The tale of Galar’s new Champion

Hey everyone. I just recently completed a challenge of Pokémon Shield that a friend challenged me to do. The rules were simple. One Pokémon per route, no wild area Pokémon, no using Dynamax in battle, and while items in battle were allowed, I was given a limit of six heals per battle. While it had some ups and downs, I’d like to tell you my final team lineup.

Striker the Cinderace

Lily the Lombre, (now a Ludicolo)

Wallnut the Greedent

Furnace the Coalossal

Saxon the Perrserker

…and Tombstone the Runerigus
This ramshackle team is what managed to defeat the Pokémon champion Leon(you know this guy)

With all the introductions done and out of the way, I can finally tell the grand tale of the battle between me and Leon.
Fight 1: Striker VS Aegislash
I think it goes without saying that every member of the team had a chance to shine, starting with Striker. Leon starts of with Aegislash using King’s Shield. Seeing this and knowing how King’s Shield works, I instead opted to use Agility. Following the failed King’s Shield, Aegislash SOMEHOW manages to out-speed me and land a crit Shadow Ball. So I returned the favor and sent out a ball of my own, Pyro Ball, which melted the Aegislash into molten metal.
Fight 2: Wallnut VS Haxorus
The very second I saw the words, “Champion Leon is about to send in Haxorus. Would you like to switch Pokémon?”, I began to panic a little bit. Most of my team had no real counter for Dragon-types, and the one that did only had Icy Wind, and I knew that wasn’t going to cut it. I thought long and hard about who to send out to face the raging beast that was Leon’s Haxorus. Eventually, my eyes fell upon Wallnut, my fat and fluffy first encounter. With a heavy heart, I sent her to her supposed death, armed only with a Sitrus berry and a few words of encouragement. Thinking that the Haxorus might just use an super-effective move on Wallnut, I preemptively used Counter, fully prepared for the worst. “Haxorus used Outrage!” I watched as Wallnut’s HP went from 220 all the way down to… 80?! Oh my god! Wallnut, like the little furry tub of lard she is, ate her way through the pain like a pro. Yeah, that Haxorus got completely fucked up. How badly, you may ask? Well, I think this scene from Age of Ultron sums it up best, with The Hulk being Wallnut

I swear, there was a Haxorus-shaped crater left in the pitch wall of Wyndon Stadium.
Fight 3: Tombstone VS Dragapult
After the Haxorus was completely obliterated, Dragapult comes out to finish the job. Seeing that Dragapult is a Ghost-Dragon type, I send in Tombstone to perform an exorcism. After tanking a few Shadow Balls to the face, courtesy of the Special Defense EV’s I poured into him, Tombstone finally managed to send Leon’s Dragapult back to the grave with a barrage of STAB Shadow Balls and Blackglasses-boosted Brutal Swings. R.I.P Dragapult, you might be missed.
Fight 4: Lily VS Inteleon
Meet the second fight that made me sweat a little bit. Lily might have had Wise Glasses, but her special defense stat was what I was worried about. Both Lombre and Ludicolo’s highest stats are Special Defense and Special Attack. However, Lily has a Naughty nature. Plus Attack… and minus Special Defense. Fuck me sideways. Thank god I EV trained Lily a little bit on the Blipbug’s in the Slumbering Weald. A few Giga Drains managed to deal with the Inteleon, but not before a crit Dark Pulse nearly ended Lily.
Fight 5: Saxon VS Mr. Rime
After the mild scare from Inteleon, Leon’s Mr. Rime comes out, and send in Saxon. Seeing that Mr. Rime is an Ice-Psychic type, and Saxon is a Steel type… yeah, this fight was very easy. All the Mr. Rime managed to do was use Thunderbolt, before Saxon completely shattered it with a Hone Claws boosted Iron Head.
Fight 6: Furnace VS Charizard
It all comes down to this. The final battle to end all battles. Leon sends out his ace, Charizard and immediately goes the Gigantamax. Seeing as Dynamaxing Furnace is out of the question, I decide to try and outlive Charizard’s Gigantamax moves, attacking with STAB super effective Smack Down. The great thing about the move Smack Down is that if it hits a Flying type, a Pokémon with Levitate, or a Pokémon under the effects of Magnet Rise or Telekinesis, it grounds the Pokémon, making them susceptible to Ground type attacks and the Arena Trap ability. After Charizard used Max Overgrowth, the very next turn I out-speed and hit an Earthquake, putting Charizard in the red. Following the obligatory Full Restore, Furnace lands another Earthquake, putting Charizard back in the red. As a final send off and middle finger to Leon, Furnace hits the Charizard with one last STAB Smack Down.
A New Champion is Crowned
And just like that, Leon was defeated. For just a brief moment, everyone in stands was silent, but then erupted into cheering. Leon throws his cap into the air, as I am crowned the Galar’s regions new Champion.