As far as Pokémon typings go, Ice may boast extreme offensive power, but its defensive coverage is a mess.

Even so, Brycen chose Ice as his primary path of training—and of course he has his reasons.

The extremity of cold tempers one's spirit and will; with that, one's martial discipline advances. By standing on the direct opposite side of Fighting-type, he can see more clearly where Fighting excels on offense, then train specifically to counter and avoid it.

To a run-of-the-mill Trainer, Ice-type looks "extreme," but it is by no means weak—after all, every region has at least one Ice-type master!

"With the weak, strike down the strong; return their force to them; amplify strengths, avoid weaknesses; make 'no-form' your form; make the finite become infinite… That is my martial art!"

At Brycen-san's command, his imposing Beartic let cold vapor surge along its forearms—then condensed it into "Claws of Ice"!

What—what move is "Claws of Ice"?

It isn't a move at all, but a natural knack of Beartic: those frost-forged claws bite harder than steel. Calling it "Ice Punch" wouldn't be quite right either!

Hikaru's first Pokémon was Riolu.

After the light riding drills back on Tubeline Bridge, Riolu grew again—and that "masterly" air around it grew even stronger. Even Brycen's expression sharpened the moment he saw it.

"This Riolu is no ordinary fighter."

Though the blue pup hadn't done a thing yet, Brycen could feel it—its aura was thick, its fundamentals immaculate, and its mindset had reached a transcendent realm.

It faintly carried that "returning to simplicity" feeling you find only in true martial masters.

Of course, the road back to the uncarved block is a long one.

"The last person to give me this feeling was Marshal-sensei."

Brycen murmured, "A martial artist's training begins with the pursuit of strength. In battle—in practice—the heart slowly changes. That is the first step onto the road back to simplicity."

"Go deeper along that road and a change in your state of mind lifts your martial level again—heart, body, technique—until you reach the unity of man and heaven."

Hikaru nodded. "Mm. It came from Challenger's Cave. Before it met me, it went through long, grueling training and real fights."

Challenger's Cave—no stranger to martial artists and fighters—the cavern where the legendary Swords of Justice once honed their disciples.

So that's it.

Then this Riolu's weighty aura makes perfect sense!

Challenger's Cave teems with powerful wild Pokémon training and clashing. A typical Trainer gets beaten black and blue on the first floor. Only the strong can go deeper!

"Beating the strong with the weak, huh? By size and raw power, we're the strong ones—but by typing, the true advantage lies with you."

"So then—who is strong and who is weak? Let's confirm it."

Brycen placed his fists together in a formal salute. His breathing smoothed; his heart sank like still water—he stepped into a battle state beyond the ordinary.

In the games, he's the one Gym Leader who can sense the Shadow Triad just from their presence—proof that his art excels at feeling every stirring of wind and grass around him. (After you earn the Freeze Badge, Brycen notices the Shadow Triad—who are invisible to everyone else—and calls them out, sending you to Dragonspiral Tower. (Bulbapedia))

And his mastery is far beyond common measure—even among martial artists, he ranks near the top!

Honestly, who would dare main Ice-type without some real skill?

If not for an old injury…

Hikaru blinked. Huh. Are Ice-type experts fated to be "wounded" one way or another?

Pryce and Grusha, both Ice Gym Leaders, have carried wounds of body or heart.

Beartic exhaled cold; frost crept across the ground; blossoms silvered over; even Riolu's fur took on a pale sheen of chill.

Use cold to slow the foe—intense chill makes both Pokémon and humans suffer, shiver, lock up their hands and feet. That's unavoidable when you fight an Ice-type!

The battle had already begun! That fierce chill was Icy Wind!

Bang!

Lightning winked over Riolu's fists—it met claw to claw with a thud!

The blue pup calmed its breath; its eyes lit up!

"Relentless Cleave."

Brycen's voice held no ripple—flat as water, cold as ice. He quieted his heart to near extinction—only then could he observe the foe with absolute clarity.

Beartic growled; with the cold wind diffused across the field, those razor-hard ice claws began to fly!

A hulking body moved with uncanny agility; the clawing came swift as a squall. Rather than "cleave," it was a "raking flurry"—

the secret of chaining strikes woven into a bold, hewing style!

Shff!

Riolu slipped its body aside—avoiding the first blow! Then the second, third, fourth!

The storm of cleaves whistled past as the blue pup weaved left and right—its eyes glimmered faintly, and every strike from Beartic cut only air!

"Can't land a hit!"

Brycen's heart sank a touch.

"Is that Detect?"

"No."

Detect is a Fighting discipline turned move. Though it looks like Protect, it's actually complete evasion by reading the opponent's motion—stopping a charge or slipping a blast alike. But spam it and it fails easily… so this isn't Detect! (Move behavior: Detect vs. Mind Reader. (Pokémon Database))

Sweat beaded on Beartic's brow. Every savage slash had been dissolved by that blue pup—and the Thunder Punch that followed crashed into its belly!

"Rrr-OOOAH!"

Beartic lurched back a step and raised a martial guard.

Staring at Riolu's glowing eyes, Beartic tensed.

This guy… worthy of Challenger's Cave indeed. In that opening exchange, it had edged me out!

A master—without a doubt!

"Oh! That one!"

Professor Cedric Juniper watched the fierce give-and-take—especially that Riolu—and it had caught his eye in a big way!

He, too, had tried to enter Challenger's Cave for research, only to be turned away at the door by "you're too fragile for this, Professor." Said by a certain someone—the so-called Legendary Karate King—whose martial prowess stands at the same tier as Brycen-san and Marshal-sensei.

To prove himself, Cedric even challenged that guy with his carefully raised starters. And the result…

I'm a professor. I don't have their kind of Fighting strength!

Defeated. Soundly. And—no excuses this time.

But in that battle, Cedric saw the man's Medicham use the very same technique as this Riolu!

"It isn't Detect. It's Mind Reader!"

Cedric explained to Brycen:

"When I fought Zaimon-san, I saw this move in action! In the move lexicon, Mind Reader makes your next attack land no matter what—but in the hands of a true adept, it lets you completely dodge the foe's technique as well!" (Mind Reader ensures the next move hits; its textual descriptions across gens reference reading the foe's actions. (Bulbapedia))

Mind Reader, the "Eye of the Heart"—feel the opponent with your heart, memorize their motion, and your next strike must connect. Bright beams flashing from the eyes to "illuminate" the foe—laying their actions totally bare.

"Hm… Zaimon's signature 'Eye of the Heart,' huh! In Johto, Cianwood's Gym Leader, Chuck-sensei, is also famed for using Mind Reader to pierce an opponent's assault!"

Few Pokémon can learn Mind Reader outright, but even those who can't may gain something similar through training. Chuck-sensei's martial teachings carry a sterling reputation among fighters.

Even the Legendary Karate King, Zaimon, once received his instruction.

"Steel secrets, the way of softness, the Eye of the Heart, the art of relentless chains, kenjutsu—the blade that cuts the formless…"

Brycen's face was severe and cold as iron as he recalled the lore-crowned martial secrets—and now he was crossing hands with one of them!

His style is "the weak beating the strong," but the Eye of the Heart lays bare the weaknesses his style seeks to exploit—and answers with perfect counters. In an average Trainer's hands, Mind Reader is "one-and-done." In a master's hands… its power is immeasurable!

So Cedric fought Zaimon too? I see, probably because he got stopped at the cave gate and it escalated…

Brycen gave a small shake of his head.

"Aerial Ace."

Brycen knew Ice's fragility all too well—and many challengers bring Fighting-types to face this "fist expert." That's exactly why his Beartic learned a hard counter!

Plenty of Pokémon pick up Aerial Ace to cover blind spots—but it's easy to learn, hard to master.

Its base power isn't high, but it never misses—a favorite for that alone. Yet even so, if a sure-hit gets intercepted before it lands… it means nothing! (Aerial Ace always hits unless the target is semi-invulnerable. (Bulbapedia))

Light flared in Beartic's eyes. Its ice claws ripped into motion—closing on Riolu with blinding speed!

Air shrieked. Riolu drifted back a step—but the claw feint snapped back, then returned—faster, higher, and from an unexpected angle!

The swallow's tail carves a perfect, deadly arc. The bird can ride the wind to slip a blade—speed doesn't matter.

One stroke slashes at the swallow; a second seals the swallow's wind-borne escape route…

But swallows are keen; a long blade won't catch the second movement.

To succeed, you must strike within a single heartbeat.

For that, you need a third cut that bars the escape from the side!

"The true Tsubame Gaeshi—Aerial Ace—is not one stroke, nor two!"

"It is a triple strike!"

"It's famed for speed and precision—completing a seamless, lethal string before the enemy can even react!"

The first stroke is a feint; the second has a fifty-fifty chance to be a feint as well; the third is the true kill!

The step that blocks the retreat—because there is no escape, it becomes a sure-hit!

Hikaru's eyes flashed.

A true master, even using the same named technique, can wield it to terrifyingly different effect—that is the fruit of refinement and training!

Different vocations, different Trainers—each has their own understanding of a move! On different Pokémon, it manifests differently!

Whoosh—!

Beartic's triple cut cleaved… nothing!

"What?!"

Brycen was genuinely shocked. Cedric forced his perpetually squinty eyes open. He truly hadn't seen what just happened!

"I sealed every life-gate—so where's the path to life… It's in the sky!"

"It didn't come down!"

Cold sweat ran down Beartic's back. It jerked its head up—lightning wreathing Riolu like bursting shockwaves, a fierce electric halo holding it aloft!

Magnet Rise!

Left, right, and back: all three exits sealed—but there's still up!

For one who has learned to "fly," the sky is vast!

(Yes—Magnet Rise lets the user float, avoiding Ground moves. Not typical for Riolu in the games, but this is its refined martial footwork in story form.)

If it used Aura right now, it could end the fight in a heartbeat… but Aura isn't martial art.

Or rather—once you grasp true martial art, Aura grows stronger too!

For this bout, Riolu chose not to use any special-attack moves at all!

"Mimic."

Hikaru gave the order; Riolu steadied its mind!

In that instant, Beartic's method of attack played back in its head. This wasn't ordinary Aerial Ace—it was Aerial Ace fused with martial essence!

Thus it held hidden follow-ups—faster speed, sharper precision, more ghostly lines—virtually impossible to guard!

It could strike the weak point on command—and a clean hit had a high chance to score a critical!

Lightning tore the sky—three cuts at a speed beyond thought!

Beartic reacted—its icy claws caught the first blow (a feint); caught the second (the foe tapped and retreated); but the third—its massive frame couldn't shift in time—Riolu's fist slammed into its ribs!

Fierce thunder burst. Beartic roared in pain!

"In a heartbeat it learned the core of my art—how can this be?!"

Even Brycen's still-as-death heart trembled hard!

Worthy of Challenger's Cave. Worthy of… a martial artist invited by Marshal-sensei himself!

"Beartic—everything you've got—Close Combat!"

Fully unleashing one's martial capacity—Close Combat may be "wild swinging" in a lesser fighter's hands, but in the hands of true adepts, it is the move that lets their art fully bloom!

Beartic drew a great breath. Its pressure spiked, fists swirling like oceanic vortices as they crashed in!

Each blow pulled a gust of killing chill, as if Beartic had become the ice itself. Yet within the flurry lurked a different force—measured, controlled—power delivered, but only to pour the boundless cold through!

This is my final kata!

Riolu suddenly felt real pressure.

It had the upper hand before—but lacking a style of its own, it could only imitate Beartic's secrets.

Seeing that Ice-forged Close Combat, shaped by a unique "ice-flow" martial doctrine, shook it to its core.

The Eye of the Heart burned at full power—Riolu slipped and weaved—but now Beartic's blows weren't just fast—they traced devilish angles and hit like avalanches!

"The essence of Ice-martial lies in extreme offense. The form I practice is a surging tide—like a maelstrom that never runs dry… The power of water can shatter rock. Let the Ice truth pair with water's flow—and offense becomes defense as one!"

Water suddenly welled over Beartic's claws!

Liquidation—hammer the foe with water's force; sometimes it lowers their Defense! (Liquidation's Chinese name is exactly "水流裂破 / Water-flow Rend." (Bulbapedia))

Even in the air, Riolu got battered by pounding waves. Lightning wrapped tight; the Eye of the Heart kept threading the needle—yet amid the crashing ice-seas, it began to grasp something.

Its punches quickened; its evasions edged ever closer to the limits.

Pressure. Breath. Power. Speed. Intention. Technique…

Vmmm…

Hikaru's spirit resonated with Riolu's—suddenly the blue pup felt the martial know-how Hikaru had dabbled in. Half-baked as it was, nature's energy and aura's echoes rang ever clearer!

"The courage and resolve of heroes—the soul's reverberations and tracks—can you see it… the flame of the soul?"

Hikaru projected his spirit-seer's power into Riolu—slowly, the pup saw it: a blue-violet flame roaring, swaying with Beartic's every strike!

When the body moves, the will moves with it; instinct in the soul answers. Some masters move their body ahead of conscious intent—making their blows devilishly hard to guard. That is "action preceding thought."

But the soul always moves a hair faster than the flesh… The soul is a braid of will and instinct!

"Remember what Aegislash told you—about unclouded Sacred Sword. You first mimicked the power of the holy blade, but you never truly learned its heart's purity—the Swords of Justice's sword-saint essence."

"Clear your mind—gather your strength to a point—see the weak spot—and end it in one."

"Arf!"

Riolu focused every fiber—absolute concentration. It brushed the threshold of a martial secret.

A silver radiance slowly wrapped its fist!

Faster—faster! Speed of strike. Weight of strike. And let the clutter in the mind fall away, knuckle by knuckle!

Crack!

A supersonic silver fist smashed into Beartic—and at that speed rattled off ten more!

Silver light pierced the ursine frame—shattering the endless tide!

Beartic howled.

"That's… Bullet Punch!"

Like a bullet—fast and hard—guaranteed to move first!

Against an Ice-type, Steel is super-effective—but Bullet Punch alone wasn't enough!

Facing a style like an icy ocean and mountain, it felt it could go one step further!

Like a meteor—overwhelming. Like a falling star—unrivaled in ruin.

Condense the steel will into one—let it blaze as a single blow of light!

A comet-bright aura exploded off Riolu!

Gold-silver lightning danced—both arms thrust—then it drove full-tilt at the foe. Like a meteor ripping the firmament, it punched straight through Beartic's web of fists and hammered its chest!

Power boomed outward like Earthquake meeting Rock Slide. Beartic's pupils knifed to pinpoints; its mouth opened to roar but no sound came—then whomp—it flew like a fired shell!

It panted in great heaves, its body trembling.

KR-RUMBLE!

The shockwave gusted past Beartic and snapped Brycen's cloak behind him taut.

Cedric's face turned grave.

"Meteor Mash."

A rare, mighty fist art—your punches swing like comets—and may raise your Attack!

"The matter is… decided."

Brycen's expression was solemn. Watching Beartic drop to one knee, the frost-hard lines of his face softened.

"An extraordinary Pokémon. It has the light-step to soar and escape—the aerial 'qigong'; the Eye of the Heart that sees through any attack—and in the end, the steel fist to smash an ice mountain."

"Its future has no ceiling."

"Be it your partner or you yourself—you both stand among the elite of martial artists. I concede. There's no need to continue the rest."

"Thank you for the instruction."

Brycen placed his fists together. Riolu eyed him, then imitated the gesture and bowed.

"Much appreciated," Hikaru answered likewise. Cedric broke into a booming laugh:

"What a spectacular martial bout! Like a movie set come alive! Hey—if we cut that into a martial arts flick, it'd break the box office, right?"

Brycen smiled faintly. He had no plans to return to Pokéstar Studios just yet. Watching Hikaru spray medicine on Riolu, he patted Beartic's shoulder:

"We still have much to refine."

"The road of martial arts has no end."

"Rr-hoo…!" Beartic nodded, took a deep breath, and looked at Riolu with clear, mutual admiration.

A friend who has grasped such martial essence! Rare indeed among Pokémon!

From today forward—you and I are comrades in arms! This is friendship forged fist-to-fist!

"And then there's this… mm. Before I hand you the Freeze Badge, as I said earlier, I'll pass on my secret art."

"This Riolu's talent is tremendous—its strength astonishing—but it lacks a signature school or secret. I believe this manual will help immensely!"

Unlike Marshal-sensei, Brycen carried his manuals on him. He slipped a scroll from his back and offered it to Hikaru:

"Please accept it!"

[Martial Item: Combo Scroll — Scroll of the Maelstrom]

"Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet it conquers what is hard, and none can change it."

Description: A martial scripture from a far-off land, inextricably linked to the "Water Secret" within the chain-strike style—yet it forms its own system, wholly distinct from Water Shuriken/Surging Strikes. It teaches a combo-oriented martial secret:

"Maelstrom Unrivaled." Treated as a move in battle, it lets your fist strike every opposing Pokémon at once!

(End of Chapter)

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