In the Sinnoh region, at the Pokémon League, Cynthia sat in her office chair staring at the screen of her phone, deep in thought.
"The Strongest Trainer Tournament? How have I never heard of a competition like that?"
She turned the name over in her mind, trying to figure out what this so-called Strongest Trainer Tournament actually was. But no matter how hard she searched her memory, she came up with absolutely nothing.
"Hm... Alder and Mustard are both in it too, so it doesn't look like some random roadside event..."
Even Cynthia couldn't make sense of the situation.
There were Champion-level trainers participating, and yet it somehow still felt absurdly obscure.
Forget it. Better to just keep watching.
Supporting her forehead with one hand, Cynthia had already reached the part where Caitlin was in the background cheering Grey on.
Damn it, had her best friend really fallen for Grey just like that?!
It was irritating, yet somehow she couldn't quite stay angry.
Grey really was a good person.
But whenever she saw him with Caitlin, some nameless flame rose in her chest.
...
...
In the Unova region, at Liberty Garden, Drayton stood on one side of the battlefield. He looked as lazy and carefree as ever, but inside he was panicking.
How had he run into Grey in the very first round?
This matchmaking format was completely insane!
How was he supposed to fight a trainer like this in round one?
If Grey sent out his main team, one of his own Pokémon would probably get wiped by a single one of Grey's.
"Relax. I'm not using my main team this time. The Pokémon I brought are around the same level as yours."
Grey could tell what Drayton was thinking and quickly reassured him.
Only then did Drayton let out a breath.
If Grey was using the rest of his roster, and not Champion-level monsters, then maybe there was still a chance.
Yeah.
He could win this.
"Then today, I, Commentator Slowking, will be bringing everyone commentary for this battle!"
This time, Mewtwo had even specially invited the world-famous commentator Slowking. Rumor had it that he was once a top specialist from the Slowpoke line, but had since transitioned into commentary, and he was beloved by trainers all over the world.
To give this tournament some real weight, Mewtwo had spent a long time choosing the right commentator before finally settling on Commentator Slowking.
"Whoa, Commentator Slowking is doing the call? That's actually pretty solid."
"Gym Leader Grey really has made it big, getting a match covered by Commentator Slowking."
"By the way, haven't Gym Leader Grey's Pokémon already been covered by PokéFan DP and Guli too?"
"I think so, yeah."
The viewers kept chatting idly. Since there were barely any outside spectators on site and most of the people present were tournament participants, the live crowd itself wasn't reacting all that loudly.
Mewtwo watched the scene in silence, then gave a small gesture with his hand.
A tightly wrapped woman stepped into the referee's position and said in a cool, clear voice, "This match will be a two-on-two battle. The battle ends when all Pokémon on one side are unable to continue."
"The first match is Grey versus Drayton. Begin!"
The moment her words fell, both Poké Balls hit the field at the same time.
"Dragonite, I'm leaving the first battle to you!"
"Flygon, you're up!"
Right from the first match, it was a civil war between Dragon-types.
Among them, Dragonite had a bit of a type advantage.
Flying gave it immunity to Ground, so this one favored Dragonite.
"Woohoo~"
The instant it came out, Dragonite flew straight over, hugged Grey, and rubbed against him. Grey patted Dragonite on the head, and only then did it reluctantly return to the battlefield.
"Gym Leader Grey, your Pokémon really get along well with you, huh? But I am absolutely not losing! I'm going to use this battle to show the old man that I'm only bad at academics. In real combat, against opponents at the same level, I'll definitely win!"
As a side note, Drayton's grandfather was Drayden.
At that same moment, inside the Opelucid Gym, the tea Drayden had just raised to his lips sprayed right back out. On the LCD screen, his grandson's arrogant declaration was frozen in place.
The mayor of Opelucid slowly set down his teacup and heavily wiped a callused palm across his face.
"He's embarrassing himself on a livestream again..."
Even the sigh leaking through his fingers startled the Haxorus beside him.
Drayton kept talking on-screen, while Drayden had already started searching for something.
The next time Drayton came back, it would be time to remind him exactly what the iron fist of love meant.
"Huh, that's Drayton! Grandpa Drayden, what tournament is he in?"
A dark-skinned girl with long hair was sitting on the sofa. She had also heard Drayton's declaration of fighting spirit, and her eyes were full of longing.
Sadly, her Pokémon weren't very willing to battle anymore.
Otherwise, Iris would've liked to enter too.
"No idea. Probably some roadside tournament somewhere. Doesn't look like it has much weight behind it."
"Grandpa Drayden, I saw Mr. Alder! And Elite Four Grimsley, Elite Four Shauntal, and Elite Four Marshal! Oh right, Grandpa, what did you just say?"
"..."
Iris's timing made Drayden flush a little.
How had so many powerful trainers gathered at a roadside event like this?!
This was ridiculous!
...
...
Back at Liberty Garden, the battle was about to explode into action.
"Flygon, use Dragon Claw!"
At Drayton's command, Flygon shot toward Dragonite in an instant.
Its eyes gleamed with a crimson light, its wing membranes vibrating into afterimages as Dragon-type energy condensed into three emerald claws around its forelimbs.
Slash!
Dragonite dodged, and three gouging claw marks tore across the spot where it had just been standing.
"Woohoo..." (That was close... wait, no!)
Dragonite had only just relaxed when it felt danger closing in again.
Flygon's right claw thrust upward at a vicious angle, landing squarely under Dragonite's raised jaw.
It was super effective!
Fortunately, Dragonite's Ability was Multiscale, so the power of the hit was cut in half.
"Not bad, top student from Blueberry Academy. You're nothing like the academy types we get in Kanto."
Grey gave him a thumbs-up.
He had thought Drayton would be one of those all-talk, classroom-style trainers.
But then again, considering Drayton would one day briefly become Blueberry Academy's Champion, and had repeated grades for years, it made sense that he would have this level of battling instinct.
"Woohoo..." (That hurts...)
Even with Multiscale, pain was still pain.
Anger was already rising in Dragonite's eyes. Since evolving, this was the first time it had run into a Pokémon that had actually hurt it.
"Stay calm. Don't let yourself get dragged into your opponent's rhythm."
Grey took a breath, then shouted sharply, "Dragonite, use Dragon Claw too!"
In a straight contest of power, Flygon was no match for Dragonite.
And after getting hurt just now, Dragonite had slipped into something close to a berserk state.
"Woohoo!"
Dragonite's little orange hand instantly condensed a glowing claw of energy. Violent Dragon-type energy shook the air, and the moment its small wings beat, a fierce gust burst outward.
"What?!"
Drayton had barely started to react when he saw his Flygon get slammed straight into the ground by a single claw!
Boom!
A crater caved into the earth, and Flygon's pained cry rose from inside it.
That hit definitely had a bit of personal grudge mixed into it.
...
Drayton's face instantly went pale, and his fingers tightened around his Poké Ball without him even noticing.
He stared fixedly at the center of the field. His Flygon had been driven underground by nothing more than a straightforward Dragon Claw from Dragonite, leaving only the trembling tips of its wings sticking out from the rubble.
"How is that possible..."
When Flygon still didn't get back up, Drayton gritted his teeth, cold sweat gathering at his temples.
The two Pokémon were supposed to be at roughly the same level, yet the gap in actual combat felt like a canyon.
Dragonite hadn't even used anything fancy. It had simply crushed Flygon's carefully planned offense with raw battling instinct.
Was this what his grandfather had always meant by the gap in a trainer's level?
Drayton remembered the lessons Drayden had tried to teach him, lessons he had never truly taken to heart.
The difference between them was too great. It left Drayton with a deep sense of helplessness.
"Dragonite, Dragon Rush."
Grey didn't show a trace of mercy. He immediately had Dragonite use its finisher!
"Woohoo!"
A terrifying killing intent burst from Dragonite. Dragon-type energy flooded outward and gradually wrapped around its body, taking the shape of a massive dragon made of energy.
It dove straight down, its wings beating sharply to add even more speed.
Boom!!!
The attack hit Flygon cleanly and finished it off on the spot.
"Oh! Grey's Dragonite is incredibly strong! It only used two moves to defeat Drayton's Flygon. Could those both have been critical hits?"
Commentator Slowking was stunned. What kind of absurd luck did it take for ordinary attacks to land back-to-back critical hits like that?
"Flygon is unable to battle. Drayton, please send out your next Pokémon immediately."
Getting Flygon knocked out in just two moves was not something Drayton had expected.
He knew there was a gap between himself and Grey, and he knew his odds of winning were slim.
But he had never imagined it would be this clean.
From start to finish, the whole thing had lasted only two turns.
Dragonite hadn't shown any flashy setup at all. It had just used Dragon Claw and Dragon Rush to utterly crush the Flygon he had raised with so much care.
That kind of difference couldn't be explained by level alone...
It felt more like the fundamental gap between an adult dragon and a hatchling.
The referee's whistle rang out sharply.
Only then did Drayton recall his unconscious Flygon. The faint tremble coming from the Poké Ball made his throat tighten.
"Damn it. Archaludon, I'm counting on you for the next one!"
Drayton sent out a massive steel dragon Pokémon. It looked a lot like a stapler, and when it lowered itself, it resembled a bridge.
Pokémon: Archaludon
Type: Steel / Dragon
Level: 56
Ability: Sturdy
Moves: Omitted.
An Archaludon with Sturdy.
This kind of Pokémon was basically known as an early bloomer.
Unlike the more common pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, Garchomp, Dragonite, Tyranitar, and the like, monsters that took a long time to fully come into their own, this was the kind of existence that could theoretically evolve in its earliest stages.
The moment it existed, it was already a member of the 600-base-stat club, terrifying stuff.
"Huh? Why does it look so much like Duraludon?"
"Fun fact, Archaludon is Duraludon's evolved form."
"What? Then why can't my Archaludon evolve?"
"Oh no. Gym Leader Raihan isn't thinking of evolving his Duraludon, is he? Please don't do that."
Come to think of it, Archaludon had only been discovered rather recently, within the last few years.
And the one who had just posted that comment, Gym Leader Raihan, had long since raised his Gigantamax Duraludon into his ace.
Getting it to evolve now was basically impossible.
As a side note, Gigantamax Duraludon couldn't evolve, but Eviolite still worked on it.
So Raihan probably wouldn't choose to evolve his old partner either.
On the field, Archaludon stood proudly. Its metallic body gave it tremendous defense, and its Steel typing let it stare Dragonite down without fear.
"Oh! It's Archaludon, a Steel- and Dragon-type Pokémon! Dragonite's Dragon-type moves will only do normal damage to it. I wonder how Grey will respond!"
Commentator Slowking explained things for the audience while also looking forward to Grey's choice.
"Dragonite, come back for now."
Grey chose to recall Dragonite.
Then he sent out his second Pokémon for the day.
Machamp!
The four-armed Machamp had barely appeared before the entire livestream perked up.
Even the people watching from outside the arena wanted to see what kind of strategy Grey was about to use.
"He's using a Pokémon like Machamp even though he knows the opponent is Archaludon? Could Gym Leader Grey have some kind of secret weapon?"
Shauntal adjusted her glasses and folded her arms, clearly confused by Grey's decision.
"It's a perfectly normal choice. Grey's specialty is Fighting-types, and among Fighting-type Pokémon, there are almost none that excel at special attacks. The Machamp he sent out is probably running the Ability Guts."
Unova's Fighting-type Elite Four member Marshal explained it to his colleague, and Shauntal immediately understood.
No wonder he had chosen Machamp.
So the plan was to use Machamp's overwhelming physical power to break through everything by force.
"Archaludon, don't let Machamp get into close quarters. You can't beat it there."
Drayton knew very well how dangerous Machamp was. Archaludon was strong, and it wasn't helpless in close-range combat.
But in a matchup like this, it was already at a disadvantage.
If Machamp got Guts activated...
Would surrendering right now actually be the smarter option?
No...
A real man doesn't fall over because of a little setback!
Drayton quickly made up his mind to fight to the bitter end.
Archaludon seemed to feel its trainer's resolve and slammed its steel arms together with a metallic roar.
"Archaludon, use Dragon Pulse!"
Electro Shot could raise its Special Attack, sure, but it needed a charge turn. In a situation like this, Dragon Pulse was clearly the better choice.
With that thought in mind, Drayton gave the order.
"Luqiao!"
Archaludon roared, unleashing a surge of dark red-purple energy from its throat. A beam of pulsing force blasted out, forming into a dragon that lunged savagely at Machamp!
"Protect!"
Grey couldn't have cared less about any of that. His strategy today was simple and brutal.
Use Protect, activate the Flame Orb, trigger Guts.
Absolutely perfect.
"Machaa!"
Archaludon's Dragon Pulse tore through the air, and within the flood of violet-black energy, the shadow of a snarling dragon head could vaguely be seen.
And just as that terrifying attack was about to land...
Machamp crossed its four heavily muscled arms into an X, and a bright green Protect barrier sprang into existence.
Dragon Pulse crashed into the screen and sent web-like cracks racing across its surface. The force of the impact caved in the ground for several yards around it, yet the green barrier remained firmly in place, without even the slightest tremor.
In the end, it failed to break through.
Boom!
As Protect faded, flames ignited across Machamp's body.
Its skin reddened, and its aura surged.
Ability: Guts!
Once Guts activated, Machamp became one of the absolute strongest battlers at its level.
Forget the three Legendary birds of Kanto, at the same level, even Zekrom would have to avoid meeting it head-on.
Powerful, terrifyingly so!
"Archaludon, use Flash Cannon!"
Drayton only dared attack from a distance now.
Inside Archaludon's metal maw, Steel-type energy compressed to its limit before erupting into a blinding silver-white beam!
"Fire Punch!"
Machamp moved the instant it heard the command, all four fists igniting with orange-red flames.
It didn't dodge.
It charged straight into the beam head-on!
Its front right arm threw the first Fire Punch, and the collision between blazing heat and Steel-type energy sent sparks flying everywhere. Its front left arm immediately followed with a second punch, forcibly splitting the beam in two!
The instant those two attacks went off, Machamp closed the gap with shocking speed.
Its remaining two Fire Punches shot through the opening carved in the cannon beam and smashed directly into Archaludon's jaw!
In the sharp stink of melting metal, Archaludon was sent reeling backward, its head snapping up as it toppled over. The stray force of the distorted Flash Cannon blasted into the sky and punched a clean circular hole through the clouds.
"Tirtouga's shell, is this Machamp really that strong?!"
Drayton's pupils contracted violently as he stared at the sunken dent in Archaludon's alloy jaw, the red fist marks on it still giving off thin trails of smoke.
How was this possible?
After Guts activated...
Machamp's Attack had become this terrifying?
The defense Archaludon had always taken pride in looked like wet paper in front of those four burning fists.
The battle ended quickly.
Once Archaludon was forced into close combat with Machamp, there was simply no coming back from it.
"Archaludon is unable to battle. Since all of Drayton's Pokémon are unable to continue, the winner is Grey!"
The referee's cool voice rang out flatly.
As soon as she finished speaking, she left.
"I lost..."
Drayton couldn't help sighing.
He hadn't expected his strength to be this lacking.
He hadn't even lasted a full chapter.
"So I really am still not good enough."
Drayton gave a bitter smile. He now knew exactly where the problem was, he simply wasn't strong enough.
He had thought that if both sides were around the same level, he'd at least be able to trade a few blows with Grey.
Unfortunately, he had still fallen short by a ridiculous margin.
Once the battle ended, Grey took his Pokémon off to be treated.
While he waited, he pulled up his group chat.
[Grey's Feeding Lounge (11)]
The current members were Red, Blue, Mustard, Caitlin, Lorelei, Cynthia, Lance, Shauntal, Steven, and N.
Originally the group only had nine people. Steven and N had been added later by Grey himself.
That also more or less confirmed that they were part of his circle now.
At minimum, everyone there was Elite Four level.
At this point, it was basically a weird collector's group chat for top-tier trainers.
[Nature's Black: Grey's battles are so fast. If it were me, I'd probably have to use Zekrom to pull that off.]
[Lance: ?]
[Ice Lorelei: ?]
[Red: ('' )]
[Best-Selling Light Novel Author: ??? What in the world!]
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