Mewtwo!
"Careful. This Mewtwo's insanely strong—it's Damian's ace!"
Steven's expression was extremely grave. He knew very well this was Damian's true ace Pokémon.
That Mega Tyranitar just now had at best been one of Damian's core main roster, nothing more.
"His ace, huh?"
Cynthia's fine brows lifted as she recalled her gasping Garchomp; Garchomp could barely keep fighting anymore.
For a Mega Tyranitar that strong to still not be Damian's ace…
"Damian."
Giovanni recalled his badly wounded Nidoking and sent out a Nidoqueen.
"So then, shall we call this the start of round two? You ready?"
Damian tilted his head slightly, his tone dripping with teasing nastiness.
"Baxcalibur, Dragon Claw!"
Facing the torrent of flame Mega Salamence blasted down, Nemona ordered without the slightest hesitation.
Baxcalibur's claws glowed with a razor‑sharp cyan light as it tried to tear through the falling Fire Blast.
But Mega Salamence's Fire Blast was too strong. With a thunderous detonation, Fire Blast exploded.
The surging flames rode the shockwave and blasted Nemona's Baxcalibur straight off its feet.
"Damn it! This isn't gonna work!"
Nemona's face was tight, her brows deeply furrowed. Baxcalibur did have the type advantage here—after all, Baxcalibur was part Ice‑type.
And Ice was four‑times super effective against Salamence's Dragon/Flying typing.
The problem was, Mega Salamence owned absolute control of the air—and its Special Attack was crazy high.
Baxcalibur couldn't fly. That alone put it at a massive disadvantage in this matchup.
Mega Salamence only had to stay airborne spamming fire and Dragon Pulse or whatever, while Baxcalibur had to sprint its legs off.
It was getting completely suppressed by Mega Salamence's fire coverage—couldn't even lift its head.
Nemona glanced over at Brandon's side, at Brandon's Regirock.
To her shock, Regirock was also being hard‑pressed by Zinnia's Tyrantrum. This was supposed to be a Rock‑type mirror match.
Wait—how was a Legendary titan losing to a Tyrantrum?
Nemona was shook.
"Pfft～ Looks like you guys aren't all that after all. And—Damian's side seems to be doing just fine too."
Zinnia grinned at Nemona and Brandon, then looked toward Damian's battlefield.
"If you get too full of yourself in a battle, you're gonna pay for it."
Nemona threw out her second Poké Ball. A black‑and‑white‑feathered bird beat its wings and took to the air.
Flying/Dark‑type Bombirdier!
"Oh? I don't really see it that way."
Zinnia gave Bombirdier a single glance, the curve of her lips rising even higher.
"Just a Pokémon like that is never beating my Mega Salamence."
"That's not set in stone!"
Nemona refused to back down. She did not believe she couldn't break through a single Mega Salamence.
She had her pride too.
"When I say you can't do it, you can't do it."
Zinnia snorted, looking at this Champion girl from the Paldea Region.
"You think battles are decided by headcount? Sure, you've got the numbers here—but so what?"
Zinnia lifted her chin, tone utterly calm and confident.
"Steven and the others aren't going to beat Damian. And you and Brandon aren't going to beat me."
"As for Wallace—"
At that, Zinnia's lips hooked upward as she jerked her chin toward Wallace and Caitlin's battlefield.
"Why don't you take a look for yourself?"
Nemona froze for a second, then instinctively turned to look at Wallace's side—and her jaw dropped.
Because she saw it.
Hoenn's elegant former Champion was currently wrapped up in some unknown Psychic force, hanging in midair with a look of pure, miserable indignation.
Which meant—Champion Wallace had already been defeated and captured???
No way. The battle had just started.
She'd only just finished probing and was about to move into phase two, and Champion Wallace was already tied up?
Wallace also noticed Nemona's gaze. His handsome face lit up with relief.
"Champion Nemona! Save me!!"
Wallace, without the slightest hesitation, yelled for help from the Paldea junior.
It wasn't like he wanted to—but how was he supposed to know Caitlin's strength would be this insane?
Once Caitlin channeled her own psychic power and Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain went up, Mega Metagross and Tapu Lele both felt like they'd slammed five cans of energy drink and just charged straight in, pinning his Milotic and Ludicolo and beating them down.
In no time at all, his two main roster members had gone down one after the other—and Metagross had taken him hostage for good measure.
Wallace was deeply aggrieved; he'd really done his best, but he just couldn't win. What was he supposed to do? He was in despair.
He'd actually wanted to call out to his close friend Steven, but Steven's battle on that side was intense; Wallace felt too embarrassed to bother him.
Yeah, it was mostly that he felt awkward—especially after he'd just told Steven, "You can always count on me."
Nemona: "…"
Hearing Wallace actually calling her for help, Nemona honestly almost lost it.
"Zinnia, need a hand?"
Caitlin walked over at an unhurried pace, footsteps elegant. Mega Metagross floated behind her to the left, Tapu Lele floated to the right, and Wallace still hung there, drifting along behind.
"No need—eh, whatever. Let's just tag‑team them and finish this quick."
Zinnia had been about to refuse—she honestly felt she alone could beat both Nemona and Brandon.
But on second thought, having Caitlin teamed up with her would save a lot of time. That worked too.
"Alright." Caitlin dipped her head slightly.
"You take the girl—I'll handle Brandon."
Zinnia had Mega Salamence turn and start hammering Brandon's Regirock.
Regirock's offense wasn't that high—its movement speed was way too slow.
Its Defense, though, was insane. Even Tyrantrum's hits weren't doing much.
But once Mega Salamence stepped in, that changed. Mega Salamence's Special Attack was also brutal, and on top of that, it knew Hydro Pump.
Brandon immediately threw out another Poké Ball—Registeel, the Steel‑type titan! Another of the Legendary "giants" Brandon had only recently caught.
"The Psychic specialist Caitlin, huh? The noble young lady from Sinnoh Region… she's way too pretty, right?!"
Nemona stared at Caitlin in her white‑and‑pink fitted dress, eyes shining.
Such a gorgeous Miss!
Nemona herself was also the daughter of a huge conglomerate—her father's company was the one that originally founded Rotom Phones.
But Nemona had a sister who was being groomed by the family, and Nemona herself didn't have to shoulder the weight of the family business. She was free to chase her passions—so she became a Trainer.
"Thank you for the compliment. A pleasure to meet you."
Caitlin dipped in a graceful curtsy.
"But in battle, I won't be holding back. I'm Paldea's new Champion too."
Nemona's eyes got even brighter—then she forced herself to calm down. They were fighting an evil organization right now.
"That's exactly what I was hoping for."
Caitlin's lips curled slightly. Tapu Lele released Wallace and floated forward with Mega Metagross.
Wallace didn't actually land; instead, he was re‑snagged midair by the Psychic of a Gothitelle that Caitlin had just sent out.
Wallace looked at his colleagues all fighting on different fronts, then at his own status as a prisoner.
Wallace: (Fuck)
"Lucario, Extreme Speed!"
"Aggron! Stone Edge!"
Cynthia and Steven launched their attack without the slightest hesitation.
White light flashed behind Lucario; in an instant, its body blurred into motion at a speed the naked eye could barely track as it shot toward Armored Mewtwo.
At the same time, jagged stones condensed in front of Aggron.
Giovanni held position, ready to jump in and support at any moment.
"Pointless."
Armored Mewtwo's deep purple flames flickered in its eyes as it tracked Lucario's movement.
Lucario zipped in at high speed, made a sharp cut toward Armored Mewtwo's left, then lunged in for a shoulder check.
Armored Mewtwo simply raised its hand. A deep purple psychic wall snapped into existence.
Bang!
Lucario slammed straight into the psychic wall—then howled in pain as it bounced off even faster than it had gone in.
"Lucario!" Cynthia's expression changed.
How? Was that psychic wall really that hard?
"Psychic."
Before Lucario could even hit the ground, its flying body was caught and yanked back toward Armored Mewtwo.
"Wait! Aggron!"
Steven got it in an instant and shouted a warning to Aggron.
But Stone Edge that had already fired wasn't about to stop mid‑air.
Those Stone Edges were all headed for Armored Mewtwo—but Lucario, dragged right in front of it by Psychic,
Ended up squarely between Armored Mewtwo and the incoming rocks.
So every last Stone Edge slammed into Lucario instead.
Rumble…!
Stone Edge after Stone Edge exploded against Lucario's body. Fortunately, Lucario had four‑times resistance to Rock. Even with its Defense not being particularly high, the barrage still didn't do that much damage.
But was that really a good thing?
Seeing that Lucario was still conscious, Armored Mewtwo's eyes went even colder. With a lazy flick of its hand, an invisible tidal wave of Psychic power blasted out.
It hit Lucario dead on.
Lucario let out a painful growl as the Psychic hurled its body through the air, slamming it heavily into the ground. It didn't get back up.
Lucario had lost the ability to fight.
And the battle had barely even started.
Cynthia stared at Lucario, lying unconscious, at a total loss for what she was feeling.
Lucario wasn't as strong as her ace Garchomp, sure—but it was one of the pillars of her main roster.
"So strong…"
Steven couldn't help the wave of helplessness rising in his chest.
"You see it now? With the strength you've got, there's no beating me."
Damian's voice was light.
"Damian, the fight's not over yet." Giovanni said quietly.
"Sure, you'll keep swinging. But against me as I am now, it's meaningless."
Damian's tone stayed utterly calm—
But that calmness carried a suffocating arrogance.
"You're proud of this, Damian? With power like that, and you're using it to help the bad guys. You're Team Rocket now!"
Steven's voice had already slipped out of his control, rising in anger.
"So what?"
Damian looked at the three of them, his gaze lingering on Giovanni.
"Power, belonging, dreams—back then, I had nothing. I only lived inside a hollow shadow called 'Son of Giovanni.' But now it's different."
Damian's voice swelled in intensity.
"After joining Team Rocket, I got Mewtwo! I caught the Legendary Tapu Fini and Suicune!"
"Even you region Champions aren't my opponents anymore!"
"I've already surpassed you, Giovanni!"
Looking at the boy across from them, his voice more fired‑up than ever, Steven's breathing unconsciously quickened. Cynthia's expression grew similarly grim.
"Surpassed me, huh?"
Giovanni finally cracked a little; his gaze wobbled.
Steven and Cynthia, both shaken to their cores right now, didn't catch it.
"That's right! Even Sinnoh's Champion, Hoenn's Champion, and you—Kanto's strongest Gym Leader—none of you are my opponents!!"
Damian lifted his head in pure arrogance.
"This is my true power. My true belonging. My true dream."
On the shattered earth, the boy's voice rang out again and again.
"This is the real Damian. This is—the complete me!"
~~~
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