Iron Valiant appeared on the beach, its cloth-like fins fluttering in the sea breeze, its eyes burning like torches.
The moment it appeared, it sensed something was wrong.
A strange pressure wrapped around its body, like a deep abyss pulling it down, suppressing its strength and reducing it to Quasi-King level.
Iron Valiant lowered its gaze to the double-edged sword in its hand, then slowly flexed its wrist and fingers. The feeling of being weighed down, as though stuck in a bog, was deeply uncomfortable.
Frowning, Iron Valiant turned its eyes toward the shallow water nearby.
It couldn't see clearly, but every so often it caught a glimpse of a large, muddy-yellow body flashing beneath the waves.
This was its opponent for the match: Relicanth!
Relicanth's body glided through the shallows, its muddy-yellow scales catching the sunlight whenever it rose near the surface.
...
After Iron Valiant arrived, a golden electric light flashed around the area, marking out a circular battlefield across the beach and the shallow water.
At the same moment, the light pulsed once, clearing away any stat boosts on both Pokémon.
This was necessary because, during the earlier round, Relicanth had used Rock Polish three times, raising its Speed to its limit. Letting it keep that advantage would have been unfair to Iron Valiant.
Clearing both sides' stat changes kept the match as fair as possible, and stopped trainers from stacking buffs before the fight even began.
"Iron Valiant, your opponent is that Relicanth. It's hiding in the shallows, so be careful it doesn't drag you into the sea," Jacob called out carefully. "Try to settle this on the beach."
Hearing Jacob's instructions, Iron Valiant nodded slightly. Its right hand tightened around the double-edged sword, eyes fixed on the sea, body lowered into a slight crouch. Its expression stayed calm and focused as it searched patiently for any opening in Relicanth's defense.
In that moment, Iron Valiant looked like an old-fashioned swordsman, calm yet sharp, its presence cutting through the air like a blade.
Time seemed to slow down. Iron Valiant didn't move, but its whole bearing was that of a sword ready to be drawn at any instant.
The instant Relicanth attacked, Iron Valiant would be ready to respond.
...
Hidden in the shallows, Relicanth was in no rush to strike either. It watched Iron Valiant patiently, studying it.
Even though both of them had been brought down to Quasi-King level, Relicanth could tell there was something different about Iron Valiant.
As one of the oldest Pokémon living in the Dragon Spiral Tower, Relicanth had faced countless challengers within this second-tier secret realm.
It had lost many of those battles, but almost every one of those losses came from trainers using type advantages or clever strategy against it.
Very few opponents had ever beaten it through raw strength and pure battle power alone.
But this Iron Valiant gave off exactly that kind of feeling.
Even before they had exchanged a single blow, Relicanth could sense the sharp, blade-like aura rolling off Iron Valiant, carrying a chilling intent to fight, without a single weakness showing through.
It had been a long time since Relicanth had faced an opponent this strong.
Relicanth stayed silent, watching and waiting, its body slowly drifting closer to the surface.
The instant its brown-yellow form broke into view, it surged forward with startling Water-type energy, gathering the ocean current around itself as it launched its attack.
Its hard, rocky body tore through the surface, gleaming under the sunlight as Water-type energy wrapped around it. Relicanth leapt clean out of the sea, using Aqua Jet to launch itself straight at Iron Valiant for the opening attack!
Waterfall!
Relicanth surged forward like a rushing iron beam, crashing straight toward Iron Valiant.
But standing on the beach, Iron Valiant reacted instantly. It caught the attack the moment it began and responded without delay.
Raising the purple double-edged sword, Iron Valiant dodged to the side and slashed at Relicanth in the same motion!
"Rip!"
The blade cut across Relicanth's hide, leaving a long gash on its tough skin as blood welled up.
It looked painful, but the actual damage was small.
That was because Relicanth's greatest strength was its Defense; its rock-hard body gave it remarkable protection, making it hard for even Iron Valiant to land a heavy hit.
Relicanth's attack had missed, but it didn't pause for even a second. Riding the seawater, it spun its body and swung its tail like a whip, dragging a massive wave behind it as it lashed out toward Iron Valiant, as if trying to swallow it whole.
"Aqua Tail!"
"Iron Valiant, dodge it, then use Aura Sphere!"
Faced with Relicanth's relentless attacks, Jacob quickly ordered Iron Valiant to put some distance between them.
Hearing Jacob's command, Iron Valiant didn't hesitate. It stepped lightly to the side, moving away from Relicanth, then pointed its double-edged sword forward as Fighting-type energy gathered around it.
An Aura Sphere formed instantly and shot toward Relicanth!
Against a Pokémon like Relicanth, which relies on strong physical Attack and Defense, fighting head-on isn't the best approach — it's far more effective to strike with special moves instead.
Special Attack and Special Defense were both Relicanth's weak points!
Seeing its attack dodged again, Relicanth didn't panic. It slammed its tail down into the shallows, sending water shooting upward into a curtain that blocked Iron Valiant's view. Using the cover, it slipped back beneath the waves, dodging the Aura Sphere completely.
The waves settled, and the sea grew calm again.
Iron Valiant stood on the beach, sword still in hand, almost as if the exchange had never happened.
Relicanth had already returned to the shallows, hiding itself once more as it prepared for its next move.
Only a few faint bloodstains scattered across the sand showed that the two had already traded blows.
...
Jacob couldn't help but hold his breath, struggling to believe that a Pokémon as seemingly slow as Relicanth could fight with such strength.
"Iron Valiant, use Calm Mind!"
Watching Relicanth sink back into the shallows and vanish beneath the water, Jacob called out for Iron Valiant to use Calm Mind, raising its Special Attack and Special Defense.
At Jacob's command, Psychic-type energy rose up around Iron Valiant, wrapping its body.
Calm and unmoving, focused and composed.
In an instant, Iron Valiant's Special Attack and Special Defense climbed higher.
At the same moment, seeing Iron Valiant begin to power up, Relicanth could no longer hold back and surged into motion.
Ripples of water spread out, and emerald-colored waves rose.
Relicanth stirred up a massive wave and sent it crashing toward Iron Valiant.
Surf!
Watching this, Jacob's brow furrowed.
He hadn't expected Relicanth to use Surf, a Special-type move.
After all, Relicanth's Attack stat was 90, while its Special Attack was only 45. Normally, there was no reason for it to rely on special moves at all.
Jacob frowned as he stared at the towering wave — and then it hit him.
Relicanth wasn't trying to deal damage with the wave at all. It only wanted to use the rising water to hide its movements, so it could strike at Iron Valiant unseen!
...