"Champion Diantha actually lost? Unbelievable!"
"That Rhyperior is insanely strong!"
"Who is this Blue guy? Could he really have been the Kanto Champion back in the day?"
The audience erupted into chaotic discussion. An unknown young man had just defeated a world-famous top-tier actress and Kalos region Champion, this was major news.
Diantha's fans, meanwhile, looked utterly devastated.
"Gardevoir fell... Champion Diantha lost?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"I don't believe it! That guy definitely cheated!"
"Losing one Pokemon battle doesn't mean anything! If you've got guts, let's see a 6v6 full team battle!"
Blue glanced toward the shouting fans and said calmly, "I hope we can have a full battle at the World Pokemon Tournament someday."
Diantha nodded gracefully. "I'll be there. Let's have that rematch then."
Diantha stepped down from the stage and returned to the VIP seating area to rest.
On stage, the Ho-Oh Championship Battle continued. However, after witnessing even Diantha's invincible Mega Gardevoir get demolished by Rhyperior, the trainers who'd planned to participate realized exactly how outmatched they were.
Battling was one thing. Getting utterly humiliated was another. Better to sit this one out.
The Ho-Oh Championship stage fell awkwardly silent.
Just when both Sakura and Blue assumed tonight's festival would end there, a handsome figure stepped onto the stage.
Blue's eyes narrowed as he studied the newcomer. "Hoenn region Champion... John?"
"That's right." John pulled a Pokeball from his belt and asked casually, "Do you need to switch Pokemon?"
"No need. The last battle barely drained any stamina."
"Let's go." John released his Pokeball.
"Wobbuffet!!!"
Wobbuffet bowed politely toward his opponent.
Although Wobbuffet hadn't undergone traditional battle training, John had still leveled it extensively on his Gameboy. Combined with constant treasure and item enhancements, plus the boost from Ho-Oh's blessing some time ago, Wobbuffet's current strength was absolutely nothing to scoff at.
"Damn, Champion Diantha already got defeated and someone else still dares to take the stage? Isn't this guy afraid of getting destroyed?"
"What do you know? That's our Hoenn region Champion John! He might actually be able to beat that blonde!"
"Another Champion? Ecruteak City really has some serious clout to gather this many Champions in one place!"
Compared to Blue, John had slightly more name recognition, at least within the Hoenn region.
But as for how many people actually expected John to win?
After watching Diantha get crushed and Rhyperior's brutal display...
Unless you were a Hoenn tourist, most people still favored Blue.
Both trainers confirmed their readiness. The referee wasted no time. "Battle begin!"
Rhyperior immediately raised its cannon-arms and aimed at Wobbuffet, unleashing a mad barrage!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
This move had made Gardevoir suffer terribly, but for Wobbuffet? He didn't even need to dodge!
"Mirror Coat," John commanded.
"Wob-uffet!"
Wobbuffet bowed!
Rhyperior swung its arms, shattering all the returning rock projectiles. But each rock exploded like a bomb the instant it was destroyed.
In moments, Rhyperior's body was covered in scorch marks.
It seemed John's Wobbuffet had mastered Mirror Coat to an extremely high level!
Ordinary Mirror Coat absorbed an opponent's special attack energy and reflected it back, but the process lost the attack's unique properties.
Take Rhyperior's Rock Wrecker as an example.
The rocks it fired carried explosive effects. But if Mirror Coat absorbed and reflected them, those explosive properties would normally disappear.
Moreover, the reflected attack's power would typically be only half, or even less than half, of the original move's strength.
But John's Wobbuffet's Mirror Coat not only retained the attack's inherent energy properties, its power was virtually unchanged!
This was like—
CRASH!
From within the black smoke covering the battlefield, Rhyperior burst through the haze with its drill-horn leading, moving at tremendous speed like a battle tank. It must have used the same acceleration technique it'd employed against Gardevoir earlier! In an instant, it closed the distance to Wobbuffet.
"Counter!" John shouted. This was the second move he'd made Wobbuffet practice daily, and Wobbuffet's signature technique!
"Wobbuffet!"
Wobbuffet bowed for the third time!
Immediately, its outer skin flashed with a faint psychic light. One second later, it absorbed Rhyperior's entire offensive force!
Hssssss—
Wobbuffet was suddenly enveloped in light, transforming into a glowing beacon!