NFBE Chapter 544 - 542
Chapter 544 - 542
[Big Annoucement!][Hi, everyone!! months since I talked directly here xD, not really the best talker (maybe because I spend all day reading...) anyway! as how prices of everything is going up and everyday life is getting expensive I decided to reduce the price of my sub on P@tr30n.
I don't want to make my readers stop having a good time so this is the least I can do.
To coushion a little the lost of money I added a tier for people that want to support me and have access to the polls for new fanfics and incoming events. Just a 1 buck one xD.
The next event will be a poll to pick one of my fanfic to get 10 extra chapters!
Thanks for your support!]
The Tower of Fighting lit up, and at that moment, Grimsley, who was waiting in the Tower of Darkness, saw it.
"So it was even faster than I expected. Since it's Mr. Alder, then... I'll light mine too."
Grimsley had already made a wager with Hikaru before this, and a bet was a bet. Since he had lost, then even in something as serious as a League battle, he would absolutely abide by his own principles.
Gamblers might occasionally welsh on a bet, but he was not that kind of man with no sense of honor.
Besides, even if this turned into a gauntlet battle, so what if they had to fight all four matches? Grimsley knew Hikaru had taken Victini with him. Maybe he had not caught it, maybe they were simply friends, but either way, Grimsley had understood one thing in that instant:
A Trainer traveling with Victini would always win, no matter the battle.
And on top of that, Grimsley had also been to the Paldea region. He knew that shopkeeper had become one of the Elite Four. As fellow Elite Four members, Grimsley might only have a bit more experience, but the fact that the other man could become an Elite Four member in another region while also running a battle facility already proved his strength.
Any Elite Four member had the right to challenge for the Champion's seat. Even battle facility bosses were no exception. In Sinnoh, there was a Fire-type Elite Four member who constantly charged at the Champion's throne, only to lose again and again.
In Grimsley's view, before an official battle, it was hard to say which regional Champion was stronger or weaker. But in general, Elite Four members were still just a little short of Champions.
Maybe it was experience, age, technique... or maybe simply raw strength.
Grimsley shut off the communications in his room. From here on, it was no longer his concern. At the same time, through the window of the Tower of Darkness, he could see the Tower of Psychic in the distance.
Even from that far away, its light had already been on for a long time.
And only after quite a while had passed did Grimsley hear the sound of the central statue being activated and descending.
That made him a little confused.
"She stayed with Shauntal for a pretty long time... and now with Marshal too. Did Shauntal buy some strange new thing again? Or were she and Marshal exchanging martial arts insights or something?"
Grimsley did not understand, but he soon would.
When the sound of the statue stopped and faded away, Marshal arrived inside the Tower of Darkness.
"Oh, you startled me. I thought that shopkeeper was coming to beat me up again. I surrender, I surrender... Marshal, are you here to chat? So, how did it feel getting beaten? How many of his Pokémon did you manage to take down?"
Marshal walked up the spiraling red carpet and stopped in front of Grimsley.
"Hm. Just two. That's the disadvantage of a single-type Trainer fighting a multi-type Trainer. Still, raising Pokémon of every type well is no easy task either. Some people are just exceptionally good at training all sorts of Pokémon..."
"I came here because the shopkeeper taught me a move. Honestly, it was only a basic lesson, nowhere near mastery, but I actually succeeded this quickly. From here on out, if I want to truly master Flying, I'll have to train it myself."
"I was planning to ask him to teach me after he finished the whole challenge... Hm, and there's a share for you too."
Grimsley frowned, utterly baffled.
"...A share for me? What are you talking about? Flying?"
Marshal burst out laughing.
"Magnet Rise. Interesting, right? You know Hikaru's Riolu can fly, don't you? The way it erupts in lightning and shoots through the air at high speed - that's the combo of Magnet Rise and Extreme Speed."
"But if Riolu can learn that move, then Lucario can obviously learn it too. So that's the move I asked the shopkeeper to teach."
"And not just Riolu and Lucario, either."
"Clay's Excadrill, Elesa's Zebstrika, Cilan's Ferrothorn, Brycen's Vanilluxe, and your Bisharp... no, I guess it should be called Kingambit now!"
Grimsley's expression changed dramatically, and not in a good way.
"Huh? What did you just say? Those Pokémon... no, wait. Setting Vanilluxe aside, since that one already floats, the others can fly too?"
Marshal said, "They can't learn it normally, but they can through special move tutoring. There are people like that in cities everywhere. Give them the right colored shards and they'll teach ultimate moves. The shopkeeper's the same kind of guy!"
"At that point, together with the Pokémon belonging to Skyla, Shauntal, Caitlin, and Drayden that can already fly on their own... hm, the Pokémon of our region are basically all going to be flying now."
"This year's tournament has already started, but as far as I can tell, there probably won't be any competitors strong enough to match us Elite Four. If they're not walking the Champion's path, then their strength is probably still a bit lacking..."
"So I heard Hoenn has an aerial competition called Sky Battle. Want to go have some fun there later? Imagine Kingambit and Lucario flying around in the sky. We'd scare the life out of a whole lot of people."
——————
"This statue in the Unova League can move freely up and down through the air by channeling enormous amounts of energy. That's really incredible."
Hikaru looked at the giant statue that had descended from above to the next level. It seemed to be operating entirely through psychic power. The statue was connected to nothing above or below.
By taking the statue, one would be carried beneath the Unova League castle, then climb a long staircase to reach the Champion's chamber at the deepest part of the castle.
What left the strongest impression was probably the Champion's room from Black 2 and White 2. NPCs even mentioned that after Iris became Champion, the room had become extravagantly gorgeous, complete with dragon heads and sun, moon, and stars. It looked unbelievably cool.
But during Alder's era, the Champion's room had been much plainer. In the story, it had even been wrecked by N. Maybe that was why it had been renovated afterward.
And Iris becoming Champion with a purely Dragon-type team really did carry weight. Game, anime, manga - three continuities, three Champion titles. A lot of people thought she ranked toward the lower end among Champions, but that was mainly because of the battle system.
Now that Blueberry Academy was about to be established, once Paldean materials were brought over and ecological cores got developed, Iris would definitely throw some heavy punches and make all of Unova start playing with Terastallization.
What kind of useless mechanic were Gems, anyway? Use them once and the power vanished. Their boost even got nerfed from 1.5x down to 1.3x. At that point, why not just use a Life Orb?
The only good thing was that Gems were everywhere. Unova might lack all kinds of things, but money was not one of them. If Steven ever came to Unova on business, he'd probably forget all about Hoenn and never want to leave.
"Hoo... time to finish the pre-battle recovery."
Not fighting through the full Elite Four did give him a slight advantage against the Unova Champion. Everyone here was Elite Four level. Even if a Champion was one or two tiers stronger, if healing items were forbidden, it would be impossible to reach the Champion's room at all.
For example, if he could not use items to recover right now, then the only Pokémon he still had battle-ready would be Aegislash, Volcarona, and Torterra.
Hikaru thought for a moment, then paused while assigning held items.
"Aegislash... take this."
He placed a certain item into Aegislash's Poké Ball.
"Vini."
Hearing the familiar voice, Hikaru looked up and saw that Victini had dropped its invisibility.
Of course, Victini had been by his side the whole time, but it had not used its power. Instead, it had watched the last two battles with complete concentration.
As the Victory Pokémon, it was not especially good at fighting on its own, but it had a strange, instinctive passion for battle.
That was exactly why it was called the Victory Pokémon.
"Victini, you want to see the astonishing old man too?"
"Vini."
Victini crossed its arms, backpack on its back, and nodded seriously.
Mm. That final old man really couldn't be underestimated.
You have to do your best, Captain. And you have to be careful too.
Hikaru nodded.
"Yeah. You're right."
"The astonishing old man is real!"
As he crossed the long staircase and gazed at the solemn, towering castle before him, for some reason all Hikaru could think about was the scene of Team Plasma's castle rising into the sky.
Well, that spectacle back then really had been too absurdly huge. Compared to that, the League castle itself somehow lacked the same overwhelming presence...
Along the hundreds of steps, many broken stone pillars stood in the middle. Their texture and style were classic Greek architecture. Most of the tops were square, though, so he could not quite say that famous line.
"The broken parts really look like pillar-shaped spears."
Spear Pillar: Why are you stealing my introduction line?
"Still, the Unova League palace doesn't have any legend attached to it... and N definitely isn't going to suddenly show up and forcibly redecorate the place this time. So let me see just how astonishing this old man really is..."
To begin with, Alder, with his Volcarona, was definitely stronger than the original Alder had been. The original Alder also had a Volcarona, but that one had been descended from a dead Volcarona, so its strength had been noticeably lacking.
And after a whole new journey, Alder had definitely grown stronger too.
The cavernous Champion's chamber, with its towering Greek-style pillars, made it feel less like entering a room and more like stepping into some ancient temple. And living in a place styled like a ruin inevitably made one wonder...
Did this place even have electricity, water, and internet?
Mm. At the moment, it looked like it did.
Hikaru once again thought of Spear Pillar.
Or maybe not. The architecture of the Unova League really might have taken inspiration from the predecessor of Spear Pillar, the Sinjoh Ruins. One was a solemn gold, while the other was a sacred white.
After all, Alder's ancestors were also people of Sinjoh.
"Archie, Maxie, and Alder... their ancestors were once the leaders of the Diamond Clan, the Pearl Clan, and even older heroes of Sinjoh."
"People who should have had nothing to do with each other all gathered in Hisui a hundred and fifty years ago. There are actually descendants of Sinjoh bloodlines all over the world."
At the very top of the Champion's chamber was another flight of stairs. The solid pillars and flooring ensured that no matter how fierce the impact, this place would not collapse easily.
Of course, if Legendary Pokémon power got involved, that was another matter entirely.
And there, standing above him, was the red-haired old man in his cloak, his hairstyle radiant like the sun itself.
"Oh! You made it. Though, you took quite a bit longer than the time difference Grimsley mentioned..."
Alder turned around and greeted Hikaru in a casual voice full of anticipation.
"So, how was the Unova League challenge? Fun enough? Grimsley and Marshal told me you became one of the Elite Four elsewhere too. That's great, isn't it?"
"Even though you used to say you weren't good at battling, the knowledge you possess can be brought out at one hundred and fifty percent in battle. It would be a shame not to battle. And challenging the League is also a way to certify and test your own strength... just like exams at a Pokémon school!"
"But true understanding only comes through practice. Come to think of it, I haven't battled in quite a while either. After giving you that ancestral pendant, let me get just a little serious."
Hikaru replied, "I was delayed a little on Shauntal's and Marshal's sides. Please forgive me."
"I only ended up becoming one of the Elite Four in Paldea by chance, and that League is a rising one. The salary there is very high. They also allow me access to certain restricted areas, so I'd say the authority that comes with the position is pretty substantial."
Watching Alder standing up there, Hikaru was genuinely worried the man might jump down the next second.
After all, Alder was the legendary cliff-diving hermit. In Black and White, several of his appearances started with him jumping off cliffs. He was a true Super Unovan.
If he had not wanted to throw hands with N, then during that final battle, if Alder had really gotten serious, N would never have made it out of that room. He would have been elbowed clear out of the League.
Hikaru asked, "Your Volcarona is completely fine now?"
Alder nodded.
"That guy's in perfect shape. It's been looking forward to battling you."
Hikaru smiled.
"I accepted your invitation and lived up to your expectations. I came here. Please allow me to challenge you."
Alder's gaze sharpened.
"Sure. This is the moment! Anyone who defeats the Champion is recorded in the Hall of Fame! What I've been hoping for is to let someone like you be passed down forever along with the history of this world!"
"Then... here I come!"
It was as if a tense, blazing battle theme had started playing in the background as Alder assumed his stance. Even the colors of his cloak seemed to shift slightly.
Thankfully, the scene Hikaru had been imagining - Alder suddenly equipping some sort of Arceus suit - did not happen, and that made him quietly breathe easier.
If Alder had started this match by putting on an Arceus outfit, then Hikaru could only say this League challenge would have become a matter of participation.
He had made one himself, but that one was for Cynthia to wear. If he put it on, it would not do a thing.
Cross-dressing to get stronger? No thank you.
"My first Pokémon!"
"Accelgor!"
Alder's lead was fixed as Accelgor. With its blistering base Speed of 145, Accelgor had once dominated battlefields for a time.
And on Hikaru's side, the one he sent out was, of course, Hisuian Lilligant.
That move... it was finally time to use it!
"Lilli!"
Lilligant was already prepared with a Flying Gem. Looking at the Accelgor speeding toward her, she was only an instant away from unleashing that hidden finishing strike.
The move Hikaru had been preparing all this time.
The move he had prepared specifically for Bug-type Pokémon.
"Flying Gem! When that move is used while holding a Flying Gem, the Gem effect activates first, and then the damage is dealt!"
"So both the Flying Gem boost and the effect that doubles the move's power will activate!"
Base power 110, with Flying Gem increasing the damage by 30 percent.
And that was not all.
A light dance in the wind turned into slicing air currents, and under the effects of Hustle, the move's power climbed even higher.
But at that exact moment, Accelgor's aura suddenly surged.
A violent wind slash flew out from Accelgor's hands first!
"Final Gambit?! No...!"
In that instant, Accelgor's speed exceeded Hikaru's expectations. His nerves tightened, and he sent a silent order.
Use Role Play!
At the critical last moment, Lilligant's eyes flashed, and then a burst of brilliant light exploded from her body.
In a flash, the attack carrying Flying Gem-powered Acrobatics became a sweeping current of wind that spread through the entire chamber, and Accelgor's strike missed completely.
The flying wind let both sides land lightly on the ground, and the instant Accelgor touched down-
A blade of wind struck its vital point with perfect accuracy.
"Aerial Ace!"
Lilligant's Aerial Ace hit Accelgor in a single blow and knocked away its held item.
"Ability: Unburden!"
Hikaru had already seen through that Accelgor's Ability. Since it had been holding a Berry that reduced Flying-type damage, its Ability had not activated immediately. But after Lilligant lost her Flying Gem, she could trigger that Ability herself with perfect precision.
Unburden: when a Pokémon loses its held item, its Speed doubles.
However, if it begins the battle with no held item at all, the effect cannot activate. That was important to remember.
The astonishing old man scratched his head and laughed heartily.
"Amazing! You activated the Flying Gem first, then used Role Play. That's the move that copies the opponent's Ability, right? So you triggered Unburden early, dodged the attack, and then struck back afterward with an Aerial Ace that never misses!"
Alder's cloak fluttered in the wind.
"Of course, thinking that move was Final Gambit was wrong. That was Me First. That was close."
Me First let the user steal the damaging move the opponent was about to use. If the target selected an attacking move that turn, the user would act first with that same move, but at 1.5 times the power.
The move Accelgor had just used was obviously Acrobatics.
Alder looked a little puzzled by Hikaru's earlier assumption.
"Now then, why would you think I'd use a move like that?"
He looked surprised, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Final Gambit, huh? Well, with Accelgor's Speed, it really could pull off a one-for-one trade."
"But when I see those battle facility bosses sometimes, I can't help wondering: do their Pokémon really want to use a move like that?"
"No, I'm not talking about the fact that the Pokémon itself faints from it. I mean that if it didn't use Final Gambit, it might deal even more damage afterward, maybe even help turn the whole battle around."
"Still, those battle facility bosses told me that this is also part of strategy. So yes, I've seen Accelgor use Final Gambit before."
Acrobatics normally had a base power of 55, but with no held item it doubled to 110, which made it perfect for Pokémon with Unburden. If Accelgor used Me First to copy that move, then its power rose by another 50 percent, making it...
A Flying-type attack with an effective base power of 165.
And it was four times super effective against Lilligant.
On top of that, Accelgor's level was higher than Lilligant's.
After all, Alder's team, aside from Volcarona, was entirely level 75.
Levels 68 to 80 were basically the standard Champion team range. Excluding the Silver Mountain deity and the wildly inflated Scarlet and Violet roster, Champions across the series mostly fell within that band.
Alder burst out laughing.
"Bug-types are afraid of Flying-type moves most of all. Facing that weakness, do you think I wouldn't make preparations? A Coba Berry to resist Flying, of course!"
"But don't worry. I won't use a move like Final Gambit."
"Because I love Pokémon. I want to keep battling alongside them for as long as possible, right up until the end of my life!"
Hikaru drew a breath.
"Me First is a move Grimsley has used before... right, Alder serves as the mentor of the Elite Four, so there are some moves he's incredibly proficient with too."
Now Accelgor had triggered Unburden as well.
Its already outrageous Speed of 145 would double in an instant.
In a generation where Speed tiers were not yet quite as absurd as later ones, 145 was already enough to dominate nearly everything. After doubling, its effective Speed became 290, enough to terrify just about anyone.
"But remember this: once Unburden activates, if the Pokémon gains a new item, loses Unburden, or switches out, the effect disappears!"
"Of course, the moves and items that can swap held items, like Trick and Switcheroo, aren't things ordinary Pokémon can usually learn. And Bestow is similarly restricted, with a very narrow distribution."
"With Speed that high, plus resistance to both Grass and Fighting, Lilligant's doubled Speed only reaches 218, and in actual battle the gap is even bigger."
"Grass/Fighting Hisuian Lilligant isn't actually weak to Bug at all, and Accelgor's movepool also completely lacks Flying-type attacks."
"Pure Bug has only three weaknesses. It takes neutral damage from a ton of things, but its resistance profile is unexpectedly narrow - only Grass and Fighting."
"So this really is a fated rival matchup. But trying to win a speed contest with Accelgor is impossible. And if a Flying-type move lands, it'll knock the opponent out in one hit. In that case, switch!"
The control bracer on Hikaru's arm flashed with a blinding red light and instantly recalled Lilligant.
In the next moment, Aegislash roared onto the field in her place.
And Alder swung out an arm.
"Double Team!"
Its evasiveness rose sharply.
Alder said, "Still, Bug-types don't really have a good way to deal with Steel-types..."
"But at this kind of Speed, maybe I can still break through your Pokémon. What item is your Aegislash holding, I wonder?"
"Rain Dance. Water Shuriken!"
Alder knew perfectly well that if he wanted to deal meaningful damage to Hikaru's Aegislash, Water was essential. And Accelgor had a Special Attack of 100.
Under rain, Water Shuriken came flying out. If it hit the full five times, then even without STAB its expected power would reach 112. This was a move only Accelgor and Greninja could learn, so there was no such thing as so-called type flavor here.
"King's Shield!" Hikaru called.
Even after one use of Autotomize, Aegislash still could not outspeed Accelgor. After all, the thing had agility in its very name.
A huge golden shield unfolded, and every strike of Water Shuriken was completely nullified. Aegislash entered its Stance Change state.
Then Aegislash hurled its shield out once more!
Accelgor flashed aside and dodged the shield throw, and even Alder could not help but complain, "Hey, what kind of move is shield throw? No, that's not even a move. You literally just threw the shield!"
"Still, interesting. Even if throwing the shield isn't a move, it creates the same effect as Autotomize on your own body. Hm. Very curious."
On Hikaru's side, he was thinking that Aegislash had always been fast in the past.
He had told it before that it would actually be better if its Speed were lower, so it could use King's Shield more effectively. But later he found that it could control its own tempo just fine, so there was no need to meddle.
And now, it was time to raise that Speed when it really mattered.
At +4 Speed, the original stat would effectively rise by 300 percent.
But Aegislash blurred sideways and instantly dodged Accelgor's U-turn. At the same time, the blade spun violently in midair.
"I'm going to force Accelgor off the field!"
"The moment it switches out, it loses Unburden immediately. And Lilligant used Role Play. Once she leaves the field, her Ability returns from Unburden to Hustle!"
That would be hugely advantageous for Lilligant.
Alder said, "Let's restore the HP I lost first. Recover!"
Light began to gather around Accelgor as it prepared to heal.
Now!
"Shadow Sneak!"
As Aegislash's only priority move, using its shadow to launch a sudden strike was not only extremely fast, but also incredibly convenient.
Pure Bug did not resist Ghost either, and Aegislash's Shadow Sneak landed cleanly on Accelgor, injuring it.
Whew. Recover still went off, but naturally the amount restored was less than it would have been otherwise. After offsetting the damage it had taken, Accelgor immediately used Double Team again.
Its evasiveness rose, and suddenly its shadows filled the entire field.
Hikaru took a deep breath.
"Remember how to draw out an invisible enemy."
"Use the sword art that cuts down the unseen!"
Aegislash's eye gleamed with spiritual force.
The move: Foresight.
It found Accelgor's true body.
Alder let out a surprised shout.
"Oh! What was that? You saw through the real one? Some kind of battle technique? This is my first time seeing it!"
Hikaru replied, "A legendary martial art passed down in Johto. Raised evasion no longer factors into hit checks, and it can also strike targets with immunity matchups!"
Aegislash's giant blade came crashing down.
At that exact moment, Alder let out a quick cry, almost like a whistle, as if it were some unspoken signal between him and his old partner.
Accelgor moved first again.
"Me First!"
And this time, the move it copied was...
Well, whatever it was, the power rose by 50 percent.
Accelgor struck Aegislash!
However-
"Got you. That's enough."
Hikaru smiled, and Accelgor instantly realized something was wrong. In the next second, Aegislash's massive shield grabbed hold of it.
"If I can't force out Unburden, then grabbing it directly works too!"
"Block!"
"It cuts off the target's escape route and leaves it unable to flee. And Block never misses!"
"Now hold it there and use Air Slash!"
The blessing of the north wind had once granted Aegislash Flying-type moves, and this was completely legal and aboveboard.
But in the very next instant, Alder decided to withdraw Accelgor.
"U-turn!"
Block could not stop U-turn. Accelgor was going to use Aegislash's body as a springboard to activate the move.
A dangerous light flashed in Aegislash's eye.
You'll be the first one I take down.
"Swords Dance!"
Aegislash suddenly began to dance, and at the same time the huge shield floating in midair abruptly turned around under telekinetic control at an impossible angle.
And right now, Aegislash was in Blade Forme.
Stance Change.
In an instant, Accelgor struck Aegislash and turned into a red streak as it prepared to return to Alder's side.
But right then-
The enormous shield slammed into Accelgor's back with a thunderous crash, dealing massive damage!
"That was- Whoa, how did that work?" Alder said in surprise.
Accelgor still managed to switch out successfully, but...
It had taken heavy damage, nearly enough to knock it out. It was in a dangerously bad state.
Alder looked at the Poké Ball, then at Aegislash, and immediately realized that Swords Dance had been setting up for a specific moment.
"You were waiting for that exact instant?"
Hikaru answered, "The move was Pursuit! If the target is trying to switch out, Pursuit immediately strikes the Pokémon that's attempting to leave the field!"
Alder laughed.
"Ahaha, I see! If U-turn's user moves first, then before it can leave, it gets hit by a doubled-power Pursuit."
"I never expected a Steel-type Pokémon to use a move like that!"
"It resists Bug four times over, which is exactly why I wanted to switch Accelgor out. Leaving it in would have made battling impossible... you turned the tables on me."
Looking at Alder laughing and scratching his head, Hikaru thought of something else.
People said Alder was a multi-type Champion, but in practice, the proportion of Bug-types on his Champion team was so high that many people also called him a Bug Champion.
Still, Black 2 and White 2 made it clear that Alder also had Braviary, Krookodile, Reuniclus, Conkeldurr, and Chandelure. The range of attributes in his team really was wide. His whole role was that of the Elite Four's mentor.
But Aegislash resisted Bug fourfold, so even in Blade Forme, with its lower defenses, none of that mattered.
Hikaru said, "To a Steel-type Pokémon, attacks like that barely even tickle!"
Alder replied, "I know. In Paldea, your Elite Four specialty seems to be Steel, right? That makes this very unfavorable for me. Come to think of it, Unova doesn't seem to have any true Steel-type specialists. Just you, maybe?"
"So you're not planning to fight in the King's stance? Then what exactly are you planning? Building power, perhaps?"
"In that case, I'll send out a Pokémon that can actually hit you. The blessings of the gods, hm? That's a bit unfair, really. Still, Aegislash in Blade Forme doesn't have strong defenses, so the only real answer is to keep baiting you into staying in that offensive posture, isn't it?"
When Hikaru heard that, he thought carefully for a moment.
No Steel specialists in Unova?
On the surface, that was true enough. But if one counted the Heaven's Tower Elite Four, then that was another story entirely. There really was a hidden Steel expert there.
The number of hidden masters in Unova was arguably the highest in the series.
And as Alder spoke, under the falling rain, white cold air suddenly rose.
A Pokémon that looked like a Casteliacone brought to life, Vanilluxe, appeared out of nowhere.
Aegislash immediately raised its shield.
But Vanilluxe giggled.
"Taunt," Alder commanded, precise and forceful.
"Weather Ball."
Under the rain, the 100-power Water-type Weather Ball roared forward like a rushing torrent and slammed into Aegislash in Blade Forme.
"Switch!"
Hikaru did not hesitate. He immediately withdrew Aegislash, and in a blaze of harsh sunlight, Volcarona, which had an absolute advantage over Ice-types, took the field.
Then, in the very next moment, Alder suddenly closed his eyes, as if feeling something, and sharply swept out his arm with a command.
"Sheer Cold."
"Mera?!"
Harsher than Blizzard, colder than any storm, the freezing air surged forth like the frigid calamity that swept across northern Unova, like the snowstorm from myth that could freeze the entire world.
Sheer Cold hit Volcarona instantly.
Under that overwhelming force of absolute frost, the little bug, a sun god in miniature, was knocked out in a single blow.
"Sorry about that."
Looking at Hikaru's changed expression, Alder slowly opened his eyes. It was as if he had already foreseen this moment, and his face had become solemn.
"All stories have endings. All life reaches its end one day too."
"It's a good thing I hit, because the feeling your Volcarona gave me... was dangerous."
Volcarona, the little sun god, had been instantly defeated, because Sheer Cold was a one-hit KO move. Even under harsh sunlight it would not fail because of the weather. Ice-type moves merely lost their ability to freeze the target.
Alder was a true Volcarona expert. Hikaru naturally understood what he meant.
And that state just now...
This old Champion, as both a sage and a philosopher, had spent longer with his Pokémon. That made it easier for him to enter...
Synchronization.
Mm. Illegal Quiver Dance usage. And now the Champion had delivered judgment.