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Seeing Chansey's accumulated damage reach a dangerous threshold, Luther immediately had her heal.
Yet, the moment Chansey finished recovering, Mamoswine came crashing out of the snow once more, her huge frame moving with eerie silence, the howl of the wind masking her rapid approach perfectly.
So this too is a way to use the Hail weather to its absolute maximum? Luther couldn't help but admire the flawless execution; he was genuinely learning something new in this battle.
A second Ice Fang landed, and this time, the sheer force made Chansey flinch, stopping her from even attempting a Fire Punch counter.
Candice had pushed Snow Cloak to its terrifying limit.
Chansey was tough, no doubt. But Candice had abandoned the idea of a frontal slugfest. Instead, she adopted a brutal hit-and-run approach, striking once, then instantly melting back into the storm to relentlessly chip away at Chansey's endurance.
Even if it meant consuming the Hail advantage faster, Candice was determined: Chansey would not be allowed to stand on that battlefield in comfort.
And she succeeded. Luther had to hurriedly recall Chansey. The combination of Snow Cloak and Hail had left his rhythm keeper disoriented and unable to maintain the tempo. It was time to reset the match.
As the storm clouds finally began to thin, Luther exhaled in relief. At least Chansey had held out long enough for the storm to start fading.
Then came Luther's next substitution: Houndoom stepped onto the field, just as the last bits of hail began to dissipate.
The moment Houndoom appeared, every eye in the arena snapped to him. Just as when Luther first met him, those deep, rippling, defined muscles drew everyone's gaze.
The sound of camera shutters clicked non-stop in the stands. Mai sighed helplessly, gently stroking her Chikorita's head. Some fans never change.
An Ice/Ground-type like Mamoswine versus a Fire/Dark-type like Houndoom. Both had super-effective moves against the other. By typing alone, it was impossible to tell who held the advantage.
But Luther had always been direct with Houndoom during training:
"If you can't seize the advantage within the first few moves, the battle's already against you."
Luther never avoided the topic of Houndoom's age. In fact, he treated it as a sign of respect.
Even Houndoom himself admitted it, he wasn't as strong as he once was. To pretend otherwise would only insult the veteran.
It was an undeniable truth: the longer a battle dragged on, the more sharply Houndoom's strength declined.
That was why Luther's battle system was built around this reality. If Houndoom could win within two or three devastating exchanges, then Chansey and Jumpluff could be trusted to buy him the necessary time to recover afterward.
That was the system designed for an aging champion.
Go all out. Then trust your teammates to win you the time you need.
"Find Mamoswine's position, Fire Blast!"
Luther pointed dramatically forward, his voice booming with confidence. He believed in Houndoom; that old saying, 'an elder in the house is a treasure', it applied to Pokémon, too. A veteran's experience was something the young ones simply couldn't match.
Feeling the subtle vibrations beneath his paws and the faint scent of Mamoswine's icy breath lingering in the air, Houndoom bared his teeth in a fierce, confident grin, fangs glinting.
Candice frowned slightly. Why was Luther opening with such a stamina-draining, high-risk move like Fire Blast, especially against Snow Cloak, where it might easily miss? That wasn't like his usual careful, steady strategy at all.
"Earth Power!"
Candice chose to play it safe, ordering her hidden Mamoswine to strike directly from within the snowstorm.
The energy from Earth Power burst violently out of the ground, shattering the ice as it surged forward. It collided head-on with Fire Blast, the impact exploding in a chaotic, blinding plume of steam and fire.
To everyone's shock, the Ground-type move, normally super effective against Fire-types, was completely torn apart by the raw power of the Fire Blast. The flames plowed straight through, melting the last of the falling hail, and piercing deep into the layers of wind and snow.
From within that blinding storm came a raw roar of agony, Mamoswine's.
Even though no one could see it, the sound alone told everyone that Mamoswine had been grievously injured.
The weakening Hail finally dissipated completely at that precise moment. And with its Snow Cloak concealment gone, Mamoswine's massive form was revealed to all, scorched and steaming.
Mamoswine squinted slightly against the fading snowlight, then bellowed at Houndoom, who answered with a challenge in his low growl.
"Move, Mamoswine, Earth Power!" Candice's tone was sharp.
She seemed wary of Houndoom's sheer, unexpected strength, still keeping one final move slot in reserve.
The ground under Houndoom's feet erupted once more, but under Luther's quick command, Houndoom leapt cleanly aside, his agile paws landing lightly on the shattered, uneven ice left from the previous blast, narrowly dodging the attack.
In midair, Houndoom released another quick Fire Blast.
Mamoswine's heavy body couldn't match Houndoom's agility; even a quick sidestep left it vulnerable to being hit.
"Protect!" Candice sighed, revealing her last held move.
Mamoswine started running, the ice crunching loudly under its massive feet. Candice still didn't fully understand why Luther kept firing off such stamina-draining Fire Blasts without restraint. But seeing Houndoom's stamina visibly dropping fast, she decided it was time to go for broke.
"Earth Power!"
Mamoswine charged closer this time, closing the distance while Houndoom was in the brief, unavoidable lull of recovering stamina. At this range, there was almost no room to dodge.
"Overheat!"
That was Houndoom's ultimate trump card, the move that left him utterly drained and exhausted after using it even in training.
Luther was betting everything on this final exchange. This was Houndoom's first true test, the kind of fierce, head-on clash he had longed for his entire life. All the skills he'd once honed had been left to rust under his former trainer, his hope of ever returning to the battlefield long extinguished... until Luther reignited that spark.
Luther chose that moment to trust him completely. This was Houndoom's proudest, most devastating move, though time and age had cruelly whittled down the number of times he could use it.
It used to be three or four.
Now, only once.
"Run, Houndoom! It's just Earth Power, break through it!"
Houndoom's roar, a deep, full-throated sound, filled the entire arena, electrifying every spectator and making their fists clench.
Flames engulfed his entire body, transforming him into a blazing, black inferno streaking across the ice. Everywhere he ran, the frost beneath his paws instantly vaporized into steam.
In Mamoswine's vision, a streak of fire was rapidly closing the distance. Houndoom's face, twisted in fierce, hungry determination amid the flames, made the massive Pokémon falter for just a fraction of a second, and the power of its Earth Power wavered.
The two forces collided: Earth Power versus Overheat.
Once again, the raw type matchup dictated that Ground should win.
But this time, the Earth Power couldn't even slow it down.
Roaring, Houndoom tore through the attack, charging forward with an unstoppable momentum, and slammed straight into Mamoswine's colossal body.
He didn't stop. Even facing a Pokémon several times his size, Houndoom kept pushing forward, step by burning step.
They crossed nearly half the battlefield before the intense heat melted the underlying ice into steaming pools of water beneath them. By the time they finally ground to a halt, Mamoswine had completely lost the ability to fight, collapsing heavily in defeat.
Houndoom, exhausted to the brink, staggered, his muscular legs trembling violently, then collapsed onto the scorched ground.
Luther sprinted onto the field, intending to simply pick up his spent partner and carry him back, but Houndoom refused. With a stubborn flicker of pride, he pushed himself back up to his feet and walked off the field under his own power, only then allowing Luther to return him to his Poké Ball.
Even the old have their pride.
Dazed and weary, Houndoom lifted his head slightly, bathing in the thunderous, unifying applause that filled the arena.
This, this was the fierce, final validation he had longed for all along. And now, he had finally earned it.
If anyone in the stands still hadn't fully processed that Houndoom was an aging Pokémon, their eyes were truly blind.
His stamina only allowed for three all-out moves, and yet, with those three precise, powerful moves, Houndoom had single-handedly swept Mamoswine from the field.
(End of Chapter)