"Blue really is… heh."
Giovanni couldn't help but chuckle twice and shake his head as he heard Blue's bold declaration from the stands.
Young people were always brash—he understood.
And someone as proud and fiery as Blue was practically an endangered species.
"Still, I wonder if he can actually pull it off. Red is really strong."
Selene giggled. She didn't think Blue could beat Red. Rankings weren't everything, but they did mean something.
And Blue's ranking wasn't as high as Red's.
The battle began, and of course, Blue and Red's fight instantly became a fierce, deadlocked clash.
Tyranitar and Roaring Moon were both extremely powerful Pokémon—and even more so after being raised by these two.
They knew each other too well, so both Red and Blue were fighting at full focus.
But in the end, Red seized the opportunity and used Roaring Moon to defeat Tyranitar.
Blue's expression darkened, but he recovered quickly and sent out Arcanine, successfully finishing off the weakened Roaring Moon.
But Arcanine took heavy damage in return, and the momentum began to shift.
Red sent out Snorlax as his second Pokémon. Blue kept Arcanine in, trying to pressure with Extreme Speed.
Red played steadily. Eventually, Snorlax caught Arcanine during an opening, landed a crushing hit, then followed up with Earthquake to knock it out.
Blue switched to Exeggutor. Red kept Snorlax in. Snorlax went down, but Exeggutor was heavily injured.
Red's third Pokémon was Tornadus—one of Unova's legendary Forces of Nature, captured back when Red and his three teammates traveled there.
Beep—Tornadus (Incarnate Forme), Flying-type, Cyclone Pokémon
Ability: Prankster
Moves: Leaf Tornado, Hurricane, Hammer Arm, Extrasensory, Swagger…
Info: Said to cause storms by whipping the atmosphere. Its humanoid appearance is just a disguise, not its true body (Incarnate Forme).
Red used the Incarnate form instead of the Therian form. Giovanni found the Reveal Glass, which let the Forms of Nature change to their true Therian forms.
But Red preferred the Incarnate form because of its Prankster ability—it was stronger in his eyes.
"Tornadus, huh? Then… Thundurus!"
Blue withdrew Exeggutor and threw out his fourth Pokémon.
It looked somewhat dragon-like—blue upper body with purple spots, purple lower body, and a tail lined with black iron-ball-like beads.
Therian Thundurus!
Beep—Thundurus (Therian Forme), Electric/Flying-type, Bolt Strike Pokémon
Ability: Volt Absorb
Moves: Wildbolt Storm, Thunder, Discharge, Volt Switch, Rain Dance…
Info: Appears amid thunder. It rains down lightning from the beads on its tail, wiping out foes with overwhelming power (Therian Forme).
The appearance of two legendary Pokémon sent the stadium into a frenzy.
"Tornadus vs. Thundurus?! This is the top sixteen!?"
"Worth every coin! Even if I die here, seeing this live was worth the ticket!"
"Why must there be a winner?! Kanto fans just want all four Elite Four members in the top eight!"
"I don't even know who to cheer for!"
"Just cheer! LET'S GOOO!!"
The arena was boiling with excitement.
The fight was already intense—but with the incarnate and therian legends on the field, it peaked.
"Damn it!! Those are our legends!"
Iris nearly cried. Those were Unova's own legends!
"Dylan catching Reshiram and Kyurem was one thing, but these Elite Four are actual bandits—they took the entire quartet of Forces of Nature!"
Her heart hurt. Kanto trainers were bandits!
Why did they all come to rip off Unova!? What did Unova even have left?
Only the Swords of Justice—and if someone from another region caught them too, it'd be absurd.
Their legendary heritage was being used against them.
"Legendary Pokémon come down to fate. Nothing to be done," Alder said calmly. Meeting legends and catching them was individual destiny—unforced and unpredictable.
He was more curious which was stronger—Tornadus or Thundurus.
The battle resumed. Both Red and Blue Terastallized.
Tornadus went Flying Tera, Thundurus went Electric Tera.
No doubt Tornadus had the type disadvantage. But Red didn't switch.
Thundurus clearly had more firepower—its special attack was monstrous, and Blue had raised it well.
But battles weren't pure stat contests. Red used Tornadus expertly.
With Prankster, Tornadus successfully used Swagger to confuse Thundurus—and used that opening to take it down.
Blue's face went green.
But Tornadus was also in bad shape. Blue's fifth Pokémon, Rhyperior, defeated it at some cost.
Red sent out Lapras. Blue swapped Rhyperior out and sent Exeggutor back in.
But Exeggutor still fell to Lapras. Blue was pushed to his limits.
Letting Rhyperior fight Lapras would be suicide—four-time weakness to Water.
Blue had only his ace left—Blastoise. He Mega Evolved it.
Red instantly countered with his own ace—Charizard—Mega evolving into Charizard X.
Charizard X was Fire/Dragon, not weak to Water. Neither side had a direct advantage, though Water still resisted Fire.
If Mega Blastoise couldn't beat Charizard X, Blue was finished.
Rhyperior would never get past Lapras.
"I won't lose! There's no way I lose here!!"
Blue gritted his teeth. He couldn't accept it.
The situation was bad, but he believed he had a chance. He was Blue Oak!
How could he fall here? This was just the top sixteen—and his opponent was Red.
"Blue, you don't stand a chance against me."
Red's crimson eyes glowed beneath his brim.
"What crap are you spouting?! Red, I haven't lost yet!"
Blue glared fiercely. His pride refused to accept such "nonsense."
"Watch closely, Red! Watch how hard I struggle to keep winning!"
I will win!
My desire for victory will carry me forward!
And then—
"…Impossible!!"
Seeing Rhyperior collapse, Blue's face turned pale.
Rhyperior fell—and Mega Blastoise had lost to Charizard X.
He lost. Completely. Despite struggling with everything he had.
"Damn it! It ends just like this?! Losing in a full-power battle?! I finally made it this far…"
Blue staggered back, staring at his trembling hand in despair.
He lost. To Red.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be—his era wasn't even supposed to begin yet.
"Rhyperior is unable to battle. Lapras wins."
The referee announced.
"Blue has lost all six Pokémon. Red wins! Red advances!"
The stadium exploded into applause and cheers.
"We have a victor! After an intense clash, Red defeats his powerful rival Blue and becomes the first trainer to enter the top eight!"
The host boomed.
"As expected, Blue wasn't Red's match." Giovanni clapped lightly, unsurprised.
"What a battle… He's grown even stronger. A terrifying rival," Leon murmured, watching the red-eyed boy.
He'd fought Red before—and lost by a hair, his ranking taken.
But Leon believed he'd reclaim his spot someday.
"With one Kanto powerhouse down, hopefully they keep fighting each other," Hop laughed energetically.
Kanto was too strong—too many monsters. The pressure on other regions was insane.
But the matchup algorithm was doing wonders—last round Giovanni fought his own son, and now Red and Blue fought like brothers.
The matching system really knew what it was doing.
Who knew what surprises came next?
Leon smiled—better to prepare fully rather than rely on luck.
On the field—
Blue was still dazed, unable to recover.
Of course—someone as proud as Blue being eliminated before top eight, and by his childhood rival, no less… it was a devastating blow.
It hit him as hard as the time he became Champion and immediately got dethroned by Red before he'd even warmed the seat.
Blue was spiraling, even wondering if his training methods were wrong. Why couldn't he win?
Footsteps approached.
Blue looked up—and saw Red.
"Tch—!"
Blue quickly straightened up and looked away.
"I don't wanna admit it, but you did get lucky and beat me this time."
Blue muttered irritably. Losing hurt badly, but he recovered quickly.
And unlike the game version, this Blue had decent mental strength—thanks to a certain someone's "training," and the many powerful people surrounding him.
Red: "…"
"But just you wait! Next time! Next time I won't slip up—I'm not losing to you again!"
(End of chapter)