Join my p@treon for more chapters
[email protected]/Tempest_29
The wall of water rose like a curtain pulled across the entire battlefield, completely cutting off Iron Valiant's line of sight. Somewhere behind that surging mass of water, Relicanth was lurking — but no matter how hard Iron Valiant stared, it could find no gap, no flaw, no trace of its opponent.
Iron Valiant stood its ground on the beach, both blades raised and ready, its sharp gaze sweeping across the roaring wall of water. It knew Relicanth was there. It just couldn't pinpoint where.
The wave reached its peak, looming overhead like some great beast of the deep. Then, with a thunderous crash, it came down.
Iron Valiant's eyes narrowed. Energy surged along its blades, blazing with a vivid green glow as it swung in a wide, powerful arc.
Leaf Blade!
The crescent of Grass-type energy tore through the air like a curved blade, humming with sharpness as it cut straight into the wall of water and split it clean in two.
For just a moment, the path was clear.
And in that moment, Relicanth burst through.
It came shooting out of the parted wave like a torpedo, its entire body enveloped in a skin of swirling Water-type energy, aimed directly at Iron Valiant with terrifying speed.
Iron Valiant reacted in an instant. It shifted its stance and crossed both blades in front of its body, catching Relicanth's charge head-on.
"Boom!"
The impact shook the beach. Relicanth was knocked back, carving a long furrow through the wet sand as it skidded to a stop. It looked roughed up, but Iron Valiant had held firm.
"Aura Sphere, Iron Valiant!" Jacob called out.
Iron Valiant didn't need a second prompt. Its blades blazed with crimson Fighting-type energy, and it launched the Aura Sphere before Relicanth could even fully recover. The attack struck with a solid thud, driving straight into Relicanth's body and dealing heavy damage in an instant.
But Relicanth was not done.
Even as it staggered, a blue light shimmered across its scales. Water-type energy gathered with sudden intensity — and Relicanth whipped its tail around with brutal force, sending a spray of seawater flying in all directions.
Aqua Tail!
"Leaf Blade, Iron Valiant!"
Iron Valiant moved without hesitation. Its blades flashed green once more, leaves shimmering along their edges like an assassin's daggers in motion. It caught Relicanth's tail on one blade with a crash of spray and sound, locking the attack in place — and in the same breath, brought the other blade sweeping around in a sharp arc, driving it hard into Relicanth's rocky shell.
The blade broke through.
Green energy poured into the wound, causing Relicanth to seize up with pain. It was a devastating hit — Relicanth was famously tough, its physical defense among the best of any species, but Grass-type moves hit it four times as hard. The damage was severe.
Iron Valiant pressed the advantage without pause. Its blades danced in quick, precise motions — left, right, a blur of green arcs — each strike finding a gap, each cut leaving behind a thin wound that glowed faintly with Grass-type energy. Relicanth cried out sharply, its ancient body struggling to keep up with Iron Valiant's relentless tempo.
It hadn't expected this. The speed, the precision — it threw Relicanth off.
But old Pokémon didn't survive for three hundred million years by giving up.
Relicanth seized on a brief opening. A muddy yellow light erupted across its body, Rock-type energy coating its thick skull until it formed a jagged stone edge. With a guttural cry, it drove that rocky head straight into Iron Valiant's midsection.
Double-Edge!
"Boom!"
The force was enormous. It felt like being struck by a boulder. Iron Valiant's blades were shoved aside by the sheer weight of the charge, and then Relicanth plowed into it with everything it had. Iron Valiant went flying backward, tumbling across the beach before finally rolling to a stop in the sand.
The battle had reached its breaking point.
Relicanth, battered and bleeding from a dozen small wounds, slipped back beneath the surf. Iron Valiant pushed itself upright, planting its feet in the wet sand. Both Pokémon were running on fumes. Whatever happened next would decide everything.
Relicanth moved through the shallows, circling, gathering itself for one final blow.
Iron Valiant went still. It anchored its blades at its sides and fixed its gaze on the sea, breathing slowly, letting everything else fall away.
Then it came again.
"Boom!"
Another enormous wave surged up the beach, just like before. And beneath it — Rock-type energy flaring on Relicanth's head, the same stone edge forming once more — Relicanth was charging hard, hidden inside the wall of water.
Iron Valiant didn't flinch. Its eyes closed briefly.
It listened.
Not to the sound of the waves, not to the crash and roar of the surf — but to the energy flowing through everything around it. The natural energy rising off its own body. The Water-type energy rolling through the wave. The Ground-type energy thrumming in the sand beneath its feet.
All of it became clear at once.
There — beneath the wave — Rock-type energy. Normal-type energy. A concentrated surge, building like a spring about to release.
Relicanth.
Iron Valiant's eyes opened.
"Leaf Blade!"
It spun into motion, blade sweeping through the water curtain in a single clean arc — and connected. The strike landed on Relicanth hidden beneath the surge, cutting through before it could complete its charge.
But Relicanth had already committed.
Normal-type energy exploded outward with sudden, terrifying force. Relicanth shot forward like a fired cannonball — and that same rocky crest from its first Double-Edge was still there, still sharp, now supercharged. It was a combination attack: Double-Edge layered into a Head Smash, power multiplied, speed unreal, like a muddy-yellow streak of lightning tearing across the beach.
Jacob's eyes went wide.
He hadn't expected this. Relicanth was one of the very few Pokémon that could chain those two attacks together — and the result was devastating. Head Smash alone carried enormous power; combined with Double-Edge in rapid succession, it was the kind of move that could end the fight in a single hit.
"Protect, Iron Valiant!"
There was no time to think. Jacob shouted the command on instinct.
Iron Valiant responded just as fast. It abandoned the follow-up attack entirely, Normal-type energy condensing in front of it in an instant, forming a solid, shimmering barrier just as Relicanth's full force crashed into it.
The Protect held.
The light shield absorbed the blow — Relicanth's combined assault slamming into it like a battering ram — but the barrier stood firm, the most solid wall Iron Valiant could manage, buying it the moment it needed.