The sea breeze was gentle, and the trip had been smooth.
Grey had been drifting over the sea for quite a while now.
During that time, aside from running into Basculin and the usual Water-type Pokémon that lived out at sea, everything else had basically been treated as free EXP.
"I should've brought more Repels. If we keep going deeper into the ocean, just how many Pokémon are we going to run into...?"
Riding on Flygon's back, Crispin scratched his head furiously. This time, he had even specifically brought Repels with him to keep Water-type Pokémon from ambushing him.
It was just that...
He had not brought enough.
They were not even halfway there yet, and he had already used up every last one he had.
"Well, I guess it still helps build experience. I heard Alder is going to show up at the event on Liberty Garden Island this time."
Lacey still remembered Alder from before his ace had died.
Back then, Alder had not become as laid-back as he was now. He handled nearly everything himself.
Unfortunately, after his ace Volcarona was lost, he had become deeply depressed.
Even though he had trained up another one after that, it still was not the same partner he had before.
Whether he was being reminded of the past by seeing it, or trying to recreate the man he used to be, one thing was certain.
None of it could ever truly go back to how it was before.
Not even with Dialga's help.
The group fell into brief silence.
Grey swept his gaze over the area, casually formed an Aura Sphere in his hand, and blasted away a Pokémon that had been trying to launch a sneak attack. The others were left clicking their tongues in amazement.
"As expected of Gym Leader Grey."
"Hand-forming Aura Spheres is insane."
"That... really doesn't feel scientific."
"So that's the kind of person Lacey likes!"
The Blueberry quartet all had very different reactions to Grey's display.
Lacey, in particular, was acting like the perfect hype woman. Sitting on Primarina's back, she clapped so enthusiastically her little hands were almost turning red.
"Crispin, that's not nice. Gym Leader Grey is more like a senior I admire. What do you mean, like or don't like?"
Hearing what Crispin had said, Lacey puffed out her cheeks and crossed her hands into an X. Crispin immediately started apologizing over and over again.
Noticing everything happening behind him, Grey only smiled and said nothing.
Youth really was nice.
That bright, energetic atmosphere around them made people feel refreshed just being near it.
"Little Riolu, how is it?"
Grey looked at the little Riolu resting on his shoulder and asked.
Little Riolu had its eyes closed, sensing the aura of Mewtwo and Victini.
After drifting across the ocean for so long, it had finally managed to find a trace.
"Northeast, I think. Yeah, yeah, it's that way!"
Little Riolu directed Articuno onward.
It had sensed a faint trace of aura. As long as they kept going in that direction, the concentration would only get stronger and stronger.
Liberty Garden Island was already close.
About half an hour later, Little Riolu grew more and more excited.
Even Meloetta flew out of Caitlin's bag, looking forward to the reunion of the little trio.
Come to think of it, it had been a very, very long time since the three of them had met.
The last time they had seen each other had been decades ago.
And now they were being brought together again because of a single human, which was honestly pretty moving.
Grey's attention, however, was not on Little Riolu or Meloetta.
He had only asked that question in passing. After that, he stared at his phone, deep in thought.
[Bumiao: Grey999, send Annihilape over for a bit. We've got something huge to do!]
That message had been sent three hours ago.
At the time, Grey had not thought much of it and had simply sent over Annihilape's Poké Ball.
Then, when he later tried to have Bumiao send Annihilape back...
She told him Annihilape had run off too.
What the hell kind of nonsense was that?
Annihilape was his starter Pokémon. How could it possibly have run away?
At this point, there were only two possibilities.
The first was that there was actually something cursed going on at the Fighting Dojo. Maybe there were too many girls around, the yin energy had gotten too strong while he was away, and some weird spirit had come out to mess with the Pokémon there.
But that explanation was way too ridiculous.
Grey did not believe that for a second.
Which left the second possibility.
Bumiao was probably planning something big and trying to surprise him.
If that was the case, then all he could do was pretend he knew nothing.
Grey could only laugh at the thought. This was the first time anyone had gone out of their way to set up a little surprise for him.
He really did wonder what kind of surprise was waiting for him.
Kanto Region, Celadon City.
"Ladies and gentlemen, and all our online viewers from every region, hello! I'm your old friend PokéFan DP, and I'm very happy to be your host for this Super Tournament finals match!"
"Next, let's have Guli TV bring us the introduction segment!"
The camera shifted to Guli TV.
He was seated behind the desk, with two very different scenes displayed on the screens to either side of him.
"Hello, everyone, I'm Guli TV. Enough small talk, let me introduce the two challengers in this Super Tournament final."
"On the red side, we have Kanto Elite Four member Bruno! Not only are his Pokémon incredibly strong, he is also highly accomplished in hand-to-hand combat himself!"
"Bruno! Bruno! Bruno!"
"Elite Four Bruno, we love you!"
"Do it for me, and hit Grey with the Farmer's Four Punches!"
The crowd really loved stirring things up. Especially after seeing that Grey still had not shown up in person even for today's battle, they were full of complaints, and they did not forget to beg Bruno to beat him senseless for it.
Strangely enough, even Bruno was thinking about the same issue.
If Grey had skipped the earlier rounds because the opponents were too weak, and wanted to use them to train his Pokémon's independent combat ability, then that was understandable.
But Bruno was a Champion-class Trainer, one of the publicly recognized strongest Trainers in an entire region.
And yet Grey had stood him up?
Bruno was honestly getting close to calling Grey just to ask what in the world was going on.
This was the finals, and he was still pulling this?
Was he that confident in his own strength?
Or had he simply not made it back in time?
No matter which it was, it did not change the fact that Grey was not here.
Off the field, Lance was also thinking about Grey's intentions.
Under normal circumstances, Grey absolutely should have been present for an event like this.
But with things being what they were now, Lance really could not say for sure anymore.
"Looks like I'm the one throwing the Poké Ball in the finals today."
The chubby Dragonite stood on the field, fiddling with a Poké Ball in its short little hands before sending out Annihilape.
A Champion-level aura exploded across the battlefield, startling both of the Kanto Elite Four members, one on the field and one in the stands.
"Grey's Annihilape reached Champion level?"
"The Dratini I had Grey raise evolved into a Dragonite this fast?"
Both of them were stunned. They had not expected Grey to be able to manage both at once.
"If it's a Champion-level Annihilape... then he really does have a shot at winning..."
Bruno immediately felt this was going to be troublesome.
In terms of type matchup, Grey's Annihilape completely countered Bruno's Pokémon.
All the Fighting-type moves he took pride in were basically the same as chopping off his own arms in front of Annihilape. They were practically useless.
Type advantage really was a beautiful thing.
That was also why he always struggled so much against Agatha.
Ghost-types were bizarre and unpredictable. He could not even track their movements, which meant this next fight was probably going to be very difficult.
"Oh? I didn't expect the blue-side challenger to send out a Pokémon ahead of schedule. But I should still introduce the blue-side challenger to everyone!"
"The blue-side challenger is Grey of the Fighting Dojo. He might not be very famous outside the area, but his strength is already equal to that of an Elite Four-level Trainer."
The moment Guli TV finished speaking, chatter broke out all across the audience.
"That Dragonite's name is Grey? Why would you give a Pokémon a human name?"
"Idiot, Grey's the Gym Leader of Saffron City here in Kanto. He apparently went to Unova for a honeymoon with Sabrina and that governor lady. No idea when he's going to get one of them pregnant."
"Dude, what is wrong with you?"
"Ahem. Even though Gym Leader Grey did not come in person, his ace Pokémon Annihilape has appeared on the field. Perhaps he really didn't have time, so he sent his ace instead to show his sincerity!"
Guli TV's emergency recovery did its job and successfully calmed down the audience again.
"Monkey king, monkey king, you really are incredible!"
"You throw Rage Fist around like it costs nothing!"
Annihilape had no shortage of fans, and once it took the stage, everyone relaxed again.
In the stands, Lillie hugged Cosmog and asked Bumiao, "Do you think Grey's Annihilape has a chance to win?"
"It should. Its Ghost typing shuts down Fighting-type attacks really well. Even if Elite Four Bruno's Pokémon can use Dark-type moves, the Fighting typing cancels out the advantage."
Bumiao was weighing the difference between both sides.
Because this was still the Super Tournament, the finals used the same rules as before, only two Pokémon each.
If they had been allowed to use three, Bumiao did not think they could win this at all.
But now that it was confirmed to be only two Pokémon, Annihilape's chances were actually pretty good.
Though...
Wasn't the plan here just to take second place?
"Annihilape, second place is enough for this fight!"
Dragonite waved its arms while its wings flapped, explaining the situation to Annihilape.
"What kind of competition do you enter just to aim for second? Don't worry. I, Annihilape, am definitely bringing back first place!"
Annihilape's way of thinking was completely different from the other Pokémon.
If you were going to fight, you fought for first. It had already come all the way here, and now they were telling it second place was enough?
What a nice dream.
That said, the opponent this time was Bruno, which really was a little troublesome.
"Let's fight! I'm taking on two of them by myself!"
Annihilape was overflowing with battle intent and had already prepared itself for a drawn-out fight.
"Poliwrath, you're leading off!"
Bruno's opener was Poliwrath. It looked a bit like Poliwhirl, except its limbs were larger and longer, and its eyes were full of determination.
[Pokémon: Poliwrath]
[Type: Water / Fighting]
[Level: 70]
[Ability: Damp]
[Moves: Omitted.]
This was also the Pokémon Bruno used to counter things like Self-Destruct and Explosion.
Its strength was right at the Champion threshold, about on par with Annihilape.
"Poliwrath, use Liquidation!"
Since this was a Super Tournament specifically for Fighting Pokémon, the move pool was also restricted to close-range attacks only.
Poliwrath clenched its white gloved fist, the muscles in its arms tightening like twisted cables, and shot forward in an instant.
Every step it took exploded a ring of water mist underfoot, making it look like a steam locomotive charging ahead.
"Perfect!"
Annihilape grinned viciously and rushed in to meet it head-on.
Its right fist erupted with blinding thunder, with no tricks at all, only pure offense in place of defense.
Thunder Punch.
Boom!
The instant water and lightning collided, mist and electricity exploded outward at the same time.
Poliwrath's fist buried itself in Annihilape's chest, while the electrified force of Annihilape's punch stopped just short of Poliwrath's throat.
The two Pokémon remained locked in place like that, while the ground beneath their feet cracked and sank, forming a crater nearly ten feet wide.
"This is great. This is exactly the kind of pain I wanted!"
When Poliwrath's heavy punch slammed into Annihilape's abdomen, the ghostly aura around Annihilape thickened a little more.
Bruno's thick brows rose sharply.
"What an annoying move. But we can't avoid close combat here... In a normal battle, I could just have it use Hydro Pump."
He knew Rage Fist's mechanics very well. Every time Annihilape took damage, the move's power increased by 50, all the way up to a maximum of 350.
Rarely, Bruno found himself in a dilemma.
If he kept attacking, he was practically handing his opponent a knife.
If he switched to defense, that would go against the all-out forward momentum a Fighting-type should embody, and it would also just end with Annihilape pounding his Pokémon into the ground anyway.
This was a mess. How was this Annihilape so weird?
At least under equal conditions, Bruno genuinely could not think of an easy way to deal with a Pokémon like this.
"Poliwrath, Waterfall."
The thought process lasted only an instant.
Bruno threw a heavy punch forward, and Poliwrath stomped hard enough to shatter the ground in a wide radius.
Water-type energy exploded beneath Annihilape's feet, erupting into a massive waterspout nearly seven feet across.
With a rush of roaring water, Annihilape was caught off guard and blasted high into the air, while Poliwrath dove straight into the water column like a fish in its natural habitat.
Its body shed resistance perfectly in the water, spiraling upward even faster than a freefalling body dropped through the air.
Clearly, this was a combo.
Compared to things like climbing-based moves, Waterfall was far better at controlling an opponent.
"A little tricky... but no big deal."
At this point, Annihilape had been struck twice. Rage Fist was already hitting as hard as Hyper Beam, so in order to preserve its stamina for what came next, it decided it was time to switch to taking no more damage.
Before Poliwrath could reach it, Annihilape did not try to break free.
Instead, it gathered Ice-type energy around one arm and drove it straight into the water.
Crack!
The freezing energy spread through the current at incredible speed, and the entire waterspout turned into a towering ice pillar in the blink of an eye.
Poliwrath's upward momentum stopped dead. Half its body was trapped inside the ice.
Within the clear crystal, even its stunned expression and the splashing water around it had been frozen in place.
The change came so fast that even Bruno was left deeply shaken by Annihilape's independent combat sense.
If Grey had given that order himself, Bruno would have thought that was only natural.
But this had all been Annihilape's own idea, which meant its battle talent was exceptional.
It was absolutely a born prodigy.
As expected of the Pokémon chosen to serve as Grey's ace, it definitely had something special.
Bruno sucked in a sharp breath, then roared, "Use Dynamic Punch!"
Inside the ice, Poliwrath suddenly wrapped itself in a fierce fighting aura, golden Fighting-type energy gathering on its fist.
In an instant, that concentrated flash of light detonated like a miniature supernova.
Crack!
The ice exploded apart at once, and the frozen pillar shattered visibly from the center outward.
But Annihilape had already escaped.
Its fist pointed down at Poliwrath below, ghostly energy surging out in waves.
A haunting wail filled the air from every direction, sounding almost like sobbing.
A terrifying phantom figure appeared behind Annihilape, moving in perfect sync with it.
"Take this!"
Annihilape shouted, and the ghostly energy gathered in both its arms. Two enormous spectral fist shadows formed in an instant, swallowing up all the surrounding light.
Poliwrath immediately sensed trouble, but it was suspended in midair and had nowhere to brace itself.
Under normal circumstances, it could have used Hydro Pump to reposition itself.
But this tournament banned any move that was not close-range, so many of its usual tactics were impossible to use.
Boom!
Rage Fist struck Poliwrath perfectly. The two dark spectral fists slammed into its face, and the explosion generated by the double impact sent it crashing into the ground like a cannonball.
The crater it made even began to rise into a mushroom cloud.
Seeing that Poliwrath still had some strength left to resist, Annihilape threw out several more Rage Fists in rapid succession.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The entire field shook.
When Annihilape finally dropped back to the ground and looked down into the pit, Poliwrath was still in a guarding stance.
But the depth to which it had been buried into the rock said everything.
"Poliwrath is unable to battle. Challenger, please send out your next Pokémon."
The referee announced the result mercilessly.
"Elite Four Bruno's Poliwrath just went down like that?"
"Damn, this Annihilape is the real deal!"
The crowd's cries of shock did not stop.
This was the first time they had seen Bruno lose with a Fighting-type Pokémon to someone else.
And it had been beaten by a Pokémon that was not even being directly commanded by its Trainer.
"No wonder Gym Leader Grey was so confident, sending only his Pokémon here. So this is the kind of strength they have on their own."
Poliwrath was one of Bruno's main Pokémon, a genuine Champion-level battler.
For Annihilape to defeat it meant Annihilape was at the very least standing at the Champion threshold.
After watching how it fought, Bruno had to admit that this Pokémon's talent was truly unprecedented.
More importantly, its fundamentals were unbelievably solid. There was not a single shaky or hollow part in its foundation.
Just how Grey had raised an Annihilape like this, Bruno truly could not understand.
Kanto really was rising higher and higher.
"Then for my next Pokémon, I choose you! Machamp, go!"
For Bruno's final battle, naturally he was sending out his ace.
And that ace was Machamp.
Machamp hit the field and immediately started throwing punches into the air with all four of its arms, drawing everyone's attention.
"Have you eaten yet? If not, then eat this punch!"
Annihilape frowned and opened with a Rage Fist the moment they met.
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