The Battle Frontier challenge was set for a strict twenty-four-hour time limit.
Within a single day, Klein had to rely on six fixed Pokémon to defeat ten elite trainers.
Survival and endurance were key.
To conserve his team's strength for the later battles, Klein had to ensure his lineup remained intact through the early rounds.
As the second challenge ended, Olympia—her Slowking defeated, and a blade still at her throat—begrudgingly recalled her Pokémon and turned to leave.
But before she could take a single step—
Klein spoke.
"Gym Leader Olympia, hold on a moment."
She froze.
Slowly, she turned back, her violet eyes filled with thinly veiled hostility.
"What else do you want, Elite Klein?"
Her words were clipped, her tone sharp.
Though she had lost, the way she had been defeated was unacceptable.
Klein's tactics had been ruthless—a direct assault on the trainer herself, forcing a surrender before the Pokémon battle could conclude.
A humiliating defeat.
She had no interest in lingering any longer.
But Klein's next words made her expression shift.
"Riley passed down the foundations of Aura to me. Shouldn't you also offer something in return?"
A tense silence followed.
Even the hidden cameras monitoring the event caught the sharp twitch of Olympia's eyebrow.
He was blackmailing her.
And he was doing it openly.
Klein wasn't a fool.
Both Riley and Olympia had set him up—hoping he would walk blindly into the next trial, where his memories could be manipulated or erased.
Now that he had seen through their ploy, there was no reason for him to let them off without paying a price.
Olympia's lips parted, about to refuse outright—
But then she met Klein's cold, unwavering gaze.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Then, without another word, she reached into her sleeve, retrieved a small, silver badge, and tossed it toward him.
Klein caught it effortlessly.
Turning it over in his palm, he examined it closely.
It was shaped like a crescent moon, radiating a faint psychic energy.
"A Psychic Crest?"
Seeing his confusion, Olympia reluctantly explained.
"That badge is forged using fragments of a Z-Crystal."
"It grants the user a one-time activation of a Z-Move."
Z-Crystal technology?
Klein's eyes flickered with intrigue.
Z-Moves were powerful, single-use attacks, typically requiring a Z-Ring and a special movement sequence to activate.
However—
This Psychic Crest had been engineered differently.
It did not require a Z-Ring—meaning Klein could trigger the Z-Move directly without the usual setup.
But before he could ask more—
Olympia turned and left without another word.
The second trial was complete.
---
Deep within the Battle Frontier's control center, a group of elite observers watched through their monitoring screens.
One of the older committee members chuckled.
"Demanding compensation? How amusing."
Another, a middle-aged man, leaned back in his chair.
"Given how Olympia and Riley tried to manipulate him, it's only fair."
"Besides, Klein isn't the type to let a grudge go unpaid."
A younger woman in the group sighed.
"That aside, did you see his melee combat skills?"
"Klein might be an Elite Four member, but his hand-to-hand proficiency rivals that of battle-hardened mercenaries."
The Battle Frontier wasn't just about Pokémon battles.
It tested a trainer's survival instincts—how well they could handle direct combat, traps, and environmental hazards.
And Klein had exposed a critical weakness in Olympia's over-reliance on psychic abilities.
If a trainer was incapacitated, the entire Pokémon formation collapsed.
It was a lesson in real-world survival.
Another observer leaned forward, watching as Klein prepared to ascend to the third trial.
"Next is the Poison Division."
"And that won't be easy."
A sharp laugh came from the corner of the room.
A veteran member smirked.
"Oh? But didn't he single-handedly wipe out the Malice Syndicate's northern forces?"
"I'd say poison specialists should be worried about him—not the other way around."
---
Using Aura Sight, Klein quickly scouted the third area—a vast, cave-like expanse that stretched deep into darkness.
Strange movement patterns flickered in his vision.
He frowned.
"Delphox, return."
"Scizor, you're up."
Summoning his Scizor, Klein entered the third tier of the challenge.
Immediately—
A wave of small, red eyes flickered in the darkness.
Dozens of Raticate and Meowth scurried through the caves, their piercing gazes locked onto Klein and Scizor.
A low growl echoed from the depths of the cavern.
From the shadows, a woman stepped forward.
She was tall, with wild crimson hair cascading down her back.
Her eyes gleamed with arrogance, and she carried herself with the swagger of a self-proclaimed queen.
Unlike the damp, dirty cave around her, she stood atop a luxurious red carpet, surrounded by plates of fine food and delicacies.
She exuded an air of absolute indulgence.
Lifting a teacup with unapologetic elegance, she took a slow sip before grinning mockingly.
"So the first two guardians already lost?"
"Pathetic. That Aura-user and the fortune-teller were nothing but scam artists anyway."
She scoffed.
Clearly, she had no respect for Riley or Olympia.
To her, they were weaklings—nothing but frauds pretending to be strong.
And Klein?
She had yet to recognize him.
"Let's see if you can get past my army, kid."
"Army?"
Klein muttered under his breath as the horde of Raticate and Meowth began closing in.
But before the first could even pounce—
Scizor moved.
A blinding flash of red steel sliced through the cave.
Scizor's Bullet Punch tore through the battlefield like a living machine gun, striking every approaching Pokémon with flawless precision.
In mere seconds, the entire horde lay unconscious, scattered across the cavern floor.
A heavy silence followed.
The red-haired woman—previously so confident—froze, her teacup midway to her lips.
She stared at Klein.
Then at Scizor.
Then back at the pile of unconscious Pokémon.
"…Huh?"
Her eyes twitched.
She had barely finished her dramatic introduction, and her "army" was already gone.
Klein smirked.
"You were saying?"