At first, Ethan Li had no idea any of this was happening.
He was currently aboard a cruise ship bound for the Kanto region.
After working as a commentator for numerous tournaments, he had finally saved enough money to travel again.
During all those long hours behind the microphone, it felt as though he had rediscovered the passion he once had in his youth.
Because of that, he decided to temporarily put commentary aside and chase his dream of becoming a Trainer once more.
This time, his destination was Kanto.
As he stepped onto the ship, imagining the adventures waiting ahead, his whole life seemed filled with renewed energy.
For a brief moment, he even felt young and carefree again.
"When I get there... should I catch Suicune first, or Articuno?"
A beautiful fantasy drifted through his mind.
Then his phone rang.
Curious, he tapped the screen, expecting a message from family.
Instead, he found dozens of notifications from one of his group chats.
"Huh?"
"Why is everyone tagging me?"
Bored, Ethan opened the chat.
The ship had only recently departed, so there was still signal.
Once they sailed farther out to sea, most electronic devices would lose reception, except for Rotom Phones.
Then he saw the messages.
@Ethan Li, bro... BRO! Didn't you say you were heading to Kanto recently? Look! Someone just spotted Young Master Lin's Dragonite and Pidgeot flying over the ocean!
Yeah, yeah! Bro, go check it out! See if their route overlaps with yours! Someone said they're flying toward Kanto! Hurry! Please!
If you find them, I'll send you a huge gift! A super huge one!
"What the heck?"
Ethan rubbed his eyes in confusion and looked up.
At that exact moment, two figures streaked across the distant sky.
Ethan froze.
"...???"
Now even more confused, he lowered his head and continued reading.
He had a feeling he needed to scroll up and find out what had happened.
After reading through everything, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Lin Feng is fighting the Ice Queen?
And they chose the open sea as the battlefield?
The exact sea route I'm taking?!
A flood of information hit him all at once.
He took a deep breath.
Honestly, one of the main reasons he had left the Eastern Alliance to travel was because the psychological damage there had become too great.
Ever since becoming a commentator, there had been one person he simply couldn't escape.
No matter where he went, he always ran into him.
And every single time he tried to explain a battle, that person's actions left him completely speechless.
It was exhausting.
That was why he had decided to leave, broaden his horizons, and gain more experience.
Maybe then, the next time he encountered Lin Feng, he wouldn't just stand there in stunned admiration.
But now...
"Impossible!"
"I'm literally leaving the Eastern Alliance, and you're still chasing after me?!"
Looking at the endless stream of urging messages, Ethan could only surrender and send a reply.
Ethan Li: Alright, alright. I've already spotted Young Master Lin's Dragonite and Pidgeot. I'm following them now. Whether I can catch up or not... honestly, I'm not sure.
The chat exploded instantly.
OH MY GOD ETHAN YOU'RE OUR SAVIOR!
You actually found them?! That's amazing! Hahaha! Now we'll finally know who's stronger, Young Master Lin or the Ice Queen!
Betting starts now! I'm betting on Young Master Lin!
Damn it, you beat me to it! Then I'll bet on Lady Reina!
...
"Ethan Li?"
The moment Sunny Day activated, Lin Feng's Aura sensed someone approaching from the horizon.
That familiar Aegislash.
And the person riding it.
Lin Feng blinked in surprise.
No, seriously...
Why are you here again?
Meanwhile, Ethan finally caught up and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that neither side had started fighting yet.
Looks like I made it.
But arriving wasn't enough.
The group had given him a mission.
A mission to livestream the entire battle.
Of course, he didn't dare secretly film a battle between two top Trainers.
He had to ask permission first.
"Elite Reina! Young Master Lin!"
Luo Bingxue looked over.
Lin Feng looked over as well.
Ethan raised his voice.
"Can I livestream your battle with my phone?"
"Uh..."
Lin Feng wanted to say that Ethan was absurdly dedicated to have chased them all the way out here just to stream.
But after thinking about it, he didn't really mind.
So he glanced at Luo Bingxue.
Seeing her indifferent expression, he nodded.
"Sure."
Ethan's arrival didn't affect either of them mentally.
Lin Feng believed that as long as he gave his best in battle, winning or losing wasn't that important.
And his opponent was an experienced Elite Four member.
Someone who would never be discouraged by the result of a single match.
In fact, despite being more than ten years older than Lin Feng, Luo Bingxue showed absolutely no intention of holding back.
The moment she saw Lin Feng focus on the battlefield, she immediately issued a command.
"Mr. Rime, Role Play!"
Role Play: The user copies the target's Ability and replaces its own.
The instant the command was given, Lin Feng's expression turned serious.
"Blaziken! Flare Blitz! Interrupt it!"
Unfortunately, his command was just a little slower than Mr. Rime's cane striking the ice.
Blaziken's Sunny Day activation speed was incredible.
The blazing heat distorted even the surrounding air.
But Mr. Rime's Role Play was equally fast.
There was almost no visible movement.
Yet its Ability changed instantly.
"Huh?"
Mr. Rime itself seemed startled.
The surge of power flowing through its body caught it off guard.
What kind of Ability was this?
At the same time, Lin Feng immediately realized something.
Although Luo Bingxue specialized in Ice-types, this Mr. Rime was also a master of Psychic-type techniques.
And that made things troublesome.
Mr. Rime's moveset included not only Role Play, but also Skill Swap.
Its original Ability, Ice Body, was practically useless against Blaziken.
On the other hand...
Blaziken's Speed Boost was valuable on almost any Pokémon.
She had likely chosen Role Play because its success rate was more reliable.
But there was no guarantee she wouldn't cancel Role Play later and use Skill Swap instead.
To make matters worse, as a spatial specialist, Mr. Rime also knew Trick Room.
A move capable of completely reversing the speed hierarchy.
Which meant only one thing.
Blaziken had to stay on the offensive.
"Continue! Flare Blitz!"
...
"It's starting! It's starting!"
The moment Ethan zoomed in and opened the stream, viewers flooded in.
These were all the people who had been waiting since hearing the news.
Seeing the battlefield, they were more excited than anyone.
"Hahaha! Ethan's streaming it! As Horizon League's commentator, he's perfect for this!"
"Look! Look! They've already started!"
"Ethan, stop staring and start commentating!"
"Role Play? What move is that?"
"Damn it! No salary and I still have to work!"
"At this rate I'll miss my ship!"
Watching the comments fly by like a tidal wave, Ethan grumbled internally.
They were dozens of kilometers from shore.
If the battle dragged on and the cruise ship drifted too far away...
He'd be stranded.
Then suddenly a massive helicopter gift animation exploded across his screen.
Ethan froze.
Then his eyes lit up.
"Oh my god! Thank you for the helicopter, brother!"
"I'll start commentating immediately!"
"Role Play is a Psychic-type move. It allows the user to copy the opponent's Ability."
"It seems Lady Reina has studied Young Master Lin's Pokémon beforehand. She knew about Blaziken's Ability."
"Blaziken is moving! Mr. Rime hasn't..."
"My god! That's fast!"
...
While Ethan resumed his "job" overhead, even pulling out the microphone he carried everywhere...
The battlefield below had already exploded into action.
Flare Blitz tore across the massive ice sheet, leaving a trail of melted water behind.
Yet even under the blazing sunlight, those puddles rapidly froze again.
Seeing that, Lin Feng inhaled sharply.
A realization flashed through his mind.
Even while battling, Mr. Rime was continuously channeling energy into the ice below, maintaining the entire battlefield.
"So this is the strength of a veteran Trainer's Pokémon..."
Under the sun, the blazing attack shot forward like a flaming arrow.
Just before it reached Mr. Rime, Luo Bingxue spoke.
Although surprise flashed in her eyes at Blaziken's speed, her voice remained calm.
"Ally Switch."
Ally Switch: The user instantly switches positions with an ally Pokémon.
Psychic energy transformed into invisible waves.
For a Fighting-type like Blaziken, it was an especially elusive force.
Just as Flare Blitz was about to strike Mr. Rime, a blurred figure flashed past.
Suddenly, nothing remained ahead except empty ice.
"Behind you! Aerial Ace!"
Lin Feng wasn't surprised at all.
In fact, he had expected this.
The instant the position swap occurred, he issued a new command.
Blaziken still had momentum to spare.
It slammed a foot into the ice, spun 180 degrees in midair, and redirected the remaining force of Flare Blitz.
But Luo Bingxue reacted just as quickly.
"Double Kick!"
After switching positions, Mr. Rime glided forward.
Whether because of its height or its Psychic-assisted levitation, it moved effortlessly.
Its icy cane and glowing blue leg struck Blaziken's attack.
Boom!
The collision between Flying-type and Fighting-type techniques sent ripples racing across the massive ice field.
"Even Fighting-type moves?"
Lin Feng was shocked.
Ally Switch alone had already surprised him.
Normally, that move was used in double battles between allied Pokémon.
Using it in a one-on-one battle was incredibly difficult.
Any resistance from the target could cause the move to fail.
Lin Feng knew Mr. Rime had access to the move.
What he didn't expect was that Luo Bingxue would actually use it.
Was Mr. Rime simply confident enough to overpower Blaziken's resistance?
Or had it predicted Blaziken wouldn't resist at all?
There was no time to think.
Mr. Rime had already used the momentum from the clash to glide into the sky.
Lin Feng couldn't allow it a moment of freedom.
If Trick Room went up, things would become extremely dangerous.
"Blaziken! Chase it! Fire Punch!"
"What a remarkable Ability."
A cold voice answered.
"Set up Light Screen. Then use Psyshock."
Blaziken shot skyward, flames blazing around its fists.
Meanwhile, golden light surrounded Mr. Rime.
As the barrier unfolded, Blaziken had already closed the distance.
What shocked Lin Feng was what happened next.
At the exact same time the Light Screen appeared, a hazy psychic glow filled Mr. Rime's eyes.
Psyshock.
In other words, Mr. Rime had executed both moves almost simultaneously.
Fire Punch slammed into the barrier.
Under Light Screen's protection, the flames felt as though they were sinking into mud.
Meanwhile, Psyshock launched almost instantly.
"Blaziken!"
"Mr. Rime!"
Both Pokémon cried out in pain.
But the difference was obvious.
Blaziken had taken far more damage.
Psychic attacks naturally suppressed Fighting-types, and the gap in energy between the two Pokémon was enormous.
Mr. Rime adjusted its landing posture and slid gracefully back across the ice.
Aside from burn marks on its body, it looked largely unharmed.
Blaziken crashed into the frozen field, throwing up a massive cloud of ice mist.
"Blaziken?!"
Lin Feng's heart tightened.
Aura surged outward, sensing what was happening inside the fog.
There, Blaziken struggled to stand.
In its current condition, another direct hit would almost certainly end its ability to continue fighting.
When the mist finally cleared, Blaziken was indeed standing.
But its body swayed unsteadily.
"So strong..."
Looking at Mr. Rime standing on the frozen battlefield like a gentleman holding a cane, Lin Feng couldn't help but sigh.
This battle could already be considered Blaziken's loss.
By the time Blaziken had gotten back to its feet, Mr. Rime could easily have established its entire battlefield setup.
Whether it was Trick Room or Psychic Terrain, Blaziken no longer had a path to victory.
Of course, if Lin Feng chose to continuously heal it with his Viridian Power, that would be a different story.
Looking at the still-determined Blaziken, Lin Feng raised a hand.
"Come back, Blaziken."
"When we get home, I'll make something delicious for you."
"Blaziken! Blaziken? Blaziken..."
Although Blaziken felt it could still fight, it also knew the reality.
Right now, it wasn't the right opponent for Mr. Rime.
This wasn't some desperate life-or-death battle.
It was simply a Trainer battle.
If it couldn't win now, Gardevoir could win it back later.
All it had to do was return home, eat well, train hard, grow stronger...
And one day, reclaim that victory itself.
------------------------------
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