It was the third day of the bullfighting tournament—and the joyful closing festival.

Amid the lively noise, the cries of vendors selling olives and sweets, and the booming pop-pop-pop of fireworks, Hikaru said goodbye to Dendra and Tulip, and left the arena.

“What a pleasant event.”

After enjoying the tournament’s fun, and unexpectedly obtaining a legendary item from far away, the rookie warrior completed his fated evolution.

Of course, although Hikaru no longer had any use for the Auspicious Armor, he still took it with him. It was a rare and valuable item, and as an antique it was worth quite a lot.

Maybe someday, it would be gifted to another Charcadet.

Speaking of which, Charcadet was such an iconic Pokémon—its two evolutions took up a huge portion of Scarlet/Violet’s promotional trailers.

And yet, in the games, the only trainer who actually used Armarouge was Mela.

As for Ceruledge, it was basically nowhere to be found—only getting a bit of spotlight in the newer anime.

“It’s a Pokémon created from Spanish legendary warriors… and yet Paldeans don’t even use it. It’s even turned into a ‘legend’ in that short film, The Bonds That Never Change, with both Armarouge and Ceruledge.”

“How is that reasonable?”

Hikaru couldn’t help complaining.

Victini was sprawled on his shoulder, sleeping like a rock. After going invisible and running around for three whole days, it had eaten its way through the stalls—then left a bit of money behind afterward, leaving the vendors utterly baffled.

Having free, easy invisibility really was convenient.

Behind Hikaru, the oversized crimson grand knight was using its Psychic power, combined with Sacred Fire, to forge something in its hands.

Yes—after gaining Psychic power, it could actually “hand-forge” things.

This was true, pure, artisanal forging: Psychic power as the hammer, Sacred Fire as the energy source.

And what it was twisting and smelting… was simply a huge gold pearl.

“Don’t tell me you really want to forge some kind of golden shield or something?”

“Guren!” Armarouge smelted the gold in its hands into a square, solid block radiating intense heat. Hearing Hikaru’s teasing, it immediately got excited.

Mm. A golden shield—like the older Sword-and-Shield senior, Aegislash!

If it could make something like that, it would be pretty great. A real warrior should raise a shield and hold the front line!

Hikaru said, “You started as a special attacker… no, you’re a mixed attacker now, but that urge to fight up close never changed. You really are staying true to your original intent.”

“Actually, I do know a move that suits you perfectly. It boosts Psychic power, boosts defense, and it’s close-range.”

“Normally, you wouldn’t be able to learn it. But now you’ve learned things like Power Trick and that special Solar Beam—under the Prism Star’s influence, as long as there’s even a little compatibility, you should be able to learn it. That’s the power of the Radiant God.”

“The move is called Psyshield Bash. By now, it’s probably been lost. I wonder if we can find any trace of it in Sinnoh.”

Everyone knew Power-Up Punch made you stronger the more you fought—every battle raised your offensive power.

So was there a move that made you tougher the more you fought?

There was!

That was Psyshield Bash.

“Use psychic energy to cover your whole body, slam into the opponent, and it raises your own Defense! And for Armarouge, it’s a Psychic-type move. If you can learn it, with STAB its power would hit 105—pretty nasty, right?”

As a “lost” move, it was an exclusive technique of a Pokémon called Wyrdeer.

In theory, it was a special art granted by Arceus to one of the Ten Kings—the “King of the Highlands.”

A normal Stantler, once tamed, could evolve into Wyrdeer after using Psyshield Bash twenty times in Agile Style.

However, that Pokémon existed only in Hisui and earlier eras. With the loss of Agile Style and Strong Style, Psyshield Bash had been lost as well.

“Guren.” Armarouge stared at Hikaru, and after a brief pause, voiced its concern.

Even back when it was still Charcadet, it hadn’t just kept its head down and fought.

It had heard of the Prism Star, and it knew some moves couldn’t be obtained through hard training alone. The reason it had been able to learn so many big moves early—and even gain access to another evolution’s movepool—was because of the Prism Star’s influence.

But that gem was dangerous.

Even though its companions all kept things vague, everyone seemed to know that some powerful Pokémon could observe what was happening here through that gem—

And then launch an attack.

Still, Armarouge believed that even if such a thing appeared, there was no reason to fear it.

It had evolved into the strongest grand knight. As a knight, protecting its liege was its duty and responsibility.

It wasn’t that it distrusted the other companions—on the contrary, it was precisely because everyone was strong that Armarouge felt it had to become even stronger.

The path to strength never ended, and it didn’t stop just because evolution had been achieved.

It would keep going—until it was strong enough to face that attacker head-on, by itself.

And it seemed that anything with “light” drew that thing’s hostility… and it had once been called—

That’s right: the Radiant God.

And now it was a monster that brought eclipse and darkness.

“Guren.”

It was a warrior of the sun.

Among its companions, Volcarona was a being it regarded as the incarnation of the sun—and Volcarona did, indeed, carry legends and heritage like that.

So anyone who tried to extinguish the sun, anyone who hunted light, was its enemy.

If the Radiant God lost its light…

Then after defeating it, they would find a way to ignite it again.

With the oldest miracle in its hands: the mightiest Spear of Sunlight, the most special solar flame.

“Don’t worry about the Radiant God stuff.” Hikaru waved it off. “Just learn whatever you want.”

“We’ve got the invincible Giant King on our side.”

Hikaru wasn’t worried about Necrozma—at least, not until they headed for Alola.

Their “light” here was still tiny.

Even if Volcarona and Armarouge unleashed their brilliance completely, it wouldn’t compare to the sun-and-moon duo.

And when in doubt, just go find the Giant King.

The Giant King of Unova had been fully repaired. It was itching for a fight.

“By the way, keep that huge gold pearl on you. If you throw it with Fling, it hits for 130 power!”

“Don’t underestimate gold.”

“Next target is Area Zero. We can finally go to Medali!”

Seeing the Falinks still running along behind them, Hikaru scratched his head.

These guys still hadn’t had enough fighting?!

“Ida ida, waaaaagh!” The Falinks were wildly excited.

The big boss was going somewhere dangerous again. More fights were coming. A brand-new waaaagh was about to begin!

Hikaru could only nod.

If they still hadn’t had enough, then fine—let’s go fight in Area Zero together. There were plenty of vicious creatures down there.

“A legendary warrior leading a Roman legion on campaign… yeah, that feels right.”

“Before we go to Area Zero, we still need to search northwest of Cortondo Town for Rayquaza’s nameless ruins, see if there are any ancient meteorites…”

“That ruin probably isn’t any different from the usual broken roadside ruins. Time has completely destroyed it. Paldea has ruins like that practically everywhere.”

“By the way, before we leave—Armarouge, do you want to go back to the village once?”

—

“Wakakaka!”

In the nameless ruins near Icerend Shrine—

A Tinkaton carrying a gigantic hammer appeared!

Hikaru said, “The village chief evolved, huh!”

It hit level 38!

“Wakakaka!” Tinkaton hoisted its hammer and greeted Hikaru.

Yo! It’s the Material God from back then!

Iron gates, iron gates!

Thanks for dumping a pile of meteorites here and teaching us forging skills. Our village has climbed out of poverty and gotten rich!

Tinkatuff are everywhere now!

Then it noticed Armarouge, paused for a split second—and its eyes lit up like floodlights.

The huge hammer swung up, stirring the wind and clouds.

Whoa, your armor looks amazing! That’s definitely top-tier steel!

“Guren!” Armarouge hurried to stop it. The village chief blinked, then gradually recognized who the grand knight was.

Ah—thought you were some stranger Pokémon. I was about to start a “whoever loses takes off their armor” duel.

So it’s our village’s rookie hero!

Whoa! How did you get so big—and your aura is totally different too? You went on a trip and evolved into something this insane?

“Kakakaka!”

Then the village chief spotted Miraidon behind them, and its eyes lit up again.

Hey now! Kid, really, you shouldn’t have. Safety matters more than anything—look at you, bringing a gift back. You’re making me embarrassed.

That tin-can thing is obviously made of top-quality steel!

If we dismantle it, wouldn’t the village’s savings jump again?!

“Agas?!” Miraidon freaked out. Back when it was picking up berries near Great Tusk, it had been attacked by a wild Tinkatink once.

This time it followed Armarouge home, thinking this was some kind of triumphant return…

I thought we were friends, and you’re treating me like raw material?!

“Guren!!!” Armarouge stepped in front of the village chief and pleaded repeatedly.

This is a companion, not a gift you brought back! And please stop smashing people with a hammer everywhere! You’ve evolved into your final form—shouldn’t you be leading the villagers to look toward a farther future?

The village chief scratched its head.

Mm… so you’re saying our village should go out and rob, right?

Makes sense!

The village’s rich now. We’ve got a ton of new hammers. We should go find some wild, walking steel to restock inventory—and maybe establish our territory while we’re at it!

“It’s over. Paldea’s underworld just gained another gang.” Hikaru felt like he never should’ve taught forging skills. The village used to be pitiful—now it had money and wanted to go terrorize Steel-types nearby.

He’d already given them so much meteoric iron as material, and the villagers and their chief still weren’t satisfied.

Was that just Tinkaton’s nature?!

They said she could casually swing a hammer weighing over 100 kilograms to seize what she wanted—and then haul it back home.

“Ahem. Chief, if you want steel, you can just trade with humans…”

As a Steel-type Elite Four, Hikaru felt he had to curb the village chief’s potentially ugly behavior—also to speak up for Paldea’s Steel-type Pokémon with justice.

Seeing the chief pause, looking slightly fooled, Hikaru continued gently, step by step:

“The forging technique I taught you isn’t only for forging big hammers. You can also make all sorts of weird and useful items. If you forge those items and trade with humans, you’ll get what you want.”

“And once humans see your forging skills, they’ll come here asking for your help. Some young kids might even think what you forge are ‘treasures.’ They do treasure hunts every year. If they pass your combat trial, you trade with them—how about that?”

“Like how some humans trade berries for Slowpoke Tails. Slowpoke tails regenerate anyway, and a Grepa Berry can keep them fed for days, so it’s absolutely worth it.”

“My proposal now is the same.”

“If you attack Steel-type Pokémon, they’ll band together and raid the village. Chief, the village just escaped poverty—don’t lead everyone down the wrong path.”

If he could coax this Tinkaton village, Paldea’s League would have a new source for distributing items.

In an industrial region like Unova, they probably wouldn’t care about Pokémon forging techniques.

But Paldea, at least, was a region where humans and Pokémon coexisted. A lot of Pokémon production techniques mattered here.

“There are actually tons of useful things you can forge.”

“Gold can be forged into things like Amulet Coin and Luck Incense. Humans would love that.”

“The Soothe Bell is an item people often use in Pokémon raising. Humans need it too.”

“Armor pieces—special evolution items—might not sell as well in Paldea…”

“But Protective Pads, which prevent contact effects when you hit someone, are commonly used in battles.”

“The Power items, the five training braces…”

“Iron Ball, one of those awkward items—supposedly an iron casting ball made by ancient humans. But as Pokémon battling develops, this item will shine.”

“And bicycles. Paldea doesn’t really use bicycles—everyone rides Cyclizar—but bikes sell extremely well in other regions. We can push that too.”

“Also, Skarmory feathers, Corviknight feathers, Orthworm’s iron plates, Forretress shells—those can be used to make kitchen knives, iron pots, and lots of daily tools. Those are necessities. Nearby towns should need them, right?”

“As far as I know, Paldea doesn’t have especially famous blacksmiths. That means these necessities are either produced by a few companies or imported from overseas. The market is huge—your future is bright.”

“And you can even take mercenary jobs.”

“Like Magneton—sometimes they go berserk around power fields and Pokémon Centers, causing shortages. At times like that, you can take official Pokémon Center contracts, legally attack Magneton, get the metal plates off them, and drive them away so the Pokémon Center returns to normal!”

Under Hikaru’s relentless coaxing, the village chief nodded again and again.

You’re making way too much sense!

Feels like we should try it!

Get along with the humans nearby, huh… if we do that, we can get even more steel!

We’ve got forging skills, so we’ll never starve, but you got one thing wrong!

The chief swung the huge hammer, shouting “Wakakaka!” in excitement.

Attacking Steel-type Pokémon is just our hobby—it has nothing to do with food!

Hikaru and Armarouge exchanged a look, both seeing the same helplessness in the other’s eyes.

“Uh… anyway, as long as you agree, can you reduce the raid frequency a bit?”

“I’ll help you bring in your first batch of customers, okay?”

Hikaru opened his Poké-device and immediately called Dendra.

“Hello, hello—Dendra?”

“To prepare for the Iron Fist Championship at the end of the year, you’re going to keep training, right?”

“Do you need high-quality training equipment over there? Tell Tulip too—ask if her town needs any daily supplies replaced, yeah?”

As for why he didn’t hand this work to Iono—

Because Levincia was Paldea’s high-tech city. They genuinely didn’t need handmade crafts with “artisan spirit”!

“But at least…”

Hikaru had mentioned a bunch of Pokémon, yet he deliberately didn’t mention the Bronzong line.

Hey, at least he’d saved the Bronzong line, hadn’t he?

Otherwise, the Tinkaton village’s first raid targets were always the Bronzong line—just zoning out near the ruins!

Hikaru calmed the chief down, then lifted his head toward the sea.

A rainbow stretched across the ocean, and it seemed like a gold-and-crimson giant bird Pokémon appeared…?

Hikaru froze, then called out to Armarouge.

“Hey, Knight!”

“Look—the end of the rainbow… that’s Ho-Oh!”

Maybe that rainbow in the arena really had been Ho-Oh’s attention.

Ho-Oh, the herald of atmospheric monsoons, appeared all over the world.

They said anyone who saw Ho-Oh would gain eternal happiness.

“Happiness wave… so this is what it feels like!”

But that feeling of happiness didn’t last long.

In the nearby seawater, something else seemed to have noticed the rainbow on the horizon.

The Tinkaton village’s idea of attacking Pokémon everywhere—and the sorrow of the nearby Steel-types—was transmitted in full into “that thing’s” heart.

In its mind, thoughts of justice arose—thoughts of defeating Tinkaton—its tail swaying.

Then it leapt violently into the sky!

That rainbow cleaving the heavens was the prelude to a hero’s entrance!

Tinkaton, your days of doing whatever you want are over!

Hikaru said, “Mm… something feels like it’s coming. Did I just hear a Pokémon yelling in anger…?”

Armarouge: “Guren?”

Falinks: “Ida ida! Waaaaaagh!”

Village Chief Tinkaton: “Wakakaka?”

A gigantic swell surged up from the West Paldean Sea. Leaping from the crest, vaulting onto the shoreline ruins, was a Pokémon that looked like a literal superhero!

“Wawaka?!”

Whoa—what is that standing behind me?! You scared the life out of me!

The chief lugged the hammer and scampered away, then swung it up in vigilance.

This blue superhero—no, it should be called—

“Sea Superman and Ocean Ranger!”

“No, no—Hero Pokémon, Palafin (Hero Form)!”

Seeing the villagers gather up, Hikaru immediately understood what was happening.

“I see. They say there’s a Pokémon called Palafin living in Paldea’s seas. It’s seen as the ocean’s hero. Once any person or Pokémon falls into danger, Palafin transforms and comes to the rescue. And, Chief, you’ve been maliciously attacking the Steel-types nearby—look, you’ve already caused a public disturbance.”

“Kah?” The chief tilted its head, its twin ponytails swishing.

What are you talking about? That’s just our ecology!

Gwah—eat my hammer!

The chief swung the huge hammer, Steel-type power surging over its body!

The Steel-type exclusive move of Tinkaton—

Gigaton Hammer!

Power: 160!

That tough, heavy hammer smashed down on Palafin… and the superhero didn’t move an inch. It blocked Gigaton Hammer with one hand.

“Waka?!” The chief was shocked. Even Armarouge was stunned.

Chief wasn’t exactly that strong, but the power of Gigaton Hammer was absolutely real.

It caught it one-handed?!

Hikaru nodded calmly.

“Palafin has absurd strength. The legends say it can easily lift an ocean liner with one hand.”

“In other words, this might be the strongest Pokémon in terms of raw strength… maybe. Even stronger than the Titan Pokémon, even stronger than Great Tusk or Ting-Lu!”

In Hero Form, Palafin’s Attack was a monstrous 160.

No technique—just pure stats.

Palafin’s eyes lit up.

It was time to crush you evil Steel Alchemists!

Now—justice is served!

It punched forward—

And Hikaru blocked it with his palm.

“?!”

Palafin froze.

At that moment, Victini on Hikaru’s shoulder stretched lazily, and its whole body flared with light.

Hikaru said, “Right—Palafin might be the strongest Pokémon by raw strength. At least, one of them.”

“But that’s only true when it hasn’t met someone boosted by Victini!”

“Tini!” Victini powered up!

With Victini’s amplification, Hikaru effortlessly hurled Palafin outward in a wrestling toss.

It was another kind of combat technique—guaranteed to strike a vital point—

Yama Arashi!

“Sea Superman and Ocean Ranger?”

“Go evolve into ‘New Spaceman—Wave Dolphin’ and come back, then!”

(End of Chapter)

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