Pokemon: Gym Leader

Staring at that golden, radiant light dragon across from him...

Leon felt he didn't deserve this.

But remembering that Dylan had clearly planned this battle to make a statement—to shake the world—

His eye twitched again.

Leon took deep breaths, trying his best to calm himself. It didn't matter. It was just a friendly exhibition match, nothing more.

"Charizard!!"

At last, he was ready. He threw his final Poké Ball—his ultimate ace: Charizard.

"Rooaaar—?"

Charizard's roar rang out loud and proud—but the moment it saw the blazing light dragon opposite it, the roar cut off.

Hard.

Every nerve in its body screamed in warning.

Charizard froze in shock!

It quickly turned to look back at Leon, eyes wide.

You've gotta be kidding me. We're fighting that?!

As Leon's partner and finest Pokémon, Charizard had seen and fought everything.

But this?

"..."

Leon gave Charizard an awkward nod.

Yup, they were really doing this.

Charizard's forehead twitched. After a beat of silence, it turned back to face Ultra Necrozma, fur bristling. Its battle spirit flared, however reluctantly.

"A truly excellent Charizard," Dylan remarked with admiration.

To stand its ground under the oppressive presence of Ultra Necrozma… that alone was extraordinary.

A fitting ace for a Champion like Leon.

"Charizard!"

Leon raised his Poké Ball once more and recalled Charizard. The red light on his Dynamax Band flared to life, gathering swirling Dynamax energy.

Once—twice—three times!

The Poké Ball swelled to enormous size.

"Let's go!!"

Leon heaved the colossal ball into the air.

It opened with a blinding flash—Charizard reemerged in a swirl of red energy, growing rapidly beneath the stormy sky.

Black clouds spun in a vortex above, and Leon's Charizard, wreathed in glowing crimson, let out a sky-shaking roar.

Once—twice—three times!

When the light faded, Charizard had transformed into its Gigantamax form.

The crowd gasped.

Even those unfamiliar with Galar's Dynamax phenomena were overwhelmed by the sheer spectacle.

Charizard was normally about 1.7 meters tall—2 meters at best.

Now? It towered nearly forty meters high.

That was thirteen stories tall.

For context? The average kaiju in Ultraman are around fifty meters.

This was Pokémon turned kaiju.

"No matter how many times I see it, Gigantamax is still insane," Leaf said, smacking her lips as she watched the transformation.

Gigantamax wasn't just Dynamax. It not only made Pokémon massive—it altered their forms and granted them powerful G-Max moves.

Leon's Gigantamax Charizard looked ferocious: burning wings of flame, molten breath, and ominous blood-red clouds swirling behind it.

"It definitely looks intense, but if I remember correctly, Dynamax doesn't actually increase a Pokémon's raw stats," Brandon commented, eyes glinting.

He appreciated big and powerful things—and this was both.

"Mhm, my brother said that too," Lillie nodded thoughtfully. "Dynamax just multiplies a Pokémon's HP. Other stats don't change."

"But G-Max moves do change things. They're powerful and come with added effects. So in practice, they boost battle performance a lot."

She was right.

While Dynamax only buffs HP, G-Max moves deal huge damage and often have secondary effects. They can't be dodged or blocked normally—even Protect doesn't fully stop them.

Only another Max Move can defend against one effectively.

So yes—Dynamax was a massive tactical power-up.

'Beep—Charizard (Gigantamax), Fire/Flying type, Flame Pokémon

Ability: Blaze

Signature Move: G-Max Wildfire

Note: Gigantamax gives Charizard enormous burning wings and red fire clouds swirling around its tail.'

It looked incredibly strong.

But...

Lillie blinked up at Ultra Necrozma, glowing brilliantly in the darkened sky.

If that's the opponent, then... none of it mattered.

Still, this golden Ultra Necrozma... was stunning.

"Charizard! G-Max Wildfire!!"

Leon swung his arm forward with conviction.

Doesn't matter what kind of demon you are—he only had one path left: fight!

Charizard bellowed, crouched low, and surged into the sky. Its wings flared, forming a massive flaming phoenix as it launched toward Ultra Necrozma.

This was G-Max Wildfire, born from Blast Burn—Charizard's strongest move.

"Photon Geyser," Dylan said calmly.

"Graahh—!"

Ultra Necrozma let out a divine roar. Golden energy sparkled before it, and—

Boom!

A golden beam of light exploded forward with no warning, slicing the air in an instant.

Psychic-type move: Photon Geyser.

It tore through the battlefield like a lance of the gods.

In Leon's widened pupils, he watched—

G-Max Wildfire was utterly obliterated.

The golden beam shot clean through, completely nullifying the raging phoenix of flame.

BOOM!

Photon Geyser smashed into Gigantamax Charizard, detonating in a deafening explosion.

The roar of the impact alone made the entire arena quake.

Charizard howled in pain.

Its massive frame toppled and collapsed to the ground.

In an instant, its form shrank—the Gigantamax vortex above vanished into the sky.

When the smoke cleared, Charizard lay unconscious—eyes swirling.

Leon's ace… had fallen.

Silence.

The stadium fell into dead quiet.

Leon sighed and looked up at Ultra Necrozma. His expression was complicated.

Terrifying.

Absolutely terrifying.

"Charizard is unable to battle. Ultra Necrozma wins," the referee declared swiftly.

"The winner of this match is Champion Dylan."

The moment the words left his mouth, the silence shattered into roaring applause and shouts.

"Woooo—!!"

"Oh my GOD! He one-shot Leon's Gigantamax Charizard?!"

"AAAAA! Necrozma! I love Necrozma now!!"

"Where the heck is this Necrozma from?! What region has that dragon?! I've never even heard of it!"

"Leon got absolutely wrecked! And people said Kanto was falling off? With a Champion like this? Are you kidding me?!"

"Waaaah… poor Leon..."

The whole stadium was in chaos.

Galar was the most battle-hungry region in the world. Here, power was everything.

And without question, Dylan had won over the crowd with sheer dominance.

But many still sympathized with Leon.

Because… man, that loss was brutal.

Leon recalled Charizard, holding its Poké Ball in silence.

His expression… was unreadable.

He looked up at Ultra Necrozma again, flinched, and—oddly—felt a bit relieved.

Yeah. With that on the field?

Nothing to regret.

The match outcome caused shockwaves beyond Galar.

Kanto, Indigo Plateau.

"I told you—if Dylan really wanted to win, what was Leon gonna do?" Green shrugged.

"No kidding. Dylan's just… unbeatable," Senator Goodshow sighed in awe.

"Hahaha~" President Goodshow was all smiles.

As expected—my Dylan is invincible!

"Absolutely destroyed. Dylan's terrifying," Wallace muttered in Hoenn's Lilycove City.

"Agreed. He's way stronger than when he was in Goldenrod," Steven said earnestly. "Dialga and Ultra Necrozma… both unreal."

With strength like this, even that guy Aizen wouldn't be able to stop him next time.

Steven frowned slightly. Honestly, Dylan might be too strong.

At this rate, the next World Championships…

Whoever faces Dylan is doomed.

As long as he's competing, everyone else might as well aim for runner-up.

Banning him? Pointless.

"What are you doing?" Steven glanced over at Wallace, who was fiddling with his phone.

"Posting something," Wallace said with a smug little grin.

Steven leaned over, curious—then his mouth twitched.

"Come say it to my face again, haters!

Is it really embarrassing to have lost to Dylan?

EMBARRASSING?!

At least I beat one of his Pokémon. LOOK AT LEON!!"

Steven looked at his gleeful friend, opened his mouth, and gave up.

Bro… how can you even post this with a straight face?

You and Leon didn't fight the same Dylan.

Sinnoh, Unova, Alola, Paldea…

Everyone had expected the result, but seeing it happen live?

Still jaw-dropping.

Wyndon Arena.

"That was a brilliant battle."

Dylan walked up to Leon and offered his hand with a smile.

"For me, this is a match I won't ever forget," Leon replied, shaking his hand firmly.

Of course he wouldn't forget—it was the first time he'd ever been flattened like this.

Totally treated like a newbie wearing shorts just out of Pallet Town.

"Next time we battle, I'll use my regular lineup," Dylan said, chuckling.

Yeah, maybe he went a bit overboard. But the timing was important.

He had just taken over as Kanto's Champion. The resignation of the previous Elite Four had left a vacuum.

This battle was a perfect chance to make a statement—for both himself and the Kanto region.

"Then I'll look forward to it," Leon replied.

He didn't bother saying anything about "going all out" next time.

Dylan's team this time?

He never wanted to face it again.

This lineup… was inhuman.

(End of Chapter)