Upon receiving Lorelei's command, Slowbro used its arms to push itself up from the ground. Despite being covered in wounds, its movements didn't seem much slower. It was unclear whether this was due to the effects of Trick Room or Slowbro's own formidable willpower.
As Slowbro stood up, icy blue energy condensed in front of it in the blink of an eye. The rain falling around it actually began to transform into falling hail within that bone-chilling energy!
The powerful ice energy was actually affecting the weather itself!
"Lugia, use Hurricane defense!" Ash's expression grew a bit more solemn. Even though Ice-type moves weren't Slowbro's primary type, the speed and power with which it used them were not at all inferior to its Water-type moves—provided the Water-type moves weren't boosted by the rain.
Even so, this was enough to demonstrate Lorelei's level of training with Slowbro. Achieving the effects of a STAB move with a non-STAB move was something only a tiny fraction of Trainers could accomplish, and it required the Pokémon itself to have a high enough affinity for the other move type.
For instance, since Slowbro is a Water-type, it is relatively proficient with the related Ice-type, which allowed it to reach this level.
The cold blue aurora shot straight toward Lugia, who reacted with a zero-frame startup, instantly surrounding itself with a vortex of wind spinning at extreme speeds.
The gray storm formed a solid barrier, howling as it swirled with rain and hail. The wind speed on the field suddenly skyrocketed, and the falling hail turned directly into crystalline powder the moment it touched the storm.
The icy blue Ice Beam moved with unstoppable force, and the moment it struck the storm, a bone-chilling cold began to spread frantically!
The rotating airflow was instantly frozen, and layers of shimmering ice crystals condensed on the edges of the storm. The originally violent gray wind wall was actually frozen solid across more than half its surface, forming a strange barrier of interwoven ice and wind.
The accumulated water and mud on the ground condensed into a smooth layer of ice, spreading several meters away. Hailstones bounced off the icy surface, making crisp clattering sounds.
Under the influence of the Ice Beam, the original rainy weather had completely transformed into a hailstorm. Even the air seemed to tremble slightly from the cold.
When the power of a Flying-type meets the power of an Ice-type, it is naturally countered heavily. Combined with Slowbro's proficiency with Ice-type energy and the level gap that suppressed Lugia by one tier, logically, this Ice Beam should have shattered the defense with ease.
But now, it was being held back by the Hurricane move. Even though the storm was frozen, that freezing power still hadn't harmed Lugia in the slightest.
Whether it was the original Lugia or the current Lugia, it possessed the Flying-type attribute. In fact, because Yveltal also possessed Flying-type power, the current Lugia's mastery over the Flying-type attribute even exceeded its own dark-type!
Even with its level suppressed by the opponent, it could rely on its physical constitution and mastery over Flying-type power to withstand an Ice Beam that countered it.
"The legends really aren't just for show. To actually withstand an Ice Beam using Flying-type power, as expected of you, Ash—then how about this move? Slowbro, use Blizzard!"
Lugia's defense and Ash's confident response made Lorelei sigh with admiration; one was truly brave enough to call it, and the other brave enough to do it!
However, being able to block Ice Beam didn't necessarily mean it could block Blizzard!
Blizzard is a move with even greater power than Ice Beam, and the rain actually provides a boost to Blizzard as well.
With Slowbro's current strength, blowing a Blizzard would inevitably freeze the rain into frost. With frost mixed into the Blizzard, it could unleash an even more terrifying power!
"Slow..." Slowbro tilted its head, a light shining in its eyes. Immediately after, gusts of bone-chilling wind whipped up across the field. In less than a second, countless bits of Powder Snow appeared within the cold wind, and the temperature on the field had already dropped to the freezing point.
"Lugia, Aeroblast!!" Ash watched as the field gradually became a world of ice and snow, and he coldly issued the command.
Aeroblast—Lugia's signature move. It uses its unique power to manipulate the air currents between heaven and earth, creating an explosive blast of air. With sufficient strength, it can even tear through space!
The great black bird floated in the air. Its wings, which looked like giant hands, suddenly flapped, and terrifying air currents instantly gathered in front of Lugia before exploding outward like a nuclear bomb!
In an instant, the entire space seemed to shatter, letting out burst after burst of booming and roaring!
Two terrifying storms collided in mid-air. One was a vortex blast created by manipulating pure wind power, while the other was a Blizzard created with the power of ice and snow, leaning more toward Ice-type energy.
The moment the powers of both sides first collided, an ear-splitting boom erupted on the field, and the sound of the gale tearing through the air rang out continuously!
The two terrifying storms clashed repeatedly in the sky. The black currents of Aeroblast and the icy blue snow curtain of Blizzard instantly intertwined and coiled around each other. The deafening roar almost threatened to blow the roof off the arena!
The black vortex spun frantically, attempting to tear through the snow and frost. Countless ice crystals were ground up by the air currents, turning into a sky full of ice mist. Blizzard was not to be outdone; the bone-chilling cold spread along the air currents, constantly freezing the edges of the vortex and causing layers of ice shells to condense on the black wind pillar.
On the field, the already thick layer of ice was cracked by the shockwaves of the two powers, only to be instantly refilled by new frost. The audience outside was not affected at all, but the entire field was on the verge of being torn apart by the collision of these two forces!
Mewtwo's barrier didn't cover the ground of the field. Currently, the entire ground was in a state of being constantly frozen and then constantly torn apart by the storm.
Ash clenched his fists tightly, watching the two forces locked in a stalemate in the air. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. It wasn't just Lugia fighting on the field; he was there with Lugia, and the rapidly depleting energy in his body clearly told him that the situation didn't look good—
The power of Aeroblast had already been fully spent, yet the momentum of the Blizzard showed no signs of slowing down. The moisture from the rainy day constantly replenished the energy of the ice and snow, making the snow curtain heavier and heavier.
After a stalemate of only a few seconds, the rotation speed of the black vortex gradually slowed down. Blizzard took this opportunity to absorb the surrounding water and suddenly expand!
In the end, the countering power triumphed over the divine technique. The icy blue snow curtain successfully overwhelmed the edge of the vortex blast. The black air currents were forced together and frozen by the ice and snow, finally shattering with a "crack."
The unspent snow and wind, carrying the residual chill, rushed toward Lugia's face. Although it didn't cause heavy damage, it caused a layer of thin ice to condense on the edges of its wings, making the action of flapping its wings sluggish.
On the field, the ice and snow completely covered the previous mess. The ice layer was several inches thick, and even the air was so cold it felt as if one could hear it cracking.
Following the sea of fire created by Charizard earlier, the field had now turned completely white, becoming a snowy landscape!
"It—it actually overwhelmed Lugia's signature move! Is this the true strength of Elite Four Lorelei? This is truly unbelievable!! For a Water-type Slowbro to unleash such a terrifying Ice-type move... no matter what type a Pokémon is, in Elite Four Lorelei's hands, they will become a master of ice. This is the strength of our humanity's top-tier Trainers!" the host Allen shouted excitedly.
The surrounding audience was also in an uproar. The situation of this battle was truly a series of constant reversals. They originally thought Slowbro was heavily injured and about to lose its ability to fight, but now it had actually reversed the situation and broken through Lugia's signature move!
A divine technique cannot be compared using simple power descriptions, yet Lorelei had actually broken a divine technique in a head-on clash. This was not just a victory in a clash of moves, but a major victory that greatly boosted morale!
Even someone as composed as Lorelei couldn't help but show a joyful smile on her pretty face upon seeing Slowbro break the opponent's Aeroblast.
Even the skills of a god are not invincible!
As long as humans train Pokémon to the limit, they may not necessarily be inferior to the power of a god. The scene before them was the best example!
The power belonging to Ho-Oh that Charizard had displayed earlier had allowed Charizard to far exceed the ability limits of an ordinary Pokémon.
Normally, even with the help of Ash's Aura, it would be impossible for Charizard to fight across so many levels. If Charizard's level were at the Superior or Professional Level, it might barely be able to fight across one major tier with Ash's Aura. But once at the Elite and Champion-levels, it would be absolutely impossible to rely on Ash's power to fight across a major tier.
If you think about it, you'll understand. Others have raised their levels through steady and solid progress, while you are merely relying on external forces to raise your level to the same tier as your opponent. Why should you be on equal footing with them? Because your stats were S-rank before the level up?
At low levels, S-rank stats can still play a role after a level surge, allowing forced power to compete on equal terms with power built through steady progress. But at the Elite Four Level and the Champion-level beyond, thinking that S-rank stats alone could make one equal to the opponent is nothing more than a pipe dream.
The reason Charizard could achieve a 'leapfrog' battle within a 'leapfrog' battle—strongly suppressing a Champion Intermediate Level Cloyster while only at the Low-Elite Four Level—was due to Ash's power, the cap on its stats, MEGA Evolution, and that divine power it possessed: the flames of Ho-Oh!
When high-level power is applied to a low-level battle, even a tiny amount of that power can play a crucial role. Thus, while its level was still low, Charizard was basically invincible relying on the power of Sacred Fire.
Being able to continue unleashing power beyond that even after its level was boosted by Ash's Aura—that is the power of a god.
However, upon reaching the Champion-level, because one is getting closer and closer to the level of a god, the role that divine power can play becomes smaller and smaller. The process of an ordinary Pokémon increasing its strength is, in fact, the process of approaching a god.
Relying on the pure power of Sacred Fire, it is now very difficult for Charizard to be invincible among its peers at the Champion-level. Before MEGA Evolution, it was also being suppressed and beaten by Cloyster, even when using Sacred Fire.
It was only after MEGA Evolution that it used the enhanced flames and a further increased level to suppress Shellder. This was enough to show that the power of a Champion actually already possesses some level of threat to the power of a god.
Now, Slowbro had even broken a god's signature move in a head-on clash, which made people realize that the power of gods is not universally invincible. Humans, through their own hard work in training Pokémon, can also make Pokémon—
Approach, or even surpass, gods!
"Slowbro, freeze it!!" Lorelei pressed the advantage. Within Trick Room, Slowbro still held absolute initiative. Although its stamina had been greatly reduced by Lugia, for a Champion-level Pokémon, even if only a sliver of power remained, it could still strike with full force.
It wouldn't be like other Pokémon, whose attack, speed, and other aspects decrease as their stamina weakens.
The Blizzard that had already begun to fade started to condense once more as Slowbro prepared to launch a second attack. Furthermore, under Trick Room, Slowbro's move speed had already undergone a qualitative change, and Lugia was currently in a frozen, stiff state.
If it wanted to gather power to counterattack, it would inevitably fall further behind Slowbro. This was the principle of 'one step slow, every step slow.'
It's a win!!
Just as the slightly excited thought rose in Lorelei's mind, a terrifying power suddenly erupted from Lugia's body. A pitch-black energy dyed the entire field black, and the frost on its body was instantly shattered by this dark energy!
The rain falling from the sky was also directly annihilated by the dark energy rising from Lugia. Even the somewhat weak dark clouds in the sky were suddenly blown away, and the rainy weather ended just like that, without any warning.
Before Lorelei could be shocked, a transparent, visible square space appeared across the entire field. This spatial barrier was not Mewtwo's protective shield, but rather the Trick Room used by Slowbro.
Although the time limit for Trick Room was nearly up, the remaining time was enough for Slowbro to use two or three more moves without issue. However, at this moment, Trick Room revealed itself without warning, causing an ominous feeling to rise in Lorelei's heart.
"Reee!!!" A piercing cry rang out from Lugia's mouth as rings of pitch-black energy diffused from its body. The Aura of death spread across the field. Everywhere the energy touched—whether it was hail, snow, or even Trick Room—it all dissolved in an instant, as if it had never existed.
"What move is this?!" Even the widely experienced Lorelei couldn't help but cry out in surprise at the situation on the field.
She was once again thrown for a loop by something unknown. They were clearly about to win; Ash couldn't have pulled some other nonsense out of his hat, could he?
"This is another of Lugia's powers. Although it also belongs to the Flying-type, it—it also carries that power of destruction. Go, Lugia, use Oblivion Wing!!"
Oblivion Wing—the signature move of the God of Death, Yveltal!!