Paldea League Headquarters.
After finishing the work on her hands, Geeta no longer planned to stay in her office in a daze.
Glancing at the time, she turned to Larry, who was working hard beside her, and said, "Today involved both battles and handling affairs. You must be tired too."
"It's fine to leave the remaining work for tomorrow. There happens to be a battle in Mesagoza worth watching. Call Rika, Hassel, and the others to come along."
Geeta interlaced her fingers, a hint of unconcealed anticipation appearing in her eyes.
Larry was stunned for a few seconds, not expecting Geeta to actually let him rest first. He had thought he would be working overtime until eleven again.
As for this kind of team-building activity, he didn't particularly dislike it. After all, anything was better than overtime.
Moreover, even someone as laid-back as Larry held some interest in a Pokémon battle that had caught Geeta's attention.
Thinking of this, Larry nodded lightly. "Alright."
Even though he would soon regret his decision, Larry was genuinely happy and expectant at this moment.
Soon, the two met up with Rika, Hassel, and the senior who were already waiting in the lobby, and together they headed to Mesagoza, which wasn't far from the League headquarters.
As they passed the Pokémon Center, they casually asked Nurse Joy and learned that Nemona's Pokémon had all recovered and she had already left. Under Geeta's urging, their pace quickened a bit more.
No matter how slow he was, Larry sensed that something felt off.
But it was too late to change course now. When Geeta led the four of them to the side of Sun Plaza in central Mesagoza and they saw the cleared battle arena with people standing on both sides—especially one particular person—Larry's vision immediately went black.
No way… again?
Even with the sound of Director Clavell chatting with Geeta as he maintained order reaching his ears, Larry's attention was completely diverted to whether he should ignore his boss's face and run away on the spot, or grit his teeth and watch what seemed like a normal battle.
If he stood a bit farther to the side, he probably wouldn't get affected by the plague, right?
At the same time.
After spending the entire afternoon confirming that her Pawmot and the others had recovered to full condition,
Nemona, who would pant after running 100 meters, sprinted with all her might into Sun Plaza.
Before Nemona could even speak to Lucas, who was clearly waiting for her, Arven, Penny, Eri, Shizuka, Paul, and the others—who had been guarding the area—immediately surrounded her.
The congratulations from her partners, friends, and classmates were certainly delightful, but at this moment Nemona's mind was entirely focused on the person opposite her.
After all, they were friends who had frequently attended classes together over the past year, gotten along well privately, and even briefly traveled together.
Arven and the others also noticed Nemona's distraction. They exchanged knowing smiles, finished their congratulations, and stepped aside, watching as Nemona walked onto the empty side of the battle arena.
At this moment, a considerable crowd had already gathered around Sun Plaza.
Because the morning's live broadcast had just ended, people realized that the person who had been battling on TV and in the live stream—and had earned the Champion-level title—was now right beside them.
With all these factors combined, the excited crowd spread the news rapidly—one telling ten, ten telling a hundred. In the blink of an eye, Sun Plaza was surrounded three layers deep inside and out.
As time passed and the news continued to spread, many more people tried to rush over from other cities.
"Teacher Lucas."
As soon as Nemona opened her mouth, the noisy discussions around them instantly fell silent.
No one had demanded it, yet everyone present voluntarily stopped the clamor.
"You're here, Nemona."
Lucas, who had been facing away from her, turned around and smiled at his outstanding disciple.
"What to do next—I shouldn't need to say much, right?"
"Yes!"
Nemona nodded excitedly, her eyes filled with unstoppable anticipation and joy.
"I've been looking forward to this day for a very, very long time!"
From this moment on, she finally stood in the same realm as Lucas and had earned the right to challenge him!
No matter the final result, she wanted to know the gap between herself and Lucas—whether she had successfully caught up to his footsteps!
Nemona believed that once she knew the answer, she would definitely be able to continue growing and evolving.
Looking at Nemona, who had grown so outstandingly, Lucas smiled with relief, then glanced around.
"Have you seen the surroundings? This is a Pokémon battle between two Champions, and also a master-disciple graduation battle."
"Most of them watched the morning's live broadcast and have acknowledged your current strength and status."
"Even without any promotion, the news spread to everyone's ears in just one afternoon, resulting in so many people gathering here."
"The stage has long been set. Come—prove to me—"
"Whether your strength after blooming and bearing fruit is stronger…"
"Or whether my strength, unleashed without reservation and with full effort, is stronger."
"Convey your growth to me through this battle, and try to surpass me!"
Lucas pointed the Poké Ball in his hand (which had returned to its original size) at Nemona. An aura that could be called absolute confidence swept outward like a storm.
"I will go all out, Teacher!"
Nemona also pointed her Poké Ball at Lucas, steadying her slightly trembling right arm with her left hand.
This was not due to fear or lack of confidence. On the contrary, it represented the extreme emotional fluctuation of excitement Nemona was feeling right now.
Nemona closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, only a fervent pursuit of Pokémon battles remained in her gaze.
Clavell, who had already coordinated with Lucas beforehand, stood outside the battle arena boundary and announced in his role as referee:
"An upcoming 6 vs 6 full-team battle between Champion Lucas and Champion Nemona. Both sides may only use Terastallization. The battle ends when one side's entire team loses the ability to fight."
"Please send out your first Pokémon!"
"Tauros!"
As if echoing its trainer's surging emotions, the Tauros that had shone brightly in the Champion Gauntlet and handled many tricky opponents for Nemona raised its head and let out a resounding moo, full of fighting spirit.
"Wow, it's that Tauros!"
The audience who had watched the entire live broadcast immediately recognized the Pokémon Nemona sent out, and cheers erupted from the crowd.
Nemona was clearly a bit overwhelmed by the cheers.
Geeta, watching from a corner of the crowd, smiled slightly and murmured in a voice only she could hear:
"Accept it. These applause and cheers are the ode of praise belonging only to you, for completing this series of achievements."
"The glory of a Champion is something both heavy and thrilling."
Compared to the boiling scene when Nemona sent out her Pokémon, Lucas's side fell a bit behind in terms of the crowd's reaction at first.
He had initially considered using his second-string team—Arcanine, Politoed, Moltres, Raging Bolt, Ursaluna, Regice, and Tapu Fini—to face Nemona's team.
But he quickly rejected the idea.
Not to mention that while his Arcanine's strength was steadily improving, its growth speed could no longer keep up with Nemona's Pawmot and the others, who had been wholeheartedly training during their travels.
Moreover, strictly speaking, Ursaluna, Regice, and Tapu Fini were not Pokémon that Lucas had raised from the beginning himself.
It wasn't that they couldn't fight, or that they would lose.
But using them as the lineup for this master-disciple succession battle made Lucas feel that he wouldn't be able to fully convey everything he wanted to Nemona.
So, he had to use his main team after all.
Even if it might be a bit overkill for Nemona, who had only just become a Champion-level trainer.
But Lucas thought that Nemona herself probably hoped for exactly this.
"Serperior."
On Lucas's side, the noble, graceful, and disdainful Serperior coiled on one side of the battle arena. Just by being there, it exerted unimaginable pressure on both Tauros and Nemona.
"Serperior, huh? Looks like Lucas will have the type advantage from the start."
Hassel tried to analyze, but Rika interrupted him.
"Stop analyzing. Haven't you noticed how much that Serperior has improved compared to a year ago?"
"Ah, if I had fought that Serperior in its current state last year, I might not even have needed to rotate—it would have swept right through me."
The senior said with a smiling, dejected tone.
Larry remained silent, but he was actually the least surprised among the group.
After all, he had seen Lucas's Pokémon brawling with the island guardians in Alola and still coming out on top.
Geeta didn't join their chat either. She simply gazed thoughtfully at Lucas's profile and Serperior's figure, then smiled with relief, sighing inwardly.
"As expected… In this past year, you haven't regressed or stayed in place. Instead, you've updated all the shortcomings and lack of foundation that were unavoidable in last year's somewhat rushed journey, and on top of that, you've completed another evolution."
"Just how strong have you become now?"
Filled with overflowing anticipation, Geeta reined in her thoughts and began watching the battle with full concentration.
"Charge! Close Combat!"
Although she felt the pressure, Nemona issued the command to Tauros with high spirits.
"Moo!" Tauros lowered its head, planted its sturdy front legs, and its entire body was enveloped in a powerful aura of brilliant orange-yellow light. Like a madly burning meteor wrapped in strong airflow, it galloped on all fours toward Serperior!
"Leaf Blade."
Logically, against a Tauros charging in this state, Lucas should have given an evasive command.
But he made a decision that was almost a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Some were puzzled, but the answer was revealed in the next moment.
Enveloped in orange light and carrying waves of air, Tauros arrived in an instant.
Its pair of sturdy horns charged ferociously toward Serperior's body without hesitation!
In response, Serperior's serpentine body sprang up like a coil, its back against the afterglow of the setting sun. Its tail transformed into a verdant long blade with no intention of yielding force, slicing straight and true toward Tauros's head!
Tauros reacted quickly too. Empowered by "Close Combat," it tilted its head, intending to block Serperior's Leaf Blade with its horns and then launch a close-range barrage of Close Combat attacks.
But imagination is imagination precisely because reality is full of surprises, with no always-reliable reference.
Bam!
The explosive sound of Leaf Blade colliding with horns!
"Moo—!"
The moment it made contact with the Leaf Blade, Tauros staggered, its front legs nearly dropping into a half-kneel.
The reason was simple—the force transmitted from its horns was simply—
If not for its good physique and the fact that there was no holding back, it might have been smashed headfirst into a crater by that single tail strike!
The power-specialized Paldean Tauros (Water Fighting type) was completely overpowered by Serperior in terms of raw strength!
Meeting Tauros's shocked eyes, Serperior revealed a smile that could only be described as supremely superior.
"Serpe~."
Little calf, do you really think the daily training I do with the likes of Swampert and those big guys, the infinite energy reinforcement, and the frequent sparring with Calyrex—accumulating far superior vitality and effort compared to before—is something you can shake?
While smiling, Serperior showed no mercy, continuously adding even greater force to its tail, pressing Tauros's head closer and closer to the ground.
But no matter what, Tauros was still a core member of Nemona's team. After realizing it was at a disadvantage in the contest of strength, it didn't lose its head and charge blindly. Instead, it shifted its horns away from the sharp Leaf Blade, and in the moment of misalignment, staggered back a few steps.
Nemona hesitated for a few seconds but didn't immediately recall Tauros. She decided to try once more. If it didn't work, switching to a Pokémon with good matchup against Serperior—like Goodra or Ribombee—wouldn't be too late.
"Giga Impact!"
Since she was prepared to test once and then immediately switch, Nemona naturally chose a high-power move with some drawbacks that could be mitigated by switching.
A white-and-purple cross-shaped star airflow began swirling in front of Tauros's nose.
The surrounding fierce gales and pulsating terrifying energy filled Tauros with a sense of oppression.
The next instant.
Tauros, having regrouped, let out a long moo and charged straight at Serperior again.
To this, Lucas could only sigh. "You made the wrong decision, Nemona."
"Frenzy Plant."
Serperior still held its head high arrogantly, but its tail tip shot into the ground like lightning.
In an instant, the entire Sun Plaza began to tremble.
The arena cracked with a rumble, and countless tree roots, writhing like wooden dragons, surged wildly from the fissures, sweeping toward Tauros in overwhelming numbers.
Through its time with Calyrex, Serperior's understanding of Frenzy Plant had reached an impressive level. Each of the tree roots it summoned was thicker than Tauros's entire body. Even if Tauros forcefully pushed aside a few, more would immediately surge in.
In just a moment, Tauros was bound by the roots, enduring a suffocating pressure like being constricted by a python.
"Not good!"
Realizing the danger, Nemona's expression changed and she raised her hand to recall Tauros.
—Would Lucas give her that chance?
The answer was obviously no.
From the start, he had said this was a full-effort battle with no holding back.
"Slam."
The third command after the battle began was uttered calmly by Lucas. Amid the booming crashes, the light beam from the Poké Ball in Nemona's hand was blocked by a single tree root manipulated by Serperior, while the remaining roots took turns violently slamming the helpless Tauros into the ground.
After a short while, the many tree roots slowly retracted into the earth, and the cracked ground closed up again.
The unconscious figure of Tauros lay there—without even having the chance to trigger its Anger Point or for Serperior to stack Contrary—completely crushed.
The sight left Sun Plaza in unprecedented silence.
Many people stared wide-eyed, their open mouths large enough to fit an egg, utterly overwhelmed by the pressure emanating from the man whose clothes fluttered in the gale stirred up by the whipping roots.
At this moment, they finally understood why Nemona, who had challenged in the Paldea League Headquarters' Champion Test, would challenge him, why he was Nemona's teacher, and what the phrase without reservation, with full effort truly meant.