Chapter 429: Battle on the Eastern Isle
The eastern island stretched before them, waves lapping against its rocky shores. John and Victor Stone faced each other across the makeshift battlefield, both men sizing up their opponent with the respect that came from years of elite-level competition.
"I’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time," Victor said, pulling out an ornate wooden pipe and taking a leisurely puff. "I’m getting tired of the same old faces of Damian and Riley, you know."
John cracked his knuckles, a grin spreading across his face. "And I’ve been curious to see what the legendary veterans of the previous generation are really made of."
The old guard had produced countless talented trainers, and for someone like Victor to hold onto his Elite Four seat well into his seventies spoke volumes about his skill. The man before him was no relic, he was a living legend who’d earned his place through decades of battles.
"Ha!" Victor’s eyes gleamed with competitive fire. "In that case... how about we make this interesting? Want to go with wild battle rules?"
John studied the elderly man’s deceptively frail frame. Beneath that thin exterior lay explosive power, though like any flame, it wouldn’t burn forever.
Wait. Hold up. Had he just walked into a classic old-timer death flag scenario? This felt suspiciously like one of those moments where the grizzled veteran was about to show why experience trumped youth.
"If that’s what you want, old man, I’m game." John loosened his shoulders, rolling them back in preparation.
"Referee, change the battle format to wild rules," Victor called out.
"Order received. Battle format changing," the mechanical referee responded in its synthesized voice.
"Alright, let’s get this show on the road."
The referee immediately took control of the proceedings.
"Confirming participant identities... John... Victor Stone... Battle commencing between Trainer John Pokemon and Trainer Victor Stone. Rules: Wild Battle format. Six Pokemon available per trainer. Unlimited substitution opportunities. Battle ends when all Pokemon on one side are unable to continue, or when a trainer can no longer participate. Please release your Pokemon."
Both trainers hurled their Pokeballs skyward simultaneously.
Silver light exploded as two Pokemon materialized on the field.
John’s opening choice was Gyarados.
The massive serpent’s crimson scales gleamed like polished rubies, its ghostly fierce expression radiating menace. The moment Gyarados appeared, its terrifying presence swept across the battlefield like a tidal wave.
Dark clouds began gathering overhead, followed by a gentle drizzle.
Victor was known as a Fighting-type Elite, though the media often called him a Ground-type specialist as well. His mastery of both types was legendary, and his ace Pokemon reflected this dual expertise.
Against Gyarados’s Flying and Water typing, John held a significant advantage no matter what Victor led with.
As expected, Victor’s choice was Rhyperior, a Ground and Rock-type that was about to have a very bad day.
Water-type moves were four times as effective. This was going to hurt.
"Participants confirmed in position," the mechanical referee announced. "Battle... begin!"
"Gyarados, Mean Look!" John opened with strategy rather than brute force.
ROAAAAR!
Gyarados’s massive eyes blazed like bronze lanterns, locking onto Rhyperior with an unbreakable stare.
Rhyperior immediately felt the effect, a crimson aura settled around its body like chains. Until Red Gyarados fell or left the battlefield, escape was impossible.
Victor seemed completely unfazed by this development. Calmly, he reached for another Pokeball and released it.
Kommo-o materialized beside Rhyperior.
This Kommo-o was smaller than average, but its compact frame radiated an aura that matched Gyarados’s intimidating presence blow for blow.
Since its ability wasn’t Intimidate, Gyarados couldn’t cow it with sheer presence alone.
Too bad this was a wild battle with simultaneous releases allowed, otherwise, with such a massive type advantage, John could have finished Rhyperior immediately in a standard format.
But there was more than one way to skin a cat.
"Surf!" John commanded.
Trapped by Mean Look, Rhyperior was sitting duck.
"GYARADOS!" The scalett Gyarados bellowed.
Blue energy erupted from beneath the battlefield as seawater surged in all directions. The ocean a hundred meters away began to churn and rise, threatening to engulf the entire island.
Fighting on this small landmass gave Red Gyarados a distinct home field advantage.
"Meteor Mash!"
"Stone Edge!" Victor’s orders came in rapid succession.
Rhyperior crouched low and punched the ground. Rock pillars erupted, not for attack, but for elevation. A massive stone column over ten meters tall launched it skyward, safely above the incoming wave.
Kommo-o showed no fear. Its smaller size translated to superior speed.
At the Meteor Mash command, Kommo-o’s body exploded forward like a rocket. Its fist, covered in gleaming metallic scales, blazed with stellar light as it dove straight into the overwhelming blue torrent.
One punch.
BOOM!
The light carved through the rushing water.
The massive wave bent, twisted, and collapsed in the blink of an eye. The torrent lost all power and scattered into harmless droplets.
One punch had shattered the sea itself.
But as the water dispersed, a vicious dark green light suddenly slashed downward like a razor blade, striking Kommo-o square in the chest.
CLANG!
The sound of metal on metal rang out.
Kommo-o crossed its arms to block at the last possible moment. Even so, the impact sent it flying a hundred meters before it crashed through a tree trunk and finally stopped.
The attacker was none other than Mega Garchomp!
"GRAAAAH!" Mega Garchomp spread its massive scythe-like appendages and roared, golden draconic eyes burning with pride and contempt. The message was clear: We’re both dragons, both pseudo-legendaries, both kings of offense, but there’s still a hierarchy here. And you’re at the bottom.
Mega Garchomp crouched low, its footsteps cracking the ground before it shot forward like a missile.
No, with that upright tail fin and those deadly scythes, it looked more like a fighter jet, sleek and built for destruction.
Locked onto Kommo-o for a bombing run.
Victor pointed at Mega Garchomp with his left hand.
"Hyper Beam!"
From atop its rock pillar, Rhyperior’s devastating beam erupted without any charging time.
It wasn’t positioned as an armored tank, it was a living Rock-type fortress with artillery built in.
Meanwhile, Victor’s right hand wasn’t idle. He grabbed another Pokeball and released it.
"Mist!"
A Mamoswine the size of a small hill appeared on the battlefield. A white orb spat from its mouth, floating only a few meters before exploding into expanding fog that blanketed the entire area.