The Undefeated Goddess

Mt. Coronet towered into the clouds, Sinnoh's most iconic landmark.

Trainers who came here and made their way through Victory Road could challenge the Elite Four.

Tonight, this arena would host the battle that decided Sinnoh's champion.

The challenger match between champion hopeful Cynthia and Bertha, the Ground-type member of the Elite Four and Sinnoh's acting champion, officially began.

"Soar through the skies! Garchomp!"

"I see. You're sending out Garchomp. Then Quagsire, sorry for the trouble!"

The moment Bertha sent out Quagsire, Cynthia recalled Garchomp.

"Bloom amid the requiem! Spiritomb!"

Cynthia switched in Spiritomb. Bertha wanted to switch too, but Spiritomb's Mean Look trapped Quagsire.

"No choice, then. Quagsire, use Sandstorm!"

Quagsire whipped up a sandstorm. Bertha hoped the swirling sand would block Hypnosis, but Spiritomb's Hypnosis still landed.

Over the past few days, Garchomp had been having Spiritomb hypnotize Su Bai every night so Garchomp could secretly take Growlithe out to train. If Cynthia stayed up late instead of going to bed, Spiritomb had to hypnotize her too.

That took real finesse: Spiritomb had to land the move accurately without alerting either of them, while controlling its strength so it wouldn't harm their brains. Spiritomb's proficiency with Hypnosis had improved considerably.

Even Cynthia hadn't expected Spiritomb's Hypnosis to land, but her reactions in battle were top-notch. She immediately seized the opportunity to have Spiritomb afflict Quagsire with Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, and Confuse Ray.

In this world, a Pokémon could suffer from more than one status condition at a time.

By the time Quagsire woke up, more than half its stamina had been drained. Spiritomb finished it off with Hex.

Watching Quagsire's spiraling eyes on his computer screen, Su Bai let out a long breath.

"It's over."

Although he already knew the outcome-that Cynthia would win-Su Bai still worried about her.

That Quagsire had dry skin and a vacant stare. It clearly had the Unaware Ability, which ignored an opponent's stat changes. Bertha had evidently predicted Cynthia would lead with Garchomp and brought it out to counter her.

Now that Spiritomb had taken out the only Pokémon capable of countering Cynthia, Garchomp could boost its stats and sweep the team without anything standing in its way.

Cynthia also breathed a silent sigh of relief. Her original plan had been to keep Quagsire trapped and use Spiritomb's Destiny Bond.

Spiritomb landing Hypnosis had been a completely unexpected bonus.

The rest of the battle became much easier. Her defensive pivot was still in play, and with Togetic providing disruption and Cynthia's excellent predictions, Garchomp completed three Dragon Dance boosts without taking any damage.

Its killing intent almost seemed to pierce the screen.

In that state, nothing could stand in Garchomp's way. It swept straight through Bertha's Hippowdon, Sudowoodo, and Golem.

After taking down three opponents, Garchomp left the field. Roserade knocked out Whiscash in one hit, and Milotic eliminated Rhyperior.

Cynthia was crowned Sinnoh's champion without a hitch.

The fireworks prepared in advance bloomed across the night sky. Sinnoh's spectators showered their new champion with flowers and applause, holding nothing back.

Su Bai's home was filled with cheers too.

Growlithe kept howling, and Pikachu even fired a Thunderbolt out the window to celebrate.

Su Bai was delighted as well, and for a moment, he forgot to stop the two little ones.

Then the neighborhood police officer came knocking, and Su Bai received a stern lecture.

By the time he saw the officer out, the live broadcast from the arena had ended.

What followed was a string of advertisements and commentary from an elite-level Trainer invited onto the stream.

Su Bai wasn't interested. He slurped up the remaining half bowl of instant noodles and began making Pokéblocks.

Although the system had given him the Breeding Mastery skill, it couldn't give him the practical feel and experience needed to make Pokéblocks.

Regular practice not only improved his success rate when making high-grade and premium-grade Pokéblocks, but making them himself also saved him a huge amount of unnecessary expense.

Rare Pokéblocks sold for steep prices. A batch of premium-grade Pokéblocks cost just under ten thousand.

If he wanted to raise Pikachu and Growlithe to Gym Leader Level, Su Bai would have to spend over five hundred thousand on Pokéblocks alone.

Su Bai couldn't bear to skimp on food for his little sweethearts. Fortunately, he could make Pokéblocks himself.

Over the course of a year, thirty to fifty thousand could achieve what would otherwise cost five hundred thousand.

It wasn't that Su Bai hadn't considered selling his Pokéblocks, but the Dragon Nation prohibited private individuals from selling them without a license.

If he got caught, even the lightest punishment would be equivalent to that for selling counterfeit medicine.

Besides, Su Bai was currently just a student. Even if selling them were allowed, no one would buy his Pokéblocks.

He worked until after nine that evening, when Cynthia called him.

"I thought you'd call me."

"I was worried you'd be too busy. Congratulations on becoming Sinnoh's champion! Pikachu and Growlithe are really happy too."

"Pikachu, pika!"

"Woof, woof, woof!"

"I know. You always believed I'd win. Thank you, Bai, and thank you too, Pikachu and Growlithe."

Cynthia sounded a little tired.

"I never expected it to be this hectic. Getting into the Hall of Fame, filming, leaving handprints, the press conference, all those ceremonies..."

As Cynthia put it, before becoming champion, she'd spent every day focused on that one goal. Yet the moment she became champion, she wanted to quit.

"Hurry up and put together a full team, then come challenge me in Sinnoh. That way, I'll have time to study mythology again."

"Come on, you haven't even been champion for a day."

"Six hours and twenty minutes. But don't worry. I'll treasure my position as Sinnoh's champion. After all, my Pokémon earned it together through their hard work."

They chatted a little longer before Cynthia suddenly brought up the Pokéblocks Su Bai had brought her earlier.

Their quality was excellent. Garchomp was always full of energy, and unlike ordinary Pokéblocks, they hadn't been made dry and astringent like calcium tablets just to maximize their nutritional value.

Su Bai's Pokéblocks were always juicy. Whatever the flavor, they were never too dry, and Cynthia's Pokémon loved them.

"If they like them, I'll make some regularly and mail them to you."

"Okay, but you can't give them to me for free this time. As Sinnoh's champion, I can have the Sinnoh League reimburse part of my Pokémon's training expenses."

Helplessly, Su Bai explained that the Dragon Nation didn't allow private sales of Pokéblocks. Cross-border transactions like this would make the offense even more serious.

"Then..."

Cynthia was torn. She didn't want Su Bai to lose out.

"Then send me your monthly bills. I'll buy some Pokémon training supplies for you in return."

"All right, but you're practically spoiling these two rotten."

Cynthia and Su Bai chatted a little longer. He confirmed which flavors her Pokémon liked, but then she had to get ready for the evening banquet, so they hurriedly ended the call.

Rather than continue making Pokéblocks, Su Bai called Pikachu and Growlithe over to get an early night.

They had another match tomorrow and needed to stay focused.

The next day, Su Bai arrived early at the City Sports Field, where the tournament was being held.