"Dragon Rush!"
The Garchomp Jason had transformed into let out a low roar.
A massive layer of blue dragon-shaped energy wrapped around his shark-like body.
He completely ignored the half-kneeling Iron Valiant, ignored Rika's Swampert—his target was Poppy's Copperajah.
"Jason! Over here!"
At the same time Jason charged, Miraidon—still entangled with Gogoat—received its order.
"Rrnn!"
Miraidon suddenly opened its jaws; a powerful Dragon Pulse exploded forth.
"Baa?"
Gogoat clearly hadn't expected Miraidon to attack point-blank. The Dragon Pulse struck it head-on. The damage wasn't huge, but the sheer impact finally knocked it away from Miraidon.
"Now!" Jason had already reached Copperajah.
"Poppy, block it!" Geeta called urgently.
"Don't let him get away with it! Copperajah, Heavy Slam!" Poppy recovered and ordered her Pokémon to meet him head-on.
Copperajah's metallic body gleamed as it stomped forward, throwing its full weight into a Heavy Slam straight into Jason's Dragon Rush.
On one side, a massive Dragon-type nuke.
On the other, a full-power Steel-type collision.
Boom!
The two forces collided in the center of the field. The impact shook the Champion Hall, echoes bouncing off the dome.
"Hold it, Copperajah!" Poppy screamed.
But the result wasn't the stalemate she'd hoped for.
The dragon-shaped energy of Dragon Rush only paused for half a second—
Then, in a completely overwhelming fashion, it tore right through the metallic glow of Heavy Slam.
"What?" Poppy's eyes went wide.
Under the League squad's stunned gazes, Jason's body, wrapped in blue dragon energy, crashed full-force into Copperajah.
Crack.
That was the sound of metal plating reaching its limit.
"Jahhh!" Copperajah let out a broken cry. Its gigantic, famously heavy body was knocked into the air—elephant and armor—by that single blow.
It traced an arc overhead, sailing over Poppy's head before smashing into the back wall of the hall.
Then it slid down and collapsed, completely unable to battle.
A clean one-hit KO.
Pure, brute-force domination.
"Copperajah is unable to battle."
For the first time, Larry's voice from the commentary box carried a hint of emotion.
"Elite Poppy's first Pokémon is out."
Poppy stood frozen, mouth hanging open as she stared at her partner lying at the base of the wall, lost for words.
"T-this Garchomp's power…" Hassel's face was grim.
Jason shook his head, completely unharmed.
With 195 base HP, any form he took was far tougher than the original species.
"Alright. Now it's four versus two." He turned toward the remaining League members.
Rika's Swampert.
Geeta's Gogoat.
On his side, Miraidon was free again, Gast was unscathed, and Jason himself was at full strength.
Even Iron Valiant, while battered, was still standing.
"Jason! Jason! They only have two left!" Gast squealed as she floated over. "This round's basically in the bag! Watch this, it's my turn!"
"Oh?" Jason looked at her. "How do you want to play it?"
She flashed a smug smile.
She didn't go after Gogoat. She didn't go after Swampert.
Instead, she sank straight into Swampert's shadow.
"Again?" Rika scowled. She already didn't like how this Gengar fought.
"Swampert, watch your feet! Use Surf!" she shouted.
Swampert immediately summoned waves under itself, trying to flush the ghost out of its shadow.
Too late.
Just as it was about to unleash Surf, a chill surged from inside its own body.
"Swamp…?" Swampert's whole body shuddered.
It felt a chunk of its life force get forcibly ripped away.
"That move is—" Rika's face went ugly.
"Curse."
Gast reappeared from another shadow across the field, floating with hands on her hips.
"Heh-heh! You've been cursed by this lady—enjoy watching your HP drain away!" she crowed.
"Dirty tactic…" Rika ground her teeth.
She knew full well: a cursed Pokémon loses massive HP every turn.
"Alright. Now they're both on a timer," Jason said, starting forward.
One cursed. One burned.
There was no suspense left in this fight.
"It's not over yet!"
Geeta's voice rang out.
She scanned the field. She knew they'd lost the first round—but she couldn't just lie down.
"Gogoat!" she shouted.
The burned Gogoat raised its head.
"Give it everything you've got!"
"Head Charge!"
One last charge.
Gogoat roared, ignoring the flames, ignoring Miraidon, pouring all its strength into its twin horns. They began to spin, glowing with Head Charge's spiraling light.
Its target: Jason, who'd just flattened Copperajah.
"Jason, move! That's Head Charge!" Gast yelled.
"Move?"
Jason stopped.
He watched the suicidal charge coming his way and, instead of dodging, grinned.
"Why would I move?"
Under everyone's disbelieving stare, he stood there and let Gogoat's Head Charge slam square into his chest.
Screee—
The spinning horns screeched against his breastplate. Gogoat put everything into it.
But its drill couldn't pierce his defense.
"Baa…?"
Confusion filled Gogoat's eyes.
"Not very effective," Jason said flatly.
His 195 base HP made that devastating Head Charge feel like a mild scratch.
"My turn."
He raised one claw.
"Outrage."
His eyes glowed red; Dragon energy erupted around him.
He brought his claw down on Gogoat's head like a hammer.
The poor mount didn't even have time to cry. That one blow drove it straight into the floor.
Battle over.
"Gogoat is unable to battle."
Larry's voice carried across the arena.
"Baa—!"
Almost at the same time, on the other side of the field, Rika's Swampert, under the second tick of Curse, finally hit zero. It collapsed before Miraidon could even finish lining up a follow-up attack.
"Swampert is unable to battle."
Larry pushed up his glasses and delivered the final verdict, as listless as ever.
"In the first round, the League's entire side has been defeated."
"Challenger Jason's team wins."
Silence.
The first clash between the Elite Four and Champion as a united squad had ended in a 4–0 stomp.
"Phew."
The red aura faded from Jason's body as Outrage ended. He dropped the form, reverting to an oozing Ditto and drifted back over to Iron Valiant.
"Not bad," he said.
He reached over with a blob of his body and patted Iron Valiant's shoulder. "But don't push that hard next time. Spirit Break eats a lot of energy."
Iron Valiant retracted his blades, stood tall, and nodded.
"Jason! Jason!" Gast zipped around him in excited circles. "Well? Well?! Wasn't my Curse amazing just now? Did you see Rika's face? That's what art looks like!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're the best," Jason said, perfunctory.
Miraidon came over as well, nudging him with its head.
Across the field, the mood on the League side was heavy as stone.
Hassel recalled Noivern, face grave.
Poppy recalled Copperajah, eyes red, clearly not taking the loss well.
Rika recalled Swampert, still seething over how "dirty" that Curse strategy felt.
Geeta recalled Gogoat. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes.
A few seconds later, she opened them again.
"Prepare for round two," she said, voice cold and level.
She turned to her Elite Four.
"Hassel, Rika—get your heads on straight. That was only the first bout."
Then she looked at still-sniffling Poppy.
"Poppy."
"Enough."
"Show him your real strength."
All four quietly recalled their Pokémon.
Poppy's eyes were still puffy; she stared at the floor. Hassel looked the most shaken—seeing his partner crushed so decisively struck at his old-school pride.
Rika just looked pissed. She hated Curse. Hated losing even more.
Geeta, at the back, calmly holstered Gogoat's ball and lifted her gaze to Jason across the field.
"Jason! Jason! Wasn't my Curse amazing?!" Gast was still spinning around him, demanding praise.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the greatest," he brushed her off, walking toward Iron Valiant.
The latter had burned a lot of gas that round, especially after eating Play Rough and Earth Power.
"All personnel, prepare for round two."
Geeta's icy voice cut straight through the challenger's post-game chatter.
"Huh?" Gast froze. "We're still fighting? Didn't they lose?"
"This is best-of-four," Jason reminded her. "That was just the first. Don't get cocky—get ready for round two."
"Oh…" She pouted and drifted back to her corner.
Miraidon rumbled; Electric Terrain still crackled around it, unchanged from the first round.
"Well then." In the booth, Larry sighed. He knew there'd be no going home on time today.
"Second round. Both sides, send out your Pokémon."
The four League members stepped forward again.
"Hmph, I won't let you have your way this time," Rika said, releasing her next ball. "Camerupt, you're up."
A red, camel-like Pokémon with twin volcanic humps appeared—Fire/Ground. The air grew hotter immediately.
"Poppy, show him what you've really got," Geeta urged.
"Got it!" Poppy scrubbed her eyes and threw her ball. "Go! Magnezone!"
The Electric/Steel Pokémon formed by three saucers emerged. The moment it appeared, Miraidon's Electric Terrain pressed down on its field; sparks flickered erratically over its body.
"My partner," Hassel said quietly, sending out his second choice. "Dragalge."
A grimy-looking seahorse dragon appeared—Poison/Dragon—floating in the air and giving off a sinister aura.
Lastly, Geeta tossed her second ball.
"Veluza."
A white fish-like Pokémon surrounded by ghostly energy appeared—Water/Psychic.
The League's second squad was on the field.
Jason studied them. Camerupt: slow artillery. Magnezone: slow special attacker. Dragalge: slow special attacker. Veluza: could go either way.
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue. "Surf team plus Trick Room team?"
He saw it immediately: this was an AoE comp.
Magnezone's Discharge, Dragalge's Sludge Bombs, Camerupt's Earth Power or Flamethrower—pure area bombardment and control.
"Jason, these guys look kinda weak," Gast whispered.
"Don't underestimate them. They're filthy," he said.
"Round two: 4v4. Battle start," Larry droned, hitting the bell.
Ding!
"Poppy, Light Screen!" Geeta took point again.
"Hassel, Sludge Bomb!"
"Rika, Yawn—target Miraidon!"
"Veluza, Psycho Cut—target Iron Valiant!"
Commands burst from the League side in a single wave.
"Same trick again?" Jason chuckled.
"Miraidon, ignore Yawn—Wild Charge, Magnezone!"
"Iron Valiant, Protect!"
"Gast, Shadow Ball—interrupt Dragalge!"
Orders crossed in midair.
On the field, Magnezone's body flashed and a Light Screen sprang up around it.
"That move again!" Gast shouted.
Geeta's Veluza's fins glowed—it fired twin Psycho Cuts at Iron Valiant.
"Protect!"
He crossed his arms; a green barrier snapped up. The blades shattered against it.
A clean block.
"Hmph." Geeta wasn't surprised.
Elsewhere, Camerupt's back-volcano burped. It opened its mouth and exhaled a sleepy Yawn bubble, drifting lazily toward Miraidon.
"Ignore it!" Jason snapped.
Miraidon snarled; electricity flared, and it fixed on Magnezone.
"Wild Charge!"
Cloaked in purple lightning and boosted by Electric Terrain, it slammed into Magnezone.
Boom!
The bolt hit the Light Screen first. The barrier shuddered violently, absorbing much of the force—but even so, the tremor knocked Magnezone hard.
Even behind the wall, it took a serious hit.