A series of furious cries suddenly echoed across the mountainside.
"ABOMASNOW!"
Several white figures emerged through the falling snow, their green limbs and bulky bodies standing out against the frozen slope.
Grant immediately recognized them.
"Abomasnow. Stay alert."
There were at least eight of them, enough to form a small group. Most stood around two meters tall, glaring down at the expedition from higher ground with obvious hostility.
Ryan reached for his Poké Balls.
"Prepare for battle."
Three flashes of light illuminated the snow.
A Venusaur appeared first, followed by Vileplume and Exeggutor. All three were Grass-types, making Ryan's specialization immediately obvious.
Grant released his own team a moment later.
Metagross landed heavily in the snow, its four steel limbs digging into the frozen ground. Aggron emerged beside it in a suit of natural armor, while Skarmory spread its metallic wings overhead.
Compared with Ryan's lineup, Grant's team was clearly built for a much heavier fight.
The Abomasnow did not give them much time to assess the situation.
"ABOMASNOW!"
The largest two stepped forward, and the rest of the group followed their lead.
Grant's expression hardened.
"They're attacking. Fire!"
Energy rifles came up almost immediately.
A volley streaked toward the slope, striking the advancing Abomasnow. Six of them were only Elite-level, and the shots tore through their thick coats hard enough to leave visible injuries.
The two leaders were different.
Both had reached Gym-level, and the energy rounds produced little more than flashes against their bodies.
One of them roared.
Cold energy erupted around it, and the falling snow suddenly intensified.
Within seconds, the entire mountainside disappeared behind a raging Blizzard.
The naturally frozen environment only made the attack more violent. Wind and ice tore down the slope toward the expedition, swallowing everything in white.
"Metagross, Protect!" Grant shouted.
"Venusaur, you too!"
Both Pokémon moved to the front.
Two barriers flared into existence just as the Blizzard struck.
BOOM!
The shields shuddered beneath the impact as ice and snow hammered against them, but they held, sheltering the expedition behind them.
Aaron looked past the barrier toward the largest Abomasnow.
"Charizard."
The dragon was already airborne.
"Flamethrower!"
"GRAAAZARD!"
Golden fire erupted from Charizard's mouth.
The flames tore through the snowstorm like a burning spear, vaporizing the snow in their path as they raced straight toward the Abomasnow leader.
The Pokémon reacted immediately.
Ice gathered around one massive fist.
"ABOMA!"
It drove forward with Ice Punch, meeting the Flamethrower head-on.
For less than a second, the two attacks collided.
Then the ice vanished.
Charizard's golden flames overwhelmed the punch almost instantly and engulfed the Abomasnow before it could retreat.
BOOM!
A burst of steam and smoke exploded across the mountainside.
When the air finally cleared, the leader was lying unconscious in the snow, its body scorched and motionless.
One attack.
That was all it had taken.
Aaron was not particularly surprised. The Abomasnow had been Gym (Peak Stage), but its Grass/Ice typing left it devastatingly vulnerable to Fire. Against Charizard's enhanced flames, trying to stop Flamethrower with Ice Punch had been about the worst possible choice.
The rest of the expedition was considerably less composed.
For a moment, even the battle around them seemed to fade into the background as people stared at Charizard hovering above the snow.
Someone finally muttered, "Was that really Flamethrower?"
The golden fire had looked nothing like the ordinary version of the move.
Grant watched the defeated Abomasnow for a few seconds before glancing up at Charizard.
His expression became complicated.
Back when Aaron attended the training camp, Charizard had still been nowhere near this level.
Now he had just dropped a Gym (Peak Stage) Pokémon with a single attack.
Grant sighed.
"This kid's getting ridiculous."
And the battle had only just begun.