Knights of Galar: A Pokémon Shield Nuzlocke Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Ruby vs. Leon

This was it. The very moment that Ruby's life had been building up towards had arrived.

The teen trainer reflected back on everything that had been leading up to this day. It had all started with her, an ordinary girl from Postwick Town who happened to be a close friend of the Champion's brother, and also the Champion's neighbour, getting her first Pokémon from the Champion. Then she'd continued to grow her skills and gain more Pokémon, building a rotating roster of a team that could be handpicked to handle any situation. And now she was here, coming off of victories with all eight Gym Leaders in the Gym Challenge circuit, the semi-finals in which she'd defeated two qualifying Gym Challengers, the finals in which she'd had a rematch with three Gym Leaders and beaten them once more…and now she was here, walking onto the pitch of Wyndon Stadium one last time to face the Champion himself! Ruby was still convinced that this was all some incredible dream that she was about to wake up from any second now. It somehow didn't seem real that this was really happening!

After the Darkest Day had ended and Ruby had caught Eternatus to prevent it from ever happening again, the silver-haired girl had gone with Hop to return Zacian and Zamazenta's weapons to their resting place. After that Ruby went home and had slept like the dead. She was so exhausted that she didn't wake up until tomorrow afternoon! Upon waking up, she'd been immediately greeted with the sight of a very relieved Hop and the beaming faces of her twin sisters. They'd been ecstatic to see her again and had thrown themselves into Ruby's arms to congratulate her.

"You did it Ruby! You saved us all from the Darkest Day!" Emerald squealed.

"You're Galar's newest hero!" Sapphire cried, "I wouldn't be surprised if they made you a statue to replace that one in the Budew Drop Inn!"

"I told you two that if anyone could stop the Darkest Day, it was Ruby." Hop said, smiling brightly, "You were awesome out there Ruby and you earned that catch at the end."

"How does it feel actually owning the Pokémon that nearly doomed the entire region?" Emerald asked nervously, "You're sure it won't be a threat anymore, right?"

"Girls, Hop, settle down! You're barely giving me room to breathe!" Ruby exclaimed, laughing at their excited chattering, "Flippin' heck, at least give me time to get out of bed first!"

Moments later, Ruby had gotten changed into her normal clothes and quickly answered any and all questions that her sisters had for her. Half an hour later, someone else came into her room and to Ruby's delight; it was the very two people she wanted to see more than anyone at the minute. Michael and Annie Silverlock had come in to see their heroic girl now that she was awake. They both embraced Ruby, giving her the biggest hug they'd ever given their daughter. Ruby hugged them back, grateful that thanks to her stopping Eternatus, she could even do this right now.

"I'm glad you're awake at last." Annie said, her eyes full of happy tears as they made their way down her cheeks, "Your father and I have been dying to say how proud we are of you! You have achieved the greatest thing that any trainer could've achieved in their lives!"

"My special little Ruby, the heroine of Galar! You've got to admit, it has a nice ring to it." Michael added, smiling cheekily.

"Thank you so much. But in all honesty, the only thing that matters to me is that I can see all of you again!" Ruby cried, hugging her parents as if determined never to let them go, "I'm so glad we can all be together again with no worries about the Darkest Day anymore!"

The Silverlock Family spent the rest of the day together to make the most of the fact that this day marked the end of the Darkest Day and that it was a day they were all alive to celebrate now Eternatus was no longer a threat. Everyone had been afraid this would be a day no one would live to see so it was worth spending it with friends and family. The Silverlocks had a big meal together in which everyone ate plenty and talked for hours and Ruby took a moment to show everyone in her family the Pokémon she'd caught over the course of her journey with Hop also showing his Pokémon off too. Then to finish off, they all played games together to have a fun conclusion to a day that they'd all been glad to see again.

Another three days went by before the Pokémon Tournament resumed and Ruby returned to Wyndon City to be there for it. A lot of damage had been done by Chairman Rose's actions so they'd needed the time to repair some of it before they could host the Pokémon Final. In that time, the Chairman had turned himself in for his actions, taking full responsibility for what he'd done and stating he was willing to face jail time for inadvertently bringing about a terrible catastrophe. Yes, Project: Eternatus hadn't meant to doom Galar but that didn't make it any better. It had still doomed Galar and he was willing to face the consequences. For now, the Macro Cosmos Company had to rely on an acting head until they could elect a new Chairman. This didn't matter to Ruby. After his betrayal by using her behind her back, she was glad that he'd taken her advice and turned himself in. It was what he deserved for being such a two-faced scoundrel. She didn't care what had happened to him now, for she only cared about one thing: her battle with Leon. Ruby was hyped up and ready for this match, more than any other match she'd had before. If she could catch a Pokémon that nearly doomed Galar, she could be ready for anything at this point!

At the same time, her heart was pounding and her stomach felt as if it was trying to knot itself. She walked onto the pitch with her opponent approaching from the opposite side towards the centre like she was. Ruby could hear the crowd chanting, both for her and for Leon, their names fighting for attention as they tried to make either name the most heard among the deafening noise. She was impressed she'd garnered together a fan club big enough to rival Leon's despite being a newbie. Was she really that good to so many people that she'd warranted this much attention? She knew that Bugs, her sisters and parents were in the audience watching her now. No way were any of them going to stay home and watch, they wanted to see her final battle in person! Ruby hoped that she wouldn't disappoint them when the match began. No matter what happened, she was sure they'd be proud of her regardless. She was also glad to see Leon looking much better. Eternatus's breakout hadn't done a lot of damage to him and in the three days that had gone by, he'd made a steady but swift recovery. He looked as if nothing had happened to him.

Ruby and Leon met in the middle of the arena and faced one another. Ruby looked up at her neighbour's big brother, her knees wobbling as she realized that she was seconds away from challenging not just any trainer, but THE Champion of Galar himself! This was no Gym Leader like the ones she'd defeated to get this far, this was the biggest name in the Pokémon world for the people of Galar! A victory here would mean she would be the new Champion. It was all down to this single match. Leon looked around, taking in the enormous audience that somehow seemed bigger than the one that had attended before Eternatus had interrupted the competition. Maybe the fact he was facing the heroine of Galar had attracted more people just to see what was easily going to be the biggest battle in Galarian history. How much bigger could you get than the Champion and the heroine in a battle together?

"My matches are always sold out, but this…" Leon murmured, the tumultuous sound of the audience booming all around him, "I've never seen a crowd this wild!"

He turned to Ruby.

"Everyone knows what you did for us this week, Ruby." he said softly, "The one who caught Eternatus and fought alongside the legendary Pokémon, Zacian and Zamazenta…I'd say you're as big a name as me right now, if not more so!"

"I'm still gobsmacked that this is really happening…" Ruby murmured, taking in the cheers of the audience and the fact she was facing Leon, ready to face him, "If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up…"

Leon chuckled.

"I doubt even a Musharna could conjure up a dream like this." he said, "Hope you're still in reality for you'll need all your skills to take me on. It's time that we all saw just how strong Galar's Champion is!" he cried enthusiastically, "Let's have a battle that will go down in history…no, a battle that will change Galar forever!"

"Absolutely!" Ruby agreed, "As you might say, let's all have a Champion time here today!"

Both she and Leon simultaneously adopted the famous Charizard stance that Leon had made famous since his time of becoming Champion. That set everyone off. The audience exploded into a cheer so loud that even the audience at the 1985 Live Aid concert would've sounded quiet by comparison. Michael, Annie, Emerald and Sapphire whooped for Ruby, chanting her name and showing their support by waving to her. Down on the pitch, Ruby and Leon took their positions and stood by as the announcer introduced them both to the crowd.

"From Postwick Town: Ruby Silverlock. Also from Postwick Town: The Reigning Champion…Leon!" the electronic voice barked, somehow manging to sound enthusiastic despite it being an electronic voice, "Pokémon Trainers: Standby…"

Ruby wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead as she waited for the countdown to start. She was both excited and nervous for what was to come. How many trainers had been in her position before, quaking in their shoes opposite the man that had long since proven to be unbeatable as they dared to challenge the fact he was supposedly unbeatable? And how many had gone home in disappointment when they'd lost? Would she be like those people, or was she going to be the one to break Leon's winning streak? She eyed up her opponent, noticing him stand calmly as he patted the sides of his head the same way Hop did before her semi-final battle with him the other day. Somehow when Hop did it, he looked like a dork but watching Leon do it, it made him look cool and collected. Leon put a hand over his cape as the audience fell silent, not daring to make a single noise as they waited for the battle to begin. A stadium that had been noisy enough to wake the entire region up was now so quiet that Ruby was sure she could hear her own heart pounding. It was as if the entire world was now holding its breath. And then it began.

"Three…two…one…BEGIN!" the announcer cried.

"This is it, our Champion battle is here at last!" Leon cried, throwing his cape off and letting it fall to the ground as if he was a king in his castle about to go to war, "Aegislash, Champion time!"

He threw his first Ultra Ball and summoned together the very Pokémon he often chose to be the opener to his battles. Ruby wasn't at all surprised to see the familiar form of Aegislash as it materialized onto the field. Aegislash was a Ghost/Steel type Pokémon that resembled, appropriately enough, a sword and a shield. It bore a single purple eye in the "hilt" of the sword and had a pair of arms to carry the shield. The shield was gold and the blade of the sword was said to be the sharpest blade known to man or Pokémon kind. Ruby could imagine how cool it would be to wield Aegislash in an actual sword fight. It'd probably win against any sword! But she knew she didn't need any weapons to defeat this Pokémon. She wished Bugs the Cinderace could be here as a single Pyro Ball would knock it down easily. But she still had the next best thing on her. She drew out her first Pokéball. Upon choosing her team, Ruby had settled on six Pokémon she knew would be able to cover Leon's team. She could've brought Doomsday with her but she'd immediately decided against it. She feared it would be in poor taste to bring the Pokémon that nearly doomed Galar to a match with Leon and also thought she'd been seen as unsporting for bringing a Legendary to a fight. She wanted to win against Leon fair and square without needing to rely on a Legendary Pokémon as that would be a proper test of her skills as a trainer.

"I knew you'd use Aegislash first. I've watched your battles enough times to memorize your style Leon." Ruby said smoothly, "So I've got the perfect counters. Vesuvius, you're up first!"

She threw her ball and Leon's Aegislash was joined by Ruby's mighty Coalossal, the very Pokémon she'd used to fight Eternatus with. Vesuvius flexed her solid, rocky arms and roared with anticipation, whipping up the audience into a frenzy as they prepared to watch how the first battle was about to unfold. What a pair of Pokémon to choose to begin the finals with! Leon smiled eagerly, keen to see the battle unfold.

"A great choice Ruby! You know how to match up your types!" he complimented, "It's just a matter of who's the strongest!"

"You bet!" Ruby agreed, "Vesuvius, let's kick off with a Heat Crash attack!"

"Hope you got your ice packs, audience, cause this match is about to get red hot! Ha, ha, ha!" Vesuvius cackled, her body heating up to intense temperatures as she sprang into the air and sailed towards her opponent.

Unfortunately, Leon had been expecting Vesuvius to attack.

"Use King's Shield!" he ordered.

Aegislash obeyed and held up its shield to defend itself just as Vesuvius came soaring down towards it. The Coalossal slammed down on top of the Ghost/Steel Pokémon, pressing it down into the dirt and blazing away wildly, but she otherwise did no damage whatsoever thanks to Aegislash's King's Shield protecting itself from any harm. Ruby frowned, annoyed that she hadn't anticipated it would do that. Hadn't she watched his matches enough times to know Aegislash could do that?! Vesuvius returned to her position, allowing the floating sword to pick itself up from the imprint it had left in the grass and dirt after it had been flattened by Heat Crash. It then performed its ability known as "Stance Change". Stance Change allowed it to change from defence mode to attack mode. It now held the shield in one of its hands instead of in front of itself and its blade glistened in the light of the arena, ready to attack.

"That Coalossal's gonna be tough, but you can handle it!" Leon cried, "Use Scared Sword!"

Aegislash launched itself towards Vesuvius as if a knight on the battlefield had chosen to throw his sword at the opponent. Vesuvius held her stubby arms up as if she had any hope of protecting herself from the attack as her opponent closed in. Aegislash raised itself high and sliced across the Rock/Fire type Pokémon. Despite how sharp it was and the power Aegislash wielded, its blade wasn't enough to cut through the solid, rocky skin of Vesuvius. Steel type attacks such as Sacred Sword weren't very effective on Coalossal, even if it was a powerful attack. Aegislash had done some damage but otherwise, Vesuvius was barely even hurt by the attack. She lowered her arms and grinned confidently.

"Is that all you got?" she sneered, "I thought a Champion's Pokémon would have more to offer!"

"It's down to me picking the perfect counter more than anything." Ruby declared, "Use Heat Crash again!"

Vesuvius obeyed, her body coated in flames as she jumped into the air and sailed towards Aegislash. Leon watched, unable to believe that a Pokémon that big and heavy could somehow jump that easily. He'd seen it happen a second ago and he still couldn't believe it! Aegislash had no time to defend itself as Vesuvius came crashing down on top of it, flattening it into the ground as if a hammer had come down to smash it in. That wasn't all that happened. With Vesuvius on top of Aegislash, her fiery body licked away at its steel-coated body, sapping away all its health in an instant. As Ruby knew, it being part Steel-type made it cannon fodder for a Fire-type like Coalossal and as Heat Crash was a move that did more damage the more the user outweighed the opponent, Aegislash was never going to withstand the hit when it was very much a lightweight compared to a Coalossal. Vesuvius stood away from her opponent and looked at the sword-like Pokémon. It lay completely still, its shield laying forlornly beside it. Leon stared incredulously at his first Pokémon. He knew Ruby was strong but he couldn't have expected she'd knock out his first Pokémon in one hit! It had been a while since anyone had started a battle with him with such a big bang! The audience cheered, already excited to see that this battle was going to be legendary.

"Aegislash is unable to battle, Coalossal is the winner!" the announcer barked.

"Yay! Ruby won, Ruby won!" Emerald hollered from the crowd.

"Our girl's sure kicking up the heat, isn't she Annie?" Michael said with pride.

"I'm speechless!" Annie replied, "It's been ages since anyone's ever one-shot any of Leon's Pokémon at this early stage! I think the Champion might be in for a true battle that will bring an end to his reign!"

"Don't get too excited mum, it's only the first match." Sapphire noted, "Leon has five more Pokémon to go to give Ruby a tough time. This is just the beginning."

"Too right, doc." Bugs agreed, "Beating just one Pokémon won't mean anything at dis point."

The blue-haired girl was right. This was a six-on-six match and Aegislash was merely an appetizer for what was to come. Leon returned Aegislash to his ball and drew out his next Ultra Ball.

"Great start Ruby! Let's hope you keep it up!" he said enthusiastically, "Haxorus, Champion Time!" he cried, tossing his next ball.

Just as Ruby suspected, Haxorus was his next Pokémon. Leon often liked to bring it out next to fill in for Aegislash when it had been defeated. Haxorus was a Dragon type Pokémon and one of the most awesome looking Pokémon Ruby had ever seen. It was dark gold and black in colour with red claws, three toed-feet, a thick, powerful tail and most of all, its trademark twin axe-blade tusks. They were black with red tipped blades as if Haxorus carried the blood of its enemies on them. Haxorus roared with anticipation, eager for a battle. Ruby returned Vesuvius for she knew she wouldn't fare well against a Dragon type. If she still had Raven the Haunter with her, she'd be able to use her Dazzling Gleam to take it out. She considered using Soundwave but as Dragon types were weak to each other, it wasn't worth the risk. Instead, she chose to use a Pokémon that wasn't weak to Dragons and also had that little contingency plan she had in mind.

"Bet you'll be surprised with this one!" Ruby cried, "Spearhead, time for you to go crazy!"

She threw the ball and summoned forth Spearhead the Barraskewda. He flopped about on the ground like a fish gasping for breath and then stood up on his tail, waving his fins with enthusiasm. The only difference about him was that he had the Focus Sash that Ruby had found in the Lake of Outrage wrapped around his body. He grinned gormlessly to the audience.

"Attention fellow fish! I, the mighty Spearhead am here to skewer all competition!" he cried, "And with my lucky Sash of Invincibility, none shall stop me!"

Leon couldn't help but chuckle.

"I wondered if you'd bring that hilarious Barraskewda to the field." he remarked, "At least we can have some fun with this battle."

"That's Spearhead for you, always bringing fun to a fight." Ruby concurred, "Spearhead, Ice Fang!" she commanded.

Leon could see what Ruby's plan was now. Clever of her to bring in a Pokémon that new an ice attack to counter his powerful Haxorus! He watched as Spearhead launched towards Haxorus with his fangs bared. They glowed an icy blue colour and he sank them into Haxorus. Haxorus winced, the Dragon-type shivering from the cold and glowing blue briefly as the ice bit through its bloodstream. The cold came as a stabbing pain to the bladed dragon and as Spearhead let go, it stood where it was for a moment to rub itself and try to warm up. Despite being a super-effective hit, Haxorus hadn't quite gone down yet. It didn't have much health left but it had been enough for it stay standing. Spearhead looked disappointed.

"Aww, I was hoping he'd be frozen today!" he complained.

Ruby concurred with the kooky barracuda Pokémon. She'd at least hoped she could've frozen the Haxorus so it couldn't fight back. Leon made his move, glad that his next Pokémon hadn't gone down in one hit.

"Use Outrage!" he commanded.

Haxorus obeyed, charging towards Spearhead as if he was in rage and wanted to flatten him into the dirt. It was surrounded by energy as it came thundering towards Spearhead. Outrage was a Dragon-type move in which a Pokémon went on a rampage for two to three turns. Despite its immense power, it came with a nasty side-effect of the user becoming confused after they'd finished. It wouldn't matter to Haxorus if this was a one-hit KO. Ruby screamed, tempted to jump out the way as this lumbering beast of a Pokémon came to her. If this had been a wild encounter, she'd have been terrified. Spearhead was hit by Haxorus and thrown down onto the ground, kicking up a mound of dirt at Ruby's feet as he skidded to a halt. He lay still for a moment, seemingly wiped out by the single move. Ruby stared at Spearhead, worried that his battle might be over. The audience gasped, wondering if this was the end for the challenger's second Pokémon. Leon folded his arms, confident that this battle was his.

"Nobody can match up to the might of Haxorus!" he boasted.

"Barraskewda is unable to battle! Haxorus is…"

But before the announcer could finish, a complete miracle occurred right at Ruby's feet and the audience stared in astonishment as the unthinkable happened. Spearhead…got back up again! Ruby's family leaned forward in their seats, unable to comprehend what they were seeing. How could Spearhead possibly stand up again after a move like that?! Even Leon couldn't believe his eyes. Ruby however, was not surprised at all. She'd even expected this to happen. She smiled smugly at Leon as Spearhead stood up on his tail and waved to the audience.

"Surprise suckers, I'm still alive! Ha, ha, ha, ha! The Sash of Invincibility makes me unkillable!" he crowed, giggling merrily as if pleased with himself.

"Just as I planned." Ruby said coolly, "I fitted Spearhead with a Focus Sash as I knew he'd be likely to fall easily as Barraskewda have pretty poor defences. He may only have one ounce of health left but it's enough for me to finish the fight!"

Leon smiled with admiration at his opponent. He saw now why Ruby looked concerned earlier. She'd been pretending just to make him think that he'd won, thus Spearhead getting up again had come as a big surprise to everyone. He was liking his opponent more and more the further the battle went on.

"Well planned Ruby! Great use of a Focus Sash!" he praised, "Some of my trickiest opponents have used those to give me a tough time. They're quite handy to prevent a one-hit KO!"

"You bet! Now finish the fight with another Ice Fang Spearhead!" Ruby ordered.

"Hope you're ready to frolic and play the Eskimo way as we're walking in a Winter Wonderland, you and I!" Spearhead cackled, torpedoing himself towards his opponent.

Leon didn't even try to fight back for he knew it was all over. Haxorus was much too slow to dodge an attack from a super-fast Pokémon like Barraskewda so it was a waste of time to try and delay the inevitable. Haxorus cried out as Spearhead sank his icy fangs into his opponent, chilling him from the inside and outside all over and sapping away the last of his strength. Haxorus stumbled, shivering from the cold, and then it keeled over onto its side, falling heavily as if it was an elephant that had been tranquilized. Leon showed no signs of disappointment as he watched his mighty Haxorus fall. He knew he'd been outwitted by a trainer who was as clever as she was strong and he had no shame in admitting that. A smart opponent was one worthy of the title. Spearhead jumped about for joy, singing delightedly.

Hooray-hey! Hooray-hey! I won, I won, I won!

They think that I am stupid, a poor gormless idiot!

But I, Spearhead the Barraskewda, have proven that I am much stronger than the smarties,

And now I am the victor here tonight! HEY!

"Haxorus is unable to battle! Barraskewda is the winner!" the announcer cried, sounding a little surprised to be saying that as just minutes ago, he'd been about to say that Haxorus had won.

Leon returned Haxorus as the crowd went wild for his opponent once more. He had to admit, he never would've guessed that the girl he'd given a Scorbunny to back in Postwick Town would be the one who was actually giving him his toughest challenge so far. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had two straight losses in a row! He drew out his next Ultra Ball. He was sure that this next Pokémon was going to be the one to turn the match around.

"Alright Ruby, prepare yourself! This is one of my aces!" he proclaimed, "Dragapult, Champion Time!"

He threw the ball and out came one of his strongest Pokémon he had on his team. This was the pseudo-legendary Pokémon known as Dragapult, a unique type combination of Ghost/Dragon that only the legendary Giratina shared with it. It was both a force to be reckoned with and a speedy combatant that could hit hard and fast. Dragapult looked like a cross between some kind of prehistoric amphibian creature and a stealth bomber, its head wing-shaped and sporting a couple of "missile pods" that had a pair of Dreepy, its evolved form, slotted inside to be launched at the enemy. Disturbingly enough, the Dreepy actually looked forward to being launched at their opponents whenever it happened. Its body was short with stubby limbs and a long, newt like tail that ended with a transparent tip to emphasize its Ghost typing. Ruby was glad to have a chance to fight it. Dragapult was her favourite Pokémon in Leon's arsenal and she loved watching it fight on TV. Now she'd get to fight it for herself! She returned Spearhead, knowing he wouldn't survive to Ice Fang his way to victory with his health down to one. Instead, she decided to bring out a Pokémon that could exploit Dragapult's Ghost typing.

"I'm so glad I get to fight this thing at last!" Ruby cried, "I've been waiting for this. Now Lancelot, time for you to show Leon your true power!"

She threw her Pokéball and summoned forth Lancelot the Bisharp, the Dark/Steel type warrior that was always ready for a fight. Lancelot raised his bladed arms, his eyes fixed on Dragapult as he prepared to fight. To the audience, it was like watching a brave knight about to go into battle against the fiery dragon that was trying to prevent it from reaching the princess's tower. Lancelot's knight-like appearance and Dragapult's Dragon typing sure made it easy to sell that image. Leon smiled, seeing where Ruby was heading with this. Every time someone challenged him, they ALWAYS bought a Dark type as to his annoyance; his team didn't have any counters for them. But Bisharp was a dual type and he knew he could exploit one of its type's weaknesses at least.

"I see your strategy. Your Bisharp can exploit Dragapult's weakness to Dark types!" he acknowledged, "But unfortunately for you, Dragapult has a weakness it can exploit on Bisharp in return. Use Flamethrower!" he ordered.

Ruby gasped. Of course, how could she have been so stupid?! Bisharp were weak against Fire-types and Dragapult had Flamethrower! She'd seen it fight enough times to know it knew this attack so how had it slipped her mind? She watched with baited breath as Dragapult opened its mouth and let fly a jet of flames that swept over Lancelot and made him wince as his steel body was heated up immensely by the flames. If it was possible for him to experience what it was like to be on fire, he imagined it would feel like this. He held up his arms and lowered his head to try and push his way through the flames. Despite the intense heat of the flames eating away at him, Lancelot's defences were enough for him to pull through. He swung his arms aside as the flames died down, growling a battle-ready growl to show that he was far from down. If anything, he looked more determined than ever to bring the fight to a close. The audience was impressed. They were sure that Dragapult had this fight in the bag but no, this plucky Bisharp had managed to stand up to its power!

"It'll take more than a dragon's flames to quell my unrivalled power!" Lancelot snarled viciously.

"Way to go Lancelot, you pulled through! Now strike back with Night Slash!" Ruby ordered.

Lancelot sprang into action, launching himself towards Dragapult as if he'd been catapulted and his hands were surrounded by dark energy. He drew them together in an X-shape and then struck, swiping both arms at Dragapult and cleaving through its ghostly body. The Dragon/Ghost Pokémon winced and doubled over as it was struck, momentarily stunned by the Night Slash and losing health rapidly. It had suffered more damage from Lancelot's attack than he had suffered from Dragapult's attack. Despite the power of Lancelot's attack, it hadn't been quite enough to bring Dragapult down. It was still able to fight back. Dragapult shook its head and roared, eager to fight again. However, Leon had other ideas.

"Wait! Let me heal you up first!" he cried, "We can at least keep you active for a little longer to turn the fight around!"

He whipped out a Full Restore potion and sprayed it on Dragapult. The potion acted instantly and Dragapult was healed up in an instant, its health back to being full as it was healed. Dragapult growled with pleasure, feeling completely recharged after that boost up. But ultimately, the Full Restore had been useless for Ruby just ordered Lancelot to Night Slash it a second time. Leon had wasted valuable time healing Dragapult up instead of chancing another attack and maybe winning the fight, and it had cost him his biggest ace after Charizard. Lancelot jumped towards Dragapult and uses Night Slash again…and surprisingly enough, unlike the first attack, that was enough! Dragapult collapsed onto the grass, completely wiped out by that single blow! Ruby gasped, wondering why that had been a one-hit KO unlike the first time. Lancelot however just raised his arms and basked in his glory as the crowd cheered, amazed that Ruby had pulled off a three-nil victory in this early stage of the match.

"Nobody defeats Lancelot! NOBODY!" Lancelot bellowed, clashing his arms together and scraping his blades against each other to shower himself in sparks.

"Dragapult is unable to battle! Bisharp is the winner!" the announcer declared.

"Wow! Look at Ruby go! She's totally kicking Leon's butt!" Emerald squealed.

"I don't believe it! She's totally got this fight under control!" Sapphire exclaimed.

"When's the last time Leon lost three Pokémon in a row without his opponent losing a single one?" Michael asked.

"I think that's a first as I don't ever recall anyone else pulling that off!" Annie replied, her voice full of astonishment.

"I only wish I could be down dere fightin' alongside her and da others…" Bugs muttered. He betted he would've been great in this fight against Leon and would be helping Ruby win effortlessly.

Annie knew her daughter was good but she felt like she was seeing the real Ruby for the first time down there, the trainer that had inherited her father's skills and had grown beyond even that. It was quite spectacular to watch how effortlessly Ruby seemed to be handling this battle.

Back on the pitch, Leon returned Dragapult, giving it a sad smile as if sorry that it had to lose and that he hoped it would get a good rest in the meantime. He drew out his fourth Ultra Ball, amazed that he was down to his fourth already. How was this kid beating him so easily? Had he really endorsed her only for her to go on and beat him in the end? It would make this victory very ironic in hindsight. The only way this would be funnier is if it was his own brother who was winning right now.

"You're quite impressive Ruby." Leon said, his tone matter-of-fact as if he didn't need to overemphasize that point, "No one has ever knocked out three of my Pokémon in a row while still having all their Pokémon left! I must learn your training regiment as it's clearly better than any I've ever taken part in! I wouldn't be surprised if you could even win a fight against my old mentor, Mustard!"

"Don't oversell me Leon, I've only knocked down half your team. You've still got half left that could easily change things around." Ruby said hastily, "Seriously, you're acting like I've won already! Don't quit now, let's fight to the end!"

"Ha, you're speaking my language Ruby!" the Champion laughed, "I wouldn't quit this match for anything! This is too good to leave unfinished! Now Inteleon, you're up for a Champion time!" he cried, throwing his Ultra Ball.

Ruby watched as the slender, slinky form of Inteleon materialized onto the battlefield. She remembered how way back on the day her journey had started, Leon had taken in the Sobble that she and Hop hadn't picked. It was awesome to see it fully evolved now. Inteleon looked like a tall, skinny chameleon with a clear secret-agent vibe going on with its looks. Its body was dark blue while its head, tail and upper arms were light blue and its legs, feet and hands were black. If it was wearing clothes now, it'd be wearing a waistcoat, trousers and gloves. It had a yellow fin on top of its head and a flap of skin that it could use to glide with. It pointed its finger at Ruby as if it were holding a pistol, enhancing the spy look even further. It was only fitting that the Pokédex would refer to it as the "Secret Agent Pokémon".

"The name's Pond…James Pond." it purred in a perfect impression of Daniel Craig as the famous James Bond character in the movies.

"Cute." Ruby snorted, scoffing at the terrible pun, "But I don't need to be a secret agent to defeat you."

She returned Lancelot and drew out her next ball. She threw it, summoning forth Freddy the Toxtricity to the field. That definitely made the crowd excited for they knew that the battle was about to become a big show with the singing sensation now on the field. Freddy looked around, taking in the atmosphere of the crowd and for once, looking bowled over by the noise and sheer number of people that seemed to be here. It wasn't often that Freddy looked nervous but here he was.

"Talk about an audience…" he muttered, "I've never played for one this big before. It just means I've got my biggest crowd ever to play for!" he cried, ignoring his astonishment and going back to his usual confident self.

"Don't play anything yet, buddy. Save it for the finale as I plan to use you again at the end." Ruby said, "Keep the audience anticipating your next song." she added, winking.

Freddy could see where his trainer was going with this. Yes, keep the audience guessing and hungry for more, definitely a way to make a proper show to entertain them! This would make his next performance all the more fun. Leon made the first move.

"Use Tearful Look!" Leon commanded.

"I hope you won't cry over this." Inteleon purred.

He conjured up a pair of eyes that began to weep heavily in front of Freddy. Ruby remembered the move from when Allister's Mimikyu had tried using that on Raven back in Stow-on-Side. But much like with Raven, it was a useless move to use on Freddy as Freddy relied on Special Attacks, not Physical Attacks so lowering his Attack was pointless. It was Inteleon's first mistake, and also his last as Ruby made her first move.

"Use Overdrive on him!" Ruby cried.

Freddy did just that, throwing his arms aside and letting loose a colossal surge of electricity that exploded out of him. Inteleon cried out as he was electrocuted by the attack, leaping a foot in the air and writhing about comically by the electrical surge of Overdrive. He looked like he'd become an unfortunate cartoon character getting a nasty shock for some reason or another. Leon shielded his eyes from the blinding lightening. He couldn't even see his own Pokémon anymore after that. The next time he opened his eyes, he saw that Inteleon was down on his back, twitching like hell and grinning stupidly as he lay dopily on the ground. He groaned stupidly before uttering one last thing.

"That was…shocking." he rasped.

Then he fainted, completely unable to fight anymore. Leon could hardly believe his eyes. A FOURTH defeat in a row, and he'd still failed to take any of Ruby's out?! He was sure in a battle that was going to change Galar forever! What better opponent to face than the girl that was giving him the fight of his life?

"Inteleon is unable to battle! Toxtricity is the winner!" the announcer barked, earning applause from the audience.

This battle was unlike anything they'd seen before. Nobody had ever had such an easy run against the Champion, especially with a four-nil victory so far! They were definitely about to witness the birth of a new Champion! Leon's time was surely going to be up now! The purple-haired man returned Inteleon and drew out his fifth ball. He knew that his back was up a