The battle between Giovanni and Gloria was one that drew everyone's attention.
After all, this match would determine the final trainer to advance into the Top Four—of course it was worth watching.
"This battle is probably going to be extremely intense,"
Steven said as he looked at the two Pokémon facing off on the field, then glanced at Giovanni and Gloria.
"Definitely. There are no weak trainers in the Top Eight—let alone a fight for the very last spot,"
Wallace agreed, casting a curious look at the oddly shaped Dracovish.
As a Water-type specialist, Wallace was naturally more sensitive to Water-type Pokémon.
But honestly, this was his first time seeing Dracovish. After all, it was an extremely rare Pokémon, revived from the combined fossils of a Dragon and a Bird.
He wondered how strong this Dracovish really was. Still, its Strong Jaw ability was undeniably excellent.
On top of that, its Water/Dragon typing was a fantastic combination.
He decided to observe carefully—if it performed well, he might even try to raise one himself.
The battle officially began.
Giovanni immediately Terastallized Great Tusk into the Ground type, while Gloria instantly Terastallized Dracovish into the Water type.
Neither side held back—both went all out from the start.
After making it this far, Giovanni and Gloria no longer needed to prove their strength.
Even so, before the match began, most people still favored Giovanni.
After all, his strength spoke for itself—he had defeated Lance.
However, not long after the battle started, everyone was surprised to see Giovanni fall into a disadvantage.
That ferocious and domineering Great Tusk was as powerful as ever, using High Horsepower to suppress Dracovish's Dragon Rush.
In a head-on clash, Great Tusk's raw power clearly surpassed Dracovish's.
High Horsepower crushed Dragon Rush, followed immediately by a point-blank Earthquake that slammed into Dracovish.
A wild, brutal, no-nonsense offensive!
Although Water counters Ground offensively, Water doesn't resist Ground-type attacks.
But then Dracovish seized an opening and lunged forward, biting down hard on Great Tusk with Fishious Rend.
The powerful attack dealt massive damage, leaving Great Tusk momentarily unable to counterattack from the pain.
Dracovish clamped down and hurled Great Tusk away, then followed up with a perfectly landed Hydro Pump.
The momentum shifted almost instantly—completely unexpected.
Compared to Dracovish, Great Tusk was clearly far more injured. Both Fishious Rend and Hydro Pump hit it super effectively.
Giovanni reacted swiftly, recalling Great Tusk to prevent it from being taken out by a follow-up Earthquake combo.
"So strong! She actually suppressed Giovanni!"
Leaf exclaimed in shock.
Although the main reason was type advantage, this was still the first time Giovanni's Great Tusk had struggled as an opening Pokémon throughout the World Championships.
After all, Great Tusk was one of Giovanni's core mainstays.
"This girl's strength really might be on par with Champion Leon—or even greater,"
Lillie said with a mix of amazement and admiration as she watched the bright, confident girl on the field.
"Yes. Among all these 'monsters,' Gloria is definitely in the top tier,"
Dylan nodded.
Because of the anime Journeys, many people disliked the once-undefeated Champion Leon.
But in truth, Leon's strength was absolutely top-tier among champions.
In Sword and Shield, when Eternatus broke its seal and plunged the world back into the Darkest Day, Leon stood alone against it, pushing Eternatus to its limits. In Pokémon Evolutions, Leon even nearly captured Eternatus himself.
He almost did it solo.
So Rose's plan of relying on Leon to capture Eternatus wasn't unfounded at all.
With Rose's cooperation, Leon might truly have succeeded.
Judging purely from in-game story performance, no regional champion could rival Leon—except Red, who, by lore, had also served as Kanto Champion for a time.
And yet, even such a powerhouse Leon was replaced by Gloria.
Of course, looking across all generations' protagonists, Gloria wasn't necessarily the strongest. Setting aside the absurdly overpowered Selene, there was also an even more ridiculous Dawn.
Back on the field.
Despite losing the first exchange, Giovanni's mentality remained rock-solid. This was a full-team battle—one setback meant nothing.
Still, he grew more serious. Gloria's strength had exceeded expectations.
Considering Dracovish's threat to his team, Giovanni sent out his second Pokémon immediately—Kangaskhan, and Mega Evolved it on the spot.
Mega Kangaskhan's power needed no explanation. After paying a small price, it defeated Dracovish.
Then both trainers recalled their Pokémon—yes, Giovanni did not keep Mega Kangaskhan on the field.
Giovanni sent Great Tusk back out, while Gloria released her second Pokémon: Grimmsnarl.
With Prankster, Grimmsnarl's annoyance factor was undeniable. Even though Great Tusk was ferocious, Grimmsnarl specialized in dealing with reckless brawlers like it.
Great Tusk fell, and both sides returned to an even footing.
After a moment's thought, Giovanni threw out his third Pokémon: Dugtrio.
"What a stalemated battle,"
Nemona clicked her tongue as she watched the back-and-forth. The intensity exceeded expectations.
And she loved it—this kind of battle was exactly what she lived for!
"Yes, both of them are operating at the very top level,"
Geeta said, eyes sparkling, unable to look away.
Beside her, Blue remained silent.
He had been eliminated by Gloria. To be honest, he wasn't completely convinced—but a loss was a loss.
Still, deep down, he didn't want Gloria to fall here.
The one who defeated him should go further.
Time passed, and the battle gradually reached its climax.
Gloria was the first to be pushed to her limit. Looking at the two battered figures across from her—one large, one small—her composed expression nearly cracked.
She had the advantage.
She really did!
She had been up one Pokémon!
So why…
why was that Mega Kangaskhan still standing?!
It had taken down her Archaludon and Rillaboom back to back—how was it still fighting?!
But things had come this far.
Gloria sent out her final ace: Urshifu.
Giovanni recalled his nearly exhausted Mega Kangaskhan and released his trump card—Therian Landorus.
Gigantamax Urshifu!
Dynamax Therian Landorus!
As a Galar trainer, Dynamax was naturally Gloria's strongest and most familiar mechanic, so she saved it for last.
Giovanni, of course, had done the same to counter it.
The final battle began.
Two legendary Pokémon clashed head-on. Whether Urshifu or Landorus, both were terrifying close-combat fighters.
Their exchange was brutal—raw, direct melee. Perhaps not the most visually flashy, but unquestionably the most thrilling.
And in the end—
"Urshifu and Landorus have both lost the ability to battle!"
The referee announced the result.
"Since Gloria has lost all six of her Pokémon, the winner of this match is Giovanni!"
Giovanni still had one Pokémon left—his heavily injured Mega Kangaskhan.
Hearing the announcement, Gloria stared blankly at her fallen Urshifu.
She… had lost?
Giovanni, meanwhile, let out a quiet sigh of relief. Honestly, this battle had been far more dangerous than he'd anticipated.
Thankfully, he won.
Otherwise, he wouldn't know how to face Silver—after all, he'd promised his son he'd make it to the finals.
"WOO—!!"
The stadium exploded with noise.
"Champion Giovanni!!!"
"Damn! Mega Kangaskhan hard-carried this match! The rest of the team should kneel and thank it!"
"Exactly! If Mega Kangaskhan hadn't taken out Archaludon and Rillaboom, Giovanni would've lost!"
"Waaah… Gloria actually lost."
"I knew it! Kanto reigns supreme!"
The crowd roared, chanting Giovanni's name.
Gloria's supporters could only sigh—Galar's last glimmer of glory had fallen.
Still, there was no doubt—
This had been an incredible battle.
"Tch—thought Giovanni was about to go down,"
Selene clicked her tongue in amazement. Before Mega Kangaskhan stepped in, she'd really thought Gloria would win.
But Mega Kangaskhan turned the tide.
"Yeah, that was close. You really can't underestimate any trainer,"
Lillie said, finally relaxing.
She considered herself a Kanto supporter too—and she'd really hoped Giovanni would advance.
After all, that meant the Top Four would be entirely Kanto trainers.
"And just like that, the Top Four are all internal matches now~!"
Selene beamed as she looked at the four portraits on the big screen.
Selene. Red. Dylan. Giovanni.
So… how would the semifinals be decided?
Or rather—
Who would end up facing Dylan?