At this moment, Elite Four Drake stood on a steep slope within the snow-covered mountain range. The white breath he exhaled instantly froze into frost in the frigid air. His gaze was fixed on the valley ahead, which was completely shrouded in a raging blizzard. Anger filled his eyes as he muttered under his breath with clear frustration.
"Damn it… how can there be a Pokémon with such a ridiculous type combination…"
Before him stood an enormous Ninetales, its presence dominating the entire battlefield.
Unlike the common crimson, Fire-type Ninetales seen in regions like Hoenn and Kanto, this one was entirely covered in snow-white fur. Each strand of its coat shimmered like the finest icy silk, reflecting a faint bluish glow under the storm, giving it an appearance that was both noble and sacred.
What was even more astonishing was its sheer size. It was nearly three times larger than an ordinary Ninetales.
Its nine fluffy tails swayed slowly behind it, and with each movement came a biting gust of freezing wind that swept across the battlefield.
This was an Alolan Ninetales.
(TN: Lmaoo too op against Drake hahaha)
And judging from its size and overwhelming presence, it was clearly the ruler of this snowy mountain.
"Salamence, watch out, dodge!"
Drake shouted toward the sky.
Mega Salamence let out a powerful roar, its wings beating fiercely as it narrowly avoided the barrage of ice spikes launched by the Alolan Ninetales.
The spikes exploded midair, scattering into countless sharp fragments that spread outward like shrapnel.
Meanwhile, Drake's other Pokémon, Flygon, Altaria, and Kingdra, were positioned around the battlefield, each engaging the Alolan Ninetales in their own way. The battle had reached a tense stalemate.
What troubled Drake the most was the opponent's dual Ice and Fairy typing, which perfectly countered his main team.
As a true Dragon-type Elite Four member, all of his Pokémon carried the Dragon typing. Ice and Fairy moves were both super effective against Dragon types, and Fairy moves were even immune to Dragon-type attacks. This was an absolute nightmare.
Against this Totem Alolan Ninetales, his team could not unleash their true strength at all.
"Altaria, Tailwind!"
"Kingdra, Flash Cannon!"
Altaria flapped its wings, generating powerful gusts that increased the speed of its allies.
At the same time, Kingdra gathered bright Steel-type energy in its mouth and fired it as a concentrated beam toward the Alolan Ninetales, attempting to disrupt its attack rhythm with a type advantage.
Flygon, meanwhile, had taken on the role of Drake's aerial mount, replacing Salamence's usual position.
It continuously beat its wings, keeping Drake aloft while simultaneously using Sunny Day to counter the snowstorm created by the Alolan Ninetales, attempting to seize control of the battlefield's weather.
At the same time, both Flygon and Altaria occasionally launched Flamethrower attacks to harass the opponent and provide support for Mega Salamence.
Although Fire-type moves were not their specialty, with Dragon-type moves being ineffective, this was already the best option available.
After all, Fire-type attacks had an advantage against Ice types. Even if they were not ideal, they were better than nothing.
As for Salamence, the moment the battle began, it had already Mega Evolved under Drake's command.
The light of evolution engulfed its entire body like blazing flames. Its already powerful form expanded and transformed dramatically within that brilliance.
It became Mega Salamence, known as the Bloodstained Crescent.
Abandoning all Dragon-type moves, it focused entirely on Fire-type attacks such as Flamethrower, Fire Blast, and Heat Wave, engaging in a direct exchange of firepower with the Alolan Ninetales.
Mega Salamence flapped its wings, generating scorching air currents that clashed violently with the surrounding blizzard.
Opening its jaws, it unleashed a thick stream of fire that roared forward like a blazing dragon, targeting the Alolan Ninetales directly.
After using Tailwind, Altaria also activated Sunny Day, combining its effort with Flygon's to compete for control of the weather.
However, the Alolan Ninetales possessed the Snow Warning ability.
Since Altaria and Flygon were not Fire-type Pokémon, even their combined Sunny Day efforts could not overpower the snowfall brought by Ninetales.
Only when Mega Salamence also used Sunny Day did the combined efforts of the three begin to suppress the snowstorm.
Even so, the Alolan Ninetales continued to resist stubbornly, relying on its ability to maintain the snowy weather.
The sky itself became a bizarre blend of sunshine and snowfall.
"ROAAAR!"
Finally, the Alolan Ninetales was pushed to its limit.
Its nine tails shot upright as a brilliant white light erupted from its body. The light gathered in the sky, forming a massive Z-shaped pattern, the signature energy of Alola's Z-Moves.
With a piercing cry, the ground beneath it split open, and a massive pillar of ice surged upward, lifting it high into the air.
Then it opened its mouth and unleashed an enormous icy tornado.
A blue vortex filled with countless ice shards roared forward with devastating force, sweeping toward Drake's team as if it intended to destroy everything in its path.
"Mega Salamence, Giga Impact!"
Drake's eyes sharpened as he gave the command.
A look of resolve flashed in Mega Salamence's eyes. Its entire body glowed with intense white light as its Aerilate ability activated to the fullest, converting Giga Impact into a Flying-type move and boosting its power even further.
It became like a blazing meteor, charging straight into the incoming ice tornado without hesitation.
The collision erupted with a deafening explosion.
The white impact and the blue icy vortex clashed violently in midair, releasing a blinding flash of light that made it impossible to keep one's eyes open.
The entire mountain trembled under the force, and the snow accumulated at the peak broke loose, triggering an avalanche that cascaded down the slopes.
Flygon reacted instantly, carrying Drake higher into the sky to avoid the avalanche's reach. Altaria quickly retreated as well, pulling Kingdra back with it.
When the light from the collision finally faded, the icy tornado had completely dissipated.
Mega Salamence, however, was covered in a thin layer of frost, its body trembling as it descended from the sky.
Around it, faint feather-like phantoms appeared, flowing back into its body and restoring its stamina.
This was the Flying-type recovery move, Roost.
By temporarily removing its Flying typing through Roost, Mega Salamence had managed to reduce the damage it suffered from the Ice-type Z-Move.
Otherwise, it would have already been knocked out.
After all, Ice-type moves dealt double super effective damage to Salamence, a Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon.
Although Mega Salamence had taken significant damage, its opponent was not unscathed either.
If not for the Fairy typing of the Alolan Ninetales, which prevented Drake's Dragon-type team from fighting at full strength, then with Mega Salamence's overwhelming power after Mega Evolution, this battle would never have been this difficult.
At this moment, the massive pillar of ice beneath the Alolan Ninetales had already shattered, and it had descended back onto the snowy ground. Its once pristine fur had become somewhat disheveled, and its breathing had grown noticeably heavier.
Just as the two sides stood in tense opposition, something unexpected happened.
From the cave not far behind the Alolan Ninetales, more than a dozen small, snow-white Alolan Vulpix suddenly ran out. These little creatures, each dragging six small tails behind them, rushed anxiously toward the Ninetales and gathered around it, clearly worried about its condition.
Drake's gaze followed the direction of the Alolan Ninetales toward the cave behind it. Inside, he noticed a small Vulpix that was different from the others.
Its fur was a vivid, fiery red, identical to the Fire-type Vulpix from the Kanto region.
The little red Vulpix remained at the entrance of the cave, only half of its head peeking out as it looked at its mother with concern.
But it did not come out.
It was doing its best to suppress its Drought ability, afraid that the heat it released would end up helping its mother's enemy instead of her.
Normally, when its mother helped it suppress that ability, it was a simple matter that required very little effort.
But now, in the middle of such an intense battle, it could not afford to distract her even slightly. It absolutely could not allow its own ability to become a weakness that the enemy could exploit.
So it stayed hidden at the cave's entrance, desperately restraining itself, doing everything it could to avoid causing trouble.
Its mother, the Alolan Ninetales, let out low, warning growls toward the gathered Vulpix, urging them to return to the cave.
Yet not a single one of them was willing to leave.
One Alolan Vulpix, about the same size as the little one inside the cave, squeezed its way to the front and stood before Ninetales.
It and the red Vulpix inside the cave were fraternal twins, it being the older sister and the one in the cave the younger.
However, aside from their different colors and typings, their abilities were also different.
Instead of inheriting Drought like its sister, it had inherited Snow Warning from their mother.
At that moment, it was actively using its Snow Warning ability, releasing cold air in an effort to strengthen the snowy environment and assist its mother.
The Alolan Ninetales looked at its child with deep affection. One of its tails gently curled around the small Vulpix, pulling it together with its siblings and shielding them all behind it.
Only after ensuring its children were protected did it turn back toward Drake.
A brilliant blue light flared in its eyes.
This was the Psychic-type move Extrasensory.
It was an move that Ninetales with exceptional psychic talent, or those that had lived for many years, could master.
Through it, they could communicate directly with humans using mental power.
A soft, ethereal voice echoed directly within Drake's mind.
"Human, what exactly do you want?"
Drake gestured for Flygon to descend, landing about a hundred meters away from the Alolan Ninetales. He let out a wry smile.
"I already said it before. I have no ill intentions toward you. I just want to talk."
"Talk?"
The voice of the Alolan Ninetales carried a trace of mockery.
"You tried to take my two youngest children the moment we met, and you call that no ill intent?"
As soon as those words were spoken, Drake's face flushed red with embarrassment.
He muttered inwardly.
How was I supposed to know those two were your children? It is not like they had it written on their foreheads.
Earlier, from afar, he had noticed a strange area in the valley.
Half of it was covered in falling snow, while the other half radiated warmth.
When he approached, he realized it was caused by two Vulpix playing together.
One was pure white, surrounded by cold air. The other was bright red, emitting gentle warmth.
Drake was naturally familiar with Fire-type Vulpix. As for Alolan Vulpix, he had encountered a few during his recent explorations of the snowy highlands of the Alola region and had made some basic observations out of curiosity.
From what he knew, they did not possess the ability to control snowy weather directly.
But the two before him were clearly different.
One had the hidden ability Drought, while the other likely had a corresponding hidden ability related to controlling snow.
Pokémon with hidden abilities were already rare, and encountering two at once, especially with completely opposing types and abilities, had filled him with excitement.
Over the past few days, he had been thinking about finding a suitable partner for Theo.
After all, Cynthia had prepared a Deino from the Village of Dragons in the Unova region. If he could not come up with something special, it would be hard to save face.
After thinking it over, he decided to change direction and look for Pokémon with unique traits and striking appearances, something that would match Theo's style in Contest battles.
These two Vulpix were perfect.
One was snow-white, the other a vivid red. One could control snow, the other could summon sunlight.
On top of that, their appearances were incredibly adorable.
They were practically made for Contests.
In his excitement, he had immediately tried to capture them.
Who would have thought that the moment he approached, this massive Alolan Ninetales would appear out of nowhere and launch a fierce attack on his team.
Now, having tried to take someone's children and being confronted by their parent, Drake had no room to argue.
"I was reckless at the time. I did not understand the situation."
He cleared his throat awkwardly and pulled out a finely packaged box of mid-grade Pokéblocks from his bag, tossing it toward the group of Vulpix.
"These are for the little ones. Consider it my apology."
These Pokéblocks could only be crafted by human breeders and contained far more energy than wild berries. The Ninetales family, living deep in the mountains, had never seen anything like them before.
The moment the Pokéblocks landed, a rich, enticing aroma spread through the air.
The Alolan Vulpix immediately widened their round eyes, sniffing eagerly with their tiny noses.
They all turned to look at their mother, their gazes filled with longing.
The Alolan Ninetales used its psychic sense to examine the Pokéblocks and, after confirming there was nothing wrong with them, gave a slight nod.
"Awuu!"
The little ones immediately cheered and rushed forward, pawing at the Pokéblocks and jostling playfully with one another.
However, the one that had run ahead first suddenly stopped and turned toward the cave entrance. It let out a few soft calls toward its younger sister.
Then it ran back into the cave, bumping its head gently against the red Vulpix, urging it to come out and eat together.
The red Vulpix hesitated for a moment, glancing at its mother. Seeing no objection, it let out a happy cry and quickly followed its sister out.
Something remarkable happened when the two approached each other.
The warmth from the Drought ability and the chill from Snow Warning began to cancel each other out.
The heat softened the cold, while the cold tempered the heat, creating a perfectly balanced and comfortable zone.
The other Alolan Vulpix showed remarkable restraint as well. None of them started eating immediately. Instead, they played with the Pokéblocks, flicking them with their tails, waiting for their youngest siblings to join them.
Only after the two little ones had arrived did they begin to share the food together.
(End of Chapter)