"Begin the match!"
As soon as both sides were ready, the referee announced the start.
Yozora didn't rush to make the first move.
Jon Dickson, however, had full confidence since his Meganium held a type advantage. He immediately ordered,"Meganium, use Vine Whip!"
Whoosh!Two thick vines lashed forward, cracking through the air as they snapped at Jolteon. But Jolteon easily dodged, agile as lightning.
"Bariii!" Meganium roared angrily, refusing to give up. It twisted its vines back around, whipping them once more to chase after Jolteon.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard it tried, its vines were always a step slower than Jolteon's movements.
Again and again, the strikes lashed through empty air—every single attack was evaded.
"Then use Razor Leaf!" Jon Dickson quickly switched tactics.
Shhhhhh—! A flurry of sharp leaves shot outward in all directions.
Razor Leaf wasn't usually considered a powerful move. But when unleashed by Jon Dickson's Meganium, it gained both strength and coverage, almost impossible to dodge.
It looked like Jolteon was trapped.
But Yozora didn't flinch. He simply called out:"Use Flamethrower!"
"Flamethrower?" Jon Dickson froze, baffled.
The commentator and the audience shared the same stunned expression."Did we mishear? Jolteon can't possibly know Flamethrower!"
And yet—before their very eyes—Jolteon suddenly transformed into Flareon.
In an instant, it opened its mouth and unleashed a roaring Flamethrower, incinerating every last flying leaf mid-air.
"My god! Impossible! Yozora's Jolteon actually turned into Flareon again! This defies all logic!" the commentator cried.
The stadium erupted in chaos. The crowd could hardly believe what they'd just witnessed.
Jon Dickson's face paled. If that really was Flareon, then his Meganium was in deep trouble.
And just as the thought crossed his mind, Yozora's command followed like thunder:"Flareon, Flamethrower!"
Fwoooosh!Blazing flames surged forward, engulfing Meganium before it could react.
The enormous flower Pokémon shrieked, its body swallowed by fire. When the flames subsided, Meganium stood charred black, before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Meganium is unable to battle! Flareon wins!" The referee raised the red flag.
"Incredible! It seems Yozora's Eevee can transform freely into different evolutions!" the commentator exclaimed.
The audience buzzed wildly. Some trainers even released their own Eevee on the spot, demanding to know if they too could evolve at will.
"That Eevee… it's beyond broken," Jon Dickson muttered bitterly. Now he finally understood why Yozora dared to bring an Eevee onto such a grand stage.
It wasn't "just" an Eevee. That Pokémon was a monster.
"Now Jon Dickson is down to his very last Pokémon. How will he possibly stand against Yozora's almighty Eevee?" the commentator called out.
Jon Dickson had no choice. With a deep breath, he threw his last Poké Ball."Go—Tyranitar!"
His trump card appeared—the Desert Tyrant itself.
His roster was impressive: Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Meganium, Crobat, Slowking, and Tyranitar.
It was a lineup most trainers would envy. Yet compared to Yozora's team—Suicune, Shiny Totem Azumarill, Shiny Arcanine, Shiny Gyarados, Crystal Steelix, and the Tri-Color Stone Eevee—Jon Dickson's seemed almost ordinary.
"Use Stone Edge!" Jon Dickson barked the order.
Tyranitar slammed its fists into the ground. Jagged stones erupted upward, lancing toward Flareon.
A devastating Rock-type move—powerful, but not the fastest. Against Flareon it was more than enough.
But this Eevee… was never just one form.
Yozora smirked faintly.
With perfect synchronization, Flareon instantly shifted into Jolteon again. Jolteon bolted forward at lightning speed, slipping through the stone shards with ease.
And before anyone could react, Jolteon flashed once more into Vaporeon. It opened its mouth wide, unleashing a massive Hydro Pump straight at Tyranitar.
BOOOOOOM!
The torrent slammed into Tyranitar, blasting it backward across the battlefield. Its heavy feet gouged deep trenches in the ground as it skidded.
"What?!" Jon Dickson's eyes widened in disbelief. His pride, his Tyranitar, was being overwhelmed.
Though Vaporeon's level wasn't quite as high as Tyranitar's, its fivefold Adaptability ability had pushed its strength up to the Elite Four tier. Combined with Water's double effectiveness against Rock, Tyranitar was left badly wounded from just one attack.
"Too powerful! Now it's Vaporeon! Yozora's Eevee is truly miraculous!" the commentator cried.
The crowd exploded with cheers, especially trainers who owned Eevee themselves. They desperately wished their Pokémon could transform like that.
"Keep up the pressure—Thunderbolt!" Yozora commanded.
In the blink of an eye, Vaporeon shifted into Jolteon again, its mastery of transformations seamless.
Sparks crackled along Jolteon's body as it sprinted forward, electricity surging before launching a blinding Thunderbolt at Tyranitar.
But Tyranitar wasn't so easily finished. With a swing of its massive tail, it whipped up a wall of sand, blocking the lightning strike.
"Well done, Tyranitar! Now—Earthquake!" Jon Dickson roared.
Tyranitar slammed its foot down, a massive shockwave rippling outward.
Jolteon leapt into the air to avoid it.
But Jon Dickson had anticipated this. His lips curled into a wicked grin."Now—Hyper Voice!"
ROOOOOAR!Tyranitar bellowed, unleashing a black soundwave that blasted Jolteon midair. With no foothold to escape, Jolteon took the full force of the attack, its body hurled back like a cannonball and smashed into the stadium wall.
"Jolteon is unable to battle! Tyranitar wins!" declared the referee.
The score was even once more.
Both sides had only one Pokémon left. Yozora still held a slight advantage, but Jon Dickson had proven his Tyranitar's might.
"What an incredible match! Both trainers are giving it their all. But Tyranitar seems fatigued, while Yozora still has two Pokémon in peak condition!" the commentator shouted, subtly hinting that Yozora held the edge.
The crowd of Yozora's fans erupted in excitement, while Jon Dickson's supporters grew restless.
Facing Tyranitar, Yozora smiled."Senior Jon Dickson, you are indeed strong. Out of respect, I'll take this a bit more seriously. Go—Azumarill!"
White light flashed.
And then—the audience gasped.
A colossal, red-skinned Azumarill, over two meters tall, stomped onto the battlefield.
"W-what?! A Shiny Totem Azumarill?!" Jon Dickson's eyes bulged.
And when he tried to gauge its power—he couldn't. Which meant at minimum…it had reached Elite Four level.
His chest tightened with despair. He had prepared for years to win the Silver Conference. And yet here stood a boy with a monster no one had even heard of before.
"A Shiny Totem Pokémon…!" He had never even heard rumors of such a thing existing.
"My god! That's Azumarill? But it's enormous! Unbelievable!" the commentator howled.
The stadium exploded into chaos.
Trainers who owned Marill or Azumarill could only stare in awe. Their little blue Pokémon barely reached their knees. Yet Yozora's stood taller than a man, its crimson body radiating dominance.
"Why is it always Water-types with him?" Misty muttered enviously from the stands. "Shiny Gyarados, Shiny Golduck, and now this?!"
"Hahaha! As expected of Yozora!" Professor Oak's eyes gleamed. "Every time, he captures a new mystery to study!"
…
The crowd was thunderous.
On a high platform, Harrison watched grimly. He felt it in his bones—one day he would face Yozora. But against that Azumarill…how could his Blaziken ever prevail?
On the field, the referee quickly snapped out of his own shock and waved the match onward.
"Hmph! No matter the opponent, my Tyranitar will never falter!" Jon Dickson shouted, psyching himself up. "Stone Edge!"
Tyranitar hammered the ground, sending jagged stones flying toward Azumarill.
Stone Edge was powerful. But its speed was only average. Azumarill, though bulky, was even slower.
Yozora had given it the Speed Boost ability, but that only worked over time. At the start of battle, it offered nothing.
So instead, Yozora commanded,"Azumarill, use Defense Curl!"
The red giant curled its body, its defenses skyrocketing. Already blessed with incredible bulk as a Totem Pokémon, its endurance soared another thirty percent.
CRASH!
The sharp stones slammed into Azumarill—only to shatter harmlessly against its body.
"Impossible! Even Tyranitar's Stone Edge can't break through?! That Azumarill's defense is terrifying!" the commentator bellowed.
The audience erupted, awestruck.
Meanwhile, Jon Dickson's expression grew darker and darker.
If Tyranitar couldn't even break its defenses, then how could he win?
"Azumarill, Hydro Pump," Yozora ordered calmly.
The red giant opened its mouth, unleashing a roaring torrent.
Jon Dickson stood frozen, drained of hope. He gave no counter-command as Tyranitar was engulfed and blasted to the ground.
BOOOOOM!
When the water cleared, Tyranitar lay unconscious.
"The match is over! Congratulations to Yozora, advancing to the Top Four!" the referee announced.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Jon Dickson stood in silence, crushed.
He had trained so hard, aiming for champion or runner-up, after previously reaching the semifinals. Yet this time, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
"That kid Yozora… he's too strong. And worse, he's so young. His future will outshine mine…" Jon Dickson muttered bitterly, before leaving the stage in defeat.
…
Harrison defeated Ash. Yozora defeated Jon Dickson. Both advanced to the semifinals.
Then came the third and fourth quarterfinals. Two days later, the Top Four were revealed:Yozora, Harrison, Takao, and Dushe.
The semifinal matchups were drawn:
First Match: Yozora vs. HarrisonSecond Match: Takao vs. Dushe
The night before the semifinals, Yozora gathered with Ash and his friends.
"Yozora, be careful. Harrison's Blaziken is incredibly strong," Ash warned solemnly. He had fought with all his might, even Charizard giving its all, yet still lost to that Blaziken.
Brock added, "And not just that. Though Harrison comes from Hoenn, until now he's only used Pokémon from Johto. That means he hasn't even gone all out yet. In the semifinals, he might finally bring out his full Hoenn team."
The group fell silent, the weight of the coming battle pressing down.
…
…
(End of Chapter)