The next day.
Wyndon Stadium was packed to capacity.
Although the most grand "Champion Cup" of the Galar region was currently taking place at Wyndon Stadium, this still didn’t dampen the Galar residents’ enthusiasm for battles.
This was the atmosphere Rose had cultivated in the Galar region over the years—passion for battles.
Moreover, the "Champion Cup" at Wyndon Stadium hadn’t reached its peak excitent yet, but at Wyndon Stadium today, there would be Elite Four-level battles! Battles between the top fifty of "Ultra Ball Tier"!
Kanto League Elite Four Bruno VS Unova League Elite Four Marshal!
And both were Fighting-type Elite Four mbers.
The battle would undoubtedly be spectacular.
Indeed, it was exactly so.
After all, a battle between two Fighting-type Elite Four mbers would inevitably be the most direct, fist-to-fist collision.
Amid the enthusiastic cheers, Elite Four Bruno swung his arm and shouted: "Hitmonchan, Thunder Punch!"
Marshal also took his stance, shouting without backing down:
"Sawk, Close Combat!"
The two Pokémon, Hitmonchan and Sawk, fiercely crashed into each other, fist against fist, creating massive air waves accompanied by flying dust, earning even more excited and passionate cheers from the audience.
There was one thing Johan really admired about Rose.
Because Rose was truly willing to invest heavily in stadiums.
The collision between Elite Four mbers’ ace Pokémon, even just the aftershocks of their clash, wasn’t sothing ordinary buildings could withstand.
But what about Wyndon Stadium?
Not only was the entire stadium’s structure solid and made of hard materials, with the collision causing little damage to the field itself, but there was also the massive protective barrier enveloping the entire stadium’s battle field.
The aftershocks from the impacts struck the surrounding protective barriers, only creating ripples and white light without causing any wavering in the barriers.
This wasn’t just Wyndon Stadium alone—all stadiums throughout the entire Galar region were at least of this scale and protection level.
The investnt cost was astronomical.
But it was precisely because of such massive stadiums, stadiums where audiences could watch with peace of mind, that Galar region residents could safely watch matches, enjoy the competition and passion, and make Pokémon battles flourish throughout the Galar region.
After all, these stadiums were prepared and built for the even more dynamic Dynamax battles.
Moreover, the Galar region was also the first to completely automate and chanize referees.
The vast majority of referees throughout the entire Galar region had been taken over by Rotom.
Except for a small portion of high-level matches that needed professional referees for supervision and judgnt, most matches could be handled by Rotom.
This was also thanks to the discovery and promotion of Rotom as a Pokémon species.
If you really counted it, Johan could also be considered one of the "Rotom promoters."
At this mont, in the VIP box of Wyndon Stadium, Johan, Flint, Flannery, Roxanne, and a group from the Unova region were all watching the battle.
Flint was obviously the most excited, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window with clenched fists, wishing he could replace one of them and battle the other.
Compared to him, Johan and the others, as well as the group from the Unova region, appeared much calr.
"Teacher Johan, who do you think will win between Marshal and Bruno?" Shauntal, sitting on the sofa with her black stocking-clad legs crossed, holding a notebook and writing, suddenly asked.
She gently pushed her glasses with a curious expression.
Hearing this, Johan smiled: "You shouldn’t ask that—you should ask Mr. Alder."
Everyone looked toward Alder.
Alder: "ZZZ"
Johan: "..."
He could fall asleep even when his own disciple was battling another Elite Four mber?
Caitlin beside them curled her lips: "Don’t you know what state Mr. Alder is in?"
Johan was already used to the "attitude" in Caitlin’s words, so he directly ignored her, making Caitlin grind her teeth in frustration as so fruits around them began floating.
"Bruno is still at a disadvantage for appearing too early," Johan muttered softly.
"Appearing too early?"
However, his words were still quite clear in the box, and Grimsley asked in confusion.
"Cough." Johan coughed lightly without explaining much.
Could he really tell them that because Bruno appeared when it was only the first generation, Fighting-type Pokémon were limited, so besides Fighting-type Pokémon, he had also captured quite a few Rock-type Pokémon?
Like Onix, Golem, and such?
Of course, Bruno’s massive Onix was no simple matter.
It was just that when facing Fighting-type Pokémon, Rock-type Pokémon were still at a disadvantage.
"However, most likely, Bruno still has a higher chance of winning," Johan finally said.
Bruno’s ace was a Machamp with the "No Guard" ability, while Marshal’s ace was a Conkeldurr with the "Guts" ability.
More importantly, Johan noticed that Bruno was already wearing a "Dynamax Band" on his wrist, while Marshal wasn’t.
This created a gap between the two sides.
Moreover, if we really talked about raw strength, Bruno’s abilities were indeed sowhat stronger than Marshal’s.
"Good! Then I’ll bet against you—I bet Marshal wins!" Caitlin suddenly said.
"A bet?" Johan looked at her strangely, scanning Caitlin up and down. "What’s the wager?"
Before Caitlin could answer, Johan’s phone suddenly rang.
The caller ID showed Cynthia.
Johan imdiately walked aside and pressed the answer button.
"Finished with work?"
After becoming Champion, Cynthia still had quite a few matters to handle. After all, she wasn’t like Johan, who had Glacia to back him up, plus Steven to delegate to, allowing him to be a hands-off boss.
Although the Sinnoh League had Lucian and Bertha, Cynthia was still sowhat more responsible than Johan.
So originally the two had agreed to co to the Galar region together, but because Cynthia hadn’t finished her work while Johan had to inspect the "Rising Volt Tacklers Class," he ca to Galar first.
"Almost done. I can go to Galar in the next couple of days," Cynthia’s voice sounded sowhat lazy.
"Did you leave everything to Lucian?"
"Mm."
Johan smiled knowingly.
The capable bear more responsibility.
The two didn’t chat for long.
When Johan hung up and turned around, he saw...
Fruits, bowls, vases, even coffee tables and chairs were all floating behind him, looking ready to smash toward him.
"Ka-kaah!"
Gengar stood behind him with one hand forward and one back in a defensive stance, its chubby black face looking vigilant.
Behind these floating objects was Caitlin with her hair floating up, glaring at him with gritted teeth and eyes full of "resentnt."
Johan: "..."
After all this ti, she still hasn’t accepted reality?
He waved his hand, "showing off" the phone in his hand, raising an eyebrow.
Cynthia called first—this round, I win.
Caitlin gritted her teeth even harder.
"Alright, stop fooling around."
Johan pushed away the objects floating in mid-air, patted Gengar’s head, telling the purple fatty to stop pretending.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar scratched the back of its head with a silly laugh.
Caitlin suddenly pointed at Johan: "I know what to bet now!"
"If I win, you have to accept my challenge!"
Hm?
Johan looked sowhat surprised.
Caitlin challenging him?
Was this a battle for Cynthia?
Caitlin continued: "If you win, I’ll accept your challenge!"
Hearing this, Johan was imdiately amused: "So either way, we’re going to fight? What’s your current ranking?"
Caitlin raised her head proudly.
"’Ultra Ball Tier’ twenty-fifth place! You ’Master Ball Tier’ bottom-dweller!"
The little girl had quite a temper and was really good at being hurtful with her words.
Flint, Grimsley, Flannery, and others looked like they were watching a show.
Speaking of which, Johan had known Caitlin for quite a while now. This little girl had been clinging to Cynthia and harboring great hostility toward him, yet the two had never actually battled face-to-face.
He lightly rubbed his chin.
"Alright, I accept your challenge."
The points from "Ultra Ball Tier" twenty-fifth place weren’t low—this was different from Flint, that troubleso guy with low points. Winning against him wasn’t very aningful.
If he took Caitlin’s points this ti, Johan didn’t think he’d still be at the bottom of "Master Ball Tier."
As long as he wasn’t at the bottom, even second-to-last was acceptable to Johan.
"It’s settled!" Caitlin clenched her small fists, and the floating objects in the box slowly returned to their original positions.
This result was sowhat beyond everyone’s expectations while also making them feel anticipation and excitent.
Caitlin VS Teacher Johan?
At first glance, it seed like Teacher Johan had much better odds, but if Caitlin’s psychic powers were used freely... there was still so suspense.
The people in the box were still quite enthusiastic about battles.
Especially being able to see Champion VS Elite Four—this was even rarer than Elite Four VS Elite Four.
Pop~
The snot bubble hanging from Alder’s nose suddenly burst, and the old man slowly awakened: "Battle? What battle? Johan, are you going to battle soone?"
Everyone looked toward Caitlin.
Alder laughed heartily: "Oh, it’s Caitlin. I thought you were going to battle this old man."
At the sa ti, Bruno and Marshal’s battle finally reached its final stage.
Bruno took out a Poké Ball to recall his Machamp from the field. The "Dynamax Band" on his wrist injected energy into the Poké Ball, which imdiately began expanding and growing larger at a visible rate.
Finally, it was thrown out amid the audience’s cheers and eager gazes.
Bang!!
The Machamp that reappeared on the field was surrounded by large amounts of red clouds, its body rapidly growing larger in just a few brief monts.
Gigantamax!
The already robust Machamp, after Gigantamaxing, not only grew larger but its muscle definition beca even more pronounced. Its four thick arms and fists seed covered with golden lava-like patterns, red clouds swirling around its waist while its eyes turned golden-red.
At first glance, it looked like an Ultraman with two extra arms, accompanied by flashing lightning.
"Roar——!!!"
The terrifying roar stirred up massive air waves.
Machamp was already a Pokémon with trendously powerful strength, and after Gigantamaxing, its power received an extrely exaggerated boost.
According to the Pokédex, when large ships run aground, Gigantamax Machamp can carry them to shore to help them escape.
But the Pokédex also said that whether Gigantamax or Dynamax, only the Pokémon’s size appears to grow larger—there isn’t much actual change in their existence.
However, the Pokédex... just take a look at it. Who playing Pokémon would actually take the Pokédex seriously?
"Marshal is in danger," Flint said.
Indeed, Marshal had no "Dynamax Band" and couldn’t Dynamax, while Conkeldurr couldn’t ga Evolve either. Relying purely on Z-moves wouldn’t be threatening enough against Gigantamax Machamp with doubled HP.
Even Alder didn’t object to Flint’s words.
The old man chuckled: "Whether you can get a ’Dynamax Band’ also depends on luck."
Bruno traveled everywhere for training and had already co to the Galar region before, obtaining a Dynamax Band through fortunate circumstances.
While Alder and others, including Alder himself, still didn’t have Dynamax Bands.
After all, making "Dynamax Bands" required "Wishing Stars," and those weren’t available at all tis.
Although the Galar League had so stock, they couldn’t just give one to everyone who ca to the Galar region by asking Rose—even if the Galar region was wealthy, it couldn’t withstand such squandering.
However, battles had winners and losers—that was normal.
"Machamp, G-Max Chi Strike!!" Bruno threw a heavy punch and shouted loudly.
"Roar——!!!"
Pokémon capable of Gigantamaxing all had their own exclusive G-Max moves, which was also an advantage that Gigantamax-capable Pokémon had over those that could only undergo regular Dynamax.
Rumble——
An incredibly heavy punch landed, shaking the entire stadium as waves of dust and shockwaves frantically battered the barriers.
This ti, even with the stadium’s sturdy barriers, they wouldn’t stop shaking.
This showed just how strong the impact from Bruno’s Gigantamax Machamp was.
"Truly worthy of being an Elite Four from the Kanto region..." Johan sighed inwardly.
In this match, even if Bruno hadn’t used Gigantamax, he probably would have had no problem defeating Marshal.
However, using Gigantamax was also showing respect for Marshal.
The strength of the Kanto region’s Elite Four was indeed solid.
"Conkeldurr is unable to battle, so the winner is Bruno from the Kanto region!"
The Rotom referee announced the final result.
The audience cheered that they’d had a great ti watching.
But before so audience mbers could prepare to leave, the stadium managent hurriedly announced another important matter.
"Everyone! Please don’t rush to leave, because there’s another battle coming up!!"
Another battle?
The audience beca interested again.
"Who’s battling who?"
"Any battle that needs to use Wyndon Stadium must involve strong opponents, right?"
"Could it be another pair of Elite Four mbers?"
"You think Elite Four battles are that common? If it weren’t for the ’Master Championships,’ seeing an Elite Four battle today would have been enough."
Facing the audience’s inquiries, the managent only wanted to say:
"I can only tell everyone that you are truly... blessed today!!"
Thud! Thud!
On the big screen, two portraits appeared side by side.
On the left was "Ultra Ball Tier" twenty-fifth place, one of the Unova League Elite Four, Caitlin!
On the right was the currently bottom-ranked "Master Ball Tier" Hoenn League Champion, Teacher Johan!
Huh?!
When the audience saw the portraits on both sides of the big screen and their respective rankings, they all perked up.
"Am I seeing this right? Teacher Johan?"
"Teacher Johan battling Miss Caitlin?"
"I never thought that after watching an Elite Four battle, there would be sothing even more exciting—there really are more experts!"
"Hey? Wait! Doesn’t Teacher Johan only fight in the ’Baby Cup’?"
"Is there a possibility that Elite Four mbers are also ’babies’ in Teacher Johan’s eyes?"
Having just watched a battle between Elite Four mbers, now they could see a Champion versus Elite Four battle?
No wonder the managent said they were blessed.
If it weren’t for the "Pokémon World Championships," where could you see such exciting matches every day?
That’s why the "Pokémon World Championships" was the grandest tournant in the entire Pokémon world.
That’s why even through joint hosting, Rose fought for this venue quota.
Just two or three battles like this could stimulate countless economic activity.
After a complete "Pokémon World Championships," who knows how much the Galar region’s economy would grow.
"After Teacher Johan and Miss Caitlin’s battle ends," Flint grinned, looking around at everyone in the box, "does anyone want to battle this master?"
He really felt sowhat restless.
Grimsley shook the dice in his percussion instrunt, got two "ones," and imdiately indicated: "Your points are too low."
Shauntal smiled: "As for , you’ll have to wait until I finish writing this section—after midnight tonight would work."
Flint: "..."
One "despised" his low points, the other said to wait until after midnight?
Battle a Ghost-type Elite Four mber at midnight?
Flint felt a bit scared.
And seriously suspected Shauntal was planning to use him as material for writing sothing.
How about finding Champion Alder?
Alder: "ZZZ"
Flint: "..."
He scratched his head and sighed deeply: "I really want to battle."
Flint inexplicably missed his big sister.
Even getting beaten up by big sister would be good...
At the contestant tunnel, declining the "competition uniform" sent by stadium staff, Johan and Gengar stood at the exit of the contestant tunnel, glancing at a box above the stadium.
By the window of the box stood Rose and Oleana.
"Are they there?" Johan asked.
Gengar, making binoculars with its hands, nodded.
"Ka-kaah~!"
There! There!
Johan took out his phone and sent an "OK" emoji to both the Team Rocket trio and Looker, who were preparing to infiltrate.
After putting away his phone, Johan and Gengar looked at each other and sighed lightly: "We really have sacrificed too much."
"Ka-kaah~ Ka-kaah~"
Gengar nodded vigorously, deeply agreeing with Johan’s words.
To create more ti and opportunities for the "infiltration team," he had ultimately silently "borne" everything.
After solving the Eternatus problem later, he’d have to get Leon to reimburse him.
Otherwise, he didn’t necessarily have to accept Caitlin’s challenge.
Gengar clenched its fist.
Reimbursent! Must get thorough reimbursent!
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