Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice-Chapter 187: Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice []

The performance by the Tapu deities concluded, and the big screen above the audience seats began the random draw ceremony.

Stephen was not among the participants, following a system similar to Galar's Champion Cup, where only the tournament winner could challenge Champion Leon. Similarly, in this Alola Friendship Tournament, only the final victor could challenge Stephen.

Although it gave off a sense of looking down on the strong trainers from other regions, no one voiced any objections. After the battle at the Indigo Plateau, even the prideful Lance admitted that Stephen's strength surpassed his own.

For now, at least.

"Wow——!"

The match-ups were revealed, and the audience erupted in commotion.

On the dense battle list, several intriguing match-ups immediately caught everyone's attention:

Flint (Sinnoh Elite Four Fire-type Expert) VS Lucian (Sinnoh Elite Four Bug-type Expert)

The long-standing debate over who is the strongest among Sinnoh's Elite Four may finally be settled.

Diantha VS Drasna.

A clash between the current and former champions of Kalos.

Steven VS Wallace.

A battle of the Hoenn Twin Stars, drawing widespread attention.

The question of who would succeed Drake as Hoenn's Champion had always been a hot topic.

And finally:

Geera VS Lance.

This match caused Chairman Rose, seated in the VIP box, to frown slightly as he glanced at Kukui, who was trying to lower his presence in a corner.

Wasn't it agreed that we'd leave Dragon Master Lance to face Leon?

Kukui was sweating inwardly.

Everyone wants to battle Leon. What can I do about it?

Meanwhile, in the livestream chat:

[Wow, the first round is already this intense? Anyone taking bets? I'm putting my money on Lucian against Flint. Flint's Infernape has a Fighting-type advantage, so I think Lucian will still win.]

[Bro, are you even watching? Lucian's ace is Bronzong, which is part Steel and weak to Fire!]

[Haha! I'm dying of laughter. Two trainers who got one-shot by Beedrill in the Indigo battle arguing over who's better.]

[Who are you calling a clown? At least they had the guts to fight. You're probably hiding at home shaking in fear just watching.]

[Diantha will probably replace Drasna. Honestly, how has Drasna, a mere Elite Four peak-level trainer, stayed Champion for so long?]

[What can you do? Kalos is too peaceful. Honestly, I doubt Diantha is Champion-level either.]

[The Steven and Wallace match is the highlight of this round.]

...

The next day, 10:00 AM.

The Manalo Stadium was packed to capacity, with the eyes of the world fixed on Alola's official livestream channel.

In the male players' lounge, many top trainers from various leagues stared at the broadcast screen on the wall.

The screen was split in two, showing Steven and Wallace entering the arena from opposite ends of the player tunnel.

"Looks like Hoenn wants to use this battle to decide which of them will be Champion," said Diantha in the women's lounge.

Drawing such a coincidental match-up in the first round? No one would believe there wasn't some behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Logically, Steven only needed to defeat the current Hoenn Champion, Drake, to naturally claim the title upon returning.

But the Hoenn League had called in Wallace, a Gym Leader, clearly with its agenda.

"Normally, Wallace would be slightly inferior to Steven, but Steven's condition right now seems unusual."

In the Aether Paradise, Stephen was watching the live stream on his phone and commented.

Although Stephen felt the anime Journeys dumbed down the champions significantly, the rankings of the Masters Eight still held some credibility.

No matter what, Steven ranked third, while Wallace didn't even make the top eight. This alone showed the gap between Champion-level trainers.

However, Steven's ace, Metagross, had recently taken a direct hit from Dark Lugia's Shadow Rush, and rumors suggested it was not in good shape.

"Dr. Stephen, the private jet to Kalos is ready."

At that moment, Wicke's voice came from outside the room.

"Got it, thanks," Stephen replied.

The Alola Friendship Tournament would last five days in total. As Alola's Champion, Stephen only needed to battle the final victor on the last day.

In the meantime, Stephen planned to strengthen his team in preparation for a showdown against Pyce.

Of course, no matter how much training he did in five days, it was unlikely he'd grow significantly stronger—unless he had access to a Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

But...

Stephen glanced at the stone on his desk—a gift from Diantha. More precisely, it was a Key Stone.

"If I want to boost my strength in the short term, this is my best bet."

Stephen pocketed the Key Stone and opened the door. Outside stood his trusted partners, Karen and Will.

Giovanni was also among the group.

This time, Stephen's mission to Kalos to locate Mega Stones wasn't just about strengthening his own Pokémon.

It was more about empowering his allies.

Among Stephen's Pokémon, only Houndoom could Mega Evolve.

While Stephen treated all his partners equally regardless of strength, his second-tier Pokémon, such as Maria, Sina, and Rose, wouldn't benefit much from Mega Evolution in a battle against Pryce.

On the other hand, Karen's Houndoom, Will's Slowbro, and Giovanni's Beedrill could gain significant advantages through Mega Evolution—especially the last one.

"Sorry to trouble you, Stephen. I need my Beedrill strengthened," Giovanni said, patting Stephen on the shoulder.

"No problem, Uncle. After all, you're keeping an eye on Pryce for us."

While Stephen led his team to Kalos to search for Mega Stones, Giovanni was secretly heading to Sinnoh to monitor Pryce.

Despite having a tracker on Pryce, leaving a Master-level maniac unmonitored felt too risky.

...

At the Manalo Stadium, Steven and Wallace were now standing across from each other in the center of the arena.

"The last time we fought in such a formal setting feels like ages ago," Wallace joked lightly.

Steven smiled in return. "Let's make this a battle without regrets."

Seeing the mutual respect between the two, many shippers in the livestream chat began fangirling wildly.

At this moment, in a small corner of the live stream, the commentator, Mary, appeared wearing headphones and smiling brightly.

"Steven and Wallace seem to have a great connection; they've been close friends for many years. I'm sure they'll deliver an incredible battle!"

"Now, let's welcome Alola's Pokémon Professor, Kukui, who will act as the referee for this Friendship Tournament match."

"Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself! I'm this tournament's commentator, DJ Mary. Please take care of me~"

In New Bark Town, a young boy furiously typed on his keyboard, hyping up the chat.

Meanwhile, in the women's lounge, Cynthia, upon seeing Mary on the screen, furrowed her golden brows slightly.

"What's wrong, Cynthia-chan?"

Sheena asked, noticing her best friend's unusual expression.

"It's... nothing. I just feel like that commentator looks familiar..."

Cynthia murmured to herself.

Sheena blinked, about to ask further, but at that moment, Kukui's shout came from the TV:

"The match begins!"

Instantly, everyone's attention was drawn back to the battle of the Hoenn twins.

"It's all up to you! Metagross!"

Steven dramatically kissed his Poké Ball. With his handsome face adding flair to the gesture, it sent waves of cheers from the female audience.

Clang!

The Steel-type Pokémon landed with a heavy thud, and the audience faintly felt as though the entire battlefield trembled.

"Starting with the ace right away?"

In the male trainers' lounge, Drake, Lance, and the others were all surprised.

"It makes sense since it's just a 3v3,"

Alder chimed in.

If it were a full 6v6 battle, the ace would typically be kept for a more strategic moment.

But in a 3v3, sending the ace out right away could secure an early advantage, potentially defeating two opponents in a row—or even achieving a clean sweep!

"Is it really that simple?"

Drake, the current Hoenn League Champion, narrowed his eyes slightly.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

"If you're taking this so seriously from the start, Steven, then I'll respond with..."

Wallace's eyes lit up as he flipped his Poké Ball with a flourish.

"It's your turn! Swampert!"

The Poké Ball opened mid-air, releasing a burst of white light.

A strong, blue Pokémon landed on the battlefield, it features a mix of fish and canine traits.

It was none other than Swampert, one of Hoenn's starter Pokémon!

"Using Swampert, huh..."

In the audience, Wallace's ex-girlfriend, Winona, seemed thoughtful.

Flannery, the granddaughter of Hoenn Elite Four member Mr. Moore and a rookie trainer who had just reached the qualifying age this year blinked and said:

"I remember Swampert's role in Wallace's team is defense."

Both Wallace and his mentor, Juan, were Water-type specialists.

To counter the Electric types that Water Pokémon struggle against, the two had trained tank-like Pokémon.

Juan trained a Whiscash, while Wallace trained a Swampert—both Water Pokémon with Ground typing to nullify Electric attacks.

Though they were four times weak against Grass types, don't forget: Water Pokémon are often skilled in Ice-type moves.

So, defeating top-tier trainers based solely on type advantage was impossible.

Of course, trying to consistently overcome type disadvantages like Ash often did was even less practical.

"We won't hold back, Steven."

Wallace pointed forward with a flourish, his movements as elegant as a dance.

"Swampert! Use Earthquake!"

With an excited roar, Swampert raised both arms and slammed them into the ground like an enraged gorilla.

Rippling shockwaves spread across the battlefield, heading straight for Metagross.

"Metagross, Protect!"

Steven countered with a wave of his hand.

A pale green barrier enveloped Metagross, temporarily blocking the seismic force of the Earthquake.

At this moment, a faint crackling sound of electricity came from beneath Metagross.

Thanks to a close-up shot by a drone, the millions of viewers watching the live stream noticed electric arcs sparking beneath Metagross's massive limbs.

It was using Magnet Rise to lift its enormous body into the air!

"Hydro Pump!"

Wallace's command echoed once more.

Swampert jumped high into the air, unleashing a powerful jet of water aimed at a 45-degree angle toward Metagross from above.

By the time half of the Hydro Pump had been fired, the Protect barrier had already dissipated!

Boom!

The Hydro Pump struck dead center on Metagross's forehead.

Thud!

The previously levitating Metagross, supported by Magnet Rise, crashed heavily to the ground once again.

This time, the battlefield shook even more violently.

"Zen Headbutt!"

Steven's expression remained calm as he gave the order.

In the blink of an eye, the Metagross that had just been struck down began glowing with a faint purple light on its forehead.

The light grew brighter and brighter in an instant, enveloping its entire body.

Then, it launched itself like a purple-flaming missile straight at Swampert.

In mid-air, there was no way to dodge!

Boom—!

The massive impact reverberated through the arena as the Zen Headbutt hit its target directly.

"Amazing! As expected of a battle between the League's top-tier trainers! We need to step up too, Pikachu!"

In a modest single-story house in Pallet Town, Ash sat cross-legged in front of the TV, holding Pikachu in his lap as they both cheered.

"Pika Pika!"

Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.

"...Move back a bit," Red couldn't help but comment.

He couldn't see the screen anymore.

"Counter!"

Before Ash could scoot back, Walace's voice rang out again.

Under the watchful eyes of the audience, Swampert—despite taking a direct hit from Zen Headbutt—did not get knocked back.

Instead, it tightly gripped the Metagross that had rammed into its torso.

The next moment, in a motion reminiscent of a wrestler's suplex, Swampert slammed both itself and Metagross into the center of the battlefield.

Boom!

A deafening crash echoed as a crater, nearly seven to eight meters wide and over a meter deep, formed in the center of the battlefield.

Swampert stood tall, holding Metagross upside-down in the middle of the pit.

Kukui squinted, carefully examining Metagross's condition.

At this point, Swampert released its grip and took two steps back.

Acting as the guest referee, Kukui finally assessed Metagross's situation, raised his flag, and declared:

"Metagross is unable to battle. Swampert wins!"

As soon as the announcement was made, the large screen displayed Steven's avatar, and the first Poké Ball icon, marked with Metagross, dimmed.

"No way?!"

The most shocked were the trainers from Hoenn.

Fuji exclaimed, "Is Swampert's defense really that strong? It took a direct Zen Headbutt and not only stayed standing but managed to Counter like that?"

Juan stroked his beard and remarked, "Rather than Swampert's defense being too strong, it's more likely that Daigo's Metagross has weakened significantly."

"Huh?"

Younger trainers like Flannery and Phoebe couldn't immediately grasp what Juan meant.

But Roxanne, who was both a childhood friend of Steven and a fellow rock enthusiast, revealed the truth:

"The aftereffects of withstanding Shadow Lugia's attacks, right?"

As soon as she said this, everyone remembered.

Metagross had previously endured Shadow Lugia's Dark Charge head-on!

Juan sighed and said, "That Metagross can no longer serve as Steven's ace."

The other Hoenn trainers also showed expressions of sorrow.

At that moment, Steven threw out his second Poké Ball in the arena.

"Come on, my new partner!"

When the Pokémon Steven sent out appeared, the whole world was stunned.

It was a silver Beldum.

A Shiny Beldum!

"Wow, as expected of the son of Hoenn's richest man," Stephen remarked from the airplane.

After the original Metagross suffered severe damage, Steven immediately got himself a new shiny Beldum.

However, Stephen recalled that when Steven participated in the World Championships in the future, he used a shiny Metagross.

"But using a Beldum in a competition of this scale... Is he joking?" Will teased from the side.

"Steven probably just wants this shiny Beldum to get a feel for the atmosphere. He's likely already given up on winning this match," Stephen speculated.

As it turned out, Stephen was right.

Steven's newly acquired shiny Beldum only managed to hold its ground against Wallace's Swampert for a short time before falling after taking a single Mud Shot.

Seeing this, Steven decisively swapped out the baby Pokémon and sent in his final partner, Skarmory.

Thanks to its aerial combat advantage, Skarmory managed to defeat Swampert.

However, Wallace then sent out his Pelipper.

After a fierce aerial battle, Skarmory barely defeated Pelipper with an almost negligible advantage.

But when Wallace sent out his ace Pokémon, Milotic, it effortlessly took down Skarmory with a single Dragon Pulse.

With only a severely injured shiny Beldum remaining, Steven decisively forfeited the match.

With this, it was almost certain that Wallace would be the next Hoenn Champion after Drake.

However, any experienced trainer could see that Steven's overall strength as a trainer surpassed Wallace's.

The reason Steven lost was that his ace partner had been severely injured in a previous battle and could no longer return to its peak form.

While the audience applauded both Steven and Wallace, many couldn't help but think of another unfortunate trainer whose ace Pokémon had also been seriously injured during the Indigo Plateau battle.

If Steven's ace had simply lost its peak form, that trainer's ace was completely ruined.

It was clear that the Alola League organizers knew what the audience wanted to see.

The next match:

Indigo League's would-be champion Lance vs. Paldea's current Champion and League Chairwoman, Geeta.

"Well, everyone, I must excuse myself for now," Geeta said as she stood up from the VIP viewing area, where she had been sitting with several other chairmen.

Rose, resting his chin on his hand, looked displeased.

"If Geeta takes the spotlight first, my plan to use Lance as a stepping stone for Leon will fall apart," he muttered coldly, watching the spiky red-haired Lance, who had already entered the arena.

"Do your best, Champion. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of the whole world, do you?" Rose said to himself in a low voice.

In the arena, Geeta smiled warmly at Lance, who stood across from her.

"Have you recovered from the injuries you suffered during the Indigo Plateau battle? Don't push yourself too hard."

"Heh, just make sure you don't embarrass yourself in front of the whole world," Lance replied dismissively, ignoring Geeta's outstretched hand as he turned and walked back to his command station, leaving her with a view of his back.

"As rumored, his personality is terrible," Geeta remarked to herself as she turned and walked to her command station.

"The atmosphere is quite intense! It seems both Champion Geeta and Elite Four Lance are very eager for this battle," the commentator Mary said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Let's do this, Glimmora," Geeta said softly as she tossed out a Poké Ball upon reaching her station.

A bizarre, cone-shaped Pokémon floated into the air.

"What is that?" Ash exclaimed, wide-eyed, as Red pulled him back into his seat. Ash, who hadn't even finished learning about Kanto Pokémon, was utterly clueless.

The next moment, the deep blue petals around Glimmora bloomed, scattering countless Toxic Spikes across the battlefield.

"The Chairwoman is serious," Hassel, the leader of Paldea's Elite Four, remarked.

Geeta usually reserved her Glimmora for the final moments of battles, but now she had sent it out first. She intended to crush Lance completely.

"Using poison? What a boring tactic!" Lance said as he swept his cape aside with his left hand and grabbed a Poké Ball from behind his belt with his right. He threw it forcefully.

"Crush it!"