Chapter 123: Battle Against Saito Shi, Cheng Cheng Emerges Victorious

"Go, Gardevoir."
"Gardevoir, Shadow Ball."
Cheng Cheng launched the first attack. The Shadow Ball struck Hydreigon, but it appeared to have no effect. Cheng Cheng was not surprised; after all, Hydreigon was a Dark-type, and Ghost-type moves were indeed ineffective against it.

However, neither the Shadow Ball nor the Psychic-type moves that Gardevoir excelled at had much impact on the Dark-type Hydreigon. How on earth was he supposed to win? Cheng Cheng felt a headache coming on.

"Hydreigon, Tri Attack."
Hydreigon unleashed an attack featuring three different elemental energies toward Gardevoir.
"Gardevoir, Teleport."
Gardevoir vanished and reappeared directly above Hydreigon.
"Aim for its head, Shadow Ball."
"Gardevoir!"
Gardevoir fired a Shadow Ball, hitting one of Hydreigon's heads directly.
"Hydreigon, Dark Pulse."
"Gardevoir, Teleport."
Gardevoir teleported to Hydreigon's side.
"Now, use Imprison."
Gardevoir used Imprison, successfully sealing away Dark Pulse. With that move neutralized, Cheng Cheng’s chances of winning increased significantly.
"Dragon Tail."
Having just used Imprison, Gardevoir was unable to dodge in time and was swatted away by Hydreigon.
"Gardevoir, are you okay?"
"Gardevoir!"
Gardevoir quickly regained its balance. Fortunately, Dragon-type moves were ineffective against Gardevoir, though the physical impact still caused some damage.

Seeing Gardevoir recover so quickly, Saito Chi was surprised. He knew the power of his Hydreigon’s move; normally, a Pokémon would have been knocked out instantly.
"Hydreigon, use Dragon Breath."
"Gardevoir, dodge it, then use Shadow Ball."
Gardevoir dodged the attack and landed another Shadow Ball on Hydreigon's head. Although the effect was minimal, it still dealt some damage. Cheng Cheng had intentionally had Gardevoir dodge the Dragon Breath to prevent Saito Chi from realizing that Dragon-type moves were ineffective against her.

"Hydreigon, use Hyper Beam."
Saito Chi decided to stop testing his opponent and unleashed his ultimate move.
"Gardevoir, Protect."
Gardevoir used Protect to block the attack, but Hydreigon was simply too powerful; Gardevoir could not fully negate the impact and still took damage.
"Gardevoir, can you keep going?"
"Gardevoir!"
"Very good. Gardevoir, it's our turn to counterattack."
"Uncle Saito, now I will show you my true power."
"Let's go, Gardevoir!"
"Gardevoir!"
"Gardevoir, Mega Evolve!"
"Gardevoir!"
The Mega Stone and the Key Stone resonated, linking together, and Gardevoir underwent Mega Evolution. Saito Chi and Drayden were shocked, as it was the first time they had ever seen a Pokémon undergo a secondary evolution.

"Gardevoir, Fairy Wind."
A Fairy Wind blew through the arena, and Hydreigon appeared to be in great pain. Cheng Cheng had specifically had Gardevoir learn Fairy-type moves to prepare for the Opelucid Gym challenge, though they could only be used after Mega Evolution. Cheng Cheng had decided to focus Gardevoir on the Fairy-type path to raise a "Dragon Slayer" and to ensure he had the strength to deal with Dark-type Pokémon.

What kind of move was that? Saito Chi and Drayden were curious, as they had seen the move deal such significant damage to Hydreigon.
"Hydreigon, Dragon Rush."
"Now, Gardevoir, Dazzling Gleam."
"Gardevoir!"
Hydreigon dove toward Gardevoir using Dragon Rush. This was exactly what Cheng Cheng had been waiting for. Gardevoir gathered all its strength and unleashed Dazzling Gleam. The two moves collided, creating a massive explosion. A blinding white light filled the arena, obscuring everyone's vision. When the light and dust settled, Hydreigon and Gardevoir stood apart, facing each other.

Hydreigon was heavily injured and unable to move for the moment. Gardevoir had exhausted its energy and couldn't launch another attack. They stood in a stalemate. Saito Chi looked on, shocked by the damage Gardevoir had dealt; he hesitated to continue the attack. Furthermore, he found it strange that Gardevoir didn't seem to have taken any damage at all. It was true—Gardevoir had simply run out of energy to attack, but it hadn't been hurt; the power of Dragon Rush had had no effect.

"Hydreigon, you should fall now."
Just then, Muzi shouted at Hydreigon from the sidelines. Hydreigon looked at Muzi. The girl and the Pokémon locked eyes for a moment, and then Hydreigon collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"Mr. Drayden, Hydreigon isn't moving anymore. You should announce the result."
Drayden snapped out of his daze when Muzi called his name. He saw Hydreigon lying on the ground and looked over at Saito Chi. Saito Chi hadn't expected Muzi to intervene, but he was already impressed by Cheng Cheng’s performance, and since Hydreigon was down, he saw no reason not to end the match. He nodded at Drayden.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle, so the winner is Cheng Cheng."
"That was amazing, Cheng Cheng! You did it, you beat Hydreigon!" Muzi ran over and hugged Cheng Cheng. Cheng Cheng finally relaxed. He knew that if the battle had continued, Gardevoir would have fallen first, and he hadn't expected Muzi to help him out.
"Alright, how long are you two going to hug?"
Muzi jumped away from Cheng Cheng.
"Dad."
"You really are something, always siding with outsiders."
"That's not true! Gardevoir clearly beat Hydreigon."
"Gardevoir!" Gardevoir clarified that it had actually been defeated.
"It's okay, Gardevoir. You did a great job. Don't blame yourself; I believe you will become even stronger. Rest well for now."
Cheng Cheng returned Gardevoir to its Poké Ball.

"Cheng Cheng, that was an excellent battle. I find it hard to believe you won despite the disadvantage in typing. Those last two moves were truly spectacular—I'm curious what they were. And what was that evolved state of your Gardevoir?"
"Uncle Saito, I'm exhausted after that battle. I'd like to go back and rest first."
Saito Chi and Drayden exchanged glances.
"Very well. Muzi, take Cheng Cheng back to rest. Oh, and Drayden, give Cheng Cheng the badge."
"Of course. Cheng Cheng, your performance was stunning and truly shook me. I hope to see even more brilliant battles from you. I believe it won't be long before you can defeat Saito. Haha."
"This is proof of your victory: the Legend Badge."

Drayden handed the badge to Cheng Cheng.
"Thank you, Mr. Drayden, and thank you, Uncle Saito."
"We'll be heading back now."
"Right, go on then."
Cheng Cheng and Muzi left the Opelucid Gym.

"Saito, did you figure out that move and the evolution of his Gardevoir?"
"Gardevoir's evolved state must be what they call Mega Evolution in the Kalos region."
"So it really is Mega Evolution. I've only heard of it; I never expected someone as young as Cheng Cheng to have mastered it. Becoming Champion in the future might not be impossible."
"Mega Evolution is nothing. Didn't you find his last two moves strange?"
"Indeed, they dealt heavy damage to your Hydreigon, and they didn't look like Ice-type moves. And your own moves seemed to have no effect on him."
"They weren't Ice-type. They were Fairy-type."
"Fairy-type? You mean that newly discovered attribute?"
"Exactly. What truly surprised me wasn't the Mega Evolution, but his ability to use Fairy-type moves so skillfully. You know that the Fairy-type was only recently announced by Professor Oak in the Kanto region. I never expected him to be able to use two such powerful Fairy-type moves so quickly. That is what surprises me."
"But why didn't your moves have any effect? Professor Oak's report didn't mention that."
"I don't know."
"Are you going to ask?"
"Of course."
"I look forward to hearing what you find out."
"We'll see. If I can master the secrets of Fairy-type moves, maybe... he won't be able to beat me anymore."
"Indeed, it has been a long time since we battled. I hope you learn them; I'll be waiting."
"Right."
Saito Chi prepared to leave the gym.
"Hey, you let him win on purpose at the end, didn't you?"
"Not just at the end—the whole time. I'm not going to let a good son-in-law like him slip away."
"I thought so. I actually feel a little sorry for the kid."
"Heh heh."
Saito Chi left the Opelucid Gym and headed toward home.

Meanwhile, Muzi and Cheng Cheng had arrived at the house.
"Cheng Cheng, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just a bit tired. My opponent was so strong, I had to focus entirely on the battle."
"Cheng Cheng, were those last two moves Fairy-type? Why haven't I ever seen you use them before?"
"I only just had Gardevoir learn them for today's match."
"Sigh, I originally brought the Deino here to counter your Pokémon, but I never expected you to hold your own against my dad's Hydreigon like that. Now I can't beat you anymore."
"Muzi, you have to realize that typing doesn't decide everything. If you hadn't made Hydreigon concede at the end, I would have been the one to lose."
"By the way, how did you even get Hydreigon to concede? Its trainer is Uncle Saito, not you!"
"That? I won't tell you. Guess."
"What are you two guessing about?"