Chapter 124: Battle Against Lorelei (Part 3)
"Charizard, I'm counting on you." Ron sent out Charizard, immediately Mega Evolving it. Facing a Tier-2 Legendary, he dared not be careless.
"Articuno, Blizzard," Lorelei ordered again, suppressing the field with a powerful Blizzard.
Mega Charizard X roared, flapping its wings violently. The hot air met the Blizzard—but despairingly, it had no effect at all. The hot air was completely swallowed by the Blizzard. Mega Charizard X's resistance seemed utterly powerless in the face of the storm, and it could only be consumed by the snow. After the blizzard stopped, Charizard collapsed weakly into the snow, having lost the ability to battle.
Ron gritted his teeth and recalled Charizard, then sent out Greninja. In an instant, Bond Phenomenon was activated, and Bond Greninja appeared.
"Huh? That little guy's Greninja just changed form!" Bruno said in surprise upon seeing Bond Greninja's new appearance.
Indeed, just as Bruno said, the current Bond Greninja looked even more like Ron. The large Water Shuriken on its back had vanished, replaced by a water katana at its waist.
With the refinement of his Iaido skills, Greninja abandoned the Water Shuriken for the water katana. With the added boost from the Splash Plate, the damage of Aqua Slash became explosive.¹
"Its form changed? Still not enough," Lorelei said. "Blizzard!"
Bond Greninja vanished instantly. Ron felt his whole body burning, and the body regeneration he had bought earlier was quickly restoring his spent stamina.
Articuno's Blizzard ravaged the battlefield, but Bond Greninja had already appeared above Articuno's head. Eyes closed, body and mind united—water katana, drawn!
A flash of blue light streaked by. Articuno let out a mournful cry as feathers from its right wing scattered. With a single strike, its right wing was heavily damaged.
But Ron and Bond Greninja shared a bond—they knew that one strike had expended all of Bond Greninja's spirit and energy. Looking at the heavily injured Greninja, Ron knew that attack could only be used once—but it was enough.
Seizing the moment when Articuno hadn't reacted, a quick U-turn struck Articuno. Then, Bond Greninja returned to its Ultra Ball, and Ron's final Ultra Ball opened—Mewtwo entered, holding a spoon.
Ron wasn't about to give Articuno any more chances. Strike while the iron's hot—end it now!
Ron pressed his hand to the Key Stone. As light flashed and faded, Mega Mewtwo X appeared on the battlefield. As it pushed its right hand forward, fine electric currents wrapped around Articuno's body, paralyzing it.
At that moment, the snowflakes stopped falling. Mega Mewtwo X clenched its fists, the spoon vanishing into thin air. With a blink, it teleported in front of Articuno, and its Fire Punch landed heavily on Articuno's injured right wing.
"Mind's Eye, Sheer Cold!" Lorelei shouted.
Articuno's right wing was injured and couldn't stir up a Blizzard, but it immediately used Mind's Eye to begin locking onto Mega Mewtwo X.
But just then, countless Psychic spheres appeared and struck Articuno, preventing it from fully concentrating to use Mind's Eye. Mega Mewtwo X took the opportunity to launch a Psychic, slamming directly into Articuno's mind and halting its move.
Mega Mewtwo X understood: once Mind's Eye succeeded, the next move would be a guaranteed one-hit KO!
Articuno screeched angrily, firing an Ice Beam at Mega Mewtwo X. But Mega Mewtwo X teleported to evade it and appeared above Articuno, using Rock Tomb to drop several massive boulders, pinning down Articuno's wings.
Now Articuno was completely cornered. Mega Mewtwo X didn't hesitate—jumping on Articuno's back, it pounded it over and over with Fire Punch.
Articuno cried out in fury and instantly froze the surrounding space, dragging Mega Mewtwo X into a final conclusion to the match.
Looking at Mega Mewtwo X and Articuno frozen in a block of solid ice, Ron shivered involuntarily. Sheer Cold could be used like that?
Lorelei looked at the two Pokémon that had lost the ability to battle and sighed. "This match is a draw. Congratulations, Ron. You now possess Elite Four-level strength and may apply for a position among the Four Heavenly Kings."
As the other Elite Four members and the league officials gathered around, Ron smiled and shook his head. "No need. My journey isn't over yet—I don't want to be tied down so soon."
"Ron, with your current strength, there's no point in entering the League Tournament. Few trainers could even be your match," a League official said. "We sincerely hope you'll help the League."
"We'll talk about it later," Ron replied.
He called out Gyarados, instructing it to summon some Water-type Pokémon to help melt the ice. These two Pokémon weren't in a state to be thawed with fire.
After melting the ice, Ron helped the now reverted Mewtwo to its feet, gave it a Max Potion, then returned it to its Ultra Ball.
Mewtwo's injuries weren't too serious—a couple days of rest would be enough. But Articuno's wounds were more severe. Its right wing was fractured and would take at least a few months to fully recover.
Lorelei scolded Ron for quite a while. Ron could only smile bitterly. After all, in that kind of situation, even a moment of hesitation would mean death. Ron had only just reached the Elite Four level himself. Against another Elite Four member like Lorelei, holding back would only lead to defeat.
The League officials soon left, leaving Ron with a League badge. This badge was actually a reserve Elite Four badge. Holding it would allow Ron to enter any local League Tournament unconditionally.
Ron stared at the badge for a long time without reacting. Lillie patted his shoulder, and he snapped out of it. Seeing her curious expression, he smiled and said, "It's nothing, just got distracted."
"Are we heading to Hoenn next?" Lillie asked.
Ron nodded and said, "In a little while. The frequency of battles recently has been too high—my Pokémon need to rest."
Lillie nodded in agreement. "Yes, you've really been too exhausted lately. Get some good rest. Also, my brother is currently in Hoenn. He said if we go, he'll wait for us in Petalburg City."
"Gladion?" Ron asked. "What's he doing there?"
"He says he's training himself. But apparently, he discovered something and insisted I tell you," Lillie replied.
Ron thought for a moment. Petalburg City was more of a resort town—there didn't seem to be anything special about it?
He shook his head and decided not to overthink it. His top priority now was to rest properly, organize everything he'd gained recently, and elevate himself to the next level.
Some of his Pokémon still wanted to train, but Ron stopped them. After all, balance between work and rest was the true path.
Knowing they could rest for a while, Wobbuffet clung to Ron's leg with excitement, nearly crying tears of joy.
Ron patted Wobbuffet's head, showing he truly understood. After all, Wobbuffet only had four moves, and its strength entirely depended on how much damage it could take and reflect. That made it the perfect punching bag—no Legendary Pokémon could resist!