Olivia could already feel it—
The overwhelming danger radiating from Basarios.
The Ultra Flame Cannon had an absurd blast radius earlier.
If Lycanroc had been directly in front of her…
He likely would've taken the hit to protect her.
Bai Chen quickly approved her request.
She moved to the distant spectator area to give commands safely.
Lusamine and the others also retreated further back as a precaution.
When Olivia was finally far enough—
The battle resumed.
Lycanroc vs Basarios
│ "Lycanroc, use Rock Tomb!"
Countless boulders materialized around Lycanroc,
launched one after another like cannon fire.
│ "Basarios—swallow them all!"
Bai Chen commanded the Ultra Devour skill—
The gift was taken from Guzzlord.
Under the stunned gaze of everyone present,
Basarios opened his massive jaws and simply ate
Every boulder launched at him.
Olivia froze.
│ "Keep using Rock Tomb!
Let's see how much you can swallow!"
│ "Keep eating."
To Basarios, Lycanroc's generated rocks
They were no bigger than buns.
The battlefield turned surreal.
Lycanroc kept firing volleys—
And Basarios swallowed every single one
as though his stomach were bottomless.
Ten Rock Tombs later,
Olivia finally accepted reality:
This thing was an endless pit.
Those rocks were never going to burst him.
Shifting Tactics
│ "Use Accelerock—again and again!"
She abandoned the "overload his stomach" plan
and switched to a speed-pressure strategy.
Basarios' Ultra Flame Cannon was strong—
But its wind-up was huge.
If Lycanroc stayed mobile,
he could keep dodging and shaving away at Basarios little by little.
It was a sound strategy.
Basarios was massive—
nimble foes were his natural bane.
But Bai Chen had solutions too.
│ "Basarios—Minimize!"
His body shrank rapidly,
soon becoming roughly the same size as Lycanroc.
His speed still lagged behind Lycanroc's,
but now his softer underbelly was no longer
a giant exposed weak point.
│ "Ultra Flame Cannon!"
Shrunken, the blast lost some raw power,
but became far easier to aim.
The clash entered a heated stalemate.
Lycanroc relied on agility.
Basarios relied on sheer endurance.
Both sides were wearing each other down.
A Single Decisive Blow
│ "Miss Olivia!"
│ "How about we end this with a single attack?"
Olivia blinked—then nodded decisively.
│ "Agreed. One blow to decide it."
She had seen enough to know—
Basarios had terrifying endurance.
Continue this war of attrition,
and no one could predict whether Lycanroc or Basarios would fall first.
Basarios struggled to land clean hits—
But he tanked everything Lycanroc threw at him.
One month of brutal training had turned him into a fortress.
Olivia raised her Z-Ring.
Embedded within it—
a Z-Crystal Bai Chen had never seen before.
│ "Lycanroc's exclusive Z-Crystal…?"
So she was going to finish this
with her strongest possible move.
Bai Chen didn't expect the first exclusive Z-Move he'd ever witness in person
to be here, during this trial.
He raised his own wrist—
The Gigantamax Band gleamed.
│ "Miss Olivia…
I've been wanting to test the stability of this ability.
Please fight with everything you have."
Lisia stared at his wristband—
unfamiliar with its origin.
But Lusamine recognized it instantly.
Her heartbeat quickened.
│ "A Gigantamax Band…?
However, Gigantamax can only be used in Galar.
Could it be—
Bai Chen has found a way to use it in Alola…?"
Her eyes glimmered with anticipation.
Z-Move vs Gigantamax.
This would be historic.
The First Gigantamax in Alola
│ "Basarios—cancel Minimize!"
His body expanded back to full size.
Bai Chen raised the band.
│ "Gigantamax—activate!"
Crimson Galar particles poured out of the reserve stone,
streaming into Basarios like liquid fire.
THOOM—
THOOM—
THOOM—
Basarios expanded violently—
200 meters in length within seconds.
Even larger than 20 days prior.
His back rocks now formed a living volcano.
His wings burned with cascading lava falls.
Cold sweat ran down everyone's backs.
Hala's eyes widened behind their usual squint.
│ "Gigantamax…!?
But how—how can this phenomenon appear in Alola!?"
And unbeknownst to anyone—
The four Guardian Deities of Alola
had silently arrived,
watching the spectacle from the skies.
Olivia stared up at the towering giant.
She had heard Hala's words—heard the name "Gigantamax"—
│ "What an honor…
To be the first Alolan trainer
to face a Gigantamax Pokémon."
│ "To mark such a historic moment—
I'll fight with everything I have!"
Both hands raised,
She activated Lycanroc's exclusive Z-Crystal.
A symbol—Lycanroc's crest—shone in the air before her.
She moved through the steps of the Z-dance.
│ "Roar, pulse of life—
shake the heavens—
Resound, stones of the earth!"
Z-energy engulfed Lycanroc.
│ "Go—Splintered Stormshards!"
On the opposite side—
│ "Basarios—G-Max Heat Eruption!"
Collision of Legends
Above Lycanroc,
thousands of razor-sharp stone shards formed,
blotting out the sky.
Basarios' throat brimmed with blinding superheated energy.
A storm of stone descended.
A colossal pillar of flame and magma erupted upward.
The shockwave rattled the air,
splitting the battlefield with violent pressure.
The G-Max Heat Eruption engulfed Lycanroc
and his Z-Move completely.
The recoil alone drove Basarios back several meters.
Far at sea, the beam split the ocean,
carving a searing canyon through the waves.
Lycanroc's Z-Move struck Basarios—
But Gigantamax came with massively boosted HP.
He tanked the exclusive Z-Move head-on.
When the energies finally dissipated—
waves of heat still shimmered across the air.
Lava altered the terrain,
turning half the island into Blazing Field—
damaging to any non-Fire Pokémon.
On the far side—
Lycanroc was trembling,
barely standing.
Basarios' G-Max Heat Eruption carried power
on par with many legendary-exclusive Z-Moves.
Only legendary-level Pokémon using their own Z-Moves
might have overpowered him.
And worst of all—
Z-Moves could be used only once.
Gigantamax moves could be used
multiple times
as long as the form is held.
The flame storm faded.
Lycanroc finally collapsed.
Hala raised his hand.
│ "Battle concluded—
Winner: challenger Bai Chen!"
Bai Chen canceled Basarios' Gigantamax form.
│ "Good…
The reserve stone still has enough power
for one more use."
That meant Gigantamax could be used
in the Monster Hunter world as well.
A huge advantage.
│ "After this, I'll have Cosmog teleport me to Galar
to restock Galar particles."
He recalled Basarios.
Olivia approached from the viewing area.
│ "That was a magnificent battle…
Here is your prize."
She handed him Rockium Z,
the final missing Z-Crystal.
Bai Chen opened the pouch on his belt—
17 Z-Crystals are already neatly arranged.
He placed Rockium Z inside.
Seventeen complete.
Every type obtained.
│ "All Z-Crystals collected…
Looks like it's time to prepare for the return trip."
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