The initial skirmish between Espurr and Abomasnow had been a grind, draining energy more than causing direct harm.
Thanks to the tactical clock management Chansey had orchestrated earlier, Espurr had been able to recover fully on the sideline, refreshed and ready for her next turn.
Absol, however, hadn’t been nearly as lucky. He was dealing with a significant loss of stamina, compounded by accumulated bumps and bruises. Even with a short rest, Candice’s next order reminded him of his harsh reality.
As the Hail spread its icy grip across the battlefield once more, Absol’s recently restored energy immediately began to drain away. The weary Pokémon stood in the brutal, freezing wind, his gaze fixed on the floating Espurr before him, her form flickering like a pale illusion through the thickening snow.
“Absol, Swords Dance.”
Candice knew Absol was running on fumes. If he was to be useful, he needed to land a devastating blow on Espurr and completely shatter Luther’s pace.
“Thunderbolt.”
Espurr’s powerful attack missed its mark. After all, Absol had trained and battled in this icy arena countless times. Even exhausted, his body remembered the necessary micro-adjustments to use the slick terrain to his advantage.
Digging in his forepaws and giving a sharp, skillful twist, Absol skated along the slick ice, smoothly sliding into a perfect attacking position.
“Bite!”
He clawed violently at the ice to get leverage, using the burst of friction to spring himself into the air, jaws snapping wide as he lunged at Espurr mid-air.
“Protect!”
With Swords Dance boosting his power and Bite being super effective, Espurr wouldn’t survive a direct hit. Seeing Luther instantly order the defensive move, Candice’s expression relaxed into a small, satisfied nod.
The attack hadn’t connected, but that was secondary. The reveal was what she wanted.
As a lead Pokémon, Espurr was guaranteed to have a few disruptive tricks. Luther had clearly been holding back her full move set, waiting for a surprise. Now, with Absol on his last legs, Candice had successfully baited out Espurr’s final move slot, and it was just a defensive one. That knowledge alone was a small victory worth Absol’s remaining effort.
Absol was blasted backward by the invisible force of the Protect barrier. The falling snow hardened into larger chunks of hail, aggressively pelting the entire field.
A fresh surge of pain flashed through Absol’s body, and his vision briefly blurred.
A bright flash erupted from Espurr’s side, and before the dazed Absol could even react, he was struck by a powerful Thunderbolt.
Candice stood quietly as the referee announced Absol was unable to continue. She recalled him with a heavy but respectful look and handed his Poké Ball to a waiting Delibird for immediate care.
The first Pokémon to fall in this tense, back-and-forth contest belonged to Candice, despite the fact that she had held the crucial weather advantage multiple times throughout the duel.
In the stands, the students from the Pokémon Trainer Academy erupted in applause for Luther. Even with their textbook knowledge and limited battle experience, they could still appreciate the strategic depth and timing in this tug-of-war.
For some reason, hearing the crowd cheer so loudly for Luther made Mai feel an unexpected warmth and pride.
Candice’s blood was pumping hard. In this quiet, remote Snowpoint City, a place where serious challengers were a rarity, it had been a long, long time since a battle made her heart race with such excitement.
“My turn to strike back and seize the tempo. Let’s reclaim the rhythm, Froslass!”
“Froslass, the Snow Land Pokémon,” Luther’s Pokédex helpfully announced. “The evolved form of Snorunt. In snowy regions, legends say it’s the spirit of a woman who perished in the mountains.”
Luther watched the faint, ghostly figure of Froslass materialize within the snowstorm and instinctively scanned her. Ice and Ghost type. And as expected, Snow Cloak Ability.
Espurr tensed, watching Froslass flicker in and out of visibility before her, appearing one second, vanishing into the storm the next. Her ghostly, ethereal presence made Espurr visibly nervous.
Unlike in the games, where it simply boosted evasion, in a real fight, Snow Cloak added intense psychological pressure. Froslass didn’t even need to move much; Espurr was already working overtime just to pinpoint her location.
“Strike first! Thunderbolt!”
With all of Espurr’s current moves now revealed, Luther had only two offensive options left. Even though Shadow Ball would have been super effective, he chose Thunderbolt instead.
He was gambling on paralysis to slow down her ghostly opponent!
The Thunderbolt seemed to hit Froslass, but it passed straight through her body, vanishing harmlessly into the swirling snow beyond.
“Shadow Ball!”
Froslass suddenly materialized from behind Espurr, slipping through the storm like a true phantom. Her ghostly movements were utterly terrifying.
Espurr sensed the immediate threat and spun around, only to find Froslass’s cold, unblinking face mere inches away. She let out a small, terrified yelp.
Protect flared up just in time to block the attack, but Froslass was already gathering energy, a close-range Blizzard, powered by the active weather.
At this distance, dodging was almost impossible. Using Protect again was too risky due to the low success rate and would drain Espurr’s stamina too much. Luther frowned and decided to meet the attack head-on.
Shadow Ball and Blizzard collided midair, exploding into a blinding storm of icy shards. Espurr shielded her face against the flying ice, struggling to maintain visibility in the roaring wind.
Froslass, however, moved through the chaotic storm completely unfazed, and launched another quick Shadow Ball.
Espurr reacted quickly, but not fast enough, the attack slammed into her body, knocking her down hard onto the icy floor.
That was the devastating power of Froslass under her own weather, an advantage Luther couldn’t easily offset. Hidden movement, seamless attacks, a perfect flow with her Ability… Froslass was fighting like a spirit born of the snow itself.
“Espurr, return!”
Espurr withdrew from the field once again, this time, looking far worse than before. The accumulated damage from the hail and the Ghost-type attack had left her panting, her pale fur matted with tiny shards of ice.
Chansey was called upon once more to take the field.
However, just as Luther made his switch, Candice made a change as well.
Froslass was recalled, and in her place, the battlefield shuddered under the immense bulk of Mamoswine.
“Mamoswine, the Twin Tusk Pokémon,” the automated voice of the Pokédex chimed in. “It is said to have existed since ancient times, fossils have even been found frozen in ice over ten thousand years old.”
Luther looked up at Candice, who met his gaze with a knowing, determined smile.
Candice had learned her lesson quickly. If clinging too tightly to information had given Luther the opening to take down Absol, then this time, she would loosen up, she would play freely and aggressively, not defensively.
Her first goal was now laser-focused: eliminate Luther’s rhythm keeper, the maddeningly resilient Chansey.
The massive Mamoswine faced off against the comparatively tiny Chansey, the size difference alone making the pairing striking.
Luther knew instantly: Candice had found Chansey’s single greatest weakness.
Raw power.
In a pure contest of brute strength, Chansey was at a devastating disadvantage.
Like Froslass, Mamoswine’s Snow Cloak made it difficult for opponents to pinpoint its exact location through the churning snow. And unlike the sharp-sensed Espurr, Chansey lacked the same finely tuned perception.
From within the storm, Mamoswine suddenly burst out, its massive head lowered, Ice Fang flashing.
The bite landed cleanly, hitting with far greater force than Absol’s earlier attempts. Chansey let out a suppressed cry of pain, but grit her teeth and immediately retaliated with a desperate Fire Punch straight to Mamoswine’s head.
But Candice, remembering the burning fate of Abomasnow, instantly commanded, “Let go! Back off and use Blizzard!”
The powerful Blizzard immediately obscured Chansey’s vision, forcing her to abandon the chase and retreat to the small patch of solid footing she had created earlier.
“Soft-Boiled.”
Seeing Chansey’s accumulated damage reach a dangerous threshold, Luther immediately had her heal.
Yet, the moment Chansey finished recovering, Mamoswine came crashing out of the snow once more, her huge frame moving with eerie silence, the howl of the wind masking her rapid approach perfectly.
So this too is a way to use the Hail weather to its absolute maximum? Luther couldn’t help but admire the flawless execution; he was genuinely learning something new in this battle.
A second Ice Fang landed, and this time, the sheer force made Chansey flinch, stopping her from even attempting a Fire Punch counter.
Candice had pushed Snow Cloak to its terrifying limit.
Chansey was tough, no doubt. But Candice had abandoned the idea of a frontal slugfest. Instead, she adopted a brutal hit-and-run approach, striking once, then instantly melting back into the storm to relentlessly chip away at Chansey’s endurance.
Even if it meant consuming the Hail advantage faster, Candice was determined: Chansey would not be allowed to stand on that battlefield in comfort.
And she succeeded. Luther had to hurriedly recall Chansey. The combination of Snow Cloak and Hail had left his rhythm keeper disoriented and unable to maintain the tempo. It was time to reset the match.
As the storm clouds finally began to thin, Luther exhaled in relief. At least Chansey had held out long enough for the storm to start fading.
Then came Luther’s next substitution: Houndoom stepped onto the field, just as the last bits of hail began to dissipate.
The moment Houndoom appeared, every eye in the arena snapped to him. Just as when Luther first met him, those deep, rippling, defined muscles drew everyone’s gaze.
The sound of camera shutters clicked non-stop in the stands. Mai sighed helplessly, gently stroking her Chikorita’s head. Some fans never change.
An Ice/Ground-type like Mamoswine versus a Fire/Dark-type like Houndoom. Both had super-effective moves against the other. By typing alone, it was impossible to tell who held the advantage.
But Luther had always been direct with Houndoom during training:
“If you can’t seize the advantage within the first few moves, the battle’s already against you.”
Luther never avoided the topic of Houndoom’s age. In fact, he treated it as a sign of respect.
Even Houndoom himself admitted it, he wasn’t as strong as he once was. To pretend otherwise would only insult the veteran.
It was an undeniable truth: the longer a battle dragged on, the more sharply Houndoom’s strength declined.
That was why Luther’s battle system was built around this reality. If Houndoom could win within two or three devastating exchanges, then Chansey and Jumpluff could be trusted to buy him the necessary time to recover afterward.
That was the system designed for an aging champion.
Go all out. Then trust your teammates to win you the time you need.
“Find Mamoswine’s position, Fire Blast!”
Luther pointed dramatically forward, his voice booming with confidence. He believed in Houndoom; that old saying, ‘an elder in the house is a treasure’, it applied to Pokémon, too. A veteran’s experience was something the young ones simply couldn’t match.
Feeling the subtle vibrations beneath his paws and the faint scent of Mamoswine’s icy breath lingering in the air, Houndoom bared his teeth in a fierce, confident grin, fangs glinting.
Candice frowned slightly. Why was Luther opening with such a stamina-draining, high-risk move like Fire Blast, especially against Snow Cloak, where it might easily miss? That wasn’t like his usual careful, steady strategy at all.
“Earth Power!”
Candice chose to play it safe, ordering her hidden Mamoswine to strike directly from within the snowstorm.
The energy from Earth Power burst violently out of the ground, shattering the ice as it surged forward. It collided head-on with Fire Blast, the impact exploding in a chaotic, blinding plume of steam and fire.
To everyone’s shock, the Ground-type move, normally super effective against Fire-types, was completely torn apart by the raw power of the Fire Blast. The flames plowed straight through, melting the last of the falling hail, and piercing deep into the layers of wind and snow.
From within that blinding storm came a raw roar of agony, Mamoswine’s.
Even though no one could see it, the sound alone told everyone that Mamoswine had been grievously injured.
The weakening Hail finally dissipated completely at that precise moment. And with its Snow Cloak concealment gone, Mamoswine’s massive form was revealed to all, scorched and steaming.
Mamoswine squinted slightly against the fading snowlight, then bellowed at Houndoom, who answered with a challenge in his low growl.
“Move, Mamoswine, Earth Power!” Candice’s tone was sharp.
She seemed wary of Houndoom’s sheer, unexpected strength, still keeping one final move slot in reserve.
The ground under Houndoom’s feet erupted once more, but under Luther’s quick command, Houndoom leapt cleanly aside, his agile paws landing lightly on the shattered, uneven ice left from the previous blast, narrowly dodging the attack.
In midair, Houndoom released another quick Fire Blast.
Mamoswine’s heavy body couldn’t match Houndoom’s agility; even a quick sidestep left it vulnerable to being hit.
“Protect!” Candice sighed, revealing her last held move.
Mamoswine started running, the ice crunching loudly under its massive feet. Candice still didn’t fully understand why Luther kept firing off such stamina-draining Fire Blasts without restraint. But seeing Houndoom’s stamina visibly dropping fast, she decided it was time to go for broke.
“Earth Power!”
Mamoswine charged closer this time, closing the distance while Houndoom was in the brief, unavoidable lull of recovering stamina. At this range, there was almost no room to dodge.
“Overheat!”
That was Houndoom’s ultimate trump card, the move that left him utterly drained and exhausted after using it even in training.
Luther was betting everything on this final exchange. This was Houndoom’s first true test, the kind of fierce, head-on clash he had longed for his entire life. All the skills he’d once honed had been left to rust under his former trainer, his hope of ever returning to the battlefield long extinguished… until Luther reignited that spark.
Luther chose that moment to trust him completely. This was Houndoom’s proudest, most devastating move, though time and age had cruelly whittled down the number of times he could use it.
It used to be three or four.
Now, only once.
“Run, Houndoom! It’s just Earth Power, break through it!”
Houndoom’s roar, a deep, full-throated sound, filled the entire arena, electrifying every spectator and making their fists clench.
Flames engulfed his entire body, transforming him into a blazing, black inferno streaking across the ice. Everywhere he ran, the frost beneath his paws instantly vaporized into steam.
In Mamoswine’s vision, a streak of fire was rapidly closing the distance. Houndoom’s face, twisted in fierce, hungry determination amid the flames, made the massive Pokémon falter for just a fraction of a second, and the power of its Earth Power wavered.
The two forces collided: Earth Power versus Overheat.
Once again, the raw type matchup dictated that Ground should win.
But this time, the Earth Power couldn’t even slow it down.
Roaring, Houndoom tore through the attack, charging forward with an unstoppable momentum, and slammed straight into Mamoswine’s colossal body.
He didn’t stop. Even facing a Pokémon several times his size, Houndoom kept pushing forward, step by burning step.
They crossed nearly half the battlefield before the intense heat melted the underlying ice into steaming pools of water beneath them. By the time they finally ground to a halt, Mamoswine had completely lost the ability to fight, collapsing heavily in defeat.
Houndoom, exhausted to the brink, staggered, his muscular legs trembling violently, then collapsed onto the scorched ground.
Luther sprinted onto the field, intending to simply pick up his spent partner and carry him back, but Houndoom refused. With a stubborn flicker of pride, he pushed himself back up to his feet and walked off the field under his own power, only then allowing Luther to return him to his Poké Ball.
Even the old have their pride.
Dazed and weary, Houndoom lifted his head slightly, bathing in the thunderous, unifying applause that filled the arena.
This, this was the fierce, final validation he had longed for all along. And now, he had finally earned it.
If anyone in the stands still hadn’t fully processed that Houndoom was an aging Pokémon, their eyes were truly blind.
His stamina only allowed for three all-out moves, and yet, with those three precise, powerful moves, Houndoom had single-handedly swept Mamoswine from the field.
(End of Chapter)