"Wartortle, use Icy Wind!"
Tang Jinyu adjusted his glasses and immediately commanded his Wartortle to unleash a lethal opening move against Gible.
Wartortle could learn quite a few Ice-type techniques.
Blizzard was the strongest among them, with Ice Beam coming next.
As for Ice Punch and Icy Wind, those were comparatively low-power moves—basic Ice-type techniques that were easier to learn.
Because they sounded weaker, the amount of Ice-type energy required to perform them was also far lower.
However—
Although Icy Wind was much easier to learn than Ice Beam or the Ice-type ultimate move Blizzard,
its secondary effect made it an extremely practical support and speed-control skill.
Icy Wind:
A freezing wind is blasted at the opponent, dealing damage and lowering their Speed.
"Kame—!"
Wartortle opened its mouth and exhaled a breath of icy air, frost swirling within the blast.
While Icy Wind didn't boast high base power, under four-times effectiveness, even the weakest Ice-type move could be absolutely fatal to Gible once it connected.
"Gible, spin in place—use Sand Tomb to block it!"
Serena immediately issued precise instructions to her Dragon-type partner.
Facing Gible's most deadly weakness—Ice-type moves—Serena had already rehearsed countless scenarios and prepared multiple countermeasures in advance.
In the end, all responses boiled down to two core ideas:
Increase Gible's resistance to Ice-type damage
Reduce the damage taken from frontal hits
Following advice from her online friend [Bamboo Basket Scoops Water in Vain],
Serena had decided not to publicly reveal that Gible could use Dragon Dance—at least not yet.
Still, if the situation truly demanded it,
she had no intention of holding back forever.
"Kapu—!"
Gible's gaze sharpened as it spun rapidly in place.
Its movements resembled the opening steps of a Dragon Dance, but the real purpose was to whip up a violent sand vortex, forming a barrier against the incoming Icy Wind.
The result was… surprisingly effective.
Wartortle was a pure Water-type, not a Water/Ice dual-type Pokémon,
so the raw power of its Icy Wind was fairly average.
The energy output simply wasn't strong enough to break through the sandstorm shield raised by Gible.
"Now—Gible, use Dragon Rage!"
"Kapu—!"
Gible opened its mouth wide, and a blazing, fireball-like blast shot straight through the swirling sandstorm, flying directly toward Wartortle.
At a glance, it looked like a Fire-type move—something akin to Ember or Flame Burst—
but in reality, it was nothing more and nothing less than Dragon Rage.
To be honest, even Serena herself felt somewhat confused about how Dragon Rage truly worked in real Pokémon battles.
Was it fixed damage?
Or variable damage?
Taken to the extreme—
If a Mega-evolved Rayquaza, the Sky God itself, unleashed a Dragon Rage,
would it really be locked to dealing only a flat "40 damage"?
And would it truly deal zero damage to even the weakest Fairy-type Pokémon?
…Probably not.
Combining information from both Pokémon games and the anime,
a reasonable conclusion emerged:
Dragon Rage was a move with a high lower bound, but a low upper limit.
For high-level, overwhelmingly powerful Dragon-type Pokémon,
Dragon Rage was beneath them.
But in low-level battles—
especially among rookie trainers—
It was practically a dimension-breaking move,
capable of steamrolling beginner-tier matches with ease.
As Serena and Gible fought fiercely in the Sprout Cup, rising through the ranks of this freshman tournament…
The butterfly effect triggered by this seemingly small victory
was already beginning to ripple through the wider Pokémon world.
"Instructor Hassel! Instructor Hassel! Come look—I've got an amazing Baxcalibur team video to show you!"
Hassel was a man of impeccable discipline.
As a member of the Elite Four, he was serious and composed, often referring to himself in the most formal manner.
He was also a Dragon-type specialist of the Paldea region,
and in addition to his Elite Four duties, he served as an art instructor at Naranja Academy / Uva Academy.
However, the person calling him "Instructor Hassel" in such a familiar, playful tone
wasn't one of his students.
It was his colleague—
Iono, Gym Leader of Levincia City,
and a massively popular Poke-TV internet celebrity.
Under normal circumstances, Serena's current fame was nowhere near enough to draw widespread attention.
Even if she achieved high-ranked battles, produced spectacular matches, or constructed an outstanding team—
Only a handful of early followers like [Bamboo Basket Scoops Water in Vain] would know about it.
But Iono?
Who was Iono?
—It's me, Iono!
She was a Gym Leader who debuted as a content creator,
and even now, she remained a hardcore internet surfer.
After being tagged repeatedly by fans to watch a certain video,
and with no Gym challenges or livestreams scheduled that day,
Iono figured she might as well take a look.
And then—
"Absolutely incredible video.
It made my Baxcalibur spin nonstop.
Love from Paldea!"
She didn't know who had originally created this team strategy,
but she instantly recognized its quality.
The strength was undeniable.
That said, a Baxcalibur-centered team didn't suit Iono,
who specialized in Electric-type Pokémon.
But for Hassel,
whose ace was none other than Paldea's pseudo-legendary Baxcalibur—
This build was perfect.
So, the very moment she finished watching the video,
the enthusiastic and outgoing Iono immediately forwarded the strategy to her superior.
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