Feng Che deployed Sirfetch'd, a Fighting-type Pokémon, though its visual presentation had been subtly modified.
Resting snugly against its waist was a small sake gourd filled with a premium, aged vintage Feng Che had meticulously acquired. Through rigorous conditioning, Feng Che had discovered a unique operational law governing this partner: the higher the grade of the wine Sirfetch'd consumed, the more exponentially its core combat parameters would scale.
"Sirfetch'd, optimize your performance across this campaign. If your execution metrics satisfy my expectations, I shall formally authorize you to unseal the gourd," Feng Che called out across the arena.
The exact millisecond the incentive cleared its pathways, Sirfetch'd's eyes ignited with a brilliant, wide-awake gleam.
Sirfetch'd:Quack! This stands as an official, legitimate mandate to indulge in my vintage!
The Wild Duck Pokémon instantly locked into absolute peak focus. Hoisting its massive leek stalk like a grand broadsword, its razor-sharp gaze pierced the mist to lock squarely onto Zoroark.
Zoroark adopted a flawless martial stance, its expression entirely stoic and composed as it tracked the bird. To Feng Che's trained eye, this specific transgenic entity behaved less like a standard Illusion Fox and more like a battle-hardened Lucario draped within a Zoroark shell.
"Zoroark, use Bulk Up into Swords Dance!" N commanded smoothly.
"Sirfetch'd, synchronize the layout—Bulk Up into Swords Dance!" Feng Che countered concurrently.
Both Trainers handed down their stat-amplification directives in a flawless, overlapping cadence.
"Vio, what is your analytical assessment of the mechanical balance dividing Feng Che and King N?" Drayden inquired quietly, lowering his voice so it wouldn't disrupt the match focus.
"Their baseline variables are exceptionally extreme; both individuals comfortably anchor the absolute peak of the Champion rank," Vio reported gravely. "N's natural caliber is staggering. Excluding Feng Che himself, his tactical layouts are more than enough to systematically override any single master gathered within this sector."
"Had his destiny not been forcefully bound to Team Plasma's throne, his ascension as the permanent, undisputed Champion of Unova would have been an absolute foregone conclusion decades ago." Vio offered an immense estimation of the young king's prowess.
"Indeed. Saturated under this data, my granddaughter Iris remains several technological tiers below his baseline," Drayden acknowledged, nodding slowly. "Small wonder he possessed the raw military parameters required to clinically break Alder in a direct frontal press."
Lining the periphery of the observation deck, Iris stared into the grand cavern, her mouth agape. Her analytical capabilities were completely overwhelmed by the sheer velocity of the match; her mind flagged that if her strongest Haxorus were deployed into this grid, it would fail to survive an encounter with a single one of N's transgenic partners.
He truly deserves his title as the absolute peak of the regional vanguard. To think a human could command a roster of this terrifying caliber, Ghetsis calculated silently, though his expression remained deeply twisted. He was fully aware of N's innate gifts, just as he understood the absolute technocratic superiority of the transgenic chimeras Colress had synthesized.
The underlying advantage governing these modified assets rested within their capacity to seamlessly merge the complementary mechanics of two apex species.
A standard Zoroark commands astronomical psychological and illusionary parameters, yet its physical shell remains exceptionally frail. Conversely, a Lucario boasts a hyper-dense muscular coefficient designed for close-quarters brawling, but its resistance to high-tier mental and psychic payloads is dangerously compromised.
By splicing their cell lines together, Colress had successfully forged an absolute hybrid system where 1+1≥2.
"Sirfetch'd, use Slash!"
Sirfetch'd smoothly whipped its leek sword through the air, a brilliant emerald arc of kinetic energy slicing across space. A fraction of a second later, the reinforced bedrock surrounding Zoroark violently split open into a web of jagged fissures.
Leveraging his high-tier psychic vision to track the micro-displacements, Feng Che cleanly unmasked the counter-exchange. Zoroark had aggressively intercepted the strike, utilizing its razor-sharp claws to smash dead-center into the emerald arc, forcefully breaking Sirfetch'd's technique mid-transit. The residual shockwaves of the shattered Slash had redirected downward, tearing the bedrock apart.
"Superb response. Sirfetch'd, maximize your coverage with Brutal Swing!"
Sirfetch'd slammed its webbed foot heavily into the floor, creating a deep depression in the stone. Its silhouette dissolved into a streak of pure white light, its leek broadsword transforming into hundreds of overlapping green shadows that blanketed the combat lane.
"Zoroark, counter with Close Combat!" N roared.
Zoroark's velocity loop scaled exponentially, its arms blurring into a relentless barrage of Close Combat strikes. Thousands of fist phantoms materialized in the air, trading heavy physical blows with the oncoming leek blade in a rapid-fire succession of sharp, resounding clangs.
Subjected to the sheer raw weight of the brawler's fists, Sirfetch'd's balance buckled, and it stumbled backward several paces before re-establishing its stance.
This Zoroark's raw muscular coefficient is remarkably immense, Feng Che analyzed warily, noting that the hybrid beast had failed to yield a single micro-millimeter of ground across the exchange. Sirfetch'd's physical strength was already deeply optimized, yet Zoroark had cleanly overridden its mass to force a tactical retreat.
"Sirfetch'd, maintain the trial with Slash!" Feng Che continued to feel out the target's parameters.
Sirfetch'd delivered a sequence of rapid, high-intensity Slashes, the emerald arcs roaring across the air to lock down Zoroark's options. The razor-sharp energy lines skimmed the floor at a manic velocity, carving deep, jagged grooves into the stone.
Yet, a mere micro-second before making contact with Zoroark's silhouette, the emerald waves abruptly skewed off-course, missing the target entirely to detonate harmlessly against the distant cavern walls.
This hybrid brawler is exceptionally profound, and as a transgenic chimera, it must carry a specialized sensory sub-routine...
No. This isn't a mechanical attribute; this is the absolute manifestation of Zoroark's master-tier Illusion, Feng Che realized instantly, sweeping his psychic grid across the floor to isolate the anomaly.
Forensic telemetry revealed that while the spectators tracked the Slashes tearing straight toward Zoroark's visible coordinates, the hybrid beast's true physical vessel was nowhere near that vector. It had masterfully refashioned the visual light parameters of the sector, weaving a flawless optical illusion that systematically lured Sirfetch'd's targeting arrays into empty space.
"Had I not directed Sirfetch'd to execute that consecutive, multi-targeted barrage, my own tracking sensors would have remained entirely blinded by the illusion," Feng Che murmured under his breath.
"Sirfetch'd, sever your reliance on your eyes! Close your eyelids and guide your blade strictly through alternative sensory tracking!" Feng Che commanded out loud.
Sirfetch'd immediately snapped its eyelids shut. The moment its visual field went black, its olfactory pathways flagged a dense, pungent aroma of green onions filling the immediate airspace. During their initial physical deadlock, the constant friction between Zoroark's fists and the leek stalk had saturated the brawler's claws with a sharp, highly localized scent indicator.
"Sirfetch'd, break their line with Brave Bird!"
Sirfetch'd stamped its foot heavily to launch its frame straight into the upper ceiling. Reversing its orientation mid-air, it pointed the sharp tip of its leek sword straight down, a towering vortex of concussive wind coiling violently around its chassis.
An immense shroud of white kinetic energy enveloped its frame like a majestic battle armor. With an explosive, deafening roar, it converted its vessel into a high-velocity missile, plunging straight toward the true olfactory coordinates of Zoroark.
"Zoroark, redirect their momentum with Circle Throw!" N directed coolly, his confidence in his partner's capabilities absolute.
Zoroark calmly pivoted its torso, stepping smoothly into the blind spot of the descending missile. Catching Sirfetch'd's overextended frame with a fluid, sweeping leverage grab, it effortlessly hijacked the bird's massive kinetic velocity to violently slam its vessel straight down into the permafrost.
With a thunderous, earth-shaking boom, Sirfetch'd was driven like a literal inverted leek deep into the broken ground, a massive screen of dust and pulverized stone mushrooming into the air to obscure its form.
By the hour the dust rings partially dissolved, Sirfetch'd was trembling violently, using its leek blade to heavily anchor its shaking weight as it dragged its frame back to a standing posture. Its cognitive systems were buzzing under severe concussive shock.
"Sirfetch'd, if your line fails to exhibit proper operational discipline across this campaign, I suggest your mind carefully review the precise culinary preparation steps governing a premium roasted duck," Feng Che's voice drifted lazily across the psychic link, dripping with an icy, serene malice.
The exact second the dark warning cleared its pathways, a violent shiver shot straight down the Wild Duck Pokémon's spine, every feather on its body standing perfectly on end. The concussive grogginess vanished instantly, replaced by a wave of pure, primal terror.
Sirfetch'd:Save me! By the heavens, I refuse to be rendered into an entrée!
Siphoning the absolute fear nesting within its core to supercharge its adrenaline loops, Sirfetch'd forcefully overrode its physical limitations. Brandishing its massive leek blade, its velocity and stroke cadence scaled to over twice its baseline speed parameters.
"Quack!"
Its sharp, raucous battle cry echoed violently across the cavern walls as it lunged forward to execute Leaf Blade.
Zoroark smoothly raised its forearm in a clean, instinctual guard to anchor the incoming strike. The metallic, grass-hard edge of the leek blade slammed ruthlessly into its limb, yet despite Sirfetch'd putting the absolute entirety of its augmented mass into the downward cleave, the hybrid brawler remained entirely stationary, its footing unyielding.
This Zoroark's physical durability parameters are completely off the charts... To effortlessly absorb a maximum-tier Leaf Blade using its bare flesh, Feng Che analyzed, sweeping his psychic senses to review the impact zone. Sirfetch'd's Leaf Blade was sharpened to such an elite threshold that even when trading blows with his armored Corviknight, the edge would leave a visible white score mark across the steel hull. Yet, a direct audit confirmed that Zoroark's hide hadn't sustained a single shred of cellular degradation; not a single strand of its ash-grey fur was out of place.