The whole arena was shocked!
After all, this was just too outrageous. A mega Beedrill had effortlessly crushed a Dragonite.
And not just any Dragonite, but Kanto Champion Lance's Dragonite!
"Wait, guys?"
"Is that really Beedrill? Beedrill can be this strong?"
"Bug Catcher believers rejoice!!"
"So this is my Beedrill's potential! I get it now!"
"Alright, alright, so that's how it is? I'm going to catch a Weedle right now."
Without question, everyone in the arena, as well as everyone watching the livestream, was stunned.
A Beedrill taking down a Dragonite so overwhelmingly was just too visually shocking.
"This..."
Although Caitlin had already confirmed that Giovanni's Beedrill was different, actually seeing it still shocked Dawn and Serena.
"This Beedrill is just way too strong~!"
In the end, Dawn still let out that heartfelt exclamation.
"Yeah, but all I can say is: don't try this at home." Damian shrugged.
Speaking of which, after today's Champion challenge match was over, Giovanni's mega Beedrill's overwhelming performance would probably trigger a wave of Beedrill hype.
Dragonite is strong, sure, but Dragonite is rare.
Beedrill, on the other hand, can basically be caught in any forest in Kanto.
But was Beedrill really strong? No. Giovanni's Beedrill was strong.
On the field.
"Champion Lance, how was it?" Giovanni asked with a smile on his face.
Lance said nothing. After looking at the mega Beedrill for a while, he sent out his fifth Pokémon.
"Aerodactyl!"
With a roar, the Fossil Pokémon from ancient times spread its wings and soared.
It was Aerodactyl!Uww
"Oh? Aerodactyl? Then your last one should be your ace Dragonite. I thought Champion Lance, you'd use that summoned Legendary Pokémon instead."
Giovanni raised a brow. He knew that Lance had already obtained that large legendary bird Pokémon.
He hadn't gone to the summoning ritual on Sufang Island, but he had heard about it.
"That doesn't count as my Pokémon."
Lance answered calmly.
It was an answer that didn't surprise Giovanni at all. Just as Lance had absolute faith in dragons, his personality was just as proud as one.
Although he had indeed gained control of that Legendary Pokémon, that control had still been borrowed from outside.
Lance didn't consider it his Pokémon, so of course he wouldn't use that legend to face Giovanni's Champion challenge match.
Because that would be completely unfair.
"Hehe~" Giovanni laughed deeply.
Stupid, but admirable.
That was Giovanni's assessment of Lance. To be honest, he had never liked Lance.
In his eyes, Lance was an utterly insane mad dog.
But seeing him from a different identity like this, the feeling really was different. This guy...
The battle continued.
Lance's Aerodactyl was very powerful, fast, and fierce.
But the mega Beedrill was even faster!
After Mega Evolution, mega Beedrill's speed and attack had increased tremendously, though its frame was still fragile.
But you had to be able to hit mega Beedrill first, didn't you?
Using its superior speed, the mega Beedrill quickly landed a Brick Break on Aerodactyl, relentlessly pursuing and defeating Aerodactyl once again.
"Aerodactyl is unable to battle! Mega Beedrill wins!"
Hearing the referee's announcement, the whole arena erupted in excitement.
Because with Aerodactyl down, Lance now only had one Pokémon left.
He had been pushed to the brink!
And the mega Beedrill, having won two straight, floated quietly in front of Giovanni, its four stinger-lances slightly raised, its calm and detached eyes fixed on Lance.
Lorelei, Agatha, Steven, Rose, and others.
Everyone was watching this moment!
The whole world was watching. That was no exaggeration.
They all desperately wanted to know: could Dragon Master Lance defeat this broken-power-level Beedrill?
Could he win?!
Pressure, heartbeat, exhilaration!
Looking at Giovanni and the mega Beedrill across from him, Lance's mouth slowly curled upward without him even noticing.
How long had it been?
Lance himself had already lost count. Since he had reached the top of Kanto, how long had it been since he'd been pushed to his limits like this?
His heart was pounding hard, and his breathing grew heavier.
This was the kind of opponent! This was the kind of battle! This was it!!
As a Trainer standing at the summit, how could he not be battle-hungry? How could he not yearn for a battle where he could bet everything?
And now, he had reached the edge of the cliff.
That adrenaline-fueled rush was making Lance's expression slowly slip out of control.
"Heh heh heh... hahaha~"
The next moment, Lance threw his head back and laughed, his blood-red hair whipping wildly as his arrogant laughter echoed again and again.
"Dragonite!!"
The last Poké Ball was thrown.
A flash of white light later, a Dragonite with a deep aura and a dark, grim expression landed heavily in front of Lance.
This was Lance's first Pokémon, and the greatest pillar behind his undefeated run in the Kanto Region!
Giovanni narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied that Dragonite.
"Giovanni!"
Lance's grin widened so much it almost looked feral.
"Come on! Let me see whether your bug can defeat my Dragonite!"
"As you wish." Giovanni's lips curved.
Battle.
There was no need to say anything else.
"Poison Jab!"
"Extreme Speed!"
The mega Beedrill's twin stingers lit up with a deep purple poison glow as it beat its wings and shot toward Dragonite at high speed.
But Lance's ace Dragonite was faster!
White light burst out behind it, and the cold, shadowed Dragonite instantly dashed forward with Extreme Speed.
In almost a blink, the Extreme Speed Dragonite had shot right up to the mega Beedrill.
But the mega Beedrill's reactions were extremely fast, and its Poison Jab thrust out.
Bang!
A dull impact rang out as the mega Beedrill and Dragonite crossed paths.
But in the next second, the two Pokémon reversed course and collided again with fierce intensity.
"So fast!"
It was impossible to keep up! Completely impossible to keep up.
Dawn's eyes were locked tightly on the two silhouettes in midair. They were just too fast.
"Dragonite's a bit faster, but..."
Serena's eyes shone brightly as she did her best to catch the clash between the two Pokémon, but both were just too fast.
The mega Beedrill relied on its own extreme speed, while Dragonite borrowed the power of Extreme Speed, and its movements were even faster than the mega Beedrill's.
It was unbelievable!
As a First Strike move, Extreme Speed normally couldn't be maintained continuously in such a rapidly changing battle.
Because this wasn't a simple straight-line dash, but repeated weaving, turning, and colliding!
And yet this Dragonite did it. That unquestionably proved just how terrifying its strength was.
"But Beedrill's power is stronger." Damian narrowed his eyes slightly and filled in the part Serena wasn't sure about.
Yes, although Dragonite was faster because of Extreme Speed, every time they collided, the mega Beedrill actually came out slightly ahead.
True, the power of Extreme Speed in First Strike could be said to be very high, on par with Poison Jab's power.
But the mega Beedrill itself was stronger than Dragonite, and Poison Jab was the mega Beedrill's same-type move, with Adaptability boosting it as well.
Dragonite didn't have that, so...
Bang!
After another high-speed collision, Dragonite let out a muffled groan and finally came to a stop, panting heavily. It was already starting to struggle.
But the mega Beedrill had already turned around and was charging back in at high speed.
Lance's expression was grim. If he lost a head-on collision, it would be very hard to turn the battle around after that.
Still, Lance would not give up.
"Heat Wave!"
Dragonite flapped its wings hard, unleashing a berserk torrent of flames.
But the mega Beedrill was like a blade, using Poison Jab to tear open a path and continue charging forward at high speed.
Bang!
The mega Beedrill's Poison Jab slammed into Dragonite.
Dragonite's entire body was blasted away by the mega Beedrill, and seeing that, Lance's fans in the arena let out heart-wrenching cries.
Without question, even Lance's ace Dragonite was no match for Giovanni's mega Beedrill.
But Lance still didn't give up. Even so, it was all for nothing; even after finding a chance to pull some momentum back, he still couldn't turn the situation around.
Boom!
Under the mega Beedrill's final X-Scissor, Dragonite crashed heavily to the ground, its aura completely weakened and flagging.
The mega Beedrill floated above Dragonite, looking down at it.
Lance said nothing as he looked at the Dragonite that had lost the ability to fight.
Silence!
The entire venue fell silent in an instant.
"Dragonite has lost the ability to fight, mega Beedrill wins!"
"Lance has lost all six Pokémon, so the winner of this Champion challenge match is—Giovanni!"
In the end, it was the referee who first came back to her senses and entered the field, announcing the battle result in a trembling voice she could barely hold back.
"The winner has been decided!!"
The next moment, the emcee's wildly excited voice blasted through the entire arena via the mic.
"After an intense, hard-fought battle, Giovanni went on a winning streak, beating the three Elite Four members Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha in succession, and finally defeating Dragon Master Lance!"
"He has used his overwhelming strength to prove to everyone that he is now the strongest man in all of Kanto!"
"Let's give a thunderous round of applause and congratulate the new Kanto Champion—Giovanni!!!"
"Wooooo!!!"
The entire Quartz Arena instantly erupted in a deafening cheer.
And in the official broadcast livestream, the bullet comments were flooding the screen.
"Beedrill swept three in a row!! My God!!"
"So strong, Gym Leader Giovanni! He beat Champion Lance with only five Pokémon. That's insane!"
"Wuwu... Champion Lance fell..."
"If they hadn't failed to find Dragonite's Evolutionary stone, Champion Lance absolutely wouldn't have lost here. Damn it!"
"Oh, come on. Even if you got past the mega Beedrill, guess what Gym Leader Giovanni's last Pokémon is?"
Without question, for everyone in the Kanto Region and other regions watching this Champion challenge match, their emotions were completely impossible to calm down.
Kanto, the strongest region, had a new Champion!
"Gym Leader Giovanni! As expected, it's Gym Leader Giovanni!!"
Wallace was thrilled to the extreme, joining the fans and shouting Giovanni's name.
As expected, it was the Gym Leader Giovanni he supported, who so handsomely defeated Lance and became the Kanto Champion!
The Kanto Champion! There was no doubt that this was the most prestigious Champion title in the world.
"Hehe~ Good job."
Giovanni praised the returning mega Beedrill with a faint smile, then swept his gaze across the audience.
At this moment, all of them were staring at him, chanting his name.
That feeling of being the center of everyone's attention... wasn't bad?
Giovanni let out a low laugh and slowly walked toward Lance across from him.
Lance recalled Dragonite, staring at the Dragonite Poké Ball in his hand for a long while, as if deep in thought.
But then Lance lifted his head and looked at Giovanni, who had already stepped in front of him.
"Congratulations, Giovanni."
Lance proactively held out his hand toward Giovanni. A loss was a loss, and Giovanni was stronger than him now.
Although Lance was proud and arrogant by nature, he wasn't the kind of person who couldn't take losing. After all, Giovanni had even beaten him without using Groudon.
"Lance, you can't even bring yourself to call me Champion."
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