"Go, Aegislash!"Following after Miltank, Yozora decisively sent out his second Pokémon.
"Oh! It's an Aegislash! Even in the Kalos region, this Pokémon is extremely rare! What an uncommon sight!"
The announcer praised with excitement, then quickly added with a grin:"Of course, Lightning's Arcanine is considered a local legend here in Kanto, and is also an extremely rare Pokémon!"
The announcer worked hard to hype up the battle.
On the field, Aegislash and Arcanine stood locked in a tense standoff.
The battlefield was still covered in ice—
Yet neither of them was an Ice-type. One was Steel, which could slice through Ice-types, and the other was Fire, which could melt them away…
Both had the power to dominate an Ice battlefield.
The pity was, neither opponent was actually Ice-type. The advantage of the terrain was completely wasted.
Of course, Fire trumps Steel.
In terms of type matchups, Arcanine had an overwhelming advantage over Aegislash.
"Raaah!"All of a sudden, Arcanine bared its fangs and let out a thunderous roar at Aegislash.
It had triggered Intimidate, pressing down on Aegislash with sheer force of will.
And yet…
Despite Arcanine's menacing aura, Aegislash remained utterly unfazed. Seeing this, Lightning's brows furrowed.
"Aegislash, huh? That's no ordinary Pokémon," he muttered, for the first time feeling the weight of pressure.
Lightning knew his Arcanine carried a special gift—it could suppress opponents of the same level or weaker with sheer presence, crippling them before the fight even began.
But this time…
Arcanine unleashed its aura in full, yet Aegislash hadn't budged an inch.
That could only mean one thing: Aegislash's level surpassed Arcanine's.
"Could that Aegislash be at the peak of Commander-tier… or even Lord-tier?" Lightning's heart trembled as he stared at Yozora.
Unbelievable.
Yozora was only a rookie who had debuted just a year ago. And yet he had raised a Lord-tier Pokémon? That was the kind of thing most people couldn't even imagine.
So this was what true genius looked like…
Lightning had been active for many years, training across Kanto and Johto. But he had never traveled to Kalos.
So this was his first time facing an Aegislash. It was foreign and unfamiliar, its secrets beyond his grasp.
Still, experience told him one thing for certain: it had to be Steel-type. Its entire body was made of steel—far too obvious to ignore.
"If it's Steel, then my Arcanine should hold the advantage!"
Lightning straightened his posture, then shouted boldly:"Arcanine, Flamethrower!"
"Raaah!"
Arcanine roared, charging forward at full speed while unleashing a torrent of flames.
It attacked while simultaneously closing the distance, ensuring the hit would land.
Like shooting a target at close range—the closer the mark, the higher the accuracy. It was a simple truth.
But then—
Aegislash moved faster. With a sudden flash, it slipped past the flames with uncanny precision.
"Use Aerial Ace!" Yozora commanded.
In an instant, Aegislash unsheathed itself and swept forward, its golden blade gleaming.
It darted around Arcanine's fiery blast, weaving through the pillars of flame as though mocking its opponent, its movements swift and fluid. The audience erupted with screams at the dazzling display.
"So fast!" Lightning himself gasped in shock.
Steel-types, as far as he knew, were almost always slow and cumbersome.
Take Skarmory in Johto, for example—it had excellent defense thanks to its steel armor, but when it came to speed, it couldn't compare with flying-types like Pidgeot or Noctowl.
But he didn't know—
Yozora's Aegislash possessed the Ability Light Metal, which halved its weight while maintaining its defense.
Because of that trait, Aegislash was nowhere near as heavy or sluggish as others of its kind. Its speed had effectively doubled.
No, it wasn't the fastest Pokémon in the world, but compared to most Steel-types, Yozora's Aegislash was blazing fast.
And with its massive level advantage on top of that…
Once Aegislash unleashed its speed, Arcanine had no way to keep up.
BOOM!
The arena rang with a thunderous impact.
Aegislash suddenly pivoted sharply midair, then slammed into Arcanine with terrifying force.
Arcanine let out a pained cry as it was sent flying, crashing to the ground. Its eyes squeezed shut in agony. It could no longer rise.
"Arcanine is unable to battle! Aegislash wins!"
The referee blew his whistle and raised the red flag toward Yozora's side.
"The match is decided! Incredible! Aegislash has taken down Arcanine in just a single blow!"
The announcer cried out in astonishment:"I've heard rumors that Aegislash has a unique dual-mode form—its Blade Forme and its Shield Forme! In Blade Forme, its offensive power is unmatched, while in Shield Forme, its defenses are ironclad! Judging by this battle, those legends seem absolutely true!"
"Woooaaah!"The stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.
Most of the audience were Kanto locals, many of whom had never even seen an Aegislash before. Witnessing its overwhelming might firsthand left them completely awestruck.
"A dual-mode Pokémon… if one can switch freely between high offense and high defense, and then add in this incredible speed… does such a broken Pokémon really exist in this world?" Lightning thought in disbelief, his confidence shaken.
High offense. High defense. High speed.
Wasn't that… invincibility itself?
(End of Chapter)