"Cacturne, use Growth."
"Cac~turn!"
◓---
The scene rewound to one month ago, during the final phase of Sato and his Pokémon's intensive training.
While many of his Pokémon had consecutively broken through to Elite Four level, Cacturne, who had been training under a Champion Serperior, had instead been unable to break through for a time.
On the training grounds, Cacturne was glowing with a thick golden light, and its body was rapidly growing larger at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just moments, the 1.5-meter-tall Cacturne had already surpassed five meters, and it was still slowly growing.
Standing across from Cacturne was a similarly giant Serperior. In its orange eyes were traces of cold indifference, arrogance, disdain… and a faint, nearly imperceptible hint of concern.
After all, Cacturne was a student it had personally trained.
Falling behind the other Pokémon in its breakthrough was already a step behind. It couldn't afford to have its specialty -[Growth: Gigantification]- end up meaningless as well.
Fortunately, Cacturne was naturally capable of learning the move Growth, and its previous strategies had already revolved around "stamina" as the core, making it fairly adaptable to Serperior's "specialty".
Serperior had used [Growth: Gigantification] to break through to the Elite Four level and even stepped into Champion level.
But for Cacturne, it was merely an additional, unique battle method.
On the surface, it seemed like a bonus, but it couldn't integrate seamlessly with Cacturne's existing tactical/battle system.
The two were fundamentally incompatible!
This was something Serperior, too confident in itself, hadn't noticed, but both Fujin and Sato had already discovered the issue.
Just as Sato was about to speak up and offer Cacturne some guidance, Fujin stopped him.
"Only by believing in itself can Cacturne achieve its breakthrough.
The reason it has fallen behind isn't just because things went too smoothly early on, but also because it doesn't fully agree with Serperior's style. At the same time, it lacks confidence in its own battle system."
"But…"
Sato thought differently. He was Cacturne's Trainer, shouldn't he be the one to step in when it was struggling?
"This time, listen to me. No Pokémon is anyone's subordinate. Not even if you've already caught them. Never underestimate their own potential!"
Fujin spoke like some kind of Yod…- ahem… mystic, utterly self-assured. Though Sato wasn't entirely convinced, he was willing to give both Cacturne -and himself- a chance.
Time flew by. Cacturne continued trying to break through the limits of "getting bigger," but its training became increasingly hesitant and conflicted. Eventually, it even started arguing with Serperior.
Cacturne was cold, Serperior was proud; neither was good at verbal communication.
So, the simplest and most direct method was to battle!
The results were obvious. The gap in strength was too big, and Cacturne didn't win even once.
But after each battle, Cacturne seemed more and more energized. Again and again, it provocatively challenged Serperior, trying to get it to fight…
Or rather, to get Serperior to "crush" it again and again!
It almost made Sato wonder whether Cacturne had awakened some strange new Nature…
Fortunately, after each beatdown, Cacturne appeared to improve. And each time, it endured longer during the next one.
Gradually, Sato noticed that Cacturne's [Growth: Gigantification] began to reverse. Its massive body started shrinking again.
That change clearly angered Serperior. Their "friendly communication" began to increase in frequency, and even three times a day wasn't enough anymore.
But Cacturne held on, and even continued to "shrink."
At the very end of the special training…
Cacturne chose to believe in itself!
---◓
Back at the Elite Four Tournament. Cacturne, its entire body looking as if cast from gold, calmly watched as Jolteon circled around it.
In terms of speed, Jolteon was without question the fastest on the field. Even Sharpedo would need to use Speed Boost a couple of times before it could catch up.
But Cacturne only sneered at that. It hadn't shown itself in the scene for years, and the world had forgotten its signature move!
The next moment…
Cotton Spore erupted in full force!
Off-white spores burst out from Cacturne's body in a frenzy, instantly covering the entire field.
Caught off guard, Jolteon took several of them head-on. Its needle-like fur was soon matted with spores.
After just a few steps, Jolteon slowed down!
"Drain Punch."
"Cac!"
Cacturne's legs were short, so its running speed wasn't great. The solution to this speed disadvantage had always been overwhelming explosive power.
This had always been a key focus of its training.
So when Jolteon's eyes were blurred by the flood of Cotton Spore, Cacturne pushed off with its stubby legs and was already by its side!
"Jolteon, Discharge!"
"Jolt!"
Jolteon reacted extremely fast. Discharge launched nearly instantaneously and struck the approaching Cacturne directly.
Brilliant golden electricity flashed, completely engulfing the equally golden Cacturne in a burst of light.
But before anything could happen, the electric light fizzled out like a deflated balloon, vanishing instantly.
Jolteon, on the other hand, was blasted sideways, leaving behind only a coolly posed Cacturne!
Its legs were still kind of short though…
"Drain Punch."
"Cac~turn!"
One move to rule them all. Sato's command was plain, but deadly.
"Jolteon, Thunder Wave!"
Electric was resisted by Grass-type, so Kuraki gave up on brute force and switched to Paralysis tactics.
Facing the guaranteed-hit Thunder Wave, the short-legged Cacturne didn't even try to dodge. Instead, its body suddenly expanded.
[Growth: Gigantification]!
Cacturne was shrouded in warm golden light as it rapidly grew within it, far faster than inflating a balloon.
At the same time, Thunder Wave hit…
But Thunder Wave was meant to paralyze. The faint electric current spread across Cacturne's now Super Saiya- cough… six-meter-tall body. It felt more like a tickle than anything else.
Seeing Cacturne suddenly grow that huge, Jolteon could only widen its round eyes in disbelief, screaming internally.
'IT'S LIKE A F***ING DREAM (σ-`д)!'
The next second, Cacturne lifted its now no-longer-stubby leg and stomped viciously at Jolteon.
Jolteon "jolted" in terror and bolted away like mad.
RUMMMMBLEEE!
Cacturne's stomp shook the entire arena like an earthquake…
Only it wasn't Earthquake, it was even more intense!
"JOLTEON, PIN MISSILE! SHOOT LIKE CRAZY!"
Kuraki shouted, trying to use his [Trainer: Revival Roar] to reignite Jolteon's fighting spirit.
But Jolteon didn't see it that way. It just kept weaving left and right, trying desperately to avoid each of Cacturne's pounding blows.
'Fighting spirit…?'
What was fighting spirit compared to staying alive?
This streetwise Jolteon just wanted the match to end so it could surrender with dignity.
•.
•.
New book "Struggling to Survive in the Pokémon World" now live!