The Road to our Destiny II: The Galar Adventures

Chapter 42

When Timothy, Chairman Rose, Oleana, and Electchu got up in the chairman's private box, the chairman ordered lunch to be delivered to them while they waited for Ezria's match to start. As soon as Ezria entered the field, people screamed and applauded as though she had already won the match. Several of her fans, both men and women, took out their jackets and hoodies to reveal they were wearing dark orange t-shirts with Ezria's face on them. Some of them held banners saying things like "We love Ezria," "To the Championship Cup," and "All hail the future Galar Champion." Ezria blew kisses to the audience as she did in Hulbury Stadium before Raihan came to the field, taking a selfie.

The battle began with Ezria taking out her Avalugg and Weezing while Raihan took out Goodra and Flygon. The former created a sandstorm that began to cover the battlefield, but by standing still to use its move, it left itself open for Avalugg to mercilessly hit it with Ice Beam until it was frozen in a block of ice, and the sand storm instantly disappeared before it could cover the battlefield. At the same time, Goodra used Hydro Pump, but Weezing avoided the attack and hit it using Gyro Ball.

Raihan took a second to keep his cool before he returned Flygon and took out Sandaconda. Before he had a chance to make a move, Avalugg created a great blizzard under Ezria's command. The Ice type move made Goodra and Sandaconda shiver as they grew weaker at a rapid pace. Raihan ordered Goodra to use Surf, and it summoned a wave of water that protected it and Sandaconda before crashing onto Avalugg and Weezing. Raihan ordered Sandaconda to use Glare on Ezria's Pokémon, but Ezria commanded Weezing to use Smog, creating a large cloud of black smoke that kept Avalugg and Weezing out of Sandaconda's line of sight. Ezria then ordered Avalugg to use Blizzard again, creating another blizzard that blew the black smoke at Goodra and Sandaconda. The smoke made Raihan's Pokémon cover their eyes before the blizzard hit, and they screamed and shivered, growing weaker again. Finally, at Ezria's command, Weezing flew over to Goodra and used Dazzling Gleam, and Avalugg fired an Ice Beam at Sandaconda to finish the job.

The crowd grew ecstatic, with many of them on the edge of their seats. Raihan returned Goodra and Sandaconda and said a few words before taking out Duraludon. Duraludon was out of its Pokéball for a moment before Raihan put it back in as he used his Dynamax Band to Gigantamax his partner. Timothy anticipated that Ezria was going to Dynamax Avalugg when she returned it to its Pokéball, but to his surprise, she put Avalugg's Pokeball away and took out another. Galar Particles came out of Ezria's Dynamax Band and phased into the Pokéball, enlarging it before Ezria threw it. The Pokéball snapped open to reveal Doublade Dynamaxed and its swords slightly unsheathed to show it was ready to crush Duraludon. The audience cheered again for Ezria's dear partner. Timothy shook his head, knowing Ezria wanted to Dynamax Doublade so that both it and Knightblade beat Duraludon, thus winning their respective trainers' eighth badge. Raihan kept his confident grin to hide that he was growing uneasy.

Ezria ordered Dynamax Doublade to use Max Knuckle, and it unsheathed its swords. Gigantamax Duraludon used G-Max Depletion, creating a vortex that knocked the swords back, sending them crashing into the forcefield that protected the audience. Weezing tried to weaken its opponent with Belch, but Gigantamax Duraludon protected itself with Max Guard. Raihan felt more confident with his partner protecting itself, but Ezria's grin grew. She ordered Weezing to use Belch again, knowing Raihan would tell his partner to use Max Guard to protect itself. While Gigantamax Duraludon protected itself, Dynamax Doublade used Max Strike, creating an explosion from underneath Gigantamax Duraludon. With their target distracted, Weezing flew over and used Dazzling Gleam, and Dynamax Doublade hit Gigantamax Duraludon's sides with its swords.

Ezria and Raihan's partners returned to their normal sizes. Raihan had a mind to have Duraludon focus on dealing with Weezing with Metal Beam and Metal Claw, but his hopes were instantly dashed when Ezria returned Weezing and brought Avalugg back into the field. Many "oooo"ed and laughed as Raihan's confidence faltered. Avalugg was also weak to Steel type moves, but now both of Ezria's Pokémon had moves that could severely hurt his partner. He looked at Ezria, who looked back smugly with her rose-red eyes. She had him backed to a corner, and they both knew it.