Aiden took Kingambit very seriously. It was a Pokémon that had spanned multiple generations, only to have its brand-new evolution discovered in Paldea in recent years. After confirming that his opponent for the Masters Eight challenge was Chairwoman Geeta, he immediately tilted the focus of his tactical countermeasures entirely toward it—he absolutely could not give it a chance to shine.
Because its Supreme Overlord ability was very interesting. For every fallen Pokémon on its side, Kingambit's momentum and power would increase. In a 6v6 full battle, if it entered last, its combat power would become absolutely absurd; it was the absolute ace finisher in Chairwoman Geeta's hands.
Although its fighting style was somewhat abstract, and the first elimination round's rules were the 3v3 format where Kingambit didn't perform as well, Aiden still didn't dare underestimate it.
Therefore, the moment Kingambit took the stage, he immediately commanded Lucario to launch an offensive.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Luca!"
As soon as Aiden spoke, Lucario had already condensed a sphere of pure aura energy in its hands, unleashing it with all its might at Kingambit, which had just landed.
He had put a lot of thought into leading with Lucario in this battle. The Steel-type granted Lucario the ability to fear no poison from Glimmora; even though his side of the field was now covered in Toxic Spikes, Lucario could completely ignore them without changing its expression. As long as he didn't rotate, the Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock were temporarily just decorations, which essentially countered Geeta's tried-and-true attrition tactics.
Meanwhile, the Fighting-type allowed Lucario to pose an effective threat to many of her main forces. For instance, Kingambit was exactly 4x weak to Fighting, and with its lackluster speed, it only had the chance to face Lucario head-on under Trick Room.
That single Roar forcing it out early not only completely disrupted Chairwoman Geeta's rhythm but also forced it to face its most severe counter. Right now, the field held no advantageous conditions for it, and the Supreme Overlord ability had barely activated. As long as Aiden didn't make a mistake, there was a very high hope of Lucario sweeping her entire team 1v3.
However, Chairwoman Geeta clearly realized this as well.
"Kingambit, use Sucker Punch to close the distance!"
"King!"
Facing the imposing Aura Sphere, a fierce glint flashed in Kingambit's eyes. In the next instant, it vigorously swung the giant blade on its head and took massive strides forward.
Relying on bodily instincts forged through years of combat, Kingambit grasped the perfect timing; for a moment, it actually dodged Lucario's Aura Sphere, while the distance between the two was rapidly closed.
"It's useless! Aura Sphere has already locked onto Kingambit's aura; as long as it's on the field, it's almost impossible to miss!" In the stands, Flint shook his head, looking tense.
"No, that's not right." It was the Sunyshore Gym Leader, Volkner, beside him who narrowed his eyes, intently watching the Aura Sphere curving in mid-air to chase Kingambit, seemingly realizing something. "As expected of a Champion, to actually have this kind of solution. But... does doing this really have any meaning?"
Flint was about to ask, but suddenly heard Geeta's voice broadcast again—"Kingambit, Dig!"
"Bit!"
Before Lucario's counterattack could arrive, Kingambit, having prepared in advance, leaped into the air in a spinning posture. It dove headfirst, using the giant blade on its head to slice open the ground, and its body completely submerged beneath the field.
Boom—!
The closely pursuing Aura Sphere still locked onto the target underground, and unsurprisingly, crashed right into the field, immediately kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Lucario, Earthquake!"
After quickly reacting, Aiden immediately commanded Lucario to follow up for the kill.
Although this combo indeed dodged the absolutely fatal Aura Sphere for Kingambit, once underground, Lucario's Earthquake could just as easily finish it off!
Regardless, his side still held a massive advantage. And for the side with the advantage, the best gambit is not to gamble at all—don't give the opponent a single chance to counterattack.
"Luca!"
Lucario quietly gathered strength under its feet, and after two or three seconds, fiercely stomped on the ground, once again sending the earth trembling!
"Just as expected, Teacher Azure would never let such a freebie opportunity slip by." Volkner nodded, seemingly un surprised by the result on the field. "Dig can indeed temporarily dodge an offensive, but it likewise amplifies Kingambit's other weaknesses. Just what is Champion Geeta thinking—"
Looking at Geeta, whose face remained calm and composed, seemingly still having everything under control, Aaron already felt he couldn't quite understand this match anymore.
How could a Champion not know such a simple truth? So she must be hiding some sinister and cunning tactic, just like Teacher Azure.
However, no matter the result, it could already be considered a very spectacular match.
Under the audience's breathless gaze, Geeta suddenly revealed a smile.
"Although doing this might be a bit cruel to Kingambit, besides this—there is no other better way to handle it."
Aiden had made meticulous preparations before the match, and the same went for Geeta. In her view, the deciding factor of this match lay in how to deal with this Lucario.
Most of her main forces were afraid of Lucario's reckless, mutually-assured-destruction style of offense; as long as it was on the field, it would inevitably pose a massive threat to her.
Aiden's Lucario was completely different from those in other trainers' hands. Not only had it learned the supreme secret of Unseen Fist from the two Urshifu on the Isle of Armor, executing Surging Strikes and Wicked Blow no worse than the originals, but it also wielded the unique "Sword of Chien-Pao" in its hand. Its coverage in a head-on battle could be called unsolvable.
And whether it was Armarouge or Veluza, both found it very difficult to counter when facing it.
Therefore, Kingambit was her last, reluctant choice. As long as she used Kingambit's combat power to forcefully trade pieces, taking out the most troublesome linchpin in Aiden's lineup, she could still hold out and counterattack.
This was Geeta's solution—"Kingambit, Reversal."
After Geeta's light words fell, the earth, which was already shaking violently from the Earthquake, trembled even more intensely.
Out of instinct, Lucario seemed to sense a hint of danger and subconsciously intended to pull back its power to dodge.
However— the underground offensive was simply too fast!
"KING!!!"
A roar full of fighting spirit first came from underground. Almost simultaneously, a chilling, silvery-white giant blade protruded from the ground beneath Lucario's feet, slashing at its undefended ankles with an extremely terrifying acceleration!
"Luca?!"
Even though Lucario was taken aback and subconsciously tried to lift its leg to dodge, its reaction still couldn't keep up with Kingambit's explosive speed.
Boom—!
The giant blade swept across, kicking up sand and dust from the ground.
Clang—
At the same time, there was also a muffled grunt emanating from the sandstorm, accompanied by the sharp resonance of metal clashing.
Aiden furrowed his brows. Sure enough, experience beats youth.
This Kingambit was apparently holding a Focus Sash. All the previous scheming was just a smokescreen; the sole purpose was to let Kingambit enter the dark through Dig and unleash this fatal "Reversal."
Kingambit's fighting style was already utterly unscrupulous; when necessary, they would even actively bow to their opponents, seizing the moment of their confusion to launch an attack. It could be said to be very lacking in martial virtue.
And after drilling underground, its giant blade provided many advantages when launching an offensive. Therefore—an inch longer, an inch stronger. It was simply impossible to guard against—
Aiden shook his head helplessly. Based on the effect of the move Reversal, when the Pokémon using it is at the bottom of its health, its power becomes extremely terrifying.
Lucario was indeed a Fighting-type expert, but it was likewise very afraid of this kind of desperate, reckless playstyle.
Trading injuries for lives—so this was Chairwoman Geeta's decisive call—
Aiden sighed. However, Lucario's mission was also complete. It had single-handedly taken out 1.99 of the opponent's lives, and also forced out Chairwoman Geeta's final Pokémon in advance. Next, he would just leave it to the other teammates.
Aiden silently raised the Poké Ball in his hand, preparing to recall the fallen Lucario once the dust cleared.
However—when the sandstorm that had been blasted into the sky by the fierce battle gradually settled, and Geeta finally breathed a sigh of relief—
"What just happened???"
"Lucario and Kingambit have both lost their ability to battle at the same time!"
"Assistant Rotom, request a replay!"
On the commentary desk, when the commentator noticed the two Pokémon simultaneously falling to the ground with swirling eyes, he was a bit dumbfounded.
Of course, there were no replays to watch during the match; the Rotom Cameras didn't dare enter the dangerous zone where the competitors clashed, only slowly flying inside the field along the Max Guard barriers—
For a few batteries' worth of salary, why would they risk their lives!
But both Geeta and Aiden quickly reacted, roughly guessing what had just happened.
"Was it Extreme Speed?"
While recalling Lucario, Aiden looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand and whispered.
Even if it failed to react in time and took the opponent's strike directly to its weak point—Lucario still swiftly counterattacked before losing consciousness, contributing to the teammate coming up next.
"Thank you for your hard work, Lucario." Aiden softly expressed his gratitude, and the Poké Ball in his hand shook slightly, as if responding to him.
After putting Lucario's Poké Ball back into his pocket, a red-and-white ball icon simultaneously went dark under both Geeta and Aiden's avatars on the big screen.
Next, Geeta only had Avalugg left, while Aiden still had two alternatives, allowing for flexible adjustments.
After a little thought, Aiden decisively made his choice—"Bring everyone victory, Ogerpon!"
Due to the influence of Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, right now he only needed to consider how to end the battle as quickly as possible.
Although Salamence wasn't afraid of Toxic Spikes, Stealth Rock would greatly limit it, and Avalugg only needed to land one hit to potentially deal heavy damage to it.
Therefore, Ogerpon was still the better choice.
"Pon~"
Ogerpon, holding its hearthfire mask, descended from the sky. Right before landing, it suddenly stepped on the mask with its feet, trying to use the mask to avoid the Toxic Spikes pricking its feet directly.
As it turned out, its idea actually made sense. Although it bumped into the Stealth Rock upon landing, causing a slight loss of stamina, the mask indeed helped Ogerpon block the most troublesome poison.
"Holy crap, you can play it like that?" Gold was dumbfounded. But he quickly took out his "Masters Tournament Exclusive" notebook and recorded Aiden's move. This will definitely come in handy next time!
Aiden looked at Ogerpon, which was acting like it was surfing, and suddenly felt a bit emotional—If only there was Grassy Terrain, maybe Ogerpon could really solve the Toxic Spikes problem by surfing on its mask.
But right now— as Ogerpon landed, a new problem also arose. As long as it wanted to move normally, it inevitably had to step on the ground, so stepping on the Toxic Spikes was unavoidable.
"Ogerpon, rush in and use Close Combat, let's make this quick!"
"Pon!"
Hearing Aiden's command, Ogerpon immediately gathered its courage, putting the mask back on its face, while tightly gripping its spiny club with both hands, launching a full-power charge at Avalugg.
Even though it stepped on Glimmora's leftover Toxic Spikes along the way, causing purple splotches from the seeping poison to appear on its feet, Ogerpon's speed didn't slow down in the slightest.
At this moment, wearing the mask, it truly transformed into a "fierce demon," making even Avalugg subconsciously shrink its neck.
"Avalugg, Protect."
Knowing that a head-on clash definitely wasn't a match, Geeta could only choose to temporarily block this first wave of offense.
However, this was also within Aiden's expectations.
As Ogerpon swung its spiny club, Aiden had already taken the Tera Orb from his pocket, facing Ogerpon's direction.
"Chairwoman Geeta, I'll be taking the title of Masters Eight!"
As he spoke, Aiden had already thrown the Tera Orb in his hand. The Tera Shards blooming in mid-air attached themselves to Ogerpon's mask, and the special Tera pattern emerged.
Seeing this situation, Geeta could only offer a helpless smile.
'It seems leaving Paldea's future to you really is the better choice, Aiden.'
She didn't say this sentence out loud, only repeating it in her heart. Then, she quietly watched Ogerpon raise its spiny club, smashing it down with all its might amidst Aiden's shout.
"Superpower!"
"Oger-pon!"
After several consecutive, merciless full-power attacks, even a body as hard as Avalugg's found it hard to endure.
Boom—!
As Avalugg crashed to the ground, all three Poké Ball icons under Geeta's avatar went completely dim.
Bweeep—!
A whistle sounded, freezing the final score at 3:1.
"Match over, the winner is Aiden!"
"At the same time, the final member of the Masters Eight is born at this very moment!"
The spectator stands instantly erupted into a tidal wave of sound; even Aiden, isolated inside the Max Guard barriers, felt their passion.
"Congratulations, Aiden." Geeta walked up with a smile, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "The glory of our Paldea is now in your hands."
"Carry my will, and keep marching proudly toward the Championship."
"I will."
Aiden nodded solemnly, then raised his right hand high. Under the enthusiastic gazes of the audience, he slowly extended his index finger.
"From the moment I stepped onto the Masters Tournament stage, I have only had one goal—"
"Champion!"
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