After the unique exhibition match concluded.
The Masters Tournament, held once every four years, officially began. A hundred elite Trainers from all over the world gathered in Wyndon, Galar, awaiting the upcoming brutal knockout rounds.
Whether for the title of "World Champion," the glorious designation of the "Top 8 Masters," or just to prove their strength—
Four years ago, a fledgling Leon used special Dynamax facilities to claim the title of Strongest Champion.
Now, four years later, another batch of young trainers had fought their way out of the pack, participating in such a high-specification tournament for the first time.
In this, currently the world's only Master Ball-tier tournament, everyone would undoubtedly go all out, launching round after round of challenges toward the visible throne.
Outside Wyndon Stadium.
"Tsk, tsk, how long has it even been?"
"And there are already several pairs of contestants matched up with opponents?"
A spiky-haired boy named Gold stared at the giant screen outside, complaining while recording intel on the other contestants.
"..."
Beside him, another boy with straight reddish-brown hair named Silver rubbed his temples helplessly.
"You're not even a Trainer yet, what's the point of researching?"
"Mind your own business, I'm preparing for a rainy day!" Gold immediately retorted.
"In four years, I will definitely stand on this exact same stage and let everyone watch my glorious coronation!"
Silver didn't speak, just looked up at the sky. The sun was so bright, how was he already dreaming in broad daylight?
If Master Aiden hadn't said that every excellent Trainer needs a rival, he would never have had any contact with this idiot.
But why did Master have to pick him?
Silver glanced at the notebook in Gold's hand.
[Lucian, World Rank 19, Ace Pokémon Gallade]
[This one seems impossible to beat (crossed out)]
[Will definitely be my rival in four years, needs close observation!]
What use was there in taking so many of these baffling notes? It was a complete waste of time—
Silver's gaze toward him gained a bit of pity, like observing some endangered single-celled organism. This guy's brain circuitry was clearly different from a normal person's.
The no-rules battle format used in the Indigo Plateau was one thing; at least he had some wildly imaginative tactics that even Silver occasionally found impressive. But in official tournaments using the Masters rules—he felt like Gold would just be an EXP pack. Just making it to the qualifiers would be an accomplishment for him.
Wait, why am I caring about his business?
Silver shook his head and looked back at the real-time broadcast on the screen.
The first round of qualifiers for this Masters Tournament, as in previous years, used a point system, inheriting the international rankings of the participants before the tournament.
The Top 8 didn't need to participate in the qualifiers, so the highest-ranked contestant currently was Aiden at 9th.
The rules were simple: win to gain points, lose to drop points.
During the one-week qualifier period, the other ninety-two contestants had only one goal: to gain as many points as possible to earn the right to challenge the Top 8 Masters.
So when the qualifiers officially began, several groups were quickly matched up, starting their intense and thrilling battles.
They were mostly lower-ranked contestants; only one in the top twenty was currently in a match.
They needed fewer points to advance, so observing opponents and waiting for the right moment to start matching was obviously the optimal solution, allowing them to better hide their prepared tactics.
Probably a slight advantage of having a higher ranking?
However—
If it were Master Aiden, he probably wouldn't take the conventional path.
"What are you two doing?"
The moment Aiden's name echoed in Silver's mind, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder the next second. Aiden's voice came from behind.
"Master! / Teacher Azure!"
Silver and Gold reacted simultaneously. The different forms of address made Aiden subconsciously raise an eyebrow.
Although theoretically, he was indeed sort of Silver's master, he hadn't actually taught him anything yet—
It was all Giovanni's fault, making him inexplicably a generation older! He wasn't even twenty yet, how did he become someone's master!
"The opportunity to watch this Masters Tournament is rare. You must watch and learn carefully; it will really help improve your battle comprehension."
Aiden patted their shoulders again before withdrawing his hand.
He wasn't worried about Silver. Because he had pulled him back before he experienced the darkness, Silver's mindset was still very simple. He just wanted to become stronger to defeat his father and end his childhood obsession.
Given the talent he had shown, he would likely become an excellent Trainer soon after embarking on his journey. The grudge between this father and son would also be resolved then, through a battle of the son overthrowing the father.
As for Gold, who had become a "bickering buddy" with him—this kid wasn't suited for a normal Trainer's path at all. His instinctual battling style was probably one of a kind. Anyway, there was nothing he could teach him.
After chatting with the two for a bit, Aiden walked over to the registration system next to the big screen.
"Teacher Azure, you're planning to register and compete now?"
Even Gold was a bit surprised by this action. Given Teacher Azure's level of being a sneaky troll, wouldn't he normally try to hold back and save a big move for the critical moment to stun everyone?
I have to say, Gold himself thought that move was incredibly cool, and would definitely pay homage to it in the future if he had the chance!
So in his view, if key tactical information was exposed early in unimportant matches, its lethality would definitely be greatly reduced.
To this, Aiden's answer was quite simple—
"Yeah, I'm just idle anyway, might as well play a few ranked matches to warm up."
After casually replying, Aiden touched the system with a character card printed with his avatar and basic info.
"Bzzt! Contestant Aiden, welcome to using this system, Rotom!"
"Your current ranking is 9th, searching for a suitable opponent for you, Rotom!"
It seemed there was a Rotom inside the system. These electronic ghosts often bore exceptionally important roles in human society's high-tech devices. Not only did they possess self-awareness and high IQs rivaling humans, but they could also connect to the network to quickly exchange information with other Rotoms.
Much more useful than AI.
After waiting for about half a minute, the Rotom, earnestly searching for an opponent, finally responded.
"Bzzt!"
"Match successful, Rotom!"
"Your opponent is—"
"Hoenn contestant Roxanne, currently ranked 77th, Rotom!"
"Please proceed to Arena A8 as soon as possible to complete the points battle!"
Hearing the Rotom's words, Aiden blinked.
Was this the legendary "excellent matchmaking mechanism"?
Why did it match me with an opponent at Gym Leader level?
Oh right, I'm a Gym Leader too.
Never mind then, it is indeed a very fair matchmaking mechanism~
Equally conflicted were Gold and Silver standing behind Aiden, trying hard to keep a straight face. Given Teacher Azure/Master's level, facing off against a young, rookie Gym Leader—they hoped Miss Roxanne would be okay!
A few minutes later, stepping into the venue, Aiden was led by staff to the arena assigned by the Rotom.
Due to the requirements of Dynamaxing, the layout of Galar's battle arenas was very particular. In addition to the Dynamax energy points laid out underground, there were also Dynamax barriers around to prevent accidents, ensuring the safety of the spectators as much as possible.
After all, the power of Max Moves was truly terrifying, and above that, a small fraction of Pokémon had even more powerful exclusive G-Max Moves—
The arena maintenance costs alone left other regions in the dust.
So it was no wonder that Chairman Rose of the Galar League was solely focused on making money, and even Leon had to participate in many commercial activities. Aiden completely understood this.
But the many energy pipes laid around the arena felt a bit redundant to Aiden.
He had already noticed this while watching Leon and Raihan's exhibition match promoting Dynamaxing earlier.
Their purpose wasn't for safety, but to silently absorb the highly concentrated Dynamax energy released during Dynamax battles and store it.
To make Eternatus awaken early, Chairman Rose spent a fortune building an energy factory beneath Hammerlocke Stadium.
On the surface, it was to supply Dynamax energy to the energy spots in various cities, allowing people to enjoy Dynamax battles to their heart's content.
But in reality—
The source of this Dynamax energy was none other than Eternatus, which had long been discovered by Chairman Rose, slumbering deep underground.
Through Max Moves, Pokémon heavily concentrated the Dynamax energy in the air before releasing it, converting it into another, more violent form of power.
Once Eternatus absorbed enough energy, it would awaken again, bringing Galar's "Darkest Day" back to the world!
Although Chairman Rose meant well.
He just wanted to completely control Eternatus, making its inexhaustible Dynamax energy forever available to Galar, becoming a true "infinite energy source."
But the final facts proved—
Whether humans had good intentions or malice, as long as they attempted to control Legendary Pokémon or modify the rules of this world, they would definitely incur the craziest backlash.
Since things had come to this, Aiden didn't plan to stop Rose.
The Galar Champion Cup had been held for many editions, and Eternatus, having absorbed a lot of energy, could awaken at any time. It would be better to just finish it off in one go during this Masters Tournament.
He would let nature take its course and find time to communicate with the reclusive King of Bountiful Harvests.
Calyrex + the Sword and Shield dogs—with these hard-countering, overpowered heavy-hitters around, Eternatus was destined to fail to make any waves.
He thought it was an expert, but it turned out to be the rare third deity to get counter-killed by two box art Legendaries from the same region—
What a waste of its unique Eternamax form and base stat total of 1125.
After finishing his thoughts, Aiden had already walked to the front of the arena.
A young-looking girl wearing a light-colored dress and pink tights appeared on the other side.
(Roxanne, back when I played Emerald I never thought she'd look like this after the remake.)
The first Gym Leader of the Hoenn region; Aiden had a pretty deep impression of her.
If he remembered correctly, she was Steven's cousin?
The Stone family really had something going on; it felt like every single one of them was a stone fanatic + fossil enthusiast, and Roxanne was no exception.
She specialized in using Rock-type Pokémon, believing that Rock-type Pokémon were as solid as rocks.
Kids who played the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald series and chose Torchic as their starter definitely remembered her. (laughs)
And when she saw Teacher Azure on the opposite side already walking to the arena and waving at her with a smile, Roxanne's heart had already gone somewhat numb.
Who was Aiden?
There probably weren't many people left in the world who didn't know Teacher Azure.
He was not only a newly promoted Elite Four member and Gym Leader in the Paldea region, but also active in multiple regions, having forged deep friendships with many Legendary Pokémon.
He had even directly defeated two Battle Legends in tournaments.
An opponent of this level would probably give even the Top 8 Masters a massive headache, let alone a rookie with insufficient experience like her—
The Stone family had always been pragmatic. As a rookie, she was already lucky to participate in this Masters Tournament. She originally came with the idea of accumulating tournament experience and looking toward the future.
Winning or losing wasn't important to her; as long as she could learn something, it was a guaranteed profit.
But—
What do you mean I run into an opponent no less skilled than the Top 8 Masters in my very first match?
I'm fighting Teacher Azure, for real?
With a bitter face, Roxanne watched Aiden walk toward her step by step, forcing herself to walk over.
"Hello, Teacher Azure. Actually, I'm a fan of your stream!"
As an honor student, while learning basic knowledge at the Trainer School, Roxanne often drew inspiration from Teacher Azure's tutorial videos for her own Gym exams.
So, calling herself a stream fan wasn't wrong at all.
"Hello, Miss Roxanne."
Aiden politely replied, noticing her rather indescribable expression.
Was he some kind of devil?
When encountering a tender young sapling, of course he would show a little mercy.
He just happened to want to try out Dynamaxing, so he'd treat it as a tutorial match for a rookie.
"..."
It seemed she had seen through his thoughts from his eyes. Roxanne's gaze wandered for a moment before finally becoming firm.
"Teacher Azure, please have an all-out battle with me!"
"This is a rare learning opportunity. I'm already prepared to be defeated or even completely swept."
"Please don't hold back!"
Aiden shook his head helplessly, then nodded.
"Mm—of course."
"Then let me see your full strength!"
"Yes!"
After responding with a spirited shout, Aiden and Roxanne both walked to the back.
"Bzzt!"
"The battle is about to begin, please confirm your lead Pokémon, Rotom!"
After the referee Rotom made the announcement with an electronic voice, Aiden immediately took a Poké Ball from his pocket.
At the same time, he subconsciously glanced at the Dynamax Band on his wrist.
For his first battle in Galar, he might as well do as the Romans do and experience a Dynamax battle for the first time in a while—
"Bzzt!"
"Battle begin, Rotom!"
With a blast of the whistle from the referee Rotom, the spectator screens scattered throughout Wyndon refreshed simultaneously.
Aiden and Roxanne's icons appeared in a corner of the screen, and the battle was imminent!
"Go, Probopass!"
"I choose you, Salamence!"
A giant stone carved head and a flying dragon spreading its blood-red wings took the field simultaneously, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
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