Chapter 202: The First-Ever Pokémon Champion
"Meow?" Meowscarada was hopping on her feet, excitedly asking Will if she could be the one to battle.
"You? Hehe, maybe in a couple of days. This time, let me be the one to school him," Will said, rubbing her head.
He wanted to put Shigeru in his place, that was one reason. But there was another: he wanted to know if a Pokémon could become the "Aura Guardian."
On the battlefield, the crowd that had been about to disperse, upon hearing that this was a "battle for the title of Aura Guardian," all rushed back to watch. Among them, a few trainers even recognized Will as the Sceptile who had been famous a decade prior.
"Tor-terra~" Torterra was incredibly excited to see that its opponent was Will. Its four short legs stomped on the ground, and it pawed the dirt, unable to contain its excitement. It looked as if it had been waiting for this battle for a very long time.
"Oh? You really want to beat me?"
"TORTERRA~" Tt nodded.
To it, Will was a goal to be surpassed. He had wanted to challenge him for years, but had never been able to find him. Now that he finally had the chance, how could he not be excited?
"Haha, alright. Then show me what you've got," Will grinned, giving the Torterra's confidence a thumbs-up. He was also curious to see what level it was at now.
"Well then, will both sides please prepare for battle," the referee said. After both Will and Torterra nodded, he declared, "Battle, begin!"
The moment his voice fell, Shigeru's command followed. "Leaf Storm!"
In less than an instant, a massive amount of green energy had already gathered in Torterra's mouth. But before it could even spit it out, Will was already above its head.
And what made the entire crowd's jaws drop—those sitting stood up, those standing leaped—was that Will had also used [Leaf Storm].
But his was different. Two tornadoes, each composed of hundreds of emerald-green leaves, swirled around his arms like giant weapons. As he slammed both arms down, the two leaf-tornados crashed onto Torterra's head.
BOOM!
Countless leaves were shredded into a cloud of fragments, obscuring everyone's vision. When the leaves finally settled, they vanished. The crowd stared. Torterra was lying on the ground, unconscious.
"What?!"
"It's over in one hit?"
"Just how strong is that Sceptile now?"
"If he could beat the Kalos Inspector Captain back then, does that mean he can take on the League Elders now?"
"Unbelievable... But only a powerhouse like that is worthy of being the 'Aura Guardian.'"
That day, humanity finally remembered the terror of being dominated by Pokémon... no, that's not right.
This day, for the first time, humans realized that the powerful Pokémon written about in history might not have been exaggerated. Although Will's display was still a far cry from those "legends," he was already the strongest Pokémon that the people of this era could imagine.
Perhaps... ordinary Pokémon really could become so powerful that it was beyond human comprehension. They really could become "legends."
Will's appearance hadn't just fired up the scene; it had fired up the hearts of countless trainers. They, too, began to hope that they could reach such heights with their own Pokémon.
"Torterra?! Damn it! Sceptile, how on earth do you train?! Why can't I ever catch up to you?!" Shigeru clutched his head in frustration. He truly couldn't understand. How could a wild Sceptile train to surpass a trainer like him, who battled almost every day?
"Surpass me? Haha, give it up. You might have a chance of surpassing my next life, or my previous two," Will shook his head, patting Shigeru's shoulder. In this life, he was a man with a cheat code.
"You're still as strong as ever, Sceptile. Are you sure you won't consider becoming my Pokémon?" Nastina said, sauntering over.
"...Are you still not over this?" Will just shook his head, unimpressed.
"Hmph." Nastina bit her lip, clearly dissatisfied.
Will raised an eyebrow. He had to admit, the landmine-girl from the past had actually grown into a rather charming woman.
"Haha, alright, Sceptile has high standards. Let's go to Cameran Palace, shall we? Everyone is waiting for you, the 'Aura Guardian'," Shigeru said, stepping in. He put an arm around Nastina. "Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you. This is Nastina, my wife."
"I can see that," Will and the approaching Meowscarada said, nodding in unison. They were both a little speechless. Yesterday's rivals, today's husband and wife. This was the kind of plot you only saw in novels.
Before Shigeru could even introduce his three sons, the crowd had already surged forward, pushing Will towards the palace. There had never been a precedent in history of a Pokémon becoming the "Aura Guardian." Everyone was eager to see if it would actually happen.
Walking on the long bridge, "Meow?" Meowscarada pointed at the translucent blue crystals lining it.
"Those aren't treasure. They're just crystals for transmitting Aura energy. They're part of the Tree," Will said, nodding towards the giant Tree of Beginning in the distance.
...
The crowd surged into the castle. In the grand hall, the current Queen Ilene was already waiting. Her gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on the Sceptile at its center. She then looked at Shigeru, who was beside him. She subconsciously assumed that Will was Shigeru's Pokémon, and that he was this year's Aura Guardian.
"Will the winner of the battle tournament please step forward," an old maidservant with silver, curly hair announced.
"Go on, Sceptile!" Shigeru said, patting Will's back.
"Hm," Will nodded and strode forward.
"Huh?" The old maidservant and Queen Ilene were both stunned. They looked at the crowd, who only looked on with expectation, and finally understood. The winner of the tournament... was this Sceptile. A Pokémon with no trainer.
"Your Majesty..." the old maidservant looked at the queen, at a loss. In the thousand-year history of the castle, a Pokémon had never become the "Aura Guardian." She didn't know what to do.
"Continue," Queen Ilene said, her expression calm as she nodded.
History had never had a Pokémon champion, but that didn't mean a Pokémon was not qualified. It was just that since the unification, most Pokémon had trainers. When a Pokémon won the tournament, the trainer would naturally be the one to accept the title. But now, they were faced with a Pokémon who had no trainer.
In that case, it was only right... that he himself should become the Aura Guardian.
And the first-ever Pokémon Champion in history.
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