Shiro's eyes sharpened as the data panel of Togekiss flashed before him.
[Name: Togekiss
Type: Flying/Normal
Level: 53
Ability: Hustle
Held Item: None
Moves: Air Slash, Sky Attack, Tri Attack, Extreme Speed, Aura Sphere, Growl, Pound, Life Dew, Ancient Power, Yawn, Metronome, After You, Double-Edge, Safeguard, Baton Pass, Last Resort, Wish…]
An Elite-level Togekiss, just as expected.
Drakloak was level 57, and as a pseudo-legendary, its raw strength still held the advantage.
Its Ghost-type and the opponent's Normal-type canceled each other out, yet Dragon and Flying had no special interactions.
Shiro's thoughts flashed by as he raised his voice.
"Drakloak, Phantom Force to close in, then hit with Dragon Tail!"
Drakloak twisted and vanished, leaving only a strand of black mist behind.
"Hm?"
Opal had no time to hesitate and she gave her command.
"Use Work Up!"
Work Up boosted attack and special attack. Since Togekiss was immune to Ghost moves, she intended to raise its strength first. Of course there was also the follow-up move, but as long as Drakloak could not take it down in one hit, her plan would remain safe.
A faint light glowed around Togekiss as it raised its wings and boosted its power.
Drakloak slipped out from behind it like a flicker of shadow. Its tail swept forward. Blue dragon energy wrapped around the transparent limb.
Vmm!
A thin sound cut the air. Many in the audience held their breath.
What no one expected was how fast Togekiss finished its boost. It drifted sideways to dodge.
"That was quick."
Even Shiro was surprised. The way Togekiss used Work Up felt like instinct. It activated the move before Opal even finished speaking.
Yet it was still slower than Dragon Tail.
The blue tail curved and struck. Togekiss could not escape. The strike didn't look fierce, but the force behind it made the white creature twist as pain ran down its spine.
"Kiiss…"
Drakloak whipped through it without hesitation. Togekiss flipped several times in the air before barely stabilizing.
Both trainers followed up at the same time.
"Drakloak! Quick Attack!"
"Togekiss, Protect!"
A gray blur brushed across a green shield. Drakloak failed to break through the barrier.
Opal let out a breath. Her expression darkened.
She checked Togekiss's condition. Its feathers were messy. One Dragon Tail had nearly taken it out of the sky.
Her original strategy would not work anymore. Drakloak was much stronger than expected, and Shiro did not allow even a second of breathing room. Togekiss would not last another clean hit.
"Use Baton Pass!" she shouted.
The moment Shiro heard her, his eyes flashed. He answered instantly.
"Drakloak! Dragon Dance!"
The green shield had not faded yet when both Pokémon moved at once.
Bright light shimmered around them. They completed their moves almost at the same time. Opal already held a Poké Ball ready to switch.
Shiro refused to waste even a second.
"Again. Dragon Dance!"
He did not choose to try to finish Togekiss while it was about to pass its boost. Instead, he wanted Drakloak to push its stats as much as it could.
He could tell this Togekiss had been raised specifically for boosting its stats and passing them on. After taking damage, its fighting power was already too low to pose any threat.
The real danger was the next Pokémon Opal would send out. That one would be her true trump card, a Pokémon capable of sweeping entire teams. The smart play was to use this chance to let Drakloak stack two Dragon Dances to prepare for that incoming threat.
Opal threw her Poké Ball.
"Go, Mawile!"
A small, yellow, doll-like Pokémon leapt into the battlefield.
Its oversized jaw was formed from a steel horn that had reshaped itself over years of training. It often used its harmless appearance to lull opponents into carelessness before whipping around and biting with that massive maw.
Shiro focused his senses and scanned its data.
[Name: Mawile
Type: Steel
Level: 57
Ability: Sheer Force
Held Item: Life Orb
Moves: Astonish, Growl, Baton Pass, Bite, Stockpile, Swallow, Spit Up, Sucker Punch, Iron Defense, Crunch, Sweet Scent, Iron Head, Taunt, Fake Tears, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch…]
A Mawile with a Life Orb.
Shiro was taken aback for a moment.
This was the first time he had seen a trainer in Galar use held items during a battle. Galar lacked the resources for item-based strategies, and long-standing traditions made trainers avoid them. Held items were almost nonexistent.
Some items weren't as magical as in the games, but they still increased battle performance.
Like the Life Orb. It increased move power in exchange for draining a Pokémon's stamina.
But this Mawile's ability was Sheer Force.
Sheer Force also increased the power of moves that had secondary effects, but it removed those extra effects entirely.
For example, Iron Head could cause flinching. With Sheer Force, the chance to flinch disappeared, while the damage increased.
Life Orb's stamina drain counted as a "secondary effect," so Sheer Force could negate it.
If Opal had chosen this combination, she clearly understood exactly what she was doing.
When Mawile appeared, Shiro immediately ordered Drakloak to rise higher into the sky and keep its distance.
With Drakloak's small frame, taking a double-boosted Iron Head would likely knock it out instantly.
* * *
Wyndon Stadium Lobby.
The trainers who had finished their matches gathered here, along with several League staff watching the giant screen.
Edgar sat on a sofa near the right side, muttering softly, "Opal must have raised a new Mawile."
Shae nodded. "At least ten years of raising. The Mawile we saw before probably couldn't withstand this kind of intensity."
"It's also a lot stronger than her old one." Edgar frowned. "Do you remember how her Mawile used moves that always hit harder than expected? It could unleash Gym-level strength when it was only at Advanced-level. When it reached Elite-level, its moves hit like a new Champion-level Pokémon."
Shae narrowed her eyes and stayed quiet.
In their own Champion Cup that year, she had been eliminated by Opal. That Mawile's inexplicably high damage had nearly broken her mentality. Now that she looked back after so many decades, it had to be its ability combined with a specific item.
"Sheer Force must be the ability. But... what item?" Shae had little experience with held items, so she could not guess.
Edgar shook his head. He had no idea either. He wasn't fond of item-based battles.
"Well obviously it's a Life Orb." Marvin, who had been openly eavesdropping with his chin over the sofa's backrest, spoke as if it were obvious.
"Life Orb?"
Both elders turned toward him with sharp eyes.
"Life Orb..." Edgar muttered. "I remember it increases damage at the cost of draining stamina."
"Right, that's Life Orb." Shae caught the key point. "And Sheer Force cancels the Life Orb's drawback."
She looked back at the Mawile on the screen as it unleashed move after move, now almost certain of her guess.
Then she slowly lifted her gaze and stared at Marvin.
Marvin froze. A familiar chill crawled up his spine. He sucked in cold air.
"W-why are you looking at me like that? I didn't do anything!"
"Where did you learn other people's secret training methods?" Edgar asked.
Shae nodded sharply. In her mind, Marvin had always been a slow-thinking kid. He couldn't suddenly become enlightened and correctly guess something this specific. He was born and raised in Galar. Without researching on purpose, he shouldn't even recognize these items.
"I... I thought everyone knew..." Marvin scratched his head in confusion. "Shiro told me. And he mentioned stuff like raising Galar Darmanitan, how a Gorilla Tactics one combos with a Choice Band, and something about Ferrothorn with Iron Barbs holding… uh... something... I forgot..."
He grabbed his head in both hands and rubbed it, yet nothing returned to him. He gave up.
Shae's eyes softened. Everything made sense again.
Marvin was still Marvin, a hard-working but talent-light boy. Everything he said came from Shiro. Its just the boy hadn't even bothered to memorize those precious pieces of knowledge.
Unbelievable.
Shae's expression showed pure frustration.
Edgar was more amused. He had already guessed the source. This kind of valuable trainer knowledge likely came from Shiro's mother in Kanto. Maybe she had belonged to a major force there before somehow ending up in Galar...
His thoughts drifted as he smiled and waved Marvin closer.
"Marvin, do you remember..."
* * *
VIP room of the stadium.
Rose smiled broadly.
"With Sheer Force plus a Life Orb, along with the boosts passed on from Togekiss... Shiro's Drakloak won't withstand a single hit. Opal will sweep his entire team."
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!