Chapter 486 - Ice Vulpix's Talent
The battle rules were 2-on-2. In the first round, Candice sent out Froslass, while Bunta chose Infernape.
At first glance, this seed like an evenly matched battle, but until the fight actually began, no one could predict the outco.
"Watch carefully..." Terrance reminded Ice Vulpix.
At this mont, Froslass exhaled a freezing cold air towards Infernape to attack. Although this cold air appeared to be nothing more than a simple "Icy Wind" at first glance, the ice within the wind was entirely in the shape of icicles!
Little Vulpix seed thoughtful for a mont, but then dismissed it as unimportant, quickly realizing that the icicle-shaped ice mixed in the wind was ant to enhance the power of the "Icy Wind" move.
When it was first born, Ice Vulpix only knew two offensive moves—Powder Snow and Ice Shard. However, as it grew, it later learned Icy Wind, Confuse Ray, and Mist on its own.
"Your Icy Wind has its own advantages and disadvantages compared to this one. You should learn with an open mind." Terrance patiently instructed.
At Fallarbor Gym, Ice Vulpix primarily enjoyed playing with Beautifly. Thanks to Beautifly's experience in "raising children," it had developed a hidden trait while teaching the little bugs at Fallarbor Gym how to use moves and train—nurturing!
When it ca to caring for young Pokémon... Beautifly was clearly quite skilled.
Under Beautifly's influence, Ice Vulpix displayed a surprising level of talent in coordination as it grew—sothing that even shocked Terrance!
"Maybe it has to do with Vulpix's upbringing... After all, it was raised by Beautifly, and it already has decent innate talent. Its species potential is also excellent." Terrance didn't believe this talent was innate. Even if there was so influence, it probably wasn't the main factor.
It was more likely that Ice Vulpix's talent in coordination stemd from the concepts it was exposed to while growing up. Being around Beautifly had subtly influenced it, and it had also developed a natural instinct for coordination!
The reason Ice Vulpix wasn't particularly impressed by Froslass's Icy Wind was that it had also mastered a unique technique for executing Icy Wind!
If Froslass enhanced the power and added variation by turning the ice in Icy Wind into icicles, then Ice Vulpix, entirely self-taught, had transford the ice in its Icy Wind into Icicle Spears!!
When Terrance first saw Vulpix use Icy Wind, he was astonished. Although its execution was still a bit unrefined, it already had the foundation needed to shine on the Pokémon Contest stage.
The shimring specks drifting through the wind—who could have guessed that they were actually deadly, razor-sharp spikes?
"Although that Icicle Spear isn't particularly powerful right now, considering Ice Vulpix's age... there's plenty of room for improvent. At the very least, once it evolves, it definitely won't be inferior to this Froslass." Terrance felt a sense of satisfaction.
He didn't underestimate Pokémon Contests, and the Icicle Spear variant of Icy Wind was rely a starting point for Little Vulpix. It would go on to master even more special techniques. Terrance was intent on guiding Vulpix toward the Pokémon Contest path, partly because it was through Pokémon Contests that he had climbed to his current status. Once the upcoming Grand Festival concluded, even if he said nothing, countless people would label him a "Top Coordinator." Rather than being stuck with an empty title, why not follow in the footsteps of Mr. Juan and Wallace, making an even greater na for himself in this field?
"Ice Vulpix... is going to be my main Pokémon dedicated to conquering Pokémon Contests after Beautifly," Terrance had already made up his mind.
Little Vulpix was not the first, nor would it be the last.
"Alright, the first round of battle is over." Terrance and Ice Vulpix observed the situation on the arena, both understanding the outco.
On the other side, Terrance wasn't sure if Candice had gone easy, but Infernape's dominance was undeniable. However, the final result was unexpected—despite holding advantage during most of the battle, Infernape was ultimately taken down alongside Froslass by Froslgass' move "Destiny Bond".
"Was it just a coincidence? Or was this a deliberate tactic, using Destiny Bond to test challengers?" Terrance couldn't say for sure.
If Candice had planned this from the very beginning, ensuring the first match ended in a draw, then what they had witnessed might not have been Froslass's true strength.
Next, Candice sent out a Snover. Terrance imdiately noticed that this was not the sa Snover that had once battled his Swablu—it must have been newly trained specifically for Gym battles!
As for Bunta, he sent out a Poliwrath, a Water- and Fighting-type Pokémon!
"Interesting!" Upon seeing Poliwrath, Candice's fighting spirit burned even brighter.
This battle wasn't significantly more intense than the last one—at least not in Terrance's eyes. However, he did notice sothing intriguing: this Snover's strength and training level were far superior to the one that had previously fought Swablu.
This showed that Candice had grown trendously over the past four years. When it ca to raising Pokémon, she had likely gained valuable experience from her previous Snover.
Furthermore, in battle, this Snover demonstrated outstanding combat ability.
The match lasted for two minutes before ending with Snover losing its ability to fight. The outco was exactly as Terrance had predicted—he had judged it based on Candice's status as a Gym Leader and the training levels of both Pokémon.
As expected, nothing had deviated from his expectations...
"Hmm, how should I put it? Your fighting spirit feels like it keeps surging forward—it's impossible to ignore. I can't not give you this... Here, take it—the Icicle Badge!"
Bunta's battle had been sowhat rough around the edges, but his fighting spirit was comndable. Candice seed to greatly appreciate this quality in him and handed over the Icicle Badge without hesitation.
"Thank you, Gym Leader Candice!" Bunta excitedly took the Icicle Badge, overjoyed. With this... he had officially qualified to participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference!
"You deserve it. I hope you can maintain this sa fiery spirit in your future battles!" Candice said with a smile.
"Thank you so much! Oh, right—Terrance..." Bunta suddenly rembered sothing. "Terrance, weren't you planning to battle Gym Leader Candice, too?"
"A battle with ?" Candice looked at Terrance in surprise.
"Well... I did have that in mind at first, to fulfill the long-standing promise of a battle we never had," Terrance scratched his head. It had been quite a while, and the thought had just struck him on a whim.
"That's amazing!!" Candice exclaid excitedly.
At the Snowpoint Gym, she didn't get to face many challengers, and finding an evenly matched opponent was even rarer. As for soone like Terrance, who might even surpass her in strength... that was practically unheard of.
A battle with Terrance... Even though she had just finished a Gym battle, Candice couldn't help but feel fired up all over again.
"I can start anyti!" Candice declared.
"Then let's keep it a 2v2 match. For my first Pokémon, I'd like to send out this little one for a test battle. As for my second Pokémon... it'll be the sa Swablu from our first battle, though it has evolved since then." Terrance said, holding up Ice Vulpix.
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