Seeing the situation return to a balance, Cynthia suddenly initiated an offense, trying to disrupt their flow: "Garchomp, Rock Slide!"
"GAR!"
Garchomp's bloody scythe-hands fiercely cleaved into the ground.
The earth, already churned into a mess by Sand Tomb, immediately launched countless rocks flying toward the opponents' half of the field.
"Steelix, sweep them away with Iron Tail!"
"Dragonite, use Hurricane on Ogerpon!"
The coordination between the two Elite Four members was undeniably seamless.
Using Steelix's massive body as cover, Dragonite directly chose to fly right under it for safe damage output, completely free from the threat of Rock Slide.
Steelix's Iron Tail wasn't used for attacking either, but rather for defense. With a casual swing, it easily deflected the majority of the rocks.
Even the few that managed to land just hit its steel body, dealing no damage at all.
Seeing Dragonite's head-wings already fanning up a hurricane that could strike Ogerpon at any moment, Aiden narrowed his eyes and immediately made a bold command: "Ogerpon, use Spiky Shield and charge through!"
With Steelix using Magnet Rise to float, the situation actually wasn't very favorable for his side.
Garchomp's Earthquake could no longer threaten Steelix, and Dragon-type moves would also be easily tanked by it.
If they didn't find a way to break the stalemate, Dragonite would continue to hide under Steelix and deal massive damage, just like it was doing now.
No wonder they Mega Evolved—
It seemed Ogerpon was the only one capable of breaking the deadlock right now, so Aiden wasn't about to sit around and wait for death.
"Pon!"
Still having plenty of HP, Ogerpon raised its Ivy Cudgel, held its Wellspring Mask above its head with its other hand, and fiercely charged forward.
The fierce wind blew against the mask, instantly turning into blades that slashed off countless Tera shards.
Though the offensive was fierce, it failed to hinder Ogerpon's advance.
Until it tanked Dragonite's relentless barrage and closed the distance to the airborne opponent, Aiden's voice rang out again: "Cynthia, now!"
Cynthia instantly understood and immediately shouted: "Garchomp, Outrage!"
Reacting, Garchomp fiercely whipped its body around. Its shark tail stretched forward in an unscientifically spring-like manner and violently snapped toward Ogerpon's position.
"This is—"
Lance and Bruno both froze for a second.
But soon, the two veteran Elite Four members immediately went on high alert.
Aiden and Cynthia obviously wouldn't make a rookie mistake like friendly fire, so this was definitely premeditated!
And Aiden's plan was probably—
"Steelix, predict Ogerpon's jump trajectory and use Smack Down early!"
"Dragonite, use Stone Edge!"
Exactly. Besides being an attack, the rapidly snapping tail could also use that momentum to launch Ogerpon into the air, temporarily breaking the binds of gravity!
So they had to watch out for this.
However, even though they had prepared for it, they still underestimated Aiden's imagination.
"ROAR—!"
Dragonite and Steelix respectively gathered their energy, forming massive rocks that they fiercely hurled toward Ogerpon's position.
However, after Garchomp's tail swept through, Ogerpon's figure vanished in the next instant, leaving only two very confused Pokémon staring at each other.
It disappeared? No, wait!
"Watch out above!"
Having a better vantage point from the sideline, Bruno instantly saw through Aiden's little trick.
But even with the warning now, it seemed it was already too late.
At this moment, Ogerpon was already standing on Garchomp's shark tail, which had sprung into the air. It leaped straight toward Dragonite!
It left its flame-wreathed Ivy Cudgel and its blazing Wellspring Mask behind, fully committing to a do-or-die final strike.
"PON!"
Approaching Dragonite at extreme speed, it had already clenched its hand into a fist, gathering all its strength for a full-power swing.
Too late!
In Lance's eyes, the opponent's movements were absolutely faster than his words. By the time he opened his mouth, that seemingly weak little fist was already about to hit Dragonite.
Even his Dragonite didn't react in time, only instinctively flapping its wings to dodge—
BOOM—!
A violent shockwave suddenly erupted in mid-air, sending the countless sand and gravel that had been swept into the sky by Sand Tomb raining down.
And falling alongside the debris was a Dragonite that had already rolled its eyes back and quietly reverted from its Mega form.
"Tch—"
Lance sighed.
Did this brat Aiden predict that exact scene would happen?
That exquisite coordination between Garchomp and Ogerpon definitely couldn't be summed up as a mere coincidence; it was clearly premeditated.
I got played by him again.
But, whatever. This way, I won't have to face the two Battle Legends—
Lance was actually quite free-spirited about it, and his expression quickly relaxed.
Even if he had advanced, it wasn't guaranteed he'd get to "reunite" with Professor Oak anyway, but—
The young man who was once pinned with so much hope by the Professor had now become a middle-aged man, yet still hadn't managed to inherit his Championship title—
Just imagining the scene of meeting Professor Oak on the battlefield made Lance feel embarrassed on his own behalf.
In contrast, Bruno, who was still focused on the situation on the field, was much more serious.
Because his battle wasn't over yet.
Seeing Ogerpon briefly suspended in the air after its attack, Bruno made a decisive call—
"Steelix, use Double-Edge!"
Even if the outcome was doomed, Bruno would fight to the very last moment!
So, all he needed to do was enjoy the rest of the battle!
"ROAR—!"
Steelix violently shook its head and smashed downward.
Even reacting at the very first second, Ogerpon could only barely raise its Wellspring Mask to block, and was immediately struck by Steelix's nearly one-ton body.
Compared to Steelix, Ogerpon's frame was simply too small. Even without a leverage point, Steelix could easily launch it flying.
Before it even hit the ground, it had already flown over the boundary line, heading straight for the audience stands.
Fortunately, Aiden reacted in time, anticipating the trajectory and recalling Ogerpon with its Poké Ball.
"It actually knows Double-Edge?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
It looked like Bruno's second trump card was also pretty explosive.
Why didn't he choose to have Ogerpon attack Steelix just now?
Because it was simply too damn tanky.
Even though it was weak to Fighting, a Mega Steelix with a base 230 Defense stat was utterly absurd. Ogerpon's Arm Thrust probably wouldn't even leave a scratch on it—
However, with Dragonite losing its ability to battle, the situation had completely tilted.
Especially for Lance and Bruno, there was an even more fatal problem—they had no more chances to switch.
So the path to victory seemed incredibly simple?
After pretending to ponder for a moment, Aiden pulled out his second Poké Ball without hesitation.
"Go, Indeedee/Tyranitar!"
Aiden and Lance threw their Poké Balls at the same time.
Compared to the cute Indeedee, which immediately smiled upon entering the field and filled the ground beneath it with a pink aura, Lance's Tyranitar, which let out a roar and instantly kicked up a Sandstorm, clearly had more presence.
However, when the cute, seemingly non-combatant Indeedee landed, Cynthia's expression immediately turned subtle.
Tyranitar? So the original plan was to bring it out alongside Steelix to use the Sandstorm for a fierce offensive?
Too bad, that plan completely played right into our hands.
With this Pokémon on the field, it meant Aiden was going to—
"Garchomp, get in front of Indeedee!"
Cynthia commanded her ace, which was already panting slightly, once again. Her action immediately put Lance and Bruno on high alert.
Are they setting up some sort of combo?
"Tyranitar, don't rush the attack. Be careful and watch out for the opponent's moves, use Protect at a moment's notice!"
"Steelix, same for us!"
With absolutely zero room for error, Lance and Bruno's choices became relatively conservative.
But precisely because of this—it gave Indeedee the space to do its thing.
"Indeedee, perfect opportunity!"
"Use Perish Song!"
Aiden clenched both fists and thrust them forward.
The pointers he had received over the past few days from Meloetta, the embodiment of music, had finally paid off today!
"Indeedee~"
The excited Indeedee immediately opened its mouth, using its sweet voice to sing a terrifying melody from hell.
In the competitor's lounge, Professor Oak, who was intently watching the battle below, suddenly furrowed his brows.
"Strange—"
"Although the Galar and Paldea Pokédexes weren't compiled by me, Indeedee shouldn't be able to learn Perish Song under normal circumstances, right?"
Every Pokémon's movepool was a general solution given after serious research by researchers.
While it was normal to have some errors, certain extraordinarily gifted individuals could always learn moves that were normally impossible for them.
But this sort of information gap had an incredibly lethal impact in actual combat.
You could tell just by looking at the expressions of those two youngsters, Lance and Bruno. They hadn't considered this at all—
So when they heard Indeedee singing, the two of them collectively short-circuited.
With no more switches available, hearing Perish Song meant their Pokémon's lives had entered a countdown.
If they didn't race against the clock, defeat was only a matter of time.
What Professor Oak was thinking, the two on the field quickly realized as well. Naturally, they didn't dare to hesitate for a second longer: "Tyranitar, Stone Edge!"
"Steelix, Double-Edge!"
The two Pokémon went berserk, launching a fierce assault on Indeedee and Garchomp, seemingly preparing to race against time.
However, Indeedee and Garchomp merely exchanged a glance and immediately started sprinting off in two different directions.
A lot of time had already passed, and the Tailwind Dragonite left on the field had naturally dissipated. With the speeds of Steelix and Tyranitar, it would probably take them quite a while just to catch up.
Lance felt his blood pressure steadily rising.
Just a moment ago, he actually admired Aiden for having the guts to pull off such an eye-catching flashy play in front of tens of thousands of people.
But ever since that cute Indeedee came out—he just felt his vision go black, and had the urge to rush over and punch Aiden right then and there.
This way of forcibly stalling for time was way too scummy!
But it was just so damn effective, otherwise he wouldn't be tilting like this.
"Phew—"
After taking a deep breath, Lance immediately made a decision: "Take out Indeedee first!"
Even if they were doomed to lose, he couldn't let Aiden have all the fun, otherwise his blood pressure wouldn't be able to take it—
Bruno nodded silently.
In their eyes, there was now only that incredibly evil little Indeedee, whose smile looked like it was mocking them.
However—
Just as Tyranitar and Mega Steelix went on a high-speed rampage and finally cornered Indeedee, they suddenly heard the opponent's commands ring out.
"Indeedee, Ally Switch with Garchomp!"
"Garchomp, Protect!"
"Indeedee~"
"GAR!"
Taking advantage of the two ferocious Pokémon being stunned, the cute Indeedee politely gave them a sweet smile and bowed.
Like the curtain call of a stage play.
The next instant, the space where Indeedee stood suddenly warped.
The short, evil creature vanished, replaced by a Garchomp that was baring its fangs and roaring at them from behind a Protect barrier.
Who knows if it was from sheer anger or if Indeedee's Perish Song had finally taken effect.
All they saw was Tyranitar and Steelix suddenly roll their eyes back and faint just like that.
At the same time, Indeedee and Garchomp both let out yawns, seemingly having lost their will to fight as well.
Even the referee took a few extra glances, only mustering the courage to blow the whistle after seeing the dark-faced Lance nod in acknowledgment.
"Match over!"
"Score 4:3, Aiden & Cynthia win and advance to the semi-finals!"
Not only was the arena dead silent, but the audience stands were also silent for a long time.
Red and Blue looked at each other speechless, momentarily unsure whether they should applaud for Teacher Azure or feel sorry for Elite Four members Lance and Bruno.
Of course, there really wasn't anything to feel sorry about.
Even though the scoreboard showed a narrow 4:3 victory, making a comeback was actually incredibly difficult.
It's just that Teacher Azure's way of winning felt like it had regressed back to his streaming days—it was just as infuriating as ever.
Blue looked down at Teacher Azure, who was smiling and waving to the audience. After a long while, he finally squeezed out a sentence:
"Teacher Azure's playstyle is just as real as ever!"
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)