"Now then… let the battle begin!"
"Nidoking, use Bulldoze!"
The instant Aven gave the command, Nidoking lifted its massive foot and slammed it down with a resounding crash.
At once, ground-type energy erupted violently from its body. An invisible shockwave formed in an instant, sweeping directly across the battlefield and surging straight toward the waiting Empoleon!
Seeing this, Empoleon's eyes flashed. It's right arm lifted high, and with a mighty swing, it unleashed a slash through the air. Splashes of water burst out, condensing instantly into a sharp water blade!
Boom!
In the center of the battlefield, the shockwave and the water blade collided fiercely.
In the next instant, under the cutting force of the water blade, the shockwave was sliced cleanly in two, followed by a thunderous explosion that shook the ground!
Seizing the opportunity, Empoleon's body suddenly darted forward like a cannonball, its wings glowing a blinding white light as it slashed again!
"Block it!" Aven commanded urgently.
The Nidoking leader's pupils contracted sharply.
It instantly gathered poisonous energy into its claws, striking out with a vicious Poison Jab!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The attacks clashed head-on, Empoleon's slashing strikes colliding repeatedly against Nidoking's poison-charged claws. After several heavy collisions, Nidoking was blasted backward, its huge body skidding across the ground, leaving long scars carved into the dirt before it finally managed to stop itself.
Meanwhile, Empoleon only gave its wings a casual sweep and once again lunged forward with astonishing speed.
"Nido! Nido!"
Empoleon was so fast—Nidoking had no choice but to hastily spit out a series of Sludge Bombs in defense!
But to its shock, when the sludge bombs struck Empoleon's body, they were forcefully withstood by its steel-like body. Not even a single tremor ran through it—it simply endured the poison head-on, its iron frame unmoved.
"Nidoking, use Dig!" Aven's sharp command rang out at that moment.
At once, Nidoking obeyed. Ground-type energy wrapped around its body as it burrowed furiously into the earth, vanishing underground.
Empoleon shot past the spot with blinding speed, its steel like wings hacking down with great force, slicing cleanly across the opening of the hole, carrying a sharp gale along with the blow.
Luckily, Nidoking had already dug down just in time, barely evading the lethal strike.
"Empoleoon!"
Empoleon stood firmly on the battlefield, its sharp gaze sweeping the surroundings, alert for its foe.
Suddenly, the ground behind it cracked open. The Nidoking leader burst forth from underground, its fist surging with ground-type energy as it swung down with brutal force!
But Empoleon reacted instantly. Its body spun sharply, raising one wing like a shield to block Nidoking's punch, while the other wing immediately countered with a devastating slash that sent Nidoking flying once again.
"EMPO!"
Empoleon stood its ground like an unshakable knight, its steel wings—one attacking, one defending—like a razor-sharp sword and a sturdy shield in perfect harmony.
The aura of a true king radiated from its body, power surging outward as it instantly pushed its strength to the absolute limit. With a heavy stomp, it once again charged forward like a steel juggernaut!
"…So you've already carved out a path of your own?" Aven's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Empoleon's battle.
Quasi-king-level Pokémon were only one step away from reaching the rank of kings. The gap in raw energy wasn't especially wide.
If the Nidoking leader could stack multiple power boosts onto itself, its energy level could indeed rival a true king.
However, when it came to mastery and control over that energy, Nidoking was still far inferior. Empoleon, as it demonstrated, didn't seem to be using any flashy moves. In truth, it was showing a much deeper mastery of energy manipulation.
It had already merged its moves into its very slashes—for example, that sudden water blade slash just now, which was itself a water-type energy condensed into the form of a cutting strike.
This was precisely what the Nidoking leader needed to learn. If it could refine its energy control further, bringing out its power to the fullest extent, it too might truly step into the realm of kings!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle raged on fiercely.
Even now, Empoleon was clearly not going all out, yet Nidoking was already struggling to keep up!
What made things even more despairing for Nidoking was that its poison had absolutely no effect on the opponent at all. Empoleon didn't even bother dodging—it simply ignored the toxins completely.
"Nidoking, fight back with ground-type moves!" Aven called out loudly.
"Empoleon is a steel type Pokémon—it completely nullifies poison-type attacks!"
He wanted Nidoking to experience this firsthand, so the memory of type advantages would be etched even deeper into its heart.
"Nido…!"
Nidoking nodded silently, its eyes filled with frustration.
It had been restrained by Rhydon's typing before, and now again it was crushed by Empoleon's type advantage. The feeling was stifling and bitter.
"Type matchups…"
Kale's eyes flickered slightly. This was the first time he had ever heard of such a concept.
So Empoleon carried the steel typing? That perfectly fit with its steel-like body.
And steel resisting poison… this fact had already been vividly demonstrated during their struggle in Drapion's territory. If not for that, they wouldn't have survived long enough for Aven to arrive.
"Nidoking, use Earth Power!" Aven suddenly commanded.
At his call, Nidoking's body radiated ground-type energy, shaking the earth beneath their feet violently.
The sudden tremor disrupted Empoleon's balance mid-strike, forcing it to halt its attack as it steadied its footing.
Seizing the moment, Nidoking, under Aven's guidance, charged forth with Drill Run. Its body spun forward, ground energy forming into a spiraling drill as it rocketed toward Empoleon!
Both Earth Power and Drill Run were moves it had learned from Rhydon before, and since Nidoking also possessed the ground attribute, mastering them wasn't too difficult.
"NIDOOO!"
Nidoking bellowed furiously, its footsteps hammering the ground as its massive form shot forward like a rocket, shaking the battlefield.
On the opposite side, Empoleon recovered quickly. Crossing its wings before him, and water streamed from his body, transforming his two steel wings into a water shield to protect him!
Boom!
Drill Run collided with the water shields in an earth-shaking impact.
Ground energy continued to churn violently, but Empoleon's shields held firm under its precise control. With each clash, the water steadily eroded the ground energy, like using a soft current to redirect great force—perfectly defending against the attack.
"Nido! Nido! Nido!"
Nidoking snarled through gritted teeth, forcing all its strength into its legs.
And then—suddenly, a faint purple light appeared across its body.
It was Nidoking's Poison Point ability, activating at that moment, channeling poison energy into its assault!
Gradually, the spiraling Drill Run began to carry traces of poisonous power, crashing against Empoleon's water shields. Bit by bit, streaks of purple light seeped into the water barriers, corrupting them with venom!
"Empo!"
Empoleon sensed something was wrong. With a powerful shove, it pushed Nidoking backward, forcing the drill away.
Then, with a sharp sweep of its wings, the water shields shattered violently, sending droplets of tainted water scattering everywhere. Purple liquid splashed against its steel body—but Empoleon simply shook once, and the poison slid harmlessly away. Its steel typing made it completely immune.
"Nido…!"
On the other side, Nidoking stumbled backward repeatedly before it finally regained its balance.
Looking down, it noticed the lingering energy still glowing faintly on its body. Within the yellow light of ground energy, threads of purple poison shimmered faintly.
For the first time, two distinct energy waves—ground and poison—coexisted within it. And under its own willpower, they did not repel each other or dissipate. Instead, they remained fused together!
"…This is Poison Point!"
Aven's eyes lit up brilliantly at the sight.
Normally, Poison Point's effect was simply to poison an opponent when making physical contact.
But Nidoking, with its extraordinary natural talent for poison, had been gradually developing the potential of this ability.
In the past, all of Nidoking's poison-type moves had been strengthened by this trait, allowing its venom to erupt with much greater force.
Yet now, during this heated clash, Nidoking had instinctively activated its Poison Point—even though it had been using a ground-type move. Without intending it, it fused poison into its Drill Run.
And astonishingly, the trait allowed the two energies to coexist rather than clash, merging poison into ground!
"Nidoking, use that Drill Run again—just like before!" Aven shouted eagerly.
The Nidoking leader's eyes hardened with determination. Ground-type energy gathered once again, its body forming into another spiraling Drill Run.
"Empoleon—block it!"
The Nidoking leader's gaze suddenly sharpened. Ground-type energy rapidly gathered around its body, condensing once more into a Drill Run.
"Empoleon, block it!"
On the opposite side, Kale seemed to sense something unusual as well, immediately calling out an order to Empoleon.
The very next moment, the exact same clash from before erupted again—Drill Run rammed straight into water shield with unstoppable force.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The violent collision shook the battlefield. In the midst of the struggle, Nidoking's Poison Point ability began to slowly activate.
Poison-type energy surged wildly from its body, fusing into the Drill Run, making the attack increasingly more ferocious and destructive.
However, in the process of fusion, the poisonous energy and the ground energy within the Drill Run kept colliding with each other violently, like two forces inherently at odds.
Finally—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out as the Poison-type energy and Ground-type energy reached a critical breaking point, bursting apart in a massive detonation.
When the smoke cleared, Empoleon stood firm and unmoving, not even shifting an inch, while Nidoking had been blasted backward, crashing heavily to the ground and gasping harshly for breath.
"The energy fusion failed," Aven narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone calm yet filled with insight. "But… this is an excellent line of thought."
"If Nidoking can one day truly succeed in merging Poison-type energy and Ground-type energy, then with that breakthrough, it may very well take the final step forward and ascend to the rank of King-level Pokémon."
This was the instinctive judgment of a seasoned Pokémon breeder. And the more Aven thought about it, the more certain he became—this was indeed a promising path, one that could open an entirely new road for Nidoking's growth.
"The battle ends here." Aven inclined his head slightly toward Kale across the field.
Right now, the Nidoking leader had already gained some faint comprehension from this battle. What mattered most next was not fighting, but properly absorbing and digesting this newfound insight to raise itself to another level.
"Has Nidoking just experienced a breakthrough?" Kale approached and asked with a trace of curiosity.
"Yes," Aven nodded, "it has gained a great harvest this time. This was thanks to you and your Empoleon."
"The power of a King-level is truly overwhelming. Compared to that, a quasi-King still lags far behind."
Aven sighed with a trace of admiration. In this ancient world, to be able to nurture a King-class Empoleon was no easy feat at all. Kale's talent as a trainer was undoubtedly extraordinary.
"However, Empoleon still has a vast space for improvement."
"Your Empoleon currently walks the path of the Slashing Style, but at present it relies solely on Water-type moves as its foundation."
"If Empoleon can further develop its Steel-type potential, then the might of its slashing moves will rise to an even greater level."
(End of Chapter)