It was not unexpected that Elinor Anderson had the power of MEGA EVOLUTION at her fingertips. It was a power every skilled trainer in Hoenn ought to have, particularly if they spent as much time on the front lines as Josh and the rest of the Gym Leaders did. With the Steelix's evolution came stronger jaws and a much longer reach - more than long enough to snatch Bladestorm out of the sky and cook the metallic bird. Josh's Skarmory screeched in pain, heat from the rival steel-type's maw expanding its small foe's hollow body with the pressure increase that came from added temperature. Desperate, the Skarmory began to writhe, trying to lodge his STEEL WING between two of the Steelix's teeth in an effort to force the foe's mouth open.

Elinor's second Pokémon was fearsome, too. Josh was more than familiar with Kommo-o, both hers and Shalin's. The species' vibrating fists were by far its most powerful weapons. Even Mega Evolved, a single punch would end Twilight. The SPIKES Bladestorm had left, though, could render that vibration a double-edged sword. "Twilight, PSYCHO CUT!" Josh commanded, for the first time feeling like he was in control of the battle. Standing a safe distance from Kaleo, Josh's ace fighter raised her horn-blade, and came down upon the shiny dragon with a telekinetic slice greatly augmented by her SWORDS DANCE lead-in.

Charging directly into the Mega Absol's PSYCHO CUT showed the bond Kaleo and Elinor shared was special. Truly special. Its blade tore the field between the combatants to shreds. If the place didn't look like a war zone before, it sure did now. Bringing this violent match away from the Pokémon League wound up being a brilliant idea; the Pokémon both of them used were so incredibly powerful that they could have caused a lot of damage to even the state-of-the-art battle facilities there. It was clear by now that both of them were ready for the Pokémon League. Alas, Pokémon combat was a zero-sum game. For every winner, a loser.

One must fall.

Twilight's SUPER LUCK had run out. The fighting-type's claw glowed a deep green as the gap seemed to close between the two in a split second. A cacophony of loud, chime-like sounds drowned out by a humming noise not unlike a Beedrill's wingbeat was one of the most terrifying pieces of aural nightmare fuel Josh had ever heard; not even Shalin Nariya 's Treble could vibrate his fist that fiercely. The rattling claws at the business end of Kaleo's fist tore into the Mega Absol's side, and the fires of the Steelix's mouth were sufficient for Bladestorm to succumb to unconsciousness, as well.

Most of Twilight's hard work had been erased.

With only two Pokémon remaining, Josh was in big trouble. They were two of his best, though; if any of his Pokémon was capable of playing the long game, though, it was Nitro the Shiny Gogoat. The other was a Manectric that Elinor knew well. The Manectric Josh had known since he first got his trainer's license. He was a very special Pokémon to Josh, and one he trusted with his life. After all, he resembled Raikou enough to pass as a Raikou at masquerades, letting Josh live his dream in a fantasy world!

Now was not the time to fantasize, though. He had a battle to win. He had spent much of his career with the League as their punching bag. Their scapegoat. One of their worst-performing combat units. That had to change. This duo often matched up together in Josh's Gym. While the Gogoat was slow by Josh's standards, the speed of the grass-type ride Pokémon was not to be underestimated. Both Pokémon would focus fire on the highly dangerous Kommo-o that could likely end the battle, a vicious ICE FANG from the Manectric threatening to send the dragon packing. If that wasn't enough, then the HORN LEECH would, undoing the harm caused by Elinor's STEALTH ROCK.

As much as Josh was dismayed to see the Steelix intercept, the ground-type would have been a serious problem for what remained of the battle. What came out of Elinor's Poké Ball was a bigger problem. It was the Aggron that had helped rescue the family stranded after an air accident over Route 119, the very first time Josh had donned a Ranger uniform. Now, almost nine months later, he was staring down the same fearsome Pokémon. Anticipating the use of EARTHQUAKE, Josh shouted for his prized Pokémon to use MAGNET RISE to dodge it.

What came from the Aggron was far worse than an EARTHQUAKE. Even he and his Zeraora were forced to the ground, Josh no longer able to remain seated on the Pokémon as the entire battlefield began to implode upon itself. The weight of every creature with the field of the Z-MOVE: DIVINE GRAVITY octupled, the super gravity forcing Saber back to the ground and slowing Nitro to a crawl.

The bait and switch by Elinor was incredible. It was a tactic truly worthy of the title of Champion. Saber's and Nitro's legs both began to buckle, not used to their multiplied weight. The grass-type charged the Aggron at a greatly reduced speed, goring the rock-type and attempting to find a chink in its armor.

Just as it was about to strike, the vibrating fist powering Kaleo's ICE PUNCH, enhanced by the field of super gravity, slammed Nitro's side. A critical hit that could have been match-deciding. If the source of the DIVINE GRAVITY was able to evade the Gogoat's HORN LEECH, then his will to fight would be crushed under the immense gravitational field.

The field of DIVINE GRAVITY drastically amplified the effect of the Kommo-o's vibration, ten times the weight slamming into the Gogoat every split second. In the sheer cold of the ICE PUNCH, Nitro's leaf-mane began to wilt. Josh reached for the Gogoat's Poké Ball, but the gravity causing him and Raikiri to slowly sink into the ground was far too much to overcome. He just waited for the end to come, an EARTHQUAKE to end the match.

Wait, IRON HEAD?!

A rare mistake from the Councilwoman opened the door for Josh to take the match from behind. Furthermore, his plan would involve using the field of super-gravity against Elinor. The latent electricity would partially repel the Aggron's headbutt thanks to a like magnetic charge, softening the blow dramatically. The combatants' legs trembled within the battleground's hostile environment. "Saber, ICE FANG Kaleo," Josh commanded. If that didn't finish the dragon off, then the field of gravity would, leaving an Aggron that was perhaps weary from the dense field of SPIKES Bladestorm had left at the very beginning of the battle, on top of being worn out by its own Z-Move's indiscriminate wrath.

His own Z-GLOVE still gleamed brightly...

Josh rolled his eyes at Kaleo's transformation, the ice-laden teeth sliding off the now-metallic scales. Elinor had one more trump card up her sleeve, the power of chrome Terastal crystal making the ice-type attack bounce off to little effect. The door to victory had markedly closed. As the two foes readied a counterattack, he turned the crystal of his Z-GLOVE to face Saber. Though he was unable to perform his Z-Pose due to the crushing, almost suffocating gravity around him, his will to win served as a substitute. "HYPERSONIC..."

Gron's ROCK SLIDE and Kaleo's DRAIN PUNCH raced toward the Manectric, the Kommo-o's vibration disgustingly loud. Even Shalin Nariya might have been overwhelmed from the gold-scaled dragon's strength. With the attacks fast approaching, Saber flexed his legs and faced Gron.

"...PLASMA CHARGE!!!"



In a blur so fast only Josh could follow it, the electric wolf sprinted into and past Gron, a line of lightning bolts striking rapid-fire along his line. With its metallic armor being a wonderful conductor, the racer's goal was to fry the Aggron to a crisp... or at least weaken it until it, too, could no longer stand up in the intense gravitational field. The true enemy wasn't the other Pokémon. It was Gron's own Z-Move.

For the first time, Saber was sweating profusely. The perspiration was so dense it wasn't electrolyzed by the Manectric's waning static field. The wolf's legs buckled, Saber struggling to stand when Kaleo's DRAIN PUNCH smacked him. Kaleo would find that there would be very little energy to drain, leaving the Kommo-o dangerously susceptible to the Aggron's DIVINE GRAVITY. The Gym Leader had resigned winning.

But that was different than losing.

With the Aggron fallen, the gravity multiplying Josh's weight faded. Every muscle in his body trembled, his body tingling as though blood flow had returned to his limbs. He recalled his fallen Pokémon and started stumbling toward Elinor, Raikiri stopping him and crouching as low as he could to let Josh in his saddle. Even the Zeraora's movement was unsteady, having been released from the crippling gravity moments ago.

The destruction the two had wrought was incredible. In addition to the crater created from Aggron's DIVINE GRAVITY, only dirt remained where there was once grass that had been incinerated by the Gym Leader's vicious fire and electric attacks. The field was far from flat, having been ravaged by multiple Ground-type attacks. While it was not permanent, it would take years for all evidence of their battle to disappear.

The decision of the Councilwoman and Gym Leader to hold their battle outside the Pokémon League was clearly correct.

Withdrawing his fallen partner, Josh slowly rode Raikiri up to Elinor. "...This was a result even I didn't see coming. We truly are an even match," he admitted. "I... I don't know what else to say about it." It was clear that more thoughts were foaming in his mind, but he simply could not find the words to voice them in the heat of the moment.