Our Chance to Become Heroes!

That's my master! He stands out above all the rest!

Whaaat?! The Masked Royal is definitely in the spotlight more!

No way! My master is, for sure!

Crash! Crash! Crasher Wake!

The crowd's so worked up! It'd be a waste to finish here!

Anyone here wanna show off their fighting spirit in front of everyone, like we just did?!

Is this our chance to become heroes?!

Yeah! Maybe this'll help us look as cool as they do!

We'll battle next!

Oh-ho! A round of applause for the brave challengers!

Am I witnessing...a new hero origin story?!

We'll finish this battle in no time!

Go, Heracross!

Get in there, Scizor!

Whoa!

W-we lost...

Yay! We won!

Now we're heroes, too!

Huh? That's it?

Hmm...

Huh? The crowd doesn't look as excited anymore...

That's weird... I thought being strong was all it took to become a hero.

Oh yeah... You two are strong, all right!

But take it from me, someone who's been thrilling audiences with exciting battles for a while now... you're also missing something!

For real, for real.

And if you can figure out what that is...we'll take you both on!

Really?! We'll get to battle you two?!

Yes! A fighter never goes back on his word!

All right! I'll hold you to that promise, master!

... ... ...

And so, Barry and Selene started training frantically, but...

Something we're missing, huh...

Our training is making us stronger...but we still haven't figured out what that "something" is.

(I want to give them advice, but they might think I'm a bother...)

(No...I have to take that first step!)

H-hello...

I'm just a hero fan who happened to be passing by...

A hero fan?

Don't think I've seen you around.

Umm... I'm Penny, a student from Paldea...

So, yeah... When I saw you two battle earlier, there was something that stood out to me...

And I thought I might be able to give you a tip from a fan's perspective...

You're going to help us?!

Really?! Thank you!

(Whoa! They're really eager...)

F-first, I'd like to ask you two something...

What does being a hero mean to you?

Well, being strong and cool, of course!

Just like the Masked Royal!

I see...

You're not wrong, but there's more to being a hero than just being strong!

You also need to inspire hope, courage, and energy in the people watching you!

You've gotta get the audience really fired up! THAT's what it means to be a hero!

Fire up the audience...

Of course! That's what we're missing!

We need to think about the audience!

That's right! When you're putting on a show, getting the audience emotionally invested is key!

That means riveting plot twists to keep us on the edge of our seats! Drawing us in deeper and deeper until, !

Oh...

You really like heroes, don'tcha?

Y-yeah... Watching lots of hero shows is one of my indoor hobbies...

Oooh! Tell us more about that!

Yeah! What kind of heroes do you like?

All right, then. I'll keep geeking out about heroes.

But when I'm done, I want to hear about your favorite heroes, too.

Days later...

So, basically, you've come to us to see if our experience could help you out?

Yes! Penny said that if we wanted tips on how to make our matches more interesting...

we should talk to Gym Leaders from Galar!

You have superexciting battles in your stadiums, right?

Sure do. Penny knows what she's talking about.

Hehe... Well, my family does hail from Galar.

You're both popular for your ability to get the crowd going, so...if you have any advice...

Of course! I can teach you all sorts of things! First of all...

Oh yeah, you two are teaming up for your next match, aren't you?

In that case, you'll have to work together as a tag team!

That's right!

For example, when Raihan and I team up, he throws down a sandstorm...

...And I support Gordie's Pokémon! With our dynamic teamwork, we get the whole crowd involved and up on their feet!

If we pull it off perfectly, the crowd's eyes are glued to us!

So we need a tag-team move, huh?

Always keep in mind what the crowd most wants to see!

If you think about the heroes you admire and how they battle...you'll figure it out, I'm sure!

Next, Barry and Selene trained with Palmer...

Nice! Seems like you're both getting it!

Hey there, Selene, Barry!

Professor Kukui!

I got curious and came to check in on you both... Looking good, you two!

I can't wait until the day of the match!

Are you coming to watch us, too, Professor?

Hm? O-oh yeah! Of course!

Sorry I interrupted you, Palmer...

No problem at all! Now, let's carry on!

There's more to making a battle exciting than just going all out and winning!

For example, in the Battle Tower, I adjust the strength of my attacks based on my opponent's win streak.

By doing that, I draw out the challenger's strength and encourage their growth!

Your battle theater should follow the same idea.

If you can draw out your opponent's strength, I bet you the crowd would go wild!

Yeah! Like pretending you're in a pinch and trading the advantage back and forth with the opponent!

Hey, you know your stuff! One way to do that is, instead of dodging a move...

you take the hit and show the crowd just how strong you and your opponent are!

I see! Let's try that as well!

Go on, you can be all that you desire!

So, to recap the advice we got from Professor Kukui and Palmer...

Instead of a one-sided battle, we need to add variety by getting into pinches from time to time!

But that doesn't mean we should take it easy on purpose, either...

We need a way to come back from a pinch and win...

That's the perfect time...

to show off your finishing moves!

Why don't you pick a finishing move to spice up your match?

A finishing move, huh... In Alola, they have Z-moves.

And on Pasio, I guess it's sync moves?

But everyone here uses sync moves, so those wouldn't have much of an impact, would they?

Not necessarily.

Even simple punches and kicks can get pretty flashy, thanks to how special effects have gotten better over time...

And even a well-known move can be exciting if someone unexpected uses it!

Something people wouldn't expect us to do...

What about Mega Evolution?

Heracross and Scizor have Mega Evolutions, don't they?

Oh yeah! Mega Evolutions!

Heracross and I made it through a whole adventure in Sinnoh together as partners...

but if we could get a new power like Mega Evolution, that would be so cool, even for me!

Let's do this, Heracross!

A longtime partner getting a buff, huh... Nice. That hits you right in the feels.

How did you and Scizor meet, Selene?

She and I met when I came to Pasio and traded Pokémon with Elio.

Apparently Elio's Scyther had a Metal Coat item that she brought with her everywhere.

And when Elio traded Scyther while she was holding it, she evolved into Scizor!

Ahh! So it's a Pokémon that evolves by trading!

At the time, it really shocked me!

Maybe by using Mega Evolution, I could feel that shock again!

Let's give Mega Evolution our best shot, Scizor!

All right! Let's begin our hardcore training to perfect our finishing moves!

Hehe! Our training went really well!

I'm even more excited for the match!

Looks like you've come a long way since we last saw you!

Oh, master!

In recognition of your progress, these outfits are for you!

As promised, WE will be your next opponents!

Finally, we can battle you both!

And in cool costumes, too!

Is this it?! The moment when the first generation of heroes passes the torch, costumes, convictions, and everything?!

And when this new generation of heroes emerges victorious, their predecessors can then retire with no regrets...

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who said anything about retiring?!

We've been searching for the answer to the question, "what is a hero?"

And in our tag-team match, we'll show you what we found!

The day of the match...

Hello, youngsters! Looking a little better than before!

Let's see what the next generation of heroes can do!

Oh, it's ON!

We'll hit you with our full strength, turned up to Z!

There's the determination! Come at us head-on, fair and square!

We're gonna take all your attacks, and STILL win!

Nice moves!

Now it's my turn!

Bring it on, master! We'll take your attack too!

Whoa! Th-that was ridiculously powerful...

Scizor! Let's help them out!

Oh no you don't!

Ahh...

Ready up, Crasher Wake!

Let's show them our teamwork!

Yeah! Let's hit them with a big one!

Crash! Crash! Crasher...

Royal...battle!

Whoa, geez!

Looks like this is the end for you!

I-I won't give up...

We can't lose like this!

We'll stay strong to the end!

Still got some fight left in you, huh?

It's now or never! Time to bust out our finishing move!

Heracross! Mega Evolve!

Us too! Scizor, Mega Evolve!

Wh-what?!

When the odds are against us, your mighty horn can turn it around!

By the red steel of justice, evil shall be crushed! Ready...fight!

I didn't realize they had this much power hidden away!

Impressive... You've bested us!

Congratulations, both of you!

That was a great battle!

Of course it was! I'm your apprentice, after all!

Like I told you before, I don't remember agreeing to you being my apprentice!

But...I guess I can accept you as a rival!

Master, could you write us a theme song, too?

Hngh! You've got a lotta nerve!

Hahaha! I see all that training with Palmer and Penny paid off!

Hm? How do you know about that?

A-anyway! Barry! Selene!

From this day forward, we're allies who protect the peace on Pasio!

A round of applause for the winners!

We're gonna keep working hard as heroes from here on out!

We'll liven up Pasio with all our might!

A few days later...

I wonder when our next match is...

They told us to look forward to it, but we can't wait forever.

They can't just prepare it straight away, can they?

I bet it takes time to arrange an opponent...

T-terrible news!

The Masked Royal and Crasher Wake have been defeated by an unknown villain!

Master and the Masked Royal...

...Lost to a villain?!

Th-this is it!

The classic scenario in which a new enemy appears after defeating a strong opponent!

Who could this unknown villain be?

And what future awaits the two who have grown into full-fledged heroes?