Ota's voice once again echoed throughout the entire stadium:
"First to enter the field is—
From Dewford Town of Hoenn, the strongest genius rookie trainer under the Devon Corporation, and also the most astonishing dark horse rookie coordinator trainer!
The supernova hailed by countless people as 'Wallace Junior'—
Theo!!
In only one year since his debut, he has stunned audiences again and again with breathtaking Contest combination moves and overwhelmingly powerful strength, earning the title of Hoenn's most talented rookie trainer in recent years!
This is his very first challenge at the Ever Grande Conference, yet he has already cut through every opponent all the way into the finals.
Can he seize the ultimate championship title?!
Let us wait and see!!"
The cheers immediately surged to an even greater climax.
Many audience members even held up posters featuring Theo together with his shiny Metagross and Milotic.
"Go Theo! Take the championship!"
"Theo will win! Theo will win!!"
Immediately afterward, the spotlight suddenly shifted toward the green-side contestant area, while Ota's voice also became deeper and more intense:
"The other contestant is a trainer from the Kalos region, Alain!
Since the beginning of the tournament, he has swept through every opponent without suffering a single defeat.
Before the semifinals, he even relied on only one Charizard to complete countless suffocating 1 versus 6 victories!
His strength has already deeply engraved itself into everyone's hearts, making every opponent tremble with fear!"
"So in the end, will the home-field advantage of Theo allow him to triumph, or will the unstoppable Alain laugh last?!
Who will ultimately claim the champion's throne?!
Let us wait and see!!"
After the referee once again announced the battle rules, the arena selection process officially began.
The roulette wheel spun twice.
The pointer finally stopped on the symbols representing water waves and ice.
First half: Water Field!
Second half: Ice Field!
"The battlefield selection has been completed! Both contestants, please enter the field and prepare to send out your first Pokémon!"
"Theo, come on! Beat that smug jerk!!!"
From the audience stands, Ash shouted himself hoarse. Max and May also waved their arms desperately, while countless spectators behind them raised banners in support.
Theo gazed at the vast battlefield of sparkling water before him and slightly narrowed his eyes as calculations rapidly formed in his mind.
Across from him, Alain slowly stepped forward, his tone still carrying undisguised arrogance:
"Your friends, and these spectators, seem to have very high expectations for you.
I hope you can last a little longer against me.
If you end up performing even worse than my previous opponent, that Mo... Morrison guy, then you're really going to embarrass yourself."
The moment his words fell, Alain immediately threw out the Poké Ball at his waist first.
A flash of red light burst forth.
Charizard appeared!
Charizard flapped its wings as it hovered above the water's surface. Mimicking Alain's posture, it crossed its claws before its chest while proudly raising its head to look down at Theo with arrogant disdain.
To the surprise of Ash, Brock... and even Alain himself, Theo did not send out his shiny Metagross.
Instead, he slowly tossed out another deep blue Dive Ball.
Shiny Milotic!
As the red light from the Poké Ball dispersed, the elegant and noble figure of the shiny Milotic slowly rose from the water. Its scales sparkled brilliantly beneath the sunlight, and with a gentle sway of its tail fin, ripples spread across the surface in beautiful circles.
"Eh?! Eh?! Why did Big Brother Theo send out Milotic instead of Metagross?!"
Max's eyes widened in confusion.
"I think your Big brother Theo probably plans to use Milotic first to wear down Charizard's stamina. After all, the Water Battlefield is advantageous for Milotic. Then once Charizard is exhausted, he'll probably send out Metagross to finish the match in one decisive blow."
Brock patiently analyzed the situation for Max.
"Ahh, but that's way less exciting! He should've just sent out Metagross directly! A Mega Evolution showdown would've been awesome!"
Ash grumbled unhappily.
May rolled her eyes at him and mercilessly complained:
"You think everyone fights like you, charging forward blindly all the time? This is called strategy!"
Ash had just been about to argue back, but when he noticed May's arm still raised threateningly in the air, he immediately shrank his neck and awkwardly scratched his head, not daring to continue speaking.
When Alain saw that Theo had sent out Milotic, surprise flashed through his eyes before quickly transforming into even deeper contempt.
"What's wrong? Where's your shiny Metagross?
Could it be that after seeing Mega Metagross lose yesterday, you got scared and no longer dare let it face my Charizard head-on? So now you're trying to rely on type advantage to steal a victory through cheap tricks?
But my Charizard isn't afraid of Water-types."
Hearing this, Theo merely glanced at him indifferently without directly responding.
Then, copying Alain's attitude of looking down on everyone, he slightly raised his chin, his eyes filled with careless arrogance. A mocking sneer curled at the corner of his lips as he spoke in a lazy yet overbearing tone:
"You're overthinking things.
A tiny little Charizard like yours isn't even worth the effort of me specifically designing tactics for it.
I know your Charizard gains the Dragon typing after Mega Evolution, greatly increasing its resistance against Water-type attacks.
If we're really talking about type advantage, then I could simply send Tyrantrum onto the field directly.
Just now, I merely tossed out a Poké Ball casually and happened to select Milotic.
Any one of the Pokémon under my command is more than enough to easily defeat your Charizard.
Actually, you should be the one switching now.
If you have a Grass-type Pokémon, bring it out sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, when I sweep through your entire team 1 versus 6, you'll only be able to crawl back to Kalos in disgrace."
The instant those words were spoken, the entire stadium fell silent.
Nobody had expected that the usually calm and steady Theo would say something this outrageously arrogant.
Alain's expression instantly darkened.
His eyes turned cold, and the movement of his hand reaching toward the Poké Ball at his waist immediately stopped.
Originally, after seeing Theo send out Milotic, combined with the Water Battlefield advantage, Alain truly had considered switching Pokémon.
The Chesnaught at his waist was a Grass-type Pokémon and perfectly suited for handling Water-types.
But Theo's string of outrageous provocations had genuinely angered him.
At the same time.
After hearing Theo's taunting words, Charizard's tail flame exploded upward with a loud whoosh. Its dragon-like eyes turned bloodshot with fury as it glared fixedly at Theo.
Alain remained motionless while speaking in an icy tone:
"Hmph. Trainers from Hoenn really are skilled with their mouths.
I don't care whether this is a tactic or a provocation. I'll accept all of it.
I'll show you exactly how strong my 'tiny little Charizard' really is.
And you, with a Milotic that can't even Mega Evolve, actually dare say something so arrogant?
Charizard, let us give this ignorant and conceited fool a complete and utter crushing defeat!"
Charizard nodded heavily, its roar shaking the entire stadium.
It had already been completely enraged.
To actually be called a "tiny little Charizard"
Ever since losing to Pyroar back when it was still a Charmeleon, this was the second time it had felt such intense humiliation.
Over these years, it had trained desperately, risking everything to gain the power it possessed today. After evolving, it had never again experienced this sort of disgrace.
But with only a few words, the person before it had once again dragged out the painful memories of its previous defeat.
Now, even if its trainer wanted to switch it out, it absolutely would not agree.
It wanted to fight to the bitter end!
Meanwhile, Theo looked at the trainer and Pokémon across from him, both already completely consumed by rage and thoroughly taking the bait, and he nearly burst into laughter inside.
He loved opponents like this.
Proud, arrogant, overflowing with self-esteem.
As long as he provoked them slightly, they would obediently follow his rhythm exactly as he wanted.
There was no need to exhaust his brain with complicated switching tactics and defensive rotations like competitive strategies from his previous life.
Battles like this...
Now this was what truly felt satisfying.
(End of Chapter)