"One punch and…?!"
"Weavile is unable to battle!"
Rika hadn't expected the first Pokémon to go down that fast. She snapped her gaze to that unassuming little bear.
"Even with that kind of speed, it still couldn't dodge?"
Hikaru said, "Ability: No Guard."
"Kubfu trains itself in the mountains and forests, enduring harsh discipline, and takes pride in a fist style that always lands."
This was the kind of advantage you only got from "version bonuses"—the kind that hadn't even been implemented yet. But hey, a bonus is a bonus.
After all, it was so close. That ability nearly became real in the games.
If you were a Galar Kubfu, you'd never get No Guard for your entire life!
Underestimate this little martial arts master, and you'll end up with "this☆kind☆of☆ending"!
Grusha's expression tightened even further. Little by little, he dragged himself back from that overwhelming shock. His cheeks felt hot, like his earlier big talk was slapping him in the face.
Then he clenched his teeth.
"Altaria!"
Altaria was Grusha's ace!
And he sent it out immediately, clearly planning to use Flying-type STAB to crush Kubfu.
Hikaru nodded.
"Flying beats Fighting. Normally, that's true. So we trained a fist style specifically for dealing with fliers."
Grusha: "…A fist style for dealing with flying?"
Wait—No Guard!
His eyes went wide, and he barked, "Create distance and use ranged moves!!!"
Hikaru said, "Sky Uppercut!"
If a Flying-type backs off to fight at range, it's usually stuff like Air Slash or Hurricane!
Altaria beat its wings, the dragon-bird's face frozen in disbelief. That gray-white little bear erupted with terrifying momentum—then threw a punch that seemed to split the sky, a shockwave blasting straight into it and even sending it upward!
No—this was the jump power produced by the move itself!
A snow-mountain flying bear!
What was going on lately? First there was some rock dragon in the mountains that could beat it, and now there was a Fighting-type that could hit targets in the air?!
Blue light flared around Kubfu's fist.
"Haou…yogen!"
shou ryuu ken—Shoryuken!
This punch couldn't be avoided. The rising-dragon force didn't slow at all as it tore through the clouds!
One hit. Two hits. Three hits!
Kubfu's skyward barrage only got stronger. Altaria couldn't create distance at all!
Still, its feathers puffed up, managing to blunt the impact a little. That move was—
"Switch!"
Grusha yanked out a Poké Ball and recalled Altaria the instant it took a punch.
Flying beats Fighting?
Normally, sure!
But this wasn't "normal" anymore.
This Ice-type Gym Leader—who'd thought he'd seen everything—felt fear for the first time in ages.
Against a younger trainer at Elite Four level, even worse than that: against a baby Pokémon that didn't even look evolved… two punches had nearly shattered his pride.
And that was after only two exchanges!
His eyes shone brighter and brighter.
"I'm shaking…"
Shaking was what you did when you were afraid—like staring down a mountain snowfield. But shaking was also what you did when you were thrilled, when every ounce of attention locked onto the battle right in front of you.
The scene in front of him seemed to warp—was that fear spreading?
Since becoming a Gym Leader, since climbing and battling and improving nonstop, this feeling had faded more and more.
"So? Pretty strong, right?"
Rika's voice snapped Grusha out of his daze. He looked at the green-haired beauty.
"That guy hasn't even shown the real deal yet. If you don't want to lose too ugly, you'd better bring out everything you've got, right now!"
"Treat it like you're challenging a boss in a game. Wake up and focus!"
Rika snapped her fingers, and Grusha's mind tightened back into place.
Deep breath in. Breathe out.
"Third Pokémon!"
Altaria hadn't lost—it had only been switched out—but if he didn't send out a third, there was no way to handle that little bear.
Kubfu flipped back to the ground, slammed its fists together, and a fierce surge of aura exploded off its body. It immediately launched that power at the third Pokémon as it appeared.
One Pokémon, one fist style!
The third one was thick-skinned and built to take hits. Kubfu's eyes flashed, aura rolling like a tide!
A 150-power charging move!
No Guard — Focus Punch!
In the snowy mountain arena, a massive white, two-legged whale was summoned out by Grusha.
Cetitan!
"GRAAAH!"
Cetitan lived up to its name—an enormous, pure-white whale Pokémon. But it wasn't Water-type. It was Ice-type, moved on two legs, and belonged to the Land Whale category.
It had the tough muscles needed to support its huge body, five hard horns, and dense subcutaneous fat.
So one of its abilities was, naturally… Thick Fat.
That ability halves the damage of Fire- and Ice-type moves!
And while its defensive stats weren't especially high, it had a staggering base 170 HP—meaning even without great defenses, it could still grind down opponents and keep trading hits.
If this thing weren't Ice-type, its overall strength would jump multiple tiers.
The violent aura shoved Cetitan backward again and again, until it finally stopped in front of the shattered frozen rock from earlier—barely avoiding getting smashed into the cliff all over again.
Kubfu's gaze sharpened.
The white whale roared, pain spilling out of it with every breath. Kubfu pulled its fist back and hopped away several meters, panting lightly as it calmed the turbulent aura around itself.
And true to its reputation as a wall, Cetitan did tank the blow.
Hikaru said, "Even with a double weakness to Fighting, it could still take one hit… because it's holding the right Berry?"
"That's a Chople Berry, right? It triggers when hit by a super-effective Fighting-type move, and it halves the damage from that Fighting-type move once."
"Experts carry that Berry all the time. There are plenty of Pokémon weak to Fighting, after all."
"The flesh of that Berry is packed with heat-producing compounds and tastes spicy—basically essential in cold regions."
Cetitan opened its mouth and swallowed down a red Berry.
That Focus Punch really was brutal, but the Chople Berry helped it survive!
Hikaru glanced at the little bug beside him. Larvesta's five tendrils were already spewing "art flames," practically smoking as it itched to jump in.
"Switch."
"Go!"
Kubfu cupped its fists toward Cetitan. Under the whale's sweaty, wide-eyed stare, it withdrew from the field for now.
Next up was Larvesta. Cetitan took one look and finally felt its shoulders loosen.
It had Thick Fat, after all. A Fire-type wasn't that scary anymore—at least it could breathe for a second.
Who would've thought a Pokémon so much smaller than it could create that kind of pressure?
"Larvesta. Cetitan's fat doesn't fear flames."
Grusha shook his head. "Trying to evolve mid-battle? Then you picked the wrong opponent. Pulling Kubfu out was a mistake."
"I won't underestimate you again!"
The huge white whale—nearly five meters tall and 700 kilograms—was an overwhelming presence next to Larvesta.
Cetitan roared at Larvesta.
Among Bug-types, you're not small—but compared to me, you're a skinny little worm.
If I hit you with Heavy Slam, won't you just explode on the spot?
Oh. You resist Steel. Fine, then.
…You don't also know Fighting-type moves, right? You really don't, right?
"Me-la!"
Nope. Definitely not. Larvesta waved its tiny hands as if to say, Bugs absolutely cannot learn Fighting-type moves, so relax.
"Cetitan, Aqua Break!"
Grusha seized Larvesta's weakness! This chubby bug was doubly weak to Water!
And Cetitan was still a whale—of course it could use Water-type moves. In fact, it was one of its standard options. Even with Thick Fat, you needed counterplay against Fire-types, because sometimes you still got flipped.
Powerful water surged up around Cetitan, wrapping its body!
It slammed toward Larvesta with unstoppable momentum!
Using the power of water, it crashes into the target to attack. Sometimes it even lowers the target's Defense!
Some Pokémon fire Aqua Break like a projectile. Others—like Cetitan—wrapped themselves in the water and simply rammed straight in.
Sure, the power varied with the Pokémon's strength… but when it came barreling in like this, that 700-kilogram heavyweight collision was a "free bonus" on top.
Flame flickered in Larvesta's eyes.
Its five tendrils blasted fire, and it shot up like a tiny rocket!
Aqua Break missed!
"Gah?!"
Cetitan whipped its head left and right—then finally spotted Larvesta flying above like a miniature rocket. It froze like it'd been struck dumb.
Hey—what move is that?! Why isn't it in the move list?!
"Actually, it is."
Even without "rocket mode," Larvesta had learned Magnet Rise.
So the result was the same either way.
It just didn't usually need Magnet Rise when it already had rocket mode.
"That's the advantage of being small. Big guys have a much harder time getting airborne—aside from certain Pokémon…"
"Now then," Hikaru said. "Let's begin."
At Hikaru's command—under the wary eyes of Grusha and Cetitan—blazing sunlight poured down all at once!
Grusha stared as the ice and snow around them began to melt.
"Sunny Day?! Fire energy is rising…!"
"This is beyond belief… that's not normal Larvesta-level firepower!"
Hikaru said, "It's [Drought]."
"You're thinking the Larvesta in the desert don't have power like this, right?"
"Of course."
"My Larvesta hatched from an egg recovered from an ancient Unova city, dating back 3,000 years. In those distant ages, in an era without sunlight, Larvesta was called the messenger of the sun."
"It's the Torch Pokémon."
"In ancient civilizations, it was worshiped as a Pokémon born from the sun itself. Its flames can reach up to 3,000 degrees—hot enough to cut through iron plates. People used to believe its nest was on the sun."
"Which means, in terms of growth potential, it's on a completely different level from wild Larvesta in Paldea!"
Don't underestimate the strength of a fixed encounter Pokémon's descendants!
Everyone knows rare ones are strong—and once something gets mass-produced, it turns into fodder. It's practically a required tasting course.
(End of Chapter)
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