Sandstorm raged. Snow and ice howled!
With Cacturne and Cloyster at the center, the battlefield had sharply split into two distinct zones.
On Cacturne's side, sand filled the air, with faint golden glows flickering within the haze.
Around Cloyster, snowflakes flew wildly as bitter winds carried fine frozen pellets, clinking sharply against its shell.
Spectators seated near the center of the field were having a rough time, gusts of wind and freezing rain slapped randomly across their faces.
At last, it seemed the energy on the battlefield had reached its limit. The sandstorm and blizzard collapsed nearly simultaneously.
Cacturne and Cloyster locked eyes… and in the next moment, they clashed again in fierce combat.
Cloyster fired Icicle Spears like a machine gun, shooting shard after shard of freezing ice at sharp, tricky angles toward Cacturne.
Cacturne stepped forward steadily, the spikes on its arms glowing white. One crooked Pin Missile after another shot out, unbelievably intercepting every incoming Icicle Spear.
Then… every single one detonated!
Sato silently observed the situation, ready to intervene at any moment, but so far Cacturne had performed excellently.
And when it came to needles, who in the entire Pokémon world could outmatch Cacturne?
Eventually, Cloyster couldn't hold out anymore. Icicle Spear drained far more energy than Pin Missile, and the latter only needed to detonate the former.
Cloyster was the first to stop. With its barrage ceased, the leftover Pin Missiles naturally flew straight at it.
Ding~ Ding~ Ding~ Ding…
A crisp series of sounds followed, but Cloyster's shell didn't even show a scratch; its defense was absurdly thick.
"Cactuuurn!"
A light cry rang out from behind Cloyster.
It was Cacturne, who had used the cover from the Pin Missiles to slip around behind it!
A soft green glow flickered as Cacturne gripped an Energy Ball in each hand and slammed them directly into Cloyster's body!
Boom… Boom…
Two dull explosions rang out. Black smoke began to rise from within Cloyster's tightly shut shell; it had clearly taken heavy damage.
But before Cacturne could follow up, Cloyster's rock-solid shell suddenly began to glow with a strange red light.
Crack!
With a loud shatter, the shell disintegrated and turned into red light that merged into Cloyster's body.
The usually sluggish Cloyster seemed to shed a lifetime of restraints… its speed skyrocketed as it spun and launched a fierce counterattack on the still-close Cacturne!
Shell Smash + Icicle Spear.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
All five hits landed!
Cacturne was stunned. The icy spears stabbed deep into its body, the chill penetrating straight to the bone(?). Then came the freezing sensation, numbing everything. It only felt pain for an instant… and then nothing at all.
If the spears missed, it was fine. But when they hit, they hit five times, and the freezing effect attached to them was far beyond what ordinary Ice-types could achieve.
'It must have absorbed multiple rare Regional-Items!' Sato thought with certainty.
"Synthesis!"
The command rang out, prompting Cacturne to act on instinct.
The golden hat and all the spikes around its body began to glow, absorbing solar energy from the air.
Its body started to warm up again, but that also reawakened all the pain that had been frozen; this secondary wave of intense damage brought Cacturne to one knee, panting heavily.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud…
More Icicle Spears!
"Spiky Shield."
Without a moment's hesitation, Sato commanded Cacturne to throw up its lifesaving move.
A barrage of spikes erupted around Cacturne, instantly shielding and enveloping it.
The incoming Icicle Spear only pierced the outermost layer of spikes, it had no effect on the Cacturne inside.
"He's traded off some offensive power in favor of maxing out freeze damage…?"
Sato muttered to himself, but he wasn't worried about Cacturne's situation.
Aside from providing a one-time absolute defense like Protect, Spiky Shield's defensive spikes wouldn't disappear right away after activation. Instead, they became optimal plant material that Cacturne could control.
Just like now.
Cacturne couldn't directly absorb sunlight while hiding inside, but the spiked shield had already taken over the task and continued Synthesis.
Recovery was happening constantly.
And as Sato's only Grass-type Pokémon, Cacturne had been "nurtured" by a Champion level Serperior, gaining exceptional recovery skills even beyond what Grass-types were already known for.
By the time the second round of five consecutive Icicle Spears arrived, Cacturne had already recovered from the freeze and retreated to a safer zone.
At this point, Cacturne looked as if it had never been struck by the spears at all. Its golden body gleamed as solar energy flowed gently across its surface, radiating with the brilliance of a golden statue.
The sandstorm subsided.
The blizzard calmed.
Sunlight pierced through the gloomy sky and shone down onto the battlefield.
Sato looked up and glanced at the clearing sky.
Weather advantage… secured!
"Energy Ball, fire in succession."
"Blizzard!"
Energy Balls howled through the air, clashing with the sweeping Blizzard launched by Cloyster.
This time, there was no direct collision. The spiraling Energy Balls cut right through the Blizzard, continuing toward Cloyster.
Meanwhile, the Blizzard quickly closed the gap left by the Energy Balls, surging toward Cacturne like a tidal wave.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM…
CRASSSH~!
Energy Balls, hit!
Blizzard… also hit!
As the blizzard gradually faded, Cacturne stood in place, completely covered in snow, trembling and unable to move.
But Cloyster had collapsed completely. With its already low Special Defense further weakened by Shell Smash, it stood no chance against three consecutive Energy Balls.
Sato looked at the shivering Cacturne and felt a strange sense of déjà vu…
As the referee loudly declared the result, Elite Four Pryce calmly recalled Cloyster. Without waiting to see if Sato would switch Pokémon, he immediately sent out his next one.
A red feathered crest, white bone-like claws, and blood-red pupils… it was a Pokémon Sato knew all too well.
Weavile!
And the moment Pryce's Weavile entered the field, Sato could feel one of the Poké Balls on his belt trembling uncontrollably.
It was requesting to fight!
A flash of red light… Cacturne was recalled. Without hesitation, Sato pulled out the shaking Poké Ball and threw it onto the field.
Same red crest.
Same white bone claws.
Same blood-red eyes.
The Pokémon that had requested the battle… was Sato's own Weavile!
When both Weavile appeared at the same time, Sato and Pryce immediately noticed that -even though they were both Elite Four level- their appearance and presence were entirely different.
Pryce's Weavile had a longer crest and a more brilliantly shining yellow gem on its forehead.
But Sato's Weavile was clearly younger, more muscular, and noticeably larger in build.
One look at those coldly gleaming claws made it clear… they were far sharper than Pryce's.
'Lapras and Cloyster already pushed Ice-type energy to its limits. I bet this Weavile also focuses on Special Attacks moves,' Sato guessed to himself.
And the truth… was exactly that.
"Weavile, Ice Punch!"
"Weavile, Night Slash!"