"Annihilape!"
In an instant, the battlefield turned ghostly dark.
Countless pale ghost-fires flared into existence from nowhere, and the air filled with an oppressive presence.
Two surging masses of Ghost-type energy rose from Annihilape's hands, took the shape of massive gauntlets, and then blasted free!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two Rage Fists flew one after the other, swallowing up the light as they traveled, radiating such overwhelming pressure that no one could take them lightly.
"Machamp!"
Ice, fire, electricity, and darkness appeared across Machamp's four arms, the sheer force of it making the entire arena buzz.
"It's here! Elite Four Bruno's ace Machamp's signature technique! A four-armed Machamp that can use different elemental moves at the same time!"
Guli TV's commentary sent the crowd into an uproar.
Most Trainers' Machamp were best at using the same move with all four arms, or at most different moves of the same type.
For example, four Fire Punches, or mixing things like Brick Break and Dynamic Punch.
An ordinary Machamp that could use two different types of moves at once was already impressive.
One that could use the full elemental punch trio at the same time was even rarer.
But Bruno's Machamp could use four different moves at once.
The degree of energy control that required was downright terrifying.
Machamp stormed forward with huge strides, its fists swinging wildly. The first arm to attack was the one cloaked in dark energy, using Throat Chop.
The moment it collided with the first Rage Fist, Machamp felt a monstrous force slam into it. The arm using Throat Chop was nearly forced back instead.
"Machamp!"
With a roar, Machamp followed up immediately with Ice Punch.
The first Rage Fist shattered at once.
But the second Rage Fist was already right in front of it.
This time, Machamp chose to meet it with Fire Punch and Thunder Punch together.
The clash between both fists triggered an explosion that erased most of Rage Fist's power.
By the time the attack reached Machamp itself, it barely hurt at all.
Roughly the equivalent of a base-power fifty move.
Just a scratch.
After breaking through Rage Fist, Machamp's speed dropped a little, but it still burst forward and swung the remaining force of its attack straight at Annihilape.
"Good! That's what I wanted!"
Annihilape crossed both arms, and a brown X-shaped arc of light erupted outward, slamming head-on into Machamp's attack.
Dust exploded into the air.
The Cross Chop Annihilape had thrown out at the last instant managed to stop Machamp's assault cold.
"Your strength is nothing special!"
Machamp grinned viciously. The two free arms it had left gathered flames and lightning.
Fire Punch. Thunder Punch.
Annihilape took the heavy blows and staggered backward, but as it did, immense power began surging off its body.
At that moment, Rage Fist's power rose to 300.
A deep, ghostly light burst from its body. Just the aura leaking off it was enough to make even Machamp feel like it could barely breathe.
Clearly, this Rage Fist had already surpassed the power of Explosion.
Bruno stared.
This was bad. Rage Fist really was a completely busted move.
Under normal circumstances, he might still have had a way to deal with it.
But here, only close-range combat was allowed.
At the same level, probably only Legendary Pokémon had any real chance of beating Annihilape now.
Bruno swallowed hard. Then, the moment his throat moved, he shouted, "Machamp, Throat Chop!"
Even if he was going to lose, then he would lose in spectacular fashion.
"Then let this move decide it all!"
Machamp swung all four arms together, looking as though it had emerged from the abyss itself. The terrifying pressure pouring off it was enough to stand directly against Rage Fist.
"Fine!"
Annihilape shot forward. The crimson in its eyes was temporarily replaced by ghost-fire born from pure spectral energy.
Every step it took sent several wisps of ghost-fire pouring into its arms.
After throwing out two Rage Fists at power 300, its arms were already starting to feel a little numb.
A body that carried that much force was naturally going to suffer at least some minor backlash.
Machamp smashed through both Rage Fists in succession, the black glow surrounding its body wavering badly, almost on the verge of disappearing completely.
The distance between them shrank faster and faster.
Annihilape kept building up for the finishing blow, but still refused to release it.
Machamp no longer had time to think. It poured everything it had into Four-Armed Throat Chop and drove it straight into Annihilape!
"Annihilape!"
Annihilape forced everything forward in one breath. After taking the hit, Rage Fist's power climbed to its highest point yet, 350.
The entire stadium seemed to hit pause.
Everyone watched as Annihilape looked like a demon-god descending upon the battlefield, the force of its single punch enough to shatter the ground around it.
Then that one punch sent Machamp flying into the arena wall, spraying broken stone everywhere.
"Machamp is unable to battle! The winner is Gym Leader Grey!"
Even though Grey himself was not present, the referee still announced the victory in his name.
And just like that, without having any idea what was going on, Grey ended up becoming the Super Tournament champion.
"As expected of Gym Leader Grey's Annihilape. Its strength is incredible."
Bruno recalled Machamp and came away with an even deeper understanding of Annihilape's power.
Rage Fist had probably reached its limit there, and using it at that level likely put some strain on the Pokémon itself too.
Looking out onto the field, he could see Annihilape sucking in huge breaths of air, its breathing clearly a little unstable.
Still, nothing serious.
In the VIP seats, Lance stared down at the scene in silence.
With power like that, Grey's rate of growth was simply too fast.
Among all the Trainers he knew, there were really only two who could compare.
"Grey... you're making me feel more and more that in Kanto, no... in the entire world, the biggest unpredictable variable of all is you."
At the same time, somewhere in the waters off Unova.
"Grey! Look over there! We're almost there!"
The aura Little Riolu sensed was becoming clearer and clearer. Earlier, it had only been able to faintly pick up Mewtwo's aura. Now it could sense Victini's as well.
"Let me see."
Grey pulled out his phone, pointed the camera toward the distance, and kept zooming in.
A tiny dark speck appeared on the screen. If he was right, that had to be Liberty Garden Island.
"Articuno, speed up."
Grey patted Articuno's back.
With a cry, Articuno suddenly beat its wings, and a fierce wind blew from behind them, propelling it forward.
Tailwind.
With Tailwind boosting them, not just Articuno but also the Pokémon of the Blueberry quartet all sped up as well.
At last, after drifting along for quite a while longer, they finally saw the rough outline of Liberty Garden Island.
By the time they actually landed, evening was already drawing near.
They would stay here for the night, then wait for the tournament to officially begin the day after tomorrow.
"The Strongest Trainer Tournament. That name really does feel kind of casual."
Grey rubbed his chin. Maybe it was just his imagination, but any tournament with a name that blunt and straightforward felt like it had probably been organized by someone who was a little too carefree about details.
He had no idea what the prizes would be like. Hopefully Mewtwo would be offering something tempting enough to make this worth it.
Though...
Was there even a prize at all?
Grey remembered that when he received the invitation, it only contained information about the event itself.
The prize section had simply said: Unknown.
Could it be that Mewtwo planned to use Team Plasma's money to buy an appropriate prize afterward?
Well...
No matter what, Grey found himself looking forward to it.
After landing on Liberty Garden Island, local staff members came over. Only after confirming that everyone had both a Liberty Pass and an invitation did they finally let them through.
"Gym Leader Grey, do you think these staff members look kind of familiar?"
Lacey moved closer and lowered her voice as she asked.
For some reason, after seeing this group of staff, she had felt an odd sense of unease.
They looked familiar, but she could not place where she had seen them before.
If it had been only one person, she would have assumed she was remembering wrong.
But this was a whole group, and she felt that way about all of them.
That meant it was more than just a vague sense of familiarity.
"A little. Especially that woman over there. I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."
Grey narrowed his eyes and looked toward the back, where a woman sat on a bench drinking coffee.
She was wrapped up carefully, but Grey still had the distinct feeling that he recognized her.
Like the kind of face you somehow ended up seeing everywhere.
Strange. Where had he seen her before?
Grey thought it over and came up empty. He even used Aura to take a closer look at her condition.
But he found nothing unusual.
"Let's head inside first. Standing around outside isn't going to help."
Grey separated from the Blueberry quartet, then strolled around Liberty Garden Island with Caitlin.
And honestly, for such a remote place, Liberty Garden Island was surprisingly well-equipped.
Spreading out from the central fountain plaza, the cobblestone paths actually led to a tiny but fully functional shopping street.
"Grey! I can feel Victini here. It might even be in the convenience store!"
Little Riolu's eyes lit up at once, and it immediately dashed into the shopping street to start wandering around.
Grey fell silent.
You're here to find Victini?
I'm not even going to call you out on that.
Grey could not help laughing, but he still followed Little Riolu into the shopping street.
"Caitlin, do you want to come with me?"
Halfway there, Grey turned and asked Caitlin, who had been following him with little quick steps.
"Yes!"
Caitlin's eyes brightened too.
There was a huge difference between simply following Grey around and being personally invited by him.
If Grey invited her himself, that meant she mattered to him.
He cares about me.
Yes. That had to be it.
That was exactly what Caitlin was thinking right now.
She quickened her pace and walked side by side with him.
Naturally, there was no sign of Victini in the shopping street. Little Riolu just wanted an excuse to browse.
"This one, this one, and this one too! I remember Victini loves macarons the most, Grey, so we absolutely have to buy a lot of them!"
Little Riolu's arms might have been short, but it could jump high.
Even items placed well above its head could be pulled down with ease.
Grey's cart was filled to the brim in no time.
"Little Riolu, are you sure Victini still wants to eat all this?"
Grey checked the prices. Everything here cost several times more than it did outside.
At this rate, his liquid savings were about to take a serious hit.
"I'm sure. As long as Victini's favorite food hasn't changed over the years, if you carry these macarons outside, it'll definitely come running."
Little Riolu nodded hard. It absolutely was not lying to Grey about this.
Back when it had met Victini in person in Unova, the two of them had eaten three meals a day and practically every single one of them had included macarons.
So Little Riolu was sure. Victini loved these things.
"All right, then. Anything you want? I'll get you something."
Grey looked at Caitlin, who had been standing quietly beside him. He did not really know what she liked, so he asked.
Since they were already here, he might as well buy something for her too.
Besides, Caitlin was basically his governor boss and top patron all rolled into one.
Treating her to something was only reasonable.
Come to think of it...
Would the Unova League reimburse shopping done on Liberty Garden Island?
Grey remembered that the Unova League had said anything he bought while in Unova during this trip could be expensed.
And besides, Zinzolin alone was worth the cost.
With that thought, Grey decided that counting Liberty Garden Island shopping as reimbursable seemed perfectly reasonable too.
"For me? Hmm... as long as you pick it, I'll like it."
Caitlin clasped her hands behind her back, her face turning slightly red as she lowered her head a little and softened her voice.
Even after being with Grey for this long, every time he showed concern for her, Caitlin still felt a little overwhelmed by it.
Being cared for like this felt wonderful.
"Then I'll get you a box of macarons too."
Grey casually picked up a box that looked nice.
Except...
"Huh? Is this thing glued down? Why won't it come up?"
Grey pulled a little harder, but the gift box only moved slightly.
Clearly, something was stopping him from taking it.
"I saved up for ages to buy that one! Please don't fight me for it!"
A young, unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out.
Grey paused.
Victini was actually here?
That voice could only have belonged to Victini.
He just had not expected that, exactly as Little Riolu had said, Victini really was here.
"I'll buy it for you. You don't have to pay."
Grey soothed it with Aura, then reached out with his other hand and lifted the invisible Victini into view.
"Really?"
Victini was suspicious about how Grey had managed to grab its real body so easily, but once it heard Grey say he would pay for it, it instinctively let go.
"Of course. I just want this box for myself. I'll buy you another identical one instead. How about that?"
After all, Grey had picked this one out for Caitlin. Swapping it out at the last second would have been a little awkward.
"No problem! You're such a nice human. Huh? Why do you have the aura of so many of my friends on you... Wow! The White Dragon and the Black Dragon too!"
Victini nodded quickly, but its attention very soon shifted fully to Grey himself.
What was this?
Mew, Meloetta, Reshiram, Keldeo, and Zekrom's aura were all on him.
Zekrom's presence was pretty faint, but the first few were all especially strong.
Victini blinked and, for a moment, even forgot to turn off its invisibility.
"If you're their friend, then you can have this box of macarons. But you still have to buy me a new box!"
Using telekinesis, Victini floated a box of macarons into Grey's cart.
"Definitely."
This time Grey did not use Aura to hide the exchange, so Caitlin noticed it too.
"It's so cute!"
Caitlin's beautiful eyes widened. The tiny Pokémon in front of her made her whole heart melt, and she immediately reached out, took it from Grey's hands, and started pinching its cheeks.
"This is way too cute!"
Caitlin felt like she was melting on the spot.
Why were Unova's Mythical Pokémon all this adorable?
Both Victini and Meloetta hit her tastes perfectly.
Adorable.
"Hey, who are you? I'm not cute, I'm cool!"
Victini sounded deeply unconvinced. It believed itself to be the coolest and strongest being in the world.
"Grey, what's it saying?"
Caitlin could not understand Victini, so she turned to Grey.
"It says, 'I agree. I'm very happy you think I'm cute. Thank you.'"
Grey answered without so much as a change in expression.
When Victini looked like it was about to protest, Grey silently held up two fingers.
Two boxes of macarons.
"That's right, that's exactly what I said. I'm the cutest Mythical Pokémon in the world, Victini. You've got great taste, miss!"
Victini nodded hard and even flashed a little victory sign, showing that yes, this was apparently what it had meant all along.
In the face of macarons, almost anything could be compromised.
Caitlin was utterly defeated by how adorable Victini was acting and spent quite a while pinching its little face before finally, very reluctantly, letting it go.
"I'm finally free. My face hurts..."
Victini rubbed its cheeks, and the sight made Grey think of Green back in Kanto.
He pinched her cheeks all the time too.
Speaking of that, he wondered how everyone back at the Fighting Dojo was doing.
With that thought, Grey pushed the cart a little faster. After paying, he planned to call Bumiao and ask what exactly was going on.
Breloom, Gallade, and Annihilape were the three least likely Pokémon to go running off on their own. If they really had been setting up some kind of surprise for him, then it was probably already done by now, right?
Thinking back to Bumiao asking for Annihilape's Poké Ball earlier to help hold down the fort, Grey figured it was probably close to wrapping up anyway.
While he was still thinking about it, Grey reached the counter.
After paying, Victini immediately opened its box and started stuffing macarons into its mouth.
Then it suddenly started choking.
"Slow down. No one's going to take them from you."
Grey patted Victini on the back and rescued it before reminding it to eat more slowly.
"I know!"
Victini put its hands on its hips as if it had everything under control.
After that, it went right back to eating macarons.
"Sure, sure. As long as you know."
Grey chuckled. He had just taken out his phone to make the call when he heard a familiar voice.
"Victini, it's time to come back. There are too many Trainers here. If you get discovered..."
The voice stopped abruptly.
Grey turned and met its gaze.
"Long time no see, Mewtwo."
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