-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

Patience and Pent Up Power

The snow fox leapt to the side, evading the weakened attack. There was a tense moment of silence as I realised how daunting this Articuno was as an opponent. It's unnatural aura undoubtedly fuelled its already impressive strength but there was something more to this fight.

I looked over to Ninetails, seeing a calm expression on her face. She nodded toward me, saying that she was ready for anything.

"Alright, we'll start again. Ninetails, use thunder on the battlefield!"

Within a second, I felt the threads of the fox's aura as I tugged at them gently, triggering a change in her appearance. Her snowy blue gown was replaced by a sparking yellow coat of fur as Ninetails leapt into the air, filling the throne room with a thunder shower.

Articuno weaved through the bolts of lightning with great agility, only being scraped by the occasional stray spark. The cruel pokemon wasn't going to stay on the defensive for long, rising above the thunder shower as it fired a storm of shadowy energy toward Ninetails.

"Use moonblast as a counter shield!"

Ninetails dropped to the floor on all fours, coating herself in a mystical light as the fairy attack warded off the wave of shadow ball attacks. As the smoke cleared, the electric fox surged forward, firing a bolt of lightning from close range.

There was no time to evade as Articuno was hit head on with the powerful thunder attack. The cruel pokemon let out a piercing shriek as it shook off the attack, returning fire with a close range freezing glare.

I didn't have any time to call a counter, Ninetails thrust into one of the black stone pillars supporting the throne room. Slowly, she stood back to her feet, letting out a defiant roar, showing that she was far from done here.

"Alright, now use fire blast on the floor!"

In a flash, the electric fox sprang into the air, her sparking yellow coat shifting to a sunny orange colour as she launched a wave of scorching flames. Articuno took to the air as the field was wrapped in a burning fire.

Ninetails landed gracefully, firing a barrage of moonblast attacks toward the opponent. The cruel pokemon weaved through the air, but the intense heat was slowly getting to it. After evading attack after attack, a blast of mystical energy connected head on with the psychic bird.

With no safe space to land, Articuno crashed into the flaming floor. Its body was wrapped in flames, as a piercing shriek filled the air.

"Enough of this. Articuno, blizzard to clear the fire."

There wasn't any hesitation from the cruel pokemon as it took to the skies, unleashing an icy cold gale through the throne room. The intense cold easily put out the flames, Ninetails turning away as she weathered the snowstorm.

I could tell that her stamina was reaching its limits. The quick shifts in type and the insane tempo of the battle weren't a good combination for the fox pokemon but she had outdone herself by pushing her opponent this far. Now I owed it to her to see this battle through.

"They're weak. Articuno, finish this with braze bird."

"This is it Ninetails. Finish them off with blizzard!"

The cruel pokemon reared back, cloaking itself in a bright orange light. Less than a second passed before Articuno was within breathing distance of Ninetails.

Luckily, the fox pokemon had reverted to her original form, letting a freezing gale sweep through the throne room. There was a clash of attacks as both pokemon went all out to finish the battle.

As the smoke cleared, Ninetails had collapsed to the floor, unable to continue the fight. Articuno stood tall, feeling the aftereffects of its finishing move as the cruel pokemon dropped to the floor. Both pokemon had knocked each other out, resulting in a tie.

 "This is only the start, Aaron. Cyrus already tested your strength so you better not quit on me just yet."

At that, the King recalled the fallen Articuno, a dark purple light revealing another legendary bird. Dark orange fur and short wings with long, muscular legs told me that this was a variant of Zapdos, the thunder pokemon.

I thanked Ninetails for her hard work, seeing that the path to our victory had been paved with her efforts. I reached for my next pokeball but was surprised to see one twitching excitedly. A small smile made its way across my face as I felt Sceptile's excitement. It had been a while since he had gone all out and now he was asking for his time on the field.

The forest pokemon emerged from his pokeball, turning to me with a nod as he locked eyes with his opponent. I had to do a doubletake, seeing that Zapdos was intimidated by the presence of another quick and agile pokemon. Sceptile was sure to give us the lead in this battle here.

"Start strong with leaf blade!"

There was a flash of green light as Sceptile surged across the throne room. Zapdos was taken by surprise at the sheer speed of his opponent, unable to react in time as the forest pokemon swung both arms into it.

Zapdos was thrust backward, flying past the King who watched on silently. Even though he didn't say a word, I could tell he wasn't expecting to see such a strong pokemon this early in the fight.

This gave me the confidence I needed to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, I didn't expect this to be easy but with my pokemon at my side, I felt like I couldn't lose, even to the King.

"Don't let up, use dragon pulse Sceptile!"

Without hesitating, the forest pokemon leapt into the air, firing a blast of draconic energy at his opponent. Zapdos gathered itself just in time, dodging the attack but not escaping unscathed. The strong legs pokemon turned to its trainer, ready to make the next move but Sceptile and I wouldn't let them have their way just yet.

"Dragon pulse again!"

"Get in close with drill peck."

Zapdos spiralled its body, barreling through the air as it collided with the blast of draconic energy. Both pokemon were locked into a stalemate for a moment but Sceptile intentionally let up his attack, Zapdos flying toward him at great speed.

Then in a flash, a blur of green leapt into the air, slipping past the attack with ease. Sceptile twisted his body in mid air, bringing two glowing leaf blades down over Zapdos' head. The strong legs pokemon faltered for a moment, stunned by the quick attack.

"This isn't over yet, Sceptile use spiral dragon pulse!"

As Zapdos took a back step, the forest pokemon was showing no signs of slowing down. This time adding some flair to the move, Sceptile spiralled his body, firing a barrage of draconic energy straight at his opponent.

"Wild charge to counter."

The strong legs pokemon engulfed itself in an electrifying light, crashing into the draconic assault. A cloud of smoke rolled through the throne room, neither pokemon holding anything back as the battle reached fever pitch.