“There’s *another* top-tier trainer?!”
Staring at this Blueberry Super Champion who had appeared out of nowhere, the students of Étoile Academy were utterly stunned.
Nobody expected their opponents to have such a card hidden up their sleeve.
After all, if it was common knowledge that there were five members of the Elite Four, then adding a Champion to make six was perfectly logical.
Meanwhile, the Blueberry Academy students were even more bewildered.
What on earth was a Super Champion?
They had never heard of such a thing!
And was this guy even a student at their school?!
Lacey’s pretty face was the picture of confusion.
How could she not recognize this guy who had suddenly popped out of nowhere?
Wasn’t he the student who had crawled out of the floorboards earlier and taken advantage of her?
She had clearly let him off the hook, so why hadn’t he left yet?
Mashiro lightly adjusted the brim of his hat, thinking to himself that he had barely made it in time.
Classic Champion-style clothing wasn’t hard to find—he had located an outfit identical to Red’s jacket at a clothing shop near the school, which was why he had run out earlier.
He just hadn’t expected to return to find Drayton already knocked out.
Driven by urgency, he had resorted to this desperate measure to draw Blue’s attention.
Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have found a valid reason to challenge the man.
As the earlier Garchomp quest had shown, the system’s restrictions on how tasks were completed were actually quite flexible.
So long as he fought Blue and won, the requirement would be satisfied.
Right now was undeniably his best opportunity, as a Champion wouldn’t just accept challenges from strangers for no good reason.
“Super Champion?”
Blue raised an eyebrow slightly.
He had never heard of the title, but the outfit the guy was wearing gave him a subtle sense of irritation.
Still, he didn’t think the kid actually knew him.
After all, there was no rule saying people couldn’t wear the same jacket as Red.
Maybe he was just a fanatic Red fan?
Perfect—he could call Red later and tell him he had just thrashed one of his fanboys.
“Interesting.
Let’s keep going then!”
Blue flashed an amused smile, not minding the challenge in the slightest.
To him, one more opponent made no difference.
“Hold on a second…
Alright, good to go.”
Mashiro quickly switched his expression and waved his hand.
At his signal, Excadrill burrowed out from the side.
Blue felt something slightly off about this Pokémon, but he didn’t dwell on it.
Such was the confidence of the strong; he simply didn’t believe his opponent could defeat him.
None of the spectators expected this “Super Champion” to use an Excadrill just like Lacey had earlier.
What’s more, this Excadrill was noticeably smaller than Lacey’s.
At a glance, it looked like it hadn’t been raised properly by its trainer.
It seemed this would be another completely one-sided battle.
Mashiro: “…”
He had only caught this wild Excadrill yesterday, okay?
Its body was packed with lean, battle-tested muscle forged in the wild!
How could it compare to Lacey’s, which had been raised at home for years, eating well every day and getting bathed three times a day, building up a layer of plump fat?
“Exca!”
Excadrill expressed its displeasure as well.
How dare they call it small?!
Only Squishy in Mashiro’s pocket remained calm, acting as if it understood nothing at all.
Soon, once both trainers were ready, Excadrill and Tyranitar stepped onto the battleground together.
Most of the audience had no interest in this seemingly foregone conclusion.
Even Diantha and her companions, who were just about to leave, felt the same way.
There was really nothing special about this Excadrill; judging purely by aura, it truly fell short of Lacey’s.
However, Lacey was currently frowning.
Being intimately familiar with Excadrill, she seemed to have noticed something.
Shock flashed through her eyes as she whispered to herself.
“Could this be…
…
[Pokémon: Tyranitar]
[Type: Rock / Dark]
[Ability: Sand Stream (Summons a sandstorm when entering battle)]
[Moves: Rock Slide, Dragon Dance, Screech, Dark Pulse, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Earth Power, Heavy Slam, Ice Punch, Iron Defense, Body Press, Protect, Crunch, Thrash, Hyper Beam]
[Affection Level: 0 (Doesn’t know you at all)]
[Status: Slightly Soiled Outer Shell (Slightly worn from the gauntlet match, but still capable of fighting)]
[Basic Info: Evolved from a Larvitar rescued by Blue from Pokémon Hunters during an ecological survey in Kalos six months ago.
Nature: Adamant.]
“A total stat monster!”
Mashiro finally had time to check the detailed info of Blue’s Tyranitar.
Fortunately, he had prepared beforehand, otherwise he really wouldn’t have been confident in winning—after all…
this was the very first Pokémon battle of his life, and he had zero experience.
“Let’s fight!”
Blue initiated the offensive.
Wanting to stop wasting time, he prepared to repeat his previous victory over Lacey.
He waved his arm and shouted, “Iron Defense!”
Seeing this, the corners of Mashiro’s mouth turned up into a smile.
“Choosing defense over offense?
Then you’ve fallen right into my trap!”
The instant his words fell, Excadrill raised its steel-clawed hands, and the momentum it had been deliberately suppressing suddenly exploded!
Powerful energy swept across the field, transforming into a massive silver drill that tore through the air!
*BOOM—!*
With a deafening crash, the massive drill slammed heavily into Tyranitar’s chest.
The super-effective strike blasted it backward, sending it crashing straight into the Aegislash dispatched by the teachers to protect the stands.
“Damn it!!!”
Seeing this, Blue couldn’t help but curse out loud.
He finally understood where that odd feeling from earlier had come from.
This Excadrill had secretly stat-boosted beforehand, using [Swords Dance] at least three times!
Then it had suppressed its aura to delay the decay of the stat boosts, all so it could unleash a massive strike the moment it stepped onto the field!
He wasn’t the only one; many in the audience realized it as well.
People thought Substitute-Protect-Toxic was dirty?
*This* was true filth!
*Hiding in a corner to stat-boost before diving into battle—that’s a Lumiose City tradition!
If you don’t like it, don’t play.*
Mashiro countered silently in his heart.
After all, in *Pokémon Legends: Z-A*, everyone fought battles this way.
“Trainers these days are really…
uninhibited, aren’t they?”
Diantha let out an awkward chuckle.
Even she hadn’t spotted the issue earlier.
It had to be said that this Excadrill was extraordinarily patient; stat boosts naturally decayed over time, so suppressing its power without getting caught during that window was extremely difficult.
“This young man is quite interesting.”
Lysandre, standing beside her, finally showed a sliver of interest.
He could sense that the bond between Mashiro and Excadrill wasn’t as intimate as that of other trainers and their Pokémon.
Instead, it was somewhat distant, yet possessed an indescribable tacit understanding.
With Tyranitar heavily injured by the blow, the boost from [Swords Dance] on Excadrill fully faded.
It looked triumphantly at the fallen behemoth, not forgetting to glance in Lacey’s direction to show off its strength.
Lacey: “…”
[Affection toward Mashiro continuously decreased by 1]
Sure enough, like trainer, like Pokémon.
Mashiro didn’t notice the young girl’s gaze.
Seeing that Tyranitar hadn’t completely collapsed, he couldn’t help but marvel at the opponent’s sheer strength.
Still, he was confident that within two weeks at most, he could defeat this Tyranitar head-on without relying on any tricks, especially considering he and Excadrill were still in their adjustment period.
“As expected…
I really don’t get along well with people wearing that outfit.”
Blue composed himself, a smile returning to his face as he looked at Mashiro.
“But I have to admit, you’re much more interesting than those Blueberry Academy students.
This is how Pokémon battles should be, don’t you think?
“Hmm?”
Mashiro frowned slightly, his pupils suddenly contracting.
Blue pulled a pendant out from inside his collar, embedded with a colorful stone that seemed to pulse with flowing energy.
At that moment, the eyes of everyone from Blueberry Academy widened in shock.
Even Diantha in the stands showed a look of astonishment, while only Lysandre furrowed his brows, appearing lost in thought.
Although many students present had never seen it with their own eyes, how could they not recognize this stone?
It was one of the key items required for a Pokémon to transcend the boundaries of evolution—a Key Stone containing Mega Power!
“Could it be—”
“Tyranitar, release your true power!”
The instant Blue’s voice fell, the Key Stone on the pendant and the Mega Stone held by Tyranitar simultaneously burst into radiant, iridescent light!
The beams of light intertwined in the air to form a bridge, and Tyranitar’s body began to transform within the brilliance—
Its back split open from the infusion of incredible energy, forming six irregular spikes on either side of its body.
The spike atop its head transformed into a single vertical horn, its tail lengthened with four outward-growing spikes at the tip, the shell on its belly shifted from blue to red, and the armor on its chest resembled a terrifying monster’s face!
The evolved Mega Tyranitar erupted with a shudder-inducing power, looking as though only the instinct for destruction remained.
“Mega Evolution…”
Mashiro stared at the scene in a slight daze.
This was his first time witnessing Mega Evolution with his own eyes.
For some reason, he suddenly felt a spark of inspiration regarding the theme for his future Gym.
But the battle at hand wasn’t over yet!
“Drill Run!”
“It’s useless!
Earthquake!”
Both commands fell at the same time!
Powerful seismic waves radiated outward with Mega Tyranitar at the center!
Before Excadrill could even get close, it was directly overturned by the Earthquake.
The super-effective blow dealt massive damage, causing it to crash heavily to the ground.
“Kids, the farce is over!”
Blue waved his hand, signaling Mega Tyranitar to launch another Earthquake, giving the opponent no chance to counterattack.
The poor Excadrill couldn’t even get near its foe.
In everyone’s eyes, the outcome seemed sealed.
Mashiro clenched his fists tightly as he watched the fallen Excadrill, feeling equally anxious.
Facing a Champion-level trainer in his very first battle had led him to underestimate the quest’s difficulty.
An archive quest of this caliber really wasn’t easy to complete.
Was it truly going to end here…?
“No, it’s far from over!
Don’t look down on my Excadrill’s battle-tested body!
A mere Mega Tyranitar is nothing!”
“Exca!”
Excadrill abruptly rose to its feet!
Memories of being repeatedly thrashed by Zygarde for nearly an hour that morning resurfaced in its mind.
Right now, a familiar power surged within its body—a power it had felt countless times, the power it was most skilled at wielding.
That’s right, the power of the earth…
“Earthly Might!!!”
Mashiro swung his arm forcefully!
If close-quarters combat was impossible, then they would settle this with a long-range move!
As the command resounded, Excadrill thrust its steel claws deep into the ground!
Under Squishy’s curious gaze, it strived to recall the posture Zygarde took when releasing its abilities.
A surge of energy originating from order and nature gushed forth from within its body!
“Exca!”
The very moment Mega Tyranitar released its Earthquake, an even violent tremor exploded centered right beneath its feet!
The ground shattered violently, and accompanied by a burst of green light, a powerful shockwave disrupted and destroyed the Earthquake’s energy.
The soaring power blasted Mega Tyranitar’s massive body straight into the air!
*BOOM—!*
A heavy thud resounded as the massive weight crashed back down.
Within the fading light, Mega Tyranitar reverted to its original form, its eyes swirling in circles, completely unable to battle.
The battle was over!