"It's fine, this is already quite fascinating. I'm really curious, what is my counterpart like in another world?"
Reggie asked curiously.
"My brother is a Pokémon Breeder. From the very beginning, his goal has always been to become a great Breeder. But just like you, he once challenged Mr. Brandon."
"A Breeder, huh… What was the outcome?"
Reggie paused for a moment and asked.
"He challenged him once and lost. He never tried again after that."
Paul replied calmly and concisely.
"I see… That makes sense."
"For him, challenging Mr. Brandon may have simply been a way to test his breeding results or a personal hobby as a Trainer, rather than a means of proving his own strength. He never needed that kind of validation."
"I wish I could meet him one day…"
A glimmer of both understanding and longing appeared in Reggie's eyes. He patted Paul on the shoulder and walked toward his brother.
"Go on. It's your turn now."
"Mr. Brandon, I, Paul from another world, hereby challenge you."
Standing opposite Brandon, Paul fixed him with a cold stare and declared.
"I never thought I'd meet someone from another world. But a challenge? Of course."
Brandon smiled confidently, arms crossed.
As a Frontier Brain and a relic researcher, he was well-versed in matters concerning alternate worlds. He had even set foot in other dimensions during his adventures, so encountering a Trainer from another world wasn't entirely surprising.
A battle would be nothing out of the ordinary. Although his Regirock had sustained some damage earlier, he still had plenty of Pokémon left. He could continue the match without issue.
"I propose a full 6-on-6 battle."
Paul held up a Poké Ball as he spoke.
"A full battle? In that case, I'll need to swap out my Pokémon or at least give Regirock a chance to rest first."
Brandon wasn't arrogant. If his opponent was confident enough to propose a full battle, it would be disrespectful to continue with an injured Pokémon.
"There's no need."
Paul calmly tossed his Poké Ball, releasing his Torterra.
"Raaaa!"
The enormous form of Torterra appeared on the battlefield, standing tall like a small mountain.
"This… this Torterra is massive!"
Reggie was astonished. In all his travels, he had only ever heard of such gigantic Torterra in ancient legends. Never had he encountered one in real life.
"Can you be this big in the future?"
The alternate world Paul was equally stunned. His gaze shifted instinctively to the Turtwig standing beside him.
If this was another version of himself… could this Torterra be the evolved form of his Turtwig?
"Turtwig!"
Turtwig shook its head uncertainly. It felt perfectly healthy and normal. Unless something unexpected happened, it doubted it would ever grow to such an enormous size.
The little turtle had no confidence in ever becoming that large.
"Young man, your Pokémon's size is truly astonishing."
Even Brandon couldn't hide his surprise.
"You flatter me." Paul nodded coolly. "Torterra, use Forest's Healing."
"Raaaa!"
Without hesitation, Torterra summoned a soothing green light that fell upon Regirock, quickly healing its injuries and fully restoring its stamina.
"We can proceed now."
Paul spoke calmly as the healing finished.
"Very well. Then I'll keep Regirock as my lead."
Though he didn't fully understand why Torterra would heal its opponent, Brandon didn't question it. Every Trainer had their own battle philosophy. His own style was one of defense and counterattack, enduring his opponent's assault before striking back with overwhelming force.
Against this style, the simplest countermeasure was to overwhelm the opponent's rhythm with even greater force.
Of course, executing such a strategy against Brandon's Regirock famed for its durability, was easier said than done. Few Pokémon could overpower it head-on at equal strength.
Among Paul's Pokémon, only his Ursaluna after Belly Drum could fully suppress Regirock. Unfortunately, Ursaluna wasn't with him this time and his Rotom Phone still lacked the ability to transport Pokémon across dimensions.
"I will continue with Torterra."
Paul stated without hesitation.
Torterra's defense was exceptional as well. With its Growth-based strategy, it could steadily stall the battle. Even if Regirock was slightly stronger, it wouldn't gain much advantage.
"Come. Whatever attack you launch, I will withstand it."
Brandon declared.
Paul's eyes grew colder upon hearing this.
"Torterra, go all out—Frenzy Plant!"
"Raaa!!"
Sensing its Trainer's intent, Torterra's fighting spirit flared. Stomping heavily on the ground, it triggered a violent rupture across most of the battlefield as countless massive vines erupted, lashing toward Regirock.
"Regirock!"
Even Regirock sensed danger. But dodging wasn't an option not only because of its lack of speed and the overwhelming number of vines, but also because Grassy Knot had already ensnared its legs with fine sprouts, ensuring that any movement would likely cause it to stumble and take damage.
Torterra's offense came at full force, far stronger than anything Reggie's Pokémon could manage.
Opening with a devastating Grass-type finisher like this, Brandon couldn't afford to let Regirock take the hit directly. He immediately commanded:
"Regirock, Hyper Beam!"
"Regirock!"
Regirock remained rooted as a sphere of terrifying energy condensed in its arms. A powerful beam swept across the surging vines.
For a moment, time seemed frozen. Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—
A series of explosions erupted, pulverizing the approaching plants.
"Burn off Grassy Knot, then Fire Punch!"
Brandon followed up swiftly. Flames erupted around Regirock's feet as it used Fire Punch to incinerate the vines binding its legs. With renewed momentum, Regirock charged forward, its stone fist now glowing with an icy blue light.
"Stomping Tantrum, followed by Sand Tomb!"
Paul issued his own counter.
The battlefield quaked violently under Torterra's weight. The tremors rippled toward Regirock, dealing heavy damage while slowing its charge. In the same motion, Torterra summoned a swirling Sand Tomb beneath Regirock, attempting to engulf it entirely.
Yet Regirock was no ordinary Pokémon—it was Brandon's ace lead, seasoned and highly experienced. Sensing the incoming trap, it suddenly leapt with explosive force, rocketing dozens of meters through the air like a living projectile aimed directly at Torterra.
An Ice Punch from such momentum would be devastating against Torterra's Grass and Ground typing. But neither Paul nor Torterra panicked.
Moments before impact, a shimmering green barrier manifested between the two Pokémon.
PROTECT!
BAM!
Regirock's Ice Punch crashed into the shield, causing it to shudder but ultimately the barrier held firm.
"Seize it!"
With a surge of power, Torterra expanded the shield forcing Regirock back several steps.
Before Regirock could regain its footing, Torterra's eyes flashed blue. The ground beneath Regirock collapsed slightly, trapping its legs within the earth. Grassy Knot activated again, firmly binding its legs in the sunken pit.
But that was just the beginning.
Torterra unleashed Giga Drain, firing green energy chains from the three rocky protrusions on its back, wrapping around Regirock's arms and torso. Leech Seed followed immediately, further reinforcing the bindings.
In a matter of seconds, Regirock was completely immobilized—bound like a giant rice dumpling, unable to move an inch.
"They can battle like that?!"
The alternate world Paul was stunned. This was completely different from any battle style he was familiar with.
Typically, battles involved tactical exchanges or clever strategies—but this? This Torterra and Paul weren't playing around with fancy maneuvers. They simply seized control and locked down their opponent the moment an opportunity presented itself.
Relentless offense. Impenetrable defense. Absolute control.
Paul's battle strategy was simple, direct and effective.
It defied the alternate Paul's expectations.
"A very impressive approach. It may look unusual, but it's remarkably straightforward and efficient. As long as they can maintain this state, victory seems inevitable. But…"
Even Reggie was amazed by this strategy, though he didn't finish his sentence. Still, Paul understood his meaning.
This was Regirock.
Its strength and defense were immense.
Could Torterra really restrain Regirock with a strategy this simple?
Even as Regirock was trapped, Brandon remained composed. He had faced similar tactics before but so far, no Pokémon had ever truly managed to immobilize his Regirock.
"Use Superpower and Fire Punch!"
"Regi…rock!!"
Fire burst from Regirock's body as blinding light radiated outward. With overwhelming strength, it attempted to break free as it always had in the past.
Normally, Regirock could shatter any restraint with Superpower alone. This time, however, combined with Fire Punch, it should've been even easier.
"Roooock… rock…"
Yet this time, both Regirock and Brandon had miscalculated. No matter how fiercely it struggled, Regirock simply could not break free from Torterra's restraints.
Even when it burned away the vines and grasses wrapped around its body, more would immediately grow in their place, tightening around it like an endless net. The threads of Giga Drain were nearly impossible to incinerate and continued to absorb Regirock's stamina with unwavering strength.
The more Regirock resisted, the more it enraged Torterra. The ancient tree on Torterra's back glowed with an eerie crimson light that beamed directly onto Regirock, rapidly draining both its strength and its energy reserves.
Panicking, Regirock escalated its resistance, unleashing attacks like Zap Cannon and Stone Edge. Still trapped as it was, none of these moves could be executed perfectly, rendering them useless.
"What… how is this possible?!"
Brandon furrowed his brow. Based on his assessment, Torterra shouldn't possess the raw power to restrain Regirock like this. How could it be that even Regirock's full strength wasn't enough to break free?
"Growth." Paul explained coldly.
"From the very start of this battle, my Torterra has been steadily boosting its power. By now, its strength is more than enough to suppress Regirock."
Paul's Torterra, along with his Electivire and several others had already mastered the art of incremental stat enhancement. Even if one observed closely, it would be hard to tell when exactly they were powering up mid-battle.
Brandon and Regirock had thus completely missed their best chance to stop Torterra's growth. Not that it would've been easy to stop, even if they had tried.
After all, even Ursaluna which knew Torterra intimately, often struggled to halt its strengthening even when launching full-force attacks right from the start.
Let alone Regirock, which knew nothing of Torterra's true might.
Having finished his explanation, Paul issued his command:
"Solar Beam! Then Leaf Storm!"
"Raaa...!"
The energy Torterra had been gathering burst forth in a brilliant beam of light from its mouth. The massive tree on its back swayed as countless glowing leaves spun into a spiraling Leaf Storm, which swept toward Regirock.
BOOM!
Both attacks landed squarely. The combined force launched Regirock through the air like a cannonball, slamming it into the arena wall.
Regirock is unable to battle!
"Regirock, return."
Brandon calmly recalled his fallen Pokémon into its Poké Ball but stared intently at Torterra, frowning deeply.
A Torterra capable of overpowering Regirock and using Protect was a far more formidable opponent than he had anticipated.
Brandon couldn't help but think:
If only he had already captured Regice, he could have used its Ice-type advantage to counter Torterra decisively.
Unfortunately, at this point, he still had no news of Regice's whereabouts.
After thinking for a moment, Brandon threw out his second Poké Ball.
"Ninjask, go!"
While it couldn't match Torterra in brute strength, Brandon would instead rely on Ninjask's terrifying speed, so fast it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
BZZZZZZ...
With a rapid vibrating hum of its wings, Ninjask appeared high in the air above the battlefield.
"Planning to win through speed?"
Paul thought to himself before calmly issuing another command:
"Solar Beam!"
"Raaa!"
In an instant, Torterra gathered its energy and fired another beam of sunlight.
The beam crossed dozens of meters in a flash, but passed clean through where Ninjask had just been.
BZZZ!
The humming reappeared elsewhere, the beam had only struck Ninjask's afterimage, left behind from its rapid movement.
"Agility! Then Fury Cutter!" Brandon commanded.
Before his words had fully landed, Ninjask blurred once more, vanishing from its previous position. In the blink of an eye, it reappeared directly before Torterra, both scythe-like forelegs glowing as they slashed downward.
Fury Cutter!
The speed was so overwhelming that Torterra barely had time to react before it felt a heavy blow land directly on its head, followed by a sharp wave of pain.
It's super effective!
But Ninjask didn't retreat. Shifting its angle, it delivered another Fury Cutter increasing its power with each successive strike.
Torterra wanted to counterattack, but Ninjask was simply too fast—before it could even track its movements, the opponent had already shifted positions again.
Yet Paul showed no panic. In fact, the faintest trace of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Leaf Storm!"
Just as Ninjask prepared to land its third strike, Paul's command rang out.
In that moment, Torterra's eyes shifted—suddenly, countless green leaves erupted from its body, swirling into a massive tightly-packed storm that engulfed the entire arena, blanketing everything within dozens of meters.
Though Ninjask's third strike landed successfully, it was instantly drawn into the raging Leaf Storm, tossed around like a helpless leaf caught in the wind.
"Ninjask, Sandstorm!"
Inside the swirling leaves, Ninjask tried to deploy a defensive Sandstorm, hoping to shield itself from the assault. But the Leaf Storm was far too powerful. Within seconds, its sand barrier was completely shredded apart.
Five seconds later, the storm finally dissipated. Ninjask tumbled to the ground, unable to battle.
Though Torterra had clearly sustained some damage as well, a single use of Synthesis or Forest's Healing would be more than enough to fully restore its condition.
Brandon was now completely at a disadvantage!
(End of Chapter)
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