"Goodra, prepare for battle!"
Dylan flicked his wrist and threw out the second Poké Ball in his hand.
A flash of white light burst forth, and a pale purple Pokémon with a somewhat gloomy expression landed in front of Dylan.
"Huh?"
Selene was just about to throw out her Dynamax Poké Ball, but when she saw this Pokémon, she froze for a moment.
Its appearance was extremely similar to Goodra—almost identical, in fact—except its body looked a bit slimmer than a normal Goodra's.
But the biggest difference was the massive shell on its back, something that looked like a giant snail shell.
Wait—since when did Goodra have a shell on its back?!
Selene was stunned, but she quickly came back to her senses. This was probably another regional form of Goodra, one she'd never heard of before—likely from Hisui again.
"Beep—Goodra (Hisuian Form), Steel/Dragon type, the Shell Dwelling Pokémon.
Ability: Sap Sipper
Moves: Shelter, Heavy Slam, Iron Tail, Muddy Water, Body Slam…
Description: It freely controls a metal shell that can be both hard and soft. It is stubborn by nature and hates being alone; if someone it cares for leaves its side, it flies into a furious rage. (Hisuian Form)"
"Good grief—a Steel/Dragon-type Goodra?"
When Diantha saw this Goodra, her whole demeanor changed, her eyes sparkling.
She herself had a Goodra as one of her main Pokémon, but hers was purely Dragon-type. The one on the field, however, possessed the noble Steel/Dragon typing!
Among pseudo-legendaries, Goodra had always been considered relatively weak. The reason was simple: although its special defense was very high, its pure Dragon typing didn't offer much of an advantage—or disadvantage—compared to other Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries.
Compared to other pseudo-legendary Dragons, it was just… average. Or rather, because its physical defense was relatively low, it was actually on the weaker side.
But Steel plus Dragon?
That was a completely different story!
Even if its stats were unchanged, that typing alone was enough to send Hisuian Goodra straight into god-tier status.
Immune to Poison, resistant to nine different types, and only weak to Fighting and Ground.
Absolutely aristocratic.
"This Hisuian Goodra must be insanely strong," Serena couldn't help but marvel.
If only the Kalos-region Goodra had this typing too…
So enviable.
That said, objectively speaking, that snail shell on Hisuian Goodra's back was really… kind of abstract.
On the field.
Selene had already sent out Enamorus again. A black vortex spun in the sky as Dynamaxed Enamorus descended.
Dylan also recalled Hisuian Goodra, Dynamaxed it, and threw it back out. Bathed in faint red light, the Dynamaxed Hisuian Goodra stood tall before Dynamaxed Enamorus.
The two colossal Pokémon faced each other.
Even though its opponent was the legendary Harbinger of Spring from Hisui, Hisuian Goodra showed no reverence at all.
It didn't care whether the opponent was a god or not.
Anyone who opposed its Trainer would be crushed.
Unlike its "frail" counterparts, Hisuian Goodra was built to fight.
"Enamorus! Max Quake!"
Selene gave the command without hesitation.
"Max Ooze!"
Dylan responded just as swiftly.
Both Dynamaxed Pokémon let out deep roars. Enamorus swung its arm as the ground began to tremble violently.
At the same time, Hisuian Goodra stomped heavily, deep purple toxic sludge surging forward and nearly flooding the entire battlefield.
Boom—!
The ground shook like an earthquake as dense, earthen-yellow energy flared beneath Hisuian Goodra's feet.
An overwhelming burst of ground-type power completely engulfed it.
On Enamorus's side, thick columns of poisonous liquid shot upward, all blasting toward Enamorus.
The deafening explosions overlapped as Max Quake and Max Ooze struck at the same time.
Both Pokémon let out pained cries—after all, these were super-effective attacks, and they hurt.
As Max Ooze and Max Quake landed, Hisuian Goodra's Special Attack rose, while Enamorus's Special Defense increased.
"As expected—its special defense is really high."
Seeing this, Selene felt confirmed in her judgment. Enamorus's Special Attack was extremely strong, yet Hisuian Goodra took a Max Quake head-on without showing much reaction.
Just like normal Goodra, Hisuian Goodra clearly had excellent special bulk.
Still, Enamorus could just barely handle it.
Selene had originally thought Hisuian Goodra would use a Steel-type Max Steelspike instead.
After all, Steel-type Max Steelspike would also be super effective against Enamorus—and it would get STAB too.
But perhaps Dylan thought the Defense-boosting effect of Max Steelspike wasn't very useful.
After all, while Enamorus's physical attack wasn't low, its Special Attack was clearly the stronger stat.
"Keep using Max Quake!"
Selene didn't hesitate and ordered Enamorus to continue.
Although Incarnate Enamorus didn't have particularly high Special Defense, its legendary physique—combined with the fact that Hisuian Goodra's Special Attack wasn't overwhelmingly strong—meant it could endure!
"Max Ooze!"
Dylan showed no sign of backing down.
The second clash of Max Quake and Max Ooze slammed into each other again, thunderous booms echoing across the arena.
"Neither side is willing to give an inch."
Hop couldn't help but click his tongue. Still, this was the most common scenario in Dynamax versus Dynamax battles.
You've already Dynamaxed—why would you back off now?
Otherwise, what was the point of Dynamaxing in the first place?
Except in rare cases, Dynamax battles were simple slugfests.
Whoever fell first lost.
After the second exchange came the third.
Max Quake and Max Ooze struck each other once more. After taking three hits in a row, both Hisuian Goodra and Enamorus could clearly feel their condition deteriorating.
As the third Dynamax moves ended, the Dynamax duration expired.
Both Pokémon rapidly shrank back to their normal sizes, and the black vortexes faded away.
"One side boosted Special Attack, the other boosted Special Defense. It's hard to say who came out ahead."
Hop looked at Hisuian Goodra and Enamorus now facing each other at normal size.
"Under normal circumstances, boosting Special Attack is better," Leon analyzed.
"The attacker controls the tempo. And Enamorus doesn't look like a defensive Pokémon to begin with."
"But Enamorus has the advantage in speed and flight," Gloria added.
"It's hard for Hisuian Goodra to land attacks on it."
"If you can't hit the target, no matter how strong the attack is, it's meaningless."
"Exactly."
Leon nodded in agreement.
On the field.
"Enamorus, Springtide Storm!"
Selene launched another attack without hesitation. She wanted to test Hisuian Goodra's offensive power at this point.
Enamorus cried out sharply as pink light flared across its body. The serpent coiled around it shot its head forward, forming a heart-shaped crest.
A pink Springtide Storm swept through the sky, surging toward Hisuian Goodra below.
This Fairy-type move—Springtide Storm—was Enamorus's signature attack, a devastating gale woven from love and hatred alike.
"Thunder!"
Electricity crackled around Hisuian Goodra as a massive bolt of lightning tore through the air to meet the Springtide Storm.
Boom—!
Thunder and Springtide Storm collided midair, lightning and raging winds clashing violently before exploding apart.
Powerful shockwaves rippled outward, the air itself trembling.
"It blocked it?!"
As fierce winds howled, Selene pressed down on her straw hat and narrowed her eyes at Hisuian Goodra.
Springtide Storm had actually been stopped.
That meant Hisuian Goodra's Special Attack had already been quite high to begin with.
And now, after being boosted three times, its special offense had reached a level comparable to Enamorus's.
That was definitely not good news.
Even though Enamorus's Special Defense was also high now—thanks to three boosts—Selene wasn't about to let it just stand there and tank hits.
"Goodra, Shelter."
While Selene was still thinking, Dylan didn't pause for a second.
Hisuian Goodra withdrew entirely into its shell, its body glowing with intense metallic light.
Shelter—a Steel-type move!
"Earth Power!"
Selene immediately counterattacked.
She didn't know exactly what Shelter did, but there was no way she was just going to let her opponent set up freely.
Enamorus cried out as earthen-yellow energy flared beneath Hisuian Goodra—Ground-type Earth Power.
Boom!
Earth Power erupted violently, torrents of ground energy slamming directly into Hisuian Goodra's shell.
When the attack subsided, Hisuian Goodra emerged from its shell once more.
Shelter complete—its Defense had risen by two stages.
"What a shame. Not the version that boosts evasion."
Dylan thought regretfully.
When Legends: Arceus first released, Hisuian Goodra had once been hailed as the strongest pseudo-legendary.
Why?
Because of its Steel/Dragon typing—and because of Shelter.
In Legends: Arceus, Shelter didn't just boost defense; it also made Hisuian Goodra much harder to hit.
That evasion boost was the real reason it was once considered absurdly overpowered.
But by the Scarlet/Violet era, Shelter had been nerfed hard—essentially becoming a second Iron Defense, boosting Defense by two stages only.
Still, even so, with its excellent typing, Hisuian Goodra remained extremely formidable.
Dylan found it a pity, but it made sense.
Reality wasn't a game—numbers couldn't simply translate directly.
If Shelter boosted evasion in the real world, defining "evasion" itself would be incredibly vague.
"Life Dew."
Dylan issued another command.
After tanking three Max Quakes and one Earth Power, Hisuian Goodra's condition really wasn't great.
But that was fine—it had recovery.
Hisuian Goodra raised its head and sprayed a large amount of water into the air, which scattered and fell as shimmering droplets.
"Earth Power!" Selene ordered immediately.
"Dodge," Dylan said calmly.
Hisuian Goodra wasn't fast, but dodging a single Earth Power wasn't a problem.
It quickly moved out of range as Earth Power erupted uselessly into empty ground.
Meanwhile, the falling Life Dew sprinkled over Hisuian Goodra, restoring its stamina.
Life Dew's recovery wasn't as strong as Recover, but its advantage was flexibility.
Recover required staying still—meaning guaranteed damage from the opponent.
Life Dew didn't.
"This won't work."
Selene frowned slightly.
Boosting defenses and healing—was he worried she'd have Enamorus move in close and use Fighting-type moves?
To be honest, she had been thinking about that.
After all, Enamorus's physical attack was also quite good.
But now… was close combat still the right call?