"Now begins the Ferrum Championship Challenge!"
"On one side of the battle, we have the genius Trainer John from the Hoenn Region! Upon arriving in the Ferrum Region, he set off a storm of battles, causing countless trainers to fall before him. So far, he has not tasted defeat!"
"On the other side, we have the undefeated champion, the unparalleled Iron Fist Emperor, the supreme Trainer who has held the championship for ten years... GLENN!"
"Today, let us witness whether genius Trainer John will drive the king from his throne, or whether Glenn will continue to crush the rebels who dare challenge his royal majesty!"
"Now, let's give our applause and welcome both powerhouses to the stage!" The referee serving as announcer put his all into hyping up the crowd.
The entire battlefield responded as he'd hoped, the sound waves erupting from the audience were absolutely deafening.
Amid the thunderous noise, John and Glenn emerged from their respective player tunnels, walking step by step to the battlefield before finally standing opposite each other.
"I heard you're already the Champion from the Hoenn Region. Never thought I'd be facing another Champion so soon." Glenn, the Ferrum Region Champion, was a Fighting-type specialist similar to Bruno. He stood with arms crossed, studying John intently. "Good! I can't wait to test the strength of other regional Champions!"
John raised an eyebrow. Who had leaked that information? Even the news that he was Hoenn's Champion had somehow reached the Ferrum Region.
But it didn't matter anymore.
"Think of this as a little warm-up before facing the Draconia Champion," John whispered to himself.
For his Pokemon, battling was more like relaxation than training. Training required using your brain, but fighting a Champion...
The referee confirmed both sides were in position. "The battle between these two Champions is about to begin! Let me announce the battle rules!"
"In this duel, each side may use only one main Pokemon, plus two support Pokemon. Support Pokemon can only be deployed twice total!"
"The battle ends when one side's main Pokemon loses its ability to fight!"
"Now, please release your main battle Pokemon!" The referee raised red and green flags to signal.
John and Glenn simultaneously pulled out Pokeballs and hurled them skyward.
The Pokeballs opened mid-air in flashes of silver light, revealing two Pokemon.
The Pokemon standing before Glenn was Machamp.
A Machamp with absolutely exaggerated musculature, if an ordinary Machamp was like a regular person, then Glenn's Machamp was like a championship bodybuilder among humans.
Those exaggerated muscles didn't convey beauty, only intimidation!
With just one glance, John understood these weren't the kind of show muscles humans built for appearance, but steel forged through countless battles!
No big problem, because the Pokemon John sent for this battle was...
"Heh heh heh~" The little purple fatty covered his mouth and snickered.
The Pokemon John chose to deploy was Gengar, specifically, Gengar who had trained with Zoroark and, with the Spooky Plate's assistance, fully recovered his ultimate King's Presence form.
Ghost-type was immune to Fighting-type moves. As a pure Fighting-type Pokemon, Machamp's combat effectiveness had been cut in half.
"Gengar versus Machamp, looks like John came prepared!" the referee observed, and the red and green flags in his hands dropped.
"Battle begin!"
"Foresight!" "Dark Spirit Battlefield!"
Glenn and John issued commands simultaneously.
Machamp immediately pressed all four arms against his chest, raising his concentration to the absolute limit. His eyes widened as invisible pressure surged forward like a mountain.
For a moment, everyone facing Machamp felt completely exposed.
Foresight, a move to detect opponents. If a Ghost-type Pokemon was targeted by Foresight, then Normal-type and Fighting-type moves could hit Ghost-types.
The Ferrum Region's rules were quite unique, only one Pokemon could be used. In cases where Ghost-types faced Fighting-types, Normal-types faced Ground-types, or other immunity matchups occurred...
Without a counter-strategy, there was a high probability of losing.
As Ferrum Region Champion, Glenn's ace had always been Machamp, that never changed. He'd encountered challengers using Ghost-type Pokemon many times, but remained Champion because he had methods to deal with any type.
Unlike trainers from other regions, Ferrum Region trainers were known for their comprehensive coverage.
Gengar was also making his move.
Using his rotund body as the epicenter, dark purple energy spread outward like a tide, and in just one breath...
The battlefield had fallen into a ghostly netherworld.
John had always been less interested in Damian's technique of using the Ghost-type Z-Move Never-Ending Nightmare to drag opponents into the Spirit World, because when Gengar's King Field activated...
He created Spirit World territory by himself, the effects of suppressing enemies and boosting allies were even stronger than dragging opponents into the Spirit World.
"MEGA Evolution!" John displayed his Mega/Z-Power Bracelet.
He'd wanted to handle Machamp easily, but hadn't expected it to know Foresight. Better to be thorough.
Gengar's body was immediately enveloped in multicolored light.
"Brick Break!" Glenn commanded with a chopping motion, he didn't care what evolution John was attempting.
Machamp stomped the ground, crushing the Spirit World terrain, his body launching forward like a cannonball ready to demolish everything.
But after flying less than two meters, thick white mist had already surrounded him. This was Gengar's exclusive ability Stealth Barrier taking effect.
There was only a slight pause in his steps as Machamp quickly confirmed his direction and accelerated forward again.
But that brief pause was enough time for Gengar to complete MEGA Evolution and become Mega Gengar.
"Snap!" John snapped his fingers and issued his command. "Gengar, Shadow Force!"
Instantly, mist churned like a sea of clouds as a pitch-black phantom slowly rose from the Spirit World ground until it towered above the mist.
With a tall, imposing form, wings like the setting sun, and cold, bloody eyes set in a sharp, elegant dark purple face, it gazed down upon the battlefield.
Like a god surveying the earth, studying the insignificant ant it was about to destroy.