Naoki approached Lah a steady gait and greeted him, "Hello, I'm Naoki. I've heard a lot about you."

  Lance, initially surprised, quickly posed himself aurhe greeting with a polite, "Hello."

  Nemona, uo tain her excitement, jumped up and shouted, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

  Lance looked down at Nemona, his expression softening into a smile. "Do you like Pokémon battles, too?" he asked.

  Nemona nodded enthusiastically, her grin revealing her gleaming white teeth. "That's right! I 't battle yht now, but Mr. Naoki will fight you on my behalf!"

  The idea of a championship-level battle was enough to electrify the air, even among the onlookers.

  Lance chuckled, then turned his attention back to Naoki. "Would you like to battle me?" he asked, his tone casual but inviting.

  Naoki hesitated for a moment before nodding. "If it's okay with you," he said, his voice measured. He hat Lance wasn't as intimidating or aloof as his reputation suggested.

  "Of course," Lance replied, his gaze shifting to the red Pokémon standing by Naoki. "That's a Dragon-type Pokémon, isn't it?"

  Naoki nodded. "Yes, it's called Koraidon."

  Lance's lips curved into a faint smile. "I thought so. It seems quite powerful. Very well, I accept your challenge, Naoki."

  "I'll be the referee!" Nemona volunteered immediately, grabbing a small fg and rushing to the front of the battlefield to take her position.

  Naoki couldn't help but chuckle as he followed Nemona, Lance walking calmly beside him. The lively girl's energy was tagious, and her enthusiasm had drawention of nearby trainers.

  As the trio arrived at the battlefield, Nemona raised the fg high, mimig the tone of an official referee as she decred, "The Pokémon battle is between Mr. Lahe Dragon Master of the Kantion, and Mr. Naoki of the Paldea region!"

  "The battle rules are 6v6. Each trainer use up to six Pokémon. The matds when all of orainer's Pokémon are uo battle!" she announced with dramatic fir.

  The buzz of excitement among the spectatrew as trainers gathered to watch the uping battle. Alder, Cy, and Nikar arrived just as the stage was set.

  Alder raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Huh? Looks like it's already starting."

  Cy observed Lah i. "That's Lahe Champion of Kantht? I've heard a lot about him."

  Nikar g his daughter Nemona, who was eically running around on the field, and sighed. "That girl… She's always so lively."

  Alder gestured toward Naoki and said, "See that young man? That's Naoki. He's the one who helped heal my Vola. Without him, things could have been very different."

  d Nikar shifted their gazes to Naoki, their curiosity piqued. They noticed his posed demeanor and the striking red Pokémon by his side.

  Cy's expression turned ptive. "Anyone who earns Alder's praise must be exceptional."

  Ba the field, Nemona turo Lance, her face serious as she said, "Mr. Lance, don't uimate your oppo! And don't hold back just because Mr. Naoki isn't famous yet. He's amazing with Dragon-type Pokémon—he even has several Dragonites on his ranch!"

  Naoki felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple. 'Nemona, could you not oversell me like this?'

  Lance's surprise was evident, but it quickly turned into respect. He met Naoki's gaze with a serious expression and said, "Thank you for the warning, Nemona. I'll give it my all."

  "Hehe!" Nemona giggled, clearly pleased with herself. "Alright! The battle begins now!" she announced, waving her fg dramatically.

  Naoki, who initially inteo use the match as a simple parisoween Dragonites, sighed internally. 'Well, so much for keeping it low-key.'

  But there was n baow.

  He reasohat Lance wouldn't use his ace, Dragonite, right off the bat. After some thought, Naoki decided to lead with Pawmot to test the waters.

  The two threw their Poké Balls almost simultaneously.

  Two bursts of white light illumihe battlefield, revealing two vastly different Pokémon. On the right stood a massive Gyarados, its powerful physique radiating mes fierce eyes gring with iy. On the left, an adorable-looking Pawmot appeared, its pink fur shimmering in the light, clutg an inspicuous little hammer in its paw and sp a distinctive red cape.

  The trainers watg from the sidelied into murmurs.

  "What kind of Pokémon is that? It's so cute! Is that a on in its paw?"

  Orainer, however, looked utterly shocked. "That's a Pawmot from the Paldea region? No way, it 't be!"

  "What do you mean?" arainer asked eagerly.

  The man expined, "A typical Pawmot's fur is yellow, not pink, and they don't carry hammers or wear capes. Most importantly, Pawmots 't fly!"

  The trainers were no novices, and they quickly uood the implications of his words. Their astonished gazes fixated on the unusual Pawmot.

  "It's here! Mr. Naoki's star Pokémon, Pawmot!" Nemona excimed with excitement.

  On the field, Naoki and Lance issued ands almost simultaneously.

  "Gyarados, use Twister!" Lance ordered.

  "Pawmot, use Electro Ball!" Naoki tered.

  Gyarados roared, unleashing a swirling tornado of draiergy that surged toawmot. The little Pokémon's cape fluttered wildly in the wind as it deftly dodged the vortex, zipping to the side and f a crag orb of electricity in its paw. It hurled the electric ball with incredible speed, striking Gyarados squarely.

  The Electric move's four-times advantage against Gyarados delivered devastating damage, causing the serpent Pokémon to flind groan in agony.

  Lance's brow furrowed. The type disadvantage was severe, and Gyarados had no room for error. He realized this Pawmot was far from ordinary. Its agility and small size made it hard to pin down, f him to ge his strategy. "Gyarados, watch closely and be ready to ter!" he called, switg to a more defensive approach.

  Naoki remained calm, choosing to stay on the offensive. "Pawmot, Thunderbolt!"

  "Pawmot!" The Pokémon's body crackled with electricity as it charged forward, swinging its hammer with a burst of thunderous energy.

  "Water Pulse, now!" Lance shouted, hoping to halt Pawmot's advance.

  Gyarados opes jaws, eling a dense sphere of water energy that surged outward in a powerful wave. However, Pawmot anticipated the attad leaped nimbly out of the way, closing the distand delivering its electrifying Thunderbolt directly to Gyarados.

  Electric currents coursed through Gyarados's body, bypassing its scales and delivering an unbearable jolt. The massive Pokémo out a pained roar before colpsing with a resounding thud.

  The spectators were left stunned.

  "That's… it?" orainer murmured in disbelief.

  "Did Lahe Dragon Master of Kanto, just lose in two moves?"

  Cy watched with intrigue, his voice low. "Gyarados's typing is a major disadvantage here."

  Alder nodded, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "This is just the warm-up. Things are about to get iing."

  Otlefield, after several moments of stillness, Gyarados showed no signs of recovery. Nemona stepped forward, raising her small referee fg. After cheg Gyarados's dition, she decred with her usual enthusiasm, "Gyarados is uo battle! The winner of the first round is Pawmot!"

  "Pawmot!"

  Pawmot cheerfully bounded back to Naoki and high-fived him in celebration.

  Across the battlefield, Lance appeared posed. He returned Gyarados to its Poké Ball, then drew out another, his toeady but resolute:

  "You're a formidable oppo. Let's settle this through our Pokémon!"

  "Bring it on!" Naoki replied with a determined nod. Just as he was about to send Pawmot bato the fray, another Poké Ball at his waist began to shake.

  Before he could react, Ogerpon emerged from the ball on its own, hoppiedly.

  "Oge!" it chirped, its eyes sparkling with determination.

  Pawmot tilted its head, curious. "Pawmot?"

  Ogerpon turo Pawmot with an eager look, its expression full of anticipation. "Pon, Pon!"

  "Pamo~" Pawmot gave an uanding nod areated back to Naoki's side.

  Naoki raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You want to battle too?"

  Ogerpon nodded vigorously. "Oge!"

  Without waiting for another cue, Ogerpon dashed onto the battlefield, its movements light and fident.

  "Wow, it's a Pokémon I've never seen before!" Nemona's eyes sparkled with excitement.

  The crowd around them began murmuring as their attention shifted to the peculiar Pokémon.

  "Another unfamiliar Pokémon!"

  "Hey, is this also from the Paldea region?"

  "No way, I've never seen anything like it!"

  "Could this be an undiscovered species?"

  "Mr. Naoki, what's this Pokémon's name?" Nemona asked eagerly.

  Naoki smiled, watg Ogerpon's back. "Its name is Ogerpon."

  "Pon~" Ogerpon chirped in affirmation.

  Lance's curiosity iqued. "Ogerpon, huh? In that case, I'll choose this Pokémon!"

  With a fsh of light, Lance released his Pokémon: a Charizard with bzing eyes and an aura of fiery iy.

  The croed at the sight of the iic fire and flying-type Pokémon.

  Cy, from the sidelines, remarked, "That's a tough matchup frass-type."

  But as the battle was about to begin, something ued happened.

  Ogerpon reached into its leafy coat and pulled out a strange blue mask with a sorrowful expression. It pced the mask on its face, and, in an instant, its body shifted from green to a deep shade of blue.

  Cy: "???"

  Alder: "???"

  Lance: "?"

  Nemona's mouth hung open in amazement. "What just happened? Did it ge forms?"

  Naoki held his forehead in mild exasperation. Still, it was too te to backtrack—the battle was underway.

  Lance, seeing an apparent advantage, called out, "Charizard, Fmethrower!"

  Naoki, unsure of Ogerpon's full capabilities but trusting in its strength, decided to test its potential. "Ogerpon, use Ivy Cudgel!"

  "Pon!"

  Ogerpon waved its small hands with joy, and a thorny cudgel materialized in its grasp. The Cudgel radiated an inteer-type energy, shimmering as it coalesced.

  Charizard roared, unleashing a bzing Fmethrower terpon. Without hesitation, the masked Pokémon dashed forward, holding the thorny cudgel fidently.

  Naoki's heart skipped a beat.

  'Too reckless!' he thought, fshing across his fabsp;

  But what happened left everyone in awe.

  Ogerpon raised the thorny cudgel horizontally, twirling it rapidly. The intense fmes from Charizard morphed into serperails, which were swiftly ralized by the water energy eng the staff. The fmes dissipated harmlessly, leaving the battlefield shrouded in steam.

  Charizard faltered, momentarily startled. It hesitated, unsure whether to tis attabsp;

  "Increase the firepower!" Lananded, his voice sharp.

  Charizard steadied itself and intensified the Fmethrower, p more energy into the fiery torrent.

  However, Ogerpon advanced fearlessly, weaving through the fmes as though it were dang. When it closed the dista abruptly sidestepped and raised its thorn cudgel high. With precise timing, Ogerpon delivered a powerful strike to Charizard's head.

  "Pon!"

  Ogerpon chirped fidently as the Cudgel ected with a resounding thud.

  The force of the blow sent Charizard crashing to the ground. Its rge, muscur frame slumped limply, and its pink tongue lolled to the side. It was pletely unscious, uo tihe battle.

  The audience collectively gasped in disbelief.

  "???"

  Cy blinked in astonishment. "One... o? But... wasn't the type matchup unfavorable? What kind of move was that? How did it take down Charizard in one shot?"

  Alder's eyes gleamed with excitement. He leaned forward slightly, his voice brimming with pride. "Incredible. I knew Naoki had something special up his sleeve!"

  The rest of the crowd, however, was left in stunned silenbsp;

  What had they just witnessed? A Charizard, one of the most iid resilient Pokémon, had beeed in a sirike.

  And the Pokémon responsible? That adorable, seemingly unassuming creature with a thorny Cudgel.

  "What is that Pokémon? It's so cute, but... how is it s?" murmured orainer.

  "Where did it even e from?"

  Meanwhile, Ogerpon, overjoyed by its victory, retracted the thorny Cudgel bato its small hands. It skipped back to Naoki with a triumphant grin, its masked face radiating pride.

  "Pon, Pon!"

  It chirped, gazing up at Naoki with wide eyes. It tilted its head as if asking, "Did I do well?"

  Naoki crouched doatted Ogerpon's head gently. "You were amazing," he said, though his thoughts were rag. The strength of this Pokémon... he hadn't fully realized its potential until now.

  Oher side of the battlefield, Laood frozen, his gaze fixed on the fallen Charizard. After a moment, he exhaled deeply, his expression turning solemn.

  "Naoki, you truly are a formidable trainer." Lance finally admitted, his voice filled with respect.