Tapu Lele: “This thing?”
Although Moltres was a pseudo-Champion, Tapu Lele knew exactly what its strength was. As a fellow pseudo-Champion, it could completely pin Moltres to the ground in a fight.
Hearing that tone, Moltres imdiately got angry. Who did this thing think it was looking down on?
'I’m not the sa Moltres I was a month ago.'
It spread its wings wide, waves of heat rippling off its body as it glared defiantly at Tapu Lele: "You think I’m still afraid of you now?"
Tapu Lele: "Your confidence cos from this human, doesn’t it?"
“No matter how amazing that human is, what can he really accomplish in just over a month?”
“To , you’re nothing more than a tool bird.”
Julian interjected, "Moltres, no more talking. Use Air Slash!"
He sent out Moltres because he had confidence in it. If Tapu Lele ended up suffering a bit in battle, maybe it’d learn its lesson. Looking down on Moltres? That was the sa as looking down on him.
Over a dozen translucent blades tore through the air.
Tapu Lele snapped its shell shut, deflecting the Air Slashes. So were sent flying into the ocean, carving deep gashes into the water’s surface.
Once the barrage ended, Tapu Lele opened its shell again: “That’s it?”
Despite its mocking words, it was already on guard. The force behind those Air Slashes was noticeably much stronger than before.
But even so, Tapu Lele didn’t believe Moltres stood a chance against it.
With a wave of its arm, a dazzling Psybeam shot forth.
Moltres tried to dodge, but suddenly realized… it couldn’t move at all.
Tapu Lele’s eyes glowed blue—it was using Psychic to hold Moltres in place.
And it wasn’t just that—it was 'Dual Casting'.
Using two moves at once had pretty strict requirents:
> The two moves should ideally be of the sa type, making them easier to execute together. If they were of different types, the conflicting energies could cause problems.
> The power of both moves should be similar—if one was much stronger than the other, energy distribution within the body would beco unstable.
> And of course, the user had to be highly skilled.
Tapu Lele’s Psychic and Psybeam were both Psychic-type moves with comparable power, so dual casting was within its ability.
Just as Moltres had gotten fired up for battle, it was suddenly forced into a defensive position.
Internally, Moltres began to panic a little.
'I just boasted about how strong I was… Am I really about to get humiliated this fast?'
“Don’t be afraid. You have a wide move pool now—use Protect!”
Julian’s voice rang in Moltres’s ears.
Protect didn’t require physical movent—just a ntal command.
With a shimring green protective shield appearing in front of Moltres, Tapu Lele’s Psybeam was effortlessly blocked.
The next second, Moltres broke free from Psychic hold too.
It had almost forgotten—over this past month, it had learned so many new moves.
Humans were truly incredible. Just by using a Technical Machine (TM), they could teach Pokémon new moves in an instant.
TM moves allowed Pokémon to quickly master a wide array of attacks. However, success depended on the Pokémon’s natural talent and the move's complexity—it still had to practice diligently to master them.
Wild Pokémon, on the other hand, could usually only unlock moves naturally as they leveled up. Only so particularly gifted ones could learn moves beyond their level through hard training.
Julian hadn’t expected to burn a life-saving move like Protect so soon.
Realistically, even if Psybeam had hit, it wouldn’t have done much damage to Moltres.
Protect would have been better saved for a more devastating attack or a truly life-threatening mont.
But Julian had used it early for a reason.
This was his and Moltres’ first 'real' battle together. All the earlier fights had been minor scuffles that Moltres could win even without commands.
This first true test was against Tapu Lele, the one that had long oppressed Moltres and treated it like a re tool.
Deep down, Moltres was still afraid of Tapu Lele.
So to build Moltres’ confidence, Julian couldn’t afford to let Tapu Lele gain the upper hand early.
If Protect had to be used, so be it.
"Moltres—Aerial Ace!"
Moltres shot toward Tapu Lele at high speed. The island guardian surged with psychic energy, attempting to restrain Moltres with Psychic once more.
But just as the telekinetic grip was about to take hold, Moltres suddenly accelerated, dodging the attack—its form blurring before vanishing entirely.
BOOM!
A deafening impact echoed as Moltres reappeared beneath Tapu Lele, Aerial Ace’s force slamming upward and sending the guardian hurtling into the sky.
"Now—Flathrower!"
Instantly, a searing blast of fire completely engulfed Tapu Lele.
Moltres’s Flathrower had been enhanced by a Blaze Stone—its power had doubled.
From within the fire, cries of pain erupted—it was Tapu Lele’s voice.
The might of the Flathrower had gone far beyond Tapu Lele’s expectations.
'What the hell—was that Burn Up?!'
As the flas dissipated, Tapu Lele’s body was revealed—charred and smoking.
A pink mist began to swirl around it, and its wounds started healing.
"Aromatherapy? Don’t let it recover—Hurricane!" Julian snorted.
He 'hated' healing moves like this. The last thing he needed was Tapu Lele patching itself up mid-battle.
A violent Hurricane erupted as Moltres flapped its wings, scattering the pink mist created by Aromatherapy.
At the sa ti, Tapu Lele continued to suffer damage from the raging winds.
Caught in the storm, Tapu Lele couldn’t believe that just a mont’s carelessness—being hit by Aerial Ace—would lead to a such relentless string of attacks.
"Leleee!"
The sheer humiliation of being overwheld like this by the very "tool bird" it had looked down on made Tapu Lele's fury boil over.
With a furious shriek, a swirling gray orb of energy materialized within the storm—
Extrasensory!
The psychic blast tore through the Hurricane and slamd into Moltres, sending the fiery phoenix spinning wildly through the air for nearly a hundred ters before it finally regained control.
But when it steadied itself and looked back—Tapu Lele was no longer where it had been.
'Where—?!'
"Above you! Agility, now!" Julian barked.
Tapu Lele was directly overhead, casting Extrasensory again.
Moltres barely had ti to react before Extrasensory ca crashing down from above—but thanks to the warning, it activated Agility in ti, narrowly evading the attack.
Now, with the blinding speed granted by Agility, Moltres beca a blazing crimson streak, weaving around Tapu Lele in dizzying loops.
Its movents were so fast, the guardian could barely keep track.
All it could see was a fiery blur flashing past again and again—each ti followed by a stinging wing slap across its face.
Whack!
Moltres: 'Ohhh, so this is what it feels like to slap soone around... and it’s Tapu Lele, no less. Damn, this is satisfying.'
*****
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