Battle Heart 3: Showdown

Sage stood in the far back, watching the field silently. He had met Vander before. He wasn't particularly close with him, he thought of them as acquaintances, but he seemed to remember Vander giving off the idea of a talented trainer. He wasn't particularly interested in watching the match, but he focused intently on it. He didn't have a notebook on him, so he would just have to take mental notes of Vander and his opponent. If Vander was a more than competent trainer, Sage may be able to keep him as a connection, or even may need to battle him later on. He stood there, ready and curious for what would follow.

Lady Cynthia gave a nod to the blonde trainer as well and she fixed her throat before speaking. "We invited a very special guest today to serve as the opponent for our dear trainer, we want to have out elite fight as well with the elite of the world!"

Vander's blood was pumping hot, he could barely contain his excitement. He saw the familiar faces around him and swallowed hard, hoping that he could give a good show. This was his moment after all! Time to give it his all then, nor falling back, today everyone would know who he was, and elite trainer!

"Please welcome to the arena the current Champion of Kanto: Leonard Blues!!"

And in that exact moment, Vander’s heart sank.

From the other side, a tall and handsome man sporting a crimson jacket and beautiful hair started to walk inside the arena. The crowd went wild with his appearance, the surprise opponent was no one other than a champion, and a good one as well! "Hello Azure Academy! Glad to be here!"

Vander had a different thought on his head though. He stomped the floor and glared at Cynthia. "What the hell?! Why him?!"

Cynthia just smiled at him nonchalantly. "We had scheduled this match months before, Mr. Blues. I hope you don't take it personal."

Oh... But he WAS taking it personal.

"Hey there Blue! Wow... Look at you, already an incredible trainer!"

"Shut it Red!" Vander growled in anger, shifting his demeanor, something that both champions noticed.

"Hey relax bro, you are going to pop a vein-" He chuckled, trying to make it as enjoyable as possible. "Let'stand have a good sport, shall we?" He pulled out a Premier Ball, ready from action.

Lady Cynthia intervened. "The rules are simple, knock 3 Pokémon out of our guests and you win! You may use up to 6 Pokémon for this match, to make things fair."

Vander was blind in rage, this was supposed to be his day! His glory days! Now his brother was here to stop that... Oh but he was not going to allow that. "I will need less than that the beat his sorry face!"

Leonard laughed, smiling at his opponent. "That's the spirit!!"

There was enough tension to cut down a forest with ease... what a twist.

The Sinnoh champion raised an arm as she sat by the private seats exclusive to the Academy staff, signaling the referee. "Let the Azure Academy International Exhibition begin!" The crowd cheered on once again, the sight of a champion fighting was not common to see, especially a rising trainer like Vander. The blonde shortie just hoped deep inside him that it wasn't an unfair match. He pulled out a Poke Ball from his belt and swiftly moved it his hands around before making an aiming gesture.

"Let's show him our power! Go, Cid!!"

Ptcheww!!

I'm a white flash of energy, a Hitmontop emerged and let out a battle cry against the audience, beaming with energy. "We are ready!" Barked Vander towards the champion of Kanto, letting his emotions get the best of him.

Leonard, however, just whistled at the sight of the Pokémon and smiled at his younger brother. "Look at that guy! He looks very strong, congratulations on getting one of those!! They are pretty rare!" He gently tossed his Premier Ball up and down before settling for a throwing stance. "Get ready, we are going with eveverything we've got!"

"You will still lose!!" Trash talked Blue.

Red smiled with a fierce passion. "Go, Blake!"

Ptcheww!!

From the white energy, flames engulfed the arena floor and enveloped a lone figure. The wide, tall creature then turned these into embers and roared, revealing to be a baffling Incineroar. Vander flinched from the sight, stuck on the magnificent presence of his brother's Pokémon. The giant tiger immediately glared at Cid, who kept a fighting stance as he sweat bullets, Vander deducted that it might have Intimidate as an ability. He checked out his Pokedex, confirming his suspicions.

"I got this bad boy on my last trip to Alola! He's been itching for a battle for a long time, so give him a good show!"

Vander let out a growl and pushed his arm forward. "Don't worry, we know how to make excellent knuckle sandwiches! Let's go Cid, rush with a Triple Kick!"

Cid gave a nod and ran a few feet forward before doing a somersault and landing on the spike on his head, spinning as fast as he could as he approached, the Incineroar remained still, and so did his trainer, making Vander grin with confidence. Just as when Cid was mere inches close to Incineroar, Leonard whistled, to which the tiger Pokémon reacted instantly: he stopped the kick bare handed.

Vander and Cid flinched in shock. "What?!"

"Alright Blake show them a good spin! Darkest Lariat!!"

The Incineroar let out a deafening roar and started to spin both arms while still carrying Cid. He spun faster with each passing second, finally finishing with a brutal toss towards the wall beside Vander. Cid crashed in a flash against the structure, gasping for air as his trainer watched the whole attack in shock. The Hitmontop landed on the ground, barely pulling himself together as he gasped for air as Blake, the Incineroar, let out a battle cry to show his dominance of the field. Vander suddenly realized: This is the power of a Champion, not just a strong trainer, but a real Champion. He started to panic internally, how was he going to counter such raw power?