Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice

"Hello, hello! Dear viewers, Iono has now arrived at Viridian City in the Kanto region. Next, I'll be taking the bus to Pallet Town to attend Professor Oak's summer camp."

At Viridian Airport, a young girl greeted the camera with energy, holding her phone in selfie mode.

She was filming a video, working hard to become a video blogger.

"Huh!?"

In the middle of filming, Iono suddenly noticed a rainbow-colored glow coming from a nearby street.

"What is that?"

Her eyes lit up with curiosity as she put away her phone and ran toward the glow.

"It feels like something really interesting! Wow, cool, wow, cool~"

"Anyway, summer camp doesn't start until next week, so I, Iono, am going to check it out!"

...

At the same time, in another location, Ho-Oh, who had just freed itself from its Poké Ball, was locked in a tense standoff with its trainer of several years, Pryce.

The look in their eyes was anything but friendly.

Ho-Oh had never truly trusted Pryce. In fact, during these years, it had been observing him, trying to see if it could reform him into the righteous trainer it had hoped for.

Pryce was exceptionally strong, and Ho-Oh believed he had the potential to become a righteous trainer—someone who could help both humans and Pokémon coexist happily, building a bridge between the two worlds.

For this reason, Ho-Oh temporarily submitted to Pryce and even, under his coercion, abducted many human children to serve as his pawns.

Originally, Ho-Oh had hoped to slowly change Pryce for the better.

But now, it had completely lost hope.

"Are you planning to betray me?" Pryce stared coldly at Ho-Oh from his wheelchair.

Of course, Pryce had always known that Ho-Oh was not fully loyal to him. But he hadn't expected Ho-Oh to turn against him at such a critical moment.

"Li-li~"

The Delibird, which had been pushing Pryce's wheelchair, remained calm and composed, just like its master. With the same practiced ease as Doraemon pulling gadgets from its pocket, it pulled out an icy mask, a black cloak, and a wig from its tail.

In less than two seconds, the Swinub returned to its Poké Ball, and Pryce transformed into his Masked Man persona. He flung the wheelchair aside and, just like the last time in the Ilex Forest, mounted the back of his Delibird.

This time, however, it wasn't an ice clone—it was the real Pryce in action.

"Do you think you can defeat me?" Pryce, now with a hoarse voice due to the mask, scoffed coldly.

"Avalanche!"

At Pryce's command, Delibird flapped its short wings.

The surrounding air rapidly condensed, and in less than half a second, countless massive ice blocks formed in the sky. Like icy meteors, they rained down on Ho-Oh.

"What the heck is that!?"

Although it was still early in the morning, many office workers had already started their day. Upon seeing the legendary bird Pokémon in the city center and the apocalyptic ice meteors falling from the sky, they froze in shock.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as the icy meteors were about to hit Ho-Oh, three powerful forces—red, yellow, and blue—intercepted them from the side.

BOOM!!!

The resulting explosion shook half of Viridian City.

The wig on the back of Pryce's mask flew wildly in the shockwave.

That was… Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and Hydro Pump?

Who was it!?

Pryce turned in the direction of the attack.

It was… Entei, Raikou, and Suicune!

The Legendary Beasts, known as Ho-Oh's royal guards!

"Heh~ So you called in your subordinates for backup just to betray me. Quite the preparation."

Pryce smirked under his mask.

"But what can they do against my power!?"

With a dramatic flourish, Pryce pulled back his black cloak, and Swinub once again emerged from its Poké Ball.

Blizzard!

The tiny snowflakes from Swinub's mouth instantly turned into massive ice balls, blending into a white storm that could devour everything in its path.

In an instant, the three Legendary Beasts' vision was filled with white.

The distance between the Legendary Beasts and Swinub was about 200 meters, but in just a moment, everything in that space—roads, greenbelts, and nearby houses—was frozen solid.

It was eerily reminiscent of the scene when Kyurem froze Opelucid City using Team Plasma's technology.

A mortal wielding the power of a god!

Whoosh!

High above, Ho-Oh spread its radiant, rainbow-colored wings, resembling a second sun.

A sea of sacred flames surged forth, melting the frozen streets in an instant.

Sacred Fire!

While Ho-Oh resisted Swinub's Blizzard, it shot a glance at its three subordinates, signaling them to evacuate the civilians.

Even in this critical moment, Ho-Oh's first thought was to avoid harming the innocent.

Sure, it could have waited for Pryce to leave the city and fight in the wilderness.

But Ho-Oh had briefly lost control of its emotions.

It had committed many terrible acts under Pryce's orders, but the man still showed no signs of changing.

Damn it, I can't believe I wasted years of my life on this scumbag.

The three Legendary Beasts immediately smashed through nearby houses, urging the residents inside to evacuate.

...

Meanwhile, in the Viridian City Gym.

Stephen, Giovanni, and the others were still waiting for Pryce to arrive for negotiations.

Just then, Giovanni's secretary rushed in, panicked.

"Gi-Giovanni, sir! Outside—outside—"

"Hm?"

Giovanni raised his head slightly, but before the secretary could finish speaking—

BOOM!

The pressure from the outside explosion shattered the windows of Giovanni's office.

Countless shards of glass flew toward the two men.

In an instant, Linlin holding Swablu and a Nidoqueen leaped into action.

Linlin turned its back to the window, shielding Stephen and Swablu.

Nidoqueen spread its arms wide, forming a protective barrier for Giovanni against the flying glass and debris.

The once-luxurious office of the Team Rocket Boss now looked like a war zone.

Both Stephen and Giovanni stood up and looked outside.

Just two kilometers away, in the opposite part of the sky…

The air condensed rapidly, forming countless razor-sharp blades of ice in less than half a second.

It was like an icy version of Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon. That move was… Icicle Spear!

Holy crap, this is way too over the top.

Because the distance was too far, it was hard to make out the appearance of the Pokémon wielding this Gate of Babylon-style Icicle Spear.

 However, the opposing side was crystal clear.

"Why are the two of them fighting?"

 A deep sense of astonishment flashed across Giovanni's eyes.

In the original work, Ho-Oh and Lugia once left Pryce alone, so Stephen wasn't too surprised by this.

 But of all times, they had to pull this kind of stunt at such a critical moment.

 Even Stephen was a little dumbfounded.

Facing Pryce's Gate of Babylon-style Icicle Spear, Ho-Oh flapped its enormous wings and unleashed two crescent-shaped Air Blades.

Dual Wingbeat!

The two sides collided viciously, producing a crisp sound resembling clashing metal.

At this moment, yet another third-party force joined the battle.

 Fire, Water, and Thunder combined into a triple force, attacking Pryce from the side.

 But from the sky, an endless hail of icy meteors rained down, suppressing the triple force!

It was easily a clash of four top-tier powers!

The surrounding area, spanning a two-mile radius of Viridian City's urban district, had been reduced to nothing. Everywhere lay massive trenches caused by the devastating attacks, with icy shards scattered about, and even a few flickering flames here and there.

"Gym Leader Giovanni, help us!"

 At this moment, a large group of citizens rushed to the gym entrance, crying and begging Giovanni in tears:

 "Some masked lunatic came out of nowhere and froze my house! Thankfully, a big fluffy dog saved my child. Otherwise, my entire family would've been done for."

 "Can the League reimburse us for these damages?"

 "Officer Jenny can't hold out any longer! We need you, Gym Leader Giovanni!"

As the Viridian Gym Leader and, on the surface, the guardian of this city, Giovanni quickly stepped forward to calm the crowd.

 "Everyone, stay calm! Stay calm! I'll take care of this matter personally."

"Ahhh! Help! HELP! Mom, Dad, it looks like Iono is going to die here! When you see this video, remember to burn some extra snacks for me every year on my death anniversary!"

 Meanwhile, on another street in the city center, Iono was holding her phone, pointing the camera at herself as she sprinted in the opposite direction. Her mouth was running like a machine gun, chattering non-stop.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Behind her, the deafening sounds of explosions echoed endlessly. They were the result of the battle between Ho-Oh and the three legendary beasts versus Pryce's two ace Pokémon.

Iono didn't dare to look back at all.

Feeling the waves of air slapping against her back, she thought that if she so much as glanced behind her and delayed for even 0.1 seconds, the shockwaves from the attacks would be enough to kill her!

At that moment, Delibird's Ice Beam collided with Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire once again.

In that instant, the world seemed to change color.

It was as if Ace's Flame Emperor and Blackbeard's Black Hole from One Piece had been enhanced and brought to life.

The entire sky over Viridian City turned half silver-white and half fiery red!

"Ahhh!"

 The terrifying shockwave directly blew the petite girl's body into the air, and she was about to be swept into the chaos.

Suspended over ten meters high in the air, Iono was so frightened that she started crying, imagining her final moments.

Goodbye, Mom. Tonight, I set sail for the afterlife…

"Swoosh—"

At that moment, she felt something tugging at her body.

Looking down, she saw… webbing.

Before she could get a good look, she felt a powerful pulling force.

In less than two seconds, she found herself being yanked from midair to the ground.

She landed in a warm embrace.

But before she could savor the moment, the person let her go.

Iono looked up at her rescuer and widened her eyes in shock.

 "You… you're… Jo…?!"

"Joker. What's our move in this situation?"

Before Iono could figure out her savior's full name, two more masked individuals approached Joker, taking the opportunity to ask questions.

Iono's mouth hung open in surprise.

Those were Joker's two accomplices from the wanted posters!

But… Joker was the one who saved her just now, wasn't he?

 Then why did the news reports from Kanto and Johto call him a villain?

Stephen pulled the girl he had just saved behind him, his eyes locked firmly on the distant battlefield.

From the earlier exchanges, it seemed that Pryce had sent out two of his ace Pokémon—most likely Delibird and Swinub.

On the opposing side, besides the rebellious Ho-Oh, there were also helpers wielding the powers of Water, Fire, and Thunder.

Stephen had a pretty good guess about their identities.

However, the real problem now was that he needed Pryce to use Ho-Oh to heal his Swablu.

But with Ho-Oh rebelling at such a crucial moment, it probably wouldn't listen to Pryce's orders anymore…

That left Stephen with only two options:

[Help Ho-Oh fight Pryce.]

 Ho-Oh naturally belonged to the friendly-to-humans camp. If he got the chance to communicate with it and ask for help in healing his Pokémon, it would likely agree.

 Moreover, if he helped it break free from Pryce's control, Ho-Oh would feel indebted to him and probably agree to help.

[Help Pryce fight Ho-Oh.]

 This would allow Pryce to regain control of Ho-Oh and then command it to heal Swablu.

 But this approach was more roundabout.

After a brief moment of thought, Stephen made his decision: the first option was more suitable.

After all, the one doing the healing was Ho-Oh, not Pryce. Why bother taking the long route?

Besides, Pryce wasn't exactly the most trustworthy person.

While Pryce wasn't as twisted as Uchiha Obito, Stephen felt he was one of those one moment a saint, the next moment a demon type.

In simpler terms, you could never predict what Pryce might do next.

 Would he repay your kindness if you helped him? Not necessarily.

Just like how Minato and Kushina treated Obito so well, yet he didn't hesitate to kill them.

"Joker, what's our move?"

 As Karen asked this, a deafening "BOOM" came from the distance.

Pryce's Pokémon had created a massive ice ball, which fell like Madara's Meteorite.

Ho-Oh, engulfed in fierce flames, launched a Brave Bird to counter it!

Ho-Oh's Brave Bird shattered the massive ice ball.

However, the falling ice shards scattered like a meteor shower across Viridian City, causing secondary destruction to the city.

Ho-Oh panted slightly.

Back then, it couldn't even beat Delibird one-on-one.

Now, with Swinub added to the mix…

Even with the help of its three underlings, the battle wasn't going well.

After all, even if its three helpers teamed up, they couldn't stop one of Pryce's ace Pokémon, let alone two.

...

"I'm here to help you!"

At this moment, Ho-Oh, who was gradually falling into despair, heard a shout coming from behind and quickly turned its head.

It saw three people wearing masks rushing in from the back of the battlefield.

"You all…"

Under the mask, Pryce's face darkened.

Stephen had chosen to side with Ho-Oh to fight against him!

Noticing Pryce looking in their direction, Will nervously swallowed, "Won't this… won't this completely offend him? Are we really okay with doing this?"

"Hmph! Even if we don't offend him first, do you think he'll just let us go?" Karen scoffed coldly.

Through telepathy, Zorua had already told everyone what it had witnessed personally at Pryce's side.

Just distancing themselves wouldn't stop him from coming after them!

If they were going to offend him, they might as well do it thoroughly!

At the very least, Ho-Oh was far more trustworthy than Pryce.

Noticing Ho-Oh looking down at them from above, Stephen raised his head and said:

"Let's be honest. Even with the three of us helping, it's not going to be easy to win. So, we need to exploit their weaknesses."

Stephen pointed at the small Swinub in the masked man's arms. "We'll start with the Swinub."

Swinub and the Delibird were Pryce's two trump cards. Their overall strength was evenly matched, though their combat styles were quite different.

The Delibird was an all-around warrior: long-range attacks, close combat, speed, agility—it excelled in every area.

Swinub, on the other hand, was a specialized fighter, having poured nearly all its power into the attack.

Its attack power surpassed even that of the Delibird and could rival that of some first-tier legendary Pokémon.

However, it was severely lacking in mobility, speed, and agility. Its role was essentially to sit in Pryce's arms and act as a stationary nuclear cannon.

If they could exploit this weakness, there was still a chance.

"Ho-Oh, I'll need you to keep Swinub occupied."

Stephen pointed at the three Legendary Beasts. "You three, come with us!"

Being ordered around by a human wasn't something the proud Legendary Beasts were used to, but noticing the signal from their leader, Ho-Oh, they reluctantly complied.

"Roar!"

Although the power gap was significant, Entei, who had the attribute advantage, charged forward first. It opened its mouth wide and unleashed a massive pillar of flames, which split into five smaller streams midway through its flight.

Sacred Fire!

"Honchkrow, provide support!"

Karen gave a low command.

From the rear, Honchkrow used the move Hurricane, fanning the flames to make them even more intense.

"Wow! This is amazing!"

Iono standing on a rooftop continued recording the scene excitedly with her 480p-resolution phone.

"This kind of high-level battle—never seen anything like it in Paldea… no, in the entire world!"

Will, who was the closest to Iono among the trio, was dumbfounded.

"Are you serious!? How are you still here!?"

Astonished by her lack of fear, Will wanted to warn her.

However, he quickly refocused on the battlefield.

There was no room for distractions!

"Tricks like this won't work."

As expected, Pryce's expression under the mask remained disdainful. The Swinub in his arms began to gather a silvery-white icy breath in front of its mouth.

In the next instant, the silvery-white ice beam shot out like a divine sword of frost, slicing vertically through the enhanced Sacred Fire and scattering it into countless sparks.

"Your turn, you two."

Stephen glanced at Suicune and Raikou, signaling them with his eyes.

Still retaining its dignity and grandeur, Suicune raised its head high. A massive water column shot straight toward the masked man and the Swinub in his arms.

"This level of water… what do you hope to achieve?"

Pryce's eyes narrowed slightly behind the mask.

The Swinub in his arms emitted a chilling aura, freezing the water cannon before it even reached within half a meter of him.

"We're not done yet."

Stephen's voice rang out coldly.

Suicune's gaze sharpened.

Boom!

The water cannon exploded like Sacred Fire, turning into countless water droplets that continued their assault.

The water cannon had transformed into Water Pulse!

But it wasn't over yet.

Crackle!

The scattered water droplets lit up with electricity, linking together to form a dense, massive electric web in the sky.

Many people know that the combination of wind and fire is a powerful combo—wind enhances fire.

But few realize that water and electricity are also an excellent pairing. Water conducts electricity, extending the range of electrical attacks.

A flicker of surprise flashed across Pryce's eyes, but it was gone in an instant.

"Use Icy Wind."

Following his command, the Swinub slightly raised its head.

The light blue icy wind it released was so expansive that it covered Pryce's entire field of vision.

Whether it was lightning or water, everything was frozen under its power.

"Watch your blind spot, old man!"

Will, riding on a Xatu, shouted as Slowbro, flying beside him with the help of psychic power, combined Psychic and Surf for a dual attack.

The rising waves split into three streams, resembling giant sea serpents aiming for Pryce's blind spot at the back of his neck.

As Will had pointed out, because Pryce used Swinub as a cannon in his arms, his back was indeed a blind spot.

"Hmph."

Faced with Will's taunt, Pryce let out a disdainful chuckle.

In the next instant, the ice surrounding Pryce condensed into a solid form, transforming into a massive Ice Titan!

The towering figure rose from the ground, blocking Slowbro's combo attack.

It wasn't surprising, though—Pryce had always been skilled at creating doppelgängers.

In the original story, when he recaptured Ho-Oh for the second time, he created an ice doppelgänger—a nearly two-meter-tall masked man—to throw off suspicion from the league, as no one would suspect a 1.5-meter wheelchair-bound old man.

He could even create Pokémon ice sculptures and have these ice clones fight like shadow clones.

When pushed to the brink by Gold, in the end, he created an Ice Titan for a last stand.

So constructing an ice version of Titan was nothing difficult for him.

After blocking Slowbro's attack, the Ice Titan turned and raised its massive right arm to deliver a heavy punch.

"Slow!?"

Slowbro's face twisted in shock as it hurriedly used double Protect to shield itself and its trainer.

However, even the Double Protective Barrier that could easily block the Meteor Mash of Metagross, which belongs to the future Hoenn Champion Steven Stone, rapidly cracked and shattered at a visible speed under the Ice Titan's attack.

Boom! Boom!

Two of Will's other Pokémon, Exeggutor and Jynx, leaped out simultaneously, jointly erecting a Reflect to defend. They barely managed to block the blow.

Yet the intense shockwave still sent Will and his partner flying backward with a whoosh.

Bang bang bang!

They crashed into an ice-sealed house behind them.

"Ah..."

 The sharp pain from his back made it difficult for Will to even breathe.

"Watch out!" Karen shouted in warning.

The next moment, Will, who was enduring the pain, suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of danger looming above his head.

Looking up, he saw the Ice Titan—now over twice its original size—protecting Pryce and the Swinub within it. The Ice Titan raised a massive fist and swung it down fiercely at him.

Stephen raised his hand and shot out a web thread launcher that hadn't been used in ages. Latching onto Will, he yanked him forcefully.

Thud!

The icy fist smashed into the spot where Will had just been, leaving a half-meter-deep crater.

Lying at Stephen's feet, Will's face turned pale—he had almost gone to meet King Yama...

"D-Damn it… there's no opening at all!"

Will looked up at Pryce again. At this moment, Pryce was completely protected within the Ice Titan created by the Swinub.

Stephen noticed that the Swinub had poor mobility and, being held in Pryce's arms, could only fight head-on. So Will had attempted a sneak attack from behind.

Who would have thought that Pryce could manipulate the ice like this?

Calling it absolute defense wasn't an exaggeration.

How… how do we even win this?!