Chapter 834: Space Freezing!
"I did not disgrace the mission."
When Lucario walked up with black aura rolling off his body, the hearts Kazuya and the others had hanging in their throats finally settled down.
Even though Lucario was heavily injured.
There was no risk of him being corrupted by shadow energy.
He could withstand this level of corruption even before, not to mention now...
"Congratulations on breaking through to the Master stage."
Kazuya reached out and rubbed Lucario's furry head.
At the same time, Aura coated his palm, helping Lucario suppress the turbulent emotions within.
The familiar technique relaxed the dog considerably, and in a trance, even the physical pain he endured seemed to decrease significantly.
This was to be expected.
Having been a Lucario himself, Kazuya naturally knew the best way to pet one.
"Thanks to Lord Kazuya's guidance."
"Not at all, it was your own hard work."
After praising each other.
The group slowly headed north.
To accommodate Lucario's condition, their pace was relatively slow.
A week later.
The group arrived at the snowy plains outside the Giant Chasm in the Unova region once again.
By this time, Lucario had fully recovered.
Everyone was prepared for a fierce battle.
"The Giant Chasm is actually an abandoned human factory. This kind of place is not suitable for Ice-type Pokémon to battle in, which is somewhat to our advantage. Remember to make good use of the terrain."
Before entering, Kazuya gave an instruction.
Ice-type moves.
Have a major flaw—insufficient destructive power.
There are many factors that affect destructive power, such as the move's range, penetrative ability, and so on...
For example, whether it's Blizzard, Ice Beam, or Icy Wind...
They are all like Oblivion Wing; they only deal damage to the outermost layer.
They don't affect the target as a whole like the Ground-type Earthquake, nor do they have highly efficient conductive properties like the Electric-type Thunderbolt...
This is a major fatal flaw of Ice-type moves.
And it was also a point they could exploit next.
Using the complex terrain inside the factory to evade Kyurem's Ice-type move damage.
The five Pokémon beside him nodded.
Immediately, the group dashed towards the Giant Chasm together.
The dark and massive factory was pitch black; any tiny sound would echo within its walls for a long time.
This human factory had been abandoned for an unknown number of years. Even though the world refreshed daily, it still remained in a dilapidated state.
The group slowed their pace.
Walking quietly through the open area on the first floor of the factory.
At a time like this, their attention was entirely focused on their surroundings, not daring to make even the slightest extraneous noise.
At a certain moment.
Kazuya and Lucario exchanged a glance.
They had both sensed a powerful Aura hiding in the mountain cavern deepest within the factory—violent yet steady, seemingly slumbering.
The two gestured to the others.
Then the six Pokémon tiptoed toward that direction.
When they were about a hundred meters away.
Kazuya and Lucario abruptly stopped.
They sensed a change in Kyurem's emotions, as if It had slightly perceived impending danger.
Kazuya waved his hand.
Six moves poured out simultaneously toward the distant cavern.
Fighting, Steel, Dragon.
Moves of three different types were unleashed in unison.
Boom——!!
A violent explosion violently erupted inside the cavern.
The resulting flames even lit up the entire abandoned factory!
Surging out of the cavern along with the flames was a soul-stirring roar: "Roar——!!"
It was obvious.
The ambushed Kyurem was extremely angry.
Those six moves just now must have dealt considerable damage to It.
Everything was going as expected.
The base form of Kyurem was only about Lv. 93, Its stats far inferior to the Giratina and Zygarde they met six years ago.
Furthermore, Kyurem is an offensive-type god, not very tanky, only barely considered not fragile.
So landing those highly effective attacks could significantly reduce Kyurem's condition, which would be extremely beneficial for their subsequent battle.
Preceding Kyurem was a wave of blinding white freezing air.
The chilling air rushed forward, sweeping across the ground, instantly coating the steel floor in a layer of ice.
"It's here! Hide behind the stone pillars!"
Kazuya extended a leg from his lower body and stomped heavily on the ground.
Rock Tomb.
Sharp, massive boulders erupted from the ground, standing in the path of the advancing freezing air in an attempt to obstruct it.
In the blink of an eye.
Every single boulder turned into an icicle.
The stream of freezing air was split in two by the icicles, sliding past on both sides, avoiding Kazuya and his party.
However, under everyone's horrified gazes.
They realized that this freezing air actually lingered in the surroundings, showing no signs of dissipating whatsoever.
"Why don't I remember Kyurem having this trick up Its sleeve?"
Scizor raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Lucario.
Both of them had participated in frontal battlefield combat and had encountered countless Legendary Pokémon, fighting alongside or against them.
By now, they could be considered quite familiar with the abilities of these Demon Gods.
But he completely couldn't remember Kyurem's Glaciate having this kind of effect.
"The situation has changed, but there's no time to think. We need to leave this spot first."
Lucario narrowed his eyes, signaling everyone to look down at their feet.
The freezing air was eroding the ground, and layers of ice were constantly creeping towards their feet.
Continuing to stand in place.
Leaving aside whether Kyurem would charge over and knock them all flying.
This constantly spreading ice would freeze their feet.
Trying to run then.
Would probably be quite painful.
"Mewtwo."
"Mm."
Kazuya and Mewtwo teamed up, grabbing their companions beside them and using Teleport simultaneously.
The figures of the six Pokémon blurred.
And instantly appeared on the ground nearby.
Meanwhile, Kyurem had already used Endeavor to smash through the icicles.
If they had hesitated for just a second or two, they would probably have been knocked flying into that stream of freezing air by now.
"Look at those air currents, it's as if they're suspended in mid-air!"
Dragonite pointed a finger.
The freezing air Kyurem exhaled just now was still lingering on its original flow trajectory.
What was even more bizarre was.
Those clumps of gas looked as if time had stopped for them. Let alone continuing to flow, they didn't even show the slightest intention of dispersing.
This was simply unbelievable.
Outside the factory, heavy snow filled the sky, and freezing winds howled.
Gusts of gale-force winds that made one shiver continuously poured into the factory. How could they not blow away a bit of freezing air?
This was clearly abnormal.
"That guy..."
Kazuya frowned, turned to look at the companions beside him, and asked, "Have you found the location of the Icicle Plate?"
Glaciate.
Excluding Crush Grip, whose power fluctuates.
This is the weakest among all Legendary Pokémon signature moves, bar none.
Because Kyurem uses its power to stabilize its own cells, the spare power allocated to its signature move is limited, making this move not very strong.
At the very least, it definitely didn't have this current effect of continuously lingering in space.
Leaving lethality aside for now.
This effect was disgusting enough.
It would drastically reduce their space for movement, making every step difficult.
The five Pokémon looked at each other in dismay.
And all shook their heads.
Generally speaking.
Once something like a Plate appears near a Demon God that has lost its reasoning, it will highly likely be kept on its person out of instinct.
However.
They hadn't seen the presence of the Icicle Plate on Kyurem.
"Could it be that this guy fused the Icicle Plate into Glaciate?"
Kazuya swallowed hard, his eyes narrowing.
If everything was as he guessed.
Then things would become complicated.
Not just this battle becoming complicated, but it also almost revealed another tactic of Shadow.
[Fusing the Plates into the bodies of the Demon Gods].
This move was too ruthless.
On the one hand.
It could significantly enhance a Demon God's strength, causing a qualitative change in their signature moves.
Just like the Kyurem right now.
The nature of the move Glaciate had clearly changed, and Kyurem no longer needed to reserve a layer of power to stabilize Its cells, allowing It to strike with full force.
This increase in combat power was far more than just ten or twenty percent.
On the other hand.
This method would also make it even more difficult for Kazuya and his party to find traces of the Plates.
Just like Regice hiding the Flame Plate inside Its own body, making it difficult for Shadow to find its trace.
Sometimes when they encountered a Demon God.
They wouldn't know if a Plate was hidden inside Its body.
If they didn't want to miss a Plate by avoiding battle.
They would have to engage It in combat.
Shifting from proactive to passive.
Passively launching attacks on these Demon Gods.
Lastly.
If two of the world-saving Plates.
Were placed inside extremely hard-to-kill Demon Gods like Arceus, Zygarde, or the Gods of Space and Time.
Then the conventional method of saving the world would essentially have no chance of success.
It could be called killing three birds with one stone.
"Master? Should we engage?"
Scizor stepped forward and asked, looking somewhat eager to try.
He wasn't intimidated by Kyurem's changes.
On the contrary, he seemed somewhat impatient.
Impatient to kill Kyurem, get a Plate for Master, and receive praise.
"No! You guys retreat to the factory entrance! I'll test this guy out. If everything is truly as I guess, then we run immediately!"
Kazuya shook his head with a serious expression, signaling them to retreat to a distance.
Against the previous Kyurem.
The probability of them winning was very low.
They came with the intention of stalling Kyurem, snatching the Icicle Plate, and running away.
If Kyurem had fused with the Icicle Plate.
Then the possibility of obtaining the Icicle Plate today would drop to absolute zero.
After all, without killing Kyurem, the Icicle Plate couldn't be extracted.
The five Pokémon didn't hesitate at all.
Decisively following orders, they moved towards the factory gates.
Kyurem looked at them, but ultimately shifted Its gaze to Kazuya first.
Pick the softest persimmon to squeeze first.
A principle even wild beasts understand.
Demon Gods naturally follow this instinct as well.
Glaciate!
Seeing the freezing air rushing towards him.
Kazuya raised his hand, tossed a white pill into his mouth, and achieved Mega Evolution.
Immediately, he pulled both hands back, then violently slammed them forward.
Aeroblast!
Both were signature moves, perfect for testing!
Whoosh—!
The airflow howled.
The moment it came into contact with the freezing air.
The vortex, surging and sharp as a storm, abruptly stopped in mid-air, having no effect on that cluster of freezing air.
Kazuya's pupils shrank.
He immediately intended to use Teleport to escape.
But the freezing air had already reached him.
His body stiffened.
And he was completely unable to move!
At this moment, Kazuya also understood that Kyurem must have definitely fused the Icicle Plate into Glaciate.
And because of this, Glaciate gained an overpowered ability.
Space Freezing.
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