"Trying to usurp Entei's position or whatever… it's not like Entei actually has some official 'position' to begin with."
Hikaru rubbed his brow.
But if the kitty was that desperate to show off, then fine, let it battle. After being sealed for so long, all it had done so far was beat up that Lurking Steel Titan once. If a little leopard spends all its time getting beaten up, it's going to develop issues, so it needs regular chances to beat other people up too.
As for whether Chien-Pao was actually a "good cat"?
Hard to say.
This thing only acted obedient and tame around Hikaru. If he released it into the wild again, it would immediately revert to being a round-headed menace, charging random passersby and hissing non-stop.
While Chien-Pao was busy plotting its grand scheme…
Entei, who was wandering along the nearby hills, suddenly shivered for no reason.
The phantom Entei, endowed with extraordinary power, paused in thought.
If he was shivering, then that could only mean that thick-headed snow leopard was up to something again.
"Hmph… maybe this is what they call competitive pressure between similar species."
"Still… as a cat-type… forget it. Why should I get worked up over a dimwit leopard? It's just a little kitten."
Strictly speaking, cats as real animals did not exist in the Pokémon world.
But there were catlike Pokémon such as Meowth, Persian, Sprigatito, and Glameow.
So naturally, leopards, lions, and even the universe's number one roaring tiger would all get lumped into the "cat-type Pokémon" bucket too.
Entei hadn't entered Artazon Town. First, he was at least somewhat famous now; if he walked into a town it would cause too much of a stir, and he had always tried not to show himself in front of ordinary people.
Second, he was still mulling over whether it was feasible to teach Sacred Fire to ordinary Pokémon.
Hikaru could already manage it with the Prism Star, but that came at a price.
As the king of the Crystal Tower and Professor Hale's counterpart, Entei felt that with his intellect, he ought to be able to find a way to pass Sacred Fire on to ordinary Pokémon, even if the learning process would be rather harsh.
"In theory, some Pokémon can learn moves they shouldn't normally have at all. The clearest example is Aegislash."
"That guy learned Sacred Sword, the secret technique forged by the legendary Swords of Justice… yet Aegislash can use it, and according to Hikaru, there are a few other Pokémon who are qualified to learn Sacred Sword too."
"What's the underlying connection here…?"
Of course, Entei had no idea that there was already a term for all this.
"Move distribution."
Some signature moves of legendary Pokémon would be "distributed downward" to others in later generations. There were also moves that got "promoted upward," or weaker "lower-tier" versions designed later.
The standout example would be Volt Tackle and Wild Charge. The former had always been exclusive to the Pikachu family and was never distributed to others, which is why Wild Charge, a weaker variant, was introduced later on.
"Hm. I'll need to set up some attribute equations… how annoying. I may be Professor Hale's counterpart, but I'm not actually a real professor…"
Entei started to think and calculate. Compared to the Entei that served in Ho-Oh's honor guard, the phantom Entei's forte was definitely his intellect.
Except when he was angry, of course.
"Already decided, huh? Ha, you're making me more and more hyped here."
"Riolu… it may look like a baby Pokémon on the outside, but it feels pretty strong. I can totally sense that aura. That's no joke."
As a member of the Elite Four, Rika's eye for strength was sharper than that of Gym Leaders or random trainers. With just a glance, she could tell Riolu's "level" was high.
No, not just high. Extremely high.
If it was that high and still hadn't evolved yet, did that mean its bond with its Trainer wasn't very close?
But judging by how it had reacted just now, that didn't seem right either. How odd.
"Mela…"
Charizard-colored eyes narrowed in displeasure. Larvesta was sulking.
They were in a sun-drenched city, and yet it wasn't allowed to fight?
"Here."
Aegislash spoke up, trying to comfort Larvesta.
Wasn't it going to be part of the art piece later?
The single sentence was a wake-up call for the little bug. Larvesta abruptly came to its senses.
Right, right, right! It had an art performance to do in a bit!
If it spent too much stamina now, it wouldn't be able to produce a truly outstanding work afterwards.
Larvesta persuaded itself, then allowed itself to be pulled into a hug by Charcadet. The two rubbed against each other, and its mood lifted once more.
Seeing that his teammates were finally settled down, Hikaru could focus fully on the battle.
"Riolu, Archaludon, Chien-Pao."
"We'll go in that order."
"Awooo!" The blue-furred pup crossed its arms across its chest.
"Guhou!" Archaludon hurriedly stuffed the rock in its claws into its mouth, nearly choking itself in its rush to finish eating.
"Ha!" Chien-Pao hissed, tail spinning like a windmill.
Meanwhile, the ever-sensitive click-hunter Iono had of course already claimed the best possible camera angle, and even checked in with Hikaru first.
"It's fine. I'm asking you to help me move some product anyway, so by all means, go ahead."
"Yay!" Iono stuck up a finger and launched into her "work" mode.
"Yooo, everyone~! It's time for Iono the ION★Zone to go live~!"
"Hey-hey~ 'Sup, 'sup~!"
"Snaring your eyeballs in an electric net! Who's here to 'Ion Talk'? Iono's here! I'm a Gym Leader, you know! G'morning, g'afternoon, g'evening, hallo~!"
"Right now at the Artazon Art Festival, we've got some suuuper huge news! Tehee~!"
"So what's going on exactly? Rumor has it Paldea may be getting its true fourth Elite Four member soon! That's wild!"
"As you can all see, the League's very own Rika-onee-chan has just invited a legendary artist from Unova. Word is, he's also the Boss Trainer of a certain challenge facility over there, and he's suuuper strong!"
"What kind of power does he have? Betting her Elite Four title on this, Rika-onee-chan is about to start a head-to-head duel with Hikaru-shi! Both sides have already picked their Pokémon. So, what's his specialty type?"
"'-shi'" was one of Iono's weird little honorifics that sometimes slipped out on stream.
Hikaru couldn't help glancing over at the energetic streamer.
To be fair…
Thanks to this cute girl's hype, the mood among the crowd was really heating up.
One way or another, if you invited Iono to a big event, she really did manage to push the atmosphere to the next level.
Rika laughed.
"Me? My specialty's obviously Ground, right? Anyone who's challenged me should know that much."
"My lead's this one!"
With a flick of her Poké Ball, her first Pokémon appeared in the classic pose: Dugtrio.
"Dugtrio!"
Seeing the Dugtrio, Hikaru blinked.
That really brought back some memories.
He couldn't help thinking of the Diglett and Dugtrio near Sinjoh.
Unlike Kofu, Rika was more than happy to appear on Iono's stream. As Geeta had put it, Iono had decent popularity overseas too, making her a critical "PR asset" for the video scene.
Which meant the things she filmed would get seen by strong trainers abroad as well. That was another way of attracting talent.
Recruits brought in by a cute streamer… still counted as recruits, didn't they?
There was no way the Paldea League was going to turn its nose up at that. It wasn't like they were the hidebound Indigo League fossils.
But for someone like Kofu, a gloom-soaked avant-garde artist, the joys of others did not necessarily resonate with him. He only felt it was noisy.
This time, though, Kofu kept his mouth shut, which made Rika give him a surprised look.
"Huh? Kofu, isn't this when you're supposed to say something?"
"Uuugh… I have recently realized that a cheerful atmosphere can also be a source of artistic inspiration. So, even though I feel it's a bit noisy… I am currently working to adapt to Miss Iono's speaking style."
Rika nearly jumped.
A few days without seeing him and the guy's personality had shifted? She had no idea what to make of it.
"…You haven't done anything weird lately, have you? Like, say, jumping off a windmill?"
"What, you suspect I smashed my brain to bits? And anyway, jumping off a windmill is one of my ways of seeking inspiration. It is not a 'weird' act!"
Rika lightly patted the back of her own head.
Fair enough. This wasn't exactly the first time Kofu had pulled that kind of stunt.
You got used to it.
Then she looked back at Hikaru, took a moment to pick her words, and asked something unexpected.
"Um, just to be safe, I need to ask."
Rika kept a smile on her face, but for some reason, Hikaru thought she looked a bit nervous. The reason became clear a moment later.
"Back in Johto and Kanto, there were… unregulated battles, so I have to ask…"
"You're not going to rush over and punch me in the face, then declare the battle over, right?"
Hikaru: "No. I am, at the very least, a former Boss of Area 10. Under normal circumstances, I'm not going to order my fists to attack the opponent's Trainer."
"How did you even come up with that? Did you run into Team Rocket before or something?"
Rika kept her polite but stiff smile.
"It's not like I've never run into that sort of thing… anyway, hearing that you won't suddenly deck me is a huge relief."
"The main reason I'm asking is because I heard you're a martial artist too."
Hikaru felt this was bordering on "professional discrimination."
Did people from other regions really think martial artists always started by punching their opponents and only then sent out Pokémon? How would that make any sense?
Lady, what exactly have you been through in the past…? Don't tell him she tried challenging Bruno and got wrecked.
"For a little compare-and-contrast between the old and new Elite Four, let's hear how the people on the street feel!"
"Meloco-chan, who do you think is stronger?"
Iono's stream commentary kept rolling. By this point, Meloco, who had no idea what was going on and had faded into the background, suddenly jolted when Iono called on her.
Wait, she was still in this?
And this really famous streamer actually remembered her name?
Meloco wasn't the type who binged videos, but even she knew Iono was a big deal. Put on the spot, she stammered for a long time.
You're asking me?
In theory, the only honest high-quality answer she had was "I have no idea."
"I-I think… Hikaru-sensei is probably a bit stronger…"
"Eeeeh?!" Iono had been sure Meloco would pick Rika. After all, Rika was the current Elite Four. Even if you hadn't battled her, you'd at least have heard her name.
"Na-ni-na-ni? Why would you think Hikaru-shi is stronger? Rika-onee-chan is Paldea's Elite Four, you know~"
"B-because… you can tell just from what happened earlier, right? Rika-san issued a challenge… you only challenge someone stronger than you, don't you?"
Meloco managed to stumble through her logic, then silently lamented.
She only had one Pokémon. How was she supposed to understand any of this?
"Ha-ha~ that's true. I kinda think the other side has the edge too."
Rika smoothly picked up the baton.
"After all, if he wasn't strong, we wouldn't have invited him."
Iono immediately swung the camera toward Hikaru again.
"Rika-onee-chan is suuuper praising you, you know!"
"That makes you really stand out! So as the former Boss of Area 10 in Black Skyscraper, what's your specialty type?!"
"My type, huh…"
Hikaru stared ahead, then snapped his fingers.
Thud.
"Probably Steel."
The battle began.
Riolu darted forward, silver light flaring around both fists.
Rika's pupils shrank.
The storm of silver strikes had already crashed down on Dugtrio.
"So fast! That's Bullet Punch!"
"But if it's Steel, then… Riolu hasn't evolved yet, so it doesn't actually have Steel typing. Which means the real ace must be that thing that looks like an Archaludon?"
"Yah-hoo!" Iono cried out like an announcer.
"So it's Steel-type! The toughest wall of them all! Steel really does fit a skyscraper perfectly! No wonder he's the Boss of Area 10!"
"But against Rika-onee-chan, the Ground specialist, Steel is totally at a disadvantage, you know!"
"So even though the crowd thinks Hikaru-shi is stronger, the type matchup is in Rika-onee-chan's favor! Who's going to win this Elite Four clash? It's impossible to call! I'm getting all fired up!"
Rika eyed the field.
"True enough. In terms of typing, I'm the one with the advantage. Ground is super effective on Steel, after all!"
"And I am a Ground-type Elite Four member. When facing a powerhouse like this, I have to give it my all. I can't afford to hold anything back!"
"Dugtrio! Use Fissure!"
For ordinary trainers, Fissure was a move they would almost never see in action. But for Ground-type specialists at the Elite Four level, Fissure was their trump card, their required coursework.
It was the mightiest Ground move. If it connected, it would knock the target out in a single hit. Aside from its low accuracy and the fact that it couldn't hit Flying-types, there were no drawbacks.
But Ground-type masters had all sorts of ways to boost Fissure's accuracy and shorten the move's startup time.
"Waaah, stop that!"
Kofu nearly had a heart attack.
"Hey, hey, this is Artazon! If you use Fissure at the art festival, you'll kill me!"
"I'll reimburse you!"
Rika yelled over her shoulder, and Iono quickly cut away from Kofu's freak-out.
"Nice! It's the massive-power Fissure!"
"Oooh, the whole ground is shaking! What's Hikaru-shi going to do? He's not dodging at all!"
The power of Fissure flooded along the first jagged crack that split the field. Riolu's eyes flared.
The Mind's Eye opened.
This time, however, it did not evade.
Boom.
When the surge of Ground-type energy exploded, Riolu stood in the middle of the smoke, arms braced in front of it, still on its feet.
"That's… that's a Focus Sash!"
Thanks to the battle company's software rollout and its cooperation with Devon Corp, plus the fact that Rika had seen the product listings centered around Sinjoh, she recognized the held item on Riolu at a glance.
An unbelievable sash woven from sheer fighting spirit and aura.
Even a move that should knock it out in a single hit wouldn't quite do the job.
"Earth Power!"
Rika hurried to follow up with another blow, but in that instant, Riolu's Aura synced perfectly with Hikaru's mind.
"That's right. This is also a tactic."
Tiny body.
Tremendous power.
Charcadet suddenly froze too. It had heard Riolu's Aura-voice.
Since the opponent had opened with Ground's ultimate attack…
Then it needed to show them one of Fighting's highest-tier techniques.
"You watch closely too."
Even if you never manage to learn this move yourself…
Those who walk the same path will eventually reach the same destination.
"Reversal!"
Use the Focus Sash to tank a devastating hit, then follow up with a Reversal at maximum power.
And that was only the first part of the combo.
A violent surge of ki exploded outward. Riolu's fist slammed squarely into Dugtrio.
Maximum-power Reversal. And there was no type resistance between Ground and Fighting.
Dugtrio's HP was frail to begin with. There was no way it could withstand that blow, and it collapsed on the spot.
Rika hadn't expected the first round to end in an instant. She quickly reached for another Poké Ball, but in that moment her instincts screamed at her.
Fighting-types never ended things that easily.
That Riolu's life force might be flickering like a candle in the wind now…
But still.
Years of honing herself in battle had sharpened Rika's warrior's intuition. She sensed danger.
"No!"
She immediately switched out the ball she'd been about to throw.
"Clodsire!"
The loaf of a Pokémon that looked like a chocolate bun was supposed to be her final trump card, yet here it was coming out in the mid-game.
Hikaru just smiled.
"Smart choice."
"But not quite fast enough."
"Clodsire, use Earthquake!" Rika issued her command, though the sense of looming danger only grew.
At last, she heard what Hikaru said next. He spoke the move clearly, and only then did she understand the source of that danger.
To Hikaru, Riolu had terrifying potential.
Compared to Lucario's straightforward brute-force build, Riolu in battle could execute all kinds of unorthodox strategies. Besides its use as a "coach" for others, its most famous trick was Copycat + Dig.
Copycat Dig: stay underground the entire battle so the opponent can never hit you, always striking first and dodging forever. It was the definition of a scummy tactic.
Granted, in reality that kind of play got you flattened by a single Earthquake.
But as long as you combined Copycat with the ability Prankster, Riolu had infinite potential.
It could even use a Focus Sash to pull off a "your move is mine now" style counterattack.
Against the dark horse Calyrex Shadow Rider, tank the hit with a Focus Sash, then throw back a Copycat Astral Barrage. The damage was absurd.
It could even use a delayed Close Combat, then Copycat its own move to create an effective "priority Close Combat."
Right now, Hikaru was going to use a variation on that theme.
"Copycat."
Riolu's eyes flared.
Prankster activated.
When it used a status move, its priority went up by one stage.
It copied itself, and the last move it had used was the powered-up Reversal.
So…
One more time.
"Priority Reversal!"
Speed stats no longer mattered. This was a move that would almost always hit first, especially at such close range.
The initial Bullet Punch hadn't been meant as damage.
It had been for closing the distance.
Riolu drove its fist forward again, ki howling like a gale.
The ground heaved and shattered, sand and dust erupting across the field. Clodsire, about to unleash Earthquake, was lifted off the ground and staggering, its attack interrupted.
Even with its enormous resistance to Fighting, Clodsire had to eat that heavy blow.
Rika was stunned. With the field in chaos, she couldn't even throw her Tera Orb.
If she'd gone for Ground Tera, she would have lost her Fighting resistance entirely, and Clodsire wasn't fast to begin with. It certainly wasn't faster than the little blue dog.
And that little blue dog…
This was insane.
On the surface its HP looked like it was hanging by a thread, but that was the trap.
Rika felt cold sweat running down her back.
If her second Pokémon hadn't been Clodsire but some other Ground-type, wouldn't it have just been punched into the dirt too?
Was she, an Elite Four member, really at risk of being unable to beat even a single baby Pokémon? Even if that Riolu's strength was off the charts, this was still…
Way too outrageous.
Off to the side, Iono's mind had already short-circuited.
"Wh-what just happened?! Eeeeh?!"
"R-Rika-onee-chan's first Pokémon has already gone down!"
[End of Chapter]
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]