"ROOOAR!"
Hydreigon hovered above the arena, all five heads roaring down at Alolan Ninetales.
So this was the one that had bullied its little sister?
Then it was going to pay.
The five pairs of eyes glared down with open hostility, making Ninetales instinctively recoil.
Hydreigon looked absolutely ferocious.
"Fivey, keep the Flamethrowers coming!"
Liora immediately gave the order.
"ROOOAR!"
One of Hydreigon's heads opened its jaws, scattering sparks through the air before unleashing a torrent of fire.
The flames were so hot that the surrounding hail melted before they even reached the ground.
"Ninetales, dodge!"
Frost's expression tightened. He knew exactly how much firepower Liora's Hydreigon possessed and had no intention of letting Ninetales take the attack head-on.
"Niiine!"
Alolan Ninetales darted aside at the last second, narrowly avoiding the stream of fire.
But before it could recover, another wave of scorching heat came rushing toward it.
A second head had already unleashed another Flamethrower.
Two of Hydreigon's heads were attacking almost simultaneously.
Even Aaron was surprised.
During the Fighting Tournament in Grit City, he had once encountered a Pokémon capable of launching multiple Dynamic Punches at the same time.
It had been an advanced battle technique that required exceptional control and coordination.
"Hydreigon probably hasn't mastered anything that complicated," Aaron thought. "Its five heads may simply allow it to launch multiple attacks naturally."
"Each head seems capable of acting independently."
Braveon watched Hydreigon with a serious expression.
"That's the greatest advantage of its ancestral awakening," Aaron agreed. "If Liora eventually teaches all five heads to use different moves at the same time, its offensive potential will be terrifying."
Braveon nodded slowly.
"Just imagine five Draco Meteors coming down at once."
He stared up at Hydreigon, his eyes sharpening.
"Anything without a Fairy-type immunity would be in serious trouble."
Aaron nodded in agreement.
...
Back in the arena, Alolan Ninetales was discovering firsthand how troublesome Hydreigon's five heads could be.
Every time it avoided one stream of fire, another head immediately launched the next.
With attacks coming from different angles in rapid succession, Ninetales finally failed to escape.
Flamethrower struck it head-on.
BOOM!
The flames erupted across the battlefield.
The super-effective hit, amplified by Hydreigon's sharply boosted Special Attack, was simply too much for the already exhausted Ninetales.
Smoke curled from its scorched fur as it collapsed. Swirls replaced its eyes, leaving no doubt that it was unable to battle.
Liora had evened the score.
"ROOOAR!"
Hydreigon threw back its heads and roared triumphantly.
It might as well have been saying:
Goodra, your big brother avenged you.
...
"Alolan Ninetales is unable to battle!"
Blaze raised the red flag with all the authority he could muster, clearly enjoying his role.
"Frost, send out your next Pokémon!"
"Come back, Ninetales."
Frost's smile vanished as he recalled it.
He then drew an ice-blue Poké Ball and looked up at Hydreigon, renewed fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
"Today, I'll show you my true ace."
He hurled the ball onto the field.
"Come out, my strongest Pokémon!"
"Chien-Pao!"
A brilliant flash of light filled the arena.
When it faded, a sleek, leopard-like Pokémon stood on the battlefield.
It measured nearly two meters from head to tail, with snow-white fur covering its long, graceful body. The broken halves of an ancient sword formed the massive fangs jutting from either side of its mouth.
Braveon's eyes widened.
"Is that... Chien-Pao?"
"A Legendary Pokémon. It's even rarer than most pseudo-Legendaries."
Aaron was equally surprised.
Chien-Pao was extraordinarily rare. In Hualis, so few remained that the species was widely considered to be on the verge of extinction.
He immediately opened its information panel.
[Name: Chien-Pao]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Adamant]
[Type: Dark/Ice]
[Ability: Sword of Ruin — Summons the power of ruin, weakening the Defense of every opposing Pokémon.]
[Base Stats Total: 570]
[Level: Gym (Mid Stage)]
[Potential: Champion]
[Known Moves: Icicle Crash (Apotheosis), Sacred Sword (Perfect), Crunch (Perfect), Ice Fang (Perfect), Psychic Fangs (Mastery), Dark Pulse (Mastery), Swords Dance (Mastery), Ice Shard (Mastery), Payback (Mastery), Recover (Mastery), Night Slash (Proficient), Haze (Proficient), Icy Wind (Proficient)...]
[Description: Chien-Pao, the Ruinous Pokémon. It commands ice and snow, while the ancient blade fragments forming its fangs can tear through even the toughest armor. It is an exceptionally rare Legendary Pokémon.]
...
Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly.
Chien-Pao possessed Champion potential as well.
So this was the standard among the top five Trainers on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.
They really were monsters.
Without the System and all the abilities it had given his Pokémon, even Aaron would have struggled against prodigies backed by this level of talent and resources.
As the old gamer saying went:
Grinders lost to whales, and whales lost to cheaters.
Aaron was firmly in the final category.
...
In the arena, Hydreigon and Chien-Pao faced one another.
The battle between dragon and leopard was about to begin.
...