"I never expected Paul and his Ninetales to be this strong. The four-time defending champion Provo and his Dragonite were completely overwhelmed!"
"Let's give a big round of applause to Paul for securing his spot in the finals!"
"Now, the real question is—will Paul continue using his incredibly powerful Ninetales, or will he send out one of his other Pokémon?"
As the announcer's voice echoed through the stadium, Paul landed gracefully from his battle platform.
"As expected of you, Paul. I'm looking forward to our final battle."
A hot air balloon descended, and Lucas, Paul's next opponent, was already waiting for him.
"Give it your all."
Paul responded calmly before leaping out of his own balloon and making his way to the waiting area to observe the next match.
Lucas had chosen a graceful Togetic, while his opponent, Steveland, sent out the seemingly harmless Skiploom.
Seeing the Togetic, Paul was reminded of the Togepi he had encountered back on Iron Island.
Through casual conversation on the island, Paul had learned that this very Togepi had hatched from an egg gifted to Lucas by Champion Cynthia after their encounter in Jubilife City.
"A Champion-gifted Pokémon? Classic protagonist treatment."
Lucas had clearly put immense effort into raising Togepi, and after Paul had left Iron Island, Lucas had used a Shiny Stone to evolve it into Togetic.
The Match Begins!
As soon as the battle started, Skiploom unleashed Sleep Powder combined with Fairy Wind, aiming to put Togetic to sleep instantly.
But Togetic wasn't falling for that trick. With an elegant midair spin, it effortlessly dodged both the Sleep Powder and Fairy Wind before retaliating with Air Slash, sending countless razor-sharp wind blades toward its opponent.
Skiploom had nowhere to run. Despite its efforts, it was ultimately struck by the wind blades and sent crashing to the ground.
Originally, Lucas and Togetic had planned to ignore Skiploom entirely and focus on securing the ring for an easy win. However—
"Skiploom, get up and use Bounce!"
At Steveland's command, the fallen Skiploom suddenly rebounded high into the air, rocketing toward Togetic at an astonishing speed.
Lucas saw this and immediately countered:
"Togetic, use Sky Attack!"
Togetic turned in midair, gathering energy before diving headfirst into the incoming Skiploom.
Sky Attack vs. Bounce.
The outcome was obvious.
"Waaah!"
With a miserable cry, Skiploom was sent crashing back to the ground. This time, it was completely knocked out.
Togetic then gracefully soared to the target area, hooking the ring onto the designated post to claim victory.
A perfect display of both elegance and power.
The Finalists Were Decided!
"After a series of intense battles, our final showdown has been set! The finalists are Paul's team and Lucas' team!"
"Both trainers have demonstrated incredible versatility in their Pokémon selections. Let's look forward to an exciting grand finale!"
Following the announcement, the competition entered a short break. After resting, both Paul and Lucas boarded their respective hot air balloons and ascended into the sky for their final battle.
So far, the Pokémon revealed by both trainers included Metagross, Ninetales, Dewott, Flareon, Gliscor, and Togetic.
The audience eagerly speculated—who would they send out for the decisive match?
"Back on Iron Island, I already wanted to battle you again, Paul. I never thought it would take this long… I hope we can have a full-power match today!"
Lucas' eyes burned with determination as he clenched his Poké Ball.
Paul, hands in his pockets, showed a rare moment of seriousness as he pulled out a Poké Ball from his pocket.
"Then show me your strength."
"Trainers, release your Pokémon!"
"Go, Gliscor!"
"Electabuzz, get ready to fight!"
"Waaah!"
Gliscor spread its wings, hovering in the air with sharp eyes locked onto Paul.
"Buzzz~!"
Electricity crackled around Electabuzz as it floated using Magnet Rise, smirking as it admired its opponent.
The match hadn't even begun, but in Electabuzz's mind, it was already picturing itself beating down Gliscor.
Lucas let out a small sigh of relief.
"Good…"
He had been worried Paul might send out Ninetales.
Logically, he knew Electabuzz was even stronger than Ninetales, but in the PokéRinger Tournament, one Gravity attack could decide the entire match.
Before the battle began, he had been analyzing Paul's team and predicting which Pokémon had the ability to fly.
He had taken a gamble—Paul would send out Electabuzz instead of an unrevealed Pokémon.
Fortunately, he had bet correctly. Against Electabuzz, Gliscor had a decent advantage.
The Battle Begins!
As soon as the signal was given, Lucas wasted no time.
"Gliscor, use Toxic!"
Gliscor formed a ball of venom and flung it at itself, instantly coating its body in a purple glow.
Poison Heal activated!
Instead of taking damage from poison, Gliscor would continuously regenerate HP while poisoned!
"Electabuzz, use Swift!"
Since Electric-type moves wouldn't work on Ground-type Gliscor, Electabuzz unleashed a flurry of Swift stars instead.
While doing so, it swiftly grabbed the ring and looped it around its tail, keeping it out of the way while still staying battle-ready.
At the same time, a Focus Blast was hidden among the stars, aimed straight at Gliscor!
"Gliscor, use Pin Missile!"
Gliscor raised its claws and launched a barrage of green Pin Missiles, intercepting the Swift stars one by one.
Electabuzz's Swift wasn't particularly strong, and the Pin Missile easily cleared them out—except for the hidden Focus Blast!
"Waah~!"
Just as the Focus Blast was about to reach it, Gliscor, with its mind highly concentrated, extended its pincers and activated Guillotine, effortlessly crushing the incoming attack.
Before it could celebrate emerging unscathed from the clash, Gliscor heard Lucas' slightly anxious voice.
"Gliscor, use Quick Attack and Acrobatics to catch up!"
As it turned out, even before Gliscor had intercepted the Swift attack, Electabuzz had already locked onto its target and was soaring toward the hook.
"Waah!"
Gliscor let out a startled cry, immediately accelerating with Quick Attack while using Acrobatics to make its body even more agile, further boosting its speed.
However, after chasing for a few seconds, Gliscor came to a painful realization—while it was fast, Electabuzz was no slouch either! At least in the short term, overtaking it was simply impossible!
Lucas quickly noticed this as well and called out urgently:
"Keep going—use Rock Tomb!"
As the move activated, a surge of white energy filled the sky ahead of Electabuzz before transforming into massive boulders that came crashing down, blocking its path.
If Electabuzz wanted to proceed, it had two choices—either take a detour or break through by force!
"Ice Punch!"
However, instead of slowing down, Electabuzz suddenly flipped its body 180 degrees, forcefully stomping on one of the falling boulders to launch itself backward—straight toward Gliscor!
Both of its fists gleamed with an icy chill.
To be continued....
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