Wyndon Stadium.
"Red! Red! Red!"
Synchronized cheers rang through Wyndon Stadium.
Amid the golden thunder,
Gigantamax Charizard crashed to the ground.
"Charizard is unable to battle!
Pikachu wins!"
Gigantamax Pikachu slowly shrank back down, returning to an adorable, harmless-looking form.
But everyone knew just how terrifying a power lay hidden within that cute electric mouse.
"Pika!"
Streamers fluttered through the air.
Brilliant fireworks bloomed in the night sky.
A new Master League Champion had been crowned.
And his name was Red!
In the matches two days earlier, Li Wei and Cynthia had lost to Blue's brother and Red respectively, ending their runs in the semifinals.
Still, they had expected as much. Cynthia had once pushed Red to the brink with Garchomp,
but Pikachu had stepped up once again.
Despite the unfavorable type matchup, Pikachu had defeated Garchomp, bringing the final score to 6-5.
That was right-Cynthia had genuinely come close to toppling Red.
Unfortunately, she had fallen just short.
When Lucario faced Blue's brother's team, the gap in their levels had still shown.
Golduck, Porygon2, and Exeggutor had looked unremarkable, yet not one of them had been easy to handle.
Li Wei, too, had fallen just short.
If he had included Darkrai in his lineup, he would have won.
Blue's brother had already said that he wouldn't mind even if Li Wei added Darkrai to his team.
But when facing him,
Li Wei had wanted to battle using Pokémon he had raised himself.
That had been his way of responding to him.
Though he had lost, the battle had been a testament to how far he had come, and to all the effort Lucario and the others had put in.
Professor Oak, Professor Rowan, Aunt Delia, and Agatha, who had made time to attend, also rose to applaud the two