Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension, Part 50

"I want to challenge the third-ranked member of the school team, Senior Zhuo Feng!"

"Zhuo Feng?" Fang Hang thought for a moment, then nodded. "He specializes in Ground-type and Rock-type Pokémon. He is indeed countered by your Riolu and Squirtle. Not a bad choice." With a type advantage, the match would at least be interesting instead of completely one-sided, and Zhuo Feng would not have an easy win.

Fang Hang immediately began arranging the match.

The Chief Recommended Student's privilege had an extremely high priority. The match that was originally supposed to take place was pushed back, and this one was moved up.

Before long, Roy once again stepped onto the competitor's platform at Sheng Hai University's Pokémon Battle Center.

Two months ago, he had stunned the entire school here. Coming from an ordinary family, he had defeated one talented recommended student after another—the disciples of Gym Leaders, the Children of the Heavenly Kings—and claimed the qualification of Chief Recommended Student, breaking Sheng Hai University's record since its founding.

Two months later, he had returned to this place.

Another matchup no one favored. Another record that had never been broken. This really feels familiar...

Listening to the indistinct buzz from the stands, smelling the fresh scent of the grass field, and looking at the opponent standing hundreds of meters away, Roy's heart inexplicably surged with emotion... He tightened his grip on the Poké Ball, waiting for the first 3v3 Pokémon battle of his life. "Beep—!!"

The countdown ended. The referee's whistle echoed through the air, and the flag in his hand dropped.

"The match begins!"

Two red-and-white Poké Balls were hurled high into the air. The Pokémon within turned into streaks of white light and appeared on the field in the same second.

At the same time.

The clouds overhead had darkened at some point.

The power of ice and snow gathered within them.

Roy's lead Pokémon was Vulpix!

Vulpix's First Battle, Charm Shows Its Might

Zhuo Feng's lead Pokémon was a Marowak.

His Marowak had a broad range of moves and ranked lowest among his three main Pokémon in strength, making it highly suitable for opening the battle... Of course, being the weakest was only in Zhuo Feng's own team rankings.

Three people had chosen to challenge Zhuo Feng today, and all of them had been swept by this Marowak alone.

For those who were not members of the school team, this Marowak's strength was practically an insurmountable mountain.

Not only was it strong, but Marowak was also quite popular at school. Its entrance was met with plenty of applause and cheers.

However.

At this moment, everyone present, including Zhuo Feng himself, had their eyes fixed on Roy's lead Pokémon, their minds completely blank.

What... was that?!

It was a tiny Pokémon, like a fairy amid the snow, one no one had ever seen before.

It looked extremely similar to Vulpix, but its fur was a flawless snowy white...

"A Shiny Vulpix?" Fang Hang, Zhuo Feng, Lin Shixian, and the other Trainers all arrived at that guess first.

So-called Shiny Pokémon were actually extremely rare genetic mutations.

A Shiny Pokémon's fur color would be completely different from that of its species, but apart from that, it received no boosts in type or talent.

Still, rarity made them valuable, and Shiny Pokémon remained highly sought after.

"No, it isn't a Shiny Vulpix." Mu Xixi raised Vulpix herself.

This snowy-white Vulpix was not merely different in color. Many details of its appearance differed entirely from her own Vulpix, which was completely unlike the characteristics of a Shiny Pokémon.

It was more like... a subspecies?

A new Pokémon that had never been discovered before?

After several seconds of silence, the stands erupted completely. Many people stood up and leaned forward, seemingly wanting to get a clearer look. "Vulpix?"

"What's going on with this Pokémon? It's so, so cute!" "Holy shit, my girlish heart."

"I know people can't—at the very least, they shouldn't... But I really feel like I've fallen in love." "???"

Among those present today were reporters who specialized in gathering information on the National University League. Like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, they were thrilled, snapping photos of the snowy-white Vulpix like mad.

Good lord.

This Pokémon was so damn sweet.

Perfect from every angle, with no need for editing. It looked like it had stepped straight out of a photoshoot.

The last Pokémon whose beauty alone had stunned people so thoroughly was that Milotic belonging to the global beauty pageant champion...

"Mar... Marowak!"

Even Marowak on the field was dumbstruck, its face flushing beneath its skull helmet.

Soon, the hand holding its Bone Club began to tremble slightly, and it hesitated.

I'm going to fight her later? Use this Bone Club to hit her? To hurt her? Am I even worthy?

Marowak's fighting spirit instantly dropped by seventy percent, and it fell into deep conflict.

No one present noticed that from the instant Vulpix appeared, its eyes had been glimmering with a faint pink light.

A move: Baby-Doll Eyes.

The principle behind this move was to use Fairy energy to enhance one's own beauty, gaze at the opponent, lower their fighting spirit, and thereby weaken their attack power.

The greater the beauty, the stronger the effect.

Vulpix's species possessed exceptional charm by nature. Since birth, it had consumed Energy Cubes that increased beauty, and there was also the enhancement of Inner Focus...

With all those factors combined, the effect of Baby-Doll Eyes was astonishingly high.

Within the clouds overhead, the power of ice and snow continued to accumulate.

No one noticed.

Because everyone, including Zhuo Feng, remained immersed in their curiosity, affection, and discussion of Vulpix. For a moment, they had forgotten this was a battle...

Roy thought to himself, The effect of Charm is incredible...

Having spent so much time together, Roy had developed a degree of immunity to Vulpix's charm.

In this world, no Trainer had ever made a name for themselves through "Charm." He and Vulpix were blazing that trail for the first time.

No, I can't be too optimistic.

The effect is so exaggerated this time because no one was on guard and no one understood the concept of "Charm." On top of that, there's the shock of seeing an Alolan Vulpix for the first time. We're benefiting from the novelty of a newly discovered Pokémon... Once they're wary and steel their resolve, the effect won't be this outrageous.

Roy's thoughts were very clear.

Or rather, this was precisely the effect he had intended to create.

After a month of training and the nourishment of their respective resources, Vulpix's Overall Evaluation had reached C+.

That progress was already astonishingly fast, but it was still far weaker than Zhuo Feng's B+-ranked Marowak.

If he wanted to win, he had to calculate everything clearly.

Pokémon battles would never lack cases of the weak defeating the strong. Otherwise, wouldn't everyone just compare Overall Evaluations? Why battle at all?

No... Something's wrong! Zhuo Feng himself had been affected by the "Charm." It took him a full minute before he suddenly snapped awake.

At the same time, he noticed the abnormal weather.

What underhanded trick was his opponent pulling?

"Marowak, wake up!" Zhuo Feng shouted sternly. "Use Bone Rush!"

Zhuo Feng's words brought Marowak back to its senses. It gathered Ground-type energy and hurled the Bone Club in its hand.

But the instant it threw the Bone Club, Marowak unconsciously held back half its strength.

...Vulpix looked so delicate. It couldn't hit her too hard.

This much power should be enough to beat her.

The instant Zhuo Feng came to his senses, Roy knew he could no longer keep gathering power in secret. He gave his command at the same time. "Use Snow Warning!"

"Then, Icy Wind!"

The long-accumulated Ice Energy erupted abruptly. Snow, ice, hail, freezing winds... These natural phenomena of cold and frost came crashing down from the clouds.

At the same time, the Icy Wind Vulpix exhaled met the Bone Rush head-on.

The freezing wind was torn apart, but Bone Rush also lost its momentum.

—An even clash!

The outcome took everyone by surprise.

This subspecies Vulpix is Ice-type? Vulpix was a Fire-type, yet this subspecies was the complete opposite—Ice-type?

The contrast was too extreme!

Ice-type countered Ground-type.

With the type advantage and Marowak's power weakened, Vulpix successfully bridged the gap of three ranks and achieved parity in power...

But that was still not enough to win.

The opportunity was fleeting. Roy used Aura Power to convey his command in an instant.

"Take away one of its arms. Use Aurora Beam!"

At that moment, the name Bone Rush had not been given wrongly. After being knocked back, the Bone Club, Marowak's bonded weapon, was being pulled by some mysterious force as it spun back toward its owner.

That was the opening Roy had targeted!

Ice Energy gathered in Vulpix's mouth. In an instant, it condensed into form, transforming into a brilliant rainbow beam like an aurora that shot toward the Bone Club!

Vulpix possessed an exceptionally high talent for Inner Focus, which manifested in its comprehension and control of moves.

It had learned Aurora Beam only half a month ago, yet its mastery had already reached the Proficient Level.

Aurora Beam struck the Bone Club with precision. Terrifying frost froze it completely into an ice sculpture.

"What—?!" Zhuo Feng was stunned.

He had never expected Marowak to suffer such a heavy loss after using only one move.

Without its Bone Club, Marowak was like a swordsman who had lost his sword.

Its combat power was greatly diminished.