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Chapter 117 - Chapter 117: Pryce's Arrogance Shattered

The announcer's voice exploded over the stunned silence after Lapras defeat, laced with awe and disbelief.

"Folks, you're witnessing history—or maybe a catastrophe! Colossus, Gladion's alpha Tyranitar, just obliterated Lapras with a Hyper Beam Pryce has lost four Pokémon—Delibird, Weavile, Glaceon, and now Lapras—while Gladion's only down one, and look at that Tyranitar! Not a scratch, not a flinch—this titan's barely broken a sweat! And Gladion has not even sent his youthful Machamp or that crazy strong Annhilape of his yet. The Champion's crumbling, four to one—could this be the biggest upset of the decade? Is Pryce's reign about to shatter under a 15-year-old's boot? Well, technically his reign would still continue even after this defeat but would he truly be a champion after being defeated so brutally or does the champion have something special in store for us. Hold onto your seats—this is unreal!"

The crowd erupted, a mix of cheers and gasps, banners waving—"Colossus Rules!" "Pryce is Done!"

Whispers rippled: "Four already?" "That Tyranitar's a monster!" " Of course, he is a monster. Did not you read Professor Oak's report on Alpha Pokémons? They are walking disasters."

The stakes hung heavy—Pryce, the Ice Champion, teetered on the edge of a humiliating collapse.

Pryce's face twisted with anger, his eyes burning beneath his furrowed brow as he recalled Lapras. His hands shook around his cane, knuckles white, his stoic mask cracking under the weight of defeat.

'Four gone.' The thought gnawed at him, a bitter poison seeping into his mind. 'Losing to this brat—to Maren's whelp—will ruin me.'

Decades of war, battles etched in blood and frost, all reduced to ash if he fell here. His reputation as Indigo's unyielding Champion, forged in the Infinite War's crucible, would crumble—mocked as the old fool toppled by a cocky teenager.

'All those sacrifices, the lives I led, the victories I clawed for Johto's greatness—for nothing?' His chest tightened, despair mingling with rage.

Only two Pokémon remained—his final bastion—and their strength was his last hope to salvage pride from this wreckage.

'I can't let it end like this. Not to him. Not to a Kanto's brat.'

In the Elite Four box, the air grew thick with judgment. Blaine leaned back, arms crossed, a scoff escaping his lips as he watched Pryce falter.

"He's gotten old—arrogant and rusty. Look at him flailing down there. Hasn't trained his Pokémon properly since the war—sitting on his laurels, letting 'em gather dust. His command's sloppy, his team's out of shape. Pathetic." His voice carried a harsh edge, the Fire master's disdain unmasked.

"Thought his war scars and political connections made him untouchable—well, that Tyranitar's burning through that delusion fast."

Agatha nodded, her usual cackle absent, her gaze sharp as she studied the field. "He was a terror back in the war days—ice and steel in his veins, cutting through foes like a blizzard. But now? Just another puffed-up trainer who'd drop dead if this were still a battlefield. Age dulled him, and arrogance finished the job. That Vortex kid's exposing every crack—Pryce's living on borrowed time."

Her words held a grim weight, a veteran's assessment of a faded warrior. The Elite Four had never challenged him—not out of fear, but disinterest in his burden. Now, his frailty glared under the stadium lights. They all knew that they were a lot stronger than Pryce. Their Pokémon trained even after war was over while Pryce kept in building more political connections or satisfying these connections for his own personal gain.

They would have challenged him for the position of Champion but they denied for different reasons. Agatha knew she was too old to do that job and well no one would want her, the ghost mistress as a champion.

Bruno is to busy training himself and his fighting types to bother about becoming a champion. The same could be said about Blaine who was too busy with his research.

Lance just became an elite four and was being stopped by his clan to challenge Pryce due to political reasons.

Pryce steadied himself, jaw set as he flung his next Poké Ball. "Cloyster, go!"

The Ice-Water bivalve landed on the pond's edge, its spiked shell glinting, a fortress of natural armor.

"Iron Defense!" Pryce ordered, voice taut. Cloyster's shell shimmered, hardening further, its already formidable Defense soaring—a desperate bid to withstand Colossus's power.

The announcer's voice surged with excitement. "Here we go, folks—Cloyster's in, bolstering its Iron Defense! It's a clash of titans now—two defensive juggernauts! Let's see whose attack power reigns supreme—Pryce's icy wall or Gladion's unstoppable force!"

Gladion smirked, unfazed, his confidence a blade. "Colossus, Stone Edge—Version One!"

Colossus roared, stomping the ground, and the battlefield erupted. Massive rock spikes burst upward, jagged and relentless, splitting the pond in two as they tore through water and earth alike. The spikes surged toward Cloyster, heaving it from the pond onto solid ground, its shell scraping as it landed. Gladion's voice rang out, "Tackle!"

Pryce's eyes widened, panic flashing as he realized his error—distance lost, Cloyster exposed.

'No—too close!' The Elite Four's critique rang true: his arrogance had blinded him, his battle instincts dulled by years of unchallenged rule.

Political ties and the Elite Four's apathy had kept him atop Indigo, but now, facing Gladion's relentless assault, that foundation crumbled.

Colossus charged, each step an earthquake, the stadium trembling under his weight.

Despite his immense size—towering over any Tyranitar, an alpha colossus—his speed defied logic, honed by Gladion's gravity training. Every Pokémon on his team had endured it, hours under crushing pressure to sharpen their agility, and Colossus moved like a freight train with wings.

He slammed into Cloyster, a thunderous *crack* splitting the air as his tackle shattered the Iron Defense shell. The bivalve hurtled backward, crashing into the psychic barrier shielding the audience with a deafening *boom*, knocked out in one devastating blow.

Silence fell, thick and suffocating. The crowd sat frozen, jaws dropped, eyes wide. Pryce's blank expression mirrored the void in his mind—five Pokémon down, one move to fell Cloyster, a Champion's pride unraveling before thousands.

The referee's flag rose slowly, voice hushed. "Cloyster is unable to battle! Gladion leads, five to one!"

No cheers followed—just a stunned hush, the weight of the moment sinking in. Gladion stood tall, Colossus looming beside him, unscathed, his alpha aura pulsing. Pryce's hand hovered over his final Poké Ball, his face a mask of disbelief and defeat.

-----Author Notes------

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