You're the challenger!
Wallace's supremely confident declaration rang across the battlefield.
Right now, he finally had the air of the Hoenn Region's Elite Four Champion—invincible and untouchable.
A regional Champion was, by definition, the strongest Trainer in that region.
At the end of the day, the Champion's seat always went to the one with true strength—the absolute peak of that region's Trainers.
So under normal circumstances, as Hoenn's Elite Four Champion, Wallace should indeed be the strongest Trainer on this land—
The summit everyone in Hoenn looked up to.
Well, okay, technically there was still Steven in Hoenn—but Steven was probably off in some cave digging rocks right now, so Wallace's line wasn't exactly wrong.
After Wallace's overflowing confidence, Gladion stayed expressionless, while Courtney and the former Team Magma members behind her all couldn't help showing worry on their faces.
The few Officer Jennys standing behind Wallace, on the other hand, broke into smiles.
Champion Wallace might always act like a flashy peacock, but he was the Hoenn Champion. He was reliable when it counted!
"Didn't expect Champion Wallace to have such a domineering side. Not bad at all." Damian raised a brow and actually clapped for Wallace.
"Then please, Champion Wallace—put on your show. Let us juniors see your brilliance."
Damian extended a hand in an inviting gesture toward Wallace.
"Oh? You're actually letting me make the first move? You know I'm Hoenn's Champion and you still want me to have the first turn?"
A lovely arc tugged at Wallace's lips.
This Team Rocket brat sure was arrogant.
"In that case, allow me to show you my pride and joy—the water's illusionary dance!"
With a dramatic sweep of his pure‑white cloak, Wallace launched the attack in style.
"Ludicolo, Fake Out!"
"Milotic, use a gorgeous Hydro Pump!"
The bouncy, carefree Ludicolo moved with a speed that belied its chunky frame, instantly dashing up in front of Suicune.
A Normal‑type Fake Out!
It wasn't a high‑power move, and it could only be used on the turn you entered battle—a heavily limited move.
But Fake Out was a priority move—and a very high‑priority one at that!
Smack!
Ludicolo's Fake Out landed right across Suicune's face.
Suicune's icy, aloof expression shifted; a flash of anger burned in its eyes as it glared at the chubby kappa.
You what?! I'm Suicune—and you just slapped me??
Suicune stared coldly at Ludicolo, but the flinch effect from Fake Out left its body locked up and stiff.
Once it recovered, it definitely wasn't letting this green fat guy off.
Elsewhere, Milotic's Hydro Pump roared straight for Pheromosa like an onrushing cannon of water.
"Focus Blast." Damian smiled lightly.
The shiny Pheromosa snapped its long, slender leg in a heavy kick, a blue Focus Blast condensing and firing straight at the incoming Hydro Pump.
A Fighting‑type Focus Blast!
Focus Blast and Hydro Pump collided hard in midair—but to Wallace's shock, the clash didn't last long.
Focus Blast broke through the Hydro Pump, grinding it back and pushing forward, its trajectory locked straight onto Milotic!
"Milotic!"
Wallace's fair face changed.
That much power?!
Wallace's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixing on the black, gorgeous Pokémon across from him.
That had to be Pheromosa, one of Alola's newly recorded Ultra Beasts added to the Pokédex—but this one was shiny.
He'd heard Ultra Beasts were all extremely strong Pokémon. But a Pokémon's base power didn't directly translate to battle strength.
Milotic was Wallace's ace; its strength went without saying.
And yet in a straight clash, Milotic's attack had been overpowered by that Pheromosa——
Something was off. Very off.
Nine parts out of ten, this wasn't right.
Wallace sobered up inside. This Damian kid's strength was not normal.
At Wallace's shout, Milotic immediately abandoned Hydro Pump and dodged aside, just barely—barely—slipping past Focus Blast.
The move missed.
Damian glanced over. "Lunge."
The shiny Pheromosa flicked its long hair with elegant flair, then suddenly shot toward Milotic.
Its speed was insane—so fast it was practically just a black blur.
"Milotic!" Wallace went on full alert.
"Surf!"
Milotic lifted its head and cried out, its body shimmering with a beautiful cerulean glow as the sound of surging waves rose around it.
But before the giant wave could even lift Milotic from the ground, shiny Pheromosa was already in its face, slamming brutally into Milotic's body.
A Bug‑type Lunge!
Milotic cried out in pain, its entire body blasted away by the impact and crashing hard into the ground.
Lunge didn't have type advantage on Milotic, but shiny Pheromosa's physical Attack was monstrous. That single Lunge had done serious damage.
Because Milotic had been knocked out of position, the half‑formed Surf collapsed and vanished.
"So fast!" Wallace's expression was grim.
"Triple Kick."
Damian followed up immediately.
As soon as it landed, shiny Pheromosa rushed Milotic again.
"Water Pulse! Stop it!"
Wallace knew better than anyone that he couldn't get dragged into his opponent's attack rhythm. If he did, it was over.
Milotic forced itself to raise its head through the pain, a ball of water forming in front of it—Water‑type Water Pulse.
Water Pulse fired, turning into a compact wave surging straight toward Pheromosa.
But shiny Pheromosa's body flickered—and vanished from its spot outright.
When it reappeared, its body was already at Milotic's flank.
"How can it be this fast?!" Wallace's pupils shrank.
"Pheromosa～"
The shiny Pheromosa's low, vicious murmur sounded right next to Milotic's ear—then, in the next instant, a savage pain exploded along Milotic's side.
A Fighting‑type Triple Kick!
The fierce kick launched Milotic's whole body up into the air.
Shiny Pheromosa bent its legs, then sprang after it.
"Milotic! Protect!" Wallace's face changed.
Milotic forced its eyes back open, trying to throw up Protect.
But a heartbeat later, shiny Pheromosa's deadly afterimage was already at its side again.
The second hit of Triple Kick!
Wham!
Shiny Pheromosa's powerful whip‑kick smashed into Milotic's head, drawing a pained cry.
And it still wasn't over—Pheromosa twisted its body, forcibly using the recoil to spin in a full circle, bringing another whip‑kick howling in, crashing into Milotic's belly.
The third hit of Triple Kick!
Boom!
Triple Kick's three hits flowed together in one smooth, relentless chain.
Milotic's body rocketed downward like a fired shell, slamming into the ground with a thunderous crash.
"High Jump Kick!"
Shiny Pheromosa bent its right leg, knee up, then dropped from the sky, driving its heel hard into the spot where Milotic had fallen.
A Fighting‑type High Jump Kick!
Rumble…!
The whole ground shuddered violently.
High Jump Kick was an insanely powerful move—though if it missed, the user took nasty recoil instead.
From within the billowing dust, shiny Pheromosa leapt out, landing gracefully before settling one hand on its hip, the other arm flicking its gorgeous hair back. Its pose was that of a haughty queen.
The field fell silent.
Noticing the mood, Suicune—who'd just been using Extreme Speed to torment Ludicolo—also stopped.
The dust slowly drifted away.
In the crater, Milotic lay limp and battered at the bottom, covered in wounds, eyes spiraling.
Milotic had lost the ability to fight.
"Th‑this—"
Wallace's face was ugly and taut.
The Officer Jennys behind him were even more stunned.
Milotic was Champion Wallace's ace Pokémon—yet it had been taken down in such a short time!
Worst of all, through the entire exchange, Milotic hadn't landed a single hit!
That had been a total one‑sided beatdown!
On Courtney's side, the usually expressionless Admin's fair cheeks were flushed, eyes blazing as she stared at Damian.
Lord Damian was way too strong, oh my Arceus!!
He'd just flattened Champion Wallace's Milotic like it was nothing!!!
"Ara ara～ Champion Wallace, looks like your strength is only so‑so after all. Or is this not actually your ace Milotic?"
Damian cocked his head, looking at Wallace with lazy interest as he drawled out the tease.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Wallace's forehead, soaking all the way down his back.
Come on, seriously—how can you be this strong???
Wallace was beyond shocked.
Honestly, not even Steven's ace Metagross could dismantle his Milotic this badly.
Sure, shiny Pheromosa was clearly a speed‑and‑offense build, unlike Metagross—
But even then, this was way too much.
With you this strong, why aren't you over at the Indigo League challenging for Elite Four or Champion? Why are you in Team Rocket??
Gulp—
Wallace swallowed hard.
"Cat got your tongue, Champion Wallace?"
Seeing Wallace stay quiet, Damian smiled even wider and pressed.
"Damian, don't get ahead of yourself. The battle's not over yet. It's still too soon to say who'll win." Wallace forced himself to throw the line back, voice serious.
He said that, but Wallace knew perfectly well—his chances of beating Damian were basically zero.
But that was fine!!
Under his white cloak, Wallace carefully pulled out his phone.
Even while he kept his eyes locked on Damian, his fingers moved with practiced ease, opening his "special contacts" list.
There was only one contact in there—his close friend, Steven!
Steven! Help!! Come save me!!!
Wallace frantically hammered out the message. He was sure Steven would get what he meant.
Given how things were going, only Steven could bail him out now.
"The battle's already over, Champion Wallace."
Damian chuckled lightly.
Beating Milotic was enough.
To him, that was all he needed from Wallace's strength.
"?" Wallace froze.
"Mewtwo."
Deep purple flames lit in Armored Mewtwo's eyes as psychic energy spilled out.
Wallace picked up on it instantly—an invisible force clamped down on him, locking his body in place. He couldn't move.
Thud, thud, thud…
One after another, dull thumps sounded.
Wallace looked back to see that all of the Officer Jennys he'd brought had collapsed unconscious on the ground.
"Damian! What did you do?!"
Wallace's expression changed sharply, cold fury flashing across his face for the first time.
He might normally act a bit "abstract" and have an extremely good temper, but Wallace still had a bottom line.
Even he could get angry.
"Relax, Champion Wallace. I'm not really the violent type. Mewtwo just put them to sleep for a while, that's all."
Damian smiled as he explained.
Wallace let out a tiny breath of relief, his expression returning to normal—
But in the next instant, he realized something.
He'd basically, probably, more or less been taken prisoner, hadn't he?
Wallace looked over at Ludicolo, who'd been staring at him with wide, innocent eyes.
It, too, was frozen by Armored Mewtwo's psychic grip.
Suicune stood expressionless in front of Ludicolo, raising a paw and smacking it across Ludicolo's face again and again.
Yeah, Suicune wasn't using any moves—just straight‑up slapping Ludicolo.
"Damian, I think we can talk this out."
After a quick reassessment of the situation, Wallace decided his only real option was to try negotiating with Damian for now.
"We definitely can talk."
Damian nodded in total agreement, a perfect villain's grin slowly spreading across his face.
"Champion Wallace, you wouldn't want Officer Jenny and the others to… have any little surprises, right?"
"???"
Wallace stared at Damian, full of question marks.
~~~
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