At the same time, the Grass- and Fighting-type Lilligant resisted Ground by two times, Rock by two times, and Grass by two times.
The Ground, Rock, Grass, and Fire moves Groudon excelled at had all been sealed off.
"With the Flash Fire Ability, Grass-type Pokémon no longer fear flames. The more they burn, the stronger they get. Even their leaves grow more luxuriant!"
"That's right. What I'm talking about is [Growth]! Under harsh sunlight, it raises both Attack and Special Attack by two stages!"
Lilligant's body swelled in an instant.
"Ha! Now that's impressive! I don't know who you are, but you can pull off some beautiful battle tactics!"
"This is Groudon we're talking about, the embodiment of the land. All right! I'll help too!"
"Mightyena, use Howl!"
"Awooo!" Mightyena let out a bright wolf howl.
Its loud cry raised morale, increasing its own Attack and the Attack of its allies.
Although Archie intended to fight with Ice Fang, the extreme heat around Groudon made it impossible for Mightyena to get close. So Archie looked at Steven.
"I'll create an opening for your attacks. Let's suppress Groudon all at once!"
"Mightyena, Screech!"
It released an ear-piercing sound that made everyone instinctively want to cover their ears, sharply lowering the opponent's Defense.
For ordinary Pokémon, this kind of weakening move was extremely lethal. But for a colossal super-ancient monster like Groudon, although it had base stats that could be quantified, a two-stage Defense drop was barely more than a scratch.
"This is our chance. Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
Steven naturally had no intention of standing by. Although Hikaru had said he hoped Steven would conserve his stamina, as Hoenn's Champion, now was not the time to conserve strength.
The sooner they suppressed Groudon, the sooner they could achieve their objective. Besides, two years ago he had failed to defeat them. Two years later, that might no longer be the case.
"The winner is me. Stronger than anyone, better than anyone!"
Steven's Metagross's signature move was Meteor Mash. And in the Hoenn region, Meteor Mash's power had not been reduced. Its power was 100.
With the same-type attack bonus from Steel typing, it became a major move with 150 power. At the same time, it had a 20 percent chance of raising the user's Attack by one stage.
Metagross's claws shone white, and a golden meteor appeared around it before smashing violently into the opponent.
The Metagross Steven had sent out was not the Shiny platinum Metagross. That one had been left in Hoenn with Devon Corporation to deal with the meteorite falling from space.
So the one fighting now was the blue Metagross that had grown up with him since childhood and had once met Hikaru.
After eating the special food from Hikaru's side, its strength was already no weaker than the Shiny one.
"Gruuuhahaha!"
Groudon was struck by the fist of steel light. However, Meteor Mash, which should have had an effect, failed to deal a serious blow to the great continent beast.
The red dinosaur's eyes suddenly glared at Mightyena.
Steven said, "Meteor Mash landed. Even if Ground does not take super-effective damage from Steel, this still should not have turned out like that."
Archie said, "Hey. Its eyes seemed to flash!"
Some moves required only a single motion or glance from a Pokémon. At such times, even veteran Trainers would have difficulty judging what move the opponent had used, unless they were someone like Roxanne, who possessed a deep understanding of Pokémon knowledge.
But Hikaru could tell.
"I see! That was [Psych Up]!"
"It copied Mightyena's stat changes and raised its Attack!"
Archie's expression tightened. "Psych Up... so it was that move. But something still isn't right!"
"No, it is right." Steven's expression turned serious. "[Psych Up] not only copies the opponent's stat changes. It can also cancel out the user's own stat changes."
"After all, it copies the opponent's stat condition, so its own stat changes were erased."
Hikaru said, "Exactly."
There was mockery in Groudon's eyes.
It had fought Kyogre to the death. Without some way to counter that thing, wouldn't it have been blasted to death by [Water Spout]?
Kyogre possessed [Calm Mind]. By copying its stat changes, Groudon could raise its own Special Defense and stand against it.
Still, to think that a mere ordinary Pokémon could interfere with it this badly. Although it had encountered such things repeatedly since ancient times, and the same had happened two years ago, it still made Groudon's mood turn foul. It was furious.
"Gruuuuuh!"
[I will destroy all of you!]
"Gruuuhahaha!" Groudon suddenly roared, and fierce sunlight gathered on its forehead.
A Solar Beam fired instantly under harsh sunlight!
Sunlight was Groudon's weapon. Although the move also had 120 power, the damage was fundamentally different from what an ordinary Pokémon could produce.
Even if its Special Attack base stat was only 100, there was a fundamental gap between a Legendary Pokémon and an ordinary Pokémon.
Hikaru said, "Support from allies!"
"First, Ogerpon, use Helping Hand on Armarouge!"
"Pon!"
Ogerpon jumped up and used Helping Hand on Armarouge.
Under Helping Hand, the move's power would rise by 1.5 times.
"Armarouge, [Armor Cannon]!"
The knight who worshiped the sun transformed the golden armor on its shoulders, gathering it around both arms to form golden cannons.
Armor Cannon was Armarouge's signature move. Its power reached 120, though it had the drawback of lowering both defensive stats after use.
However, for the knight of the sun, that was no real problem.
After Flash Fire had activated, when a Pokémon in the Flash Fire state used a Fire-type attack, its Attack and Special Attack were multiplied by 1.5.
Boom!
Golden flames turned into an unmatched beam of energy, clashing head-on with Groudon's Solar Beam and producing a massive explosion inside the Embedded Tower.
The fire cannon pushed straight through the Solar Beam that could split the sea. In the anime, Groudon's Solar Beam had displayed astonishing power, even parting the ocean like Moses parting the sea and knocking Kyogre down.
And now, the fire cannon released by the knight of the sun was actually powerful enough to contend with it head-on.
Groudon itself was shocked as well.
This was the price of Solar Beam not having Grass-type same-type attack bonus. Its Solar Beam had actually been blocked by a Pokémon whose strength was not especially high. But the second attack...
As Groudon thought that, it swung its claws and released intense heat, grappling with Lilligant while continuously producing powerful quakes that swept through the entire tower.
Then it abruptly turned its head. This time, it opened its massive jaws.
What Fire-type Pokémon feared were Rock- and Ground-type moves.
Try this!
"Gruuuuuh!"
[I did not want to destroy this tower. You brought this on yourselves!]
[Precipice Blades!]
Near Route 47 stood an ancient cave known precisely as [Cliff Cave].
And this too was proof that the ancients had once summoned the embodiment of the land here.
Groudon split open the alternate space inside its tower. A violent earthquake shook even the red Omega crest until it seemed ready to shatter.
Then boulders like giant swords of stone, flowing with burning magma, roared out from every direction within the space.
It changed the power of the land into blades to attack the opponent.
Sharp stones wrapped in magma erupted from the ground. If the upper edge of a stone struck the opponent, it would trigger a massive explosion.
Once again, a huge blast erupted inside the tower. Scorching waves of heat, together with the intense sunlight cannon, blew away Lilligant, Mightyena, and Metagross, who were attacking it. Groudon stamped across the ground like a demon god, then its eyes suddenly narrowed.
It had already launched the attack. Even the space of the Embedded Tower had been smashed apart. Yet it had still been blocked?
That was... the transparent barrier deployed in front of that knight in golden armor?
Hikaru said, "[Wide Guard]!"
"For a certain period of time, it protects against attacks that strike every Pokémon on our side!"
Wide Guard, introduced in Generation V, was also the earliest wide-area move.
"Pokémon on the field under Wide Guard will not be hit by moves that target all allies or all Pokémon on the field!"
"Earthquake, Magnitude, Precipice Blades. None of them work!"
"That's right. Whether a spread move is used by our side or by the enemy, it gets blocked. So do you know what comes next?"
Groudon suddenly raised its head. Within the tower blazing beneath fierce sunlight, that slender Grass-type Pokémon leaped into an intense dance.
"[Petal Blizzard]!"
"It whips up a storm of fallen petals like driving snow, attacking every surrounding Pokémon and dealing massive damage!"
With Grass-type same-type attack bonus, its power reached 135. With a two-times advantage, that became 270.
"The Grass-type assault isn't over yet!"
"Armarouge, [Solar Beam]!"
The great knight of the sun gathered the strongest sunlight, shaping that fierce radiance in its hands into something like a spear of lightning.
A special Solar Beam, a finishing technique Hikaru called Solar Flare.
Under harsh sunlight, of course it fired instantly.
The scorching spear of light struck Groudon's abdomen with unstoppable force.
The giant beast that wielded sunlight now suffered the fiercest counterattack from the sun itself.
Hikaru said, "Under this sunlight, did you think the strongest moves would be Fire-type? Not necessarily."
"This 200-power Solar Flare is also known as a solar ray!"
"Even without Grass-type same-type attack bonus, its base power is so overwhelming that with a two-times advantage, it becomes a 400-power finisher!"
"Gruuuhahaha!" This time, the damage Groudon suffered was real. Its Special Defense was not strong enough. Although Lilligant's attacks were fierce, and although Metagross and Mightyena were attacking as well, they were all physical attackers.
Now this 400-power spear of sunlight was genuinely lethal.
Even Groudon itself could hardly believe that it, the one who used sunlight to illuminate the land, had been forced to such a point by that same sunlight.
Also, your 400-power major move does not cost you any stat drops at all?!
It looked like Solar Beam, but the damage it dealt was completely different.
How could such an exaggerated move exist in this world? No. Judging just by the way the move was used, it was already different from an ordinary Solar Beam.
However, what shocked everyone even more was that after taking such an attack, Groudon still had not fallen. It remained in a powerful fighting posture.
Even Hikaru inwardly complained.
Groudon's HP base stat definitely isn't 100. With durability like this, it has to start at 200 at least.
Other Legendary Pokémon more or less had battle scenes where they exhausted their stamina. But Groudon and Kyogre could genuinely fight for twenty days and nights.
It truly deserved the line, "I can do this all day."
Archie said, "Why has it still not been defeated...? But that is Groudon. The Legendary Continent Pokémon. If it could be beaten that easily, the disaster two years ago would never have happened."
Steven said, "Exactly. Even among Legendary Pokémon, their power stands at the very top. And perhaps this is because of natural energy."
"This tower was built by the ancients to enshrine the three Legendary Pokémon of land, sea, and sky. Rayquaza also said that strong natural energy remains here. Its state resembles the depths of the Cave of Origin, but this energy cannot allow Groudon to undergo Primal Reversion."
"In other words, the natural energy here is probably the purest form of energy, and it cannot yet be converted into power Groudon can absorb!"
"And yet, precisely because of that, Groudon is difficult to defeat here. No, rather, as long as it stands upon the land..."
Groudon gritted its teeth and stared at the Pokémon attacking it. Of course it knew that the human using Steel-type Pokémon was correct.
Constantly using natural energy to strengthen itself, recover stamina, change the weather, and shape the terrain. That was what made them different from other Legendary Pokémon.
Since ancient times, although their power had weakened somewhat, they were still unstoppable.
[If we were not inside the Embedded Tower, if this tower were not limiting me, you would have been defeated long ago!]
[As long as I stand on land, I am the strongest!]
[No matter how much water vapor you obtain from the sea, you cannot defeat me! What now? Do you still want to follow up with Ice-type moves? Then try it!]
Groudon roared. Although it sounded like a villainous threat, it absolutely had the right to say those words after standing firm through so many attacks.
And it had also seen Chien-Pao, who had been hiding behind the ice wall the entire time. That white leopard was plotting something, and sharp icicles had already formed.
"[Icicle Crash]!"
Chien-Pao hurled forward icicles condensed from water vapor, but Groudon swung up a Fire Punch and shattered them all.
However, the ice created by [Eternal Ice Wall] could only be broken. Fully melting it was nearly impossible. Ordinary Fire-type moves could not damage that ice, and Groudon's expression changed slightly at the sight.
What is this thing? This ice really cannot melt?
Impossible. There could be no such thing. Powerful geothermal energy surged from Groudon's body. Then...
Its body seemed to show changes similar to Primal Reversion, but it was not entering a new form. It was the windup for a certain major move.
Move: [Eruption]!
Meteor Volcano!
[There is no ice that cannot melt. If there is, then the flames simply are not fierce enough! The high-temperature magma of the earth can burn away all things. Be buried in fire and lava!]
[The water vapor will vanish. All water vapor will vanish! Whether water or ice, none of it matters!]
Water vapor rapidly evaporated, forming white smoke around Groudon. Rolling waves of heat spilled from the god of the earth's body. That was the precursor to using [Heat Crash].
Flames raced wildly, as if the world had become hell.
Hikaru said, "...It sleeps in magma deep underground. It is said that when it awakens, volcanoes erupt."
"The water vapor is indeed disappearing quickly. However... when water meets high heat and evaporates, what it forms is called steam."
"Therefore, there is a special move that not only does not lose power under harsh sunlight and high temperatures, but instead gains 1.5 times damage!"
"Now is the time to use it!"
"Roooaaaar!" Walking Wake, who had been waiting behind the ice wall all this time, finally let out a roar.
Until the battle formation was complete, it could not attack carelessly. So it had been waiting.
"[Dragon Cheer]!" Hikaru suddenly waved his hand, and Walking Wake released a powerful roar, raising its own critical-hit ratio.
"[Helping Hand]!"
Ogerpon jumped up and used Helping Hand on Walking Wake once again.
The next move would receive a massive boost.
"[Hydro Steam]!"
Walking Wake spewed boiling, churning water from its mouth, violently blasting Groudon's body.
When sunlight was harsh, this move's power not only did not decrease, but increased sharply instead.
"Gruuuhahaha!"
What kind of move is this now?!
Groudon was blasted by Hydro Steam. Once again, it was struck by a super-effective move, and what made it unable to believe its eyes was that under the high heat and sunlight it had released, there was actually a Water-type move whose power increased.
Was that even reasonable?
It had fought Kyogre across three separate millennia, and it had never known such a move existed.
Hikaru said, "Of course you wouldn't see it after only three millennia."
"Because this is a move from tens of millions of years ago. This is the Water-type Pokémon's strike across sixty-five million years!"
"Under harsh sunlight, it receives Water-type same-type attack bonus while also enjoying the damage-boosting effect. That makes it a move with 180 base power. Use [Strong Style] to increase the base power by 20, bringing it to 200."
"But with a critical hit under [Dragon Cheer], the multiplier becomes two times instead of 1.5, raising the power to 400!"
"Helping Hand. Power 600!"
"Two-times super effectiveness. Power 1200!"
"Held items. Life Orb, Splash Plate, Mystic Water. Power increases by 1.3 times, then 1.2 times, then another 1.2 times."
"Ancient Water Gem. 1.5-times charge."
The Water energy around Walking Wake was strengthened to an absurd degree.
"Maximum power: [3369]. Strong Style Hydro Steam!"
A blow even stronger than Kyogre's Water Spout blasted Groudon directly into the wall of the Embedded Tower in one strike.
And then...
Pointed stones burst. The mountain collapsed. The earth shook.
Steam filled the area with high heat. Groudon's eyes kept contracting as it crawled up from the ruined section. But unlike before, this time it was panting heavily.
The battle still was not over.
(End of Chapter)
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