No Guard plus Fissure. It was the simplest and most brutally direct combination of all, yet under normal circumstances, that Ability and that technique could not coexist.
And in the early generations, the restriction on using Fissure wasn't based on level, but on Speed. Still, that part didn't matter much, because Generation I didn't have Abilities at all, so a perfectly accurate Fissure simply couldn't exist there.
After all, Abilities did not exist in Generation I. They only appeared in Generation III.
On top of that, when Pokémon from older generations were transferred forward, depending on the version, some moves would be automatically wiped, because a move a Pokémon could learn in an earlier generation might become impossible for it to learn later.
The most classic examples were all kinds of event Pokémon. Pokémon obtained through distributions, online events, or special story events often had moves their species normally could not learn.
A Heatran that could use Flamethrower, the four Deoxys with Meteor Mash and Detect, a Rayquaza with V-create, and so on.
"The local environment has a huge impact on Pokémon. Under different regional conditions, the moves they can learn may also differ drastically."
Hikaru grouped all those "illegal moves," "official magic," and "generation shifts" under the broad idea of regional conditions influencing Pokémon. Honestly, there was some logic to that.
For example, in the Hisui era of Legends: Arceus, many moves were already lost to time. Those moves vanished precisely because the environment had changed.
Psyshield Bash, Power Shift, and others.
"No Guard Fissure... a move like that..." Bea was deeply shaken by what she had just heard, and a visible tremor entered her eyes.
No Guard made moves certain to hit, but the drawback was that the user would also certainly be hit by the opponent's moves. Whether it was Fly, Dive, or Dig, only very rare cases could escape the effect of that Ability - generally only Protect-style moves.
But even Protect had its limits.
In other words, if at the critical moment she could unleash a one-hit KO move with No Guard...
"Gulp..."
Bea swallowed unconsciously.
Even one of Champion Leon's Pokémon, if struck directly by Fissure, would have no way to recover. There would be no possibility of enduring it.
Granted, that did go against the spectacle of Dynamax.
But as long as the battle was beautiful enough, then even if Chairman Rose were unhappy, he would have no grounds to say anything!
Hikaru said, "I might not be able to teach it completely within two days. But as long as even the faintest sign of it appears... I believe that with how diligently this Machamp trains, it will definitely be able to use the move successfully in the final battle."
"Come on, let's eat first."
"Yes!" Bea answered firmly. "I'll work hard together with my Pokémon! No matter how harsh the training is, I can take it!"
She had pulled herself back together and made up her mind.
And then -
The shining vegetables and Berries were cooked. After saying, "Thank you for the meal," Bea lowered her head and began eating in silence, her sky-blue eyes glittering as she stopped saying anything at all.
What she was thinking was simple.
Just as Hikaru-sensei had said, after eating these dishes, she could immediately feel an endless stream of strength welling up inside her.
Her energy, stamina, endurance - all of it had changed and improved. For someone who trained her body year-round, those changes were something she could feel clearly and directly.
For martial artists, these dishes had astonishing effects.
Only after she had eaten her fill did she let out a soft breath. Her whole body felt packed with strength she could barely contain. When she raised her head again, the confidence that had been shattered earlier seemed to have returned to her face.
"The relationship between training and diet is extremely important."
"After training, you need to eat quickly and let your body rest. That way, you can grow stronger much more efficiently."
"This... this is what it means to be in perfect condition."
"What incredible cooking..."
At the side, Heat Rotom handed her a freshly baked cookie. Bea noticed that Hikaru's Pokémon were all happily eating, and at some point -
A whole bunch of Pokémon she didn't recognize had appeared as well.
Without realizing it, she had ended up surrounded by Pokémon. Even the wild Pokémon had followed the aroma and gathered again, turning the whole scene into something like a giant outdoor cooking event or wilderness picnic.
"No... I really..."
Bea looked at the steaming cookie resting in Heat Rotom's "hand." The rich smell of baking made her swallow again.
Normally, she was always stern and unsmiling, and many people thought she was hard to approach. But in truth, she had something she liked very much:
Sweets.
Still, as a Trainer with a serious public image, eating sweets could damage the persona she had built in the minds of her fans. Even though this was her first time challenging the Champion Cup, she already had quite a few fans and friends.
But sugar was important. Replenishing sugar was necessary.
In the end, Bea still accepted the macarons and ate them gratefully.
"Thank you very much... They're delicious...!"
For other foods, even glowing dishes like these, Bea's evaluation would probably have been something along the lines of, "They're extremely beneficial for the body and for training." But sweets were different. There were no complicated thoughts attached to them.
They were simply delicious.
"Heat Rotom makes great food, doesn't it?" Hikaru explained to Bea. "Rotom is a Pokémon that was only discovered recently. It can freely enter electrical appliances, take on unique forms, and gain different moves and abilities."
"What you're seeing right now is Rotom Oven."
Looking at Bea's slightly embarrassed expression, Hikaru laughed.
"You seem really shy about eating sweets. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Bea let out a small sigh of relief.
"Thank you very much..."
Hikaru nodded.
"I learned baking from the famous Striaton Restaurant in Unova. Of course, if we're talking about Striaton Restaurant, then we have to talk about their signature Striaton Tea."
"The leaves on Pansage's head relieve fatigue, the water from Panpour is rich in nutrients, and the fire of Pansear is full of vigor. That's why Striaton Tea is so sought after."
"But on my side, I adjusted the recipe a little."
"Leaves from White Forest taken from Torterra's back, pollen from Lilligant that can fill people with courage, ancient-energized water spat out by Walking Wake, plus Volcarona's solar fire and Ceruledge's sacred fire."
Secret Drink: Sacred Tea.
Description: A fragrant tea adapted from the recipe for Striaton Tea. It is filled with the sacred aura of White Forest and the life force of sacred fire. The ancient water, rich with vitality, fills the tea with powerful energy, while the solar flame keeps it piping hot.
Effect: The brewed Sacred Tea unexpectedly has effects similar to the Water of Mirror Lake from beyond Clear Creek. The ingredients in the water remain in a delicate balance, allowing Pokémon to rapidly recover their vigor, cure status conditions, and, thanks to its powerful life energy, bring body and mind into perfect harmony.
Effect: For 12 hours, enter a state of Sixth Sense! Life energy and training efficiency increase by 50%. There is also a chance that... ?
Holding the tea in his hands, Hikaru's expression grew slightly serious, and an idea formed in his mind.
Bea held the little teacup, and in its surface, she could almost see her own reflection.
At that moment, her body and spirit came into perfect sync.
"It feels like your body and mind have reached total balance, doesn't it?" Hikaru asked with a smile when he saw the astonishment on Bea's face. "That's right. It feels like you've become one with the natural world around you..."
"It reminds me of something Marshal once told me - about a certain Pokémon."
"A certain Pokémon?" Bea repeated.
"Medicham," Hikaru said. "That Pokémon doesn't exist in Galar. It's a Fighting/Psychic-type Pokémon. It can meditate for an entire month without eating. As long as it remains single-minded and focused, it can see the aura of its opponent."
"Life aura grows sharper in the course of meditation by raising the energy within the body, and what becomes keener as a result is..."
"Sixth Sense!"
"Or, in other words, telepathy!"
"After Mega Evolution, Medicham uses its powerful psychic force to materialize its aura, creating four new arms just like Machamp!"
"Mega Evolution..." Bea repeated softly. She vaguely remembered that term. It was something that had only recently been discovered in the Kalos region.
It was said that certain Pokémon, after reaching their "complete form," could still go one step further and achieve an "evolution beyond evolution" - Mega Evolution.
And regarding Medicham, there really were such stories. The training partner of that legendary Karate King had a Medicham!
Medicham and Haxorus!
Once again, the image of that legendary martial artist rose in Bea's mind. But this time, her mood was unexpectedly calm.
It was as if victory and defeat had both drifted away on the wind, leaving only herself and the whole world fused into one.
"Sixth Sense and aura... and Medicham belongs to the Human-Like Egg Group. In other words, according to a certain theory, if it can do it, then humans can do it too!"
Hikaru moved without warning. His straight punch shot toward Bea's face in an instant!
And in that same instant, the karate prodigy girl from Galar reacted on instinct alone. She snapped her head aside to avoid it, and before she even realized it, she had already risen, stepped back, and assumed her stance in one smooth sequence.
Bea stared at her own arms and body in shock.
"Just now... my body moved on its own. That feeling just now..."
"Exactly." Hikaru maintained his striking stance. "Life aura comes from water, grass, earth, lightning, and... dragon!"
"Your physical functions have improved, haven't they? Your reactions, agility, strength, and speed have all risen dramatically."
"And when Sixth Sense is raised even further, it becomes a special power - Aura!"
Bea was stunned.
"...Sixth Sense is Aura?!"
Galar had no people who used Aura, but Pokémon in Galar could use moves like Aura Sphere, so the concept was not entirely unfamiliar to Bea.
And before this, she had already seen Riolu unleashing a barrage of Aura Spheres.
Aura Sphere wasn't an especially widespread move, but it had a miraculous property: when someone was locked onto through Aura, the move never missed.
"That's right," Hikaru said. "Aura is a mental power everyone possesses, something like emotions or presence. All things have a fixed aura."
"And not just humans. Even machines possess Aura. By sensing the spiritual residue left on a machine, you can track down its creator and even judge whether that person is good or evil. People who train their Aura to that degree are extremely rare."
"What Medicham masters through harsh training is precisely Aura. Some people who can release the power of Aura are called Aura Guardians. And among them, those who once saved the world or left behind legends are called Aura Heroes."
"Give it a try. For the next twelve hours, raise your Sixth Sense and hold onto that feeling."
"You and I are the same. My psychic power is very strong - I can even use psychic abilities - but I don't really understand Aura. Some people, on the other hand, are simply born with it."
Thinking about it, people with overly strong psychic powers did seem to have trouble understanding Aura.
No Psychic-type specialist had ever really mentioned Aura in any clear way. After all, psychic power and spiritual power were both forms of mental energy.
The powerful mental powers humans could truly wield were probably limited, like Pokémon typings. A Pokémon could have at most two types, never three.
Still, even without Aura, Hikaru thought it would be good enough if he could remain in a constant state of Sixth Sense. And if he could imitate Medicham by shaping aura into floating fists of force, then wouldn't that basically turn things into a Dragon Ball set?
Put simply, it was all imitation and homage.
"It's said that after mastering Aura, or some other powerful mental force, a person can transmit that power to their Pokémon, and both will grow stronger together!"
"That's right. That state is called..."
"Synchronization!"
"As long as a human and Pokémon can reach a state where their hearts truly connect, that thing is known in martial arts as the Great Secret Technique."
"Though some people say no such thing exists..."
Bruno had once told Ash that if there truly was a Great Secret Technique in martial arts, then it had to be the union of heart and mind between human and Pokémon.
Perhaps the reason Ash later awakened Aura was itself a callback to that episode from the original series.
And in fact, people like that really did exist.
Setting N aside, even Professor Oak had shown the same kind of ability. When debating with a fake Professor Oak disguised by Team Rocket, he had immediately seen the root of Tyranitar's pain. And while out in the wild, he had sensed Lombre's suffering and taken out a Water Stone to help it evolve.
But that wasn't some supernatural power.
It was knowledge - knowledge accumulated through years and years of observing Pokémon.
And at that moment, Hikaru used his psychic power on Bea.
The instant their minds connected, Bea felt her Pokémon's pain flood into her. It nearly drove her to her knees, and sweat immediately broke out on her arms from the sheer intensity of it.
"It's not about making your Pokémon feel your pain. It's about you feeling your Pokémon's pain, sharing it as your own, and becoming one with your Pokémon..."
Of course, Hikaru hadn't said that at random.
Those were actually lines Iris would say during the Champion battle in Black 2 and White 2.
Even though N had left Unova by then, his power, his legend, and his deeds had undeniably influenced the later development and transformation of the Unova region.
Hikaru snapped his fingers, and the well-fed super elk let out a deep ancient metallic bellow before stomping into the battlefield with a thunderous crash.
But this time, Hikaru did not immediately give Ting-Lu an order. Instead, he turned to Torterra.
"Torterra, Grassy Terrain!"
"Torta!" Torterra let out a low roar. Green light, brimming with life energy, began glowing from its body. At the same time, along the underground river and across the luminous moss clinging to the cave walls for light, life began to surge wildly.
Under Grassy Terrain, the ground became lush with verdant grass.
"The battlefield changed...!" Bea stared in shock. "This barren land turned into a field!"
What surprised Hikaru a little was just how astonished Bea seemed by the activation of Grassy Terrain.
"What's wrong? Haven't you seen Terrain moves before?"
The four Terrain moves had been added in Generation VI, but it was in Generations VII and VIII that they truly rose to prominence. The biggest contributors there were naturally the four guardian deities, plus Rillaboom, affectionately called "Tapu Gorilla" by some.
But thinking it over, many regions still hadn't fully classified rare Abilities, and Paldea had only recently finalized its own starters. In that case, perhaps Galar's research into Abilities and moves was still lagging behind in some areas?
And Bea herself was extremely young. Not having seen it before did seem plausible.
Then again, Hikaru himself had only used Grassy Terrain once before, and that had been in front of Giovanni.
It seemed that the experience of the younger generation simply could not compare to that of veteran Trainers.
"Sorry..." Bea said quietly. "It's true. This is my first time seeing a move that can change the battlefield environment..."
"It's fine," Hikaru replied. "Terrain moves first appeared in Kalos and Alola. Other regions also have some Pokémon that can learn them, but if those Pokémon never actually use them, then naturally there's no real chance to witness them."
And although Leon did have a Rillaboom, that one had Overgrow, not Grassy Surge. Only in the Battle Tower period did people really get the chance to see a Rillaboom with Grassy Surge.
From that perspective, Leon's current lineup still had plenty of room to be strengthened.
"So far, four Terrain moves have been discovered. Grassy Terrain turns the battlefield into a grassland, slowly restores the life energy of any grounded Pokémon, and boosts the power of Grass-type moves."
"There's much more to it than that, but I'm not using it now for Grass-type attacks. I'm using it to protect this cave."
Hikaru smiled.
"Under Grassy Terrain, grounded Pokémon take half damage from Earthquake, Stomping Tantrum, and Magnitude. In other words, it weakens Ground-type moves."
"Of course, a move like Fissure isn't affected by Grassy Terrain. If it lands, it still causes a one-hit knockout. But at the very least, it can help suppress the shockwaves from Fissure. Otherwise, this whole cave might collapse."
Back in the Black 2 and White 2 era, Challenger's Cave had collapsed precisely because people inside were constantly beating the life out of each other and throwing around high-powered moves. As a result, the protagonist of Black 2 and White 2 could no longer go there to train.
And those six Trainers in the 60-plus range who used to block the way and pick fights had vanished from the map entirely because of it.
Honestly, for a place this legendary, failing to preserve it as part of Unova's cultural heritage and instead letting it collapse at the end was an immeasurable cultural loss. It was heartbreaking.
"Go, Machamp!" Bea took a deep breath. By now she had heard countless pieces of knowledge, and although she only half understood some of them, she had committed them all to memory.
"In the training ahead... I will definitely make all of this knowledge part of myself!"
Machamp let out a roar as well. It could feel it clearly: that enormous stag bearing a massive vessel on its back possessed the power of the Ground type.
And there was also that fearsome pressure. For Fighting-type Pokémon, the energy of the Dark type was all too familiar!
A Ground/Dark-type Pokémon!
As a Fighting-type, it could win!
"The point is to forge the move. Winning would be great, sure, but do you think it'll be that easy?"
"From this moment on, the real battle begins!"
At the instant Machamp and Bea froze, Hikaru took out a Tera Orb!
Brilliant shining crystals wrapped around Ting-Lu. And when the blinding radiance was reborn into a new form, there stood a super elk crowned with a fountain-like crystal on its head.
"Ting-Lu, Tera Type: Water!"
"This is the opponent you'll be facing in this special training! How is it? Pretty dazzling, isn't it? It's a battle system completely different from Galar's Dynamax, a power from the Paldea region called Terastalization!"
Under the blue crystalline light, Bea's sky-blue eyes looked even clearer.
"Tera... Water? Its type changed?!"
A form of battle where one could freely change type and avoid original weaknesses?!
The rumbling and thunderous crashing inside Challenger's Cave continued for two full days and nights.
The wild Pokémon in the cave were beaten down over and over again, healed, and then returned to the fierce battlefield once more.
Bea's Pokémon underwent brutal training, panting heavily through it all. During that process, Bea also shared their feelings, constantly observing their condition.
Finally, after who knew how many battles...
the power they had built up at last became sufficient.
And in a certain instant, Bea achieved complete unity with her Machamp!
It lasted for only a moment - a single instant of synchronization!
Machamp's aura exploded upward. Facing the giant Tera Water stag that it had fought for days without being able to defeat, it swung one fist downward with all its might!
A terrifying force split the earth, and the crack widened rapidly until it roared toward Ting-Lu at tremendous speed.
The ground split apart.
Even though the fierce blow ultimately failed and was blocked by Protect...
that gaping fissure in the earth already announced the total success of the training!
"It happened a little earlier than I expected," Hikaru said, standing at Ting-Lu's side and looking at the fissure Machamp had unleashed. It was still nowhere near the level of the Fissure Ting-Lu could create, and the PP was probably low as well, but it was enough.
Machamp learned - Fissure!
All it needed was a single move at the critical moment. When masters clashed, victory and defeat could be decided in an instant!
This time, Hikaru had truly completed a standard case of move tutoring.
Yes - just like the Move Tutors found in every region.
"At the same time, the other two have started glowing with evolution light as well!"
At Bea's side, Galarian Farfetch'd's aura surged higher and higher. During this battle, its giant leek had long since been cut apart, but whether this was simply a trait common to all Galarian Farfetch'd or not, even with its leek split, it continued fighting with the broken stalk in hand - and that was what finally allowed it to take the last step!
The broken leek blade became a lance. The snapped stalk became a shield. Its somewhat dark feathers turned pure white, and the eyes that had once burned with fighting spirit and anger became calm and unwavering.
Evolution - Sirfetch'd!
As for Clobbopus, after learning Taunt, the tentacles shaped like boxing gloves had been torn apart who knew how many times in battle. Ecologically speaking, Clobbopus often lost tentacles, so it normally didn't care, but when they were truly torn off, there was still pain.
Through pain, it reached evolution. Its once-innocent gaze became fierce, and the little octopus transformed into a Grapploct capable of using many different grappling techniques!
And through his sparring with Bea, Hikaru himself had also broken past his former limits and stepped slightly closer to a higher realm.
"After evolving, with targeted training, Sirfetch'd can master Meteor Assault before level 70, and Grapploct has now awakened Octolock."
"With that, Bea should finally be in her complete form, right? Even Machop has evolved into Machoke, so that covers the reserve slot in the team."
"The upcoming Champion Cup is definitely going to be a spectacle. I've also been invited to Galar's stadiums by then, so I hope you can give us a truly exciting battle."
Hopefully when Leon battled Bea, he wouldn't start asking questions at random. Otherwise, he might end up thinking, Why are you so selfish?
No... or maybe, with Leon's personality, he wouldn't think that at all. Chairman Rose might, though. If Leon lost, what kind of consequences would that cause?
After defeating Galar's genius Bea, your rising power has been strengthened!
You obtained the essence of Galar Karate!
Thanks to the effect of the Martial Arts Master profession, your legend rating increased, and you also completed a special case of move tutoring!
Obtained: Martial Skill +100%, Constitution +50%, Mobility +30%.
Obtained: 1 Ancient Lost Move - Meditate!
Obtained: Warlord Power (New) - the power of a certain ancient warlord from the Ransei region. Courageous Heart - Attack rises, and you can act twice in an instant!
(End of Chapter)
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