Anyone could see the thick tension between the two on the field.
"It looks like you're really confident, but..."
Lance curled his lips into a cold smile, a heavy trace of cruelty in his eyes as he stared at Giovanni and Nidoking.
"Even if my Mega Gyarados is under Toxic, it'll still be enough to take you down before then!"
"Gyarados, Aqua Tail!"
The first Toxic tick had already passed. Mega Gyarados roared in fury, its massive tail whipping up a wave of water as it slammed down hard at Nidoking.
It was a strike fueled by rage, and its power was even greater than the first two Aqua Tails.
Clearly, Mega Gyarados had realized its condition too, and it was now going all out.
"Protect."
Giovanni was very calm. Nidoking's direct combat power absolutely couldn't go toe-to-toe with Mega Gyarados.
He also knew Lance had plenty of battle experience. If Lance hadn't been unfamiliar with Giovanni's battle style, he wouldn't have been caught so easily.
But after taking a hit from Toxic, it would be much harder to catch Lance off guard again.
A green Protect barrier rose in front of Nidoking.
Protect could block nearly any move.
Boom!!
The heavy Aqua Tail smashed hard against the Protect barrier. The thin barrier rippled wildly, as if it might shatter at any moment.
But the sturdy Protect held Aqua Tail back perfectly!
Lance's expression was cold and sharp, his gaze like a blade.
He knew Giovanni was stalling. Toxic got worse with time—the longer it dragged on, the more brutal the poison became.
Until Mega Gyarados completely lost the ability to fight.
"Coward! Protect? How many times can you even keep that up?" Lance said coldly.
Protect couldn't be used consecutively. If it was, its success rate would keep dropping, making failure very likely.
"Waterfall!"
Mega Gyarados growled. The moment Protect faded, a huge pillar of water surged up from beneath Nidoking's feet, lifting Nidoking into the air.
Nidoking kept its balance and looked down, only to see Mega Gyarados, wrapped in a watery glow, coiling like a giant serpent around the water pillar as it sped upward, rapidly closing in.
A Water-type Waterfall!
"Thunder!"
Crackling lightning shimmered over Nidoking's body, and a Thunder shot straight toward Mega Gyarados.
Boom!
Thunder landed cleanly, but Mega Gyarados only paused for a split second before gritting through the blast and continuing its approach.
Bang!
The lightning-crackling Waterfall slammed into Nidoking.
Nidoking let out a pained roar as its sturdy body was violently knocked away by Mega Gyarados.
That hit did not do little damage.
And just as Mega Gyarados moved to pursue the blasted-back Nidoking, its body paused again, and a terrifying deep-purple toxic glow lit up around it.
The second Toxic tick had arrived!
This time the poison was already far more intense, but the Mega Gyarados Lance trained had truly insane endurance.
It only flinched for an instant from the pain of the poison, then roared with a vicious face, as if trying to vent its suffering through the sound itself.
"Aqua Tail!"
Mega Gyarados's face was extremely ferocious, not giving Nidoking any chance to recover as it charged again.
That berserk offense put Nidoking under enormous pressure.
"Nidoking won't hold out like this."
Serena stared at the battle, making her judgment.
This Mega Gyarados was simply too strong. Its combat power was terrifying.
Nidoking had shown its strength brilliantly in the battle against the three of them with Lorelei, but even that powerful Nidoking was being pressed so hard by this Mega Gyarados that it could barely breathe.
That said enough.
Dragon Master Lance, long revered as the Indigo League's strongest Champion, was truly terrifying.
"Yeah, but Uncle Giovanni can stall. A battle isn't just about raw combat power."
Dawn nodded, naturally taking Giovanni's side.
After all... Giovanni was Mr. Damian's dad, the future grandpa of her child.
The battle on the field continued. Giovanni calmly directed Nidoking to dodge and defend, but Mega Gyarados's berserk offense was just too overwhelming.
"Nidoking is unable to battle! Mega Gyarados wins!"
The referee announced the result.
That's right. Nidoking ultimately still fell to Mega Gyarados's Aqua Tail.
"See that, Giovanni? If all you can do is play little tricks, you can't defeat my Gyarados!"
Lance looked at Giovanni, his tone cold and arrogant.
"Champion Lance, this is a full-team battle. No need to be so impatient. Our battle isn't over yet."
Giovanni slowly recalled Nidoking, replying with a faint smile.
Although Nidoking had lost, Giovanni didn't think there was anything wrong with that, and he also felt Nidoking had already done very well.
In a full-team battle, losing one small match meant nothing, especially since the current situation was exactly as expected.
"Only the one who wins in the end is the victor, right?"
Giovanni threw out his second Poké Ball, and Nidoqueen landed in front of him.
"You little..."
Lance's sword-like brows furrowed slightly. He didn't like Giovanni's attitude, like everything was already under control.
Lance thought for a moment, then recalled Mega Gyarados.
Mega Gyarados's condition wasn't great either. Especially after the battle with Nidoking, Toxic's corrosive damage had already reached the fourth tick.
Recalling Mega Gyarados would at least reset Toxic's buildup for now. Otherwise, the fifth poison tick would already be brutal.
"Since you're so confident, then try its power!"
Lance stylishly tossed out his second Poké Ball.
"Dragonite!"
A flash of white light later, an orange, slightly stout dragon flapped its little wings and landed heavily in front of Lance.
"Woo~!"
The moment this Pokémon appeared, the entire venue erupted into a feverish cheer.
Because this Pokémon was none other than the Kanto Region's pseudo-legendary Dragonite!
And Dragonite was Lance's signature Pokémon!
"Dragonite..."
Giovanni narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up the Dragonite with its deep, heavy aura.
"No way, he's bringing out Dragonite this fast?"
In the audience, Dawn looked at the pseudo-legendary from Kanto in great surprise.
She was a little confused now!
This was a full-team battle, and he opened with Mega Evolution, then brought out Dragonite as the second Pokémon?
Wait, is this really how Champion Lance fights a full-team battle? Showing all his trump cards right away, aiming to crush the opponent in a short time?
But Uncle Giovanni wasn't just any opponent. Doing it this way would only put himself at a disadvantage.
Does Champion Lance really know how to fight a full-team battle?
"No need to be so surprised. This isn't Lance's ace Dragonite."
Damian clicked his tongue lightly and replied to Dawn.
"Huh?"
At that, Dawn and Serena both froze.
"This Dragonite is strong, but it definitely isn't Lance's ace." Damian said with complete certainty.
"Supposedly, when Lance first topped the Indigo League, his Champion team was Dragonair, Dragonair, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Charizard, and Dragonite."
Caitlin spoke thoughtfully.
"So Champion Lance evolved those two Dragonair, huh?" Serena understood.
"I'm afraid not." Damian shook his head.
"Lance's Dragonair were probably kept unevolved on purpose. As for this Dragonite, do you know? The most famous Dratini habitat in the Kanto Region, Dragon's Den, is in Dragon Shrine."
Damian said with a smile.
That's right. The Blackthorn City Dragon's Den, revered as the "Dragon Village," is the most famous Dratini habitat in the Kanto Region.
And Lance would never lack Dragonite!
Besides, Lance especially loved Dragonite, so it wasn't surprising at all that his team had multiple Dragonite.
For example, in HeartGold/SoulSilver, Champion Lance's team had three Dragonite.
Lance was an extremely hardcore Dragonite fan. For him, Dragonite was his pride, his soul!
"I wonder if this is Dragonite No. 2 or No. 3."
Damian watched the Dragonite on the field with great interest, but one thing was certain: even if this wasn't Lance's ace Dragonite.
Lance's Dragonite was undeniably strong.
Dragonite's base strength was already there, and this was Lance's Dragonite on top of that.
After all, in this world, probably no one understood Dragonite better than Lance.
The battle continued. Lance's fighting style was very aggressive, since he believed in the power of dragons, and offense was the best defense.
So Lance valued offense above all else.
Giovanni, on the other hand, was steady and experienced, but his steadiness still carried a fierce edge.
Under Lance's command, Dragonite began attacking crazily, but this Dragonite's pressure was actually still not as strong as Mega Gyarados's.
Giovanni had Nidoqueen defend and counterattack, and even found a chance to land an Ice Beam on Dragonite.
You had to know that even though Dragonite was powerful, its Dragon/Flying typing made it four times weak to Ice!
That was Dragonite's biggest fatal flaw.
Although this Ice Beam didn't fully connect because Dragonite reacted in time, it still dealt heavy damage.
That also made Lance rein it in a bit and start fighting slightly more conservatively.
But after the final intense exchange, Giovanni deliberately left an opening and let Dragonite close in with Dragon Rush, only for Nidoqueen's Ice Punch to land.
Nidoqueen was badly injured, and Dragonite lost the ability to fight!
Giovanni had temporarily evened the score, but this was still only the beginning.
Lance then brought out the Toxic-afflicted Mega Gyarados again and defeated Nidoqueen.
Giovanni's next Pokémon was Dugtrio, while Lance switched in Charizard.
Charizard lost, Dugtrio won.
Lance then sent out Mega Gyarados again, trading one-for-one with Dugtrio at the limit.
The intensity of the battle far exceeded expectations. Neither side gave an inch, but overall, the situation was still completely even.
Giovanni's fourth Pokémon was Rhyperior, which was also part of his core main roster, and its strength was exceptionally outstanding.
After thinking for a moment, Lance sent out another Dragonite. This was Lance's second Dragonite.
This time, Lance chose to make use of Dragonite's aerial advantage. Rhyperior was incredibly strong, but it was heavy, slow in movement, and had low Special Defense.
This tactic took quite some time, but in the end, Rhyperior still fell under Dragonite's Hydro Pump.
The situation once again shifted in Lance's favor.
But by now, everyone understood that Giovanni's strength was no weaker than Lance's. Until the very last moment, no one could let their guard down.
"Never thought Giovanni's strength would reach this level."
In the back, Lorelei's cold, beautiful brows were tightly knit. Up to this point in the battle, Giovanni had somehow remained on equal footing with Lance.
If this had been in the past, who would have believed that a mere Gym Leader like Giovanni could be on the same level as Lance?
And yet, that was the reality right in front of them now.
"It is impressive. I just don't know why Giovanni used to hide his strength."
Agatha narrowed her cloudy eyes, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed Giovanni hadn't really hidden his strength?
It was just that no one could force Giovanni to reveal it completely. If he wasn't interested in challenging the League, then with only some Gym challengers, of course he wouldn't have reason to go all out.
"No wonder he could raise a monster like Damian. I guess that makes sense."
Agatha smiled deeply.
With such a powerful dad, it really wasn't strange that Damian had such monstrous talent.
And on the field at this moment...
"Well, as expected of Champion Lance. You really are strong."
Recalling the fainted Rhyperior, Giovanni couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
"You're not bad either."
Lance said flatly. By now in the battle, setting everything else aside, he had recognized Giovanni's strength.
"Oh? To be acknowledged by Champion Lance, I'm truly honored."
Giovanni's lips curled upward.
"Still, since I've already taken on the Elite Four challenge today, I'm naturally aiming for the Champion title."
"If you've got the skill, then come and beat me."
Lance's cold eyes didn't change at all.
The Champion title had always gone to the strong. If Giovanni could beat him, then Giovanni would naturally be the Champion.
"That's very much in character for you, Lance."
A thick malice appeared on Giovanni's somewhat dark face.
"Didn't you want to see my Mega Evolution? I'll show it to you now!"
Giovanni threw out his fifth Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball opened in midair. A flash of white light followed, and a sound like rapidly beating insect wings swept across the sky.
It slowly landed in front of Giovanni, raising its twin stingers as it stared at the Dragonite in front of Lance.
The entire venue erupted in shock, and countless people showed stunned expressions.
Because Giovanni's fifth Pokémon was actually... a Beedrill?!
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