"Regigigas wields overwhelming strength. With Dynamax, its massive frame and devastating Max Move crushed Drapion in a single blow. The power on display is truly astonishing."
The announcer's voice rose with excitement.
"Against such a fearsome foe, will the Champion call upon the mysterious Mewtwo, or perhaps the mighty Electivire? Or even the Infernape that scorched the battlefield with terrifying flames just days ago?"
The commentator lingered on the memory of Mewtwo's majestic form, clearly hoping Paul would reveal another of his signature partners.
But Paul ignored the speculation. Without hesitation, he hurled a Poké Ball.
"Torterra, stand by for battle!"
"Raaaa!"
The giant turtle landed heavily on the battlefield, its eyes instinctively locking onto the titanic Regigigas.
This time, with Regigigas towering in Dynamax form, the crowd did not marvel at Torterra's sheer bulk. Instead, they whispered in anticipation—how could Torterra, usually the one lording size over its opponents, possibly contend with a foe even larger?
And then—Paul recalled Torterra in an instant. His right hand, empty only moments before, now bore a Dynamax Band.
"Torterra, Gigantamax!"
The Poké Ball expanded as power surged. With a mighty throw, Paul unleashed his partner once more.
A transformed Torterra emerged—its shell no longer bearing a single great tree, but an entire mountain forest fused into its back. Hills rose from its shell like living ridges, crowned with towering trees.
"Raaaa!"
The pressure radiating from Gigantamax Torterra rivaled even that of Regigigas.
"What the hell?!"
"Why does Torterra look completely different?!"
"Gigantamax?! Since when could Torterra do that?!"
"No way, this has to be hacked!"
The audience gaped in shock. Few had ever witnessed Torterra's Gigantamax form, for when it had been discovered, Wyndon Stadium hadn't even been built. Remote research sites recorded it quietly, leaving most of the world unaware.
The commentator steadied his voice:
"A Dynamax clash, who will prove stronger? Truly, this will be something to see."
Lucas blinked, surprised, but battle instinct took over. Gigantamax or not, Torterra was still a Grass-type. If he struck with the right coverage move, he could bring it down.
"Regigigas—use Max Hailstorm!"
"Re…GIII!"
Regigigas raised its colossal arms. Freezing energy condensed, forming into a gargantuan iceberg, which it hurled straight at Torterra.
The attack was simple, unembellished—but packed with annihilating force. As it fell, the sky itself darkened, unleashing a raging hailstorm.
"Max Rockfall!" Paul countered.
"RAAAAA!"
Torterra roared. An immense wall of stone rose before it, colliding with the descending iceberg. Sandstorm winds clashed violently with hail.
For two tense seconds, the two Max Moves held against each other—until the rock barrier cracked, then shattered into rubble. The weakened iceberg crashed onto Torterra's shell, dealing heavy damage.
It's super effective!
The hailstorm raged on, its force overwhelming the sandstorm.
If not for Max Rockfall dulling the impact, Torterra would have been felled in one blow. Even so, its breathing grew labored, its stamina now waning.
Lucas seized the chance.
"Press the attack—Max Knuckle!"
The attribute didn't matter. Torterra was wounded and slow. A boosted Fighting-type Max Move would finish it.
Regigigas' fist glowed with surging power as it swung downward in a crushing strike.
But Paul was ready.
"Max Guard!"
A shimmering barrier materialized before Torterra. Regigigas' colossal blow landed, shaking the stadium—but the shield held. The force rebounded, forcing Regigigas back, its body shrinking rapidly as its Dynamax ended.
Lucas grimaced. "Tch—!"
At that moment, Paul gave the final command:
"G-Max Garden Eternity!"
"RAAAAA!"
Torterra's roar echoed like an ancient earthquake. From the battlefield, endless trees and vines erupted, forming a vast forest that swallowed Regigigas whole.
Leaves fell like razors, forming a storm that lashed against the Titan.
Regigigas, no longer Dynamaxed, appeared small within the monstrous woodland. It tried to raise Protect to weather the storm—
—but the shield shattered almost instantly. Vines whipped upward, ensnaring its body and dragging it into the raging forest.
Though Regigigas' boosted Special Defense blunted the damage, the binding was absolute.
Paul wasted no time. "Max Knuckle!"
"RAAAA!"
Though Torterra lacked fists, its body surged forward like a living mountain. It slammed into Regigigas with crushing force, driving it into the ground as if burying it under a landslide.
It's super effective!
The battlefield trembled.
As Torterra shrank back to normal size, it immediately rooted itself into the soil. Energy of Leech Seed and Life Dew pulsed through its body restoring stamina, while its Gigantamax forest persisted, still draining Regigigas.
The Titan writhed, struggling to rise—but countless vines bound it tighter and tighter, cocooning it like a rice dumpling.
Red-green energy surged as Torterra siphoned Regigigas' strength directly.
The scene mirrored that fateful battle long ago, when Paul's Grotle subdued Drapion with similar tactics.
Regigigas' might was immense, but the draining bonds denied it any chance to break free.
Lucas clenched his fist. There was only one answer.
"Break through! Superpower and Fire Punch!"
"…Re…gi…"
A faint and broken sound slipped from within the writhing cocoon of vines.
The plants binding Regigigas were burning red, releasing a scorched scent as the Titan struggled violently.
But Torterra only reinforced the bindings again and again, stitching the vines together to drain a few more precious seconds of energy from its foe.
Sensing the strain was at its limit, Torterra suddenly snapped the vines itself and hurled the writhing "grass ball" into the still-raging G-Max Garden Eternity.
The poor Regigigas, barely free from its shackles, was swept into the storm once more, tossed helplessly like driftwood in a tempest.
But Paul had no thought of mercy. His voice cut sharp:
"Leaf Storm!"
"Raaaa!"
Torterra unleashed a furious cyclone of blades, fusing with the Gigantamax forest's storm, intensifying its damage and binding force.
In the air, Regigigas was like a rootless weed, battered on all sides. Yet compared to its colossal stamina, these wounds were only scratches.
Even poisoned to its core, it had not yet reached its limit.
"Lock-On, Hyper Beam!"
The lights across Regigigas' body flashed. A targeting reticle snapped onto Torterra, and in its massive hands, a devastating beam condensed and fired.
Guided by Lock-On, the blast bent through the storm as if alive, ripping straight toward Torterra.
"Light Screen, Solar Beam!"
Torterra raised a radiant barrier, shielding itself, then unleashed the sunlight it had long stored.
BOOOOM!!
The two beams clashed midair. But Hyper Beam's destructive power won out, breaking through and striking Torterra.
Thanks to Light Screen, the blast did not prove fatal. The wounds it inflicted would heal in moments.
But—
"Giga Impact!"
Regigigas, which had been charging secretly, seized the opening. Like a meteor falling from the heavens, it slammed downward with all its might.
"Protect!"
Torterra, well-prepared, braced behind a shining shield.
KA-BOOM!!
The collision rocked the battlefield. Only the barrier stood between them.
Yet Regigigas did not retreat. Maintaining Giga Impact, it pressed its colossal hands against the shield, straining to crush it.
The protective veil flickered, cracks spreading like glass.
Paul's voice was steel.
"Stone Edge! Frenzy Plant! Power Whip!"
The moment the shield fractured, Torterra's counterattack erupted.
The ground split, a massive stone pillar erupting upward to skewer Regigigas from below. At the same time, every plant in the Gigantamax forest surged like soldiers charging to their deaths.
This was Torterra's fury—its Overgrow and Rage state ignited at once. With Forest Domain and Infinite Growth fueling it, its strength knew no bounds.
The vines lashed wildly, striking Regigigas again and again. Each blow left deep marks, each whip a scar of fury.
"Avalanche!"
Lucas saw the danger. Regigigas could not endure long. There was only one chance left.
"Regi—!"
Regigigas roared, unleashing primal force. The vines shattered. Its massive arms swung wide, conjuring blades of ice that rained down upon Torterra.
Avalanche—its power doubled when struck first.
Both combatants gave everything in that instant.
The forest closed in once more, smothering Regigigas under waves of greenery. At the same time, Torterra was buried under the blizzard of ice.
Seconds later, the forest wilted and receded. Torterra lay collapsed upon the ground. Opposite, Regigigas staggered, poisoned, barely upright—but still conscious.
"Re…gi…"
Before the referee could even declare the outcome, Paul withdrew Torterra and sent out Ursaluna in one swift motion.
But Lucas was quicker.
Before Ursaluna's paws touched the ground, he recalled Regigigas into its Master Ball, afraid that a moment's delay would let poison finish the Titan.
The result was the same, but at least Regigigas did not collapse outright.
"Torterra is unable to battle! Regigigas wins!"
The referee's voice was belated, almost ceremonial.
"Cresselia, I choose you!"
"Wuuu~"
A Pokémon as graceful as a crescent moon descended upon the field.
But before the crowd could admire its beauty, Paul's cold command rang out:
"Rock Tomb! Stone Edge!"
Ursaluna's kindly expression twisted into a snarl. Stones rained down, sealing every path of escape, while its claws raised a massive jagged boulder and hurled it with brutal force.
"Protect!"
Cresselia was no speedster. With rocks closing in from every side, only a shimmering shield could block the storm and the deadly pillar.
"Lunar Dance!"
Though Lucas longed for Cresselia to fight, the situation allowed no risks. He chose certainty.
Cresselia's body shone, deflecting the rock pillar aside, then soared upward, dancing like a new moon across the sky.
Its energy flared, turning into a violet-pink stream of light that shot into the Master Ball in Lucas' hand.
Exhausted, Cresselia drifted back to the ground and fell into slumber.
"Cresselia is unable to battle! Ursaluna wins!"
The referee wasted no time.
"Ursaaah~"
Ursaluna glanced at Cresselia's fainted form and snorted, as if all its earlier sentiment had been wasted.
"Next time. Return."
Paul knew well what Lunar Dance meant. There was no need for further probing. He recalled Ursaluna without hesitation.
"You fought well. Rest now."
Lucas retrieved Cresselia, then gripped Regigigas' Master Ball. His voice trembled with anticipation:
"So, you're finally ready to bring it out?"
Paul's reply was curt and resolute:
"As you wish."
(To be continued...)
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