On the screen, Rillaboom remained expressionless despite the burn. Rather than block with Protect, it actually chose to use Swords Dance!
With that boost, even a badly wounded Rillaboom now had enough physical attacking power to contend with Serperior!
Just like Serperior's Fire-type Hidden Power, this was something its opponent knew nothing about. Both Pokémon had a hidden advantage.
Rillaboom had no idea Serperior had mastered Fire-type Hidden Power. Since determining the move's type required resources of the corresponding type to guide it, Serperior had only acquired this ability after returning to Ye Lan.
Meanwhile, the TM for Swords Dance was extremely expensive and rare. Rillaboom had only obtained it through the Nishinomori Research Institute's help.
As the holder of the patent for the core of the Poké Ball, the Nishinomori family was one of the few families whose wealth could rival the Stone family's.
That was only natural. In the Pokémon world, Poké Balls were probably second only to air in importance. Back when the Pokémon League had just been founded, Nishinomori I had reached an agreement with it for the sake of the world's development: his descendants would retain only the patent rights and a share of the profits, rather than monopolize the market themselves. Without that agreement, the Nishinomori family would have amassed an even greater fortune over the years.
For this, Ye Lan had sent over another vial of blood and paid a substantial deposit. He was told there were none left on the market, so they would have to obtain the TM through other channels.
After that, Rillaboom had received the TM during the period when Serperior returned to Ye Lan.
The origins of this Swords Dance TM were rather interesting, too. Apparently, an Elite Four-level Trainer had once seized a Dragon Dance TM from