"With Gigantamax Charizard and Gigantamax Corviknight matching each other blow for blow at this scale, I am genuinely concerned the structural foundations of this stadium won't hold," Chief Sky muttered, his brow furrowing as the seismic readouts fluctuated into the red zone.
"Step up, Dragonite!"
Chief Sky unclipped a premium capsule, and with a resonant, booming roar, his personal Dragonite burst into the arena airspace, its heavy wings displacing the thick smoke.
"Dragonite, keep a tight tracking lock on their trajectories. The exact millisecond their kinetic synergy threatens to breach the main bedrock, authorize Draco Meteor to manually force a cessation of their movements," Chief Sky instructed his partner.
The massive orange dragon nodded gravely, its large eyes instantly locking onto the two warring titans, thoroughly captivated by the sheer velocity of the exchange.
"Gigantamax Charizard, Fire Blast!" Zera bellowed, pushing his remaining dragon-force to the absolute limit.
A colossal, searing sphere of blue fire—resembling a localized miniature sun—erupted from Charizard's jaw.
Yet, before the exploding plasma could make terminal contact with the raven's hull, Corviknight executed a massive, sweeping wing-stroke. The sheer concussive gale generated by its Primal format met the fire-storm head-on, deflecting the trajectory until the massive Fire Blast slowly drifted straight toward Chief Sky's executive viewing platform.
"Good grief!"
Chief Sky's eyes widened as the intense thermal heat rushed toward his face, threatening to singe his white eyebrows. Dragonite merely let out a low, rumbling chuckle at its master's expense.
Fortunately, Gardevoir's reflexes remained flawless. With a sharp flash of its eyes, it executed an instantaneous Ally Switch, warping the stray fireball high into the upper stratosphere.
The massive sphere detonated against the high atmosphere, the sheer concussive blast completely blowing away the remaining storm clouds hanging over the Central League Headquarters.
Down in the public courtyards, thousands of trainers and staff looked up, completely blinded by a sudden, incandescent flash of white light that forced tears from their eyes.
"What under heaven is happening in the locked sectors?!"
"Did Warden Zera authorize a live fire exercise inside the inner courts?"
"My eyes! I literally can't see a thing!"
The overwhelming luminance triggered a wave of profound anxiety across the entire complex.
"Alright, that's enough. Disengage!"
Chief Sky's authoritative voice boomed across the stadium microphones, manually aborting the engagement before the final collision could materialize.
"The sheer collateral output of your formats is far too excessive. If we permit this match to run its natural course to a knockout, the entire central administrative block will be reduced to a smoking sinkhole."
"Aula, what is the official ruling of your department?" Chief Sky turned a sharp, piercing glare onto the Deputy Chief.
"Leader Feng Che's operational capability is more than verified," Aula replied smoothly, quickly adapting his stance to curry favor with the teenager. "His performance metrics comfortably match those of Warden Zera."
"Zera, what is your assessment? The Qingyu blocks cannot sustain another rotation of this friction," Chief Sky asked, his expression shifting back to a knowing smile.
Zera slowly lifted his gaze, analyzing his Charizard's ragged, uneven respiration before looking across the gap at Feng Che's Corviknight, which still maintained a flawless, uninterrupted Delta Stream aura.
"Hmph. The terms are acceptable," Zera growled, a savage yet respectful smirk crossing his face as he canceled his internal command. "Disengage, Charizard."
"Leader Feng Che, we shall suspend this chronicle for the moment. But consider this an open covenant—the exact millisecond I secure a restricted, open-air proving ground capable of absorbing our maximum metrics, we will finalize this score."
With a fluid flick of his wrist, Zera tossed a heavy, uniquely structured metallic token across the fracture lines.
"My Duraludon shed one of its reinforced titanium horn plates during its evolution cycle; I personally machined the alloy into a custom Dragon Sovereign Crest."
"Hold onto that token as my collateral. When our paths cross again on the competitive track, that crest will serve as our contract."
Having delivered his piece, the Warden vaulted onto the spine of his Charizard—which had safely reverted to its standard grey-black form—and rocketed into the high sky, vanishing over the stadium rafters.
The Executive Mandate
Meanwhile, in Sector C...
Sabrina cleanly secured the final knockout of her own proctor circuit. She calmly wiped a delicate layer of perspiration from her brow, her expression entirely serene.
"Outstanding mechanical efficiency, Lady Sabrina. Here is the official Dark-type verification token; you have cleared the gate," a sharply dressed, rebellious young proctor noted, tossing a sleek black emblem across the turf.
Sabrina caught the token seamlessly with her telekinesis, her form dissolving into a purple distortion as she Teleported directly out of the arena block.
A full twenty-four hours later, Chief Sky summoned both Feng Che and Sabrina into his central executive office.
"Leader Feng Che, Lady Sabrina... please, make yourselves comfortable," the old Grandmaster noted warmly, gesturing toward the leather chairs as he slowly stroked his white goatee.
"I must admit, your simultaneous clearance of the proctor circuits has handed my scheduling branch an exceptional administrative headache."
"The executive board has reviewed your diagnostic logs, and we have finalized two distinct operational vectors for your advancement. I shall permit you to select your preferred assignments."
"The first available vacancy sits within the Hoenn Sector."
"The secondary deployment track routes directly into the Unova Sector."
"The subterranean criminal syndicates across both regions have grown exceptionally bold and destabilized over the recent fiscal quarters."
"You are both well aware of the security breach Team Rocket managed to orchestrate across Kanto prior to my inauguration," Chief Sky's tone turned chillingly strict. "I inherited a fractured system, but let me make one parameter absolute—under my administration, an institutional failure of that magnitude will never be permitted to duplicate."
"The Kanto branch of Team Rocket understands their boundaries; they are currently maintaining a highly disciplined, passive profile within the underground tracks. Should they cross the line, my office will deploy the absolute weight of the League's military assets to expunge them from the map."
"Concurrently, your primary mandate upon deployment will be the complete liquidation of the active syndicates operating within Hoenn and Unova."
"Whether you utilize structural assimilation, financial starvation, or direct military siege to dismantle their networks is at your discretion—provided the core peace and economic stability of the civilian centers remain uncompromised, my office will authorize any lever you choose to pull."
"However... you must account for a critical variable regarding Unova. Their presiding Champion, Alder, has suffered a severe, permanent decay across his baseline battle metrics following a past tragedy. Yet, despite his operational regression, he refuses to vacate the regional throne."
"Whichever one of you accepts the Unova deployment must make it your absolute, primary objective to systematically strip the crown from his hands and claim the Champion seat."
"The current balance of power across Unova is rapidly sliding toward total destabilization. It is an administrative failure I refuse to tolerate." Chief Sky leaned forward, resting his chin against his interlaced fingers, his golden eyes intense.
The old leader's underlying subtext was unmistakable—the Elite Four vacancies across Hoenn and Unova were highly volatile hot-zones. Unova, in particular, was sitting on a geopolitical powder keg due to the explosive expansion of Team Plasma, whose operations directly threatened the League's sovereign control over the sector.
"I'll take the Unova deployment, Chief Sky," Feng Che replied with a calm, confident smile. "I've always favored a high-stakes campaign."
"Superb. When are we expected to report to our respective regional headquarters?"
Feng Che wanted to secure a clear window before his official coronation. He still needed to map a course to the Alola region to fulfill his covenant with Zeraora—utilizing the Ultra Wormholes to recover its lost mate—and he had promised Gengar they would unseal an ancient imperial sepulcher to settle a centuries-old blood feud.
Given the defensive ratings of ancient imperial tombs, the biological hazards hidden within those vaults would easily rival the lethal thresholds of the Spear Pillar ruins.
"You are granted a strict thirty-day window. Report to your assigned regional director exactly one month from today," Chief Sky decreed.
"Furthermore, let me remind you of the constitutional code—the exact millisecond your appointments to the regional Elite Four are formalized, you are legally barred from maintaining your dual status as local Gym Leaders."
"Since you both hail from the Kanto Sector, I will instruct Elite Agatha to immediately accelerate the vetting process for your successor candidates so the handovers can conclude before your departure."
"Naturally, my office will grant you the privilege of submitting personal recommendations for the seats. But let me be entirely clear—the candidates must display flawless moral integrity and possess absolutely zero marks on their central criminal records."
"The official transfer directives have already been drafted; the paperwork will clear the central desk shortly."
"I wish you both an exceptional campaign in your new sectors."
Having delivered his final mandate, Chief Sky adjusted his reading glasses, lowering his gaze back onto a fresh stack of high-priority League intelligence files. Taking the cue, Feng Che and Sabrina quietly rose and exited the executive suite.
The Hidden Vow
As the heavy oak doors clicked shut behind them, Sabrina's psychic frequency brushed seamlessly against Feng Che's mind, activating an encrypted Telepathic Link.
"Feng Che... our deployment to Hoenn and Unova is officially locked down on the charts," Sabrina's voice echoed softly inside his thoughts, a trace of relief coloring her psychic tone. "Once Leader Giovanni receives the itemized diagnostic logs of this meeting, his strategic planning for Team Rocket's expansion will take an exceptional leap forward."
"But... this means our operational paths will be severed for a considerable epoch."
Feng Che caught the subtle, rare thread of vulnerability hidden beneath her stoic telepathic voice. He reached down, his fingers gently interlocking with her slender hand as they walked down the pristine metallic corridor.
"Don't worry," Feng Che replied softly, looking into her crimson eyes with absolute sincerity. "This separation is merely a structural transition. I'm going to use the Unova campaign to scale my baseline power to the absolute summit of this world."
"And once I claim that throne... I will stand before the global executive board and explicitly declare to the entire world that you are my woman."