The fierce clash of offense and defense began.
The blazing fire of fighting spirit roared skyward.
Flare Blitz pierced straight through the freezing blizzard and successfully closed in on the Treasure of Ruin right in front of them!
In Hikaru's eyes, a boss health bar seemed to pop up above the cheese snow leopard's head at this moment, accompanied by a stirring BGM as it let out a mocking roar!
And little charcoal squire Charcadet, holding a simple copper hammer and wearing shabby scrap-metal armor, might have plenty of battle experience, but in the face of such a huge level and strength difference, it was still powerless.
The best copper hammer in the village still could not compare to the sword-like fangs of Chien-Pao.
Even though it had a Fire type advantage, the gap in strength was so vast that it could hardly bring that advantage into play.
"Charcoal embers gathering into a living being… in a way, isn't Charcadet also a kind of Ashen Knight?"
"Those with strong souls throw themselves into the furnace as firewood so the flames can continue."
"But as a being born from embers, Charcadet does not yet have such a blazing fire."
"So… let's begin kindling the flame."
A rousing tune rang out!
Hikaru took out his ukulele and began to play.
The whole point of a battlefield bard is to hype up the atmosphere while putting one or two morale buffs on the party.
"Clank!"
Charcadet narrowly dodged Chien-Pao's attack, but the cheese snow leopard was just playing. It deliberately slowed its kitty punches, and once Charcadet's Flare Blitz had blasted open the blizzard, Chien-Pao had already decided that this little guy in front of it was at least "worth playing with"!
Come on, come play with Chien-Pao!
Charcadet swung its copper hammer.
Will-O-Wisp!
It was still its best ghost-fire tactic. But against the Treasure of Ruin, the results were not great.
A powerful snowy chill burst forth. Chien-Pao merely blew out an Icy Wind and froze all those incoming wisps with a crackling shower of frost!
"Gupao?"
The white big cat licked its paw and deliberately put on a confused expression. Naturally, that was just to taunt the little knight in front of it.
At the same time, the cheese snow leopard crooked a paw at Charcadet in a beckoning gesture, just like a maneki-neko's trademark pose.
Charcadet flared up at once.
But Hikaru's voice jolted it awake.
"That's Taunt. You got hit by it."
Taunt—enraging the opponent so they can't use status moves!
"Meow-hahaha!"
Chien-Pao let out an ear-piercing laugh and rolled in the snow, twisting its body and showing its belly, utterly dismissive of Charcadet, and laughing itself silly because the little squire had fallen for it!
So fun, so fun. This little guy is really interesting!
Then, in that instant while it was twisting—
Chien-Pao snapped its tail.
Chien-Pao's body was completely formed from packed snow, with its true body being the sword-fangs in its jaws. Because of that, its snow-cat body could twist freely, like a serpent striking from bizarre angles!
Night Slash!
Charcadet was caught off-guard and was immediately struck to the ground. Chien-Pao flipped lithely through the air, its kitty paws twitching as it arched its back with a hiss—
Then it pounced straight at Charcadet!
Crunch!
Charcadet struggled to raise its head.
The tattered warm cloth it wore began to burn away into ash.
The heat-resistant copper hammer slowly began to glow.
The ancient charm at its neck faintly emitted an unknown light.
Its ragged armor started to soak up its emotions.
How… do I dodge this?
Chien-Pao's jaws crashed down, but the massive power of Crunch only tore through empty air. The snow leopard blinked, tilting its head left and right in puzzlement, and then saw that the Charcadet that should have been under its bite had actually avoided the strike with a last-second roll!
Huh?
The snow leopard was baffled. Cat brain couldn't figure it out, but its interest shot up even more!
It rolls? Huh, this little guy turns into a ball when it rolls, too!
And cats cannot resist anything that rolls!
"Roll!"
Hikaru stared in surprise at Charcadet's desperate rolling!
Really is a Souls-style knight—so it's awakened memories of its previous life!
What move is Roll, you ask?
Roll is not a move. It's just constantly rolling on the ground to dodge the enemy's attacks!
Hikaru pumped his fist in encouragement.
"Yeah, footwork, footwork—roll, roll, then strike!"
"Hit once when you see an opening! Don't get greedy for damage!"
"You can't underestimate ash. The Ashen really are descendants of knights!"
Then again, it was lucky this boss wasn't a giant type. Otherwise, a single kick would have sent Charcadet rolling right down the mountain.
In the snow leopard's eyes, though, what it saw was this:
Smack once, kick it once, this little thing is pretty practiced at sneaky chip damage!
Chien-Pao roared.
Sucker Punch!
A Dark-type move that lets you strike first, as long as the opponent isn't using an attack of their own!
Sucker Punch, Sucker Punch, Sucker Punch!
The cheese snow leopard's kitty punches flurried out as it chased after the rolling Charcadet. After Charcadet had barely dodged several kitty punches in a row, it suddenly broke into a long-distance run in circles.
The marathon… begins!
If it couldn't break through head-on with a charge, then it would fight a war of maneuver! But even so, it would never back down or look back!
"That's Flame Charge."
"It's the weaker version of Flare Blitz. It doesn't cause recoil, and it boosts your Speed at the same time."
Compared to that, Chien-Pao was very fast by nature, but precisely because it was so naturally fast, it couldn't learn that many Speed-boosting moves.
After all, when you're sitting on a base Speed of 135, if you also got a self-boosting speed move, you really would crush the whole field.
But while Chien-Pao couldn't boost its own speed, it could use Icy Wind to lower the target's Speed. According to "gorge relativity," lowering the opponent's Speed is the same as raising your own!
On top of that, Chien-Pao also had Priority moves like Ice Shard and Sucker Punch!
The Pokémon watching the battle had already launched into intense commentary!
Genesect, Aerodactyl, Victini, Larvesta, plus the soul-form-five Avatar Aegislash, and martial arts master Riolu—all of them were discussing Charcadet's combat style. Riolu in particular, with its Mind's Eye, could see through every one of Chien-Pao's movements, and it was cheering from the back line, giving coaching from off the field!
Chien-Pao was not pleased.
It looked over at the blue-furred puppy and suddenly realized something was off.
This little puppy might also be a "Baby Pokémon," but… its strength felt pretty high, didn't it?
"Of course it is."
Answering Chien-Pao's confusion, Hikaru spoke up.
"Riolu's level right now should be about the same as yours, or maybe even a bit higher."
After all the intense battles back in Unova, if you converted Riolu's level into a concrete number, it should be over level 60 by now, right?
And in the games, Chien-Pao's starting level upon being unsealed is only around 60 as well!
A small body with tremendous power, plus the presence of Aura—if it really came down to a fight…
Riolu's eyes were beginning to shine.
It was carefully watching how Chien-Pao fought, analyzing the pattern, and breaking its attack style down into its own martial arts.
Gather the strengths of a hundred styles to temper its own skills—even if a move looked completely different on the surface, there were always common elements within.
"Ruff-ruff!"
Riolu began coaching Charcadet!
Charcadet's Attack rose!
By providing sound and proper guidance, it raised its ally's Attack and Defense!
"You're teaching it a move?"
Riolu's guidance was not just casual advice or move boosting. It was literally telling Charcadet that it needed to grasp a new technique in the heat of battle.
Right now, it was passing on a move!
To fight a Dark-type Pokémon, Fighting-type techniques are a must. And among Fighting moves, the strongest is the one where you throw away all defense and launch a do-or-die strike at the foe's body!
Otherwise known as Close Combat!
"Charcadet can't learn Close Combat, but once it evolves into Ceruledge, it'll be able to."
"Learning another evolution's move ahead of time isn't impossible."
"However, for a mere apprentice knight to break through in a desperate pinch… it's still just an apprentice. It can't learn any Fighting moves yet."
Listening to Hikaru's commentary, Riolu furrowed its brow slightly, but it did not stop coaching.
"Arf!"
If a two-times-effective move is not enough, then you have to learn a move that hits for four-times effectiveness in the midst of adversity!
Carrying a knight's dream on its shoulders, it must learn Close Combat!
Larvesta also spewed out flames, letting sunlight fall upon Charcadet's body!
Come on, come on—bug is cheering for you!
Use the power of the sun to defeat a mighty foe!
Drought!
The power of Fire-type moves rose!
"Meera!"
Praise the sun!
"With the marathon of Flame Charge, its Speed has already been boosted to the maximum!"
Six stages of Speed increase!
Now, it could finally compete with Chien-Pao in terms of raw Speed. Yet since the snow leopard still had priority moves and Icy Wind, in actual combat Charcadet was still stuck in a cycle of long-distance running and rolling.
Even so, compared to the start, its movements had grown much more polished.
Growth in battle is the fastest kind of growth—for Pokémon, that's exactly how it is!
Pop! Chien-Pao's eyes suddenly lit up with a pitch-black gleam.
Charcadet's body froze.
Mean Look—a black gaze like a hook into the heart, locking its eyes on the opponent so they can't escape from the battle!
You like marathons, huh? Chien-Pao snapped its tail.
Countless ice chunks shot out like bullets at unimaginable speed, pelting Charcadet with a cacophony of impacts!
"Clank!"
Under the barrage of the priority move Ice Shard, Charcadet cried out in pain, but it instantly came up with a response.
It suddenly wrapped itself in flame, encasing its body to block those icy projectiles!
"Gupao~" Chien-Pao blinked, and the mocking look in its eyes slowly faded.
Hmph. The snow leopard was starting to get bored.
You little thing, rolling all over the place—at first that was kind of amusing. But then you just switched to long-distance running and chip damage. That's really not fun at all.
Little knight, are you really that desperate to win?
The game of cat and mouse was over.
Chien-Pao put away its playful attitude. The cold air around it surged outward, and a brutal Icy Wind began to blow without end, constantly lowering Charcadet's Speed.
Driven back by the cold, Charcadet's Speed was gradually falling. The flames around its body were slowly being smothered, while Chien-Pao bounded over the snow and wind and lunged!
Boom!
A black Dark-type aura erupted, staining the sky itself black. A surge of overwhelming emotion and malice exploded outward, swirling together into a vortex of darkness like a storm in the heart, drawing out all the negativity in one's soul and blasting it forth as raw energy.
Little knight, you haven't seen the snow leopard like this before, have you?
Let me show you the snow leopard's true power!
Ruination!
The special move shared by all four Evil Gods, calling down a devastating calamity that cuts the opponent's HP in half, ignoring all type matchups and STAB modifiers.
A sealed trump card that only the Treasures of Ruin can use. It was this move that once brought about the fall of the Paldea Empire. They channel four different emotions to unleash ruin—and the emotion that Chien-Pao embodies is—
"Hatred!"
Charcadet was battered by Ruination's vortex. For a little country squire knight, this kind of scene was completely beyond anything it had seen. Its eyes shook, and the confidence it had just begun to build up was shattered as the emotions of hatred and calamity flooded in.
Fear and dread rose again and again, death's shadow clinging to it like a second skin.
Chien-Pao stepped gracefully across the snow.
Its snow-white, razor-sharp long tail whipped out with elegant savagery.
The unstoppable power of an ancient divine blade erupted at this moment!
It was a Sacred Sword unleashed with absolute force!
The jury-rigged armor it wore cracked with a bang, nearly sliced completely apart. Smoke wisped up from its village-grade hammer, and Charcadet toppled backward spread-eagle, staring blankly up at the sky.
"Gupao~"
The cheese snow leopard licked its paw and let out a snorting laugh.
Useless little knight.
You lost. So hate me—hate me with all you've got!
The snow leopard would absorb that hatred, grow even stronger, then go toy with more people—play around with them, and destroy their futures.
Chien-Pao flicked its tail.
Who's next?
You Pokémon, are you going to stand in the snow leopard's way? The little knight was already boring—who's next on the play list?
Or… is that human going to step up personally?
"To have a freshly-departed country bumpkin hero challenge an ancient demon king right away really was too much."
"If it can't even defeat a 'frail' Chien-Pao like this, then how is it supposed to beat the other three demon kings?"
"Defeating foes unlike any you've seen before, building up countless feats—was all of that just empty talk?"
The fire was dying, and the king's shadow was nowhere to be seen.
A base stat total of 255 was simply too low. Even with Riolu's coaching and Larvesta's support, it still could not overcome the enemy.
But… was that really true?
"Let me help you a little. Listen to my commands."
Hikaru looked past Chien-Pao, behind it. At that moment, the "Charcadet" that had been "defeated" suddenly burst apart with a bang.
Substitute!
Sacrificing some of its own HP to create an identical, indistinguishable decoy. In battle, a Substitute takes hits in place of the user!
Chien-Pao froze. It whipped its head around—and took a heavy hammer blow to the face.
Hammer + flaming heavy-iron sparks!
What move is "flaming heavy-iron hammer," you ask? That's not a listed Pokémon move, so of course it can't actually be learned. Right now, what Charcadet was throwing out was simply good old-fashioned "hammer-forging technique" blows!
"If it didn't use Destiny Bond when it 'went down,' that means the little knight hadn't really lost yet."
Its companions cheered as well, shouting encouragement for Charcadet!
Chien-Pao could not understand.
It could see that Charcadet's eyes still held hatred and fear, and yet it continued to advance.
The leopard was curious.
If you're scared, you should curl up and run away. Why are you still charging at me?
[You're not afraid of me? You're not afraid of the calamity clinging to you?]
Chien-Pao questioned it like that.
"Clank!"
Charcadet panted.
I'm scared. I'm scared to death. You're the legendary Treasures of Ruin Pokémon. To me, you're a demon king.
But a knight cannot flee the battlefield!
Courage is looking straight into the abyss. I don't even know why, but only when I charge do I feel like I exist.
Chien-Pao still did not understand.
"Gupao!"
What a little lunatic, the snow leopard concluded.
It swung out another massive Sacred Sword.
But as that Sacred Sword cut through the air this time, it could clearly feel a drag on it. The snow leopard scratched its cheek with a paw, completely confused.
"That's Grudge."
Chien-Pao turned to look at Hikaru.
Smiling, Hikaru explained, "When you bear a grudge against the last move your opponent used, you cut down the number of times they can use that move—basically, you're draining the power and stamina behind that move."
"So, your Sacred Sword feels sluggish now."
"Keep using Grudge and your Sacred Sword will get duller and duller until you can't use it anymore."
"Gupao!" Chien-Pao roared in protest, arching its back with a fierce hiss.
It wouldn't be sealed that easily!
No way. No way!
It was just an ordinary Pokémon. It was a noble Treasure of Ruin!
Plop.
A bright light burst across Chien-Pao's body.
Recover!
Swords Dance, Swords Dance, Night Slash!
Chien-Pao was taking this completely seriously now, which meant this snow-king of the blizzard had entered full-power mode.
"Clear Smog!"
Under Hikaru's command, Charcadet seemed to have found a way to fight. It rolled to avoid Night Slash, then white smoke billowed from its village hammer.
Boom!
Clear Smog reset all of the foe's stat changes!
How useful is Swords Dance now?
Even a little country knight has secret techniques to topple mighty foes. Maybe it looked pathetic in the middle of the fight, but at the final moment, it would still keep charging!
To complete its metamorphosis and become a true knight… this was exactly what it needed.
Charcadet's eyes widened suddenly.
"Leer."
"Using a fierce stare to intimidate your foe and lower their Defense."
"That's right. Normally, no one actually runs Leer. It's way too weak, and it's one of those starter moves that a ton of Pokémon begin with. It only works in low-tier situations."
"But against Chien-Pao, it's amazingly effective—because Chien-Pao, which prides itself on overwhelming Attack, can't learn moves that boost its Defense."
"Once its Defense drops, it gets incredibly fragile. That fake snow-body it's built won't withstand any serious pounding."
"Of course, Chien-Pao isn't helpless either."
With Hikaru explaining it in real time, Chien-Pao also realized it could not allow itself to become a true glass cannon. It opened its mouth and spat out white mist.
Mist—raising a veil of fog that prevents its stats from being lowered for five turns!
Now neither Clear Smog nor Leer would have any effect!
"Now. Confuse Ray!"
The strange beam hit the cheese snow leopard in an instant, and within the white mist, Chien-Pao began staggering around in a confused dance.
Charcadet lifted its hammer. Its already split armor rattled as flames exploded across its whole body.
Flare Blitz crashed straight into Chien-Pao's skull!
The sun stands with me. I ignite myself to light up this world!
Charcadet kept swinging its hammer. It didn't even know what move it was using anymore. All it knew was—swing! Swing until it was utterly exhausted. Swing until Chien-Pao shook off the confusion. Swing until the falling snow doused its fire!
My gear is falling apart. My dreams are hollow and unrealistic.
But this battle has already begun.
No matter what I do—
I will not be a coward!
A Fighting-type energy slowly awakened within its body. Maybe it was being stirred by Ghost-type power, or maybe by the flood of malice choking the air.
Faint ripples appeared over Charcadet's body, and Riolu spotted them at once.
That was Aura!
"Exactly. Armarouge can learn Aura Sphere and Focus Blast. So Charcadet also has the talent for Aura."
"No matter which knightly path it chooses, it'll be able to learn different Fighting-type powers."
The ripples pulsed fiercely, stirring some power into a surge.
Charcadet, hammer still swinging as it tried to pour out every last scrap of stamina, suddenly erupted with terrifying might!
And then—
"Close Combat!"
[Charcadet has learned: "Close Combat"!]
When a two-times-effective attack is not enough, you seek an even greater power, aiming straight for a four-times weakness!
Dark/Ice-type Chien-Pao takes four-times effective damage from Fighting!
The snow leopard had never imagined it would get soloed by a rookie hero fresh out of the countryside!
It was, in theory, the strongest of the four Treasures of Ruin.
Its invincible Sword of Ruin weakened its enemies' Defense, and combined with its own monstrous Attack, practically no Pokémon could withstand it!
You little… Wait, it hit it. The external armor you're wearing—that's what protected you, kept you from being knocked into critical condition by a single hit!
"Gu… gupao~!"
Quit hitting me, quit hitting me!
This is not fun. Not fun at all. I don't want to play with you anymore!
Sheesh, can we call a truce?
As fire and snow crashed together, Chien-Pao was pounded dizzy. The big cat bared its fangs and then flopped flat to the ground with a splat. The demon king had fallen, and Charcadet still clenched its hammer tight.
Then its body swayed, and with a thud it collapsed into the snow, having burned itself completely out.
[You have defeated the Treasure of Ruin, Chien-Pao. Emerging Power has been strengthened.]
[Charcadet's growth potential has increased!]
The snow leopard shook its head, slowly crawling back up. Looking at the Charcadet lying unconscious from exhaustion, it couldn't help a lingering fear in its heart.
I'm really scared of you now. I'm done fighting. The snow leopard is leaving!
"Gana!"
"No. You can't leave."
Hikaru had Aegislash move up to block Chien-Pao. The big cat looked at this human in bewilderment, only to hear words that were both infuriating and strange:
"As a Treasure of Ruin, your power is too great. If we just let you wander off, you'll cause chaos again."
"If it's play you want, I'll keep you company. Otherwise, I'll have to seal you away again."
Huh? You're the one who let me out, and now you're talking about sealing me?
You clearly haven't seen what a kitty punch can do.
"Don't be shy. Catching you is just something I can do along the way."
Wham!
Chien-Pao's eyes went wide as it stared up at the sky. In that instant, its entire world spun, and then some enormous force sent it flying before it landed on its butt with a crash.
No… No way!
In the end, the leopard always gets its karma?
Chien-Pao had just been grabbed by the scruff of its fate.
"In ancient times in other regions, humans could fight Pokémon hand-to-hand."
"The people of Paldea just don't have the purity anymore."
"And really, isn't it common sense that when you apologize, you show your belly?"
(End of Chapter)
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