"Even Champion Lance has fallen..."
"That was too targeted. It was completely focused on exploiting the type weaknesses of Champion Lance's Pokémon."
"What are you saying? In a battle, if you don't look for the opponent's weak points, are you supposed to focus on their strengths?"
"Ms. Caitlin!! She's too strong!"
"Wuwu~ So elegant! She is truly too elegant! Ms. Caitlin is genuinely graceful and powerful."
The atmosphere at the venue was incredibly enthusiastic, although many of Lance's fans felt their hearts shatter in despair at that moment.
But more people—Caitlin's fans and general spectators—were cheering, as humans are, after all, visual creatures.
Caitlin's gorgeous and elegant appearance was certainly eye-catching, and having defeated Johto Champion Lance, her strength was undeniable.
She certainly deserved the audience's applause.
"Congratulations to contestant Caitlin for defeating the formidable foe Lance and advancing to the Top 8! What a thrilling and satisfying match!"
"Now then, let's take a look at the pairings for the next round."
The Sunglasses Host's enthusiastic voice remained vibrant.
In fact, he had originally favored Lance, as he was a Kanto native, and Lance, as the former Kanto Champion, was very popular in the Kanto region.
Moreover, Lance's strength was beyond doubt; he was extremely powerful.
But he truly hadn't expected Lance to lose to a young woman like Caitlin.
"Only four contestants remain now. What will the pairings be?"
The Sunglasses Host pointed toward the large screen, which displayed the avatars of the final four remaining Trainers.
Akari, Serena, Gloria, and Red.
These were the final four people, and the remaining two spots in the Top 8 would be decided among them.
"Is it finally my turn?"
Akari's eyes lit up. To be honest, she was getting a little impatient waiting.
She just wondered who she would be matched against. Battling Mom Serena wouldn't be bad either.
Akari was a little excited; she wasn't picky about her opponents.
"Please don't let me be matched against Akari!"
On the other side, Diantha nervously clutched her skirt hem, her eyes fixed on the four rotating avatars on the large screen.
She was still very hopeful that Serena could make it into the Top 8.
Serena pressed her pink lips together, feeling quite nervous as well.
Outsiders might not know, but Serena was very clear: Akari... was terrifyingly strong!
Last year, Akari, just a few months into her journey, was already capable of overpowering Platinum.
During the great battle in Saffron City, Akari even defeated Leon, summoning Dialga to fiercely battle Giovanni.
And now, nobody knew the extent of Akari's current power.
But what was certain was that the combat strength of Akari's main Pokémon definitely surpassed that of ordinary High-Tier Legendaries.
Such astonishing Trainer talent made her a monster among monsters!
Serena also wanted to enter the Top 8, so she absolutely did not want to be matched against Akari right now.
Soon, the first avatar on the large screen gradually froze: it was Serena.
So, who was her opponent?
Serena looked toward the spot opposite her avatar, where the three constantly rotating avatars also began to slow down.
Quickly, the second avatar froze.
It was a short-haired, brown-haired girl wearing a green hat: Gloria!
Serena vs. Gloria!
With this pairing revealed, the other match was without suspense: Akari vs. Red!
"Phew~"
Although she didn't want to admit it, Serena truly felt a sense of relief.
After all, if she battled Akari, there would genuinely be no hope at all. Although Gloria was also very strong, Serena was still confident she could defeat her.
The corners of Serena's lips curled up slightly as she looked at the monstrous girl from the Galar region, her eyes shining brightly.
"Uncle Red, huh? That's not bad."
Akari blinked her beautiful large eyes, quite pleased with this opponent.
Although she actually wanted to battle Mom Serena more, Uncle Red would suffice.
"Red is really unlucky."
Mammon looked regretfully at Red's avatar. He had hoped Red could advance so he could battle him in the next round.
After all, he had already battled Ash, so he might as well battle Red too.
But being matched against Akari meant Red was already finished.
Although he was a battle legend in the original work, facing Akari, the natural cheat and adopted daughter of Arceus, Red stood no chance.
"..." Cynthia glanced at Mammon, hesitating to speak.
You say Red is unlucky? I actually think Ash is unlucky too.
These two brothers are really interesting; the younger one was matched against Mammon, and the older one was matched against Akari.
The pressure of this World Championship was greater than they could have imagined.
About fifteen minutes later, both battling contestants were ready and entered the battle venue amidst the shouts of the Sunglasses Host.
"I'm sorry, Serena, but I'll have to ask you to stop here today."
Gloria adjusted her hat and spoke with a pure smile.
She and Serena knew each other; they had battled in the Galar region previously, and later met and sparred a few times in the Team Rockets' castle.
However, most of their sparring sessions were merely friendly exchanges.
But today, Gloria had to apologize to Serena.
"That's exactly what I wanted to say to you, Gloria."
Serena took off her hat, pulled out a hair tie to secure her flaxen-blond wavy hair, her expression serious and stern.
"I absolutely must reach the Top 8! I must ask you to step aside."
"Furthermore, I have defeated you in the past, and this time will be no different!"
Serena took out a Poké Ball and enlarged it in her hand, her normally gentle voice now clearly audible.
"The past is the past, and now is now! Serena, I won't give you any chances today!"
Gloria glanced at the large screen; it was her turn to go first.
"So, Serena, let me truly feel your power now that you've become the Kalos Champion!"
Gloria smiled slightly and threw out her first Poké Ball.
"Grimmsnarl, I'm counting on you!"
A flash of white light revealed a humanoid Grimmsnarl covered in thick, luxurious fur, which landed in front of Gloria, spreading its arms and growling at Serena.
"Goodra!"
Serena decisively threw out her first Pokémon.
A flash of white light passed, and a light purple Pokémon landed heavily in front of Serena.
But unlike a normal Goodra, this Goodra had a metallic shell on its tail that was coiled like a snail's shell, and unlike the docile expression of a regular Goodra, its gaze was rather gloomy and intimidating.
"Hisuian Goodra..."
Gloria's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she looked at this Goodra, which was different from the normal one.
'Beep~ Goodra (Hisuian Form), Snail Shell Pokémon. Type: Steel/Dragon. It can freely manipulate its metal shell, which can be hard or soft. Its nature is persistent, and it hates being alone; it becomes uncontrollably furious if an object it cherishes leaves its side. (Hisuian form)'
Gloria was also familiar with some Hisuian Pokémon, as they could actually be redeemed through the Team Rocket App.
Compared to the rather mediocre standard Goodra, the Hisuian Goodra was clearly different.
Just the Steel/Dragon type combination alone was difficult enough to deal with, as this type combination was truly excellent.
But the problem was not significant.
The battle began.
Gloria first had Grimmsnarl use Fake Out, followed by Swagger to weaken and pivot out.
However, unlike Incineroar, Grimmsnarl did not have the Intimidate Ability, so it could only lower Hisuian Goodra's Attack and Special Attack by one stage each.
Even so, such a damage-free debuff was still quite nasty.
Hisuian Goodra's expression clearly darkened further.
Gloria then switched in the Paradox Pokémon Great Tusk, which was her main Ground-type Pokémon redeemed on the Team Rocket App.
Hisuian Goodra's type combination was too excellent, being weak only to Ground and Fighting, and coincidentally, Great Tusk was a Ground/Fighting type.
Both of Great Tusk's STAB types countered Hisuian Goodra.
But Serena, who had originally intended to switch out Hisuian Goodra, paused to think after seeing Great Tusk.
Serena then decisively Gigantamaxed Hisuian Goodra.
Gloria was stunned by this but had no choice but to Gigantamax as well; otherwise, how could Great Tusk fight a Gigantamaxed Hisuian Goodra?
Both Pokémon Gigantamaxed simultaneously, and the two Gigantamaxed Pokémon faced off on the field.
Then, Serena immediately had the Gigantamaxed Hisuian Goodra use Max Geyser to launch a fierce attack.
Naturally, Gloria refused to be outdone and had the Gigantamaxed Great Tusk retaliate with Max Knuckle.
The Gigantamax attacks struck each other, and the sky began to pour rain due to the effect of Max Geyser.
But upon quickly seeing the painful roar of the Gigantamaxed Great Tusk, Gloria realized something.
Wait!
Although Hisuian Goodra's Special Attack had been lowered once by Grimmsnarl's Swagger, Great Tusk's Special Defense was very low.
Furthermore, Hisuian Goodra's Special Attack was still quite good, and because the super-effective Max Geyser hit Great Tusk, the damage was still very heavy.
And next, due to the rain, the power of Max Geyser would increase even further.
If this continued, the Gigantamaxed Great Tusk might actually fall first!
But at this point, was there any room for retreat?
Gloria's brows furrowed tightly as she watched the opposing Gigantamaxed Hisuian Goodra begin to charge up a second Max Geyser.
"Max Knuckle!" Gloria decisively ordered.
If it comes to a clash, let's clash! She didn't believe Hisuian Goodra could withstand three STAB Max Knuckles from Great Tusk!
Moreover, Max Knuckle also boosted the user's Attack!
Neither side retreated a step, until the third Max Knuckle and Max Geyser struck again.
Boom!
With a violent roar, both the Gigantamaxed Hisuian Goodra and the Gigantamaxed Great Tusk were engulfed by the explosion's flames.
When the Gigantamax disappeared, all that remained on the spot were the fainted Hisuian Goodra and Great Tusk.
"Are they all so fiery? These young people nowadays~"
Raihan clicked his tongue as he watched the two Pokémon that had knocked each other out, exclaiming that today's youth were truly too stubborn.
If even one side had used Max Guard once, this result wouldn't have occurred.
"But Great Tusk is Gloria's ace," Hop frowned. Great Tusk was quite formidable within Gloria's team.
"Gloria's choice was fine. Hisuian Goodra is a tough opponent. Being able to take it out directly is acceptable."
Although Great Tusk was indeed powerful, Hisuian Goodra was absolutely difficult to deal with, so trading it off was not a loss for Gloria.
Moreover, in a full battle, momentum is very important, especially since Gloria had previously lost to Serena.
Leon still supported his junior.
"Yeah, I hope Gloria can redeem herself today. After all, she's the last remaining seed from Galar."
Raihan folded his arms. Besides, even if Gloria lost, Gloria shouldn't lose the fight; since the opponent was going head-to-head, how could they back down?
Leon's mouth twitched. He wanted to say that he actually still had a second chance match to play, and it wasn't as if he had absolutely no chance of entering the Top 8.
But he decided against it.