When Regidrago was at full HP, of course its opening move would be one of the strongest Dragon-type moves: Dragon Energy!
It converted life force into power to attack the opponent. The lower its own HP, the weaker the move became. Its power was calculated the same way as Eruption and Water Spout.
Maximum number of targets—999!
Every opposing Pokémon it could hit!
Swish—
A fairy blade of light had been raised high at some unknown moment. The dragon titan discovered a Premier Ball beneath it.
A white ball. Something it had never seen before. What emerged from that ball was a white and noble holy knight.
There was no mercy in Iron Valiant's pixel eyes.
[An enemy attacking my Trainer will be struck down with all my strength! I will beat you until you can no longer rise!]
[I am best at slaying dragons! But are you a dragon too? How strange!]
[Magical Torque!]
A move it should have been impossible to learn. The highest-power physical Fairy-type move.
The illegal fairy sword severed the dragon's power—
Just as the fairy of the lake had once bestowed the sacred sword of kings.
"Iron Valiant really is like the Lady of the Lake... a fairy knight?"
In the past, if one wanted to kill a dragon, only Ice and Dragon itself could do it. But the matchup between Fairy and Dragon carried even stronger mythological undertones.
The most important point was that Dragon attacks were nullified by Fairy.
"Although most of the strongest Legendary Pokémon in myth have the Dragon type, they become powerless when facing little fairies."
"Tachyon Cutter!"
By loading a program for an iron head shell, it had obtained a new cutting move: a Steel-type attack with 50 power that hit twice. How was that not a poverty-version Behemoth Blade?
Another dragon-slaying achievement had been added to the record. This dragon was somewhat strange, but Iron Valiant had seen even stranger dragons before.
After being defeated, Regidrago seemed to think for a moment, then activated its backup plan for when it could not face a Fairy-type.
The dragon crystal released tremendous energy.
[Explosion!]
Without another word, it opened with self-destruction. A violent explosive shock swept through the entire temple, aiming to blast the Split-Decision Ruins apart. But the vast ancient ruins left behind by the ancients possessed incredible power. When Regidrago's self-destruction ended, transparent walls like interlocking turtle shells stood in front of them.
For one turn, it defended against attacks that struck all allies.
[How about Wide Guard?]
Zamazenta walked over at a measured pace.
[I told you, I am very good at setting up walls.]
[However, a fairy knight... Steel and Fairy slashes that can cut through even the thick scales of Dragon-type Pokémon as easily as paper. It feels almost like fighting alongside my sister. Even your dragon-slaying technique is very similar.]
[Thank you for the compliment! I am my Trainer's finest partner.]
Iron Valiant blinked, accepted the praise with a bit of pride, and gave a courteous bow.
Zamazenta chuckled.
Iron Valiant then looked toward the place where Regidrago had exploded and scanned it with its electronic eyes.
She blinked, swept aside the broken stones with her blade, and brought out a box.
[The box is here!]
[We found the box! The "Rusted Iron Chunk" is inside too!] Zamazenta immediately looked at Hikaru.
[Mysterious Item: Rusted Iron Chunk.]
[Description: A fragment from Melmetal's body. If placed inside ruins or buildings, it will not undergo any changes. It is a rare metal. That said, it can still rust. If brought to a place with a primitive natural environment, it will attract dormant Meltan. The Rusted Iron Chunk itself even has a chance of becoming a Meltan.]
[This iron chunk can be processed with lightning and flame.]
[Composition of the Rusted Iron Chunk: Legend says a certain tribe once used this special metal to forge many pieces of equipment, but without this metal, those pieces of equipment could not be made.]
Hikaru looked to the other side. Regieleki had been defeated and had stopped moving. The intense electric current could no longer twist outward, which allowed Hikaru to touch the restraining device on its body. That said, he still had to wear insulating gloves.
[Legendary Item: Controllable Power-Generation Restraining Device.]
[Description: An ancient device that restrains Regieleki and prevents it from using its full power. However, even if it is completely removed, Regieleki's base stats will not change. The power of its Ability, however, will change.]
[Effect: Suppresses part of an Electric-type Pokémon's abilities, though the degree varies.]
[Liberation Effect—]
[Transistor: boosts the power of Electric-type moves by 30% → boosts the power of Electric-type moves by 50%.]
[After learning how to craft the Controllable Power-Generation Restraining Device, it becomes possible to place restrictions on Electric-type Pokémon.]
Hikaru could not help laughing.
The invisible nerfing hand had instead happened to fit perfectly with the background setting of the electric titan being sealed. What a sad piece of history.
A Generation IX nerf.
So this was a primal reversion.
So it was the Paldeans who did this, huh?
It only cut 20%. Not much, right? That was easy to say, but in official battles, the effect was still quite significant. Even so, the electric titan remained a popular battle choice.
Most of the strong Electric-types were Legendary Pokémon, sub-Legendaries, or Paradox Pokémon. Among ordinary Electric-type Pokémon, aside from Magnezone, Tapu Koko, and the Generation IX electric mouse that could use the bug-level move Revival Blessing, there did not seem to be many others.
Oh, right. There was Alolan Golem's Galvanize Explosion too.
Speaking of restricting Electric-type Pokémon... there did not seem to be many worth restricting. Pokémon with powerful lightning, like Miraidon, Raging Bolt, Zekrom, Iron Hands, Iron Thorns, the Sinnoh Zapdos, and Rotom... these were either partners or friends.
Even Raikou, whom he had never actually met face-to-face, could not exactly be called a friend. It counted as an acquaintance beast.
The remaining ones were Zeraora, Xurkitree, Thundurus, Dracozolt, and Tapu Koko.
Thundurus?
His relationship with that guy was only average. They had even battled before. But...
He probably would not have many chances to meet it in the future. After all, that guy would not be flying off to Sinnoh now. Then he could only pray he did not run into it in Hisui. Otherwise, Hikaru would let it experience ancient technology and vicious tricks.
That, too, was a kind of "the older, the stronger."
"Hmm. Maybe this can be used to suppress Tapu Koko, or Xurkitree."
When it came to restricting electricity theft, this machine could be considered an authority.
After understanding the forging method and the iron chunk's composition, Hikaru immediately began forging.
"This is no ordinary iron forging. Because the strength involved is too great, it won't actually take much time. Because the forging method uses sacred flame and powerful psychic energy!"
A blazing sacred fire rose as a knight in golden armor made his entrance.
The golden Lord of Cinder, knight of the sun.
Flames swirled in Armarouge's eyes.
[A fairy knight, a red knight... aside from the types being wrong, they really do resemble my sister and me, don't they?]
Zamazenta looked rather surprised at the new knight who had appeared.
There really were a lot of knights in this place, weren't there?
Psychic power surged from Armarouge's hands, heating the Rusted Iron Chunk and the Rusted Shield until they both became red-hot iron.
Three-colored flames intertwined, summoning a rainbow halo, bursting and burning.
["Sacred Fire!"]
————————
On the other side of the tundra, Marnie, who was destroying machines, saw light appear in the middle section of the Crown Tundra.
There were the gigantic Pokémon, and the large bird Pokémon burning with a black aura, currently fighting her.
Her Rotom Phone had been broken.
Was this thing protecting the remote controls?
The overwhelming energy inside its body turned into an aura like a blazing pillar of fire, spreading outward and preventing ordinary Pokémon from approaching at all.
The black giant bird fully spread its enormous wings, unleashing a mental attack that radiated a sinister aura in all directions.
Pokémon hit by this attack would feel an intense exhaustion, as though they had been burned out. If anything touched that evil, flame-like aura, its soul would dry up and burn away until only white ash remained.
A phenomenon caused by a Dark-type Pokémon could be blocked by another Dark-type Pokémon.
[No Fire type on the opponent's side... confirmed! Dark/Flying!]
Wo-Chien and Chien-Pao coiled beside Marnie. If any Pokémon could suppress emotion, or stir up feelings that caused the opponent discomfort, it would naturally be the Treasures of Ruin that once had records of destroying nations.
"Chien-pao~"
Chien-Pao scratched its face and looked at that arrogant, already-controlled black bird. The leopard revealed an extremely smug expression.
It had already sensed it.
The opponent looked like a blazing creature, but in reality, it did not have the Fire type. What did that mean?
Dark/Flying did not resist Ice!
However, the little snail's move pool was completely sealed by the matchup. But it was enough for the little snail to play support. Did anyone really expect the wise one to deal damage? Besides, its Ability had poor synergy with the leopard's. Their Abilities happened to increase and decrease the offensive side respectively, canceling each other out.
Of course, even if it came to dealing damage, there were still moves it could use. Dynamax looked terrifying, and it ignored many status moves and specific attacks, but moves like Super Fang and Endeavor could still cut away the corresponding values from before the target Dynamaxed.
In other words, Ruination would definitely work.
[HP bars are the least trustworthy things in the world.]
The little snail shook its head, used its blue vines to help Marnie up, then moved first.
[Ruination!]
The intense resentment of a destroyed nation, sins too numerous to record, made Galarian Moltres cry out in pain. A portion of its immense stamina was stripped away in an instant. After that, the snail returned to its Poké Ball, and Chien-Pao's Sword of Ruin took effect.
Chien-Pao's Sword of Ruin! By the power of a sword that can summon disaster, it lowered the Defense of all Pokémon except itself.
"So that's how it works... Thank you. The pressure from Legendary Pokémon is actually this strong! But it's fine now."
"Ice Fang!"
Galarian Moltres was hit by the Ice-type move, and its gigantic body began to freeze. Fighting in this tundra environment, the additional-effect chance of Chien-Pao's moves seemed to have increased.
"Morpeko, Fake Tears!"
Marnie's Morpeko once again used a dirty move, sharply lowering the opponent's Special Defense through false crying. Stat changes, whether increases or decreases, worked on Dynamax Pokémon.
Even if it had a mysterious barrier, that barrier had already been broken.
"Morpeko, Thunder!"
"Chien-Pao, Blizzard!"
"Aerodactyl, Stone Edge!"
The three Pokémon's fierce attacks dealt massive damage to Galarian Moltres.
Lightning, ice, and rock were all fatal weaknesses for it.
"Again... Ice Fang!"
Clang—
This time, however, the icy fang did not accurately hit the target.
The radiance of blades crossed. Chien-Pao's edge failed to reach the injured Galarian Moltres. Its Ice Fang was smashed apart by a Steel-type gleam. Then, what appeared before Marnie was—
A powerful Pokémon clad in armor, holding a divine sword in its mouth, with rich, colorful, and extremely vivid markings.
"The Sword King races across battlefields like the wind to punish enemies. Its movements are noble and beautiful, so some people compare its posture to dancing."
"This sword can cut through anything in the world, so it is known as the Fairy King's Sword. It can cut even the thick scales of Dragon-type Pokémon as easily as paper!"
Marnie stared in disbelief at the Pokémon standing in front of her.
Those scarlet eyes proved that it had lost its reason and was being controlled by Galar particles. The spiral over its head made it clear that it was under dual control.
"The Sword King... Zacian?!"
"Chien-pao!"
Chien-Pao began hissing and baring its teeth. Cats and dogs had never gotten along since ancient times, and now a cat and a dog both wielding swords had appeared at the same time.
On the route taken by the three legendary birds, Sordward and Shielbert appeared, covered in wounds and utterly lacking their old aristocratic elegance, yet even more deranged.
"Ahhh! That is the true form of the Darkest Day! Starting from Dyna Tree Hill, all the way north, the glory of the royal family shall be restored!"
"Although we did not capture Zamazenta, we have controlled Zacian. The black crystal has shown us the correct future. Sword King, serve the royal family!"
Behind Sordward and Shielbert followed the royal celebrities of Galar. The royal family was not limited to these two. There were many others, though they were far less conspicuous. Sordward and Shielbert were already very powerful figures among them.
They held up cameras and recorded video, yet in this snowbound, world-altering disaster, they seemed unable to recognize their own position. They were confident that Eternatus could not possibly attack the descendants of the kings who had sealed it, so they cheered wildly.
"I am Sordward."
"I am Shielbert."
"We are the founding heroes, the bloodline of royalty, and their descendants as well~!"
"Our ancestors used this sword and shield to drive away the disaster from the heavens—that is, they drove away Eternatus. And now that Eternatus has appeared in the Crown Tundra, dealing with it is a task only we are qualified to undertake!"
Marnie could hardly believe what these people were doing. "What the hell is this shameless children's game?!"
"Zacian... Zacian is crying out!"
Sordward said, "The girl who appeared in the Slumbering Weald, the one who likes using dirty moves. You're the younger sister of the Spikemuth Gym Leader. What a shame. The sacred land of the Crown Tundra is not somewhere a little girl who just became a Trainer should come!"
Shielbert said, "Since you have come here, then join us on-screen and be recorded in history. That would be a supreme honor for you as well. Witness the moment when the Sword King defeats Eternatus."
"However, before that, we cannot allow you to get in the way. Without that strange man around, what can you possibly do?"
"The Remote Controls... and the lighter Portable Remote. Those are the key to restoring the royal family's authority. Once we defeat Eternatus, we will freely control this power that makes Pokémon Dynamax. Combined with the remote devices, we will turn the Pokémon of the Crown Tundra into soldiers. From south to north, the royal army will be invincible!"
"Sword King, cut down that counterfeit sword across from you!"
The Sordward-Shielbert duo gave the order, and Zacian let out a deafening howl.
Howl raised its own Attack.
"Chien!"
Naturally, the leopard refused to fall behind and used Swords Dance.
Its Attack rose sharply.
However, Zacian, with an Attack base stat as high as 150 to 170, was far stronger offensively than Chien-Pao, whose Attack was 120 to 130. And as for their Abilities... Chien-Pao could lower the opponent's Defense by 25%, but Zacian's Intrepid Sword could raise its own Attack by 50%.
Before being nerfed, the Sword King possessed a towering 170 Attack. After the nerf, it dropped to 150.
The leopard, which had not yet officially debuted, had only 130 Attack. After its official debut, that dropped to 120.
Sword of Ruin versus Rusted Sword.
A sacred light appeared on the leopard's fangs. The same light rose from Zacian's gigantic sword.
Both sides used the same move.
"Sacred Sword!"
The two swords clashed. After a brief exchange, Chien-Pao was overpowered by Zacian's blade and retreated a long distance while yowling.
There was a huge gap in offensive power.
The leopard had not expected that it, known for ultimate offense, would actually lose in a contest of blades. And the opponent was not even Aegislash in its Shield Forme. No, perhaps its Attack was even a step higher than Aegislash's.
Wasn't that just a numbers monster?
It, the great leopard, had fought hard until now and had never encountered a sword more powerful than itself in a thousand years. Truly, the times had changed.
Chien-Pao bared its teeth and immediately prepared to abandon martial virtue.
Sacred Sword? I cast aside all pomp and ceremony right here. Even if you are stronger—
"Right, use that!"
Having been told about Chien-Pao's ultimate move, Marnie thought of a method. She and the leopard met each other's eyes, and their thoughts aligned almost instantly.
"Absolute Zero!"
If they could not win, they would use a one-hit KO move, abandon the mind game, and take the one-in-three chance of an instant kill.
Zacian could not Dynamax, so one-hit KO moves would be effective.
Boom!
A subzero storm blasted into the huge bird Pokémon. Galarian Zapdos, with a spiral above its head, blocked the attack with tremendous speed.
One-hit KO moves had no effect on Dynamax Pokémon.
Sordward said, "Hmph. You gave us a fright, but what you need to deal with is not the Sword King alone. There are eight Pokémon in total."
"Seven Dynamax Pokémon. Three legendary wings. One controlled king. Little girl, you should obediently fall here. Your companions will not come to help you. That boy with the Wooloo has no real strength. Fine, that was Wooloo's strength, not his!"
"Mr. Avery will catch him. He'll use psychic power to make him float!"
The three gigantic legendary wings began to close in, while the Sword King stood before them. The powerful pressure caused Marnie's expression to change dramatically, but she had no time to think too much.
The battle began.
Aerodactyl roared and fought Galarian Articuno. Morpeko's lightning attacked Galarian Zapdos.
"Articuno doesn't have Ice! Moltres doesn't have Fire! Zapdos doesn't have Electric! The three Galarian ones are different—different!"
"And the others, Croagunk, Scraggy, Wo-Chien!"
"Toxic, Super Fang, Ruination!"
The Pokémon's fierce battle made Sordward, Shielbert, and the royal celebrities grit their teeth.
"This little girl's methods are still this dirty! Every one of those is a move Dynamax can't immunize itself against!"
Shielbert said, "Exactly. She should battle fair and square, shouldn't she?"
"Fair and square?"
Marnie's expression became rather subtle. She glanced at her own Pokémon. Aside from the ones she had borrowed, all of her Pokémon were Dark-types.
For Dark-type Pokémon—for example, Croagunk—they rarely fought fair and square. That was written into their ecology.
Marnie said, "For Dark-type Pokémon, being called dirty is the highest praise!"
"But using eight Pokémon really does mean you have a Portable Remote!"
Trapped and facing a dilemma. If she ran away, there would be no problem, but Marnie was extremely unwilling to do that. The battle was not completely one-sided either, though as time passed, she would inevitably lose.
Dynamax could normally only last three turns, but now it was practically unlimited until their stamina vanished. Not only were they durable, their moves were guaranteed to hit. There was no way to dodge.
A Psychic light cannon bombarded the earth. A Fighting giant fist descended from the sky. A nightmare-like Dark ghost swept across the entire field.
Max Mindstorm, Max Knuckle, Max Darkness!
"Waaah!"
Snow, soil, and rock were blasted apart. Although the Dynamax Pokémon were panting as well, the fact that their stamina had doubled meant they could ultimately last to the end. With the three legendary wings as the vanguard, even if a cheating move like Ruination shaved off half their HP, what it removed was still only half of their pre-Dynamax HP.
The bonus HP would not fall.
Marnie clenched her fists.
Run away in front of Zacian...?
"Should I run? But if I run, I won't count as a hero, right?"
"There should still be a way. The meeting time has already passed. The Portable Remote..."
The goal was figuring out how to break through the Sword King and destroy the remote. But the biggest problem was that she could not get past it.
Sordward glared. "You little girl, your eyes are darting around. Are you thinking of another sinister tactic?"
Shielbert was startled. "Whether it's attacking Trainers or anything else, we won't let you succeed!"
Zacian's blade gradually approached.
But a dazzling flame, in the posture of victory, melted the snow and engulfed the Sword King in a pillar of fire that shot into the sky.
Marnie climbed up from the snow in surprise and saw the Pokémon that had appeared beside her.
She sensed it. This was exactly the same presence she had felt before when they were moving through the Slumbering Weald.
Hikaru had said there was a Pokémon that had been accompanying everyone all along, and there was no need to worry about failure.
"Who are you?"
"Tini!"
Who am I?
Victini, the Victory Pokémon!
It ran in front of Marnie, took a battle stance, and then used its move.
V-create!
"Awoo!"
The controlled Zacian was struck by the exploding flame.
Double weakness to Fire. The Sword King was forced back.
Sordward was startled. "What? What is that thing? Two Pokémon that look like children?"
"How dare they interfere with us! Sword King, even if your armor shatters and melts, continue fighting!"
Shielbert said, "Exactly. You are controlled by the noble descendants of ancient royalty. As a beast ridden by kings, is this all you are capable of?"
Although the two shouted like that, and the celebrities behind them also called out loudly, Sordward and Shielbert would not rely on the Sword King alone. They used the Portable Remote to control the legendary wings and send them sweeping into the battlefield.
Although Galarian Moltres's power had fallen, there were still the other two, along with the other Crown Tundra Pokémon being controlled.
Zacian made an unbelievable evasive movement and avoided Victini's flame attack.
Because the Portable Remote had as many as one hundred commands, it could manipulate specific Pokémon more precisely than the Remote Controls.
Dynamax moves crashed down toward Victini and Marnie like a raging storm.
"Tini!"
Infinite power!
Victini planned to use Protect. Although it might not block them, it would definitely be safer than taking big moves to the face.
Pillars of light, grasslands, flames, and more were triggered by the other Max Moves.
Marnie discovered that all those moves struck the surrounding area like meteors, yet she herself had not taken even the slightest damage.
Victini blinked too.
"Ya!"
The little fennec fox danced with joy, extremely happy.
Because a Pokémon covered in crystals, carrying dazzling electric light, floated in front of everyone and endured those moves.
But it seemed to have taken no damage at all.
Marnie said, "Who are you? Thank you."
Shedinja said, "...~!"
Ability—Wonder Guard.
A mysterious power. Only super-effective moves could hit.
Even Max Moves could not deal any damage if the type matchup was wrong.
Electric Tera Type allowed it to avoid most type weaknesses, leaving only Ground as a weakness. If it carried a floating item like an Air Balloon, it would become completely immune to all damaging moves and could only be hit by status moves.
Of course, the balloon would definitely pop.
But the ghost cicada did not care about such minor details.
Even if Max Rockfall came down and started a sandstorm, that would be fine. Its Safety Goggles were never away from its head.
Shedinja's design image also came from the legendary guardian angel.
A young man carrying a backpack and holding an ancient box gradually approached as well.
"Mr. Hikaru! You're here!"
Marnie saw the newcomer, and the red knight beside him.
"It's the Shield King?!"
Although she had not truly met it before, its nearly identical posture to Zacian's immediately allowed Marnie to understand the true identity of that large red canine.
"Dynamax attacks really are absurd. Just like Z-Moves, even if the opponent uses a Protect-type move, they still deal one-quarter damage. In other words, Protect-type moves cannot block Max Moves."
"Then, how about using a Terastallized Pokémon to counter them? A bug that a Flying-type could have easily crushed will instead become an impassable mountain."
Hikaru said, "As for the hero sword on the other side, only an equivalent sacred sword can oppose it. The only Pokémon that can withstand Behemoth Blade is another Pokémon that also serves as Excalibur."
"My friends, the legendary Swords of Justice, once said that one is inferior to two, two are inferior to three, and three are inferior to four."
However, the electric titan and dragon titan had not been brought here. Hop had taken them to a certain important location, together with a Wishing Star.
Zacian's attack came once more.
The golden greatsword fell from the sky. The king's shield opened—the divine shield Aegis.
"King's Shield."
"It completely blocks the opponent's attack and lowers the opponent's Attack stat by one stage."
"Priority +4!"
"In other words... Intrepid Sword is useless now."
Aegislash's King's Shield erased the effect of Zacian's Intrepid Sword.
However, because Zacian had used Howl, the +1 Attack effect still remained.
Merlin once asked King Arthur: Which do you prefer, the blade or the scabbard?
King Arthur answered: The blade, because it is incomparably sharp.
Merlin then said: You must know, the scabbard is worth ten times more than the blade. The one who wears the scabbard of the king's sword shall never bleed, so protect the scabbard and carry it with you.
In the Pokémon world, there seemed to be only two Pokémon called "sword sheaths," and those were Aegislash's previous evolutionary forms. Or they could also be regarded as Aegislash itself.
However, after evolving into its final form, it lost its sheath. Did that also foreshadow that King Arthur's ideal would ultimately be nothing more than a fleeting dream?
Because there was no scabbard, in the story of Sword and Shield, the ultimate method to defeat the evil dragon was uniting sword and shield. The shield replaced the role of the scabbard.
This matter was also recorded in Digimon. One of the Royal Knights, Craniamon, had a magic shield whose name was none other than—
Avalon.
In Celtic, Avalon meant apple.
Therefore, in the Sword and Shield region of Galar, there appeared a Pokémon called Applin, which had the Dragon type. The Old English "wyrm" meant western dragon, and that word evolved into the modern English "worm."
Whether as wordplay or as an ancient symbol, both were represented here. At the same time, it could also connect to the "forbidden fruit" of Christianity.
The ideal land covered in apples was also a forbidden place feared by outsiders.
"The new shield is here. However, it can no longer be called the Rusted Shield."
Aegislash looked at the Sword King before it, who was at full power yet had a spiral over its head, and felt somewhat excited.
[To battle the legendary Sword King... I am deeply honored!]
Should the king's sword and the Sword King determine which was superior?
In Hikaru's hand was a brand-new great shield.
The shield's form resembled the sheath of a gigantic sword, somewhat similar to the blade-like core part that appeared when Zamazenta transformed into the Shield King.
Its design origin was Pridwen.
Historically, the Rusted Shield's true name was believed to be the Shield of the Fighting King, but a name like that might as well not exist. If one described it by Ability, it would be Dauntless Shield.
During development, the world of Sword and Shield once had a mysterious abandoned folder that went unused.
The folder's name, of course, was—
avalon.
[Mythic Craft: Shield of the Fighting King (Rusted Shield—Avalon).]
[Description: A shield once used by the "king of the people" in Galarian legend. Zamazenta uses the metal shield covering the surface of its body to defend against opponents' attacks. The shield is extremely strong, and legend says it can reflect all attacks. After it broke, it was reforged with a Rusted Iron Chunk and sacred fire, becoming even more powerful than before.]
[Effect: When held by Zamazenta, it changes into Shield King form and its base stats increase. At the same time, it gains additional resistance to Dark- and Ghost-type moves, and the power of Steel- and Fighting-type moves is multiplied by 1.2.]
The additional resistance to Dark and Ghost was basically a reversion to before Generation VI. The 1.2x power boost to Steel and Fighting was merely the inherent effect of items like Black Belt and Metal Coat.
Considering that the sword and shield had long since rotted away, perhaps they had the same effect in the past. In that case, locking the held item was not a big deal.
This was simply the same kind of effect as the three great orbs and the Soul Dew. It was only because the sword and shield dogs gained base stats when carrying their rusted weapons that they were not allowed any further boost. Otherwise, what would happen to the battle environment?
"Thirteen resistances and one immunity. That is the Shield King worthy of Avalon. Add Body Press to that, and it can be called a tremendous leap from a complete body to an ultimate level."
After all, Instructor Zama had been a restricted Pokémon with a 0% usage rate in Generation VIII. Its situation had been beyond miserable. Compared with Zacian's 66%, the gap had to be narrowed a little.
This strengthening, too, was operated by Paldea's great hand, wasn't it? After all, Body Press was something it obtained in Generation IX.
Zamazenta roared, trying to wake its sister.
There, in the middle of the tundra, the brand-new shield of ideals stood tall.
"Zamazenta, form change—"
"Shield King!"
The Shield King and the Sword King stood facing each other, just like the scene that had appeared in the Sword and Shield trailer.
Hero of Many Battles: Defense 115 → Shield King: 145.
Hero of Many Battles: Special Defense 115 → Shield King: 145.
Hero of Many Battles: Speed 138 → Shield King: 128.
Speed -10, paying homage to the land shark. Everything else was fine.
After transforming into the Shield King, the traits of a shield became even more pronounced. Not only had Avalon existed as an element in the original draft, but as a shield, Zamazenta also seemed to carry the meaning of a city wall.
The place where the Knights of the Round Table dwelled, the land once ruled by King Arthur.
Camelot.
Zacian's armor gathered into an invincible greatsword.
[Behemoth Blade!]
The blue knight's power flowed endlessly. With indomitable force and sharpness, it could crush any enemy until only the final knight remained.
Zamazenta's armor gathered into a shield, a sheath, and a city wall.
The red knight's power fully erupted. With an unyielding heart, it could block any attack. Now, with thirteen resistances and one immunity, the true royal shield had become an unbreakable high wall.
[Behemoth Bash!]
The attacks that should have been aimed at gigantic monsters instead made the heroes turn sword and shield against each other.
King Arthur's wish could never be fulfilled.
The age had already changed. The people who had passed away had long since vanished.
For the heroes of sword and shield, Galar, which had once perished and been rebuilt, was the ideal land where all life could live in peace.
Avalon was the sacred land where fairies lived in Celtic legend, while Camelot was the kingdom once ruled by King Arthur. But Camelot had already fallen apart with Arthur's death.
That was the ideal city now far away.
Seeing Hikaru arrive, Marnie breathed a sigh of relief, but her expression was somewhat downcast.
"The kings of sword and shield are fighting!"
"Our rendezvous at Dyna Tree Hill failed, and in the end, you had to come find me. I really couldn't win."
"As expected, I can't do anything. I'm just a child."
A strange voice of the heart sounded in Marnie's mind, and she abruptly turned her head.
[Child, you have already done enough. The sword of disaster cannot defeat the hero's sword. Therefore, only a king's weapon can make a hero submit.]
[I spent some time driving away the enemies heading toward the Crown Shrine, because I heard the cries of people even more powerless to fight than you. Now, I have finally arrived here!]
[Leave the rest to the king.]
Hikaru waved a hand. "The king has arrived. The monarch of the tundra, the strongest cavalry, now joins the battle."
"Don't worry about the rendezvous. Accidents always happen on the road. As long as the result is good, that's enough."
"Marnie, go catch that Galarian Moltres. I originally planned to have you catch it. The legendary wings are merely gluttonous and extremely protective of their territories, but if you can communicate with them heart-to-heart, they should become excellent support."
"The condition is that you must defeat it."
"Galarian Moltres is neither a fire god nor the true Moltres. Catching it won't have any effect on the local ecology. Speaking of which, although they are considered regional forms, they are actually closer to a special form of convergent evolution."
"At this year's academic summit, perhaps these three will be discussed together. Gathering data is important too."
Obtaining Galarian Moltres could unlock Marnie's Champion outfit in Pokémon Masters EX.
Come to think of it, Hop corresponded to Zapdos, and Bede corresponded to Articuno.
However, in the Special manga, Marnie and Hop's choices were the opposite, and both ended up suffering for it.
Marnie looked toward the blue-green light rolling up at the far end of the tundra. In the midst of this insane battle, she needed to take a deep breath and calm herself down.
"Galarian Moltres... Right. I almost defeated it."
She murmured to herself, recalling everything that had happened along the way here. Although a child could not do too much, occasionally, she could still help a little in battle.
As she muttered to herself, her courage rose again.
After being defeated, she would climb back up. Struggling in the abyss like this was also the true nature of a Dark-type Trainer, wasn't it?
Perhaps she could grow a little too. When her big brother usually faced Dynamax enemies alone, was this what it felt like? How terrifying.
But after fighting once, she was no longer afraid. After all, she could not have come here for nothing.
"Eternatus is moving!"
"The kings of sword and shield are attacking each other!"
"If we release Eternatus, will there not be enough time for the Sword King to defeat Eternatus and free its mind?"
The celebrities looked at the fierce battle before them in panic. They had not expected the Shield King to return. But when they saw Eternatus begin moving, they immediately cheered.
Could the Portable Remote and Remote Controls have taken effect?
Whatever the case, Eternatus's gigantic form was crossing the mountain peaks and moving toward mainland Galar. The energy points guided by the Darkest Day were erupting in ever-greater numbers.
However, Eternatus noticed the battle between the kings of sword and shield, as well as another being coming from afar.
The true king of the Crown Tundra.
[That one is...]
Eternatus coiled its body and prepared for battle. As for the control waves from the Portable Remote—
Eternatus felt that sometimes its consciousness would enter a state where its left and right brains fought each other. Although it had been enlightened with wisdom, it still could not quite understand such things.
In any case, all it had to do was scatter power. Now that it possessed super power, it should be fine to temporarily abandon super wisdom, right?
Eternatus's five dragon claws gathered Dynamax particles and waves.
[Eternabeam!]
Ready!
Unlike ordinary Pokémon, Eternatus, the source of Dynamax, could use both Max Moves and regular moves when it entered its Eternamax state, especially when acting as a Max Raid Battle opponent.
However, its choice at this moment was naturally the move with the greatest power.
Eternatus possessed both Dynamax Cannon, which crushed other Dynamax Pokémon, and Eternabeam, which dealt with heroes and other Pokémon.
It fired several purple beams from its hands at the opponent. Said to be the strongest attack, it left the user unable to move on the next turn.
[No heroes.]
[Continuously absorb the region's energy.]
[Win!]
Eternatus's heart held simple thoughts, and it rejoiced in them.
But the immense radiance in the tundra had already arrived.
When sword, shield, and spear all gathered here—
The strongest white cavalry was the holy spear in King Arthur's hand.
Starting from the Crown Shrine, it slew the giant on Mont Saint-Michel.
Kings, heroes, villains, travelers, little people, scholars, boys and girls from every age had awakened and gathered three thousand years later, turning their blades upon one another. The final victor could create the ideal world and make a wish upon the great red dragon that would grant everything.
The instant those rampaging Pokémon blocking the road appeared, what greeted them was the snow-white king's warning and declaration.
["This folly ends here!"]
["As king of this land, I shall protect the people who dwell here!"]
Powerful psychic energy enhanced Glastrier's abilities, allowing the cold air it released to drop as low as absolute zero.
At the same time, Calyrex's abilities were greatly strengthened as well. A huge mantle appeared upon it, and its head began to emit blue-green light, making it look majestic and imposing.
No matter how dangerous the road, it could instantly freeze and shatter anything blocking its way while galloping continuously for seven days and seven nights.
Calyrex could use psychic energy to gather the cold air generated by Glastrier and create enormous, sharp icicles.
Those icicles could be fired like arrows at the opponent, or used like spears in a charging assault.
It was said that an icicle spear strengthened by psychic energy possessed destructive power so great it could blast open a huge hole in a mountain and pierce straight through.
Within a limited world of space, it became eternal.
Calyrex's Ability, As One, gave it two Abilities at the same time.
[Unnerve]—makes opposing Pokémon nervous, preventing them from eating any Berries.
[Chilling Neigh]—when a Pokémon with this Ability knocks out any one opposing Pokémon, its own Attack rises by one stage.
The activation priority of As One was higher than all Abilities except Neutralizing Gas.
After stacking Attack again and again along the way, Calyrex's Attack stage had already reached the +6 peak.
Rhongomyniad.
Calyrex raised the gigantic frozen lance. Along with the movement of the white horse king, an unimaginably fierce blizzard swept across the Crown Tundra.
Cold air cracked the mountains.
It tore the sky, connected the earth, summoned wind and snow, and bloomed with light at the end of Galar's world.
A dazzling great spear of ice was hurled out.
Brilliant light brought the supreme one the highest omen of victory.
Only a storm could bring down a great tree.
Ten seconds at full strength.
Attack +6. Base STAB power 180. Ice-type piercing. Targets: every opposing Pokémon it could hit.
Even Eternatus in the sky was attacked together with the rest.
Those doubly weak to Ice faced a super-effective power of 360.
Faith bonus. Within those ten seconds, the power was [???].
Condense ice into iron. Shape snow into a spear.
["—Glacial Lance!"]
Rhongomyniad, the thing that strikes to the farthest point.
The spear that shines at the end!
(End of Chapter)
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