Chapter 0738: Time Limit: Ten Minutes(Two-in-One)
Added 2025-08-06 05:00:05 +0000 UTCThe contestants glanced at the Togepi stepping forward, their expressions a bit strange.
Sending out an unevolved Togepi for a Victory Road trial looked a bit arrogant.
But… this was Natsume-sensei’s Togepi!
Who knew what sort of illegal move Natsume had taught to Togepi this time?
The other contestants watched as Natsume disappeared with his Togepi into the mist at the base of the mountain, nervously swallowing.
“I wonder how long it’ll take Natsume-sensei to reach the summit.”
“Honestly, I don’t think he’ll ever need the emergency beacon!”
“If anyone needs the emergency beacon, it’s probably the wild Pokémon in the forest…”
Trees soared into the clouds, dappled sunlight piercing the mist, while a Dragon-type’s low roar echoed from somewhere up ahead.
A steep stone path wound upward.
Natsume carried Togepi, climbing step by step, pausing now and then to appreciate the landscape.
“Not bad at all… the view in these mountains is really something.”
As he entered the woodland—
Behind the surveillance monitors, President Masaru gave a quiet “hm?”
Natsume’s tracking dot flickered on the screen, and wild Dragon-types scrambled away in all directions at his approach.
“What’s this… are they sensing some terrifying presence?” President Masaru wondered.
But the mountain was full of battle-hardened Dragon-type Pokémon—normally, even confronted by a Fairy type, they would attack fiercely.
Why would they be migrating, abandoning their nests like this?
President Masaru shook his head.
He could only put the strange feeling down to “Togepi must be blessed by the heavens.”
Unnoticed, Natsume had reached the mountainside without encountering a single battle.
While some contestants began to feel a little envious, suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from just up ahead!
“ROAR!!!”
“SKREEEE!!”
A violent clash of attacks exploded—the sound of moves detonating—and the route ahead, unfortunately, was unavoidable!
“Togepi doo-ee~” Togepi dashed fearlessly onward into the mist.
“Wait up, Togepi.” Natsume quickly followed.
Above the cliffs, two fierce pseudo-legendary Dragon types were waging a turf war!
Garchomp whirled past, leaving a vapor trail, spewing out a ball of energy that split into four or five red beams, homing in like missiles!
Draco Meteor!!
Facing it, Hydreigon was savage as ever, all three heads opening wide, unleashing a barrage of ice, fire, and lightning at once!
BOOM!!
A pillar of black smoke rose from the blast’s center; viewers watching held their breath.
“Natsume-sensei ran into this?”
“Directly between two battling pseudo-legendaries—what luck!”
Outside the warning line, a staff member ran over, saying,
“Zone B15—those are both leaders from their nests! Their migration caused a territory clash… should we suspend the trial?”
The guide glanced down at the tablet: not a single distress signal from the tracking dot.
“Trial continues… Prep the medical team!”
“Yes, sir!”
The camera drone with Natsume rose high to capture the pseudo-legendaries rampaging below.
Meanwhile, behind them, Natsume hugged the cliff edge, trying to skirt the battlefield on the narrow mountain path. He looked down—clouds swirling beneath—and wiped a cold sweat from his brow.
Damn… if I wasn’t banned from using legendaries, I’d just let Latias fly me right to the summit!
Just then—
Garchomp and Hydreigon suddenly paused mid-battle, both twisting around to stare at Natsume on the trail.
Instantly, both pseudo-legendaries’ eyes filled with wariness.
A horrifying aura clung to him, but they couldn’t tell what it was…
They exchanged looks and, without a word, made a silent truce.
Better to deal with the invader first!
Hydreigon levitated above, all three ferocious heads roaring down at Natsume!
“Oh no, now Natsume-sensei is caught in the middle.”
“Is he really not going to rotate Pokémon? Is he actually standing by Togepi in a real battle?”
Hydreigon’s mouths gathered ice, thunder, and fire; the three energies merged into a raging beam hurtling down at Natsume!
Natsume’s expression was calm—he’d seen Black Kyurem’s ultimate moves before; pseudo-legendaries were nothing.
“Toge-eee!” Togepi stood beside him on the narrow path, gazing up at the sky, full of determination.
“Togepi, use Psychic to block the triple assault.” Natsume commanded.
Togepi’s eyes glowed blue, right hand raised, blue Confusion energy forming a shield that intercepted the raging beam!
BANG!!
The triple attack hammered Togepi’s psychic shield.
“Now! Dazzling Gleam!”
“Togepi doo-ee~ (っ´▽`)っ”
Togepi thrust out its left hand—a beam of dazzling light shot from its fingertip, smashing through the enemy’s attack and streaking at Hydreigon!
Hydreigon’s eyes went wide, question marks filling its mind.
What the…?
A Togepi with this kind of strength!?
BOOM!!
Hydreigon was engulfed in Dazzling Gleam, with Garchomp also caught in the blast; both pseudo-legendaries staggered out, scorched and dazed.
“One shot of Dazzling Gleam stunned both pseudo-legendaries?!”
“Wild Pokémon without a trainer’s command… The difference is obvious.”
“SKREEE!!”
Garchomp flared with purple dragon aura—Dragon Rush cut out a straight path, slashing down like a sword from the sky!
Natsume lifted the fingerless gloves with their embedded Rainbow Meteorite fragment, remotely activating:
“Togepi, use Metronome!”
Stardust from the meteorite sank into Togepi, as if it were an Eevee touched by an evolutionary stone.
“Togepi doo-ee! (╬◣д◢)”
Togepi’s gaze sharpened. It hopped up, little eggshell flashing gold, shooting in a golden arc—like a meteor—slamming Garchomp head-on!
Dragon Ascent!!
BOOM!!
Togepi was blasted backward off the cliff, but Natsume caught it.
Garchomp dropped like a crashed jet into the lake below—splash!
Hydreigon gaped in shock at the scene.
What kind of move was that?!
I completely lost the will to resist!
Dragons throughout the forest shuddered, wary of the divine dragon aura—an instinctive, natural suppression!
Natsume’s team watching the stream.
Gold punched the air, “Way to go, Togepi!”
“Tokebo! ˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥” Togebo wiped tears with her wings.
No surprise, that’s my little sis!
Defeating a pseudo-legendary with an attack move—
That was one of Tokebo’s heroic feats back as a Togepi!
The livestream viewers were lost for words.
“What illegal move was THAT?”
“Looked like it hit Meteor Assault or something…”
“It shattered Dragon Rush like nothing!”
A glance at the Togepi in Natsume’s arms—so “harmless” looking.
Hydreigon, all three heads sweating bullets, spun and fled!
Outside the warning line, the guide said seriously to a staff member:
“Prep rescue for Garchomp and Hydreigon… Also, call in a trauma specialist; I’m worried those two will be left with psychological scars!”
After that, the path leveled out, the view opened wide.
Threatened by the earlier Dragon Ascent, wild Dragons now hid deep inside the woods, none daring to show themselves.
Natsume smoothly reached a mountain pavilion near the summit.
Only a step remained before he could challenge the Overlord Dragonite!
The chat was flooding with messages.
“He did all that in half an hour!”
“If he can last ten minutes against Dragonite, another record will fall!”
In the Elite Four meeting room, Shiori watched the footage, brow furrowed.
As the Dragon type Elite Four, she knew better than anyone the power of the Overlord Dragonite.
A Champion-tier Overlord Dragonite—its powerhouse aura and massive frame meant it could even match a legendary Pokémon!
She glanced at the black-haired youth onscreen and said,
“I remember… He’s got a Sylveon.”
“Sylveon? Then there’s a very good chance he’ll last ten minutes,” Ryo said coolly.
Natsume neared the peak, murmuring,
“Lasting ten minutes before Overlord Dragonite… that’s actually really tough.”
Honestly.
I’m more worried Sylveon might crush Overlord Dragonite before the time’s up!
Thick mist blanketed the mountain top; though it was already afternoon, everything was drowned in gray.
Suddenly, livestream viewers perked up.
“It’s here!”
“Victory Road’s Overlord Dragonite!”
A vicious gale swept in. From out of the mist emerged a towering, nearly six-meter Dragonite, beating tiny wings.
“Dragonite?” The Overlord Dragonite landed with a boom, tilting its head, studying Natsume curiously.
Hey, are you the challenger?
Natsume nodded, spreading his hand to reveal a fresh Pokéblock, “Hello, nice to meet you.”
Dragonite beamed, snatched up the Pokéblock, tossed it into its mouth—“Mmm!”—and chewed with delight.
“Dragonite~!!” Dragonite’s face filled with joy.
The chat lit up in a frenzy.
“Bribing the examiner right to his face? Trust Natsume-sensei!”
“So, is this part of your strategy too?”
“I bet you slipped in some laxative… Natsume-sensei, such a rascal!”
The Overlord Dragonite, quite taken with this challenger, cheerfully fluttered off, putting distance between them.
“ Dragonite!” Dragonite declared.
All right, challenger! Ready for your trial!
Natsume nodded and tossed a Poké Ball. “I’m counting on you, Sylveon!”
“Sylveon! (▼ヘ▼#)” Sylveon landed gracefully, eyes sharp and bright.
Seeing Sylveon appear,
All at once, the Overlord Dragonite’s smile dropped; it grew deadly serious.
This wasn’t about going easy…
If it didn’t give its all, even it might lose this fight!
Battle commenced.
“Dragonite!!”
Dragonite’s body surged with dark red boss aura, gentle eyes turned sharp. With a flap, it soared up into the sky.
Natsume tested the waters: “Sylveon, Hyper Voice!”
“Sylveon!!”
Boosted by Pixilate, a high-frequency sound wave erupted.
Dragonite climbed higher, putting distance between them; the attack barely grazed it.
At that moment, a few raindrops fell from the sky, dark clouds rolled in, and torrential rain began to pour!
This Dragonite could summon weather itself?!
Natsume thought about taking off his shirt as cover, but realized he wasn’t getting wet at all. Turning, he saw Gengar holding up a big umbrella, grinning, “Gengar!”
Natsume smiled back, focusing on the battle: “Light Screen!”
Up above, Dragonite hovered in the rain, roaring loud. Massive wings whipped up a fierce cyclone—rain and wind twisted into a tornado that blasted toward Sylveon!
BOOM!!
The whirlwind crashed against Sylveon’s Light Screen.
At this range, Hyper Voice was ineffective, so Natsume called, “Moonblast!!”
Sylveon’s bow glowed with radiant energy and shot up into the sky.
Overlord Dragonite looked up as a beam of crystal light pierced the rain clouds.
BOOM!!
Moonblast struck home!
Light flashed down on the rain-soaked summit.
Overlord Dragonite, backlit against storm clouds, wreathed in smoke, but grinned broadly.
With Multiscale’s ability and its enormous HP bar, it quickly recovered and pressed the attack!
Rain pelted as thunder shattered the clouds above the summit.
BOOM!
Overlord Dragonite roared to the sky, and huge bolts of lightning hammered down!
Fans watching the live feed could only gulp.
“This Dragonite… first it sets Rain, now it’s using Hurricane and Thunder?!”
“Now that’s a real pseudo-legendary—a giant who commands storm and thunder!”
BOOM!!
Lightning shattered the Light Screen, zapping Sylveon’s snowy fur and leaving faint scorch marks.
Sylveon’s proud special defense shone through!
“A special-attacker Dragonite? It can't break through Light Screened Sylveon!”
“Just another five minutes to clear!”
Suddenly, the wind and rain changed.
Dragonite soared through thunderous clouds overhead, moving with uncanny grace, almost dancing with the lightning.
Its aura kept rising, speed increasing, that boss-red energy swirling more and more wildly—
Dragon Dance!!
Natsume gazed skyward.
Dragonite’s Dragon Dance hadn’t stopped—a protracted ritual, massing speed and power for an ultimate Extreme Speed assault!
‘Sylveon,’ Natsume minded, ‘Geomancy!’
“Sylveon!!”
Mist-like light swirled to Sylveon, her fur glowing brighter and brighter.
Sylveon squared all four feet, pridefully lifting her head, looking down her nose at Dragonite!
“Both sides are powering up?”
“What kind of move is that?!”
“I dunno—anything Natsume-sensei uses is illegal anyway!”
“Rraaaargh!!”
Overlord Dragonite dropped from the sky, Extreme Speed detonating with a sonic boom. Stacked with Dragon Dance, its speed and power peaked in an instant, promising terrifying destruction!
“Sylveon.”
Natsume commanded, “Hyper Beam!!”
“Sylveon!!”
Sylveon’s mouth shone, unleashing Hyper Beam. The solar-cannon shot engulfed the diving Overlord Dragonite!
The beam punched through the clouds to the sky, rippling shockwaves in all directions!
Silence. The rain ceased. Sunlight broke through.
Shiori and Kurosawa were both dumbstruck.
Ryo’s cool mask finally broke; he couldn’t hold back any longer.
On screen—
The six-meter Overlord Dragonite lay on its side, spiral-eyed.
Sylveon stood proud on the now-sunny peak!
“H-he actually beat the Overlord Dragonite?” Shiori stuttered.
“I think… he misunderstood the Evaluation requirements,” Kurosawa said, dazed.
You were supposed to survive ten minutes before Overlord Dragonite—
Nobody said to defeat the Overlord Dragonite within ten minutes!!
Natsume stared at the knocked-out Dragonite, face oddly blank.
Both sides were Champion-strength, but Sylveon, with Pixie Plate, was just too terrifying…
Not to mention “Geomancy,” another illegal move.
Which raises a new problem:
“I knocked out Victory Road’s gatekeeper… What are the rest of the contestants supposed to do now…” Natsume mused.
Meanwhile, the livestream exploded.
“Corporate-level understanding!”
“If I just KO the boss, I can survive ten minutes no problem!”
“Next round, Shiori of the Elite Four… I feel like crying already!”
