The Colossal King, now restored to full strength, had its power rising and rising, swelling ever more ferociously—already at the level of "Magnetic Fields Turning Ninety-Nine Heavens"—utterly unstoppable!
If it swapped its Ability to Huge Power, then it would be even more terrifying!
"Repaired… ohoh, just looking at this strength now, it's even more frightening than when I first saw it."
Beads of sweat ran down Boss Clay's forehead as he looked toward Hikaru. "Although it seems you and this giant Pokémon are like friends, don't forget, this here is Mount Ross."
"To be blunt—what do you intend to do with the Colossal King? I personally don't mind it residing here, since it was here first. But my company's mining work in Ross Mountain won't be stopping either."
"If excavation continues, it may disturb its rest."
Ross Mountain was, at least in name, Boss Clay's property. Of course, "ownership" and "industry" were concepts invented by human society, meaningless to Pokémon, who would never acknowledge them. Yet Clay felt the Colossal King could probably understand.
This wasn't an ordinary Pokémon. It had intelligence and social awareness far beyond the norm.
If in the age of the ancients, the Colossal King considered this the "property" of the Ancient Castle, then after three thousand years, a change in ownership was hardly strange.
But Clay worried about one thing.
Would this Colossal King suddenly pull out some kind of ancient land deed?
Hikaru glanced at Regigigas. The Colossal King lifted a hand.
[It's fine. This place was built as a resting ground by the people of the Sun City. My subordinates slumber in different worlds. As long as the Gate of the Moon is not excavated, all else does not matter.]
[In fact… if anyone wishes to train, they may come here and challenge me.]
Regigigas, having regained part of its lost power and erased its Slow Start, was in exceptionally good spirits!
Unlike the one in Snowpoint Temple, the Colossal King of Unova had once coexisted with the people of the Ancient Castle. Its understanding of human society was much deeper. Perhaps the power of the stars also contributed—its clarity of mind far surpassed its brethren.
That was Hikaru's sense.
After all, the one in Snowpoint Temple had a notoriously bad temper upon waking, lashing out indiscriminately.
As for the Colossal Kings of other regions… their temperaments were uncertain, even the games gave no answer.
Hikaru explained: "It says it doesn't mind, so long as the Gate of the Moon isn't disturbed. And it welcomes Trainers to challenge it."
Fighting-type Elite Four Marshal's eyes lit up: "Oh! A trial from an ancient giant? That sounds fascinating! I'm getting fired up!"
Hikaru nodded. "The Colossal King has regained part of its power. It too wishes to stretch its body."
Now free from Slow Start, its perception of the world had sharpened. Those days of pretending to be a statue and dozing endlessly were largely over.
To battle a legendary Pokémon repeatedly—this was a shortcut to rapid growth. The last time it appeared, the overwhelming pressure it exuded was enough to make even an Elite Four member like Marshal feel powerless.
That said… what was the Colossal King's type, anyway? Its white coloration suggested Normal type. For a Fighting-type specialist to be intimidated by a Normal-type Pokémon… hardly acceptable.
Marshal couldn't help but reflect.
His own training still wasn't enough!
But then again—this was the Colossal King!
"Hahh… if it doesn't mind, that's best. To be honest, our workers also live and work alongside Pokémon."
Boss Clay took off his hat, relieved. "Pokémon dig constantly in the mountains anyway. We partner with them to develop this mountain, building deep bonds of friendship. If we couldn't mine anymore, we'd be in trouble too."
"Boss Clay, I didn't expect you to speak so gently," Skyla said in surprise. Clay scowled.
"Was I really the type to lose my temper often? Besides, the mountain may belong to humans, but Pokémon lived here long before us, didn't they?"
"Anyway… Ross Mountain's matter is also thanks to you!" Clay grinned at Hikaru. "I knew that with you here, everything would be fine! The Ancient Castle, Ross Mountain—it's the same!"
"Now then, although I'm still carrying some injuries, let's proceed with our promised battle here! Ah, though it looks like your Pokémon are a bit exhausted…"
Clay's eyes settled on the three Poké Balls left at Hikaru's waist. "Three left, huh! Seems you and Champion Alder are the type not to use storage systems much!"
"Official Trainers can only carry six Pokémon. Yet you've got nine balls on you?"
"Originally ten—plus a Sawsbuck, right? But that one belongs to Mr. Waldo," Skyla said with a smile. Then she turned to Clay: "Still, shouldn't Mistralton Gym battles be held in Mistralton City? This is Icirrus City, you know."
The soaring maiden's eyes sparkled with expectation as she looked at Hikaru.
"After seeing that battle earlier, I can't hold back anymore!"
"What?! Skyla, you're trying to steal my match? I arranged this first!" Clay snapped, annoyed.
Shauntal chimed in: "Actually, I'd invited him to battle before too, but he declined. Now that the fighting's done, why not duel with me instead?"
"You people!" Clay was dumbfounded.
Usually, it was challengers who asked Gym Leaders for battles.
Today, Gym Leaders and an Elite Four member were all vying to challenge one person!
And they even collided with each other!
Clay fumed. "Don't you people believe in first come, first served?! Fine then, Hikaru—decide yourself who you'll fight!"
Hikaru's expression twisted.
Me? Decide who to fight?
Ugh—how did things turn out like this?!
Skyla's eyes shone. "Since this is Icirrus, you should battle the local Gym Leader. Besides, Clay's tired."
Shauntal puffed her cheeks. "I've been waiting a long time! One more battle, and my material collection will be perfect!"
Clay shouted, "Don't underestimate me! My body's still strong! A sudden scuffle isn't enough to bring me down!"
Meanwhile, Marshal quietly tied up the unconscious Plasma grunts and stacked them in the corner with the help of Clay's workers.
"Ahem!" Marshal coughed. "Since everyone wants to battle—why not make it a double battle?"
"Winners would get two Gym Badges at once."
Everyone blinked.
Skyla tilted her head, hands behind her back. "But there are five people here."
Marshal replied, "I won't participate this time. I want to battle too, but there will be other chances. I'll referee."
He had already made his plan.
"If it's Fighting-types, then for that special competition, you'll surely be interested."
Marshal bowed to Hikaru. "First, I must thank you on behalf of my master."
"Huh? Elite Four Marshal, what do you mean?"
Hikaru was surprised. Shauntal tugged at his sleeve. "Don't worry! You see, Marshal is Alder's student. Thanks to the secret medicine you crafted, the Champion's ace was saved. In doing so, you averted a huge crisis!"
"That's why Marshal is thanking you."
"Indeed. Team Plasma used the Volcarona incident to attack my master, manipulating public opinion until he could barely bear the burden of being Champion. Then… you appeared."
Marshal exhaled. "In truth, I was the one who found your shop and that online exchange for him."
"At the time, it was a desperate attempt. We'd tried Full Restores, Revives, everything—and nothing worked. So I searched the net. My master isn't good with computers; it's usually me who browses for him."
Now Hikaru understood.
He had found it odd that Alder could even surf the web. He'd suspected someone else was behind it. Turns out—it was Marshal.
"No problem. I'm a craftsman. Selling goods is my job. I'm glad if it helped."
"But so you really didn't expect it to work at first?"
Marshal laughed. "Not at all. If Revives and Full Restores failed, usually you'd resort to folk remedies. But in Unova, no such tradition exists. Ironically, Master Alder himself was considered the foremost in such lore."
"Now, even though he's vanished, I feel certain he's fine. After Volcarona recovered, his spirit soared again. He said he wanted to spread the joy of living with Pokémon—and then left the League."
"I believe then, he had thought deeply and chose from the heart. That's why he departed."
Hikaru let out a breath. "You're right. Alder is indeed traveling now. I already… know."
"He'll return soon. Perhaps."
Marshal nodded with a trusting smile. "My master will not fail. He is the Champion! He needs no student's worry."
"So your help was invaluable. Without you, his resolve might have collapsed. No matter what thanks I give, it's not enough. I thought and thought—there's only one thing I can offer to express my gratitude!"
"In the past, in pursuit of strength, I traveled the world as a martial artist. Meeting Master Alder, I learned that true strength is inner strength."
"But I also gathered countless martial texts. If you too are a martial artist, these rare tomes may aid you."
Marshal withdrew a Technical Machine.
"This is my token of gratitude: TM Focus Blast, a fearsome technique."
"The rarer scrolls I've left at home. One of them is a secret martial art: the Scroll of Combos—Volume of the Soaring Dragon!"
Hikaru accepted the TM disc.
Focus Blast—nicknamed "the lottery shot." With a high base power of 120, but only 70% accuracy, it missed often, hence the name.
Moreover, most Fighting Pokémon had high Attack but low Special Attack. Thus, Focus Blast was often dismissed as weak filler coverage. Ironically, its main users weren't Fighters, but Pokémon like Alakazam, Blastoise, or Gardevoir.
For Lucario, however, Focus Blast was a solid choice.
In reality, outside of aura techniques like Aura Sphere (which never missed), even high accuracy could fail thanks to the "Just Dodge!" miracle. So its 70% accuracy hardly mattered.
Much like Focus Punch: in skilled hands, it could be executed in an instant with perfect timing. For instance, Pyramid King Brandon's Regirock was famed for knocking challengers flat with one perfect Focus Punch.
Marshal continued: "I trained in Ross Mountain to temper mind and spirit. Aura—true energy—exists in every body. In the Pokémon world, it is categorized as Fighting-type."
"You know Medicham, don't you? Through fasting and meditation, it perceives the aura of life itself. It awakens its sixth sense, merging with the wilderness, erasing its presence."
"True energy is one form of this life aura. In Kalos, they speak of a Pokémon that steals life aura. And in lands even farther away, there is said to be a special Pokémon that slips into shadows, mimicking movements and strength, reading hearts. By copying a martial master's shadow, it learned an ultimate martial art."
The Pokémon world brimmed with mysteries. Psychic powers and spiritual gifts aside, even just "martial strength" of Normal and Fighting types carried hidden forces.
Life aura, true energy, aura, the pure clarity spoken of by the Swords of Justice, countless martial mysteries.
Unlike other powers, Fighting strength was attainable through lifelong training. The most accessible of gifts—yet few truly pursued the path.
And the range of outcomes was extreme. Elite Four members could embody the peak, while others, despite years of training, would be crushed easily by a Psychic.
For instance, Kanto's Karate Master Kiyo lost cleanly to Sabrina.
"I've traveled many regions, exchanged fists with countless martial artists, and through this my body and spirit grew stronger. That is my life's goal!"
"So—I invite you to join a special competition. It will be a gathering of the world's martial artists!"
Hikaru thought. "Eh? Don't tell me… the P1 Grand Prix?"
It probably wasn't the East George Tournament, at least.
Marshal laughed heartily. "So you know the P1 Grand Prix! Yes, it's one of the gatherings. But that's not the one. Normally held at year's end, but this year's special."
"Johto will host a grand event—integrating the P1 Grand Prix as one of its major projects. Its name: Pokémon All-Star Omnicompetition Cup! Held north of Goldenrod City in Johto!"
"There are ten total events. You don't need to enter all. But outside of the League tournaments, it is the largest global competition!"
"The winner will not only receive a huge prize but also a 'Legendary Herb.' Said to be brought by Celebi from a distant world, able to heal any wound or illness!"
"My original goal was that. But… there are too many powerful Fighters: Kanto's Elite Four Bruno, Galar's Master Mustard… winning the division title is hard. And the timing was too late—my master's Volcarona couldn't hold out until then."
"As for the martial event—it combines the original ring tournament with P1. Its name is the Pokémon Iron Fist Championship!"
(End of Chapter)
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