Meanwhile, at the Isle of Armor.
A frustrated scream echoed through the Master Dojo:
"Oh my gosh, it's Natsume again!"
Klara, her pink poofy hair bouncing as she adjusted her purple eyeshadow, crossed her arms and glanced at Mrs. Honey.
"What's wrong with the Master this time?"
"What else?" Honey sighed, smoothing out a freshly washed blanket. "A grown man, yet all he does is play games. He must be losing again."
"Mrs. Honey, you misunderstand."
The magician-themed disciple, Hyde, adjusted his tall hat and cleared his throat.
"From what I know of the Master, in the game he's playing right now, there are no more than three people who can beat him."
Honey hung the blanket on the clothesline, unfazed.
"You mean the game where he sits in the dojo all day without moving?"
"Precisely."
Hyde pushed up his round glasses and declared:
"Leon, Raihan, Mustard… these are the three strongest Dynamax battlers in the current meta!"
"And you dare say that with a straight face?!"
Honey snapped, brandishing a clothes hanger.
"Instead of encouraging your Master to exercise, you just sit around analyzing games with him all day!"
Hyde clutched his hat and ducked for cover. "Mrs. Honey, spare me!!"
Klara shrugged.
From her pocket, she pulled out a beautifully crafted Trainer Card and held it up to the sunlight, squinting.
The card shimmered with a rainbow hue—an "UR" rarity.
The card depicted "Natsume-sensei & Gengar · Partner Combo."
In the Galar region, these Trainer Cards had already surpassed Chairman Rose's League Cards in popularity.
And this "UR" card? Klara had traded it for a "Leon" card on social media.
"Natsume-sensei is just so much cooler."
Klara giggled, resting her cheek on her hand.
"Leon's beard is so ugly. Natsume-sensei is way more handsome!"
Hyde suddenly popped up behind her, whispering ominously:
"You traded the Master's prized 'Leon' card for this 'Natsume-sensei,' didn't you?"
Klara kept smiling, but a dark aura seeped from her expression.
"Say a word, and I'll kill you~"
"Actually, I approve."
Hyde adjusted his glasses, analyzing. "From a long-term investment perspective, 'Natsume-sensei' is guaranteed to appreciate in value—"
"OH MY GOSH!!"
Mustard's yell cut through the air again, and both turned toward the dojo.
"The Master lost?" Hyde looked baffled. "That's impossible..."
Klara's eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Let's go~ We should comfort the Master."
You just want to see him lose, don't you? Hyde broke into a cold sweat.
...
Livestream Showdown
In the livestream, fans held their breaths as both trainers made their opening moves.
When Mustard's team appeared on screen, the chat exploded.
[Urshifu · Single Strike Style]
A muscular gray bear, its headband fluttering—this Pokémon was so powerful, Galar considered it a Legendary.
Different fighting styles gave Urshifu different dual typings.
And Single Strike Urshifu's signature move, "Wicked Blow," always landed a critical hit—often ending battles in one strike!
"Did Mustard bribe Devon Corp.? How is this Pokémon even legal?!"
"How do you beat this thing Dynamaxed? No wonder he's on a 17-win streak!"
"Natsume-sensei, losing to a Legendary isn't embarrassing!"
Urshifu's base stats totaled only 550, lower than pseudo-Legendaries—yet it was undeniably a Legendary Pokémon.
(Then again, even Arcanine was once called "The Legendary Pokémon of Touran" in the Pokédex.)
"Professor Oak's Pokédex is unreliable… Who knows? Maybe next version, some Pokémon will get demoted from Legendary status."
Natsume mused, then scrutinized Mustard's team again.
Urshifu, Kommo-o, Venusaur, Incineroar.
A Fighting-type core, perfect for breaking defenses. Urshifu and Venusaur could even Gigantamax.
In raw power, this team outclassed Natsume's fragile Snow Team by miles.
But Natsume-sensei's strength wasn't brute force—it was control.
This Snow Team had speed control (Whimsicott) and wouldn't fall behind in tempo.
In the battle intro, the tiny old man dramatically ripped off his green baseball jacket—revealing a Touran-style martial arts gi.
He looked ready to pull out nunchucks at any second.
The trainers' avatars clashed in midair, sparks flying.
BATTLE BEGIN.
"Go! Incineroar! Venusaur!" Mustard bellowed.
Heat waves rippled across the field as Incineroar roared, flames bursting from its belt.
The ancient Venusaur squinted, its giant flower blooming with spotted petals.
"Two starter Pokémon right off the bat?!"
"Natsume-sensei's team is already outclassed in stats..."
"If stats decided everything, what's the point of trainers?"
The chat buzzed with arguments—until a sudden chill silenced them.
Azure ice crystals drifted from the sky, the cold so intense it seemed to seep through screens.
The majestic Alolan Ninetales lifted its head, its nine tails swaying as it let out an ethereal cry.
Snowflakes swirled, transforming the battlefield into a frozen wonderland.
"Alolan Ninetales, Snow Warning Ability." Natsume explained. "One of the Snow Team's core pieces."
"Our other lead? An old friend—'Prankster' Whimsicott."
Whimsicott floated cheerfully… until a hailstone bonked it on the head, making it shiver.
If "cuteness" was the metric, Snow Teams would dominate popularity polls!
"But what about power? Incineroar's gonna crush them!"
"I declare Incineroar the one true king!"
The battle erupted.
Mustard's bushy eyebrows shot up. "Incineroar, Flare Blitz on Whimsicott!"
"Venusaur, Sludge Bomb!"
A ruthless offensive. Venusaur's flower gathered a toxic Sludge Bomb, hurling it at Ninetales.
"Aurora Veil!" Natsume commanded.
The icy fox winced as a shimmering barrier of light erupted beneath it—the strongest dual-screen in hail.
The Sludge Bomb sizzled through the rainbow ice, splattering onto Ninetales with a corrosive hiss.
Meanwhile, Whimsicott set up Tailwind, securing speed control.
But then—
"Incineroar!"
But the next moment, Incineroar roared furiously, flames erupting from its belt and engulfing its body as it charged toward Whimsicott like a blazing comet!
BOOM!!
"Whimsicott—!" Whimsicott's eyes swirled as it plummeted from the sky.
"Incineroar!!" Incineroar glared triumphantly, spreading its arms in a dominant roar.
"Holy crap, Natsume-sensei's Whimsicott got one-shot?!"
"It couldn't even survive with dual barriers up… This is the world's strongest Incineroar!"
"It sacrificed itself just to set up Tailwind!"
A beam of red light recalled Whimsicott into its Poké Ball as Natsume spoke warmly, "Thank you, Whimsicott."
A fierce wind swept across Natsume's side of the field, the Aurora Veil shimmering with a faint rainbow hue.
At the cost of one Pokémon, he had secured dual barriers and speed control.
Mustard clicked his tongue, sensing something amiss.
The elegant, snow-white Alolan Ninetales watched silently with icy baby-doll eyes.
It seemed like bait—luring the type-advantaged Incineroar to stay on the field.
"Incineroar, Protect." Mustard frowned slightly. "Venusaur, Sleep Powder!"
The livestream exploded with disbelief.
"Mustard, you bushy-browed bastard, you're using Sleep Powder too?!"
"He's betting Natsume-sensei will switch! Mustard's trying to stall out the Tailwind!"
"Damn, he actually Protected! Dracovish could've OHKO'd Incineroar with 'Fishious Rend'!"
The newly sent-out Pokémon flapped wings woven from crackling electric ions—Rotom-Frost, levitating midair.
"Pay attention." Natsume side-eyed Rotom. "Fridge, Ally Switch!"
Rotom jolted. "Rotom? Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
You said we weren't running "Ally Switch," Rotom!
The move's value lay in disrupting the opponent's command rhythm, creating openings for key attackers.
Like now—Fridge and Alolan Ninetales swapped places in a flash.
Alolan Ninetales, shielded by a glimmering barrier, completely nullified the drifting Sleep Powder!
Then, amid howling winds, Natsume snapped his fingers:
"Rotom, Ninetales—"
"Blizzard!!"
A whiteout of ice crystals filled the arena, hail pelting down in the blizzard's wake.
The dual Blizzards, guaranteed hits in snow, surged forward like an unstoppable avalanche!
Over the storm's roar, Natsume mused:
"Snow teams may be scummy, always freezing everything."
"But they're also simple… because once snow's up,"
Natsume smiled. "You just click Blizzard."
The livestream reeled from the brutal strategy.
This wasn't some cheap freeze-fishing play.
The raw power of dual Blizzards could bulldoze nearly any opponent!
As the storm cleared, Venusaur lay buried under snow, only its massive flower visible.
Incineroar stood motionless in the blizzard, shoulders dusted white—until flames suddenly erupted from its belt.
With a sliver of HP left, Incineroar lunged at Alolan Ninetales in a desperate Flare Blitz.
BOOM!!
Natsume grimaced.
The fiery explosion rocked the field. Alolan Ninetales took massive damage, while recoil finished off Incineroar.
As Incineroar collapsed into the snow…
The tide had turned in one turn—dual Blizzards secured a double KO.
"HOLY MOLY!!"
Even prepared, they'd been outplayed by Natsume!
Mustard steadied himself, eyes sharpening. "Kommo-o, Urshifu—go!"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
"Kommo-o—!!"
'Brawler Dragon' Kommo-o, armored in metallic scales, fists capable of terrifying speed and power.
Dark-furred Urshifu stood silent, its ribbon fluttering as gleaming black eyes locked onto its foe.
Then—Urshifu snapped into a stance, aura flaring violently.
"So cool! That's Single-Strike Urshifu!"
"Cuteness is justice! Alolan Ninetales, wreck them!!"
With no time to stall, Mustard opted for an all-out brawl.
"Kommo-o!" Kommo-o blitzed forward, scales screeching against air as it unleashed Close Combat!
Alolan Ninetales, already battered, had no room to dodge.
And lurking nearby—Urshifu's "Unseen Fist," bypassing even Protect.
"Even in freezing snow, there burns an unshakable law of victory."
Natsume declared.
The blizzard raged, as if the soul of snow teams burned behind him.
"This snow team has a trump card?!"
"I'M GETTING HYPED!!"
Natsume's voice cut through the storm: "Alolan Ninetales—Sheer Cold."
Sheer Cold—a one-hit KO move with a chance to freeze solid!
"Ninetales~!!" Alolan Ninetales reared up, gathering a blinding pillar of ice, the very air crystallizing around it.
The temperature plummeted. Sheer Cold's beam shot toward Kommo-o, freezing the ground in its path.
"Kommo-o—!!" Kommo-o's pupils shrank, trapped in the attack's path.
It swung wildly, landing a desperate hit on Ninetales—
THUD!!
Alolan Ninetales tumbled back, Sheer Cold missing as fans groaned.
"Ugh, so salty."
"Natsume-sensei's bond with snow teams is weak, lol."
"Should've run Sleep Team—Hypnosis would've landed!"
Natsume sweatdropped.
His specialty was sleep tactics, not freeze RNG.
Like a Dragon-type main trying to play Dark Magician—clunky without the right synergy.
But Sheer Cold wasn't his last resort.
Fridge's Blizzard roared again.
Urshifu lunged, flickering through hail to deliver a devastating Wicked Blow—
CRACK!!
The punch split the storm, but Fridge clung on behind Aurora Veil.
"Still alive, huh?" Mustard clicked his tongue—then froze. "Wait… Natsume's backup is—"
The next Pokémon took the field—a bizarre, almost comical creature.
A dopey fish head, monstrous jaws, and stubby dinosaur legs—
Dracovish.
"Damn, that thing's ugly."
"Wait… That's Choice Band Fishious Rend Dracovish!"
"Dracovish." Natsume commanded, "Fishious Rend."
The livestream collectively gasped.
Dracovish's maw split open, water forming jagged fangs as it chomped down on Kommo-o.
A primal dread gripped Mustard.
"Fishious Rend: 85 BP, STAB 1.5x, Choice Band 1.5x, Strong Jaw 1.5x—"
Natsume's commentary broke off. "Wait—it crit."
CRUNCH.
The pseudo-legendary Kommo-o stiffened, eyes bulging before crumpling to Dracovish's one-hit KO.
The chat EXPLODED.
"Dracovish—KING OF POKÉMON!"
"HOW IS SOMETHING THIS COOL ALSO THIS UGLY?!"
Mustard side-eyed Dracovish. "…Adorably hideous."
He recalled Urshifu—then his Dynamax Band erupted with light.
The enlarged Poké Ball hurled skyward, dark-red energy surging as Urshifu Gigantamaxed into a towering titan!
BOOOOM—
The arena trembled under Urshifu's Gigantamax Wicked Blow, the sky splitting like thunder.
Natsume muttered, "No wonder it's marketable. Flashy without wrecking the arena."
Meanwhile, Dracovish stared up blankly—
KABOOM!!
The chat fell silent. Then:
"Dracovish did its best."
"Snow team? More like Dracovish team."
Only Fridge and Urshifu remained.
But as Fridge's Blizzard raged, Natsume moved to Dynamax it—
The stream suddenly lagged.
"Glitch?" Natsume blinked.
Then—the screen flooded with "OHHHHH!!!"
The battle log read:
[Rotom]used Blizzard.
[Urshifu]was frozen solid.
"BRO—IT FROZE A DYNAMAX POKÉMON?!"
"THIS. IS. SNOW TEAM."
"Natsume-sensei, did you let Togepi take the controls?!"
Natsume nodded solemnly, hurling his Dynamax Poké Ball.
Gigantamax Fridge loomed, summoning a cataclysmic Max Hailstorm as the battle theme swelled.
Urshifu, encased in ice, could only watch—
FWOOM!!
The dark energy shattered. Mustard's 17-win streak ended as he wailed:
"HOLY MOLY!!"
Back in Natsume's stream:
"So… this is the 'scientific' Natsume-sensei?"
"That freeze rate defies science."
"Now we know why Togepi's the stream icon—it's the real MVP!"
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