"You picked the wrong opponent."
Hearing Wallace's refined tone, a smug curve tugged at the corners of Blue's handsome face.
"Oh no, not at all, Mr. Wallace. You're exactly the right one."
Blue grinned wildly as he twirled a Poké Ball in his hand with careless flair.
"Ever since I debuted, I've been dead sure of one thing—
I'm going to stand at the top of all Trainers! The top of the world!"
He cast his gaze over the grand stadium, soaking in the crowd's undivided attention.
He lived for this feeling—he thrived on it.
He was Blue. Oak Blue. A prodigy.
A Champion-level Trainer in his very first year. That was a gift from the heavens.
"The World Cup Tournament is amazing, don't you think, Mr. Wallace?" Blue tilted his head playfully.
"It's the perfect stage for Trainers, and I'm going to shine the brightest on it!"
"I've trained my Pokémon to their absolute peak. This is my best team, and for my very first World Cup match—"
"Mr. Wallace, I hope you enjoy it to the fullest."
His tone was arrogant, even brazen—enough to rile up many of Wallace's loyal fans.
Wallace himself, however, wasn't fazed.
To him, this kind of youthful pride was perfectly natural.
"Such a proud junior. Very well, then. I shall meet your challenge with my Water Illusion Dance."
Ever calm, ever elegant—Wallace carried himself with signature poise.
The referee stepped forward between them.
"The World Cup Tournament Challenge Match is about to begin. Challenger: No.17-ranked Blue. Defender: No.10-ranked Wallace."
"Battle format: Full 6-on-6. Turn order is randomized. Only one form of enhancement (Mega, Z, Dynamax) is allowed per Trainer."
"If Wallace's six Pokémon are rendered unable to battle, he will lose the match."
With that, the referee lowered the flag.
"Battle… begin!"
In the original World Cup Tournament rules, most non-finals matches—even in the higher tiers—were 3-on-3.
But Dylan had personally recommended that at the Ace Ball and Master Ball levels, only full 6-on-6 battles could truly showcase a Trainer's full capabilities.
Tactics, depth, team composition, mental resilience—6-on-6 battles brought it all to the surface.
The scoreboard spinner landed on Wallace—he would go first.
As everyone knew, Wallace was a Water specialist, a master of aquatic elegance.
"Mr. Wallace, let's gooo!"
"C'mon, Blue! You're our Kanto Elite Four pride!"
"Aah! They're both so handsome—who do I root for?"
"Honestly, Blue's got this! Wallace got booted into retirement last year by Dylan—nearly got swept by a Smeargle!"
"Shut your mouth! You think a punk Elite can just trash-talk a former Champion?"
"What even is Blue the 'Champion' of?"
The chat exploded, and the stadium buzzed with regional rivalry—especially between Kanto and Hoenn fans.
Wallace threw his first Poké Ball—a Pelipper.
"Huh? Is that new?" Lillie blinked.
She didn't recall Wallace ever using a Pelipper.
"Yes. It sets Rain, which boosts Water-types significantly," Steven nodded.
Ever since his return from Kanto, Steven had been pleasantly surprised—Wallace had made serious changes to his team.
He wasn't just the artsy pageant king anymore—he was hungry to win.
Steven was so pleased, he even spent some serious money to track down a Shiny Greninja for Wallace.
It didn't have Battle Bond, but Wallace had been ecstatic nonetheless, declaring Steven his dearest friend.
"Rain teams are terrifying if done right," Geeta agreed.
She had witnessed Dylan's rainy Water squad flatten Caitlin's team—it left an impression.
The only downside? Pelipper's glaring 4× weakness to Electric. That flaw had been exploited during Dylan's Gym match against Caitlin.
"Let's hope Wallace surprises us today," Dylan smiled.
He was genuinely hopeful. After all, they'd promised to duel with Water teams someday—if Wallace could crack the Top 8.
But truth be told, if this were old Wallace, Dylan would've said the odds of beating Blue were next to zero.
Now, though… things were looking different.
Blue responded to Pelipper's entrance by tossing out his first Poké Ball.
In a flash of light, a coconut-palm-like Pokémon appeared.
Thick trunk body, two legs, three differently-expressed heads, and a leafy crown on top.
Exeggutor.
"Exeggutor. Grass/Psychic-type. Coconut Pokémon."
"Ability: Chlorophyll."
"Moves: Giga Drain, Wood Hammer, Solar Beam, Leech Seed, Psychic…"
"Entry: When the time is right, one of its three heads may fall off and become an Exeggcute."
"Wait, what?" Lillie blinked.
"The heads fall off and… become Exeggcute?"
"Exeggutor evolves from Exeggcute, right? So it produces… its own pre-evolved form?"
"That's bizarre!"
Indeed, the biological loop was fascinating—and a little unsettling.
"Smart play," Steven said. "Grass-type counters Water, and Psychic can be tricky too."
Dylan nodded. Blue might be arrogant, but he didn't underestimate important matches.
The battle began.
Pelipper, being part Flying, wasn't weak to Grass—and Exeggutor was weak to Flying.
So Wallace didn't immediately switch out. He wanted to test this Exeggutor's power.
And then—
Pelipper fired off Hurricane. Exeggutor countered with Energy Ball.
Energy Ball powered through the Hurricane and nailed Pelipper right in the face.
The crowd gasped.
Even Wallace's eyes widened.
Pelipper wasn't weak—but that Energy Ball had overpowered Hurricane. That meant…
Pure power difference.
"That Exeggutor's beefy."
"Definitely stronger than last year," Geeta nodded.
"Blue's training skills are top-tier," Dylan said.
"If it's in his main squad, it's elite."
Blue was meticulous. Like his in-game counterpart said—he hand-picked his team from all types after seeking out the best Pokémon for each slot.
That Exeggutor? It was elite.
The battle raged on, growing fiercer by the moment.
To his credit, Wallace had improved greatly.
He'd restructured his team, making Empoleon his new ace in place of Milotic.
With Mega Gyarados also in play, Wallace was a real threat.
But Blue was stronger.
"Whoa! Empoleon is down!"
The emperor penguin, clutching its steel trident wings, was taken down by Blastoise's Aqua Jet finisher.
Wallace froze—his face blank with disbelief as his ace fell.
"Empoleon is unable to battle. All six of Wallace's Pokémon are down. Challenger Blue is the winner!"
The referee sighed and announced the result.
He was a Hoenn native—so naturally he rooted for Wallace. But fair was fair.
And what a result.
The scoreboard showed six greyed-out silhouettes on Wallace's side.
Blue had only lost two Pokémon.
He looked down and chuckled arrogantly, then scanned the crowd.
Spotting Red, Giovanni, and Professor Oak, he raised two fingers in the air.
I crushed it.
The youthful confidence radiated from him—his triumph clear.
"Woooo!!!"
"Blue!!"
"Haha! I knew it! Kanto is UNSTOPPABLE!"
"Dude, he's only the third strongest Elite in Kanto?"
"Rip Wallace—got wrecked by Dylan last year, now steamrolled by Blue."
Online chat exploded. Kanto fans were euphoric; Hoenn fans… wilted.
"He's gonna be insufferable for days," Dylan muttered.
Sure enough, the live rankings updated:
Blue had risen to Rank 10 in the Ace Ball tier.
Wallace had dropped to 11.
"He's amazing~" Geeta said honestly.
Wallace hadn't made many mistakes. Blue was just too strong.
"I'm so jealous of Wallace," Dylan sighed. "At least he has challengers."
Being No.1, Dylan had none.
He cast a glance at Steven, Cynthia, and Geeta.
"Lovely weather today," Steven looked at the sky.
"I heard Iris vs. Leon is tomorrow," Cynthia said, elegantly brushing back her golden hair.
"I'm not risking a sweep," Geeta added with a wry smile. "No offense, Dylan."
She'd happily challenge Dylan's gym—but challenging No.1 in the World Cup?
Not if she risked a zero-win embarrassment.
"…" Dylan sighed.
He needed to tell the chairman—the Masters Eight really shouldn't be only eight people. The matches were too few.
"So Iris vs. Leon is tomorrow?" Dylan turned to Cynthia.
"Yes. It'll be held at Hammerlocke Stadium," she nodded.
Leon had been on Dylan's radar for a while now.
"How many of Leon's aces do you think Iris can beat?"
Dylan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He honestly pitied Iris a bit.
Of all the people to challenge—she went for Leon.
Even Geeta or Serena would've been a safer bet.
"Hopefully Leon takes it easy and doesn't sweep her…"
(End of Chapter)