Volcarona was unable to battle.
Even though everyone had already known how this would end the moment they saw Reshiram, they were still shocked.
A Champion represented the strongest level of strength in an entire region, someone who stood near the absolute peak among human trainers.
And yet Alder's Volcarona had still been beaten into this state by Grey's Reshiram.
That made everyone collectively suck in a cold breath.
This kid was terrifying.
[By the way, what even is Champion Alder's ace these days?]
[It used to be Volcarona, but now... I think it's a Bouffalant?]
[Bouffalant? What kind of Pokémon is that?]
[It's kind of like Tauros from your Kanto region.]
[Uh...]
Tauros from Kanto was not weak.
But it was only not weak by Kanto standards.
Compared to Pokémon from some other regions, it was a little less impressive.
A lot of trainers from other regions had not expected Alder's current ace to be a Bouffalant.
How should they put it?
It was definitely surprising.
"Reshiram, come back and get some rest first."
Grey chose to recall Reshiram.
Then, with a flick of his hand, he sent out Annihilape, the Fighting- and Ghost-type Pokémon.
"Annihilape, huh. The Pokémon on my team really aren't easy to use against it..."
Alder gave a bitter smile.
He did have a Braviary on his team.
But its strength was only average.
At best, it was a little below the main-team level of a Champion.
In terms of typing, Flying did counter Annihilape's Fighting-type.
But the problem was that Braviary was not that strong at ranged combat, and if it got dragged into close combat with Grey, Annihilape would probably hold the advantage instead.
So Alder did not dare gamble on it.
He could only go all in with Bouffalant.
"Old friend, I'm counting on you!"
Bouffalant had originally been the second-strongest Pokémon on Alder's team. Now that Volcarona was gone, Bouffalant had naturally become Alder's ace Pokémon.
Grey looked at the brown, buffalo-like Pokémon in front of him, the one with the head of hair that looked like a giant afro, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
[Pokémon: Bouffalant]
[Type: Normal]
[Level: 75]
[Ability: Sap Sipper]
[Moves: Head Charge, others omitted.]
Level 75.
That was the level most regional Champions' main Pokémon sat at.
Leveling got harder and harder the higher you climbed. Once a Pokémon reached level 80, it was already the kind of existence that had one foot in the realm of battle legends.
"Annihilape, this opponent isn't someone you can underestimate. Even if you have the advantage in overall strength, you absolutely cannot let your guard down."
Alder was a veteran Champion, and the battle sense he had shown earlier was excellent, so Grey did not dare be careless.
"I know, Boss. I'll be careful."
Annihilape smacked its hands together, its crimson eyes reflecting Bouffalant's figure.
The two stared at each other, both able to sense the unique energy the other possessed.
Bouffalant let out a roar.
Its hooves pounded the ground over and over, while two streams of white mist sprayed from its nostrils.
"Oh! It's Champion Alder's Bouffalant! Back when Champion Alder was still dominating the circuit, this Bouffalant was an absolute core member of his team! And if my judgment is correct, Master Grey's Annihilape probably only entered the Champion tier not too long ago."
Commentator Slowking was an old hand at this. Just one look at both Pokémon was enough for him to judge their general level.
Still, Annihilape definitely had a strong advantage in typing on Grey's side.
At least, from the perspective of Commentator Slowking, a battle commentator with years of Pokémon battle experience, the direction of this battle was still very hard to predict.
It all came down to whether Bouffalant would crush Annihilape through sheer raw strength, or whether Annihilape would use its typing advantage to pull off an upset.
The second battle was about to begin.
"Bouffalant, Zen Headbutt!"
Alder opened with an aggressive attack.
A visible pink ripple suddenly burst out between Bouffalant's horns.
The instant it kicked off with its front hooves, the whole battlefield trembled, and the psychic field crushed all the loose stones in its path into powder.
"There it is! This is Bouffalant's brave and cunning charge! Its power is enough that many Pokémon wouldn't dare take it head-on! What kind of tactics will Master Grey use to answer it? Let's watch closely!"
Commentator Slowking stirred up the atmosphere, and the crowd was just as curious.
How exactly was Grey going to deal with Bouffalant's Zen Headbutt?
"Annihilape, block it!"
Grey chose to take it head-on, which made Alder frown slightly.
What was this guy thinking?
Annihilape should not have been so overwhelmingly stronger that it could just ignore Bouffalant's Zen Headbutt, right?
The gap between them was only a small step. Bouffalant's damage would definitely be serious, but Annihilape was also Champion-tier. It was not like it would get knocked out by a single move.
And on top of that, Annihilape had a move that, if used correctly, could turn the battle around completely. If Bouffalant really landed a hit on it, then the balance of victory would already be tipping in Grey's favor.
That was when Alder realized something was wrong.
Grey was this fearless about letting Bouffalant charge straight at Annihilape.
That meant he had definitely found a chance to counterattack.
Alder did not dare gamble.
So he chose...
"Bouffalant, stop! Use Cotton Guard!"
Alder got a little greedy.
Bouffalant suddenly halted, and the psychic glow over its head was just about to be replaced by Grass-type energy...
"Annihilape, don't let it get away with that, Cross Chop!"
Whenever Grey commanded Annihilape, he loved calling out Cross Chop. Whether it was the perfect move for the situation or not, he would have it chop first and ask questions later.
"Got it!"
The powerful aura unique to Fighting-type Pokémon erupted from Annihilape's body.
Bouffalant's body paused for just a moment.
Its outer coat had only just begun to shine with the white glow of Cotton Guard when Annihilape's killing blow arrived.
The Cross Chop was absurdly fast, striking Bouffalant right across the bridge of its nose.
Crack!
Bouffalant's heavy body was actually sent flying with all four hooves off the ground by that chop.
A critical hit!
"I can't believe Annihilape landed a critical hit on Bouffalant! Now Bouffalant is in real trouble! Does Champion Alder have an answer for this? If not, the flow of this match is really going to get dragged fully into Master Grey's pace!"
Commentator Slowking kept going, endlessly talking through everything happening in the match.
[He landed a critical hit right at the start? Since when is Master Grey this lucky?]
[Maybe using up all his luck at the beginning like this means he won't have enough later.]
[I'm still choosing to believe in Master Grey. If it's Master Grey, he shouldn't lose a battle, right?]
[What are you even talking about? Even if Annihilape goes down, he still has Reshiram in the back. Are you seriously saying Bouffalant can beat Reshiram? Getting past Annihilape alone would already be hard enough.]
That one long message made a lot of Unovan viewers go quiet again.
And honestly, that was true.
Even if Bouffalant somehow barely beat Annihilape, what was it supposed to do about the Reshiram behind it?
Reshiram had defeated Volcarona that easily, so beating Bouffalant would clearly not be a problem either.
[Forget it, forget it. Just keep watching.]
The battle continued.
Bouffalant had been launched into the air by Annihilape's Cross Chop, and that made Grey raise an eyebrow.
Annihilape's Cross Chop had very clearly struck from back to lower front. It was not supposed to launch opponents upward.
And yet Bouffalant looked like it was almost taking off, like it had somehow become light on its feet...
Wait.
Grey suddenly realized something was wrong and immediately shouted, "Annihilape, use Stone Edge!"
"Right!"
Annihilape did not understand why its trainer had suddenly given that order, but it still gathered Rock-type energy and fired off a barrage of sharp stones.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Stone Edge screamed through the air, every projectile cutting through the wind with a grating sound.
But Bouffalant remained unbothered.
It angled its head downward, and its afro puffed out even more, turning softer and fluffier, almost like cotton.
Cotton Guard!
The Stone Edge barrage sank into Bouffalant's huge hair. It looked like every hit had landed, and technically, they had.
But they had only landed.
They had not truly hurt it.
Bouffalant's Defense rose sharply.
[That's it! Nice job, Champion Alder! At least don't get shut out!]
[Yes, exactly like that! If it uses Cotton Guard one more time, then Master Grey's Annihilape won't be able to do anything to Bouffalant anymore, right?]
Bouffalant had already been stronger than Annihilape to begin with. If it really got another boost like that, then Grey would genuinely have no choice but to switch to Reshiram.
The two sides had been trading back and forth, but in this short exchange, the one who had really come out behind was Annihilape.
"This is getting a little troublesome..."
Grey frowned slightly. Annihilape had only managed to land one real hit, while Bouffalant had successfully boosted its Defense, making Annihilape's raw power start to look much less threatening.
"Bouffalant, Earthquake!"
This time Alder did not have Bouffalant engage in close combat with Annihilape. Instead, he chose to attack from range with Earthquake.
Boom, boom, boom!
Bouffalant stomped the ground, and the seismic waves spread outward.
"Protect."
Grey frowned and did not choose to tank it.
Annihilape raised both arms in front of itself, and a Protect barrier formed, isolating the Earthquake outside.
[Is Grey falling behind now?]
[Don't celebrate too early. Grey might just be setting up something huge.]
The number of messages in the stream chat dropped as everyone focused on the battle.
In a back-and-forth fight like this, Annihilape really did seem to be the one on the back foot.
"Bouffalant, use Earthquake again!"
Alder kept pressing the attack.
Bouffalant stamped the earth with its hooves, turning ground energy into another Earthquake shockwave that rippled outward.
This time, Grey had found an answer.
"Annihilape, Acrobatics!"
Grey called out a move no one had expected.
Acrobatics!
The moment he gave the order, Annihilape's movements turned light and nimble.
Blue-green Flying-type energy wrapped around its body, and Annihilape skimmed low through the air, slipping past the Earthquake waves before closing in on Bouffalant in an instant.
"Zen Headbutt!"
Psychic light shone over Bouffalant's head, but then it was forcibly cut off.
Clap, clap, clap!
A round of applause rang out all around, and Bouffalant suddenly discovered that its psychic energy would not respond. In its place came ground energy.
Earthquake!
But this was being forced out of it. That was completely different from using it willingly, and the effect was not the same at all.
"Cross Chop!"
Annihilape moved first, ahead of Bouffalant, brownish energy blazing off its arm.
Boom!
Cross Chop hit Bouffalant again, but this time it did not land on a vital point, so the damage was a lot less impressive.
Bouffalant cried out in pain anyway, and the Earthquake it had been forced into dissipated on the spot.
"Again? Master Grey really does love using that move..."
Alder scratched his head.
He had heard people say before that Grey loved using Encore.
He just had not expected that Grey would use Encore in a moment like this too.
This time, it was Alder's miscalculation.
He rubbed his brow as the battle entered a messy state again.
Bouffalant had raised its Defense, but it could now only keep using Earthquake under Encore.
And during that time, there were simply too many things Annihilape could do.
"Grudge!"
Grey's style of play had started getting dirty too.
Encore plus Grudge. What Grey wanted now was simple.
He wanted to stall.
Stall until Bouffalant's PP was drained away.
Annihilape's wild hair flared up as Ghost-type energy burst outward and poured into Bouffalant's body.
Bouffalant's pace in using Earthquake suddenly became noticeably slower. It had just been about to use Earthquake again when it already started panting heavily.
Alder stared blankly.
Wait, what was going on here?
Something felt really strange.
Bouffalant had only used two moves, so why had it suddenly become like this?
"Use Grudge again."
While Encore was still active, Grey gave another order.
"Right!"
Annihilape roared, and countless strands of ghostly energy, like pale will-o'-wisps, flowed into Bouffalant's body.
And just like that, Bouffalant could no longer use Earthquake.
Bouffalant used Struggle.
What was Struggle?
Struggle could not really be called a move. It was more like a last-resort attack that consumed the user's own stamina to launch an untyped attack.
Every Pokémon could do it.
The only problem was that its power was pretty pitiful.
"Annihilape, block it."
This time, against the mad charge coming straight at them, Grey chose to have Annihilape take it head-on.
Bouffalant crashed forward wildly, slamming straight into Annihilape's sturdy chest.
Annihilape grinned. "That's all the strength you've got? Your Defense isn't all that useful either!"
Fighting-type energy burst out from inside Annihilape's body. Wrapped in that terrifying power, it launched a crushing blow at Bouffalant.
Close Combat!
Bouffalant could no longer bear the strain, and its front legs buckled to the ground. Most of its remaining stamina drained away.
The Struggle from just now had already cost it too much stamina, and together with the damage it had taken earlier, its condition had already fallen into dangerous territory.
"Master Grey, your tactics really are endlessly varied. No matter what kind of strategy it is, you always know how to control it well."
Alder let out a sigh.
He had no choice but to admit that Grey's combination of Encore and Grudge had completely caught him off guard.
"It looks like the scales of victory have already tipped toward Grey. The only question now is whether Champion Alder still has any fighting power left!"
Commentator Slowking looked at Alder, still hoping for some kind of comeback.
But reality was cruel.
Bouffalant had no way to turn things around anymore, and another Close Combat from Annihilape finished it off.
"Bouffalant is unable to battle! Since all of Contestant Alder's Pokémon are unable to battle, the winner is Contestant Grey!"
The referee raised the flag, and Grey's portrait appeared on the big screen.
[Master Grey is already strong enough to defeat a regional Champion... Maybe Master Grey should just found his own League?]
[Kanto League, stop testing him already. A trainer that talented definitely has principles. Keep pushing too hard, and he might really defect to another region.]
There were still plenty of viewers trying to stir things up.
Of course, anyone with eyes could tell they were joking.
And after defeating Alder, a flood of gifts poured into Grey's stream.
There were no Governor-tier memberships, but dozens more captain-tier and admiral-tier memberships appeared.
In the end, this battle had just been too niche.
Most people only glanced at the Strongest Trainer Tournament and then left.
The ones who kept watching were still a minority.
After that, Grey took his Pokémon to be healed.
At Liberty Garden's Pokémon Center, Alder and Grey arrived together.
"Hahaha! Master Grey, I never imagined your strength had already improved to this level. If we're only comparing aces, then I'm already no match for you."
Alder was as open and cheerful as ever during the walk. He clearly had not taken the loss to heart.
"Not really, it was mostly luck. If you had known my habits and tactics, Champion Alder, then even if I still won that battle, I probably could only have done it with Reshiram."
Grey shook his head.
The moment Bouffalant used Cotton Guard, Annihilape had almost been forced into retirement on the spot.
If Grudge had not forced out Struggle, then the one who would have lost the match was probably Annihilape.
That huge Defense boost was just too broken. Even a Pokémon famous for offense like Annihilape could only look on with dread when it faced something like that.
"Even so, in the end, you still won, didn't you?"
"More importantly, whether it was the process or the result, there's nothing wrong I can point to in your in-battle command decisions."
"Given enough time, I'd say you're only about two years away from reaching that realm."
Alder was thinking far ahead.
Grey only smiled and said nothing.
Time moved on to the second half of the day.
N versus Mustard.
"For someone so young to be acknowledged by a top-tier legendary, you've got talent, lad. So what do you say, any interest in coming to the Isle of Armor as my student?"
Mustard smiled as he tried recruiting him.
N looked at him.
"No, thank you, Mr. Mustard. I've already made up my mind. There's no need to recruit me."
N shook his head, and Zekrom descended onto the field.
"All right then, I guess I can only send this one out."
Mustard acted regretful, but in the next instant, his eyes turned razor-sharp.
"Urshifu, I choose you!"
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