Naturally, Sordward and Shielbert did not understand what Hikaru meant by "capture."
Come to think of it, "manipulate" or "control" would probably have been easier to understand. After all, strictly speaking, a Pokémon that had been caught in a Poké Ball could not be caught again by someone else. But then again...
Aside from certain specific Poké Balls that possessed special capture effects, an ordinary Poké Ball simply provided a comfortable place for a Pokémon to rest. It just had a number of extremely advanced devices installed inside. If you ignored all of that, then it was basically an eyeglass case!
Sordward said, "People who steal other people's belongings are thieves. Isn't that what people often say when someone tries to catch another person's Pokémon with a Poké Ball?"
Shielbert said, "Er, yes, but, Brother, that would make us look like thieves! And we are clearly celebrities! Come to think of it, as long as we forcibly control someone else's Pokémon, it doesn't count as theft!"
The two of them were so bizarre that Marnie, whose tongue was never especially gentle, immediately started roasting them.
Marnie said, "What the heck? Are those two doing a comedy routine?"
"But capture really is... what does that mean?"
Hop could not hold it in anymore. "You're playing straight man too?! Stop commenting already! But, yeah, that's true. Wooloo can't be captured again!"
"Capture doesn't mean catching it with a Poké Ball. It's an academic term!" Hikaru chuckled. "A long time ago, three children made a vow beneath a stone statue."
"The boy with glasses founded the greatest school."
"The girl with her hair tied back became the leader of that organization."
"The impatient boy in white created a device that let humans and Pokémon communicate heart-to-heart."
"They heard that the Pokémon League had been born, and a dream began to grow in them. They would create an organization whose purpose was to protect humans, nature, and Pokémon themselves. And when the dreams of those three came together beneath the Pledge Stone, what was born was—"
"The Pokémon Rangers!"
The Capture Disc shot out at lightspeed, accompanied by a strange hee-hee-hee laugh. Crackling electricity made the disc sketch a bolt-shaped streak of light through the air. When the Sword-Shield duo saw the spinning top fly out, they were startled despite having no idea what it was.
"Bronzong, use your noble Extrasensory!"
The Pokémon used by the Sword-Shield duo were Golisopod and Bronzong. The attack-specialist older brother, Sordward, wore blue and had sword-shaped hair, and he used Golisopod. The defense-specialist younger brother, Shielbert, wore red and had shield-shaped hair, and he used Bronzong.
Of course, their team also included Sirfetch'd, Falinks, Klinklang, Doublade, and Bisharp. At first glance, one might think they were experts in Steel and Fighting types, but that was not actually the case.
Bronzong let out a deep hum. It gathered psychic power and fired it straight at the Capture Disc.
It was a powerful psychic attack capable of blowing everything away.
"Hee-hee-hee! Roto!"
The Capture Disc dodged the psychic attack at an unnatural angle, and Rotom, hidden inside it, let out a wicked cackle.
Usually, Rotom's role was only to be an electric oven, a refrigerator, or some similar appliance. At most, it wrote a bit of software online, slipped into Pokégear or other machines, or took naps inside them. Occasionally, however, it would appear as an AI inside a Capture Styler.
Once Rotom and the Capture Styler combined...
That was AI art!
The Capture Line could no longer be interrupted. No matter what happened, it would finish every loop.
"Zzzzt!"
Bronzong's movements suddenly froze.
Shielbert cried out in shock, "Bronzong, what happened?!"
Hikaru said, "Thunder Wave."
"Bronzong is said to be a deity capable of summoning rain clouds. When angered, it intimidates its opponents with a chilling sound like a tolling bell. But Steel/Psychic does not make it immune to Electric-type status moves. Why a bronze bell can be paralyzed is still an unsolved mystery, though."
"Still, while I do like Bronzong very much, it feels like such a waste when you're the one using it. Of course, that only matters if Bronzong itself minds."
"Hex!"
A Steel/Psychic-type Pokémon had very few weaknesses. On top of that, Bronzong also possessed two practical Abilities in Levitate and Heatproof, which had once made it infamous on the battlefield, because anyone facing one had to play rock-paper-scissors and gamble on which Ability it had.
Before Generation V, Steel also resisted Dark and Ghost. That meant Bronzong had only two weaknesses, and its Ability could grant immunity to one of them. Despite sharing the Steel/Psychic typing with Metagross, its role was completely different.
But this was not Generation V anymore.
"If this were Generation I, Psychic types could even be immune to Ghost attacks, but that kind of thing can only be done by someone holding the Golden Spear I made."
After all, it was something forged using the technology of the Sacred Stake. Forget Generation I—that thing had gone straight back to Generation Negative Ten.
Were you really using type matchups from a thousand years in the future to beat something from a thousand years ago?
The era has reverted, my lord!
Rotom's Ghost-type attack arrived.
Sonia said, "Hex! A move that attacks repeatedly and deals massive damage to an opponent suffering from a status condition!"
"Using that move after paralyzing Bronzong is extremely effective!"
Levitate made Bronzong immune to Ground. Heatproof weakened Fire. But attacks from Ghost and Dark had to be taken in full.
Bronzong fell to the ground with a heavy dong and lost the ability to battle.
Hop asked, "What is that thing? Plasma inside electricity? Is it a ghost? Or a Pokémon?"
Marnie said, "No... that thing should be a Pokémon, right?"
Because the Rotom Pokédex had not yet been invented by Clemont, the incident that would lead to Rotom entering appliances and being mass-bred had not yet occurred. In this era, people were still using Pokégear, and Rotom, which could control AI and electronic products, was something they had never even heard of.
This year's academic summit had not been held yet. Information on Rotom was known only to a small number of regional professors who had learned about it from Hikaru.
Hikaru said, "In the old Sinnoh region, there was once a boy who discovered an unknown Ghost-type Pokémon that could enter appliances. He named that Pokémon Rotom! In other words, 'motor'!"
"When it enters different appliances, it gains different abilities and can even change its own type. In the future, it will even be able to enter things like Pokédexes, Pokégear, phones, and computers."
"This information will be announced this year!"
However, once Rotom Phones existed, Pokégear almost disappeared from the stage of the Pokémon world in just two or three years.
Electronic products really did not hold their value.
As for Porygon Phones... those could only be seen in the otherworldly region of Pasio. Rotom was basically Porygon's superior replacement, a Pokémon that flourished both in battle and daily life.
"Don't get distracted being shocked. The capture is already over!"
Hikaru's words made Sordward and Shielbert, who had not yet reacted, snap their gazes toward the Wooloo.
A white ring of light merged into Wooloo's body. The golden spiral that had symbolized mental control vanished.
Shielbert said, "How can this be? The experiment clearly succeeded! Remote Control was broken!"
Sordward said, "What is going on? Blackhole said this thing wouldn't be easily... Never mind. That Wooloo had no real ability anyway. Such a weak Pokémon is unfit for royalty!"
"Bisharp! Go cut that spinning top to pieces! Kill that Ghost-type Pokémon too!"
Sordward sent out one member of his formal battle team. Bisharp, known in many regions as a powerful Pokémon used by experts, was sometimes called the Steel Soldier.
Hikaru said, "Bisharp. Now that's familiar. Elite Four members and Champions use that Pokémon too."
"But do you have the strength to match it?"
A vicious light gleamed in Sordward's Bisharp's eyes. The blades on both its arms suddenly shone with a sharp chill.
"Night Slash!"
Although the move was called Night Slash, Bisharp charged in from the front. Of course, even a frontal blade strike carried technique and dark combat arts within it. After all, this move's old name had been—street test-cutting.
A test cut was an act in which ancient samurai stood in the street at night and killed people. They would suddenly draw their swords and ambush innocent passersby without warning. That was why the move had a higher chance of landing a critical hit.
"Baa?! Baaah!"
Although Wooloo had been captured by Hikaru's Capture Styler, its mind control had already been undone. It glanced at Hop, but before it could even celebrate with its partner, the danger right in front of it forced it to tense up and face the attack.
It was... it was just a sheep!
But when it saw Bisharp attack the Capture Disc, Wooloo still leaped forward.
Mmm, cotton. Fluff up!
"Now!" Hikaru clapped his hands, tossed a capsule into Wooloo's mouth, and instantly pulled out three ancient bracelets, swiping them over the little sheep in rapid succession.
TM swap times three!
Wooloo had not even processed what had happened when it immediately heard a command.
"Cotton Guard!"
Although this was the first time it had ever heard that command, the method for using the move had already appeared in Wooloo's mind. A buffalo with an explosive head of hair was snorting heavily as it used that move, and the image was burned deep into Wooloo's heart.
It was like a biological instinct. It imitated that buffalo and used the same move.
It was good at imitation. It had often imitated Leon's Charizard before. It could imitate things really well!
The wool on Wooloo's body expanded with a puff, and Bisharp's blade struck the cotton.
No damage at all.
"How is this possible?! My noble Bisharp... blocked by one useless little sheep!"
Sordward could not accept what he was seeing. The truth was that this common little runaway sheep had really blocked Bisharp's attack.
"If it had been an ordinary Cotton Guard, maybe it really wouldn't have been able to block it."
Hikaru spread his hands and said to the dumbfounded Hop, "See? This is your partner's true strength."
"Even if it isn't Charizard, it's still strong. That move just now was a secret technique that Unova Champion Alder's Bouffalant once used in front of me."
"Only a small number of Pokémon can use it. Cotton Guard massively raises physical Defense! Defense rises three stages in one go!"
Even if a Pokémon had only a Defense base stat of 55, after using that move, it would skyrocket to 137.
Of course, if Wooloo did not evolve, it could learn the move naturally at level 36. If it evolved into Dubwool, the level required to learn the move would instead rise to 44, which was actually disadvantageous.
Among the Pokémon that could naturally learn this move, the highest-value users were Whimsicott, known as black-hearted cotton, and Altaria, the traitor of the Dragon clan.
As for Bouffalant, it needed to inherit the move from another sheep, Mareep. But Floccesy Ranch was right next to Floccesy Town in Unova, so it was perfectly normal for the local Bouffalant to have this move.
Hop stared in shock. "W-Wooloo is so strong! But what were those bracelets? No, wait, even if Cotton Guard is some super strong move I've never heard of, how could Wooloo block—"
Of course he had never heard of it. In Galar, the only person who used the move was the unremarkable Grass-type Gym Leader Milo. And Milo's Eldegoss needed to reach the high level of 52 before it could learn this move naturally. With Milo's lineup, his real anchor was not Eldegoss, but Appletun. The reason people had the impression that he always used Eldegoss was because...
He was throwing Gym challengers a bone.
Marnie, however, realized the key point. "Mr. Hikaru did something else too. That capsule was...?"
"Ability Capsule." Hikaru waved a finger, then looked toward the furious Sword-Shield duo. "A Pokémon that eats this capsule will switch between its first Ability and second Ability."
"In other words, your Wooloo's original Ability was Run Away. Now it's Fluffy!"
"This Ability halves the damage taken from contact moves, but Fire-type moves deal double damage. That weakness can be avoided by holding an Occa Berry."
"So once its Fire weakness is neutralized and the power of contact moves is reduced, even super-effective Fighting-type moves won't deal much damage!"
Hikaru said, "With Defense raised by three stages, the power of Night Slash gets reduced to 40. Come back after evolving one more stage."
Although that statement did not really apply to a powerful Pokémon like Bisharp, which had already made a name for itself back in Generation V, during Sword and Shield, the Sword-Shield duo's Pokémon were only around level 60.
That was already very strong, but considering that they were postgame characters, among postgame characters who used their full strength, they were actually near the bottom.
As for now... if they were level 40, that would already be worth celebrating. Though Hop's Wooloo was not particularly strong either.
Hikaru said, "Still, Wooloo seems to be struggling quite a bit. The gap in raw strength can't be made up completely. That's also true."
Wooloo sniffed.
"Baaah. It doesn't hurt that much. I can still keep going!"
Sordward was enraged. "You are insulting society elites and descendants of the ancient royal bloodline! It is only a Wooloo, a commoner Pokémon found everywhere, yet it blocked my noble Night Slash!"
"Simply surviving one blow without being defeated was already impossible! Changing a Pokémon's Ability on the spot? How can such a thing exist?"
Shielbert gritted his teeth. "You... You are no ordinary person. We have never heard of anyone like you in Galar before!"
Hikaru said, "That's because I'm not from Galar. I'm just a tourist from another region."
Come to think of it, Chairman Rose had not told these two about him.
He really did have to thank him for that.
The chairman was still a good man after all.
The Sword-Shield duo exchanged a glance.
Damn it. Rose had tricked them. There was no way Rose would not know about an outsider this powerful. Right!
"Isn't this the man... We heard before that Rose met with a certain tourist at a hotel..."
"No mistake. It's him!"
Although Hikaru had not mentioned the chairman, the Sword-Shield duo already had a grudge against Rose. Their cooperation had only been temporary. They looked down on the chairman as an upstart, so they immediately deduced that Rose, who had always liked keeping something in reserve, must have a trump card.
At first, they thought that trump card might have been Leon. Now it seemed there was someone else. That made sense. Leon's era was already over.
At least, it was over now!
"Damn it. Bisharp, use Swords Dance! Show them your power!"
"Brother, I will summon the Dynamax Pokémon in the forest and have them run wild!"
The brothers began to demonstrate their joint battle style of "if we brothers attack together, no enemy can last a single exchange." But Hikaru thought that while the two of them were merely acceptable in single battles, if they formed a doubles pair...
Did anyone remember the future Galarian Star Tournament?
If the two of them teamed up separately with other characters, they could advance to the second or even third round.
But if the Sword-Shield duo paired with each other...
Then they were guaranteed to lose in the first round. It was the classic case of two liabilities meeting each other.
Hikaru said, "Did the dark crystals give them a tiny bit of coordination? But..."
"Wooloo, Guard Split!"
"Baaah."
Guard Split!
A silky little combo that Wooloo could learn naturally at only level 12. Although Hop's little sheep was only level 5 when it appeared in the game, he had still raised it for all these years.
And after taking a chunk of experience from Bronzong just now, it had leveled up!
"Bish!"
Bisharp's body suddenly stiffened.
Its Defense had been shared away.
Sordward spat in hatred, "Bisharp, what's wrong with you? That is only a sheep!"
Shielbert clenched his teeth. "What can a Wooloo even do? Damn it, what method did it use?"
Hikaru laughed. "Wooloo can do plenty. For example, it can use psychic power to add its own Defense and Special Defense together with the opponent's, then split them evenly in a friendly manner."
"This move does not calculate changes to defensive stats. Instead, it alters the base defensive values."
"Even if I tell you, you won't understand. So-called society elites are only at this level."
Wooloo's Defense was 55, and its Special Defense was 45.
Bisharp's Defense was 100, and its Special Defense was 70.
Of course, the actual split calculated real stat values, meaning the final result of base stats plus individual values and effort values. No one could say exactly how that would work out. But one thing was obvious.
The weaker Wooloo was, the stronger Wooloo became.
The stronger Bisharp was, the weaker Bisharp became!
"Strength is weakness, and weakness is strength!"
If calculated purely by base stats, Wooloo's Defense would increase by 22.5!
As for Special Defense, Bisharp's would decrease while Wooloo's would increase.
Sordward said, "Its Defense dropped?! But there was no stat change! What is this? Stop joking around! Stone Edge!"
Hikaru said, "We're not done yet. Wooloo, use Guard Swap on Urshifu!"
It looked like a move similar to Guard Split, but it was actually different.
Guard Swap.
A move that used psychic power to swap the user's Defense and Special Defense stat changes with the target's.
Of course, the target did not necessarily have to be an enemy. It could be any Pokémon on the field, other than the user itself, that could be targeted by an attack.
Another move appeared in Wooloo's heart, along with an image. It was a humanoid Pokémon that was hard to describe, possessing immense psychic power. Just looking at it felt as if one's own strength had been awakened.
That Pokémon's name was—
Call its name aloud!
Mewtwo!
Psychic power. Superpower!
Psychic energy surged from Wooloo.
Bisharp's blade swung, sending a sharp storm of stone crashing forward.
But one stone after another exploded against a sturdy, powerful back.
The stones gradually crumbled and shattered into dust, while that towering body stood unmoving. Not only that, its power was still rising.
Bisharp stared blankly at the being that had appeared before it.
What is this thing?!
It thought in shock, but it could not think clearly, nor could it reach any conclusion, because it had never seen this Pokémon before.
"Moo!"
Urshifu's eyes glowed blue, and its aura surged.
Wooloo had used Guard Swap on Rapid Strike Style Urshifu.
Urshifu's Defense rose massively.
Rapid Strike Urshifu patted Wooloo and gave it a thumbs-up.
Thank you, little sheep!
A sheep could do amazing things too, couldn't it?
"Baa! Baa!"
Wooloo's eyes filled with admiration.
Whoa! A master!
Hikaru said, "With Defense raised three stages, Stone Edge barely scratches it. And it triggered Rage!"
"Physical Attack rose!"
Lightning-like aura erupted from Urshifu's eyes. It suddenly turned its head and grabbed Bisharp by the arm.
Your entire body is covered in sharp blades, but not your forearm!
What kind of attack is this? The more I get hit, the stronger I become!
Looking at the Water Bear, whose aura and strength were surging as it gripped its arm, Bisharp's expression showed fear. It raised its blade again.
Slash!
Its blade struck Urshifu's body.
Bisharp broke into a cold sweat.
Surely that should have some effect. This was a move that could land critical hits.
This was a blade attack! And it was an attack launched from a steel blade! Even if it was not a Steel-type move, at the very least—
Urshifu's Attack rose by two stages.
Rapid Strike Urshifu said, "Now I'm really angry!"
As Bisharp looked at the Water Bear, whose stats had risen again, its pupils trembled violently.
Monster... You monster!
Its attacks had no effect. Slash could not cut through its opponent. This was a body of flesh and blood, so could it be that the other Pokémon was not made of flesh and blood at all?
Rapid Strike Urshifu said, "How could mere steel blades ever defeat my body, honed through endless training?"
That was indeed true.
Its Defense base stat was 100, after all. After a plus-three boost, its Defense reached 250, making it harder than even Mega Steelix.
It really had been underestimated.
Thud!
Urshifu's fist, blazing with blue light and empowered by a plus-one Attack boost, smashed heavily into Bisharp's face.
Same-type Dynamic Punch!
The hard steel mask, which looked like a helmet, was punched inward, leaving a deep fist-shaped dent. The blade on its head burst apart in the same instant.
Bisharp spiraled through the air and crashed away.
When Sordward saw Urshifu attack, he shouted excitedly, "Idiot! How dare it punch directly with its fist? Bisharp's entire body is covered in sharp and noble blades—!"
But in the next instant, his expression changed drastically. As Bisharp flew past him and smashed into the ground, cracking the earth, Sordward's face froze. He turned his head in disbelief.
"Bi-Bisharp?!"
"Bish..." Bisharp, whose eyes had once gleamed with vicious light, now had an unfocused stare. It had lost the ability to battle, and its helmet had nearly split apart completely.
Hikaru said, "Once the blade on its head is damaged, it must retire from its position as leader."
"What a shame. Without the Leader's Crest, it can only become a whetstone for the evolution of others of its kind."
Bisharp had a quadruple weakness to Fighting. Taking a same-type Dynamic Punch from plus-two Attack meant even ten thousand lives would not be enough.
After all, the Sword-Shield duo did not have the same operations as the Shadow Triad, who could accurately use Protect to block Lucario's Aura Sphere and still escape intact from the pursuit of the two protagonists of Black 2 and White 2.
If they could not block it, then it was fatal.
"It's all right. Bronzong has recovered its strength. Use Hypnosis—" Shielbert was still trying to provide support. He had used a Revive on his Bronzong and was even planning to send out another Pokémon, but he discovered that Bronzong, despite having just recovered its stamina, was completely motionless.
"What happened, Bronzong...?" Shielbert abruptly looked ahead.
The unassuming Pokémon that looked like a hamster was waving its little claws.
It slapped Bronzong.
Marnie made a come-on gesture, her expression cold as if she were looking at garbage.
"Fake Out."
"Bronzong flinched."
"And then..."
"Taunt!"
"This isn't one against two. It's four against two, isn't it?"
Marnie clapped, drew a breath, and said, "We can't embarrass ourselves at the heroes' resting place. The essence of Pokémon battles is that, although you need two people to battle, only one person gets to take actions."
"I'll give you another boost. Swagger!"
Marnie opened with a toxic three-piece combo, throwing Bronzong directly into a state of "status-move lock" plus confusion.
Only I get to play Pokémon!
Bea waved her hand, and another Urshifu descended from the sky, grabbing Bronzong directly.
A Dark-type aura surged fiercely.
Shielbert cried, "There's... there's another one!"
The bear-like warrior, radiating a dark aura, restrained the panicking Bronzong.
That said, no one could actually tell whether a bell was panicking.
So they would just assume it was scared!
"Ha!" Single Strike Urshifu let out an evil-cleansing cry.
"Wicked Blow!"
Ever since Bea obtained Urshifu, she had basically glued her finger to this move and never let go. But one had to admit that Dark-type penetration was indeed extremely strong. Many types had no resistance to it at all. Only Fighting, Fairy, and Dark itself could withstand it.
Single Strike Urshifu punched hard and knocked Bronzong to the ground. This time, it truly could not get back up.
"What is going on? What is going on here?! How could I be locked down by such a little girl? Doublade! Use Shadow Claw!" Shielbert hurriedly sent out his second Pokémon. Doublade could absorb the life force of others, making it a Pokémon Hikaru knew all too well.
But the boys and girls intended to show off a little.
Marnie said, "You're so loud. Use Flatter."
Flatter praised the opponent and confused it, while also raising the opponent's Special Attack.
Morpeko made a fake "wow, you're so amazing" sound, and Doublade was struck. Its two eyes began to spin as its consciousness flew beyond the clouds.
Morpeko tilted its head, and Marnie mirrored the motion. Then she swung her hand sharply.
"We're not done. Foul Play!"
A move that attacked using the opponent's power. The higher the target's Attack, the greater the damage.
Doublade was sent flying.
Sordward cried, "Uwaah, that little girl... What moves is she carrying?! We can't get a turn! How can a Trainer like this exist?"
Even the Sword-Shield duo was deeply shocked. They had never seen such a nasty Trainer before.
"That little girl has such an awful personality!"
Was Pokémon battling truly this cruel? It was not refined at all!
In the next instant, Single Strike Urshifu jumped again, still accompanied by Bea's voice.
Wicked Blow replaced thinking.
Just punch and be done with it!
Bea said, "These... are all Pokémon weak to Dark!"
Single Strike Urshifu defeated Doublade with one punch. Even its terrifyingly high physical Defense was useless. If one punch was not enough, it would just throw another. In any case, there was no way it could be holding an Eviolite.
But at that moment, a Dynamax Pokémon suddenly intruded onto the battlefield. Galar particles were beginning to work in tandem with Remote Control.
It was a Dynamax Galarian Stunfisk!
"There's a Galarian Stunfisk disguised as a trap south of the Smoke Ball deep in the forest! It's that fixed level 48 Stunfisk!"
Hikaru immediately recognized what this Stunfisk was here for.
It had come to capture them.
But this species was like that by nature. When it saw people, it snapped at them.
The design basis for Galarian Stunfisk was a bear trap. It lived in mud rich in iron, which had given it a sturdy steel body.
The fact that it infinitely respawned in Slumbering Weald also contained a certain meaning—
Iron!
Long ago, mysterious Pokémon had hammered metal here and left iron behind.
The Water and Dark bears leaped forward together.
Bea said, "Wicked—"
Hikaru said, "Surging—"
"Strikes!"
Boom! Both fists struck at once. The massive explosion they created smashed head-on into the enormous Pokémon that had suddenly appeared.
The force of the blows sent that Pokémon directly into the stage of a Dynamax explosion.
Two fists combined as one. A one-hit KO.
However, taking advantage of the blast wave and smoke created by the explosion, the Sword-Shield duo hurriedly retreated, losing all refined bearing. But the flames of rage were burning fiercely within them.
"It worked... It worked! Hahahaha! The Dynamax Pokémon have been controlled!"
"The Galar particles have been fully injected. All the Pokémon in Slumbering Weald will be controlled by Remote Control, and then they will Dynamax!"
The two men laughed loudly. Deep in the forest, Avery witnessed this scene. This comedian-like senior apprentice had not joined the battle earlier, because after seeing Bea, his desire for a revenge match had indeed burned intensely in his heart, but fighting now was not a wise move.
Also, because Avery had both an extremely strong sense of pride and an unfortunately harsh reality, the only part of him affected by the dark crystals was that his personality had become arrogant.
After being beaten up once, he still knew when to back down.
"Avery!"
Since a gag character had appeared here, Hikaru also knew what Avery's situation was.
A person like this, a Gym heir who had been burdened with great expectations yet mocked by his relatives because of his naturally weak psychic power, was still someone who had once served for a time as a minor-league Gym Leader. Although that position had later been abolished, and although he later returned to the Isle of Armor for retraining, one could still see that he worked hard.
It was perfectly normal for someone like that to be tempted.
After all, he was not like Klara, who did not really care what she did and only became a Gym Leader because she wanted to be popular. If she were not a DLC character, Klara should never have been able to appear in the Star Tournament.
But the ridiculous senior apprentice seemed to have only been acting as a guide, so it was not a big problem.
"I've been found!"
Avery broke out in cold sweat. Up until now, he had not done anything, only helping the Sword-Shield duo by guiding them and using Teleport. Put simply, he was a transportation tool and navigator.
"Quick, Mr. Avery! Take us away!"
"We must go to the southern Crown Tundra and complete our great revival!"
The experiment in Slumbering Weald had already been completed. The sword and shield had also been obtained. The false king had been driven out. Only one thing remained.
"Summon the Darkest Day in the Crown Tundra and let us recreate the story of the heroes!"
The true body of the Darkest Day had already flown toward the snowy plains, so naturally, they had to follow it. Not only that, they also had to bring the other members of the royal line there as well.
The other royals had already gone to the snowy plains ahead of them. They would surely witness something extraordinary, then broadcast it to the entire world.
"Do not treat me like a tool! If you do that, then what was the point of me gaining such powerful psychic power?!"
Just once, Avery also wanted to use his superpower like other psychics did.
Yes, yes, just like that young man across from him, who looked about the same age. Raise one hand, then make that opening motion.
Opening motion...!
"Mr. Sordward, Mr. Shielbert, get down!"
What Mr. Sordward and Mr. Shielbert? The Sword-Shield duo did not react at first, but they were soon angered by Avery's rudeness. Only, before they could lose their tempers...
A violent burst of psychic power blasted over.
"It's Extrasensory!"
"The opponent is a psychic!"
Avery hurriedly knocked the two men down with telekinesis. Extrasensory pierced through the great tree behind them, terrifying the comedian-like senior apprentice. He immediately took the sword-and-shield brothers and fled.
But then, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck out, causing a violent explosion on the ground.
Marnie said, "Tch. Thunder actually missed... It was Teleport."
Before the Sword-Shield duo vanished, their faces were full of terror.
If such power existed...
Power that was not inferior to a Champion's...
How were they supposed to fight?
So terrifying.
So that was it! Was this what it meant that their ancestors had driven those two sword-and-shield Pokémon?
To restore glory, they could not drive those Pokémon away. Instead, they had to control them and once again...
We will return!
Three presences disappeared without a trace from Slumbering Weald. Once the blast wind settled, Hikaru looked at the spot where the three had vanished.
Teleport.
Hikaru said, "Teleport... Some people can move very long distances with it, while others can only move a little. In the end, there are levels even among psychics. What I'm best at is direct attack."
"They escaped!" Bea said when she saw the three vanish. The same thing had happened last time. She had watched the enemy flee right before her eyes.
Could she learn Teleport right now?
She could not help thinking that in frustration.
Then she heard Hikaru's voice.
"The sword-and-shield heroes are no longer here. They just said they're going to the Crown Tundra, didn't they? That works out nicely. Looks like something incredible is about to happen."
"They're going to summon the Darkest Day in the snowy plains. That's an event outside the original route."
"Look over there."
After destroying the Dynamax Pokémon that had suddenly appeared to block their path, everyone arrived deep inside Slumbering Weald.
The ruins, which had once resembled a memorial site for King Arthur, had been destroyed. The two stones above the mirror-like lake, representing the gates of Avalon, were gone as well.
"The stones... the ruins! They're all destroyed!"
Sonia had once come deep into the forest. Although she did not understand what these ruins were, she had once been fortunate enough to glimpse a corner of them, including the two great stones within the mist-shrouded lake.
"Ahhh... Postwick's cultural heritage has been completely destroyed!"
"Did those two fight here?! How could this happen?! Even the Lake of the Unfading was destroyed!"
Sonia grabbed her head fiercely.
Although she had no fond memories of this forest, it was still an ancient cultural ruin. If she used it to pad out papers, she could easily write a hundred or so!
She had originally come here to investigate, but now the ruins were destroyed. What was she supposed to do?
"The Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield were taken too, right?" Marnie walked over and looked at Sonia, whose face was helpless and furious. Her own expression was very complicated.
"The rotted sword and shield those two pulled out earlier... those are the legendary heroes' weapons? They really don't look like much. Exactly like their names."
"I didn't become a hero, and I didn't get to meet those two Pokémon... What a shame. They went to... the Crown Tundra?"
Bea looked regretfully at the ruined remains.
"After three thousand years, even legendary metal has rusted. Does that mean the heroes also... can no longer adapt to this era?"
Hop hugged Wooloo. He was the only one who had not understood the situation.
"Huh? Sword and shield? What are those?"
The legends of the strong had long since been lost in Postwick. They could only be found in foreign texts now, so no one remembered them.
But Hop did not care. He could not figure it out, so he praised Wooloo instead.
"Still, you were really strong just now, Wooloo!"
"Baa!" Wooloo was happy too.
If it could make Hop happy, then it was happy. Even if it was not Charizard, it could still be itself!
It also had amazing abilities it could use!
Did you see that, Hop? I am me. Even if I'm a sheep, sheep have their own strength too!
Hikaru said, "Although they are the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, they were once made with a special metal. So even after rusting, they can still provide power to the heroes."
"But it looks like the sword-and-shield heroes have not yet found the proper people to hold those weapons. They were injected with Galar particles, and because they couldn't control themselves, they fled."
"Not to mention that Remote Control is also here. Dynamax Pokémon appearing outside Power Spots is quite rare. Because this is an artificially induced phenomenon."
"Then let's end this quickly."
Hikaru opened a Poké Ball, and a massive Aegislash appeared.
Aegislash had been itching to draw its blade for ages. It was ready for a truly special execution, especially here in Galar's Slumbering Weald.
So this is the place! Avalon!
Oh my. Coming here meant it could cosplay the sword in the stone.
A reassuring land of ideals.
(End of Chapter)
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