"The rule for the first match is to use an Ice-type move to freeze the water jetting from the geyser. Whoever freezes it the fastest is the winner!"
As he spoke, Danny had already sent out his Pokémon first.
With the opening of the Poké Ball, a Nidoqueen appeared on the summit.
After releasing his Pokémon, Danny slowly put away the empty Poké Ball, at the same time glancing sideways at the Ultra Ball in Natsui's hand, constantly guessing what Pokémon he would send out to deal with this situation.
Beside him, Natsui also glanced at the Nidoqueen.
Just like the Nidoking he had seen before, Nidoqueen was also a large, bipedal Pokémon. However, its hide was blue, and it was exclusively female, perfectly complementing the purple-hided male Nidoking.
It was said that Nidoqueen are very caring towards their young and will become extremely fierce to protect them.
However, since the goal was to freeze the geyser, the Pokémon sent out would ideally be able to use an Ice-type move successfully.
But as a Poison- and Ground-type, Nidoqueen was originally unable to learn Ice-type moves on its own. It seemed that for this competition event, Danny must have used some other method to teach this Nidoqueen an Ice-type move.
But... in the Orange Archipelago, filled with seas big and small, he could have used common Water-type Pokémon like Seel, Dewgong, Cloyster, or Lapras, which can learn Ice-type moves and synergize with their own Water typing to enhance each other's power. So why did Danny choose a Ground-type Nidoqueen?
I really don't understand his reasoning...
Although puzzled, Natsui didn't want to waste too much brainpower on it. In any case, no matter what considerations or goals he had, they would be insignificant in the face of his own Pokémon!
"Come on out, Articuno!"
At Natsui's call, at first, hearing the name Articuno, Danny was stunned. He thought he was hallucinating or that Natsui had called out the wrong name.
However, when Articuno, spreading its wings, truly revealed its beautiful form before him, his jaw dropped in astonishment, unable to believe his eyes!
"Ar... Ar... Articuno!?"
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and immediately wanted to get closer to Articuno for a better look, but was frightened back to his original spot by a flap of its wings.
"Mr. Natsui... this Ar... this god of ice, where on earth did you get it?"
The god of ice?
Natsui was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head.
"Sorry, this Articuno is not the god of ice of your Orange Archipelago. It's just one I happened to encounter during my travels."
Hearing that it wasn't the god of ice, Danny couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The god of ice, along with the gods of thunder and fire, were the sacred birds in their hearts, the long-time protectors of the Orange Archipelago, who had always skillfully maintained the ecological balance of the region and could not be disturbed!
In fact, he had grown up listening to their legends.
But then again, Articuno is a species. Although very rare, they don't only exist in the Orange Archipelago.
And as an ancient legend, the god of ice was so powerful that not only was it impossible to find, but how could it possibly be captured by a human!
But even so, his gaze towards Natsui had become very complicated.
Originally, he had just seen Natsui as an ordinary challenger. However, after this Articuno appeared, he would never again believe he was just an ordinary trainer!
"Mr. Natsui, who on earth are you?"
He didn't even notice that his tone had unconsciously changed!
In truth, although the Orange Archipelago was very close to Kanto, as an islander who didn't pay much attention to outside affairs, Danny lived in his own world and rarely checked the news from other places. Therefore, even though Natsui had won the Indigo Conference and made a big name for himself, he was completely unaware.
"Who am I?" Natsui shook his head slightly. "In the Orange League, I'm really just an ordinary challenger. But if you were to check what's been happening in other regions during this period, you should be able to find out my identity very quickly."
Hearing him say this, Danny really wanted to take out his phone right away and find out this man's background, but it was obviously not the right time during a match.
Reigning in his thoughts, the two of them refocused their attention on their Pokémon.
At this moment, the two Pokémon stood side by side, facing two fissures in the mountain, quietly waiting for the right moment.
These two fissures actually originated from the same geyser, but a rock above had split the opening in two. This was why, when the geyser erupted, it could send out two streams of water at the same time!
But…
Danny looked at the Nidoqueen he had once been so proud of. Standing next to Articuno, it now seemed lackluster and incredibly ordinary.
After waiting for a while, with a slight tremor underfoot, the geyser suddenly erupted, and two adjacent streams of water shot up from the fissures into the air.
Now!
Natsui and Danny gave their commands almost in unison.
"Articuno, use Ice Beam!"
"Nidoqueen, use Ice Beam!"
The water, billowing with steam, shot three or four meters high. When the Ice Beams hit it, a large amount of steam was instantly generated!
Because the water temperature was so high, to freeze it completely required the Pokémon to use extremely powerful force in an instant.
However, for Natsui, this was nothing.
Articuno was already incredibly strong, and wearing the Never-Melt Ice accessory made it even stronger. As a result, its Ice Beam was visibly thicker and more powerful than Nidoqueen's!
Almost instantly, its Ice Beam froze the stream of water into a pillar of ice. In contrast, it took Danny's Nidoqueen a full five or six seconds to completely freeze the water column.
The difference in skill was immediately apparent!
And most importantly, the pillar of ice that Articuno had frozen was extremely solid, unlike in Ash's challenge where it had already melted halfway before the final match was over.
Even compared to Danny's, this pillar of ice was extremely hard and cold.
Danny watched this scene, both envious and helpless.
"It was over in an instant... Is this the power of Articuno? It's incredible!"
At this moment, the snow had let up a bit. After being outside for so long, a thin layer of snow had settled on their bodies.
Seeing this, Sabrina quietly walked over to Natsui and carefully brushed it off for him.
Natsui gave her a slight smile, not refusing her kindness, and then turned to look at Danny.
"It seems I've won the first match. So, may I ask what the second match will be?"
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