"With this, Leon is down to only three Pokémon left."
In a corner of the spectator stands, Raihan spoke in a low voice, his tightly furrowed brows revealing his unsettled emotions.
After all, Leon was his closest friend. Although Raihan had always wanted to defeat Leon himself, that didn't mean he wanted to see Leon lose to someone else—especially not to Lucas, a Trainer from another region.
Of course, Raihan never expected Leon to actually defeat Lucas, but at the very least… at the very least, he couldn't lose too badly!
Lucas hadn't even used any Legendary Pokémon yet!
Well—at least in Raihan's eyes, Galarian Moltres might be a little different from what he personally considered a "true" Legendary Pokémon…
"The situation really isn't looking good. Gardevoir hasn't taken any damage at all."
Steven nodded. At this point, Leon had already lost three of his main Pokémon, while Lucas had only lost one— his Galarian Moltres.
Meanwhile, Gardevoir was still in excellent condition. Dragapult had practically been instantly taken out the moment Gardevoir seized an opening.
As for Rhyperior, it never landed a single hit on Gardevoir, so Gardevoir's condition remained nearly perfect.
Naturally, that made the overall situation extremely unfavorable for Leon.
"The most troublesome part is how to deal with this Gardevoir. Its use of psychic power is simply too refined." Wallace gently stroked his pale chin. If it were him facing Lucas's Gardevoir… well, let's be honest.
His Water-type team—what could it possibly do against a Gardevoir this strong? Headbutt it to death?
On the battlefield.
"It seems your idea didn't quite work out, Champion Leon," Lucas said with a smile as he looked at Leon.
"I underestimated it. A miscalculation on my part," Leon replied calmly, though he let out a silent sigh inside.
Originally, he had sent out Rhyperior to wear Gardevoir down—ideally trading damage to seriously injure it.
But he hadn't expected Gardevoir to be even stronger than he'd anticipated.
Instead, Rhyperior had been sacrificed for nothing.
"So then, what are you planning to do next, Champion Leon?" Lucas's crimson eyes were gentle and clear. "Your next opponent will be it."
Leon's expression sharpened. Now was not the time to dwell on mistakes—what mattered was pulling himself together for the next battle.
He took out a Poké Ball and threw it forcefully. "Cinderace! You're up!"
The Poké Ball opened midair, and a red-and-white figure landed nimbly on the field, crossing its arms as it stared at Gardevoir.
Its overall appearance resembled a rabbit, but one that stood upright like a humanoid. Its lower body was red-orange, resembling shorts and sneakers.
It was none other than Cinderace, one of Galar's Fire-type starters!
"Cinderace, huh? So, you're still choosing to face it head-on."
Lucas raised an eyebrow as he appraised the Cinderace before him. Its aura was vibrant and brimming with momentum.
A very well-trained Cinderace.
Lucas wasn't surprised that Leon owned one. Strictly speaking, even in the games, Leon possessed all three Galar starters.
And in this world, it was the same.
Cinderace excelled most at explosive power. In that regard, it was quite similar to Inteleon—though the difference was that Inteleon specialized in special attacks.
Cinderace, on the other hand, was a physical attacker.
"In that case, let's start with a greeting."
"Gardevoir, Dazzling Gleam!"
Lucas snapped his fingers and issued the first command.
Gardevoir let out a soft cry, raising both arms as dazzling, beautiful light flared across her body.
The next moment, beams of sparkling magic shot rapidly toward Cinderace.
"Dodge!" Leon immediately shouted.
Cinderace lowered its stance slightly, its powerful legs exploding into motion.
It sprinted at incredible speed, evading Dazzling Gleam while rapidly closing the distance toward Gardevoir.
Blindingly fast!
"Trying to use speed to disrupt Gardevoir's judgment? That's a bit naïve."
Watching the battlefield where Cinderace was little more than an afterimage, Lucas raised his brow.
Cinderace possessed exceptional physical abilities—explosive power, jumping strength, and kicking force were all outstanding.
But trying to use speed to overwhelm Gardevoir was thinking too much.
Did he forget what happened to Dragapult?
"Blaze Kick!"
"Psychic!"
Leon's expression didn't change as he shouted his command—almost simultaneously with Lucas's voice reaching Gardevoir.
Cinderace suddenly appeared at Gardevoir's side, leaping high as fierce flames ignited around its right leg.
Blaze Kick!
A sharp whooshing sound tore through the air. In the blink of an eye, Cinderace was already beside Gardevoir, its blazing kick slamming down toward her head!
But—
Suddenly, Cinderace's stylish movement came to a dead stop!
A faint blue light enveloped its body—Gardevoir's Psychic!
"Cinderace!"
Having anticipated this, Leon didn't freeze up like the first time. He shouted immediately.
Cinderace struggled fiercely, flames gathering in its mouth as it attempted to fire at the Gardevoir right in front of it.
Even while restrained by Psychic, as long as it could struggle, ranged attacks were still possible.
"Shadow Ball."
But Gardevoir was faster.
A pitch-black Shadow Ball formed in an instant and struck Cinderace, blasting it away before it could release its flames.
Cinderace spun twice in midair, then skillfully used the momentum to land, sliding backward before slowly standing upright.
Leon frowned as he stared at Gardevoir. His head was genuinely starting to ache. This was ridiculous…
"There's just no opening at all. Even movements like Cinderace's can be tracked."
In the stands, N gazed at the elegant, serene Gardevoir, continuously thinking about how he might deal with such a Pokémon.
After much thought, aside from brute-force suppression with Zekrom, it seemed only Zoroark, being immune to Psychic—could possibly contend with this Gardevoir…
Cinderace's explosive movement and agility were truly impressive. That sudden Blaze Kick earlier—most Pokémon would have struggled to defend against it.
Yet Gardevoir not only blocked it, but counterattacked effortlessly.
"Psychic-types really are extremely troublesome," Red said in agreement. The most notoriously difficult types were widely acknowledged to be Psychic and Ghost.
Dragon-types were strong across the board with almost no weaknesses, and Poison-types were also incredibly hard to guard against.
But in reality, trainers who could truly master Psychic, Ghost, or Poison types were very rare.
Once mastered, however, the sheer annoyance of these three types was universally acknowledged.
On the battlefield.
"Moonblast!"
Lucas glanced at Leon, who was frowning in thought, and ordered Gardevoir to attack once again.
Gardevoir raised her arms slightly as the cold, beautiful phantom of the moon appeared behind her.
"Pyro Ball!"
Leon countered without hesitation.
Cinderace lightly kicked off the ground, sending a small stone upward. With a sharp, stylish swing of its leg—
The stone was kicked straight toward Gardevoir.
The kicked stone was instantly engulfed in flames, transforming into a massive, blazing fireball that distorted the air itself.
Cinderace's signature move—Pyro Ball!
Not only was it extremely powerful, it also had no drawbacks, making it perfectly suited to Cinderace's explosive fighting style.
Moonblast and Pyro Ball collided violently in midair. Pink light and roaring flames dyed the sky as powerful shockwaves rippled outward.
BOOM!
The two attacks exploded simultaneously.
"Teleport!"
Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. This Cinderace was indeed very strong—but this alone wasn't enough.
Blue light flickered in Gardevoir's eyes as she vanished from her spot.
When she reappeared, she was already not far from Cinderace.
"Cinderace!" Leon's eyes tightened.
Cinderace was startled as well, forcefully stomping the ground to retreat.
"Psychic!"
Lucas's voice rang out clearly.
Gardevoir raised one arm toward Cinderace, invisible psychic power surging forth.
Cinderace's backward leap halted abruptly—controlled forcefully to stop by Psychic!
Cinderace struggled fiercely, its powerful strength desperately trying to break free from the tight psychic grip.
"Moonblast!"
Gardevoir raised her other arm, the moon phantom forming behind her once more.
"Cinderace, Flamethrower!" Leon shouted decisively.
Because Gardevoir had to maintain Psychic control, her Moonblast would charge more slowly.
Rather than gambling on whether Cinderace could break free before Moonblast struck, it was better to counterattack directly.
Cinderace immediately gathered flames in its mouth.
"This thing… just how was it trained? It can still attack while maintaining Psychic?"
Leon stared heavily at Gardevoir. Psychic alone was already terrifying—but the most absurd part was that Gardevoir could multitask like this!
Maintaining Psychic control required constant focus, yet Gardevoir could control her opponent and prepare an attack at the same time.
That was beyond outrageous.
This was practically cheating!
The pink beam surged forth as Flamethrower erupted in response.
BOOM!
Flamethrower and Moonblast clashed violently, but it was clear—Cinderace wasn't suited for special attacks. Its Flamethrower was quickly overwhelmed by Moonblast.
Fortunately, Flamethrower bought enough time. Cinderace broke free from Psychic and retreated rapidly.
Moonblast exploded with a thunderous roar.
A figure landed in front of Leon—Cinderace clutching its left arm. It seemed the attack had still grazed it.
"Impressive. You still managed to avoid it."
Lucas chuckled lightly in praise—not mockery. This Cinderace was genuinely outstanding.
Objectively speaking, although Leon's reputation in Lucas's previous Pokémon world had been controversial, there was no denying Leon's strength.
The criticism largely stemmed from the anime's portrayal and plot choices, which unfairly painted him in a bad light.
Because of the Galar Pokédex restrictions, some other champions' core Pokémon couldn't be used in Galar, making Leon's title as the strongest champion feel questionable to some.
But in the Sword and Shield storyline, Leon truly carried the air of a master. Even when Dynamax wasn't possible, he stood his ground against the newly awakened Eternatus to protect Galar.
Relying solely on his main team, he nearly pushed Eternatus's normal form to its limits.
And while Leon had previously lost to Lance, that Lance was the strongest all-around version across all iterations—the same Lance who could later confront one of Sinnoh's Creation Trio.
Leon's strength was unquestionably world-class.
"Looks like I have no choice but to use it."
Leon, however, wasn't as relaxed as Lucas. The pressure Gardevoir was exerting was immense.
He couldn't possibly bring out Charizard already, could he?
After all, Gardevoir was only Lucas's second Pokémon!
"Cinderace!"
Leon took a silent breath, his expression solemn, and raised Cinderace's Poké Ball, recalling it.
"Oh?"
Lucas raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
Although Cinderace had been hit twice, neither attack was particularly heavy—its injuries weren't serious.
And—
Lucas narrowed his eyes at Leon. He hadn't put the Poké Ball away. He was still holding it.
"Using it now?"
Raihan frowned. There was no doubt—Leon was about to Gigantamax!
All three Galar starters could Gigantamax, but he wasn't saving it for Charizard?
"Against you, I have to give it my all."
Leon gripped Cinderace's Poké Ball, locking eyes with Lucas.
The Dynamax Band on his wrist crackled with eerie red energy. As Gigantamax power surged, the Poké Ball visibly turned red and expanded!
"Come on. Bring it."
Lucas's smile deepened. This was his first time facing Gigantamax.
"Cinderace!"
Leon hurled the enlarged Poké Ball forcefully. Dark red light flashed as an enormous Pokémon suddenly appeared on the field.
The entire stadium erupted!
The crimson glow darkened the sky as Gigantamax Cinderace stood towering, arms crossed, gazing down at Gardevoir. Its ears had grown extremely long, drooping down both sides of its body, while three dark red clouds floated above its head.
Most eye-catching of all was the massive fireball beneath its feet, roaring with blazing flames. Even from Lucas's side of the field, the scorching heat was palpable.
On the surface of the fireball were three pale markings, resembling eyes and a nose on a human face.
Gigantamax Cinderace's G-Max Fireball!
"Tsk tsk, now that's huge."
Lucas scanned the towering Cinderace from top to bottom, marveling quietly. Eternatus's power truly was miraculous.
The only question was—
How well could this form take a beating?
(End of Chapter)
(AN: I originally planned to give Lucas a Gigantamax form too, but after checking… none of his main Pokémon can actually Gigantamax.)