At that moment, a rainbow-colored Aurora Beam shot toward Pidgeot. Pidgeot used Aerial Ace, reappearing in the air a split second later. Looking down, it saw the spot where the beam had struck instantly flash-frozen under a thick layer of jagged ice.
This Pidgeot's reaction speed is incredible. It truly lives up to its reputation as a Pokémon that can fly at Mach 2, Feng Che thought. It's a pity. If Zeraora were facing it, a single Plasma Fists would end this. Even with the Ninetales inheritance, my Ninetales still lacks actual combat experience.
Just then, a blanket of white ice mist began to surge from Ninetales, gradually obscuring the entire arena.
"This move is remarkably similar to the one Suicune used," Blue muttered, looking at the pitch-black arena with extreme wariness.
A bone-chilling cold radiated from the mist. Blue could hear the rhythmic flapping of Pidgeot's wings, but other than that, the world was silent.
"Pidgeot, stay alert! Watch for ice spikes hidden in the fog. Fly as high as you can and use Defog!" Blue commanded, his breath forming thick clouds of white vapor.
Ninetales is using the mist to hide itself perfectly. It's waiting like a hunter for my Pidgeot to show a single opening before delivering a fatal blow, Blue analyzed internally.
Pidgeot beat its wings hard, breaking through the ceiling of the mist. Its feathers were now dusted with heavy frost. Blue's judgment was correct: if it had stayed in the fog, it would have been "boiled" in ice—frozen solid before it even realized the danger.
Pidgeot tried to flap the mist away, but no matter how hard it pushed, the fog didn't budge an inch.
Suicune uses Mist through the power of a Domain. How is this Ninetales doing it? Blue was baffled. "Pidgeot, use a wide-range Air Slash into the fog!"
Since he couldn't clear the mist, Blue decided to force Ninetales out through sheer volume of fire. Pidgeot's wings glowed, manifesting massive wind blades that blotted out the sun. They rained down into the white bank like steel shears. Muffled thuds echoed from the mist, but the fog remained thick.
"Ninetales, use Blizzard!" Feng Che shouted.
A torrent of snow and ice erupted from the mist, surging toward Pidgeot like a freezing tidal wave.
"Pidgeot, use Whirlwind!"
Blue's heart hammered against his ribs. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cold. If Whirlwind failed, Pidgeot would be turned into an ice sculpture. Fortunately, the counter-wind successfully diverted the icy flood. Some of the snow drifted into the stands; children reached out to catch the hexagonal crystals, watching them melt in their palms.
"Fine. I didn't want to use this, but you've forced my hand," Blue snorted. "Pidgeot, use Brave Bird!"
Pidgeot soared vertically toward the sun. The warmth quickly melted the frost on its body, and the friction of its rising speed dried its feathers. Once it reached its peak altitude, it banked sharply.
It transformed into a streak of light, diving from the heavens. Its speed increased until it was encased in a white "air armor." The friction with the atmosphere ignited the armor, turning Pidgeot into a literal firebird. It let out a cry that echoed the legendary Ho-Oh, the sky turning red with its heat.
Pidgeot descended with the force of a falling star, slamming directly into the heart of the ice mist.
"Feng Che, how will your Ninetales stop this?" Blue shouted with a confident smile.
"Ninetales, use Ice Beam!"
"It's useless!" Blue countered. "In this state, the ice will melt before it even touches Pidgeot!"
However, no Ice Beam came out of the fog. Just as Blue grew confused, Pidgeot impacted the center. Fire clashed with ice mist, creating an explosion of steam and a massive shockwave that cleared the fog entirely.
A few Claydol from the League's security team rushed to the edge of the stands, projecting Light Screens to protect the audience from the debris.
"Whoa! I thought I was gonna get frozen for a second there!" "The League won't let us get hurt. Look, they've got it covered."
As the steam cleared, the crowd saw the aftermath. The arena was cratered, and massive ice pillars had been shattered. In the center of the impact zone was a solid block of ice, cracked like a spiderweb but holding firm.
Ninetales stepped gracefully out of the shattered ice block, letting out a casual yawn.
"Impossible... that Self-Freeze technique... only Articuno should know that. How did Ninetales learn it?" Blue's pupils constricted. Feng Che has never met Articuno. Why does he know its signature defensive move? Does he really have a connection to Team Rocket?
Blue fell back into a pit of confusion.
"My Ninetales inherited the ancient knowledge of its clan during evolution," Feng Che explained, seeing Blue's shock.
Pidgeot was still in the fight, but it was panting heavily on the ground. It flared its wings, and golden motes of light began to rise from the earth—Roost.
"Ninetales, Ice Shard! Don't let it recover!"
Ninetales' nine tails stood erect. Frigid air erupted from its fur, manifesting palm-sized ice shards that shot out like bullets.
"Pidgeot, Extreme Speed!" Blue yelled. If the bird didn't move now, it would be riddled with holes. Pidgeot took to the sky just in time, but the Roost was interrupted, only restoring half its health.
This is insane. I'm playing a high-stakes game of heartbeats, Blue thought. A single Ninetales is this strong? And Feng Che told me once that Ninetales isn't even part of his main team... how strong are his starters?
With the ice mist gone, Pidgeot regained its vision. It wouldn't be caught blindly again. "Pidgeot, use Hurricane!"
The bird soared like a hawk, its three-meter wingspan generating a powerful gale. Within seconds, four massive tornadoes appeared on the field, roaring like wind dragons. Sand, stones, and even trash cans from the stands were sucked into the vortex. The sky turned dark, looking like the end of the world.
The audience gripped their armrests, terrified of being swept away, until the Claydol reinforced the barriers.
"Look at that! It's controlling four wind pillars at once!" "I almost lost my toupee!"
Despite the howling storm, Ninetales remained calm. Its ancestors lived on the blizzard-wracked peaks of the highest mountains; a few tornadoes were nothing new. It paced the field with an elegant stride, shaking its tails to release ice-blue frost.
The frost was sucked into the tornadoes. Slowly, the wind turned a glittering azure. A massive cold front surged from the storms, freezing everything they touched into thick ice.
"Feng Che's Ninetales is powerful—it can manipulate the climate itself," Blaze noted to Hagen in the observation booth. "If it keeps growing, it'll be on par with Lorelei's primary team."
"Hmph. He's too strong for a rookie. It has to be him—the one who attacked me," Hagen growled, his eyes fixed on Feng Che with a look of pure malice.