Pokémon: When the World Changed

Chapter 561 556: The Hope of Victory

"Hakamo-o..."

"Right, I remember that among Hakamo-o's abilities there is the Overcoat ability, correct?"

"I wonder which ability this Hakamo-o has."

Ethan fell slightly into deep thought, reviewing the information he remembered about Hakamo-o.

Hakamo-o belongs to the Scaly Pokémon category, and its abilities are Bulletproof, Soundproof, and Overcoat. Among them, the Bulletproof ability allows it to block ball- or projectile-type moves from the opponent.

The Soundproof ability prevents it from taking damage from sound-based moves by completely blocking sound waves.

Lastly, the Overcoat ability prevents damage from weather conditions such as sandstorms or hail, and also negates the effects of powder-type moves.

If Hakamo-o had the Overcoat ability, it would be perfect, as it could seamlessly integrate into his sandstorm team.

However, Overcoat is Hakamo-o's hidden ability, so randomly encountering one with it was quite difficult.

"If it's not Overcoat, Soundproof wouldn't be bad either. With Tyranitar joining the team, our sandstorm formation is already basically complete."

"From now on, I'll also be able to capture Pokémon of other types and abilities to further diversify the team's tactics."

Ethan reflected silently. If Hakamo-o had the Soundproof ability, it could help him defend against sound-wave attacks.

Moreover, his Vibrava had been developing sound-based moves for some time, but many of them were indiscriminate area attacks, making them difficult to use normally.

If he had a Pokémon with the Soundproof ability, then Vibrava could freely unleash its sonic power without any worries.

"Hakamo-o... maybe I can help it."

After thinking it over carefully, Ethan made a decision.

At the same time, under Milotic's treatment, Hakamo-o had already fully recovered.

It quickly stood up and, with great respect, bowed toward Leader Morland, showing that it was already accustomed to this kind of situation.

"This time you should thank him; he's the one who brought you back."

Leader Morland smiled and shook his head, then pointed toward Ethan.

Hakamo-o looked at Ethan and showed slight surprise. It recognized that this human was the same one who had witnessed its battle against Garchomp.

"It was just a coincidence that I found you in the desert."

In response to Hakamo-o's gesture of gratitude, Ethan also waved his hand, carefully observing it from head to toe.

Hakamo-o nodded slightly and then turned around to head toward the exit, as if intending to leave directly.

"By the way, that Garchomp was defeated by me."

When he saw that Hakamo-o was about to leave, Ethan suddenly spoke.

At once, Hakamo-o's figure stopped, and it slowly turned around to look at Ethan.

"So, do you want to become stronger? I can help you."

Ethan smiled faintly when he saw that Hakamo-o had turned back.

Hakamo-o's body trembled immediately. After thinking for a moment, it suddenly adopted a combat stance in front of Ethan.

"Do you want to challenge me?"

"Then let's go outside. I'll show you my true strength."

Ethan smiled and walked outside; Hakamo-o followed without hesitation.

Leader Morland watched Ethan and Hakamo-o leave with interest, and also followed them.

In a clearing, Ethan and Hakamo-o stood facing each other.

Then, Ethan released Tyranitar, causing a grave expression to appear in the eyes of the dark Hakamo-o.

It could clearly feel Tyranitar's power, so it focused completely.

"Tyranitar, use Sandstorm immediately."

Seeing Hakamo-o advance rapidly, Ethan smiled slightly.

In that instant, an enormous amount of sand rose around Tyranitar, surging violently toward the dark Hakamo-o.

However, when the sandstorm enveloped it, Hakamo-o's figure remained completely still, unaffected in the slightest.

"It's the Overcoat ability!"

Ethan's eyes lit up.

At the same time, he immediately understood: no wonder the dark Hakamo-o dared to venture into the Dragon Desert to challenge Garchomp; it relied on its Overcoat ability to completely ignore the desert's extreme climate.

"Overcoat... this is getting interesting."

"Tyranitar, face it head-on and use Dragon Claw."

Boom, boom, boom!

During the battle that followed, the two Pokémon clashed violently again and again.

Without a doubt, Tyranitar held the clear advantage in this battle.

Even so, Hakamo-o displayed an unyielding spirit. Thanks to its Fighting-type moves, it managed to pose a certain threat to Tyranitar.

But in the end, that was all it was: a threat. Relying solely on its formidable physique and terrifying offensive power, Tyranitar defeated Hakamo-o.

"Hakkammo (I've lost)." After the battle, Hakamo-o's gaze became somewhat dim.

However, Ethan smiled and stepped forward to communicate with it.

"These are the combat techniques I obtained in Battle City."

Then, Ethan revealed his greatest trump card.

According to his observations, both Garchomp and Hakamo-o had rather rudimentary combat techniques.

During battles, they relied almost entirely on their physical strength and offensive power to crush their opponents head-on, using very few proper combat techniques.

At that moment, Hakamo-o was completely outmatched by Garchomp in physical strength and attack power. If it wanted to defeat Garchomp in its current form, it could only rely on cunning.

For Hakamo-o to defeat Garchomp in its present state, it had to make use of ingenious methods.

If it could master and flexibly apply combat techniques, Hakamo-o might have a real chance to defeat Garchomp. That was the only solution Ethan had found.

"Hakkammo... (Combat techniques...)"

After listening to Ethan's explanation of several key points of these techniques, Hakamo-o's eyes began to shine.

Vaguely, it also sensed that this might be its only hope to defeat Garchomp: compensating for its lack of strength and physique with combat skills.

"Hakkammo!"

Hakamo-o roared excitedly a couple of times.

"Do you want to try?"

"During the next period of time, I'll teach you combat techniques. But whether or not you manage to defeat Garchomp will depend entirely on you."

Ethan smiled faintly, also feeling a great sense of anticipation within himself.

If Hakamo-o managed to master the combat techniques from the secret manual that Leader Henry Harper had given him... could it really defeat Garchomp?

...

During the time that followed,

Ethan continuously trained together with the dark Hakamo-o.

Until, on that day, the Dragon Clan Festival began!

On the day the festival started, all the Pokémon of Dragon Valley began to roar and leap with excitement.

At that moment, around Dragon Island, countless powerful Pokémon gathered, and in the sky resounded the roars of thousands of dragons.

Among them, the gigantic figure of Dragonite stood atop Dragon Island, its eyes closed, as if meditating.