"Grimsley is meticulous by nature. That Sharpedo is probably another trump card he kept hidden until later."
Every trainer had their own hidden cards to some extent, and for Grimsley, that hidden card was probably this Sharpedo.
Grey raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Grimsley's ace to be a Sharpedo. Though in Pokémon: Sun and Moon, Grimsley had shown up at one point.
If Grey remembered right, Grimsley's Mega Evolution partner there had been an Absol.
Of course, in Pokémon Masters EX, one of Grimsley's alternate outfits did have Mega Sharpedo as a sync partner.
So this was fair enough.
On the field, Grey noticed a Mega Stone set into Sharpedo's dorsal fin. There was no need to think twice about it, that was obviously its Mega Stone.
"Gym Leader Grey, you're not the only one with Mega Evolution. I haven't lost this battle yet."
As one of the Elite Four, Grimsley might have fallen on hard times and made his living running casinos, but something like a Key Stone for Mega Evolution was still well within his means.
"All in! Sharpedo, Mega Evolve!"
Grimsley Mega Evolved immediately, touching the Key Stone necklace at his neck and resonating with the Mega Stone on Sharpedo's fin.
The sound of an eggshell cracking rang out as the resonance ended.
Sharpedo's appearance changed dramatically.
Its body grew longer and sleeker, its upper jaw became more pronounced, and sharp teeth protruded from its skin.
Yellow scar-like markings spread over its body as well, proof of the wounds it had lived through.
Pokémon: Mega Sharpedo
Type: Water / Dark
Level: 67
Ability: Strong Jaw
Moves: Omitted.
"Whoa, so this is Elite Four Grimsley's trump card?"
"Even so, Mega Sharpedo still keeps its Dark typing, right? Doesn't Lucario's Fighting typing still counter it?"
"By the way, every time Gym Leader Grey's Lucario appears, it looks cool, sure, but why do I always feel like it has to suffer at least once every battle?"
"Scars are a man's medals!"
Some of the sharper viewers had really noticed it, Lucario did win every time it appeared, but the battles were usually... a little rough.
No matter who it fought, it always managed to go a few rounds and make things look close.
Still, in the end, it always won by that same narrow margin.
It had been like that ever since its Riolu days.
That had led a lot of people to suspect that maybe Lucario was only this strong because it had personally swallowed all the bad matchups the rest of Grey's team should have suffered.
Lucario, seriously... I'm gonna cry.
That was the general feeling among a lot of Lucario fans.
"Such dense Dark-type energy..."
Lucario instinctively condensed an Aura Sphere, just waiting for Grey's command.
Before Lucario could act, Grimsley shouted first, "Sharpedo, use Aqua Jet and rush it!"
"Sharp!"
Sharpedo's dorsal fin sliced through the air as Water-type energy burst outward.
Raging water wrapped around its body, turning it into a blue-white bolt of lightning, while a fierce stream of water blasted from its tail like a propulsive engine.
Seeing that, Lucario charged forward instead of retreating.
The Aura Sphere in its palm shot out.
Grimsley only curled his lips into a cold smile when he saw that.
Almost the instant the Aura Sphere left Lucario's hand, Sharpedo also blasted a high-pressure jet of water from its throat.
Bang!
The two energies collided in midair, and the exploding spray blanketed the entire battlefield in mist.
But Sharpedo's momentum didn't slow in the slightest. The instant it burst through the curtain of water, its gleaming fangs were less than two feet from Lucario's throat.
"Bone Rush!"
Grey took a bracing stance, and Lucario formed a thick bone staff out of aura energy and planted it in front of itself, blocking Sharpedo's fanged bite.
"Damn it, you mangy werewolf! If you've got guts, let me attack with my teeth!"
Sharpedo was furious.
Its most prized weapons were those jaws full of teeth.
But now Lucario had blocked them with a bone staff. What was it supposed to do with that?
"Sharpedo, don't panic. Use Ice Fang and crush that bone staff!"
Grimsley showed no sign of panic at all. Lucario's response was exactly what he had expected.
He might love gambling, but when it came to battling, he was never careless.
Especially after the time he'd lost a wager to Shauntal and she wrote that kind of thing about him...
Grimsley shuddered, then quickly said, "That's right, just like that, use Ice Fang!"
"Sharp!"
Ice-type energy spread rapidly, and Sharpedo's teeth gradually became coated in a thin layer of frost.
The bone staff in Lucario's hands was affected too. Even though it had been formed from aura, it still carried Ground-type properties.
And Ice-type moves countered Ground-type power.
Crack...
The bone staff couldn't bear the strain. It split cleanly in half at the middle.
Lucario staggered backward several steps, finally opening a bit of distance.
"Perfect! Lucario, use Bone Rush again!"
If the earlier Bone Rush had been for blocking Sharpedo's assault, then this Bone Rush was retreating in order to advance.
A true counterattack.
"Luca!"
Lucario gripped the staff in both hands and burst forward. Ground-type energy surged up, lengthening the weapon into an even greater shaft of energy.
Sharpedo refused to be outdone. Its whole body spun upward into the air, wrapped in rushing water as Ice-type energy spread around it at the same time.
For a moment, it looked exactly like a fully armed frozen torpedo diving straight at Lucario.
The force of it was immense. Even Lucario instinctively paused and looked up.
"What a chunky shark..."
That was the thought that popped into Lucario's head as it stared at the incoming frozen torpedo.
This Sharpedo was really chunky...
If that move landed cleanly, it would probably wreck Lucario too.
With that in mind, Lucario kept dashing forward while both arms blurred into afterimages.
Two bone staves shot through the air like javelins.
Crack!
The bone staves struck the icy armor on Sharpedo's body dead on. They failed to break through, but the impact knocked Sharpedo's flight path slightly off course.
"Sharp!!"
Sharpedo's furious roar sent out visible waves through the air. Lucario had to lower its center of gravity and glare upward.
Then its aura locked onto Sharpedo, and two Aura Spheres instantly formed in its palms.
Bang! Bang!
Sharpedo was falling too fast to dodge, and both Aura Spheres blasted it straight down to the ground.
It had looked impressive enough, but that was about it.
"I'm dying here, guys, that Sharpedo looked fierce, but how did it get blown away by just two Aura Spheres?"
"Wouldn't it be weirder if it didn't? Sharpedo is Water/Dark. Was it supposed to tank Fighting-type attacks or something?"
"True enough. So Grimsley losing this one really wasn't unfair, right?"
"The way Sharpedo got launched was honestly hilarious. That was comedy gold."
In an instant, the once-menacing Sharpedo had turned into a full-on gag Pokémon.
Even Grimsley couldn't help covering his face.
He really should have brought Absol instead...
It would still have been countered by Lucario, but Absol's mobility was better. Maybe it could have lasted a few more turns.
As things stood, there was no point continuing. Sharpedo wasn't much different from being knocked out already.
Grimsley recalled Sharpedo on his own and chose to forfeit.
"I lost this battle, Gym Leader Grey. It was a pleasure to have a match like this with you."
It was Grimsley's first time facing another trainer's Mega-Evolved Pokémon head-on. He had practiced in private, sure, but because there still weren't that many trainers with Mega Evolution, he hadn't really known where his level stood.
Now that Mega Sharpedo had been effortlessly dismantled by Lucario, he had a pretty clear answer.
"So Grimsley lost too. It wasn't just the type disadvantage, he also didn't seem to be as sharp as Gym Leader Grey when it came to tactical synergy."
Shauntal pushed up her slipping glasses. She had watched the entire battle closely from beginning to end.
Grimsley was strong, no doubt about that, but against Grey at the same Elite Four level, the playing field had been leveled.
And with Grey holding the type advantage, plus Lucario itself being a little more polished than the rest of Grimsley's team, the result had turned into the one-sided performance they had just seen.
"Same here, this was my first time using Mega Evolution in a real battle against someone too!"
Grey walked over, shook Grimsley's hand, and casually let slip that this had also been his first real battle using Mega Evolution.
"Oh? Then have you practiced Mega Evolution in private before, Gym Leader Grey?"
Grimsley raised a brow, already getting a bad feeling.
Surely Grey had used Mega Evolution many times in private, right? Otherwise how could he be so familiar with it?
At least, from Grimsley's point of view, there was no way Grey and Lucario could have successfully Mega Evolved on the first try without prior practice.
But the truth was exactly what Grey had said.
He had only gotten the Key Stone and Mega Stone yesterday. There hadn't even been time to use them, much less to practice together with his Pokémon.
The battle with Grimsley had been his first proper use of Mega Evolution.
And honestly, the feeling really was different.
Grey turned that sensation over in his mind, quietly reflecting on it.
Grimsley fell silent.
Sometimes, not answering was an answer in itself.
So Grey had beaten him with Mega Evolution on his first try?
Kanto really was a land that produced monsters.
In a century, you might not see one trainer of this caliber, yet Kanto had somehow raised three of them all at once.
At this rate, Kanto really might end up in a three-way balance of power.
"Elite Four Grimsley, let's spar again sometime if we get the chance."
Grey recalled Lucario, then stepped forward and shook Grimsley's hand again.
"Sure. We'll spar again if the chance comes."
Grimsley accepted readily.
After a bit more friendly conversation, the matter finally came to an end.
...
...
After getting his Pokémon treated, Grey stayed to watch two more battles.
Caitlin versus Mustard, and Marshal versus Alder.
The winners of both battles were the latter.
When Champion-level trainers fought Elite Four-level trainers, it was still just too easy.
"I lost..."
Once the battle was over, Caitlin leaned against Grey's shoulder and repeated those three words.
In the past, she would have flown into a rage and gone on an uncontrolled psychic rampage.
But now she had more or less let go of her obsession with winning and losing.
"It's fine, really. A loss is a loss. Your opponent was Mustard. He's from the same generation as Professor Oak and Agatha, and he's got Champion-level strength. There's no shame in losing to him."
Grey sat beside her and tried to comfort her, never once taking his eyes off the battlefield below.
Right now, it was the final semifinal match.
N versus Shauntal.
Caitlin went silent.
Look at the girl's face when you're comforting her, would you?!
Don't keep staring at N while you comfort me!
What was even so great about that guy called N? Did Grey really need to keep watching him that intently?
Damn it!
This was infuriating!
On the field, N stood on one side of the battlefield, and there was now actually a Poké Ball in his hand.
In truth, N didn't want to catch Pokémon with Poké Balls at all.
But if he wanted to use the Pokémon Center, then using Poké Balls was unavoidable.
N first locked eyes with Grey, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, and only then did he turn his gaze toward Shauntal.
His expression immediately flattened into a sulky little cat face.
Shauntal: ?
I'm standing right here in front of you, a cute round-faced girl in black-rim glasses, goth black stockings, and little leather shoes, and I still lose to Grey?
Shauntal wasn't angry. She was thinking.
"Mr. N, can I ask you something? Heehee~"
After saying that, she even let out a high, sharp little laugh.
Paired with her outfit, it gave her a bizarre dark magical-girl vibe.
Shauntal had really gone full dark magical girl.
Alder was speechless.
Unova was doomed, then. No mercy.
"What is it?"
N didn't understand why Shauntal was asking something like this on the battlefield, but he still answered.
"If I can... um, if I can hold out for three minutes in this battle, could you let me write a novel with you as the male lead?"
At those words, both N and Grey felt a chill run down their spines.
But since N didn't really know Shauntal that well and had no idea what she meant, he simply scratched his head and nodded lightly.
"If it's writing a novel, then I don't mind."
"But not three minutes for the whole match. Three minutes with one Pokémon."
N raised three fingers.
He knew Ghost-type Pokémon were tricky to track, and moves like Phantom Force were second nature to them. Add Protect on top of that, and Shauntal really might be able to stall for three full minutes.
"No problem! Then Mr. N, let's have ourselves a truly glorious battle!"
Shauntal held back her laughter.
The moment the words fell, both of their Poké Balls landed on the field.
A golden coffin-like Pokémon floated above the ground. Black tendrils extended from each of the four corners of the coffin, its eyes were crimson, and its overall shape looked not only like a coffin but also a little like a pharaoh.
The Coffin Pokémon, Cofagrigus.
Its strength was around a standard Elite Four level.
"Grey, do you think Shauntal can last three minutes?"
"Hard. Extremely hard. Basically impossible. Forget Zekrom, N could pull out almost any one of his other Pokémon and still solo sweep Miss Shauntal. She just doesn't understand N well enough. She thinks she only needs to guard against Zekrom."
Grey launched straight into an explanation for Caitlin, talking so much that it left her dizzy and overwhelmed.
Damn it, why did Grey know N this well?!
"What's wrong? Caitlin, do you need to rest for a bit?"
Seeing Caitlin holding her forehead, Grey put a hand to it and found that she felt warm.
"Heatstroke? Island weather really does make it easy to overheat. I almost got heatstroke yesterday too."
"I-I'm fine... just let me recover for a minute."
Caitlin forced out a smile. Only then did Grey stop worrying and return his attention to N's battle.
She wanted to see just what kind of tactics N was using to fascinate Grey so much.
...
...
N sent out "Zekrom."
Its appearance was no different from the real thing.
But if you looked closely at the aura it gave off, there was a huge difference.
Pokémon: Zoroark
Type: Dark
Level: 70
Ability: Illusion
Moves: Night Daze, others omitted.
This Zoroark was sitting right on the doorstep of Champion level, though it wasn't the one that usually traveled with N. This one was that Zoroark's mother.
It was powerful, absolutely not to be underestimated.
That was Grey's assessment.
Cofagrigus was a Pokémon famous for its physical bulk.
Of course, compared to Zekrom's physical power, that didn't mean much.
A few hits would still be enough to finish it.
An Elite Four-level Cofagrigus against a nearly Champion-level Zoroark was a terrible matchup from the start.
Grey wanted to see whether Shauntal, as a novelist, would be able to notice anything.
On the field, Shauntal unsurprisingly opened the battle by ordering Phantom Force, hoping to avoid "Zekrom's" attack.
"Reaper~"
Cofagrigus sank into shadow. Not into ordinary shadows, but truly into a place known as the spirit world.
"Zekrom" immediately lost sight of its opponent and simply stood in place like a guardian statue.
N was also sensing Cofagrigus's position, trying to determine which direction the attack would come from.
Soon enough, Cofagrigus reappeared behind "Zekrom," its four tendrils whipping wildly as it brought them crashing down!
"Night Daze!"
N's command was no louder than a whisper, but "Zekrom's" red eyes flared brightly.
It slammed both claws to the ground, and Dark-type energy erupted from its body like a volcanic explosion.
Boom!
Where the expanding ring-shaped shockwave passed, Cofagrigus's tendrils were shattered piece by piece.
The aftershock formed a domain of darkness that lasted for three full seconds, swallowing even the sunlight.
When visibility returned, Zekrom was still kneeling on one knee, while Cofagrigus had already been smashed into the ground, black energy still crackling faintly over its body.
"Cofagrigus is unable to battle. Shauntal, please send out your next Pokémon."
Shauntal was bewildered.
Could Zekrom use Night Daze?
She felt like her brain was finally starting to work overtime. She studied Zekrom carefully. The aura felt the same as what she had sensed before. It didn't look like some other Pokémon had transformed into it...
In truth, N had the real Zekrom lend "Zekrom" a tiny trace of its aura, and together with Zoroark's natural illusion abilities, that was enough to keep everyone from distinguishing the fake from the real with the naked eye.
"Whatever, whatever, I've still got one more!"
Shauntal let out a long breath, then sent out her ace.
Chandelure.
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