Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [620]

Bang!

A shard of ice slammed directly into Lucario’s back, sending it staggering forward.

But that was just the start. Immediately, more shards rained down like a fierce hailstorm, bombarding Lucario relentlessly. Even its Steel-type defenses couldn't stop the pained expression spreading across its face.

Witnessing this, Cynthia hesitated only briefly before quickly making a decisive call: “Lucario, [Protect]!”

She knew full well that using Protect so early against an opponent of Pryce’s caliber would disadvantage her later. Yet, allowing Lucario to take the full brunt of Swinub’s Ice Shard barrage would only make matters worse.

A barrier of protective energy quickly enveloped Lucario, shielding it from the incoming ice and giving it precious moments to recover.

Lucario carefully watched Swinub through the translucent shield.

The continuous barrage of ice shards battered the protective shield in rapid succession, each impact echoing loudly, scattering ice fragments everywhere.

Yet Lucario remained utterly still, its sharp gaze never once leaving Swinub’s figure.

Finally, as the last shard collided harmlessly against the shield and shattered into powder, Lucario’s eyes flashed sharply.

An opening—the brief pause between Swinub’s attacks.

In an instant, the protective barrier melted away like ice under the sun, and Lucario swiftly gathered an intense sphere of blue energy between its palms.

[Aura Sphere]!

Whoosh—!

A sharp whistle pierced the air, and before the audience even registered what happened, the Aura Sphere had already struck Swinub dead-center.

Boom!

An explosion engulfed Swinub entirely.

“Direct hit! Lucario’s Aura Sphere has landed squarely on Swinub!” Ball Guy shouted excitedly.

Given its Fighting-type effectiveness against Swinub, coupled with the earlier Metal Sound weakening Swinub’s special defenses, the damage from this hit would undoubtedly be severe. Could Pryce’s Swinub even withstand that?

Soon, as the smoke cleared, the center of the blast revealed—

“Gone!?” Ball Guy voiced the confusion of every spectator in the stands.

Where had Swinub disappeared to?

Before the question had fully settled, Lucario immediately felt an odd vibration beneath its feet.

Instantly alert, Lucario didn’t hesitate, leaping swiftly into the air.

The next moment, several sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground, piercing precisely through Lucario’s previous position.

“Underground…?” Cynthia’s realization did nothing to ease Lucario’s predicament.

Stone pillars kept bursting forth from the earth in rapid succession, forcing Lucario into frantic evasion.

Cynthia initially watched Swinub’s fierce counterattack with anxiety.

She hadn't anticipated that Swinub could still evade even under those conditions.

But quickly, Cynthia sensed something off.

From the start, Swinub had taken a direct Extreme Speed attack. Afterward, Metal Sound had lowered its special defense, and the Aura Sphere just now—Cynthia was certain—had unquestionably struck its target.

Could Pryce’s Swinub really still have that much stamina remaining?

And if it did, why hadn’t Swinub emerged yet?

All these doubts began swirling in Cynthia’s mind.

As she raised her eyes toward Lucario, now continuously dodging, Cynthia considered carefully: If August were in my position, what would he do…?

In that instant, a daring idea emerged clearly in her thoughts.

Her previously hesitant expression instantly hardened into firm resolve. Raising her voice decisively, Cynthia commanded, “Lucario, use [Earthquake]!”

Issuing this attack order at such a precarious moment would certainly force Lucario to take Swinub’s incoming Earth Power head-on.

But through their shared aura, Lucario immediately felt Cynthia’s unwavering determination.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lucario halted mid-step, punched through one incoming stone pillar, disregarded another rapidly approaching from the side, and resolutely unleashed Earthquake.

Rumble—!

Almost simultaneously with the stone pillar striking Lucario, the powerful tremor spread violently across the battlefield.

Stone pillars shattered into rubble, and tremors reverberated downward through the ground. A faint, muffled “Hum-ji!” echoed from below, followed swiftly by absolute silence.

The referee waited carefully, but as silence persisted, he began the countdown.

When the countdown finished without any sign of Swinub reappearing, he decisively announced:

“Swinub is unable to battle! Lucario wins!”

“Field maintenance team, onto the field!”

Quickly, stadium workers entered with Excadrill to dig underground. Soon after, they recovered the unconscious Swinub—its eyes spiraled comically in defeat.

Lucario stood firmly at the end, body bruised and battered, yet victorious.

“I can’t believe she actually won…” Gary stared at the scene dumbly, feeling reality slipping away once more.

On the contrary, Pryce himself calmly recalled Swinub, wearing a tranquil smile.

“Ah, so she saw through it…”

“Just barely,” Cynthia admitted humbly, though inwardly she felt genuine relief.

Had she not decisively ordered Earthquake, allowing Swinub’s underground assault to continue, it might well have been Lucario who collapsed first.

“Pryce-san, please send out your second Pokémon,” the referee interrupted their brief exchange politely.

Unperturbed, Pryce merely raised his hand, and immediately, a Delibird clutching its signature sack bounded into the battlefield.

With vibrant red feathers, wide sparkling eyes, and its gift-like sack, Delibird resembled nothing less than Santa Claus himself.

As it hopped eagerly onto the field, Delibird even waved cheerfully at Lucario in greeting.

Lucario, wary, instantly replied by launching another Aura Sphere at Delibird.

Delibird squeaked in fright, hopping frantically aside as the Aura Sphere exploded behind it. Comically patting its chest in relief, it glanced back at the explosion with exaggerated fright.

But Lucario didn’t care about theatrics—it accelerated rapidly once more, lunging forward with blistering speed!

[Extreme Speed]!

Clearly, Lucario intended a repeat performance.

But would Delibird really be defenseless against this approach?

Thud!

A dull impact echoed loudly as Lucario collided heavily with Delibird. However, contrary to expectations, Delibird wasn't blasted away. Instead, two ice spikes had formed unnoticed in Delibird’s grip, crossed in front to block Lucario’s lightning-fast strike.

Crack!

The ice spikes shattered instantly from the impact but had already bought Delibird precious seconds.

Taking advantage of this brief window, Delibird quickly exhaled an intense stream of frigid air, rapidly plunging temperatures around it to freezing lows.

The battlefield, previously muddy from melted ice and water, hardened immediately into a surface as solid as tempered steel.

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T/N: ohh... last updated was 2024-07-14... i think it was dropped :sob:

This is a fan translation of 我，宝可梦称号大师！ by 落唯 白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!