A water stream as thick as a washbasin burst forth from the waterfall.
Tetsuya could not help but draw in a sharp breath. Cloyster's true ultimate move was here, using the force of the water to amplify the power of Hydro Pump.
"Piloswine, Icicle Crash, defend!"
A Cloyster capable of unleashing such a terrifying Hydro Pump had already far exceeded the standard of an ordinary Gym Leader level.
Upon hearing Tetsuya's command, Piloswine did not hesitate in the slightest. Its powerful Ice-type energy allowed it to execute Ice-type moves at an exceptionally fast speed, something Haunter could not envy.
Recently, Haunter had been training alone in the forest because Piloswine was already showing signs of surpassing it. If it had not absorbed Ninetales' vitality, strengthened its psychic power, and trained a large number of consecutive "finishing moves", it would likely have been overtaken by Piloswine long ago.
A row of icicles quickly fell from the sky and blocked in front of Piloswine.
'One, two, three…'
With a loud crack, the icicles were shattered by Hydro Pump, and the massive water stream slammed into Piloswine's body.
Piloswine's four limbs sank deeply into the ground by the shore as it relied on its body to resist the force of Hydro Pump.
This impact of the water current was even greater than that of glacier falls. Now the results of special training had become evident. The more than a month of training beneath the waterfall made Tetsuya's eyes light up.
He had originally thought that Piloswine would be finished here.
'In that case…' "Piloswine, hold on and use Avalanche on Cloyster!"
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Tetsuya's mouth. Since Piloswine now possessed such formidable defense and endurance, it was time for Avalanche to take action.
Avalanche used Ice-type energy to create snowballs in the air that smashed toward the opponent to deal damage. However, if the user was attacked by the target and took damage beforehand, Avalanche's falling speed would be triggered and its power would double.
Piloswine let out a piercing howl. This was the first time it had made such a rare sound, clearly showing the extent of its pain at this moment.
Above the glacier falls, countless snowballs descended. With the added force of the waterfall's current, their falling speed became even more rapid.
Seeing this, Sheila was instantly frightened and turned pale.
"Cloyster, quick, leave glacier falls!"
If such an Avalanche hit while aided by the impact of the water current, Cloyster would be severely injured!
In its panic, Cloyster quickly abandoned Hydro Pump and left glacier falls, landing on the frozen surface of the lake. Avalanche fell and formed a snow mountain, separating the glacier falls. Now it was no longer possible for Cloyster to return to it.
"Spike Cannon!"
Sheila launched a proactive attack.
Piloswine was "immune" to Ice-type moves, and any Water-type move used would be frozen by Piloswine's Freeze-Dry and backfire upon itself. As a result, the moves Cloyster could use were already very limited.
"Piloswine, use Icicle Spear!"
Sharp icicles shot out and collided with Spike Cannon, producing crackling sounds like firecrackers.
Without the dampening effect of the water current reducing its force, Cloyster's Spike Cannon was not to be underestimated.
Cloyster stood firm. Its outstanding defense meant it did not fear Piloswine's assault. At long range, it could also contend with Piloswine using Spike Cannon. Sheila merely observed Tetsuya's reaction quietly.
Tetsuya smiled faintly.
Just relying on Spike Cannon alone to contend evenly with a Piloswine that possessed so many moves was clearly underestimating his ability.
"Piloswine, use Icicle Crash to surround Cloyster."
Piloswine stomped its feet fiercely. Its control over Icicle Crash had already reached perfection!
Icicles quickly condensed in midair and fell in a ring, trapping Cloyster within.
For a Pokémon like Cloyster that could not move freely, being trapped by such icicles was almost equivalent to an early death sentence.
Now what Tetsuya was waiting for was for Sheila to use Hydro Pump to break open the icicles. Then he could seize the opportunity to use Freeze-Dry and deal it heavy damage.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Sheila also seemed to see through Tetsuya's thoughts and was considering a countermeasure.
"Piloswine, use Avalanche."
Tetsuya naturally would not give Sheila extra time to think. If she would not use Hydro Pump, he would force her.
Massive snowballs descended from the sky once again. Such an Avalanche was enough to bury Cloyster.
"Cloyster… let him see the bond we have built over more than ten years¹[1]! Shell Smash, then use Return!"
Sheila was already filled with passion and had long forgotten that her opponent was only a seven-year-old child…
'Return?'
Tetsuya was startled. Such a move was truly unpredictable. Its power was related to the intimacy -Friendship/Bond- between the Pokémon and its Trainer. The higher the intimacy, the greater the power.
The fame of this move came from the idiot, Ash Ketchum, twenty years later. Every one of his Pokémon had extremely deep bond with him, and he himself seemed to possess a unique affinity with Pokémon. No one else could reach such a level of intimacy. In his hands, Return was practically a "Cheat-type" move. Its power even surpassed that of Giga Impact. And it had no side effects!
However, in most people's hands, this move was mediocre. Especially for someone like him, who always maintained a certain distance from his Pokémon, it was impossible to have such high intimacy. Aside from his first Pokémon, Ariados, which had learned it, none of his later Pokémon had ever learned this move again.
As for how much power Sheila's use of this move would unleash… he would see for himself!
Shell Smash was a move exclusive to Pokémon with defensive shells. In the Kanto and Johto regions, only Cloyster, Omastar, Shuckle, and Magcargo could use it.
Shell Smash allowed these Pokémon to abandon their defensive strengths in exchange for greatly increasing their Attack, Special Attack, and Speed.
Now Cloyster's Attack had already received a significant boost.
Cloyster's body burst out from its shell. In an instant, it was shrouded in a purple glow and shot toward Piloswine like a rocket.
"Freeze-Dry!"
Tetsuya gritted his teeth and had Piloswine use its most proficient move.
The extreme chill blasted out!
But this time things did not go as planned…
Cloyster's purple protective glow directly broke through Freeze-Dry.
With a thunderous crash. Cloyster slammed fiercely into Piloswine, even smashing through nearly one meter of ice.
Piloswine had completely become a soaked pig. Just one Shell Smash-boosted Return was enough to make Piloswine lose its battle capability…
Tetsuya naturally felt unwilling, swallowed hard, and recalled Piloswine. At this moment, Cloyster had already returned into its shell.
•.
•.
¹. Chill, Ash!
[1] Chill, Ash!