Hammerlocke Stadium.
Watching Mega Garchomp's Sand Tomb...
Elesa lightly covered her lips, admiration shining in her eyes. "Perfect control of the tempo. Cynthia didn't choose to drag things out against Mr. Lance's specialty, Dragon Dance..."
Cynthia changed her tempo remarkably quickly.
One moment, she had been locked in a fierce struggle with Dragonite.
The next, she had suddenly unleashed Sand Tomb.
When Lance's last Pokémon, a battered Hydreigon, finally fell to Togekiss...
"Hydreigon is unable to battle!"
"The winner is Cynthia!"
Cynthia recalled Togekiss and gave the approaching Lance a slight nod before extending her hand.
"That was a wonderful match, Lance."
Though Lance had lost, the fighting spirit in his eyes had yet to fade.
He reached out and briefly shook Cynthia's hand.
"Next time, I'll find a way to beat you. Congratulations."
"I haven't advanced yet. It's too early for congratulations."
With this victory, Cynthia had taken another step toward the Top 8, but her ambitions went far beyond that.
Whether it was Blue or Red...
Or even Li Wei...
The moment they stepped onto the field...
They would be nothing but opponents.
The other marquee match at Hammerlocke Stadium that day...
Was between a martial arts grandmaster and an award-winning actress who was also a Champion.
"Next up is Master Mustard against Champion Diantha. This should be their first meeting!"
Elesa nodded slightly. "Master Mustard competed in the Galar Regional Division, and he's been retired for many years..."
"This is indeed their first battle."
With Mustard's unexpected entry...
The competitive landscape in the Galar Regional Division had changed.
And as he advanced to the Top 16...
The landscape of the Master League had changed as well.
First-time matchups against Mustard, in particular, drew plenty of attention from viewers.
As Leon's teacher, a former Champion, and someone