Let's see how many Pokémon Raihan can take down from Giovanni's team?
When Dylan said this, Leon, Steven, and Cynthia were briefly stunned. What did he mean by that?
It wasn't hard to understand—but the implication was…
"Uncle Giovanni is really strong. Super impressive, actually. Before big brother came along, the only one in Kanto who could rival Champion Lance was Uncle Giovanni."
Lillie smiled sweetly, her tone full of pride.
After all… Kanto was her home now!
"He's that strong?"
Wallace was surprised. He hadn't heard much about Giovanni before.
Raihan, ranked No. 14 on the Ultra Ball leaderboard, was now officially challenging Giovanni, ranked No. 13.
While this battle didn't have the same global attention as yesterday's clash between Leon and Iris, it was still a high-profile match.
One was the "Storm of Dragons" from Galar, said to be Champion-tier in any other region. The other was the most formidable member of Kanto's Elite Four—naturally, the match drew attention.
Plus, the Indigo Plateau arena now supported Dynamax energy zones, meaning Raihan could use his signature strategy too.
Worth noting: In the Sword/Shield games, Raihan's ace—Duraludon—didn't have an evolution. But in the Scarlet/Violet DLC, Duraludon gained an evolved form: Archaludon.
In this world, Raihan had naturally chosen to evolve his Duraludon into Archaludon, since it was much stronger in battle.
This meant losing access to Gigantamax Duraludon—but honestly, Dylan thought that was a good thing.
After all, who in their right mind would use Gigantamax Duraludon? That thing was so janky even a stray dog wouldn't touch it—except Raihan.
Giovanni sent out his lead: Great Tusk, a powerhouse Dylan had gifted him.
Giovanni truly loved this Pokémon. He'd initially considered raising an Iron Treads, but after bonding with Great Tusk, he never looked back.
From any angle, Great Tusk was outstanding.
It had already been powerful when Dylan gave it to him, and now it had become a core part of Giovanni's main team.
Raihan, seeing Great Tusk, froze mid-throw with Coalossal's Poké Ball in hand.
Paradox Pokémon and Ultra Beasts were well-known in Trainer circles by now, and Paradox Pokémon had two possible Abilities:
For past forms, Protosynthesis; for future forms, Quark Drive. The former was boosted by sun, the latter by Electric Terrain.
And Great Tusk? You could tell from its design it was clearly a past form.
"Raihan may be called the 'Storm of Dragons,' but in truth, his real strength is in weather teams—he's trained extensively to win in any environment."
Seeing Raihan silently withdraw his Poké Ball, Dylan chuckled.
That's right—despite his title, Raihan was more of a weather master. His team even included two different weather setters. Crazy.
Clearly, Raihan had been planning to open with Coalossal's Drought ability and set up harsh sunlight.
But that would've directly boosted Great Tusk via Protosynthesis.
So he had no choice but to put Coalossal away.
"You sure know Raihan well," Leon noted in surprise. "You're right—he definitely wanted to open with Drought. But using it against Great Tusk would've been a huge disadvantage."
Leon understood Raihan—after all, they'd battled ten times. He knew him.
"Big brother's great at weather teams too, but why doesn't he use Dragonair like Champion Lance?" Lillie asked curiously.
Dragonair was one of the best weather setters among Dragons—it could freely shift the climate.
"It's not the same, Lillie. Not everyone can train a Dragonair to the level Lance has."
Steven shook his head. He still remembered the Goldenrod battle, where Lance's two Dragonair displayed incredible strength.
He was genuinely impressed.
"Exactly. Most Dragon-type Pokémon only reach their full potential in their final evolution—especially late bloomers like Dragonite."
Cynthia nodded in agreement.
"While Dragonair does have the rare ability to control weather, its base stats aren't all that impressive. Sure, there are exceptions who can raise it to great heights—but it takes tremendous effort."
"Compared to that, using other Pokémon with built-in weather abilities is just… more efficient."
Dratini were rare, but Raihan certainly had the resources to get one.
Still, why bother?
Dragonair's weather control was nice, but was it worth dedicating a main team slot? That was debatable.
And training a Dragonair to be as strong as a Dragonite? Not exactly easy.
That's why most Trainers prefer high base stat Pokémon—stronger stats = higher natural ceiling, and with training, they get even stronger.
"I see…" Lillie nodded thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, the battle had begun.
Raihan led with Sandaconda, a Ground-type.
His other weather setter was Gigalith, but Great Tusk resisted Rock moves. And Sandstorm… wouldn't help much here.
"That Sandaconda looks… weird," Lillie murmured.
It was basically a huge sand snake, coiled into a spiral—hence the name.
"Beep—Sandaconda, Ground-type. Sand Snake Pokémon.
Ability: Sand Spit
Moves: Sand Tomb, Coil, Slam, Dig, Glare, Stomping Tantrum…
Dex Entry: It coils its body in this unique way to maximize the efficiency of sand it ejects from its sand sacs."
It looked powerful. Lillie stared at the Rotomdex description, wondering how it would perform in battle.
The match began.
Giovanni may be known as the "Earthshaker," and people might think of Earth-type strategies as "solid," "defensive," and "unshakable."
And while his tactics were indeed steady—he was no slouch when it came to offense.
Great Tusk was a brute.
It charged in with Rapid Spin, closing distance fast.
Then—BAM! A head-on clash of High Horsepower versus High Horsepower!
Great Tusk launched Sandaconda off the field with sheer force, shocking Raihan.
The difference in power was obvious.
Then Great Tusk spun rapidly—Ice Shard glinting in the air as it formed a freezing Rapid Spin.
Two ice-coated attacks crashed into Sandaconda.
Sandaconda collapsed. Easy win.
"WOOOO!!!"
"Told you! Who dares challenge Kanto's Elite Four?!"
"Giovanni, you're amazing! That was clean!"
"That Great Tusk is gorgeous—I'm drooling, bros!"
"Storm of Dragons? Champion in another region? Sorry, this region's built different!"
"Giovanni OP!!!"
The chat was going wild with Kanto fans.
Maybe they were nervous before the match—but now?
Giovanni gave them confidence.
From that first clash, it was clear the strength gap wasn't small.
"Impressive… looks like Raihan's in for a rough day."
From the VIP box, Chairman Rose smiled wryly.
He had hoped Raihan would at least match Giovanni's pace or hold out longer.
But now… even if Giovanni wasn't as strong as Leon, he was close.
Or maybe they were equals.
"Kanto really is full of talent, Chairman Goodshow."
Rose turned to the elderly Kanto chairman beside him.
He couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
Kanto's Elite Four included all young prodigies besides Giovanni—and with Blue already beating Wallace, their strength was unquestionable.
Now Giovanni, the top among them, was showing his full might.
"Ahaha, you're too kind!" Goodshow was beaming.
This feels amazing!
Absolutely amazing!
"There are some promising kids too. I wonder if they'll be joining the World Cup soon."
He spoke modestly, referring to Dylan's disciples: Selene, Silver, and Yellow.
Goodshow had figured it out—if Dylan accepts a student, they're a prodigy.
Selene was low-profile, and while he knew she was strong, he hadn't been able to sneak her into the rankings.
She'd have to earn it herself.
Silver and Yellow weren't officially Trainers yet—they still needed to start their journeys.
Rose: "..."
He offered a polite, awkward smile. Even he wasn't sure what to say.
Meanwhile, Giovanni's Great Tusk had already taken down Raihan's Flygon.
Rose didn't need to watch anymore.
If Raihan could avoid a full team wipe, that would be a victory in itself.
Giovanni… was absolutely a "final boss" level opponent.
In this entire tournament, only Leon might be able to go toe-to-toe with him.
"Oh, by the way, Chairman Rose—Dylan mentioned something, and I'm unsure. What's your take?"
Goodshow sipped his tea while enjoying his star Elite's performance.
He couldn't change the World Cup rules on his own—he'd need input from the other regional chairmen.
"Go ahead." Rose perked up.
"Well, the original plan is: at the end of the year, the Masters Eight are set. Then they face off in a random bracket to decide the world's strongest."
Rose nodded. That was indeed the current format.
"But… isn't eight a bit too few?"
"You're suggesting increasing the final round's participants?"
Rose began weighing the pros and cons.
Masters Eight was supposed to mean the top eight Trainers in the world.
But now that so many powerful Trainers were emerging across all regions… eight just felt tight.
And the competition would be brutal.
Goodshow wanted to open the bracket. Dylan's idea, but Goodshow agreed.
"Yes. I think it could work," Rose smiled.
More finalists meant more Galar representation.
Galar had a lot of Champions—Leon, Gloria, Mustard, Raihan…
If more made it into the finals, Galar would shine.
"We'd have to divide the final bracket: a qualifying round for the Masters Eight, then a final showdown for World #1."
"Sounds great. Let's bring it up with the others after the match."
The two chairmen whispered quietly as the battle raged on.
Meanwhile, Raihan was done.
He'd used five of his main team just to wear down Great Tusk.
He finally sent out Archaludon, Dynamaxed it, and defeated Great Tusk.
(Giovanni let him have it—it was a courtesy.)
Then Giovanni said, "You've used your ace, so I should respond in kind," and sent out Kangaskhan.
Mega Evolved Kangaskhan.
"Beep—Kangaskhan (Mega Evolution), Normal-type, Parent Pokémon.
Ability: Parental Bond
Moves: Outrage, Reversal, Fake Out, Sucker Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch…
Dex Entry: Its child rapidly matures due to Mega Evolution energy. Their coordinated attacks are formidable."
And then…
There was no "then."
Raihan could only watch as the two Kangaskhan—one big, one small—rushed Archaludon from both sides.
Fists flying like a blur.
Block one? The other hit. Dodge one? The other landed.
Raihan was in shock.
This was 1v1?
What kind of busted Pokémon brought its kid to a fistfight?!
Wasn't Giovanni supposed to be a Ground-type specialist?
Why the hell was his ace a Normal-type??
(End of Chapter)