Pokémon: Above the Top

"It's really her!?" Mark exclaimed, eyes full of disbelief.

"Let's go. The truth is about to be revealed," Sato said without hesitation, walking straight out of the room. Joseph and Mark exchanged a glance and quickly followed.

"Geng~"

Gengar turned into a cloud of purple shadow, gliding swiftly over the ground to lead the way.

"Just in case, we should each send out a couple of Pokémon," Joseph said cautiously, releasing Gogoat and Gallade.

"Weavile."

"Arbok!"

There was no need for pretense among the three of them, so each sent out one Pokémon without hesitation.

"Geng Geng!"

"We're almost there, everyone, stay sharp."

After another ten minutes or so, Gengar sent a warning to Sato, indicating that they were very close to the target.

"…Joseph, was this the spot where you were attacked yesterday?" Mark asked in a low voice, carefully scanning their surroundings.

"It happened on the way back. It was getting dark, and I ran for most of the trip, so I'm not too sure," Joseph replied, shaking his head.

"Shhh…"

Sato suddenly raised his hand to silence them and tilted his head, motioning for them to look ahead and to the right.

Peering through the gaps in the bushes, they spotted Komachi, her figure slightly plump.

But before they could get any closer, Komachi suddenly let out a startled cry, and the group caught a glimpse of a black shadow flashing past in front of her.

"Gallade, Protect!"

"Gallade!"

Duang~

One moment the sky was clear, the next it darkened.

Looking up, the trio saw Gallade leap above their heads, raising a Protect shield just in time to block an attack from a pair of massive pincers.

"That's… one huge Gliscor!" Mark muttered, eyes wide. By the time he processed what was happening, Sato had already sent Weavile charging forward.

"Blizzard."

Even without the boost from Hail, Weavile's Blizzard was still extremely dangerous to Gliscor.

"Gliii!"

Gliscor glided in midair, easily dodging the area of effect, but it clearly didn't dare to launch a reckless attack again.

"Stop! Stop!"

At that moment, Komachi rushed over, followed by a Cherrim that looked quite old.

"Teacher Komachi, who would've thought you were an Elite all along~ That Floatzel… it was your Pokémon too, wasn't it?" Mark couldn't help but say, his tone tinged with sarcasm. After all, both he and Joseph had been attacked and nearly didn't make it back.

"You ran into that one too!?" Komachi blinked, clearly surprised.

Just then, Gliscor swooped down again, its massive pincers glowing with metallic light, crossing in front of its chest as it dove straight toward Weavile.

"Weavile, close the distance with Sucker Punch. Then hit it with Ice Punch!" Sato ordered loudly, momentarily too focused to deal with Komachi.

If Weavile could break through by defeating Gliscor, then everything else could wait.

…After all, finding a Pseudo-Elite Four Pokémon with a 4x weakness to Weavile wasn't easy.

Meanwhile, Joseph slowly approached Komachi with Gogoat and Gallade. With only a single Cherrim by her side, she now seemed incredibly fragile.

"From what you just said, both Gliscor and Floatzel are your Pokémon? Then you must know the real reason why Boshire Town has no other Trainers, don't you?"

"I… I t-think…" Komachi glanced toward the battle between Sato and Gliscor, stammering without giving a clear answer.

"I don't care what you think! What matters is what we think! Last night, Gliscor attacked Joseph without provocation, so no matter what, our boss has to teach it a lesson first. And while we're at it, Teacher Komachi, you'd better give us a proper explanation.

Otherwise, commanding a Pokémon to attack humans… don't you know how serious that is? You were a Trainer once. You should know!"

Mark stepped forward with Arbok, the nearly four-meter-long purple serpent coiling tightly around Komachi and immediately applying heavy pressure.

Every time Arbok flicked its tongue, it sent chills down her spine.

"And this Gliscor… it doesn't look like it's fully obeying your commands, either," Joseph added.

That final sentence shattered Komachi's last defenses.

"I…" Komachi let out a sigh, pulling the trembling Cherrim into her arms as she slowly began to speak.

Meanwhile, the battle between Weavile and Gliscor was growing more and more intense.

Sato could now confirm with absolute certainty that the enormous Gliscor -over three meters tall- was a Totem Pokémon.

Fortunately, its strength wasn't as overwhelming as he had imagined. It had only barely reached Pseudo-Elite Four thanks to the "Totem" stat boosts.

But even so, for Weavile, who was still stuck at Peak Elite, this was a battle where one misstep could mean defeat.

Although Gliscor had a 4x weakness to Ice-type moves, its greatest strength was its physical defense, and with Poison Heal + Toxic Orb, it had incredible sustain.

As long as it wasn't one-shot, Gliscor always had a chance to recover.

…After all, it could fly, and Weavile was often limited to countering from the ground.

Just earlier, Weavile had taken advantage of Sucker Punch's priority to climb onto Gliscor's back. But when it landed an Ice Punch that wasn't even at full power, Gliscor had thrown it off forcefully.

Getting in close… was just too hard!

"SCOOOOOR!"

Gliscor let out another roar, splitting into more than ten Double Team clones. All of them raised their massive pincers and swarmed toward Weavile.

Clearly, Gliscor was on high alert, doing everything it could to prevent Weavile from getting close.

Its main weapons were its pincers and tail, so it was trying to use the clones to stall and disorient Weavile.

But hoping to land a hit and pull away? Not happening!

Weavile stood motionless. Its blood-red eyes had closed at some point, but its drooping red ears twitched non-stop.

In that moment, the sound of slicing wind became its perfect guide.

"Weav!" 'There!'

A roaring Blizzard burst forth. Gliscor's clones were obliterated instantly, and at the very center of the icy storm, the massive Gliscor curled up, visibly shivering.

"Keep up the pressure. Consecutive Ice Punches!" Sato ordered without hesitation.

With a sharp leap, Weavile charged into the Blizzard it had just created. Its clawed fists glowed with chilling energy, slamming punch after punch into Gliscor's body.

"GLIIIIII!"

Gliscor let out a scream and flailed its tail -the only part still moving freely- wildly in retaliation against Weavile.

"Weav!"

Weavile had attacked too aggressively and was caught off guard. It got struck by Gliscor's tail and was forced to retreat.

Coincidentally, the Blizzard also began to fade. Gliscor kicked off the ground and flew back into the air.

But before it could celebrate, a second Blizzard chased it down.

The low temperature dulled Gliscor's reactions and speed, and it could only watch as the Blizzard struck it once again.