Throughout the entire history of Pokémon battles, only the Pawmot line and the Forretress line learned this move upon evolution.
However, compared to the games, Pokémon that learned this move faced significant restrictions and conditions when using it, and could only use it once for a certain period.
Only Pokémon possessing a "Kind Heart" could, without any personal desire, revive a fainted backup Pokémon on the verge of collapse and restore half of its HP.
Even so, this "revival" only restored the ability to battle and move.
It was completely different from the legendary tales of the Kanto region's Ho-Oh reviving deceased Pokémon into the Legendary Beasts.
Nevertheless, before losing consciousness, Pawmot's act of entrusting its hope to its comrade bought Nemona a slim chance.
With a "thud," Pawmot collapsed. It turned into red light and automatically returned to the Poké Ball in Nemona's hand. At the same time, the only other Poké Ball Nemona had not immediately sent down opened.
Accompanied by heavy breathing, Ursaluna—which had previously fallen to the Kingambit's Tera Blast and was covered in wounds—now appeared almost "fully revived." Its gaze turned fiercely toward the seated Kingambit.
The instant it was awakened and healed by the mysterious power, Ursaluna knew that Pawmot had chosen to use that move.
The other party had even given up the chance to stand on the battlefield with Nemona until the very end. Instead of gambling on uncertain "conviction," it had passed the baton of hope back to Ursaluna.
Feeling as if a thousand-pound weight rested on its shoulders, Ursaluna vowed not to disappoint Pawmot's expectations and to seize the final victory!
"Roar!"
Sparks once again ignited within Ursaluna's slightly disheveled fur, acting as a kindling to awaken its hidden power. Its dormant "Guts" ability activated once more!
Nemona knew that Pawmot had chosen to use Revival Blessing on its own. To not waste the "rematch" chance it had fought for with its last ounce of strength, she immediately shook off the sadness in her heart and issued commands.
"Stone Edge!"
"Roar!"
With another roar, Ursaluna slammed its paws into the ground. Massive stone pillars erupted upward like a chain of triggered ancient traps, turning into sharp spears aimed straight at the Kingambit, which was still in its Tera Flying state!
The super-effective hit could not be taken head-on in the Kingambit's current condition.
Geeta quickly made a judgment in her mind. Although she was impressed by Pawmot's noble choice to help its partner, as long as the Kingambit had not fallen, her battle was not over.
"Brick Break!"
Having taken heavy damage from Pawmot, the Kingambit forced itself to stand up from its hair stool. The blade on its head gathered orange-yellow light and sliced the incoming Stone Edge cleanly in two!
It had not fallen yet. Its will as a "Supreme Overlord" still endured. In that case, it would not sit and wait for death!
At the same moment, using the cleanly cut Stone Edge fragments to briefly obscure the Kingambit's view as it involuntarily hunched over, Ursaluna dug all four limbs into the ground and charged forward with maximum explosive power.
Ursaluna's charge created tremendous noise.
The Kingambit and Geeta reacted almost instantly.
But neither Ursaluna nor Nemona had expected to hide it for long. Even one extra second gained meant Ursaluna was one step closer to the Kingambit.
This way, the distance-forced Kingambit would have no chance to prepare the Tera Blast that posed too great a threat to Ursaluna.
Geeta clearly understood this too. A trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes as she shot the Kingambit a meaningful glance.
For the Kingambit, it would resort to any means for victory—this was a common "talent" of its species.
Under the watchful eyes of countless viewers who dared not even breathe, the Kingambit performed an action that nearly dropped their jaws.
—It directly knelt toward the charging Ursaluna and performed a "dogeza"-like gesture begging for forgiveness.
If this had happened earlier, even with some preparation, Ursaluna might have been stunned for a second or two by the surprise.
But now, carrying Pawmot's expectations, its conviction was firm enough that no external force could sway it.
Whether you kneel or not, today I will claim victory in this battle!
Seeing that Ursaluna's charge showed no sign of stopping, the experienced Kingambit realized the ploy wouldn't work and helplessly released the move it had already prepared.
Black-red energy coiled around the blade atop the Kingambit's head and instantly formed a cross-shaped slash. From its momentum and completion, it was clear the Kingambit had been preparing this move for a long time.
If Ursaluna had truly been fooled, it might have been hit and suffered another heavy blow.
—But reality had no "if." Facing the incoming cross-shaped blade, Ursaluna raised its right palm, which glowed with bright white light, and slapped the slash apart!
At this moment, Ursaluna was less than a meter away from the Kingambit. As white light erupted across its body, the decisive strike landed.
Outside the battlefield, Nemona's voice brought this long and grueling battle to an end.
"Endure it!"
Within the intense light, Ursaluna's strongest strike burst forth!
The entire Paldea Pokémon League trembled. Faintly, the crisp sound of something shattering could be heard from within.
Moments later.
The light gradually faded. In the giant crater on the battlefield, the Terastallization had disappeared. The unconscious Kingambit lay quietly in the deep pit.
It looked as peaceful as if it were still sitting on the stool made of its own hair.
—The winner was decided.
Even without the referee speaking, the incredibly moving scene conveyed the message to everyone.
Inside the still-being-renovated Naranja Academy, after a brief silence, earth-shaking cheers erupted from every classroom and the battle arena near the playground.
Penny, Arven, Eri, and the others stared intently at the live broadcast. Even the usually reserved Paul couldn't help but clap excitedly amid the surrounding cheers.
In the Kalos region, during a business negotiation banquet.
A somewhat shy blond youth and the Kalos League staff negotiating cooperation with guests from Paldea stood dumbfounded as a middle-aged man and his intellectual daughter suddenly began dancing with joy.
What are you two so excited about?
The scene returned to the peak of the Paldea League. After recalling her Kingambit, Geeta smiled and clapped as she walked over to Nemona.
"Splendid! The performance of you and your partner Pokémon far exceeded my expectations!"
Geeta did not hold back her praise for Nemona. Whenever a Trainer who could bring positive influence to the Paldea region appeared, she always became this excited.
"Your strength is outstanding, with brilliant moves appearing one after another—from the sudden inspiration when clearing Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, to the meticulous thinking when using Spirit Shackle to create opportunities, and even the divine stroke of Revival Blessing at the end…"
"Paldea has given birth to another great Trainer. Congratulations, the well-deserved new Champion!"
At some point, the sound of the elevator opening rang out behind Nemona. The four Elite Four members, notified of the battle's end, had also arrived on the terrace.
Congratulations from Rika, Larry, Hassel, and the senior came one after another. Nemona politely responded, but her gaze kept drifting toward the direction of the distant cameras.
Of course, she wasn't feeling shy about the lenses that might be broadcasting to the whole world after the battle.
She simply wanted to catch sight of that figure, but the person had vanished into thin air without her noticing.
"Already left…?"
A hint of disappointment appeared in Nemona's eyes, along with the kind of small grievance that children of her age couldn't avoid.
Although it would be very rude to Geeta and the Elite Four, if possible, the congratulations she most wanted to hear were still—
Geeta keenly noticed Nemona's distraction. A smile flashed in her eyes. Instead of reminding her immediately, she first delivered the prepared lines to the camera in front of Nemona and the Elite Four.
"Every Pokémon Trainer is a treasure of our Paldea region… Among them, the Champion is an even more dazzling existence."
Geeta's gaze swept across Larry and the others before finally resting on Nemona.
"Champion Nemona, please set an example in the future and continue leading Paldea's Trainers forward."
Accompanied by a faint electrical hum, the live broadcast cut off after Geeta finished speaking.
Inside the elevator leading straight from the terrace to the hall, only the occasional sounds of Nemona and Geeta's breathing broke the quiet air.
Looking at the still-distracted Nemona, Geeta glanced at the long string of messages on her phone and smiled. She spoke proactively, "You don't need to handle the specific Champion-rank certification procedures yourself. I'll have Larry take care of it for you."
"Go to the Pokémon Center first and let Pawmot and Ursaluna rest. After all, you should have an appointment later, right?"
"…?"
Hearing Geeta's words, Nemona looked up in confusion, a trace of bewilderment in her eyes.
What did she mean by "you have an appointment"?
The Paldea Pokémon League had just gained a new Champion-rank Trainer—and one like Nemona, who had become a Trainer for less than a year yet passed the Champion gauntlet. A true genius.
At this moment, Geeta was in an excellent mood and had no intention of teasing the youngster.
She shook the phone in her hand and pointed at the lit screen with its string of messages. "Your teacher will be waiting for you there. That's what you've been looking forward to the most—even more than battling me or becoming a Champion-rank Trainer, isn't it?"
"!"
Nemona froze for a moment. Then, the light of excitement immediately returned to her previously disappointed eyes.
What was she looking forward to the most?
She didn't even need to ask.
The moment the thought appeared in her mind, the answer surfaced clearly.
From beginning to end, she had always admired Teacher Lucas and hoped to become someone like him.
That was why she had finally asked her father to let her become a Trainer, become partners with Pawmot and the others, and worked hard to catch up to his footsteps. That was all.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened.
Looking at the girl whose entire presence had become vibrant again, Geeta pointed outside with a smile. "Just go straight out the main entrance. It's not far from the academy. Larry will enter your data into the system. In the future, if you come to the League, you can just scan your face."
"Understood. Thank you, Chairwoman!"
Under the intense gazes of the surrounding staff, Nemona bowed deeply to Geeta, then could no longer suppress the anticipation in her heart and ran toward the entrance.
Of course, she didn't forget to stop by the Pokémon Center first to restore stamina to her partners who had fought so hard.
Watching Nemona's energetic departing figure, Geeta sighed that Lucas truly was a lucky star—for her and for the Paldea League.
In just this short year, how many talents had he helped her unearth?
Compared to Larry, it seemed letting him roam freely outside had been the right decision.
Occasionally, there would even be pleasant surprises—like that former island guardian deity that had recently taken over the entire Paldea seas.
While waving to her subordinates who said "Good work," Geeta opened her phone again and looked at the lit screen.
Besides the few messages from Lucas, who had left after watching the battle and asked her to relay words to Nemona, most of them were his complaints.
As a new League founded only a little over a decade ago, the Paldea League indeed lacked some heritage and tradition compared to long-established ones like Kanto or Hoenn.
She had once thought that since she was serving as the Top Champion to test challengers' strength and had no plans to step down for the time being—and since no one had passed the Champion gauntlet in over a decade—there was no need to establish anything.
But now, it seemed she had not considered things thoroughly enough.
She hadn't expected two consecutive years of Trainers capable of clearing the "Champion gauntlet"—people whose strength completely surpassed the mere title of "Champion-rank Trainer" in terms of value.
"Indeed, adding some sense of ceremony and honor is also important."
Geeta murmured to herself. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Larry, who had taken the second elevator down with Hassel and the others.
Geeta waved him over.
Larry's body instantly stiffened. With an ominous premonition, he walked awkwardly to Geeta.
Sure enough, Geeta assigned him the task of handling Nemona's files and documents.
Hearing this instruction, Larry actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, this work was already within his expectations.
But what Geeta said next left Larry completely frozen in place.
"Mm… I received some suggestions from Champion Lucas and feel there is indeed room for improvement in certain areas."
"Trainers who pass the 'Champion gauntlet' would be strong enough to inherit the title of 'Regional League Champion' in other Leagues. Simply following the usual Champion-rank Trainer process feels somewhat disrespectful to their hard work and power."
"So, Larry."
"While you're at it, go ahead and prepare the establishment of a 'Champion Hall' for the Paldea League."
"In the future, Champion-rank Trainers who pass the 'Champion gauntlet' will all be qualified to leave their own mark there. Once it's built, we'll add retrospective records for me, Lucas, and Nemona."
"…Understood, Champion."
Larry replied weakly.
…