Once Alex's Champions gathered, they immediately took up a defensive convex formation, with the attack team forming the outer shell and the defense team holding the center. Clarissa, meanwhile, arranged a two-layer defensive formation, placing her dragons on the front flanks with Cetitan in the middle, while her ice types took the rear flanks with Charizard at the center, before triggering Snow Warning and causing a snowstorm to cover and enhance her team.
Without prompt, both teams immediately began alternating Protect, area-of-effect attacks, and buffs. Alex's team inched forward with each move they completed, while Clarissa's team fell back, keeping a comfortable distance.
Since Clarissa requested a defensive formation, Alex's objective was to break it as quickly as possible. So far, Clarissa's best record had been holding back Alex's offense indefinitely when he only had his original five Champions, while her worst record was around five minutes after Alex gained an influx of Champions over the years as his Pokémon ranked up.
There were many lessons learned on both sides since they started this exercise, and it improved both their strategies and tactics in formation battles. Still, there was always room for further improvement.
"Chainsaw Formation!" Alex called out to his Pokémon once they finished buffing their stats to the maximum.
The front of the formation folded inward, leaving only three at the front to fend off attacks while matching the width of Clarissa's formation. Once there was a slight lull in the incoming attacks, Knight, who happened to be at the center of the front layer, charged out using Substitute. Following him were the rest of the attack team in single file, also using Substitute, while the defense team pursued them, providing healing and cover.
When the next layer of attacks arrived, Knight used Spirit Break instead of Protect, taking some damage but dispelling the energy of the oncoming attacks and cutting them to the sides before moving aside and retreating to the back of the formation. This allowed those following him to completely avoid the bombardment and continue their advance without slowing.
Grim charged forward and split the next wave with Dragon Rush before pulling back, letting Hydreigon take the lead. This rotation continued until they eventually reached Clarissa's formation. Her Pokémon prepared for the usual melee, but this time their opponents were running and retreating in single file, taking minimal damage as they approached.
Normally, an attacking party would have to endure sustained damage just to close the distance, leaving them at a clear disadvantage once melee began. This time, Alex's new formation kept his Pokémon in good condition, as only one took the full force of the attacks at a time before being healed by the back line. As a result, most of the attack team advanced without significant loss to their stamina or health.
Once it was Dusknoir's turn, he reached Clarissa's front line and immediately used Phantom Force to break through the Protect barrier in front of him. He then retreated while Ceruledge advanced and used Phantom Force as well, breaking the shared Protect shield from the flanks. Both Pokémon took significant damage from Glaceon, Charizard, and Ninetales as the bombardment continued.
Finally, Knight, back at the front having gone through a full rotation, used Close Combat, dealing massive damage to Cetitan. Of course, Knight couldn't withstand the retaliation and suffered significant damage, breaking through its defense, Substitute, and nearly being knocked out. Fortunately, it only needed to attack once before retreating, allowing Grim, who was behind it, to use Breaking Swipe, dealing massive damage.
This rotation of attacking, taking damage, retreating, healing, and using Substitute continued until Cetitan eventually fainted, much to Clarissa's surprise. She hadn't expected her tank to be overwhelmed so quickly. At most, she had expected the single file to expand, target her other Pokémon, and move to divide and conquer, allowing Alex to secure victory at the cost of a longer battle. Instead, this new formation managed to take one of her front liners down while enduring concentrated fire.
"Scatter and take evasive maneuvers!" Clarissa ordered in a snap decision as she rode on Charizard's back to escape.
As their trainer, she was the greatest weakness of any formation, so she had to ensure she wasn't captured. Regarding her decision to scatter her Pokémon, since Alex was making great progress with his new strategy against her defensive formation, it was better to force his hand into a divide-and-conquer approach.
"Split and pursue!" Alex ordered.
Knight immediately jumped on Grim before they took off after Charizard, with Hydreigon close behind. Raticate used Quick Attack and Thunder Wave to harass Glaceon without committing to a full attack. Arcanine darted in with Extreme Speed, going on full offense against Ninetales thanks to the type advantage. Kommo-o squared off with Arctibax in a brutal dragon-on-dragon brawl while Togekiss provided healing through Wish and Life Dew. Dusknoir and Ceruledge tag-teamed Dragonite with Gravity and Will-o-Wisp, aiming to slow him down.
The defense team, meanwhile, moved out in pursuit as well. Alcremie leapt onto Altaria, while Frosmoth grabbed Clawitzer and followed Grim in cornering Charizard. Gardevoir stayed with Alex, serving as his final line of defense and helping to coordinate his Pokémon with commands.
As the Pokémon scattered and the battle continued, Alex checked his watch and noted that only two minutes had passed. Buffing his team to maximum stacks had taken time, but it was a necessary part of the combat. If he had rushed in immediately, his Pokémon would have faced Clarissa's defenders, who would possess one or two additional stacks, making any melee far more difficult.
Still, with his new Chainsaw Formation, he managed to shave a full minute off the initial engagement, forcing Clarissa to scatter and begin the inevitable chase, which would likely take no more than two minutes. This was a significant improvement over his previous strategy, which relied on using his numbers to surround and overwhelm opponents safely, a tactic that could be slowed by a purely defensive rotation of Protect.
Before two minutes had passed, Clarissa conceded after Charizard took heavy damage from Clawitzer's Water Pulse and the Dazzling Gleams of Knight and Alcremie. Once she landed near Alex, she asked for the time.
"Three minutes and fourty-two seconds," Alex answered.
"No! How is that possible? That's almost two minutes off," she complained.
"My new formation shaved a full minute, and Gardevoir says Grim, Altaria, and Frosmoth's aerial cornering set a new record."
"Ugh! Tell me about your new formation. It took out Cetitan far too quickly."
"It's basically a drilling strategy that focuses on one defender at a time. Rather than splitting my Pokémon against yours, I concentrate coordinated attacks on a single target, directing all incoming damage onto one easily healed Pokémon. It lets me take down one frontliner at a time while adding more pursuers against you when you scatter."
"Why do you call it the Chainsaw Formation, though?"
"Because the formation moves like a chainsaw," Alex answered.
Clarissa burst out laughing. "So it's a chainsaw that drills? That doesn't make any sense!"
"It works though," Alex said with a shrug.
They continued their training throughout the day until midafternoon, when Rhea suddenly called a meeting.
Alex felt a flicker of anticipation as he and the girls met at the command center of the main hub. Rhea rarely interrupted training without a reason, and when she did, it was usually tied to one of her ongoing projects. Lately, that could only be the armor she was working on for Mantine.
Since regularly consuming Herba Mystica, Mantine had grown into a Titan-class Pokémon, its wingspan now stretching nearly 50 ft (15 m). It was about as large as a Wailord, with the ability to fly and capable of carrying the defense team on its back along with Alex without difficulty.
Unfortunately, the increased mass had pushed the weight of Mantine's armor well beyond his carrying capacity, and Rhea had been quietly working to solve that problem for years. It was ultimately a materials problem, since Alex had requested Champion ranked defenses to ensure it could survive bombardment from the ground.
Alex glanced out the window of the command center toward the man-made lake beside the training grounds, at the large shadow gliding just beneath the surface. He was quite happy with the size Mantine had reached through constant consumption of Herba Mystica. Apparently, Titan Pokémon needed to keep consuming it to maintain their titan form, and the current size was just below the farm's current output.
"Hello, ladies and gentleman, rivals and lover, sisters and hubby," Rhea greeted as she burst into the command center, spinning to take center stage. "I have an exciting announcement to make, a mysterious reveal, and a request."
"Is this about Mantine's armor?" Alex asked.
"What? No! I finished that years ago. This is far more exciting."
Alex raised a brow, surprised he hadn't been told about something so important. He opened his mouth to ask for information, but Rhea cut him off, practically vibrating with excitement.
"No, I'm not here to talk about something so boring. I'm here to announce the completion of my own armor. Behold! The Mauler!"
A hologram burst from the center of the meeting table, forming a massive exosuit. Every inch of the body was sheathed in reinforced plates linked by glowing servos and energy conduits. The specifications listed jet thrusters along the flanks, deployable gatling guns in the arms and shoulders, and defenses rated for Champion ranked attacks, capable of absorbing massive hits while keeping the pilot fully mobile.
Rhea bounced on her heels, eyes sparkling with manic delight. "Deployable, unstoppable, and completely over-the-top. Basically, a walking, flying wrecking machine!"
Alex couldn't help but be impressed, even if he was still confused about Mantine's armor. That said, he had no plans to use it himself, he preferred to experience the chaos of combat with his own body.
"What is it for?" Nyx asked. "You're not exactly going out there to hunt Champion ranked Pokémon."
"That would be the next part of my reveal! My name isn't just Rhea…" she said, pausing to build tension. "It's—"
"Rheabel Argent, daughter of the former owner of Argent Solutions," Nyx interrupted, while Alex and the rest of the girls looked on in shock. "I found out on day one. Your company profile was way too sketchy, even for me. Besides, Rheabel… Rhea… come on!"
Rhea visibly deflated. "Aw… I was hoping to reveal it myself. Anyway, I wanted to ask for help in taking down Argent Solutions."
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