"Flygon, the Mysterious Pokémon. A Ground- and Dragon-type. It's said that when it whips up a sandstorm, the flapping of its wings produces sounds like a woman's beautiful singing, thus it's called the 'Spirit of the Desert,' Lotto!"
Flygon's body was largely green, with dragonfly-like features, two green diamond-shaped wings bordered in red, clawed arms and legs, and a strong, thick tail.
Inspired by how Johan's Dragonite had leveraged Goodra's rain, Raihan realized—if Dragonite could use the rain, then Flygon could surely benefit from Larvitar's sandstorm!
No need to waste a turn summoning it—the sandstorm could be turned into Flygon's advantage.
That's also why Raihan "sacrificed" Torkoal.
Even though Torkoal had fainted, it had also dealt significant damage to Larvitar. Larvitar probably couldn't keep fighting either.
A one-for-one trade—acceptable.
Sure enough—
Johan recalled Larvitar.
Honestly?
Larvitar had perford way beyond expectations.
Johan had let the little guy compete at the Masters because it had recently improved rapidly, devoured all sorts of rare materials (even gnawing a chunk off the Earth Plate), and because, facing the "Weather Child" Raihan, Larvitar might tip the scales in a weather battle.
Especially against Torkoal, which it naturally countered.
And Larvitar had indeed defeated Torkoal—despite the level gap.
Its experience points must've skyrocketed after this!
Now seeing Raihan summon Flygon, Johan's expression turned strange.
"Another ground dragon..."
It was definitely a day for Landshark fans.
The real Land Dragons learn Dragon Dance.
The fake Land Dragons just shout a lot.
Real Land Dragons are immune to Ground moves.
Fake ones still get wrecked by Earthquake.
But whatever.
Raihan wanted to use Larvitar's sandstorm to help Flygon.
And Johan had planned to bait Flygon out with Larvitar all along.
Since it's out—
"Freeze it all, Ninetales!"
Johan tossed out a Pokéball—and from the red light erged a slender, snowy-white Ninetales, graceful, elegant, with nine flowing tails.
"Oowoo~~"
Ninetales' pale blue eyes sparkled. It lifted its head slightly—and its ethereal voice echoed through the arena.
Imdiately—
The raging sandstorm ca to a halt.
Glittering snowflakes began to fall.
Snow Warning!
Seeing this, Raihan's face twisted.
He knew it!
This was why he'd hesitated to summon Flygon earlier!
In 6v4 battles, predicting the opponent's picks and strategies mattered hugely.
He knew Johan had a monstrous Ice-type Ninetales on his team—one that could completely shut down his squad.
But Johan had thrown out Larvitar first.
Totally ssed up his plans.
Raihan had hoped to lure out Johan's trump card with Goodra and Rain Dance—but Johan had turned it around and exploited him instead.
Now?
It was even worse.
Still—not hopeless.
If Larvitar could wrest the weather from Torkoal's Drought, maybe Flygon, the Spirit of the Desert, could wrest the weather back from Ninetales' Snow Warning!
The sandstorm hadn't fully dissipated yet—there were lingering traces.
Flygon could tap into that!
"Flygon, Sandstorm!"
"Yiiiinn——!!"
Flygon's wings buzzed violently, gathering Ground energy.
Tiny grains of sand swirled, accompanied by its lodic wing beats.
The lingering sandstorm... almost reignited.
"Nine."
Johan softly called.
"Oowoo~~"
Ninetales understood imdiately.
Steal the weather from ?
Please.
Back in Kanto, it had wrestled weather control from a Zapdos, without losing!
And now, after absorbing part of Kyurem's power, its Ice mastery was even stronger.
Against another Pokémon?
No contest.
Next second—
A burst of pure cold erupted from Ninetales.
The barely reerging sandstorm instantly vanished without a trace.
Flygon stared blankly at the falling snow, shivering under its own wings.
"Looks like Flygon couldn't steal the weather back from Ninetales," Cynthia comnted softly.
This was no longer a battle—it was a full-blown weather war.
But against this Ninetales, there was no contest.
The Ice reigned supre.
"I-I feel cold just watching," soone muttered.
"Torkoal couldn't reclaim the weather from Larvitar. Now Flygon can't steal it from Ninetales. Raihan's weather ga... completely crushed."
"Turns out Johan isn't just the Weather Man... he's the Weather God."
The audience quickly accepted the reality.
Even the arena's protective do had frost forming on it—proof of how cold it had gotten inside.
Such terrifying Ice power!
Raihan was inwardly shocked.
He'd known Johan's Ninetales was strong.
But this strong?
Still—
Raihan gritted his teeth. "Flygon, crank up the heat—Fire Blast!"
Facing an Ice-type, Fire moves were a solid choice.
"Yiiiinn——!!"
Flygon flapped its wings furiously, summoning inner heat.
As it conjured fire, mist rose where cold and hot clashed—then flickering red flas appeared.
Fire Blast!
A massive, blazing "大" character-shaped inferno surged toward Ninetales.
BOOM!!
Except...
The flas were halted by shimring shields.
Aurora Veil!
Simultaneously, thick ice walls sprang up.
Permanent Ice Walls!
With Kyurem's power backing it, Ninetales had mastered these advanced techniques.
Still, Ninetales' serious expression showed it wasn't taking this lightly.
That Fire Blast was strong!
If not careful...
Johan caught the vibe—and smirked at Ninetales' grumpy look.
Hmm. Better be cautious.
But to Raihan and Flygon, Ninetales looked worried.
They thought they had a chance!
"Flygon, keep heating it up! More Fire!"
Heatwaves collided with blizzards—the arena beca a chaotic maelstrom.
It even seed like the snow was thinning...
"Ninetales," Johan finally spoke gently, "Blizzard."
"Oowoo——!!"
Ninetales howled.
Its light blue eyes turned pure white.
The snow exploded into a raging whiteout—obliterating Flygon instantly.
Raihan's face twisted.
No way...
"Flygon, Fla Cloak, protect yourself!"
But—
Ninetales wasn't done.
It poured out every ounce of icy might.
Freeze the world!
CRACK CRACK CRACK—
Spectators gasped as frost froze the barrier do itself!
When the blizzard finally lessened—
The scene inside left everyone stunned.
An ice sculpture!
An incredibly lifelike Flygon ice statue.
And surrounding it—
Was a frozen fla.
It froze the fire too?!
Cynthia softly explained: "This is similar to Kyurem's Glaciate. Overwhelming Ice energy... even flas are extinguished and frozen."
Flygon, a Ground-Dragon, had a quadruple weakness to Ice.
The outco?
Totally natural.
Flygon had burned all its energy trying to fight the weather—and ended up completely frozen.
Raihan finally understood.
He'd focused too much on winning the weather.
And lost sight of the battle.
He sighed, recalled the frozen Flygon, and threw out his final Pokéball.
"Co forth—Duraludon!"
A hulking silver form erged, arms and legs like bridge pylons, deep blue body like a massive anchor.
"Duraludon, the Alloy Pokémon. Steel and Dragon-type. Though tallic, its aluminum-steel body remains flexible, Lotto!"
Raihan's ace!
Steel-Dragon typing—an incredible defensive combo.
Ninetales?
Quad-weak to Steel!
And Duraludon?
No Ice weakness, no Fairy weakness, minimal Dragon vulnerability.
Steel and Dragon together—resisting nine types, immune to one, only weak to Fighting and Ground.
An excellent typing!
Advantage: instantly flipped.
"Skraa!!"
Duraludon pounded the ground, roaring a challenge.
Ninetales tensed up—feeling the intense threat.
Aurora Veil!
"Break it! Brick Break!"
"Skraa!!"
Duraludon's thick arms glowed red.
With a swing—he shattered all the stacked Aurora Veils Johan had secretly piled up!
CRACK CRACK CRACK—
Everyone gaped.
There were THAT many layers?!
No wonder Flygon didn't stand a chance.
Ninetales huffed angrily, a blizzard swirling around again.
But Duraludon didn't care.
It stood tall.
"Flash Cannon!"
WHIRRRR—
A brilliant tallic light gathered between its arms.
BOOM!!
tallic beams cut through the snowstorm.
Ice walls ford—but shattered instantly.
In the resulting explosion—
Ninetales' figure evaporated like a mirage.
A decoy!
Snow-clones multiplied across the field.
A classic old-school Johan tactic—Snowfield Trickery.
Raihan narrowed his eyes.
"tal Sound!"
"Skraa——!!"
Horrible screeching tal noises filled the arena.
Wherever Ninetales was hiding, it would suffer lowered Special Defense.
Against Steel moves?
One slip-up = death.
But—
Raihan's face changed.
"Careful below—!"
RUMBLE—
Ninetales burst from underground, toppling Duraludon!
A red beam imdiately recalled it.
"Co back, Ninetales."
Quadruple weak to Steel—no need to risk it.
Instead—
"Cha~~!!"
Tinkaton appeared, hamr gleaming, grinning at Duraludon.
Like it was looking at...
Prey.
Duraludon shivered.
Was that... real hunger?
Before it could react—
"Fake Out!"
BAM!!
The hamr smashed Duraludon, staggering it backward, forcing a flinch!
Followed by—
"Play Rough!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Pink mist and tallic clanging filled the field.
The audience was stunned.
"Is... is it forging it?!"
"Duraludon t its natural predator..."
Johan's Tinkaton had been waiting for Duraludon.
"Skraa——!!"
Duraludon finally broke free, roaring in pain.
"Steel Beam!"
"Skraa!!"
Its body glowed with lethal energy.
The ultimate Steel move—140 power, half HP recoil.
Do-or-die.
But Tinkaton just grinned.
"Bring it on!"
It spun its hamr up to et the blast head-on.
CRASH!!
The hamr groaned under the pressure—but held.
When the smoke cleared—
Tinkaton stood tall, panting, hamr slightly smaller.
It shouted:
"Cha!!!"
Thank you!!
Thanks for helping temper its hamr!
Johan's Tinkaton wasn't injured.
It was grateful.
Spectators gasped.
"Shrimp kindness, pig-hearted!"
"Shrimp kindness and pig-heart—too terrifying!!"
"Body hit -10... ntal crit -1000!!"
Even Johan hadn't seen that coming.
His hamr girl was... brutally honest.
cough
"End it, Tinkaton—Giga Hamr!"
"Cha~~!!"
Tinkaton's eyes blazed.
It would test Duraludon's body—see if it was up to par.
If not?
Smash it to bits.
Despite Duraludon's struggle—
It understood now.
Just like Torkoal earlier—
They weren't fighting opponents.
They were inventory.
BAM!!
The final blow landed.
Duraludon, having gambled and lost on Steel Beam, fainted.
(And... maybe picked up a few hairline cracks.)
Thus, Johan defeated Raihan, advancing to the quarterfinals!
Next up—
Only future Champions await.
----------
Powerstones?
For 20 advance Chapters: /michaeltranslates
Reviews
All reviews (0)