Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

Before the massive metal tail slammed into the Nine-Tails, a thin curtain of light, entirely composed of layered ice and snow, scattered and gathered in front of the Nine-Tails.

boom! ! !

A dull, solid thud was heard, and Ninetales was sent flying by Gyarados's powerful slap.

Fortunately.

Because of the protection of the "Aurora Curtain," the Nine-Tailed Fox gained some buffer time and was not severely affected.

She nimbly and gracefully twirled in the air, made the necessary adjustments, and landed softly and lightly.

"Awoo!!"

The nine-tailed fox had a serious expression and was baring its teeth.

Although it wasn't very serious, I still felt pain.

"Watari's 'Iron Tail' was executed perfectly, but Natsuhiko's defense was also excellent. The effect of the 'Aurora Curtain' move is too abnormal," Daigo said with considerable surprise.

"It's just a pity that Mr. Wataru's Gyarados wasn't a Steel-type Pokémon. Otherwise, with its four-fold super effectiveness, Mr. Natsuhiko's Ninetales would have been in real trouble."

Qinglu then shared her own opinion.

“But…” Akane rubbed her chin gently, hesitatingly muttering, “Teacher Xia Yan doesn’t seem very aggressive today. He’s been on the defensive from the beginning until now. On the other hand, Mr. Du has maintained his usual offensive stance.”

Green glanced at him, opened her mouth as if to say something, but then Cynthia spoke up from beside her:

"Xia Yan hasn't fought against Wataru in a long time. He's getting used to and familiar with Wataru's tactical style, and looking for weaknesses in Wataru's tactical execution."

As she spoke, Cynthia paused, her gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd before finally returning to the arena and settling on Xia Yan.

"However, it should be almost done."

Cynthia had just finished speaking.

Xia Yan's command voice followed immediately.

"Nine-Tails, freeze the world!"

Awooo!

A glint of darkness suddenly appeared in the nine-tailed fox's cunning, bright white eyes. As the cunning glint flashed, its aura subtly shifted.

For an instant.

boom! !

The swirling snowflakes suddenly exploded, scattering ice and snow all over Gyarados's body, blooming into beautiful and dazzling ice flowers.

Pale energy emanated from the Nine-Tailed Fox and merged into the thick snow.

The red Gyarados immediately showed a look of deep surprise.

Such powerful ice energy.

It could even feel every muscle and every cell in its body freezing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Upon seeing this, Watari's expression suddenly changed.

He knew about Xia Yan's Nine-Tails move, and even knew that it originated from Liu Bo, the former champion of the Johto region.

Given his status as the current champion and his affiliation with the Dragon Clan, it's not difficult for him to know these things.

"Gyarados, use Flame Breath to envelop your entire body!"

roar--!!

Gyarados's belly swelled up immediately.

next second.

Blazing tongues of fire spewed from its mouth, like a roaring fire dragon, swallowing its massive, fiery red body whole.

The surging flames made its already red scales even more dazzling and spectacular.

The ice crystal flowers clinging to it were eventually melted away little by little under the scorching heat, turning into water vapor.

Although the scorching heat is also unbearable for Gyarados itself.

But it's still better than being frozen into an ice sculpture by the Nine-Tailed Fox's frost, right?

just.

Before Lance and Gyarados could be happy for long, they heard Xia Yan chuckle softly.

"flame?"

"Awooo—"

But the nine-tailed fox's snow-white eyes narrowed slightly, and the pale, chilling aura emanating from its body surged even more intensely.

A jaw-dropping scene unfolded.

"Fire, fire, fire..."

"Fire? What fire? Never seen flames before... Wait, the flames have frozen!"

"Gyarados's flames! Frozen?!"

"What kind of move is this? It can even freeze flames?"

"Didn't you hear what Champion Xia Yan said? This move is called—Frozen World!"

If even the "world" can be frozen, what about a mere flame?

Moreover, it was a flame released by a water-type spirit.

After a few short breaths.

The snowflakes falling in the arena returned to their original state.

The only difference.

In this vast arena, an ice sculpture appeared.

And it's an astonishing ice sculpture made of fire.

Inside the dazzling ice sculpture of flames, a lifelike red Gyarados looks utterly bewildered.

But time seemed to freeze at this moment, stuck in this one second.

wow——

Was the flame really frozen?

"Gyarados!!"

Wataru watched this scene with great disbelief.

squeak-

Suddenly.

The enormous ice sculpture of flames began to sway slightly.

Immediately afterwards, the shaking became louder and louder, and the entire ice sculpture began to tremble and shake violently.

This time.

It was Xia Yan and Nine-Tails' turn to be surprised.

Under Nine-Tails' "Frozen World," no Pokémon of the same level has ever been able to withstand it and still move after a single blow.

ka ka ka-

The enormous ice sculpture began to crack and crumble piece by piece.

"Awoo!"

Nine-Tails' expression suddenly turned serious. It lowered its body slightly and stared intently at the Gyarados that was about to break free of the ice sculpture.

boom!!!

The entire block of ice shattered completely.

roar--!!

With a ferocious expression, Gyarados roared to the sky.

A powerful aura swept across the entire venue.

"Gyarados!!"

"This is Lance's Gyarados!"

"..."

The fur on the Nine-Tails' body suddenly stood on end under the powerful roar.

Just the next second.

The terrifying red Gyarados swayed slightly before crashing heavily to the ground and falling still.

The cheers from the audience came to an abrupt halt.

This is a bit awkward.

Wataru rubbed his nose, looking rather embarrassed.

Fortunately, I just realized that Gyarados was already at its last gasp and didn't make a sound.

Otherwise, it would be truly embarrassing.

Xia Yan and Nine-Tails exchanged a glance.

They were genuinely startled just now.

Unexpectedly, Gyarados was eventually able to break free from the "absolute zero" ice.

This is only the last chance to break the ice seal. He might still retain some combat power after breaking the ice seal.

This is partly due to the abilities that Lance bestowed upon Gyarados through his "Dragon Power" and "Everlasting Power".

On the other hand, it's also because Gyarados itself is exceptionally strong.

"Gyarados, unable to battle!"

The referee, having finally determined Gyarados's condition, hugged his arms and braved the cold to announce the result.