Water Spout in the rain. Half a Kyogre's worth of force.
That was a reference to the power of Kyogre, god of the sea, in rain teams.
The move Water Spout had once been translated differently in older circles, almost like "Tsunami."
Back in the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald era, Kyogre's power in the story had been overwhelming enough to plunge all of Hoenn into storms and flooding, with tidal waves swallowing huge stretches of sea routes and islands. Because of that, the move itself had long been treated like a mysterious and devastating ultimate technique.
And in proper battle, it really did live up to that reputation. It was absolutely a top-tier nuke.
With Kyogre's absurd base 150 Special Attack and base 100 HP, Water Spout started at 150 base power, then received both the 1.5x rain boost and the 1.5x same-type attack bonus.
Add Choice Specs, a Modest nature, and even Helping Hand support on top of that, and on equal footing, almost no Pokémon could survive a hit like that.
That was what "one Kyogre's worth of force" meant.
And in the Scarlet and Violet era, that power could be pushed even further with Water Tera.
"Jellicent has base 85 Special Attack and base 100 HP. It gets both the rain boost and STAB too, so calling it half a Kyogre isn't really an exaggeration!"
Water Spout was a true super move. Hikaru really had not expected Shauntal, a Ghost-type Elite Four member, to bring out Trick Room, item-swapping tactics, and now even rain-boosted Water Spout.
Are you sure you're not actually a Water-type Elite Four member?
"Water/Ghost is an excellent defensive typing. It only has four weaknesses, while packing six resistances and two immunities. Its Defense stat isn't especially high, but with Recover and Acid Armor, this Pokémon once had its own glory days."
The massive tidal wave Jellicent unleashed almost completely flooded Shauntal's battle tower, but there were spiritual barriers on the lower level, so all that water was forced out through the tower windows instead.
Otherwise every book on those shelves would have been soaked through and turned into blank scripture.
Hikaru had been planning to let Aegislash sweep the whole tower, but from the look of things, if he didn't use its kingly stance, it probably wouldn't be enough to take down this Pokémon. Shauntal's Jellicent could keep firing off Water Spout, while Aegislash couldn't keep using King's Shield forever.
Of course, it wasn't as though there were no ways to block it.
For example: Wide Guard.
By alternating King's Shield and Wide Guard, he could shut down the opponent's repeated attacks, but Jellicent would definitely use that chance to start setting up Acid Armor.
So there was no reason to stall here.
Hikaru exchanged a look with Aegislash. The sword spirit flashed into a beam of light and returned straight to its Poké Ball.
Then a huge dragon of water took the field.
Water/Dragon typing. Fourfold resistance to Water.
Forget half a Kyogre. Even two whole Kyogres' worth of force could still be tanked.
"Graaaoooh!"
Walking Wake roared the instant it came out.
Opening move: Noble Roar.
It lowered the opponent's Attack and Special Attack.
Ghost-types were immune to Normal- and Fighting-type attacks unless effects like Foresight, Odor Sleuth, or Abilities like Scrappy and Mind's Eye came into play, but status moves were a different matter. In most cases, Ghost-types could not ignore those.
Just like how Ghost-types were still affected by Perish Song. Most status moves were not blocked by type immunity.
Of course, that was "most," because there were rare exceptions, like a Normalized Thunder Wave setup, but that was obscure enough to ignore here.
Jellicent's Water Spout slammed into Walking Wake's body, but the water dragon simply roared and twisted through it, completely unfazed.
And under the rain, Walking Wake's own power rose as well.
Protosynthesis could not activate, but its Water-type moves still received a 1.5x power boost!
"Water Spout would be incredible if Walking Wake could learn it. But as of now, aside from whale Pokémon and jellyfish Pokémon, the only non-whale, non-jellyfish Pokémon that can actually learn the move are Squirtle and Remoraid! To use a move like that, you need to either control vast quantities of seawater or store enormous amounts of water inside your body!"
If Walking Wake wanted to master that ultimate move, it would take a lot of effort. And with its base 125 Special Attack and base 99 HP, if it ever did learn Water Spout, it might not be half a Kyogre, but at least two-thirds of one.
"It's time. Walking Wake, use Snarl!"
In a decisive battle in Unova, how could he not use this move?
In Unova itself, this was not a move you could normally obtain. Only that wandering Zoroark had it. This was one of those so-called "moves passed down by a friend." But in Walking Wake's case, learning it was completely legal.
"Snarl. An endless barrage of harsh rebukes. It lowers the target's Special Attack by one stage with 100% certainty!"
"Combat technique: Repeat!"
At Hikaru's command, Walking Wake did nothing but keep snarling and roaring.
Jellicent's stats were quickly dragged all the way down to the floor, and because Dark-type attacks were super effective against it, its HP soon dropped to a flickering thread.
And Water Spout's power fell lower and lower as its HP decreased.
Shauntal: "Recover!"
Hikaru: "Don't let it heal. Use Hurricane!"
"In rain, Hurricane never misses!"
A violent storm crashed into Jellicent at once, sweeping it into the eye of the gale and leaving it confused in the process.
"At the final moment, can I still reverse this...?" Shauntal murmured in a chuunibyou whisper, as though narrating one of her own novels. "My answer is... Destiny Bond!"
Badly wounded and confused, Jellicent still managed to release a fierce burst of ghostly light in its final muddled moment.
Destiny Bond.
Jellicent wanted to drag Walking Wake down with it. If the user of Destiny Bond fainted after activating it, then the Pokémon that knocked it out would fall as well.
Hikaru: "And yet... I'm going to spare you. Use Roar!"
Walking Wake unleashed an earth-shaking bellow.
A Pokémon hit by Roar would be overwhelmed, forced off the field, and replaced by another reserve Pokémon. Against a wild Pokémon, the battle would simply end.
"Roar never misses unless the target is off the field charging a semi-invulnerable move, and it also ignores Substitute!"
Jellicent was blasted off the field. Its last scraps of HP could not recover, and it was still confused besides. Shauntal's fourth Pokémon was forcibly dragged into battle.
Among Shauntal's lineup, there was one awkward outlier: Froslass. Clearly it had been brought to patch weaknesses.
But right now, it had become a crack in the defense.
Shauntal: "Froslass, block the way!"
Hikaru: "Flamethrower!"
Walking Wake opened its jaws wide, and an overwhelming torrent of flame completely swallowed the Froslass that had just been forced onto the field.
Froslass had a double weakness to Fire, and its defenses were nothing exceptional. It was beloved by many players because it was so beautiful, but until the mystery of its Mega Evolution was ever resolved, it really could not be called a particularly powerful Pokémon.
In high-level battles, losing a Pokémon instantly because of an unexpected turn was common enough, especially when dealing with trap sets or Pokémon whose movepools had not yet been fully revealed.
Froslass's Ability was Snow Cloak, but there was no chance for it to matter here. After taking the Flamethrower, it immediately fainted.
Walking Wake threw back its head with a proud roar. The water dragon was in an excellent mood now.
But the next instant, its body swayed, and a pained expression twisted across its face.
Hikaru: "Hm? Curse."
"Exactly!" Shauntal took a breath. "I may not have spirit power myself, but my Pokémon do. So sometimes I can still understand what they're thinking, and in battle, I can synchronize with them in the moment."
"So if I already knew that water dragon had Fire-type moves, and had once even been mistaken for the true dragon itself, and I also knew that my final three Pokémon would all have bad matchups against it... what do you think I would do?"
"The answer is: always be ready to use Curse! I thought of it the moment that dragon hit the field. Or rather, this move was meant from the beginning for Aegislash... or any one of your strongest Pokémon."
"Your team has weaker members too. If you open with your strongest Pokémon right away, it's easy to run out of steam later!"
"Under the Curse status, a Pokémon keeps losing HP. Just four turns... and it faints!"
"And your Pokémon can't switch out now, either!"
So that was what she had meant by blocking the way.
No matter what, she had intended to trade one of his strongest Pokémon here.
Shauntal pulled out her fifth Poké Ball. Truth be told, the battle had shaken her badly as well, but she had already decided that as long as she could take out the Pokémon that most threatened her...
Then whether it was Torterra, Hisuian Lilligant, Riolu, or even Larvesta, her ace Chandelure should still have a real chance to beat the rest. Maybe even sweep them.
"Hm. A sacrificial Curse blockade really is a brilliant tactic. This is exactly the kind of thing weaker pieces need to do to trade off against stronger ones." Hikaru sounded genuinely impressed by the succession of tactics Shauntal had shown. "I've seen three or four interesting ideas in a single battle already. As expected of a novelist."
Shauntal looked a little bashful.
"Well, I always have lots of material in my head..."
"But!"
Hikaru's tone suddenly changed, making Shauntal jump.
"Block effects keep the chosen Pokémon from escaping, yes. But some things are exceptions. So tell me... do you think my water dragon might happen to know a certain special move?"
"A certain special move...?" Shauntal frowned, then suddenly her eyes widened.
"Wait. Don't tell me...!"
Hikaru: "Walking Wake, use Flip Turn!"
"Graaaaoooh!"
The water dragon lunged forward. After Froslass had gone down, the Pokémon now standing opposite it was Drifblim.
Shauntal: "The data says that's the move it used in its battle against Drayden! I see now. It's a Water-type move, and the name is very similar to U-turn, so the effect should be the same!"
"It ignores the trapped condition and lets the user switch out normally with a reserve Pokémon!"
"Don't let it hit! Go airborne!"
[Drifblim] flew up high!
Drifblim drifted high into the air. Water swirled around Walking Wake, but the first strike missed.
Still, Walking Wake did not look the least bit frustrated. Even though the Curse was getting stronger and tearing off more of its HP by the moment...
How could it possibly have no answer to a flying Pokémon?
"Tornado!" Hikaru looked up at Drifblim and confirmed that what it had used was not a simple Fly state, but the move Fly itself.
This tower was tall enough that Flying-type Pokémon had plenty of room to maneuver, and Fly, as an old field move, could be learned by almost any Pokémon even remotely related to flight.
Using Fly, Dig, or Dive to stall a turn and dodge enemy attacks was a standard tactic.
But the important thing to remember was this:
Hikaru: "Every evasive move has techniques designed to punish it. It's just that some of those counters are common, and some are rare!"
"Tornado can hit Pokémon in the Fly state. It has a 20% chance to make a target that hasn't acted yet flinch, and when it strikes a flying target, its power doubles!"
A 40-power wind move might look dramatic, but under normal circumstances it hit too weakly to do meaningful damage.
But with same-type attack bonus, and with its power doubling against a target in the air, its effective force jumped instantly to 120!
A 120-power Dragon-type move!
Boom!
The inside of the high tower was torn apart by the tornado. Even the spiritual barrier was starting to crack.
"So much power! How is that even possible...?!" Shauntal shielded her face with one arm against the raging tornado, shock flooding her heart.
Fortunately, Drifblim had enormous HP.
Shauntal: "It won't go down that easily... Drifblim is made of despondent souls gathered together, and the gas filling its body is made from the souls of life themselves!"
It was precisely because it was stuffed full of such souls...
that Drifblim had a staggering base 150 HP.
"Minimize!" Shauntal suddenly gave a command that seemed meaningless, but Hikaru instantly felt danger.
At the same time he sent his command mentally, Walking Wake surged forward the instant its HP dropped to a thread.
Minimize?
Of course.
Drifblim was one of the rare filthy Pokémon that could learn Minimize. In competitive history, Minimize teams had been infamous for a reason.
And Minimize was not all it had.
Calm Mind. Amnesia. Baton Pass.
Minimize let the user curl up into a much smaller shape, drastically increasing its evasion.
"You're not going to hit it! Drifblim's evasion is already rising, and its body is shrinking-"
"And next comes Baton Pass, right?" Hikaru cut in, voicing her exact plan. "Minimize Baton Pass. Make yourself untouchable, then if everything goes well, Chandelure will get rid of its greatest weakness to Water and might be able to sweep the rest!"
"Shauntal... you really are one of the Elite Four."
"But unfortunately-"
"Dragon Rush!"
After Aerodactyl had learned Dragon Rush from "Professor Big Belly," Hikaru had recorded the move. Walking Wake could learn it too.
Under normal circumstances, the move had little use for a specially oriented Walking Wake. Its base Attack was only 83. Even though his own Husky Wake had picked up a fair amount of Attack EVs early on from all its mischief and theft, it still paled beside its Special Attack.
And yet, under special circumstances, these physical attacks could fill coverage gaps, break walls, or catch opponents completely off guard.
Hikaru: "Dragon Rush. The user throws itself at the opponent with terrifying killing intent, smashing into them while intimidating them. Sometimes it also makes the opponent flinch."
"But this move belongs to the category of stomping and crushing attacks. Which means that if the target is in a Minimize state, its power doubles!"
"And under those conditions, Dragon Rush never misses. Got you!"
Base 100 power.
After doubling, then applying STAB, the move hit an effective power of 300.
Shauntal went pale.
"Hah? Another Dragon-type move that doubles its power?! Damn it, I forgot!"
Shauntal was still a young woman herself. Becoming one of the Elite Four meant she had obviously beaten all eight Gyms and crushed the previous Elite Four member to take the seat.
But Drayden generally did not use Tornado or Dragon Rush. His specialty was Draco Meteor and Dragon Tail.
Of course, not using a move did not mean he didn't know it.
At that moment, the shrinking Drifblim suddenly found itself locked onto by overwhelming killing intent.
That enormous draconic killing aura formed into a tangible gale. Walking Wake came crashing down on Drifblim like a mountain, and in that moment, it triggered Drifblim's Ability:
Aftermath.
Back in Black and White and earlier, Drifblim still had Aftermath. It only shifted to the much more useful Unburden in Black 2 and White 2.
Still, either Ability had its own uses depending on the context.
Amid the explosion, Walking Wake roared, but the light in its eyes dimmed. White vapor escaped its mouth as it let out a low groan and collapsed.
Curse and Aftermath had both taken effect, and Shauntal's Minimize Baton Pass strategy had been cut off completely!
Shauntal: "Dragon Rush... why would you teach a move like that to a water dragon? I honestly forgot Drayden-sensei could use that move... Ugh, what a blunder!"
"But now let me begin the final battle. Being forced into a corner and striking back is the protagonist's privilege!"
Hikaru: "But you're not the protagonist. You're the author."
"Your last Pokémon is Chandelure. The field situation favors you. Every Pokémon I have left, except for the final one, is theoretically weak to Fire and disadvantaged against Ghost."
"So then, my third Pokémon is this one!"
Shauntal's Chandelure had Flame Body, not Flash Fire.
And that was exactly why Hikaru sent out-
"Torterra!"
"Torterra?!" Shauntal was completely baffled. "You're sending out a Pokémon with a horribly unfavorable typing?"
"Who says a reverse-matchup master can't still win?" Hikaru laughed, then took a deep breath. "All right, same as usual!"
Torterra shook the sacred tree on its back, and the effect of a cracking shell appeared across its body.
Opening move: Shell Smash.
Boom!
Then Torterra threw its jaws wide, gathering Rock-type energy at incredible speed.
A sudden warning flared in Shauntal's heart.
"My final chapter begins now!"
"Chandelure! Use Burn Up!"
Hikaru: "Loaded Dice! Torterra, use Rock Blast!"
A Torterra that held Loaded Dice was the true Torterra.
Starting from Shell Smash, it could choose either White Herb or Loaded Dice, abandoning defense entirely to transform itself into a fast offensive beast. A Torterra that could learn Seed Machine Gun and Rock Blast became capable of threatening almost any powerful foe once Loaded Dice entered the equation.
Grass was simply not the right type to serve as a static artillery platform or a true wall. It had only two resistances, eleven neutral matchups, three double weaknesses to Flying, Bug, and Fire, and of course the proud mark of the strong: a quadruple weakness to Ice.
That was why, despite its tremendous base 105 Defense, Torterra still could not function as a truly solid wall. Almost any attack it took seemed to carve away half its HP on the spot.
So at least starting in Generation IX, it could be said clearly:
Ash's fast offense build, with both offensive stats fully invested, had genuinely been one of the right ways to play it.
Left bow B, activated!
I've finally learned the left-bow rapid-fire style!
"With setup like Shell Smash and Swords Dance, strong offensive options like Leech Life, Earthquake, Rock Blast, and Rock Slide, plus Trailblaze for speed control, Torterra only has one real mission as a Ground-type. If it can't become a true defensive wall like Gastrodon, then the only answer left is offense!"
"Ground and Rock are brutally strong attacking types!"
Torterra gathered up what looked like an endless supply of stones and fired them from its mouth like a rocket battery.
It bombarded Chandelure with a literal storm of rock shells.
Burn Up was shattered by the incoming barrage, flames scattering everywhere. In the next instant, Chandelure was swallowed by the storm of stone.
Shauntal: "Swagger!"
Hikaru: "Safeguard!"
Shauntal's eyes went wide.
"Torterra can learn Safeguard... damn it!"
"Tortaaah!"
What incredible power. Thank you for the boost!
Torterra roared at Chandelure in booming gratitude.
Of course, it sounded a lot more like mockery.
Hikaru: "Torterra's Attack rose sharply! And thanks to Safeguard, it avoided the confusion side effect!"
Chandelure was starting to panic.
Its flames could not reach the enemy at all, while the opposing Torterra's stream of rock shells had not stopped for even an instant.
The bombardment was like a relentless artillery storm, as if it meant to blast the entire tower into collapse. Chandelure had never seen such a vicious Grass-type Pokémon before.
And now, on top of that...
Torterra's Attack had risen by four stages, while its Special Attack and Speed were up by two.
Under pressure, Shauntal chose an even nastier tactic.
"Pain Split!"
Pain Split was a Normal-type move many Ghost-types could learn, and it was a deeply underhanded one. It added together the current HP of the user and target, then "kindly" divided the result equally between them both.
What part of that was kind?
And more than that, Pain Split always hit, and did not deal damage in the normal sense at all, which meant it ignored every usual damage-related check and interaction.
"If you want life force, then by all means, take it! Because no matter how much life you gain-"
"Use Overheat!" Hikaru interrupted, and Shauntal seized the opening to unleash one of Fire's strongest nukes.
A blast of fierce fire engulfed Torterra, making it look as though its body itself might ignite. Burning sparks burst over its shell, but fortunately the power of nature protected the rare plants on its back completely.
If anything, those plants seemed to be lending Torterra even greater life force.
Shauntal: "It didn't go down?! Wait... no, that was Amnesia!"
A Torterra with a double weakness to Fire had no business surviving a full Overheat intact.
Which meant there could be only one answer:
Amnesia. And...
"A Grass-type Pokémon's held item would obviously be a Berry that weakens Fire, Ice, or Poison." Hikaru explained calmly. "My Torterra has exuberant vitality. Even its coloring is orange-red instead of green."
"It can freely produce different kinds of fruit to deal with different combat situations. Against Overheat, it used Amnesia and then ate an Occa Berry, which cuts the power of a Fire-type move in half."
"Look." Hikaru suddenly said something that seemed entirely unrelated. "There's water all over the ground, right?"
"That's the flood your Jellicent caused earlier, combined with the accumulated rain. Even though the spiritual barriers contained it, the battlefield is still full of standing water."
Shauntal glanced down. It was true. The entire arena had become a sheet of water, and even her own feet were standing ankle-deep in it.
"Are you... worried about the cleanup afterward? It's fine, this place is waterproof."
Hikaru smiled.
"No, I'm not worried about cleanup for your sake. I'm talking about how standing water changes the battlefield."
"That's right. The so-called battle location."
"Once, a Ranger said that the power of nature should be used in battle."
"And now the battle location here has changed from building interior to surface of water. My Torterra learned a move a long time ago, but I've never had the right chance to use it."
"Now the chance has come."
"Use Nature Power!"
Shauntal blinked. She still had no idea what was about to happen.
Then, in the next instant, the energy building in Torterra's mouth was no longer Rock-type at all.
Instead-
"Hydro Pump?!"
Boom!
Hydro Pump struck Chandelure head-on.
Super effective!
Shauntal stared in total confusion and shock as Torterra used a move it absolutely should not have been able to fire, and in one hit defeated her ace.
Hikaru let out a breath when he saw her stunned expression, then explained simply:
"There are three moves in this world that can change type, effect, or the move they call forth depending on the battlefield or the item being held."
"Nature Power borrows the strength of nature itself. Depending on the location where it is used, it calls forth a different move."
"My Torterra is like nature itself in motion!"
"In a volcano, it becomes Incinerate. In the sky, Air Slash. In a graveyard, Shadow Ball. In outer space, Draco Meteor. On ice, Ice Beam. On open ground, Earth Power. In caves, Power Gem. In artificial buildings, Tri Attack."
"Of course, because of different regional conditions, Nature Power can call forth different moves even in places that seem alike. For example, over the sea in Hoenn it can become Surf, while underwater it can become Waterfall."
"And on the surface of water, the move it becomes is Hydro Pump!"
Shauntal blinked again and scratched at her head.
Honestly, she could not even describe her emotions anymore.
"Everything you just said feels like it could become novel material... but right now I think I lost! So the final result is... one to six?"
Jellicent was technically still able to battle, but the result could no longer be changed.
Shauntal gave a long, helpless sigh. Holding her Chandelure in her arms, she dropped to one knee in the pooled water. There was regret on her face, yes, but also genuine delight.
"I truly don't even know what to say anymore!"
"I know so many words, but I still can't express this properly. If I try, the feelings piled up inside me will burst out like a flood and I won't be able to control them..."
"Maybe this just isn't something language can fully express. But if there's one thing I can still say, it's this-"
"Shopkeeper, you're even stronger than I imagined!"
"Go to Marshal's tower. He's waiting for you there."
But Hikaru did not move right away.
Instead, he walked over to her.
"Uh... there's one thing I need your help with." Hikaru gave a light cough. "This is an ancient bracelet. It can record any move. What I mean is..."
"I want to record Water Spout."
(End of Chapter)
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