Everyone woke up early at dawn, came out of their tents, and made their way to the arena.
The blood of Pokémon from yesterday was still on the sand, and just the memories of the battles made the Champions more nervous.
Aizen was called up first, up against the Champion of the Sky Chief, and he prevailed through the first match with the help of Espeon and Machamp, who made easy work of Hippowdon and Steelix.
In his second match, Vaporeon and Kleavor helped him secure victory against Tyranitar and Camerupt.
The third match was secured by Sylveon and Rhyperior, who defeated Hydreigon and Steelix, and the fourth match was secured by Swampert and Flareon, whose victory against Coalossal and Exploud was flawless.
It was afternoon, almost 3 p.m., when he stepped in for his final match, also the final match of the day.
The sun was high, the sand scorching, and the heat haze warped the view of the arena, making it difficult to see clearly.
On the other side of the arena stood Gor of Cipher, grinning at him, and Aizen's heart turned even colder.
As soon as he heard the Referee's countdown, he reached for Dragonite's Pokéball, and then sent it out.
His eyes narrowed as he found himself up against a Shadow Scizor, one who had no sense of pain and had long since lost its mind. He did not show any mercy.
Once the battle started, the Metal Bug was helpless as Dragonite harassed it from up in the sky. When the time came, he gave the ruthless command.
"Fire Blast."
The Dragon executed his command from the sky, and it doused the entire arena in powerful flames, leaving no room for Scizor to escape.
"Fire Punch now." He commanded right after, and Dragonite dived into the raging flames and smashed a punch against Scizor, who was so mindless that it was still searching for something to kill. It did try to catch Dragonite with its pincers, but it was a useless attempt. By the time Dragonite finished landing the Fire Punch, the Steel Bug had overheated. Within seconds, it fell, never to stand up again.
A stunned silence descended over the arena as everyone stared at Dragonite in shock. They had never seen a Dragonite so fast, nor one with such terrifying flames.
Gor was dumbfounded at the result too, but he did not really seem to care about the death of his Pokémon.
Aizen recalled Dragonite and chose the Pokéball for the second round even before the countdown started.
His opponent stared at him intently, frowning now, but luck was not on Cipher's side as it turned out to be a round between Scizor and Shadow Mamoswine.
"Kill." Aizen only gave one command, and his Steel Bug took the charge and unleashed Bullet Punches on the Mamoswine, who had no escape, and who recklessly used Earthquake, which did little to stop the Metal Bug.
The beating the Ice Mammoth received was something straight out of a nightmare, but this time, Gor recalled his Pokémon before it could be killed.
When the result was announced, the audience from Phenac City cheered for his victory. The final was set, and his performances gave the Mayor and the four Chiefs some hope.
Things, however, changed soon.
Suddenly, Cipher Agents approached the Mayor, and the four Chiefs were soon gathered as well.
Discussions started, arguments followed, and many people wore unsightly expressions on their faces.
Aizen, who had just walked back to the stand, was approached by Rhazak, whose brows were furrowed.
"They want to get the final done today, and have made an offer that the Mayor could not refuse. Are your Pokémon ready? We can have a break for a couple of hours."
The Desert Chief looked him in the eyes, and Aizen smiled before turning around to walk back into the arena.
"It's fine. Tell them to hurry up and not waste my time."
He even picked up the Pokéball and started tossing it up into the air, waiting for Eldes of Cipher to take his spot in the arena.
Rhazak smiled in relief, and then quickly signalled to the Referee.
The announcement was made that the final was going to take place right away, and the Cipher Champion confidently descended into the arena, grinning at him.
"Final of the Pokémon Colosseum. Blind Knock-Outs. Five Rounds. Zaine of the Desert Chief, Eldes of the Guests, on my mark! Three, two, one...!"
Two Pokémon emerged out of light, one Shadow Flygon, and the other a Snorlax, who roared to the sky, itching for a battle.
"Begin!"
The Flygon instantly brewed up a Sandstorm, making it difficult for Snorlax to see.
"Close your eyes and focus," Aizen gave the command, and his Pokémon trusted him without a shred of doubt.
"Earth Power!" Eldes ordered, but to everyone's dismay, despite taking damage, Snorlax did not open its eyes.
"Supersonic!" He commanded, and Flygon did not seem to care about what he said and only made the Sandstorm stronger.
Suddenly, from the veil of sand, everyone saw some light, and then Snorlax smashed into Flygon at a terrifying speed, which sent the Ground Dragon crashing into a faraway stone pillar.
"Boomburst!" Eldes called out in a panic, and luckily for him his Flygon managed to ignore pain and execute the move.
Snorlax groaned as its ears and head hurt, and it was sent rolling on the ground.
"Dragon Rush!"
"Protect." Aizen calmly ordered, and Snorlax listened, taking the attack head-on. "Don't let it get away. Grab its tail!"
The Orayen Prince smiled when his Pokémon managed to do what he had asked and then slammed the Flygon into the sand over and over like it was a weapon, as if Snorlax wanted to destroy the ground with it.
"Dragon Pulse!" Eldes called out, but Flygon could not respond.
"Heavy Slam."
Despite not feeling as much pain, the Shadow Pokémon's body had given out.
There were limits to how much damage it could tolerate, and then to its tragedy, Snorlax entered Outrage and pummeled it with its fists until it fainted, forcing Eldes to recall it.
The result of the first round sent the audience into a craze, but Aizen stayed calm.
These Cipher Agents were decent Trainers, but they were overestimating the Shadow Technology, which did strengthen the Pokémon and tamper with their pain receptors, but that did not mean that their bodies had no limits.
Another issue was that these Pokémon were nearly mindless, deprived of fear, which was important for their sixth sense and instincts to sense danger and take subconscious action against it.
Eldes too realised that he could not beat Aizen with the mindless Shadow Pokémon, so in the next round, he sent out his Salamence, who was a normal Pokémon, but with a slightly darker skin, which was a result of some experimentation. Its pain receptors had been tampered with, and there were ghostly energies inside its body, feeding on its life force little by little.
Unfortunately for Eldes, he was up against a Mega Salamence, who was more than excited to see that it was up against another dragon.
The Cipher Champion quickly used the Key Stone and helped his Salamence enter Mega Evolution, which drew even more of its life force, something that ached Aizen's heart.
The battle between the two Sky Dragons was now set. A battle that the audience would remember for a long time.
It was exhilarating, terrifying, and merciless, until Aizen, knowing the truth, took mercy on the dragon and ordered his Pokémon to kill it to free it from its misery.
Eldes did not even get a chance to recall his Pokémon as Aizen's Mega Salamence bit his Mega Salamence's neck and ripped it open.
Blood sprayed on the sand as the dragon fell, transforming back into Salamence, its body twitching as it went numb. It was dead within seconds as blood rushed out, quickly sucked up by the hot sand.
Up in the sky, Mega Salamence roared in pride, announcing its victory, and then landed by its Trainer's side.
"Well done." Aizen lightly said and recalled his Pokémon, and only then did the cheers break out again.
His next Pokéball was already in his hand, but on the other side, Eldes just blankly stared at his dead Salamence, whose body was carried away.
He absently chose the next Pokéball, and at the Referee's call, when the Pokémon were revealed, he was stunned.
His Feraligatr was up against a Mega Gengar, another permanently evolved Mega Pokémon, who had a very sinister smile on its face, and who disappeared from sight as soon as the Referee called the start of the match.
However, to everyone's dismay, instead of activating the Key Stone and helping his Feraligatr transform into its Mega Evolution, Eldes quickly recalled his Pokémon, forfeiting the match.
A stunned silence descended in the Colosseum, and even the Cipher Agents were shocked at what he had just done.
Eldes, however, paid no heed to them and just left, still feeling chills up his spine as the sinister smile on the Mega Gengar's face played in his mind.
He knew. He just knew that the Ghost Pokémon was a killer, and his instincts warned him that he would lose his beloved Pokémon today if he battled... He had been around sinister Pokémon long enough to understand their nature.
The Referee announced the result, declaring 'Zaine' and the Desert Chief as the winners of the Pokémon Colosseum, and everyone from Phenac City cheered for them, regardless of whose faction they belonged to.
Even the other Oasis Chiefs were applauding his victory, and the Mayor was grinning ear to ear, seemingly very relieved at the result.
Rhazak personally placed the golden wreath on his head, and Aizen then received the egg of Trapinch from the Mayor as well as a choice to pick a Mega Stone from a briefcase.
There were a total of six Mega Stones, but something instantly caught his eye and stunned him, which he managed to hide from the others.
It was a Diancite!!
"You can pick two." The Mayor mistook his silence for hesitation, and Aizen smiled as he picked up the Blastoisinite and the Diancite.
"Thank you."
"Which one is that?" The Mayor curiously asked, and Aizen feigned some surprise.
"You don't know?" Everyone around was staring at him curiously, and he then just shrugged. "I am not going to tell then. Better keep my Pokémon a secret."
Everyone stared at his words, and he laughed.
"I don't know which one it is, but it seems good for collection. Haven't seen a Mega Stone as pretty as this one."
"Fair enough." The Mayor did not insist, and Aizen thanked him and everyone before calling out his Braviary and heading back to Phenac City.