"Aaron's Greninja is unbelievable! It took down Galen's Tinkaton in only two moves!"
"And that speed! Absolutely ridiculous!"
"No wonder Aaron holds the number-one spot in the ranking!"
Perched on Pidgeot's back, Kenny practically screamed into the microphone.
Every sentence praised Aaron.
Galen barely got a mention, and his expression darkened even further.
...
"Come back, Tinkaton."
Galen recalled his unconscious Pokémon with a grim look, then drew another Poké Ball and stared across the field.
"I'll admit it. You've got some skill."
Aaron smiled.
"Thanks."
Galen narrowed his eyes.
"But you only got me because I was careless. You caught me off guard. That's all."
"The next one won't be so easy. I guarantee you're going down."
Aaron gave him an amused grin.
"That might be difficult."
He jerked a thumb toward Greninja.
"Frog Boss is way too cracked."
"Even I'm scared of him sometimes."
Galen scoffed.
"Hmph. It's just a black toad. Don't get full of yourself."
"I'll send it home right now."
He hurled his next Poké Ball.
"Come out, Kingambit!"
A flash of light burst across the field.
A Pokémon nearly two meters tall emerged in crimson armor. A massive golden blade rose from its head, while smaller red blades jutted from either side of its body.
Even standing still, there was something razor-sharp about its presence.
It carried itself like a veteran commander who had spent a lifetime fighting battles.
Kingambit.
"KINGAM!"
Its roar rolled across the arena.
Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly as the System panel appeared.
[Name: Kingambit]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Adamant]
[Type: Dark/Steel]
[Ability: Grand General — An evolved form of Supreme Overlord awakened after 999 battles. Raises Kingambit's Attack by 1 stage and increases the power of its close-range moves by 35%.]
[Base Stats Total: 550]
[Level: Gym (Mid Stage)]
[Potential: Champion]
[Known Moves: Kowtow Cleave (Perfect), Sucker Punch (Perfect), Swords Dance (Perfect), Iron Head (Perfect), Shadow Claw (Master), Taunt (Master), Night Slash (Master), Iron Defense (Master), Metal Sound (Master), Assurance (Master), Flash Cannon (Master), Rock Tomb (Master), Poison Jab (Proficient), Zen Headbutt (Proficient), Fury Cutter (Proficient)...]
[Description: Kingambit, the Big Blade Pokémon. Within a vast army of Bisharp, only the one that stands above all the others can evolve into Kingambit.]
...
So that explained the dangerous presence.
Grand General.
An upgraded form of Supreme Overlord.
No wonder Galen had been so confident.
This Kingambit was strong.
"Kingambit, Swords Dance!"
Galen seized the initiative.
"KINGAM!"
Illusory swords materialized around Kingambit and began circling its body.
"Frog Boss, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Aaron smiled.
"Then Power-Up Punch."
Kingambit's Dark/Steel typing made it four-times weak to Fighting.
And it had been a while since Aaron last used this particular combination.
Perfect timing.
"Gren..."
Greninja's usually deadpan eyes sharpened.
That idiot had called it a black toad.
Fine.
No mercy.
POOF! POOF! POOF!
Greninja brought its hands together.
White smoke burst across the battlefield, and six identical clones appeared around the original.
Seven Greninja stood on the field.
"Grenin!"
White energy wrapped around all seven fists at once.
Then they charged.
Seven black figures streaked across the battlefield.
By then, Kingambit had already completed Swords Dance.
Perfect-level proficiency made the setup far faster than normal.
Unfortunately, no amount of proficiency could turn a Pokémon with base 50 Speed into something naturally agile.
"Kingambit, Iron Defense!"
Galen gritted his teeth.
Kingambit was four-times weak to Fighting, but Power-Up Punch had only 40 base power.
With its enormous base Defense of 120 and another two stages from Iron Defense, Galen was confident it could take the hit.
As for the six extra Greninja?
He dismissed them.
Clones.
Illusions.
Nothing more.
"KINGAM!"
A metallic sheen spread across Kingambit's crimson armor.
Iron Defense.
Its Defense rose by two stages.
"Gren! Nin! Gre!"
All seven Greninja reached it at once.
Seven fists wrapped in white energy crashed into Kingambit from different directions.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Kingambit's eyes widened.
Its heavily armored body was blasted backward, skidding across the battlefield and carving a deep trench through the ground before finally grinding to a stop.
For the first time, genuine alarm appeared in its eyes.
Kingambit stared at the seven black figures in the distance.
It had felt every impact.
Not one of them had passed through.
Not one had vanished on contact.
Every single Greninja was real!