Pokémon League Year 798, August 23.
Having decided to attend the summer ice sculpture contest, Lucas started pondering practice routines.
The Pokémon responsible for making ice blocks had it easy—they only needed to figure out how to shape the ice as Lucas wanted. But the carvers had much more to consider.
Even if Glastrier, the hot-tempered one, couldn't contribute, there was still Regice and Calyrex riding Glastrier.
But for the carvers, even if they started practice right this instant, it was questionable whether they'd be ready to sculpt recognizable objects by contest day.
The contest would be held during the last two days of August. Once contestants arrived at the venue, they would have two days to work with their Pokémon to sculpt their masterpieces.
So Lucas estimated he had about a week left to practice.
Compared to the world he came from, where ice sculpting projects could take half a month or even longer as precision increased, the contest's time limit seemed almost impossible.
But that was only true in his old world.
Here, with Pokémon, things were different.
No more needing to collect ice blocks only in winter and carve them before the weather warmed. Now, Lucas could just ask Calyrex, Glastrier, and Regice to create a giant iceberg right away.
With daily Freeze Beams to reinforce it, the ice mountain could last through summer all the way to winter.
With Pokémon, as long as you had the idea and the skill, two days was plenty to finish a masterpiece.
After deciding to participate last night, Lucas registered on the event website, and checked his forum thread.
Sadly, the group leader still hadn't replied—probably off exploring some ruins.
But neither Lucas nor Gimmighoul was in any hurry to collect all the Paldea ancient coins. They could wait; after all, collecting 999 ancient coins was no easy feat.
…
In the farm's ice cellar:
After some thought, Lucas decided to use the ice cellar for practice.
Outside, it was pouring rain and would be rainy for some time.
Raging Bolt, perhaps infected by Arcanine's goofball spirit, insisted on running in the rain on the hill where it usually practiced, charring the earth with lightning.
Lucas didn't want to sculpt in the rain, nor did his Pokémon. So he settled on the subterranean ice cellar.
Though it was cold, the environment was perfect for practicing ice sculpting, and reassuring for the Sandslash couple, whose nest was nearby.
Lucas could layer up, enjoy the wintery atmosphere, and learn a new skill.
As Lucas surveyed the snow-white cellar, Regice's dotted "eyes" flashed, and it emitted a series of beeps.
"Doo doo doo—"
In that moment, Lucas understood Regice's intention.
He nodded. "Yes, right here—please make an ice block this size!"
He gestured the size with his hands.
Regice nodded (or leaned forward), shot out a freezing beam, and in moments a giant, perfectly square ice block appeared.
Lucas was amazed at how quickly Regice grasped the concept of shape—it was like a walking 3D ice printer.
Remembering that Regice always emitted cold air and avoided contact, Lucas held back from patting it, and gave verbal praise instead.
"Great job!"
"Regi-iice!"
The yellow dots on Regice's face flashed even faster, and it swayed happily.
After praising Regice, Lucas turned to the other participating Pokémon.
Vulpix would freeze new layers over mistakes with Ice Wind, giving them endless retries.
The Sandslash couple would do the rough shaping before carving.
Mimikyu and Ceruledge would do the fine detail work with Lucas.
He'd planned to call Luxray and the others too, but Serperior was busy teaching Combee, Dragonite wanted to take the family flying in the rare rain, and Luxray was acting as security—and wanted to find a thundercloud to absorb lightning for maximum effect from the spicy seasoning later.
By now, Luxray and the others had probably found their thundercloud.
Lucas, thinking as he unrolled his printed schematics, said, "Today's task is simple: following these steps, we'll carve a 2.5-meter-diameter ice basketball."
"The process is to cut and polish the block into a sphere, then carefully carve the basketball's pattern."
Seeing the understanding in the Pokémon's eyes, Lucas nodded: "Let's get started!"
…
Meanwhile, in the wild.
In a mostly hollow tree, a small pink figure curled up, careful to avoid the rain.
Tinkatink clutched a bundle of jet-black metal feathers, hoping they'd keep her warm.
Tough as things were, Tinkatink was happy.
She was getting closer to those who used to attack her—the Corviknights.
But more than that, she found the struggle itself exciting.
Suddenly, the sound of rapid footsteps and flapping wings came from outside.
Tinkatink peeked outside, then quickly withdrew.
What did she see?
A fierce-looking Luxray, accompanied by intimidating Dragonite and Dragonair, heading straight for the black thunderclouds!
Why were they going that way!?
Tinkatink was scared; she'd just escaped from there.
She shivered at the memory of the huge, golden-glowing dragon she'd seen within the black clouds—not something like a Bisharp or a Corviknight, but a monster so powerful, she couldn't even muster hostility.
That giant had a fierce territorial sense. When Tinkatink tried to escape, countless Flying types—like Squawkabilly and Wattrel—had fallen from the sky like rain.
After a while, Tinkatink peeked out again, worriedly watching that direction.
But Luxray and the dragons had disappeared.
…
Elsewhere.
Under the guidance of Dragonite and the three Dragonairs—Pokémon highly sensitive to weather—Luxray soon saw the crackling, glowing black thunderclouds.
She wanted to absorb electricity, especially after hearing about the immediate effects of spicy seasoning on Combee.
Luxray had learned a lot from battling Calyrex, even if she always lost, and was now ready to integrate those lessons with new power gained from the spicy seasoning.
"Bwooo?" (Are you drawing lightning now?)
Dragonite called out.
Luxray nodded. "Meow-ow." (The energy in the clouds is ready. Perfect for one big charge.)
"Bwooo!" (We'll watch here, and fly up once the thunder's gone!)
With that, Dragonite and family stepped back to watch Luxray's performance.
The clouds loomed, black and endless, rain pouring in sheets, creating an impenetrable curtain.
The wild wind howled through the rain, whipping up leaves and dust into small, spinning vortices.
The branches thrashed violently in the gale, enough to leave welts on anyone caught.
But Luxray ignored all threats. Her golden eyes pierced the rain, fixed on the swirling, lightning-filled clouds above, each step strong and steady.
Moments later, Luxray stood directly below the thunderclouds.
He didn't start immediately. Glancing at a distant area, he furrowed his brow, puzzled.
A few kilometers away, it was clear and sunny—the line between rain and sun was sharp.
Lucas had told Luxray this was called localized rainfall, or something like that.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Boom!
A thunderclap echoed through the sky. Luxray knew it was time.
Golden electricity crackled around him; with a deep roar, he sent his energy surging into the clouds.
An instant later.
Boom!
A dazzling bolt of lightning crashed from the sky, aimed unerringly at Luxray, as if guided by a tracking system.
Unfazed, Luxray's electric field dispersed the lightning's power, giving her time to absorb the energy from the heart of the storm.
Moments passed; the bolt was absorbed without a ripple.
But that was merely an appetizer—both Luxray and the storm knew the real show was coming.
As the storm intensified, lightning flashed ever more frequently. Luxray, instead of stopping, provoked it further, drawing more lightning down.
This time, the bolts were far more intense, pouring down in a torrent.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thunder roared without end.
In the midst of this storm, time seemed to freeze; wind, rain, thunder, and the lightning-clad Luxray formed a breathtaking tableau.
Dragonite stared in awe, body shaking.
Wow, Boss Luxray was getting even stronger.
As for Dragonite's mother and three aunts, the four dragons could only look on in worship.
Soon, the lightning faded, thunder quieted, even the rain eased, and the world fell briefly silent.
But all attention was on Luxray.
Perhaps he had entered Full Power Overload mode—his fur stood on end, mane flowing, body cloaked in dazzling light, golden eyes shining as if he'd use [Glare] at any moment.
Dragonite wondered if Luxray could knock him out with a single slap now—he was terrifyingly strong.
With the storm's energy spent, the clouds began to dissipate, and sunlight streamed down.
Dragonite, eager to fly, howled to Luxray and launched skyward with his family.
At that moment, the clouds began to break up even faster. In moments, the sky looked nothing like the stormy scene before.
Dragonite barely noticed the weather change.
He was staring at the majestic dragon head emerging from the clouds, scales bristling.
As more of the clouds vanished, the rest of the huge, streamlined body was revealed.
A massive, jet-black, serpentine dragon Pokémon.
Its scales were as smooth and seamless as polished obsidian, golden patterns glowing softly along its body.
Its golden eyes met Dragonite's. There was no friendliness—only the divine indifference of a god.
Then, as if sensing something else, the dragon's ethereal aura shifted, and a storm of majesty swept out. Dragonite felt the air thicken, breathing became difficult.
He instinctively tried to manipulate the air currents to send his family away, but found the air frozen—his control gone, replaced by icy chill.
"Bwooo…"
Dragonite's eyes widened in disbelief—he'd never experienced anything like this!
But the next second, there was no time to think.
The dragon had made its decision, opened its jaws, and let out an ancient roar—
"Rooooar—!!!"
Dragonite understood instantly. This black, giant dragon saw them as intruders.
A surge of danger hit Dragonite.
He gathered his Dragon-type energy—this time unimpeded—and let loose a Dragon Pulse, not at the black dragon, but at his family!
The blast sent Dragonite's mother and three aunts tumbling to the ground, but not seriously hurt.
As for Dragonite himself, seeing the black dragon's body wreathed in blue energy, he activated [Extreme Speed]!
In that state, everything—sight, reflexes, flight—was greatly enhanced, and the suffocating atmosphere faded, though he couldn't use air currents to accelerate.
As Dragonite prepared to retreat and consult with Luxray, a shocking scene unfolded.
The black dragon accelerated like a supersonic missile—faster, even—charging at Dragonite with overwhelming force!
The air shattered, resistance meaningless.
Thankfully, Luxray below noticed Dragonite's family falling and sensed danger—he fired a Thunderbolt straight up, and in his Overload state, it was devastating.
Even the mighty black dragon hesitated briefly.
Seizing the chance Luxray gave him, Dragonite beat his wings and dove to the ground at full speed.
Luxray, too, got a clear look at the attacker.
In an instant, Luxray was stunned.
Wasn't that the Rayquaza Lucas had told him about—the peerless, godlike Pokémon that stood at the top of the sky, their ultimate goal to surpass?
…
In the sky.
Having chased off the weaklings, Rayquaza didn't intend to pursue further.
But feeling a tingling on a scale where the lightning struck, it became interested in the one who aided the little dragon.
Twisting agilely in the sky, Rayquaza canceled [Dragon Ascent] and dove toward the ground.
Let's see if this little one can surprise me.
Aside from that green junior sharing the ozone layer on the other side of the planet, it had been a long time since Rayquaza had met anyone interesting.
…
Farm's Ice Cellar.
Lucas admired the 2.5-meter-diameter ice basketball, detailed with carved lines.
Letting the Pokémon play, he took one last look before leaving the cellar.
The moment he stepped outside, Lucas froze.
The sky was cloudless, and warm sunlight made his thick winter coat feel stifling.
If not for the puddles left by the rain, he'd think he was dreaming.
"Wait, wasn't the forecast for rain all week?"
He voiced the same confusion as Raging Bolt.
At that moment, the sound of hooves and splashing water brought two tall shadows, blocking the sun.
Looking up, Lucas saw Spectrier and Calyrex riding Glastrier.
Without delay, Calyrex spoke: "At a certain moment, the clouds in the sky were swept away by a single force."
"This power radiated over the entire Paldea continent and even part of the sea. You know what that means, right?"
Lucas's pupils shrank; a familiar figure flashed through his mind.
Could it be—
Calyrex gazed into the distance, eyes deep and thoughtful. "There's still intense battling far away. One aura is truly regal—no less than mine."
"As for the others…" Calyrex paused a moment, then continued, "They're Luxray, Dragonite, and Dragonite's family!"