Wyndon City, Galar Region.
Dylan and his group had returned here once again—but this time, not by plane.
Even by air, the journey from Hoenn to Galar took close to ten hours.
This time, Dylan had borrowed the aid of Hoopa Unbound once again and had the mischievous Pokémon open a ring portal.
"This power is seriously insane!"
As she stepped through the spatial ring, Nemona's eyes widened at the towering buildings of a whole new region.
Then, she turned her starry-eyed gaze to Hoopa.
"Yeah, spatial abilities like this are just incredible," Steven marveled.
"Even with Teleport, Psychic-types can't cross this kind of distance…"
They were crossing entire regions in seconds.
"Hee hee~ Hoopa is amazing, right?"
"Totally amazing!" Nemona nodded emphatically, making Hoopa beam with pride.
One person, however, still hadn't shaken off the sting of defeat: Wallace was unusually quiet and downcast.
After all, he'd lost in the very first World Cup Tournament match—and not to another Champion, but a rising Elite Four member from Kanto.
Yes… Wallace was taking this hard.
"Champion Dylan, Champion Steven, Champion Cynthia, Champion Geeta… welcome to Galar."
Soon after, the group was met by Secretary Oleana, who gave a polite nod.
"The Chairman has been expecting you."
She gestured toward the massive Rose Tower.
Dylan, however, caught an odd, almost resentful flicker in her gaze.
He quickly found out why.
"Ho ho~ Dylan, welcome back to Galar—and to the rest of you as well."
At the top of Rose Tower, Chairman Rose stood to greet them with his usual warm smile.
Leon grinned broadly, scanning the group with bright eyes.
Leon was always eager for a good battle—especially when it came to facing strong Trainers.
Everyone exchanged polite greetings.
While Dylan and Leon were both Champions, Chairman Rose's status within Galar was on par with any regional Champion.
"So, Leon—feeling confident about tomorrow's match?"
Dylan teased as they settled into the lounge.
"I'm looking forward to battling Champion Iris. And this time, I'll be giving it my all."
Leon's grin turned wry.
"Thanks to you, Dylan, Galar's rep hasn't exactly been stellar lately. Our local Trainers have been catching a lot of flak."
Dylan scratched his head sheepishly. Cynthia and Geeta chuckled.
Yeah, that last match… Dylan did kind of crush Leon a little too hard.
Before that, Leon had been undefeated in official matches.
But then Dylan swept him—flawlessly.
The backlash had been intense. Galar's pride, their "Unbeatable Champion," had been zeroed.
To make matters worse, that defeat had dropped Leon to sixth in the World Cup rankings.
Rose had once aimed to secure a Top 3 slot for Leon—but after that wipeout, he didn't even have the face to argue for it.
He believed in Leon's strength. But after that loss, trying to save face in front of other Chairmen just made it worse.
You couldn't just say, "Well your Champions wouldn't have done any better!" without sounding like a sore loser.
"I actually wanted to challenge Champion Geeta next… but then Champion Iris beat me to it," Leon shrugged.
He hadn't expected to be the very first Champion to get challenged in the tournament.
Great. Guess everyone figured he was the "easy one."
"You're always welcome to challenge me," Geeta smiled, composed and poised.
She didn't take offense. The World Cup was built on challenges and rankings.
There were only eight Masters-ranked Trainers. Someone had to be first.
Iris, now ranked seventh, was a new face among Champions—but that didn't mean she was weak.
"Still… Iris is in for a rough one," Dylan muttered.
"Now, now. I haven't won yet."
Leon shook his head humbly.
He never underestimated his opponents. Iris had earned her title by beating Alder. That was no small feat.
Plus, this match would be Galar's shot at redemption.
If he won, it had to be clean, decisive.
And if he lost—well, that was unthinkable. After two back-to-back defeats, Galar's reputation might not recover.
Leon wouldn't allow that to happen.
He had a duty—to be strong, and to make Galar stronger.
"Well then, we'll see how tomorrow goes."
Dylan offered a knowing look. Internally, he was already praying for Iris.
She'd only just become Champion… and now she was facing Leon?
May Arceus protect her.
After a quick tour of Wyndon led by Rose himself, the group retired to the villa the Chairman had arranged.
The next day—Wyndon Stadium.
This was the same arena where Dylan had fought Leon in the Championship Finals.
Today, the spotlight belonged to Iris and Leon.
Once again, the stadium was filled to bursting.
Despite lingering doubts, Galarians were loyal to their Champion—and they loved a good battle.
"Let's go Iris! Smash that ranking and take Leon down!"
"Leon's not losing this time!"
"LET'S GOOOO I WANNA SEE BLOOD!!"
"Why is anyone even backing Leon? The guy got swept by Dylan, lol."
"Say that again, you punk?"
"Pfft—please. Your Champion got zeroed. Iris is gonna crush him!"
"Wow. Big talk from the region whose legendaries got kidnapped by Dylan. Even your Reshiram became his ride!"
The livestream comment section had turned into an all-out war.
Galar vs. Unova.
Other regions just sat back and devoured popcorn.
As the announcer called out their names, Iris and Leon entered the stadium and took their places.
Leon gave Iris a respectful nod—this was still a match between professionals.
Whatever the netizens were saying didn't matter. Reputation was earned on the battlefield, not online.
"Sigh… That girl… I told her not to rush in like this…"
Up in the stands, Alder pressed a hand to his forehead.
Beside him were N, Rosa, and Hilda—all there to cheer on Iris.
Alder had planned to take things slow in the tournament.
But Iris?
She believed Champions should blaze trails—and so she boldly declared her challenge, eager to earn recognition for Unova.
"You know that's just how Iris is," N smiled.
"Besides, she's strong. Give her some credit."
If he didn't use Reshiram, N wasn't even sure he could beat her.
"The problem is who she challenged," Alder said grimly.
"Wait, but didn't Leon get swept by Dylan?" Mei blinked.
"Yeah… because Dylan is Dylan," N added with a strange look.
"His team was insane. I still don't understand how he put that lineup together."
"Plus, Galar's really eager to reclaim their honor," N continued.
"Leon needs to win cleanly this time."
"So Iris walked right into a trap, huh…"
Mei's expression soured.
"Leon's gonna go full throttle," Rosa said.
"It's the only way to restore Galar's image."
"Well… only if he can beat Iris."
Mei still had hope. She and Iris were close, and she believed in her friend.
"Let's hope so," Alder muttered. "Otherwise, Unova's gonna be the clown of the world."
The referee announced the rules.
The match began.
Leon got first move.
His lead Pokémon? Rillaboom.
Galar's Grass starter and a key member of his team.
Iris's first Pokémon: Haxorus.
Dragon vs. Grass—technically a favorable match for Iris.
But…
Under Leon's command, Rillaboom closed the distance, sidestepped Fire Punch, slammed Haxorus in the neck with Hammer Arm, followed with Acrobatics, and finished with Earthquake.
A clean, devastating combo.
Haxorus was down.
The stadium froze.
Then exploded in cheers—this was Leon's home turf, after all.
Iris stood stunned.
"Haxorus, return…"
She recalled her Pokémon, eyes narrowing.
How is he this strong?
She was rattled.
She'd been caught off-guard, sure—but that combo was lethal.
This Rillaboom wasn't just strong. It was terrifying.
She sent out Archeops next.
High speed, high attack.
But Rillaboom baited a move, tanked a hit, and countered with Focus Punch and another Acrobatics.
Archeops fainted.
Third: Aggron.
Rillaboom landed Grass Knot + Earthquake.
Down.
Fourth: Hydreigon.
Leon Gigantamaxed Rillaboom to take it down.
Fifth: Lapras.
Wounded, panting, but Rillaboom still held on—and defeated it.
"…"
Steven, Dylan, and the others were stunned.
That was five knockouts. From one Pokémon.
"If she'd waited until year's end, Iris might've stood a better chance," Dylan said softly.
Not that he was surprised.
Classic Leon.
In the anime, his Rillaboom one-shot four of Diantha's Pokémon.
Now, Iris was facing a one-vs-five.
"Leon really is strong," Geeta murmured.
"What blows my mind is that Dylan zeroed this Leon."
"I wonder if Iris is going to get swept…" Wallace perked up.
Watching someone else suffer? Strangely soothing.
"That depends on whether Leon lets Rillaboom rest," Cynthia's eyes gleamed.
In the stream and forums, Galar fans were going wild.
"KEEP IT COMIN' BABY!!!"
"Who's the weakest region now, huh?"
"Leon might not beat Dylan, but he's still unstoppable!"
"Forget Diantha—could Cynthia beat him?"
On the field, Iris stood frozen.
Her final Pokémon in hand.
That Rillaboom looked worn down—but still dangerous.
She clenched her teeth.
Bro, you didn't fight Dylan like this!
Why you gotta go full throttle on me?!
(End of Chapter)