The Weather Team becomes a dominant force when freed from the constraints of the game.
The key principle is simple: as long as no one contests your control over the weather, and you have sufficient energy along with a weather operator, you can maintain any weather condition throughout the battle.
With all weather effects active in the game, teams built around Sandstorm, Sunny, Snowy, or Rainy strategies effectively boost their overall strength. This makes Weather Teams a top-tier choice, dominating both singles and doubles matches during qualifying rounds.
Victor's father, JHON, is an expert in Sunny Team strategies. When Victor once asked how to counter Weather Teams, JHON's advice was straightforward:
"Fight fire with fire! Use weather to counter weather!"
The strategy is clear: release weather conditions that neither hinder your team nor enhance the opponent's. By doing so, you can compete for control over the battlefield's weather.
Remarkably, CARBINK is one of the few Pokémon capable of mastering all four weather moves:
Rain Dance for rain,
Sunny Day for sun,
Sandstorm for dust, and
Hail for snow.
When it comes to total energy and control, Victor is confident that no other Pokémon of the same elite level can surpass Carbink.
Thus, these seemingly unremarkable Carbink are top-tier weather specialists!
As long as Carbink continues to seize control of the weather, the opponent's Beartic won't gain the Snowy Day defense boost or the speed bonus from its ability. This gives Incineroar the confidence to take on both opponents at once.
"Carbink, use Sunny Day!"
"Na na na!"
[It's going to be sunny now!]
A bright sun appeared above Carbink's head. As it formed, warm sunlight poured down on Carbink's pink, gem-studded body, making it shine brilliantly.
The sun rose high in the sky, and the balance between the warm sunlight and the snow clouds created a rare spectacle—snowfall and sunshine coexisting on the battlefield.
"Does this shiny Carbink know weather moves?!"
Alice exclaimed in surprise. Only a few Pokémon have a natural talent for controlling weather, and weather moves are notoriously hard to learn.
In this world, Pokémon cannot be generalized. Even if a move is in the skill pool, one Pokémon might be able to learn it while another might never master it. Weather moves, in particular, are extremely difficult to perfect.
Alice recalled that Carbink was known for its dual defensive capabilities, but Victor had taken a different approach. Instead of using Carbink as a defensive wall, he trained it as a disruptive support Pokémon.
It must be said that the combination of Carbink and Incineroar, with their mastery of Sunny Day, could compete with the powerful Weather and Trick Room teams that dominate doubles battles.
"An elite-level ace like Incineroar and an elite-level Carbink with specialized support skills... When he starts college, he might even make the school team as a substitute."
"We need to contact him and secure him for the university team," Alice thought.
Dennis shared the same idea. If they could recruit Victor to their university and help him grow, he would become a cornerstone for Brightspire City University's dominance in the national college league over the next few years.
"It's impressive that he managed to counter my Ninetales," said Aaron, surprised that Carbink could compete with his Ninetales, a Pokémon naturally gifted in weather control.
"Thank you for the compliment! Incineroar, use Blast Burn!"
"Roar!"
Incineroar let out a deafening roar as flames erupted from its flaming belt, forming a massive Blast Burn attack.
"Water Pulse, now!"
The massive fiery characters surged toward Beartic across the icy battlefield. Aaron knew that if the difference in strength wasn't significant, Beartic's Ice-type moves wouldn't be enough to stop the fiery attack. His only option was to rely on Water-type moves.
Water and Ice have always been closely linked—Water Pokémon can learn Ice moves, and Ice Pokémon can learn Water moves!
The fins on Beartic's massive body swirled with water as it spun to counter the fiery Blast Burn. Despite its efforts, the attack was too strong, amplified by Sunny Day. The water dispersed, and Wailord stopped spinning, overwhelmed by the explosion.
"Boom!"
The fiery explosion sent shockwaves across the battlefield. When the dust settled, Wailord was revealed, its body scorched black with burn marks but still standing.
"It survived that Blast Burn... Truly worthy of being a former Elite-level trainer's Pokémon," Alice remarked. She had thought the attack would finish Wailord, but it endured.
"That was an impressive move, but Wailord is at its limit now," Aaron said. "Shall we settle this with the next strike?"
Victor nodded. "Agreed."
"Ninetales, use Dazzling Gleam! Beartic, sacrifice yourself with Take Down!" Aaron commanded.
As a respected veteran of the Crimson Alliance, Aaron had the authority to award badges and knew when a trainer had proven themselves. Regardless of the outcome, he had already decided that Victor deserved the Extreme Ice Badge.
"Carbink, block Ninetales with Dazzling Gleam! Incineroar, use Flare Blitz on Beartic!" Victor ordered.
The two Dazzling Gleam moves clashed and canceled each other out. Carbink understood its role—to support. It trusted Incineroar to handle the rest.
Incineroar's body was engulfed in deep red flames with crackling electricity as it charged at Beartic, which was wrapped in a shimmering white energy shield. The two clashed fiercely, initially in a stalemate.
However, Beartic's injuries gradually took their toll. Once its power began to wane, it couldn't recover. Incineroar's Flare Blitz broke through the shield and dealt the final blow.
"Roar!"
Beartic was sent flying, crashing into the untouched part of the field. The battle was decided.
"Beartic is unable to battle! The match continues!" the referee announced.
"No need for that," Aaron said, raising his hand. "The match is over. Victor wins. Continuing would only cause unnecessary harm to our Pokémon."
At his age, Aaron had long moved past the need to win. There was no reason to let Ninetales take more damage and risk fainting.