"Huh?"
The middle-aged ranger was montarily stunned as he looked at Natsu’s youthful face.
It wasn’t that he doubted Natsu’s abilities.
Though, admittedly, Natsu’s young appearance sotis made people question his maturity and reliability.
But in truth, the ranger’s first thought upon seeing Natsu wasn’t skepticism—it was: Where did this young prodigy co from?
As an experienced ranger, he had spent years traversing the forests of Eastern Region.
Encountering lesser-known but incredibly powerful trainers was nothing unusual.
Every so often, he’d run into young individuals whose abilities defied logic.
People like that are usually called geniuses.
Don’t ask how they got their Pokémon.
So were picked up by chance. So grew up together. So were encountered on the road. So were chosen. So were nurtured by others.
None of that really mattered.
As long as they could command their Pokémon in battle, their strength was undeniable.
After all, powerful Pokémon have their own pride.
If their trainer was a brainless fool, they wouldn’t stick around.
Simply keeping a powerful Pokémon after capturing it was proof enough of a trainer’s capability.
So when Natsu stepped up and volunteered, the middle-aged ranger didn’t find it particularly surprising.
At the very least, he wasn’t about to act like those cliché city folks in novels—questioning and ridiculing the newcor, only to be humiliated later.
He had learned his lesson the hard way in his younger days. By the ti you reach middle age, you stop making those kinds of mistakes.
The ranger sighed internally.
Of course, he had considered the possibility that Natsu was just so overconfident kid, the type who thought, Even if I can’t help much, I still have to try!
But the mont he saw the Corviknight Natsu was riding, all doubts vanished.
That Corviknight was strong.
You could tell just by its stance.
It was far bigger than usual—at least 2.5 ters tall, maybe even 3 ters.
When it landed, it felt like the sky itself was crashing down.
Its wingspan was terrifying.
And it was clearly well-developed—not just big for show, but genuinely powerful.
A true airborne fortress...
“Hello, Mr. Natsu. I’m Shouhei, a ranger sent for reinforcent.”
“Here’s my identification.”
Following protocol, Shouhei quickly introduced himself before explaining the situation.
The first wave of rangers had already been wiped out and was now receiving dical attention.
The second wave—including himself—wasn’t faring much better.
Even with intelligence from the first group, they still had no real solution.
At first, they had hoped to negotiate peacefully.
But that Pokémon was like a Honey Badger—it simply didn’t care.
It didn’t understand human speech. It was unbelievably stubborn.
No matter what they tried, they couldn’t lead it away from populated areas.
It just kept marching forward.
Shouhei’s own Pokémon had been flattened in a single strike during an attempt to communicate.
They had barely avoided a total team wipe.
It was frustrating.
He had always been good at communicating with Pokémon.
Even angry Pokémon usually responded to negotiation.
But this one?
It didn’t acknowledge humans at all.
Hopefully reinforcents are on the way...
Lately, incidents were breaking out all over the place.
The rangers, who used to grumble about bureaucratic bloat, now found themselves understaffed.
Even retirees were being called back into service.
That’s just how the job was.
No matter how many people you had, when a crisis hit, it was never enough.
When Shouhei was younger, he had dread of becoming a legendary ranger—
A warrior and diplomat who could both battle fiercely and resolve conflicts peacefully.
He imagined himself ntoring younger rangers, swooping in at their mont of peril to save the day, earning their admiration before walking away in style.
But reality didn’t work that way.
He lacked the talent and stamina to be that kind of hero.
Eventually, he gave up and shifted toward a support role—focusing on communication rather than combat.
It wasn’t about not trying hard enough.
He simply understood his limits.
No matter how much effort he put in, he could never match prodigies, heirs of powerful families, or those blessed by sheer luck.
Once he accepted that, he found peace.
From then on, he left fighting to his colleagues and Pokémon.
After so many years, he had almost forgotten what real battle felt like.
“That Pokémon is extrely strong. Its attacks cover a wide area.”
“If you charge in recklessly, it’ll be incredibly dangerous.”
At first, he had been relieved to see soone volunteering to help.
But now, he was starting to worry.
He had seen Ting-Lu's power firsthand.
It was disastrous.
“It’s fine,” Natsu replied calmly. “If things get dangerous, Gardevoir will teleport out.”
He tapped a Poké Ball lightly.
Gardevoir erged.
Seeing the Psychic-type at Natsu’s side, Shouhei finally relaxed a little.
After all, their job wasn’t just to distract Ting-Lu.
Their real mission was protecting civilians.
It already felt weird having a civilian join the fight.
If sothing happened to Natsu, Shouhei wouldn’t be able to face his family.
“I’ll be counting on you, then, young comrade.”
“My teammates are positioned along the route, ready to intercept that Pokémon.”
He smiled apologetically, then forwarded the Ting-Lu's path to Natsu.
Since he wasn’t much of a fighter, it was best to leave this to others.
“Understood.”
Natsu nodded seriously.
At first, he hadn’t thought much about it.
But then Shouhei called him comrade.
That changed everything.
If he didn’t thoroughly thrash that Ting-Lu, he’d be letting down that comrade.
Decision made.
He was going to rip that cauldron off its head and scatter it all over the battlefield.
“I’m heading out, Mr. Shouhei.”
“Alright. Stay safe.”
“Your safety is the priority.”
Shouhei ant it.
Natsu still looked like a boy—there was a hint of youthful innocence in his face.
And yet, he was about to take on that monster.
anwhile, Shouhei—a grown man—could only stand back and watch.
It didn’t sit well with him.
As he watched Natsu fly off on Corviknight, his heart filled with both worry and...
Admiration.
There was a wall before him.
A wall nad Talent.
It blocked his path, obscured his vision.
What lay beyond it?
He had always wanted to know.
Shouhei chuckled to himself.
No point dwelling on it now.
For now, his job was to observe and report.
Regardless of how Natsu perford, the fact that he volunteered was already comndable.
(Unless he ran away or attacked his allies—that’d be a different story.)
High above, Natsu followed the given route.
Soon, he saw it—Ting-Lu, slowly advancing through the forest.
Its massive form towered above the trees.
Natsu swiftly reviewed his battle plan, factoring in Shouhei's intel.
Dark/Ground typing.
Immune to Psychic and Electric.
No quadruple weaknesses—only double weaknesses to Fighting, Water, Grass, Ice, Fairy, and Bug.
Gardevoir and Gallade wouldn’t be very effective.
Not that it mattered—he had never intended for them to be his main attackers.
Gardevoir’s job was relaying telepathic commands and keeping him safe.
Gallade would focus on harassing and setting up attacks.
Corviknight and Persian would draw attention.
Slowking and Ogerpon were his heavy hitters.
This was going to be a coordinated beatdown.
From a distance, Natsu observed the Ting-Lu carefully before releasing Slowking from its Poké Ball.
"Alright, let's do as we planned."
Even now, Slowking’s face remained as composed as ever.
Natsu smiled.
Slowking gave a small nod without responding.
A deep purple aura slowly spread through its eyes.
Move: Nasty Plot.
By scheming and plotting, it activated its brainpower, drastically increasing its Special Attack.
On Corviknight’s back, Slowking continued stacking buffs.
anwhile, Gardevoir, who had been recalled earlier, was also sent back out.
Support moves, anyone?
Not only was Slowking powering up, but so were the other Pokémon Natsu had released on the ground earlier.
If they could charge up beforehand and unleash a powerful opening attack, why waste ti buffing in front of the enemy?
That would just be stupid.
This is just common sense.
That was Natsu’s belief, and Slowking wholeheartedly agreed.
While continuously boosting its stats, Slowking also engaged in so self-affirmation.
This wasn’t a move—just simple ntal preparation before battle.
Confidence made all the difference. A Pokémon filled with self-assurance and one riddled with doubt, even with similar strength, would have vastly different outcos in battle.
As for what kind of self-motivation Slowking used…
"I can do this. I got this. I can one-shot this dumbass."
Yeah, Corviknight taught it that.
The original phrase might have been even cruder, but Slowking tweaked it slightly to maintain its dignified persona.
But even if its image did collapse, it could always just bla Corviknight.
"Yadon."
Fully buffed, Slowking silently contemplated its next move.
The best options for dealing double damage to this opponent were Fighting, Water, Grass, Ice, Fairy, and Bug-type moves.
With that in mind, it extended its hand toward Ting-Lu from afar.
A transparent light began gathering in its palm.
"Yadon."
Aura Sphere.
Since it didn’t have an ani-style trainer yelling out attack nas, Slowking decided to provide its own sound effects.
Gardevoir followed suit.
The glow of Aura Sphere intensified.
The title “Psychic Empress” was often used to praise Gardevoir’s unparalleled talent in Psychic-type moves.
But an empress wasn’t just skilled in one type.
The next second, two massive spheres of energy shot forth, hurtling through the sky like teorites.
Sensing sothing, Ting-Lu slowly lifted its head.
What it saw were two energy blasts, each bigger than its own head.
Boom!
For the first ti, the sound of an explosion drowned out the creature’s own footsteps.
The billowing smoke and dust were enough to make anyone instinctively shut their eyes.
But Slowking and Gardevoir didn’t pause for even a second.
A delicate white snowflake drifted from the sky—then another, and another, until countless flakes filled the air.
A howling wind picked up, carrying the icy snow in a terrifying vortex.
"Yadon."
Blizzard.
The bitterly cold wind sliced through the battlefield like razor-sharp blades, eager to shred their enemy to pieces.
It was as if winter had suddenly descended upon the forest.
As the Blizzard stord through, the thick dust cloud was blown away—revealing Ting-Lu, standing there almost completely unscathed.
Its crimson eyes locked onto Corviknight high in the air.
In the next instant, black energy rippled from its body.
Simultaneously, several massive boulders ford mid-air and ca crashing toward Corviknight.
"Garde!"
"Yadon!"
The mont Ting-Lu made its move, both Gardevoir and Slowking used Teleport.
But their destinations were different.
One teleported straight into battle.
The other? It took Natsu away from the battlefield to ensure his safety.
"Caw?!"
Left alone in the sky, Corviknight squawked in panic.
Wait—did they just abandon ?!
The massive rocks collided mid-air, shattering into debris and dirt that scattered in every direction.
Before Ting-Lu could even confirm if its attack had landed, a beige blur shot out from the nearby trees.
A claw, glowing bright white, slamd down hard onto the bronze cauldron resting on its head.
Clang!
The unique hum of ancient bronze echoed far and wide.
It was as if a battle drum had been struck—announcing the official start of the fight.
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