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The noisy sounds in the venue were gradually overtaken by the high-decibel cheers coming from the display screen, and amidst the passionate words of the commentator, Lucian, as the challenger, was the first to step onto the Battle venue under the venue's lights.
It's unclear whether Lucian has a particular fondness for purple, but even on an occasion like today's Champion Challenge Match, he maintained his flamboyant purple outfit, just as he had when he met Luther, stepping onto the field with a book in hand.
Luther increasingly felt that the book's decorative purpose outweighed its value as something to read.
The cheers for Lucian from the audience were instantly drowned out by an enormous wave of sound the moment the commentator mentioned Cynthia's name, with frenzied shouts and cries of encouragement echoing throughout the entire stadium.
This wave of sound reached its Peak the moment the lights shone on Cynthia, and whether it was at the live venue or the training grounds, the continuous Applause and screams made Luther deeply realize the immense influence of Pokémon Battle events in this world.
In his own world, the undisputed number one sport was indeed football.
But in this world, Pokémon Battle was undeniably the number one sport in everyone's hearts.
Cynthia still maintained her usual light black attire for accepting Champion challenges, casually waving lightly to the audience with an air of ease.
When the director cut to a close-up of Lucian, he appeared remarkably calm; he had long grown accustomed to this situation. Wherever and whenever he battled Cynthia, that venue would inevitably become Cynthia's home turf.
The cheers, applause, and shouts were all dedicated to her; Cynthia's unshakable Champion status brought her fans from countless regions, while the relatively obscure Elite Four members were, at this moment, merely stars twinkling beside the bright moon.
To claim all of this for oneself, one would have to defeat this undefeated monster in a Champion Match.
The decision of who gets the First Move and who goes second was determined by a Coin toss, which was somewhat similar to certain matches in his own world.
The format followed the standard Pokémon League rules: Limit Four, with the match style chosen by the challenger, Lucian, as a 3V3; compared to Cynthia's incredibly versatile and powerful Champion team, Lucian, with his single-Type focus, would clearly have a low win rate in a 6V6 Battle.
Lucian got the First Move, with Cynthia going second, and after the Referee confirmed the result, they stepped back to the Referee seat; since the live broadcast wasn't limited to just the Sinnoh Region but was also simulcast in other regions, there was a brief adjustment period following the decision of First Move and second.
Cynthia was in high spirits; though she usually spoke little in front of the media, at this moment, she was happily chatting with Lucian in the center of the venue about something.
The media's close-ups alternated between Lucian and Cynthia's faces; Lucian carried a hint of helplessness, while Cynthia wore a pleased smile.
Their conversation only came to an end when the information screen in the Champion Match venue lit up, and they each turned to return to their respective Battle positions.
The final draw result for the venue was a Rock Type venue; the ordinary football-field-sized Battle venue began to sink, and rising in its place was a rugged Rock Type venue filled with jagged stones, uneven ground, and swirling sand and dust.
Amidst the commentator's resonant voice, Cynthia and Lucian bowed to each other, then simultaneously released their first Pokémon.
As expected, Cynthia led with her Spiritomb, while Lucian chose Girafarig.
For Lucian, all of his Psychic Type Pokémon were firmly suppressed by the Dark Type Spiritomb, and it was unclear how he planned to handle this predicament.
Luther, of course, wouldn't miss this chance to use his Pokédex, quickly pulling it out of his pocket and aiming it at the Spiritomb on the screen.
"Spiritomb, the Sealed Small Pokémon; because it committed misdeeds five hundred years ago, its body was sealed into the cracks of a keystone."
In truth, Luther had always been curious about how some of the descriptions in the Pokédex were determined, for example, Magcargo's ten-thousand-degree heat…
While Luther could understand that the people of this world were generally more physically resilient than those in his own, able to withstand a few Pokémon Move hits without issue, asking him to believe that a walking sun could roam this world without causing major problems was simply too horrifying.
The Spiritomb in front of him was another example; Luther, who had been cramming history lately, had only found some records related to sorcery in this world's historical documents, with much of it described as ancient black tech; but for Spiritomb's awkward five-hundred-year timeline, there were hardly any documents to corroborate it, leaving him unsure where to even begin criticizing it.
Before setting out, Professor Rowan had told him that the Pokémon information recorded in early Pokédex versions would be continually overturned as research progressed, which is why the Data that Pokédex holders gathered from encountering various Pokémon was so vital to research.
"Girafarig, the Long-Neck Small Pokémon; it has a small brain on its tail as well, which reacts to smells and sounds by attacking; although the brain on its tail is too small to think, it doesn't need to sleep, so it can keep watch over its surroundings 24 hours a day; when Girafarig is in danger, its tail will use mysterious powers to drive enemies away."
Luther was certain that his Pokédex hadn't scanned Girafarig, and the voice didn't come from his own Pokédex either.
Following the direction of the sound, Luther noticed that Mai was also looking at him.
Both raised their Pokédexes, and the distinct resonance sound between Pokédex holders chimed in unison; Luther and Mai simultaneously silenced the noise, locked eyes, and said in perfect sync: "You're a Pokédex holder too?"
"Sandgem Town's Professor Rowan issued my Pokédex to me," Luther said.
Mai glanced at Luther's Pokédex, which was identical to hers in model but differed only in color, and said, "Professor Sheldon from Sunyshore City was my examiner."
"How did you obtain your Pokédex?" Although Girafarig and Spiritomb had already begun their battle, Luther couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked quietly.
Mai glanced at the others, who were now intently watching the match, and leaned in to whisper back, "I passed a wilderness survival test and the basic knowledge test at the Pokémon school; I got it last year."
"How old are you this year?" Though he knew asking a girl's age was somewhat taboo, Luther still wanted to know how old this girl, who only came up to his chest and seemed a bit youthful, actually was.
After all, in this world, under normal circumstances, one could pass the evaluation and start traveling at age ten; with all the tests Mai had gone through, she didn't seem like she'd only turned ten last year. Otherwise, the food in this world must be absurdly growth-enhancing.
"Oh, sixteen," Mai replied nonchalantly. "I was supposed to get my Pokédex at ten, but due to family and health issues, it got delayed until last year."
Both being Pokédex holders, they felt a sense of camaraderie, like meeting an old friend in a foreign land; though Mai and Luther wanted to say more, a massive wave of cheers pulled their attention back to the Champion Challenge Match.
"Girafarig's Thunder actually paralyzed Spiritomb, but Spiritomb didn't back down, retaliating with Will-O-Wisp despite taking Thunder's damage; now both sides are afflicted with negative status effects."
"With Dark Type Spiritomb's strong suppression of Psychic Type being countered by Lucian's move choices, the match has turned into an unrelenting move clash showdown where neither side is giving an inch!"
The commentator's passionate narration effectively caught Luther and Mai up on the changes in the Battle that had occurred while they were chatting.
Spiritomb's Ghost Type combined with Dark Type typing meant it had no strong counters before the Fairy Type overhaul in the Kalos Region.
The problem Lucian faced was a headache familiar to anyone who'd battled Cynthia in a game.
Spiritomb doesn't care about your type advantages and highlights a disgust; it slowly chips away at your lead Pokémon's condition; you hit it, and it barely flinches, but if it keeps spamming Dark Pulse at you, you might even get unlucky with Dark Pulse's flinch effect and eat two rounds of damage in a row.
Now, Lucian wasn't facing an AI-controlled Cynthia from a game but a living, breathing Cynthia whose move sets were even craftier and more practical.
Will-O-Wisp was there to cripple physical attackers and control the rhythm of the match; Dark Pulse was a standard Move, no surprise there; and now Cynthia's third Move had revealed itself, Confuse Ray.
Hit by Confuse Ray, Girafarig predictably fell into confusion, stumbling around the Rock Type venue, crashing into things and hurting itself.
From the calm smile on Cynthia's face during the close-up shot, Luther guessed that her fourth Move was almost certainly another status-inflicting one.
In this matchup against Lucian, Cynthia's Spiritomb served the same role as Jumpluff had in Luther's own Battle with Professor Rowan.
A sapper Strategy.
With Spiritomb's Ability to hold the field without effective counters, paired with the flinch-chancing Dark Pulse and a rotation of three status Moves, it forced Lucian to switch and gather intel and wore down his team's fighting strength.
What Confidence in her move choices and execution.
This was a 3V3, not a 6V6.
The sapper Strategy seemed brilliant, hammering the opponent with a barrage of status effects, draining HP and condition, messing with the Pokémon Trainer's mindset, and collecting a wealth of useful intel.
But the cost was obvious: the Pokémon you use as a sapper has to deliver enough value during its time on the field, or its fall essentially means the Trainer gave away a Pokémon for free, putting themselves at a disadvantage.
In a high Error Tolerance six-on-six full-team Battle, even if the sapper doesn't achieve the desired effect, later Pokémon can still capitalize on the information gap to turn things around.
But in a three-on-three, it's far tougher; with low Error Tolerance, if a sapper Pokémon fails to deliver value, it's highly likely to spell collapse.
This required immense Confidence in one's trained Pokémon, mastery of Strategy, and belief in one's own Strength to pull off.
If Lucian had studied Cynthia's past Battle recordings, it wouldn't be hard to figure out her habits, Spiritomb had about a seventy percent chance of being her lead.
If Lucian could pull off a Calm Mind Baton Pass combo, that'd be a solid play, but Baton Pass was a frequent resident on the ban list, and whether it was allowed was uncertain.
The Pokémon League format had a ban list for Moves, much like a banned card list in card games.
The reason for a ban list was easy to understand: since Pokémon Battle was this world's top sport and so commercially successful, its entertainment value was paramount.
Take "Baton Pass" from the ban list, for example; its ban was straightforward, its success rate stifled the variety in most Pokémon League Battles, reducing entertainment value; matches overly focused on a single Move's strength also risked encouraging profit-driven Pokémon Trainers to catch Pokémon not out of fondness but for utility.
Moves like "Destiny Bond" or "Perish Song," sometimes banned and sometimes not, were selectively restricted to prioritize entertainment.
(End of Chapter)