"Phew—"
Surrounding him was the uproar of fireworks and cheers.
The people in the stands had all collectively risen to their feet, uniformly waving their arms in a passionate frenzy, offering their most sincere congratulations for the birth of a new king.
And our Champion Mr. Aiden, the center of "all eyes," surveyed his surroundings before letting out a long breath.
"I won—"
"But why does it feel like it hasn't really sunk in—"
"Felt pretty easy, actually?"
If he said this out loud, he'd probably immediately be accused of being a humblebragger—
Aiden looked up at the sky, his mood somewhat subtle.
But regardless.
Starting today, another title—"World Champion"—would be added after his name!
Thinking of this, a smile quickly appeared on Aiden's face.
"Congratulations, Teacher Azure."
Red also walked over at this time.
"Indeed, on the path of a trainer, I still need to keep learning."
"The lessons from this defeat are immensely beneficial to me."
People often said the biggest loser was the runner-up.
Because the runner-up often put in effort no less than the champion's, similarly fighting their way through to the finals, only to fall at the place closest to the "Champion's Throne."
This sense of defeat could very well directly destroy a competitor's mindset.
But Red was different.
His face showed not the slightest trace of sadness from the finals loss. Instead, he laughed from the bottom of his heart, sincerely congratulating the birth of yet another new king right there at the scene.
Seeing this, Aiden also smiled and extended his hand to him.
"Rest assured, the future belongs to you."
"Both you and Blue have the potential to become the world's strongest. I'll be waiting for you on this same stage in four years."
"I'm looking forward to your future growth."
"Thank you, Teacher Azure."
Their hands clasped tightly, then gently released after a few seconds.
Just then, Red extended his other hand, rotating the cap brim he had flipped backward back to the front, returning to his usual unremarkable appearance.
Like a personality switch, in an instant Aiden felt the person before him undergo a drastic change in aura, all of his sharpness retracting into his body and vanishing.
Before he could even marvel at this, Red's next words fell.
"I will definitely work hard to catch up to you, Teacher Azure."
"Professor Oak recommended a good place for training to me and Blue. Next, I'll devote all my energy to re-polishing myself, absorbing and converting all the experiences and encounters from this journey."
"When we meet again, I'll strive to once again earn the opportunity to compete on the same stage as you!"
Aiden blinked, blurting out a familiar yet unfamiliar location.
"Mt. Silver?"
Red didn't speak, only silently nodding.
Good grief, so Red really isn't in his complete form without experiencing the Mt. Silver enlightenment?
He was already very tenacious now. How strong would he be by then?
Truly—
'I can't wait!'
"Do your best, little Red."
Aiden smiled and patted his shoulder.
Then, watching Red enter the contestant tunnel, only he remained on the field.
According to tournament protocol, the following should be his beautiful moment to enjoy the championship.
Together with the partners he had built bonds with along the way, he would enter the Hall of Fame, symbolizing the highest honor for a Pokémon trainer, and register his championship lineup into the history of the Masters Tournament.
However—
Just as Aiden was about to walk toward the staff, something unexpected happened.
Rumble!!!
A sudden thunderclap came from the sky, and even the ground beneath his feet began to tremble slightly.
Aiden subconsciously frowned and immediately looked up in a certain direction.
Before he knew it, the distant sky had already fallen into a deep purple. An eerie atmospheric vortex showed signs of continuing to expand outward.
Even from a great distance, he could clearly feel an unusual aura continuously emanating from that direction.
"Is that—"
Eternatus?
As if to confirm his guess, a commotion of strange noises soon came from the commentary desk.
An ear-piercing metallic sound rang out, followed by the "commentator," now with a changed voice, making an urgent broadcast that was clearly breaking up.
"Emergency notice!!!"
"A strange shadow suspected to be the Darkest Day has appeared at the Energy Plant in Hammerlocke City! Under its influence, Pokémon in several surrounding cities have been forced into Dynamax states and have once again gone out of control!"
"Mr. Leon has already rushed to the scene and is currently dealing with that monster!"
"All trainers, please be careful not to let your Pokémon inhale that strange purple fog!!!"
After the broadcast ended, the audience, previously immersed in a celebratory atmosphere, immediately erupted into discussion.
"The Darkest Day???"
"That legend from a thousand years ago has actually descended into reality on this important day?"
"Could it be intentional? Thank goodness Mr. Leon is there. He'll definitely be able to easily defeat the Darkest Day!"
"But it seems like Hammerlocke City is in trouble—"
Aiden sighed, looking at the sky above distant Hammerlocke City and shaking his head helplessly.
As expected, Chairman Rose chose to make his move at this time after all.
As for the motive, he could more or less guess—
Eternatus was, after all, a Legendary-level Pokémon. No matter how much confidence he had in Leon, he couldn't be certain that Leon could truly defeat it single-handedly.
And because of Eternatus's special ability, any Pokémon whose strength was insufficient or whose will wasn't firm enough would struggle to withstand the erosion caused by inhaling excessive Dynamax energy.
Once they went berserk, they would only become an even bigger problem.
Therefore, not only did the people dealing with it need to be as few as possible, but they also had to be the absolute elite of the elite.
So, from his shrewd businessman's perspective, the safest approach was naturally—
To take advantage of the opportunity presented by hosting the Masters Tournament, at this moment when the world's elite trainers were concentrated in the Galar region, to forcibly bind the power of the world's Champions to re-seal Eternatus.
The idea was beautiful, but it made Aiden very unhappy.
Even if it was for Galar's sake, that guy Rose made it impossible for anyone to like him!
But he couldn't just ignore it.
Galar was innocent, and Leon, that soft-hearted fool, was probably currently giving it his all to hold off Eternatus—
When he got back, he was definitely going to punch that guy Rose and kick him down from the position of Galar's Chairman!
After making the decision in his heart, Aiden immediately took out a Poké Ball.
"Salamence, take me to the center of the vortex!"
"Roar!"
Receiving its trainer's command, Salamence felt the reassuring weight on its back and immediately took flight.
Before leaving Wyndon Stadium, Aiden had a sudden feeling, his gaze snapping toward a corner of the stands.
There, Cynthia and Caitlin were silently watching him.
When their eyes met, Cynthia didn't speak. She only smiled and waved at him, seemingly bidding him farewell.
A smile curled at the corner of Aiden's mouth, and he waved back in response.
Then, Salamence flapped its wings again, building up speed. Along with him, it directly accelerated, quickly disappearing into the sky.
---
Hammerlocke City, Energy Plant.
"Charizard, Gigantamax Centiferno!"
Leon, the Galar Champion who hadn't appeared at the Masters Tournament finals, was currently locking his gaze onto the horrifying beast in the sky, unhesitatingly issuing his command.
"Roar—!!!"
Charizard, having entered its Gigantamax state, took a deep breath, filtering the Dynamax energy in the air that had practically become solid into its chest, using it as fuel to ignite its flames and set its entire body ablaze.
Boom—!!!
A sky-piercing firelight shot straight into the clouds, bombing that towering figure over a hundred meters tall!
However, that strike, which could almost be called the limit of Pokémon combat power, had mediocre effects when it hit the Darkest Day's materialized shell, seemingly failing to deal much effective damage.
Instead, it drew its attention.
"Ra—"
Along with that ghostly sound seemingly from the void, came a deep purple energy wave with zero windup, impossible to guard against!
"Charizard, fly up and dodge!"
"Roar!"
Even in its Dynamax state, Charizard's exaggerated wings made of fire were no mere decoration.
After narrowly dodging the Darkest Day's counterattack, Leon finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Truly a troublesome fellow—
Was that move just now Dragon Pulse?
It seemed to be a Dragon-type Legendary entity. No wonder the G-Max Centiferno from earlier had no effect.
A chill rose in Leon's heart as he solemnly surveyed the Legendary existence known as the "Darkest Day"—Eternatus.
A terrifying monster whose body was composed of multiple jagged dragon bones, connected by blood vessels materialized from Dynamax energy.
Even though its core was exposed right before his eyes, it was as if an invisible barrier stood in his way, constantly hindering his goal of defeating the Darkest Day.
Eternatus, in its Eternamax form.
The Darkest Day's true form was indeed strong enough to make one despair—
However, even so, he absolutely could not lose to it here!
"Charizard, use Max Wyrmwind!"
Even with Dynamax energy overflowing everywhere, ordinary Pokémon had a limit to their ability to utilize this power.
Once they exceeded the threshold they could withstand, the "berserk" state recently reported repeatedly near surrounding cities was very likely to occur.
Therefore, he and Charizard had to finish this quickly.
"Roar—!!!"
Charizard's body transformed into a fire phoenix. As its wings flapped, the original golden flames quickly faded, replaced by a deep purple energy similar to the Darkest Day's color, adhering to its surface.
Letting out an earth-shattering roar, Gigantamax Charizard erupted with full power, surpassing fear and charging toward the Darkest Day, whose size was multiples of its own!
Another boom rang out.
Only this time, Charizard's attack still failed to take effect.
The prepared Eternatus had already mobilized its skeletal frame in advance, using those vortex-shaped backward-pointing scales to form layers of defense, easily neutralizing its assault.
Not only that, but even the charging Charizard was entangled and locked by its flexible tail, a look of pain appearing on its face.
Even super-effective moves were—
A thread of despair rose in Leon's heart, subconsciously wanting to take out a second Poké Ball.
Even so, he had to try his best to defeat it!
Even if it meant risking his life, he couldn't let it cause destruction to the Galar region!
A flash of resolve crossed Leon's eyes as he fiercely took a step forward!
'Charizard, I'm coming to save you!'
However, just as he was filled with determination—
"Salamence, Draco Meteor!"
"Roar!!!"
After a loud bang from the sky, two Draco Meteors—one large, one small—poked out from the clouds first.
And the direction they accelerated downward was exactly toward Eternatus's core, which was exposed on the outside of its body!
Out of instinct, Eternatus immediately released all its other tails, returning its body to a defensive posture to resist the aggressive assault.
Boom—!
Two meteorites landed in succession, and the violent impact directly knocked Leon flat on his butt.
At the same time, it gave the restrained Gigantamax Charizard an opportunity to escape, flying back to his side.
"Teacher Azure—"
Looking at the familiar figure in the sky, Leon's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
'Even though I didn't want to drag everyone into Galar's crisis—'
'In the end, I was still saved by Teacher Azure.'
"Am I late?"
In the sky, Aiden smiled at Leon, casually striking a casual pose.
As for his appearance, Eternatus, which had just taken a surprise attack, immediately turned its spearhead, focusing its attention entirely on Aiden in the air.
"Roar—!!!"
After Eternamaxing, all five of Eternatus's dragon heads roared simultaneously, seemingly issuing a warning to the opponent in the sky.
As for why it didn't just attack directly—
Leon stared intently at the sky. Within the purple-tinged clouds, a black-gold figure loomed faintly.
What it feared probably wasn't just Teacher Azure; more so, it was that black Rayquaza that stood above all Legendary entities.
With Teacher Azure's aid, they should at least be able to hold off Eternatus for a while—
Just as Leon was thinking this, two phantom-like figures, one red and one blue, suddenly appeared on the outer walls of the Energy Plant.
Their speed was incredibly fast, practically becoming two afterimages charging at full speed toward Eternatus!
Clang—!
Just as Leon was stunned, a white light suddenly flashed ahead of the blue figure.
The sword light transformed into a series of elegant symbols before his eyes. Every stroke carved a slender trail across the Darkest Day's body, accompanied by continuous exploding sounds.
As for the other red figure, it used its own body as a cannonball, mustering all its strength to launch itself at one of the enemy's heads. It slammed directly into the back of the skull while a powerful energy howled past, blasting it to the ground, drawing a wail of pain.
Those were—
Only after the two Pokémon landed lightly did Leon finally see their true forms.
They were exactly the heroes of Sword and Shield who had previously appeared in Aiden's educational videos, hidden in the Slumbering Weald for a thousand years!
Zacian and Zamazenta!
"Since we're here to resolve the 'Darkest Day', the heroes are naturally indispensable."
Aiden smiled and flashed an OK gesture at the dumbfounded Leon, then turned his gaze to the equally bewildered Eternatus, which was even subconsciously twitching from recalling painful memories.
"Eternatus!"
The sudden shout made Eternatus look at Aiden again.
"If you still want to continue fighting, I'm happy to oblige!"
Aiden's voice was resounding, echoing continuously over the ruins of the Energy Plant.
"But if you don't want to get beaten up by Zacian and Zamazenta again—you can also have a proper talk with us."
As a human, Aiden actually dared to directly threaten the legendary "Darkest Day."
The moment he opened his mouth, it exceeded Leon's expectations, even making him subconsciously sweat for the other party.
'Teacher Azure isn't planning to directly provoke it and then solve things with force, is he!'
Sure enough—
"Roar—!!!"
Facing Aiden's naked provocation, Eternatus, which had just regained consciousness and whose anger hadn't yet subsided, didn't hesitate at all. All five dragon heads gathered power, vowing to punish this lawless ant before it!
Even Eternatus's core began accumulating power, its interior quickly changing from deep red to flowing light purple.
"Careful, that's its ultimate move!"
Leon subconsciously warned, but Aiden completely ignored him, still examining Eternatus with a smile on his lips.
At first glance, this guy was indeed quite formidable. Its body in Eternamax form was far taller than any building in Hammerlocke City.
However—
Since it wanted to fight to vent its anger, he would naturally accompany it to the end!
Facing the wrath of a god, Aiden only pointed to the sky.
The next moment—
Boom—!!!
Another flash of white light crossed the sky. A snow spear ten meters tall descended from above, its high-speed plummeting assault directly piercing through Eternatus's defenseless core, triggering a violent tremor within.
"Roar?!"
Its charging Max Cannon having lost its power, Eternatus suddenly jerked its head up, meeting gazes with a figure riding a white horse behind Aiden.
"It's been a long time, Darkest Day."
Atop the white horse, Calyrex's gaze was solemn, its tone ice-cold as it greeted Eternatus via telepathy.
"I truly never expected that the grudges from a thousand years ago would one day be repaid double—"
"This time, I shall not lose to you again!"
Calyrex's voice abruptly ceased. The Glastrier beneath it and the Spectrier quietly following behind both snorted simultaneously, their front hooves already prepared to charge at any moment.
Eternatus: ???
When yet another old acquaintance appeared, it swept its gaze around, suddenly realizing a very serious problem.
Was my revival this time set up by someone?
Not only had those two dogs that defeated it a thousand years ago reappeared before it, but even that king it had once struck down and never seen again had reappeared before its eyes—
More critically, there was also that monster in the sky, constantly pressuring it and looking like it could hurl meteors at it again at any moment to launch a fierce assault!
If it were only that pair with the sword and shield, even if outmatched, it could at least try to wear down their stamina to find an opportunity to escape.
Even with that figure in the sky constantly watching it, as long as it burrowed underground, it shouldn't have any way to deal with it.
But now, all these troublesome fellows had gathered together at the same time?
And right at the node of its own revival—
This is too much, this is too much!
Eternatus wanted to cry but had no tears. Though it was very angry, it wasn't so blind that it couldn't read the situation.
If not now, when would it run?!
"Roar!!!"
Having completely lost its desire to fight, it violently swung its tail, wanting to temporarily force back the enemies around it and create an opening to escape.
However—
Calyrex, which had been waiting for a long time, raised its arm. Its psychic power forcibly aggregated the ice gravel condensed by Glastrier into one, rapidly forming a giant snow spear even larger than the previous one.
Zacian, holding a sword in its mouth, took a deep breath. Under the effect of Dynamax energy, its body seemed to be rapidly expanding, and the "Rusted Sword" in its mouth along with it.
Zamazenta retracted the massive shield on its face, having long been ready to sprint forward at any moment and deliver another lethal Behemoth Bash.
In the sky, the black Rayquaza, not hiding its aura at all, took a deep breath of dragon energy. Several Draco Meteors filled with wild energy rapidly condensed around it, just waiting for the command to crash down to the ground.
Seeing this, Aiden also smiled and took out a Poké Ball.
"Go, Mewtwo."
"Although you didn't get to show its face in the finals, the glory of taking down a Legendary entity is absolutely no less than a mere Hall of Fame~"
"Hmph—"
Mewtwo, appearing from the red light, narrowed its eyes and crossed its arms, noncommittal about Aiden's words.
However, its body was soon covered by a white light, which then quickly vanished.
After the light disappeared, Mega Mewtwo Y raised its arm, casually gathering psychic power into an extremely compressed solid energy.
Facing such a luxurious "All-Star lineup," even the well-experienced Leon couldn't help but freeze.
Good grief—
'If I had known that simply asking Teacher Azure to step in could easily solve the problem—'
'Didn't I worry for nothing!'
Leon suddenly revealed a relieved smile, looking up at the Gigantamax Charizard beside him, waiting for his command.
There was probably only one chance left to use a Max Move.
But that was enough.
As the Champion of the Galar region, the "Darkest Day" had to be defeated by his own hands!
"Charizard!"
"Use G-Max Centiferno once again!!!"
"Roar—!"
A blazing flame erupted from Charizard's mouth, charging straight toward the already dumbfounded Eternatus.
Attacking alongside it were the powerful moves from all directions, long awaited and ready.
For a moment, sword light and white light flashed in succession, flames and meteors recklessly vented their energy outward, and countless snow spears and materialized psychic weapons bombarded relentlessly without pause.
"Roar—!!!"
The one-sided battle lasted for who knows how long.
The five dragon heads of Eternatus, previously standing tall and arrogant, were soon bombarded by the relentless multi-pronged assault without a moment's respite. Even its scaly body and tail began to split apart layer by layer, with several conspicuous cracks appearing.
The attacks continued until the energy core in its chest could no longer hold, bursting open with a bang.
Countless purple energy escaped from its chest, transforming into countless rays of light shooting toward the land of the Galar region.
The Eternamax Eternatus could no longer maintain its massive body. The entire body rapidly disintegrated, until it collapsed, broke apart, and vanished.
Atop the ruins of the Energy Plant, a purple skeletal creature lay on the ground, its body long dim and lifeless.
"It—it's over just like that?"
While breathing a sigh of relief, Leon actually found it somewhat hard to believe.
Before coming, he had stepped into the scene of a battle against a god with a resolve to die—
Yet, after Teacher Azure appeared, the battle was countless times easier than he had imagined?
This was truly—
Leon smiled helplessly, momentarily unsure whether he should feel fortunate or resigned.
But a good outcome was enough.
"Thank you, Teacher Azure!"
Leon raised his head, looking at Aiden who was also watching him. His expression suddenly turned serious as he bowed deeply in his direction.
"No, perhaps I should call you now—"
"Battle Legend, the new Strongest Champion, Mr. Aiden Swift!"
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