The moment Garchomp appeared, it let out a roar that shook dust from the ceiling.
Steven winced. "Seems like it's been holding that in for a while."
The assembled Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o held their ground — but only barely. None of them moved to advance.
Crash.
The stone wall to their right exploded inward. A Kommo-o shouldered through the rubble and fixed its gaze on Garchomp with a low, resonant growl.
An ordinary Kommo-o stood around 1.6 metres tall. This one was something else entirely — well over three metres, built like a fortress, its layered scales catching the light from the chamber's opening above. Beside it, Garchomp looked almost modest in comparison.
An orange haze kindled around Kommo-o's body, rising slowly and solidifying into something dense and pressing.
Totem Aura. Every one of its stats surged upward at once.
Steven studied it quietly. A Pokémon this size, reinforced by Totem Aura — its strength was likely approaching Elite Four level. It dominated this canyon completely. On any other day, against any other opponent, this would have been a short fight.
Unfortunately for it, today it was facing a Garchomp that hadn't had an outlet for its frustrations in nearly two weeks.
What was rising off Garchomp, Steven noted, was not an aura.
It was pure, concentrated resentment.
"Graaooo!"
Kommo-o struck first. It opened its jaw wide and unleashed a devastating pulse of sound — Boomburst — that sent shockwaves rolling across the chamber.
Steven immediately recalled Metagross and sent it straight back out. "Metagross — Psychic, intercept it!"
The psychic barrier caught most of the blast. But even with it, a handful of Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o near the edges weren't fully shielded — they toppled over, eyes spinning, knocked out by their own leader's attack.
Cynthia had her hands over her ears. She shouted anyway: "Dragon Rush!"
She wasn't certain Garchomp could hear her over the ringing. But she knew it would use the move regardless.
"Graar!"
Blue-violet energy erupted along Garchomp's body, condensing rapidly into the shape of a great serpentine dragon spreading its wings. It launched itself at Kommo-o with everything it had.
Boom.
The collision drove Kommo-o clean through the stone wall behind it, half-burying it in the rubble.
Garchomp stood where it had landed and roared at the wreckage.
Come on. Do it again.
Kommo-o clawed itself free. Emerald light blazed along both its forearms, shaping into twin Dragon Claws — massive, crackling, serrated with energy.
It charged.
"Dragon Claw!" Cynthia called back.
Garchomp's claws ignited with the same green light. On Garchomp, the narrower fingers meant the Dragon Claws took a different form — almost like a pair of curved scythes rather than open talons.
Clang.
The two Dragon Claws met in the air directly between them.
Kommo-o had height, reach, and Totem Aura on its side. And yet — slowly, steadily — its feet began to slide backward across the stone floor. Garchomp was pushing it back.
Kommo-o's pupils shrank.
Steven watched, then glanced toward the second door at the far end of the chamber. He thought about how this had all started.
Kommo-o had been guarding that door. The Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o had poured out because they assumed that was where Steven and Cynthia were headed. One misread intention, and here they were.
If Kommo-o had simply come out and asked what they wanted, he reflected, they could have settled this in thirty seconds. Though, he admitted, saying we'd like to take one of your subordinates probably would have led to the same outcome anyway.
While he was thinking, the battle ended.
Kommo-o hit the ground.
"Graaaa!" Garchomp threw its head back and roared at the ceiling.
The victory cry echoed off the walls. The tension that had been building in Garchomp for days — the sidelining during Cynthia's Grand Trial against Olivia, watching Roserade take the field instead, sitting out even when the Grassium Z went unused — all of it finally had somewhere to go.
Then something shifted.
The aura around Garchomp deepened. It wasn't just relief — it was a breakthrough. A fundamental change in the quality of power rolling off it.
"Did it just reach Champion level?" Steven said, genuinely caught off guard.
He looked sideways at Metagross. "Feel any different about that?"
Metagross was quiet. Its expression suggested the question didn't particularly concern it. Metagross's point of reference had never been Garchomp.
"Steven! Can you hear me?" Cynthia called from a few metres away, louder than necessary.
"I can hear you."
"What?"
He crossed the distance and leaned close. "I can hear you," he said at a normal volume, directly beside her ear.
The Boomburst had caught her close enough that the residual sound waves had left her temporarily dulled. She'd recover on her own — but for now, he took Togepi back and managed the communication himself.
Garchomp had already crossed the room to check on Cynthia, giving Steven a short look as he passed that conveyed nothing complimentary.
"You did brilliantly, Garchomp!" Cynthia said — still at full volume.
Steven turned toward the fallen Totem Pokémon. The Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o had pulled back, watching. He knelt beside Kommo-o, applied a Hyper Potion to the worst of its injuries, and offered it a Sitrus Berry to help it recover.
"Oww…?"
As Kommo-o stirred, the others crept closer.
"My apologies," Steven said, straightforwardly. "This was a misunderstanding. We weren't trying to pass through that door." He gestured toward the far end of the chamber. "We came here hoping to catch one of your Jangmo-o or Hakamo-o. Nothing more."
Kommo-o's eyes opened properly. Its expression was not friendly.
You think you can just walk in here and take one of mine?
Fair enough, Steven thought. He didn't argue.
"We'd raise it well," he said. "Train it seriously. Whatever it reaches, it will get there on its own merit — with proper support behind it." He glanced briefly toward Garchomp. "At least to that level. Probably beyond."
Kommo-o followed his gaze.
The silence stretched.
Then its eyes moved slowly across the group clustered around it — the Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o who had come out ready to fight, who were now watching it for direction. It considered them for a long moment.
The smallest Jangmo-o had edged forward slightly, close to Kommo-o's side.
Kommo-o looked down at it.
Something settled in its expression.
…