Crack, crack, crack—
The ice layer shattered.
The piled-up snow rolled and slid down, and a gigantic crevasse leading who-knows-where appeared in Natsuhiko's field of vision.
The most important thing wasn't the crack.
But the Pokémon that slowly walked out from that crevasse.
What appeared was a Pokémon whose whole body was light blue, walking upright on two legs, but its long, slender, powerful arms were extremely long, and its sharp claws dragged across the snow, carving out two trenches.
The most eye-catching thing was the light-blue Ice Crystals on its back, crystal-like, dense, and extremely hard.
Beneath those Ice Crystals, one could even faintly see a metallic sheen.
Its lively azure eyes stared fixedly at Beedrill, and its triangular head had its mouth slightly open—each breath spewed out a few tiny ice crystals.
Sandslash!
Or to be more precise, a Sandslash in its Alola Form!
Different from the normal Sandslash that belongs to the Ground Type.
Sandslash in its Alola Form is an Ice and Steel Type Pokémon.
Because the Alola Region is composed of islands and has lush vegetation, Water Type and Grass Type Pokémon are the most common.
In order to survive, after long-term breeding and changes, the Sandslash population had no choice but to move up into the ice mountains.
Over time, their typing and appearance both changed.
And this Ice Diglett King was also somewhat different from the Alola Diglett Kings Natsuhiko knew.
Its body was even more massive, over two meters tall, far beyond the roughly one-point-two-meter maximum height of an ordinary Sandslash.
On top of that, there was that special aura faintly coiling around its entire body.
Without a doubt, this Ice Diglett King was an Overlord Pokémon!
"Kuka!" Sandslash roared toward Natsuhiko and Beedrill's direction.
It stirred up a huge cloud of swirling snow, carrying an Overlord's presence that rushed straight at them.
"Hudi!"
"Chakoi!"
Alakazam, Togekiss, and the other Pokémon, sensing the threat brought by Sandslash and its unreserved hostility toward Natsuhiko, immediately appeared in front of Natsuhiko.
"Ssspi!"
However.
Beedrill, wreathed in a dark-red airflow and looking in no way inferior to the opposing Sandslash, gently pushed aside Alakazam and Togekiss who were blocking in front of it.
It came to the very front of the lineup.
"Hudi?"
"Chakoi?"
The two Pokémon stared blankly at Beedrill, which had flown to the very front.
They didn't know why.
They just felt that today's Beedrill...
Was so domineering.
Obviously, whenever battles happened in the past, Beedrill was also always the one charging at the very front.
But today, they felt Beedrill was somehow different.
Not just because of the Leader's Aura around its body, but from another indescribable feeling.
It was as if...
Just by moving forward a bit, they already felt like Beedrill had won.
That kind of strange feeling.
From Natsuhiko's shadow, Aegislash also poked out its head.
Its eyes stared straight at Beedrill, excitement flickering in their depths.
This is the feeling, this is the feeling!
Aegislash's flamboyant personality craved exactly this kind of overflowing dominance—that sense of making the opponent think you're terrifying, yet having absolutely no way to deal with you.
"Oss~~"
"Buyi~~"
"Goge~~"
The three little ones had stars glimmering in their eyes even more.
They had to admit, in this moment, they were completely conquered by Beedrill's aura.
Natsuhiko's lips curved slightly.
Beedrill's heart had just completed its metamorphosis.
And the Stone for Testing Knives had arrived.
Even though Sandslash's Ice plus Steel Type has an advantage over Beedrill, as long as it can defeat this foe, the confidence Beedrill just established will become even more solid!
Even if.
The Overlord Diglett King opposite them didn't look weak at all; it might even have already reached Elite Candidate level.
Sandslash's gaze had also been tracking Beedrill's movement the whole time.
Obviously.
It was Beedrill's released Leader's Aura that provoked it, an Overlord.
Just like when Beedrill encountered the Overlord Rhinoceros Beetle.
So it is with a Leader and an Overlord!
"Kuka!"
The Overlord Diglett King let out a low growl, its sharp claws suddenly raking the ground, churning up a mass of snow that shot out like an arrow.
Due to the change in typing, Alola Form Sandslash's body had become much heavier and its movement slower.
But because it adapted to the icy environment, with its powerful limbs using all fours in snow and ice, its speed there was far faster than it could ever be on solid ground.
Moreover, the snow it kicked up as it moved would trace out an extremely beautiful parabola in the air.
Many famous photographers had a greatest dream: to shoot a complete set of photos of an Alola Diglett King sprinting through the snow.
It's just that Alola Diglett Kings are rare and extremely dangerous, so no one has ever done it.
But right now.
It was obviously not the time to admire the beautiful scene of the Overlord Diglett King sweeping up ice and snow.
Bzz—
Beedrill focused its compound eyes.
Its wings vibrated.
Dense electric currents traced several gorgeous golden arcs behind it.
Judging by sheer splendor, they were in no way inferior to the dancing snowflakes trailing behind the Overlord Diglett King.
More importantly.
Beedrill once again unleashed that speed like a built-in electromagnetic pulse it had shown against the Overlord Rhinoceros Beetle.
Fast as lightning!
The two Pokémon closed in at high speed.
In just the blink of an eye, they were right in front of each other.
The Overlord Diglett King swung its razor claws, which were instantly sheathed in ice crystals, and launched a full-power attack straight at Beedrill.