Chapter 49 Glacier Heart Badge?
Having such a formidable opponent is truly amazing... Perhaps this is a true reflection of Candice 's current state of mind.
With Dolphin seizing several opportunities to use "Charm," Sneasel ultimately succumbed to the mental strain of "Surfing" and lost its ability to battle.
In this 3-on-3 gym battle, having already lost two Pokémon, her situation was extremely unfavorable.
"Lin, your Pokémon are amazing! Then I'll show you my true skills too! Go! Marsana!"
A blue-bodied monkey with a head shaped like a white peach was sent out by Candice as her last hope.
"?"
Why is the Ice-type gym's last main force a Fighting/Psychic type Pokémon? Link thought to himself, "You don't have enough Crystal Beads, do you? Can this monkey even learn Ice-type moves?"
"Marsana, use 'Thunder Punch'!"
Knowing that Link loves using "One More Time," Candice completely abandoned any boosting or move changes when Dolphin was present, relying solely on type advantage to unleash "Thunder Punch."
Marsana, having trained rigorously in the icy wilderness, could amplify her physical abilities with psychic powers, giving her frail body several times the fighting strength; a single blow could incapacitate her opponent!
"No, use 'Water Jet' to create distance." Knowing how painful Marsana's physical moves, imbued with "Yoga Power," were, Link wouldn't allow Dolphin to engage in close combat.
Watching the dolphin spray water from behind and disappear into the air as soon as she approached, Marsana tried to leap into the air to chase after it, but the latter adhered to its trainer's instructions, adjusting the direction of its water jets to continue avoiding the fight.
Seeing this, Candice was somewhat annoyed; it seemed her opponent was determined not to engage in close combat. Physical attacks were strong, but distance was the biggest limitation.
"Then I'll use 'Psychic' to finish it off!"
"Psychic Shock" creates a tangible psychic wave to attack the opponent, dealing physical damage with special attack.
Hearing this, Link frowned, realizing that Dolphin was at a disadvantage, but there was no way to switch out at this point, so he could only grit his teeth and continue fighting.
"Nature Force."
The fine snow that had fallen from the Snowcap Monster had not yet dissipated, and the surging ice-type energy in Snowcap City and Snowcap Gym was almost overflowing, making it the perfect time to use that move!
Facing the almost tangible psychic wave that Marsana had trained in yoga, Dolphin, having created some distance between them, immediately harnessed the natural force of the environment.
The astonishingly cold energy in the environment changed under the effect of the move, transforming into the ice-type "Blizzard"! The field and the snow-covered landscape of the Snowcap Monster turned into a blizzard, roaring and tumbling as it spewed towards Marsana.
However, the psychic wave, forged from psychic energy, cut through the blizzard like a sharp blade, striking Dolphin, who was still in mid-air.
The latter felt an immense force, like the pressure of deep-sea water pressing down on it, and was immediately severely injured, losing its ability to battle.
But Marsana's condition wasn't much better. Its spirit penetrated rather than shattered the blizzard. If it weren't for its years of living outdoors in blizzards, surviving on a single tree fruit, this attack would have been enough to incapacitate it.
"Come back and rest, Water Wave Dolphin."
Noticing that its opponent was frozen by "Blizzard," Link immediately recalled the wounded creature that had secured the victory.
"We're going to win, Litten, use..."
Just as he was about to have Litten make its third appearance to use "Shadow Claw," a move that countered its opponent, he heard Xiaosong's spirited shout:
"Now! 'Mental Shock'!"
Mere freezing only seals the body; how could it withstand the superpower gained through mental training?
While inwardly criticizing how useless freezing was in reality, Link didn't change his strategy: "'Shadow Claw'."
"Meow!"
So fierce! It's true that freezing can't stop many special moves, but frostbite still interferes with the smoothness and power of special moves.
※Frostbite: A new status effect in Alpaca, the power of special moves is halved, and you take 1/16 damage each turn.
This caused Marsana's "Psychic Slam" to be a step slower.
Litten's "Shadow Claw" pierced through the ice like a ghost, severely injuring Marsana after Dolphin, rendering it unable to battle.
All three of the Gym Leader's Pokémon were unable to battle, and the referee declared Link the winner.
"Wow, that's impressive! I respect you, but I feel like you don't have much presence."
After the battle, the defeated Xiaosong excitedly approached Link: "I could feel your trust in your Pokémon. Since that's the case, you should encourage them during the battle!"
"Oh, and I can't leave this to you…!"
Saying this, Xiaosong pulled out the Glacier Badge, shaped like a snow-capped peak, and a HM that recorded the move "Avalanche," handing them both to Link, the victor.
Link had initially wanted to offer some polite praise, but his expression changed before he received the Glacier Badge.
He recalled the strange event that occurred when he touched the Rock Badge of a Team Aqua member on that cruise ship.
"Lime, you and Umbreon played a crucial role in this battle, so you should accept this badge."
He then picked up Litten, who clearly didn't like being carried, but for the sake of the badge, he let it go this time. Honor is never too much.
Fennekin: stare
It didn't even participate!
Link smiled and rubbed the little fox on his shoulder, thinking to himself, "Single battles aren't your strong suit."
"It's really powerful." Candice 's tone was somewhat subtle. "A combination of 'Intimidate' and 'Throwing Taunts'? It seems we'll have to work harder to train our Psychic to become immune to these interferences."
Immune? Is that even legal?
Link thought to himself. Leaving aside whether the Psychic ability is so easy to train, this ability only grants immunity to Cowardice and 'Intimidate,' not 'Throwing Taunts.'
But he was also concerned about whether all Pokémon in the real world could train to acquire illegal moves and abilities not listed in the game's Pokédex.
"Good luck, Candice , I have high hopes for you."
"Okay! Let's battle again next time we meet!"
The challenge at the Snow Peak Gym ended there.
Link returned to the Pokémon Center with his Pokémon, entrusting Dolphin and Litten to Nurse Joy.
And as he returned to his room after treatment, the moment he received the Glacier Badge from Litten's mouth...
Just as expected.
The physical badge resonated with the Divine Plan once more, shattering in a burst of light and transforming into a red heart-shaped badge.
The badge was reflected in the eyes of both the human and the Pokémon, quickly merging into the Divine Plan and disappearing.
"Wait, where's my badge? Does this mean I have to battle every gym twice from now on?"
[Type: Dolphin]
Nickname: Water Dolphin
Trainer: Link
Gender: Male
Type: Water
Level: 24
Ability: Water Veil
HP/Energy: Possibly not
Attack/Power: Possibly not
Defense/Protect: Possibly not
Special Attack/Knowledge: Possibly not
Special Defense/Mind Control: Possibly not
Speed/Agility: Possibly not
Moves: Water Gun, Water Jet, Secret Force, Nature Force, Ultrasonic, Help, Another Round, Charm, Drain Kiss, Adorable, Acrobatics, Haze
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(End of Chapter)