"Dragonair, dodge!"
A blast of Ice Beam shot from the nearby mountains. The wild Beartic barreled forward, frost swirling around its fangs.
Hearing Lucien's voice, Dragonair twisted its long body midair, narrowly avoiding the beam before counterattacking with a burst of scorching Dragon Breath.
The flames singed Beartic's fur, making it grunt with irritation.Then, abandoning ranged attacks, it lunged in close, claws raised high.
"Dragon Tail!"
Dragonair's tail glowed violet as it swung forward, colliding with Beartic's heavy blow.
The impact sent both Pokémon skidding backward across the icy ground.
But Beartic recovered faster.
Before Dragonair could lift itself upright, another Ice Beam erupted toward it, cold, fast, merciless.
Under the brutal type disadvantage, Dragonair cried out and collapsed, instantly losing its ability to battle.
The fight was over.
Beartic happily scooped up the three berries Lucien had offered as payment, gave a satisfied grunt, and lumbered away.
Lucien let out a breath.
"As expected, Ice-types are overwhelmingly strong against both Dragonair and Serperior."
He knelt, giving Dragonair a healing potion and letting Larvesta warm Dragonair's chilled body with its natural heat.
Lucien sat in silence, thinking carefully.
In the battle with Kyurem, the problem wasn't only Kyurem's overwhelming power; the extreme cold of the Ice Arena itself was crippling.
The environment had practically halved his team's performance.
Cold slowed blood flow. Muscles stiffened. Reflexes dulled.
Even Serperior's elegant movements became sluggish.
"Before anything else… Dragonair and I need to adapt to extreme cold," Lucien thought.
Then he remembered a spot on the way here:
A waterfall, one so cold that steam didn't rise from it. Instead, a thin mist of icy air lingered above the water.
A perfect training ground.
After a short rest, Lucien brought his Pokémon there.
Standing before the roaring icefall, he turned to them.
"Dragonair, Serperior… the training from here on might be brutal.If you can't handle it, don't force yourselves, get out immediately, alright?"
He paused, then smiled gently.
"But don't worry. I'll be with you."
"Hmm?"
The Pokémon blinked in confusion.
Then they realized what he meant.
Lucien stepped toward the waterfall, took a deep breath, and leapt straight into the freezing water.
The shock hit him instantly.
"Hsss!" So cold!
Seeing their trainer shivering under the icy torrent, the Pokémon finally understood.
Dragonair dove in first, positioning itself beside Lucien. Even though the cold stabbed into its body like needles, it forced itself to endure, for Lucien.
Serperior followed, slipping gracefully into the waterfall despite the biting chill.
Larvesta hesitated at the edge, trembling… then finally crawled forward and buried itself in Lucien's chest, heating itself to warm him as best it could.
"Nini…"
Victini panicked, flying frantically above the water.
It wanted to join him immediately, but Lucien raised a trembling hand.
"Victini… the others need this training more. Stay on shore. Keep watch."
But Victini's eyes were full of distress. It couldn't just sit there while Lucien froze.
After a second of hesitation, Victini clenched its paws, and dove straight into the waterfall.
A burst of bright orange warmth spread outward.
Victini's innate ability, Victory Star, surged to life.
A wave of warm, fiery energy poured into Lucien and the Pokémon, fortifying their bodies and staving off the cold.
Lucien felt the burning warmth rush through his limbs.
Victini hovered close, trembling from the cold but determined.
"If any of you feel faint, get out immediately!" Lucien shouted over the roaring water.
"Wooo!"
Every Pokémon answered, gritting their teeth against the chill, pushing themselves to adapt.
High above on the cliff, half-hidden by swirling frost, Kyurem watched quietly.
The icy wind billowed from its nostrils.
"Hmph."
Its tone was cold, yet beneath it lingered a faint, unreadable warmth.
Then its enormous body turned, and it walked deeper into the mountains.
Time passed.
Between the brutal icefall training and constant battles in the frozen wilderness, both Lucien and Dragonair began to slowly, steadily, adapt to the extreme environment.
Gradually, the cold affected them less and less.
Their endurance beneath the icefall lengthened each day.
Meanwhile, deep within the Giant's Cave…
A fierce battle had just ended.
Terrakion, Cobalion, and Virizion, covered in cuts and scrapes, panting heavily, faced the massive Ice Dragon looming before them.
Despite their wounds, Terrakion grinned broadly, satisfied with the results of their intense sparring.
"Thank you, Your Excellency!"
Virizion and Cobalion both dipped their heads respectfully, expressing gratitude to the stoic Kyurem.
Their training was complete.
Though they had been defeated, the lessons learned were invaluable.
Their mastery over the Sacred Sword technique had sharpened noticeably.
"Hm…"
Kyurem's voice rumbled like shifting glacier ice.
Yet, it did not leave.
Seeing this, Cobalion blinked in surprise before stepping forward and asking with quiet respect,
"Does Your Excellency have more to say?"
Kyurem fixed its cold, glowing eyes on them.
For a long moment, only silence filled the cavern.
Then its deep, ancient voice resonated directly into their minds:
"On your way here… you encountered a human, didn't you?"
A human?
At once, all three remembered him.
Lucien.
Terrakion shifted in embarrassment. Blinded by old grudges and instinctive hatred for humans, it had attacked rashly…
Without listening. Without understanding.
If it met him again, Terrakion knew it owed him a proper apology.
Cobalion asked steadily, "What concerns him, Your Excellency?"
Kyurem's response echoed with a solemn, irresistible majesty:
"I need you to guide him."
The three froze.
Guide… a human?
Kyurem exhaled swirling frost.
Though it lacked its true body, only an empty shell, it still possessed the power to sense the flow of fate.
And it had seen a future shaped by that young human.
His ideals, courage, and truth, would fill Kyurem's hollow being.
Would restore what it had lost. Would grant it the strength to become whole again.
And the world itself… would change because of him.
The Swordsmen stood speechless for a long moment.
Then Cobalion bowed deeply.
"We understand."
...
"Dragonair, Thunderbolt!"
At Lucien's command, Dragonair unleashed a brilliant burst of electricity. The lightning bolt blasted through a wild Weavile, leaving it unconscious in the snow.
Lucien smiled and stroked Dragonair's head.
"Good job. You've improved a lot."
"Wooo~!"
Dragonair chirped proudly.
Serperior flicked her tail with elegant satisfaction. Larvesta buzzed with excitement.
Victini pumped its little fists- "Nini!"
But suddenly, a loud, familiar voice echoed from atop a nearby boulder:
"Hey! That kind of strength still won't beat Kyurem!"
Lucien turned quickly.
Standing on the rock were the three Holy Swordsmen, Cobalion in the center, Virizion beside him, and Terrakion grinning widely.
Lucien blinked.
Terrakion, who had attacked him days ago, leaped off the boulder, landing with a heavy thud.
It walked straight up to Lucien, scratched its cheek awkwardly, then bowed its massive head.
"Human… I was wrong that day." Its booming voice softened with sincerity.
"I apologize!"
...
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