As the saying goes: plans never keep up with change.
Paul had originally mapped out this battle with three Pokémon in mind: Froslass, Ninetales, and Infernape.
Ninetales was meant to specifically counter Leon's inevitable Charizard.
Infernape was prepared to check the highly likely Rillaboom.
And Froslass—well, she could handle anyone. With her Destiny Bond, she was guaranteed to drag at least one opponent down with her.
But now? Ninetales hadn't even touched the field, and one of Paul's three key anchors had already been pulled out unexpectedly by Dragapult's Dragon Tail.
And of all things, it wasn't Mewtwo, nor the icy expressionless Deoxys that was dragged into the spotlight…
It was Groudon—the Primal form itself, bursting forth from the custom Poké Ball Mewtwo had engineered with ultra-heat-resistant alloys!
"Haa~…"
Blinking at the sudden change, Groudon's eyes flickered with momentary confusion. But comprehension came quickly.
'So this was a human battle? And the opponent…?'
Scanning the battlefield, Groudon's gaze settled on the smaller dragon specter—Dragapult—hovering across the field, staring back in shock.
'…This little thing?'
Its crimson eyes narrowed.
'Could this tiny creature be another aberration, like Mewtwo or Deoxys?'
Just in case, Groudon raised its guard.
Dragapult, meanwhile, was utterly dumbfounded. Who could have guessed a casual tail swipe would pull out something more terrifying than a Gigantamax Charizard?
'Me, Dragapult, pulling out the height of midsummer with a single tail swipe… '
Even before the battle began, sweat—psychological and physical both—drenched Dragapult.
The crowd, for their part, were left speechless. For most of them, this was the first time seeing a Legendary Pokémon—let alone in its Primal Reversion state—up close, even if through protective energy barriers.
The arena fell silent.
Groudon stirred, exerting just a fraction of its might. The battlefield warped instantly into a hellscape: sunlight blazed with crushing intensity from above, while molten lava consumed the ground below.
A normal Pokémon would be scorched unconscious upon contact; linger for seconds, and it would be reduced to ash.
The protective dome of the barrier glowed brighter than ever, straining to contain the overwhelming energy.
"A Legendary Pokémon… Groudon. And in Primal form, no less."
Leon's eyes widened, his shock undisguised. "I didn't think you'd actually caught one, Paul."
"Pure luck." Paul replied coolly. Truth be told, he'd never had much of a fixation on catching something that couldn't fly. But when Reggie had caught a Feebas, Paul figured balance demanded he take something of land to match ocean. Groudon had been… convenient.
Still, he had to admit: in a team like his, Desolate Land was more than just useful.
"…Fascinating. Truly fascinating!"
Leon's fists clenched, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes. He realized something—through all his years, through every title and accolade, he'd never faced a foe of this magnitude.
To battle such a being on this stage… win or lose, there would be no regrets.
"Dragapult, Agility into Dragon Dance!"
Leon's strategy was razor-sharp. Against a creature of Groudon's caliber, most normal strikes were tantamount to suicide. Speed and mobility were their only hope.
Dragapult spun into motion, chaining techniques. Its speed surged, its power amplified several fold.
Groudon simply watched, unmoving.
"Then—Curse!"
If brute force failed, then chip damage was the way. Leon called the move decisively.
Black aura laced across Dragapult's frame, draining its vitality as the Curse took root.
"Haa…"
Respect glimmered in Groudon's eyes. But as Dragapult's body convulsed under Curse's toll—
"Precipice Blades!"
"Shhhhk!"
Without warning, magma-forged pillars erupted upward. One struck clean through Dragapult's midsection.
"Ahh—!"
Its face froze, body pierced as the glowing energy detonated. The blast hurled Dragapult to the arena's edge, its body sizzling against molten rock.
"Dragapult is unable to battle! Groudon is the winner!"
The referee's voice rang out.
"…Well done. Rest now." Leon said softly, recalling his partner with care.
Then he drew his final Poké Ball, with eyes burning bright.
"At last—the moment we've been waiting for! Go, Charizard!"
The orange dragon burst onto the field, wings flaring. It chose to remain airborne, wary of the molten battlefield.
Even Charizard, battle-tested, and courageous—flinched at the sight of the primal titan. But fear was not in its heart. Instead, it burned with the same eager fire as its Trainer.
"Air Slash!"
With a flap, dozens of wind blades rained down, each growing sharper and larger as they descended.
"Hyper Beam!"
Groudon barely blinked. A violet beam ripped forward, piercing through the storm of blades, searing toward Charizard.
But Leon's ace was fearless. Charizard twisted midair, flames cloaking its body as it dived closer. Its claws shone green—Dragon Claw, and struck Groudon's hide.
The blow landed. But the damage? Barely a scratch.
"…As expected from a Legendary. Not easy to deal with." Leon muttered, recognizing the futility of raw strength.
"Then—Ancient Power! Hurricane! Flamethrower!"
Charizard conjured a fiery vortex, its wings whipping a tornado into being, flames spiraling within. Rocks from Ancient Power fused into the storm, creating a blazing maelstrom that surged toward Groudon.
It was perhaps Charizard's most powerful natural combo—and under the blazing sun, it grew even stronger.
"Precipice Blades."
Groudon raised its arms disdainfully. Pillars of magma speared upward, puncturing the storm itself, detonating it in a cascade of fire and stone.
Charizard, honed by countless battles, evaded deftly. It climbed skyward, narrowly dodging the lethal assault—
Only to find a blazing projectile already barreling toward it. A searing Fire Blast from Groudon's maw.
No time to dodge.
"Return!" Leon shouted, recalling Charizard in a beam of red light at the last instant.
"Gigantamax!"
The Rotom-powered band on Leon's wrist lit up. Energy surged as the Poké Ball swelled. With a mighty pitch, he hurled it skyward.
Charizard reemerged—transformed!
Its body gleamed white along the underside, with diamond-like patches across its belly and legs. Fire overflowed from its jaws, horns, and tail, and its colossal wings burned with living flame.
"G-Max Wildfire!"
Even though Fire moves should have been resisted, under the harsh sunlight their power was magnified. Leon chose to gamble everything on his partner's ultimate attack.
"ROOOOAR!!"
The blazing titan roared, wings radiating crimson-gold light. From its wings surged a massive firebird, shrieking as it dived straight at Groudon.
Wherever Groudon tread, the molten ground grew hotter still.
"Haa~…"
'…Was that it?'
Groudon admitted, this Charizard was strong. Its moves far surpassed those of the blue Charizard it had blasted from the skies over the sea some time ago.
But fire?
Did Groudon, of all beings, fear fire?
"Brick Break!"
White light flared around Groudon's massive claws, sharpening them into blades. Clasping its hands together, the titan struck forward against the onrushing firebird.
BOOM!!
What had seemed unstoppable was brought to an abrupt halt. Groudon's claws pierced into the fiery bird's body, then wrenched apart with brutal force.
In the blink of an eye, the terrifying flame construct was torn in two—detonating into a violent explosion.
To Groudon, entrenched within its Desolate Land, the flames' damage was negligible.
"G-Max Quake!"
Seeing his G-Max Wildfire fail to make a dent, Leon had Charizard slam a colossal fist into the battlefield, sending shockwaves of earth toward Groudon.
Caught off guard after rending the firebird, Groudon took the full brunt. For the first time, its usually expressionless face flickered with surprise.
The blow was super effective!
"Guessed it right!" Leon's heart leapt.
Who would have thought—the very Pokémon that created the land itself, once returned to its Primal form, would be vulnerable to Ground-type attacks?
"G-Max Quake, again!"
Seizing the opening, Leon commanded another strike.
This time, the battlefield twisted into a whirling mire around Groudon, special sandstorms battering its body and briefly trapping it.
Super effective!
The hit connected, carving visible damage into the titan's frame.
As the attack faded, Charizard's colossal form dwindled, shrinking back to normal size.
"Dragon Pulse!"
It wasn't that Leon refused to use Ground-type moves further, Charizard only knew Dig in that category. And if it tunneled underground, Groudon's Earthquake would end the match instantly.
So Leon gambled on ranged pressure instead.
Charizard roared, unleashing a Dragon Pulse that lanced forward. Without pause, it followed up—boosting speed with Dragon Dance, pelting Air Slashes from a distance while keeping as much space from Groudon as possible.
A pure hit-and-run tactic—kite the beast, never commit.
"RAAAH!!"
Groudon, assailed from every angle, finally lost patience. Rage boiled within, and flames erupted from its maw—an inferno sweeping the entire field.
For a moment, the battlefield was drowned in a sea of fire.
But Charizard, maxed on agility, danced through the flames. Dodging frantically, slicing its way out with Air Slashes, it barely escaped the blaze intact.
Then Groudon's eyes gleamed. Power it had been storing burst outward—
"Precipice Blades!"
In an instant, magma-forged stone pillars speared upward beneath Charizard, dozens at once, engulfing even the skies tens of meters above the ground.
This was no game. Who said Ground-type attacks couldn't hit Flying-types?
Did Leon really think every Pokémon could shrug off such a move, as Rayquaza once had?
Consider this a warning: Precipice Blades.
Trapped within the jagged prison, Charizard had no chance to react. The stone pillars lit all at once—
BOOM!!
A mushroom cloud blossomed like a nuclear blast. The stadium's protective barriers shuddered, their glow flaring as they struggled to contain the devastation—then held.
When the smoke cleared, Charizard lay crumpled like a broken doll, flung to the corner of the field, unconscious.
This time, it would take days of recovery before it could move again.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Groudon is the winner!"
"And with all three of Champion Leon's Pokémon defeated, the match goes to Paul!"
The referee declared, and the announcer's voice thundered through the arena:
"It's over! After a fierce and unforgettable clash, this battle concludes!"
"Paul's strength is overwhelming—he's even captured the Legendary Groudon, said to have created the land itself! His title as one of the Masters Eight is truly deserved!"
"Let's give our warmest applause and cheers for Sinnoh Champion Paul, our newest Master of Masters!"
"Yaaahhh!!" "Woooh!"
CLAP CLAP CLAP…!
The roar of cheers, screams, and applause merged into a single voice that shook the skies.
"Return, Charizard. You fought well." Leon said softly, recalling his partner.
Though defeated, there was no shame—he and Charizard had given everything. Victory slipped away, but regret had no place here.
"That's the way of it. So soon, this stage slips from my hands again… It seems I'll have to look even farther ahead."
With quiet acceptance, Leon turned and departed, leaving the spotlight to his opponent.
"…At last, one of the Masters Eight. Time flies so quickly. The strongest Trainer—I'm coming."
Paul, eyes bright and resolute, looked out at the roaring crowd.
With a slight bow, he too turned to leave.
He knew well—cling to present glory, and it would only become a stumbling block on the road to true strength.
When the day came that he stood unrivaled—then, and only then, he would savor it.
Paul walked away. But his legend spread swiftly, carried by every tongue.
Speak his name, and people would mention not only the awe-inspiring Mewtwo at his side, but now also the god of land itself—Groudon.
For now, most believed: at his current strength, no Trainer alive could stand against him.
Ash? Alain?
Yes, they had their Legendaries or Mythicals—Raikou, Keldeo, Latios. But compared to Groudon? Laughable. Not even close.
And Red? The strongest Trainer, once—yes. But that was last year's title.
Hadn't the champion before him already fallen to Paul's Groudon with ease?
Even Leon's ultimate Gigantamax Charizard, three signature attacks landing one after another—barely left a scratch. Could Red, who only narrowly defeated Leon, really hope to topple Groudon?
No. With Groudon at his side, Paul's popularity skyrocketed overnight.
Mewtwo was strong, yes—unique, mysterious. But an artificial creation, rarely showing its true power before human eyes. Could it really compare to Groudon, the primal deity of land?
In Trainer battles, weakness was sin.
And Paul's Groudon was now widely regarded as the single strongest Pokémon in any Trainer's hands. To respect and admire Paul was only natural.
Yet even as his fame exploded, Paul quietly vanished from the public eye—leaving the rest of the Masters Eight burdened with immense pressure.
None felt it more than Cynthia, the sole remaining woman of the Masters Eight and former Sinnoh Champion.
Everywhere she turned, Trainers flaunted their Legendaries and Mythicals. And her? Nothing. The weight was crushing.
But relief came swiftly. Within days, she was defeated, her place among the Masters and her Champion's crown both stripped away—just like those before her.
(End of Chapter)
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