"Dragonite, use Outrage on Rayquaza!"
Knowing just how terrifying Rayquaza was, Lance didn't dare hold anything back. He had Dragonite go berserk from the very start, forcing out every last drop of its power.
Seeing Lance and Dragonite in this state, Aiden Flint didn't hurry at all. Beating champions from different regions was practically becoming routine for him now.
He couldn't help wondering—after Lance, would Sinnoh's Champion Cynthia come looking for him too?
If that really happened, wouldn't he end up collecting a full set of defeated regional champions?
At that very moment, far away in Sinnoh, Cynthia had just wrapped up her own affairs and stepped into Hoenn. Riding on her Togekiss, the golden-haired beauty suddenly sneezed.
"Huh?" she murmured blankly. "Did someone just think about me?"
…
Dragonite's Outrage erupted in full force. Wrapped in violent dragon-type energy, the raging pseudo-legendary lunged straight at Rayquaza.
Rayquaza merely lifted its head slightly.
To it, even Dragonite at full power was nothing more than a mild itch. After all, even Kyogre and Groudon couldn't seriously hurt it—how could a mere Champion-tier Dragonite do anything?
"Rayquaza, Dragon Tail."
At Aiden's command, Rayquaza flicked its massive body. Blue dragon-type energy gathered along its tail, and like a baseball bat, it snapped forward.
Boom!
Dragonite was smashed away like a ball, sent flying through the forest, crashing through countless trees before finally slamming into the ground.
"Dragonite!"
Lance rushed over in panic. Seeing Dragonite on the verge of collapse made his heart tighten—but thankfully, he was a wielder of Aura.
Placing his hand on Dragonite's head, green life energy surged forth. In a forest like this, Aura worked even better.
Under its soothing power, Dragonite slowly woke up. It looked at Lance apologetically and let out a weak cry—it had lost.
"It's fine," Lance said with a gentle smile. "That was a Legendary Pokémon. Losing to it is nothing to be ashamed of. But we still need to keep getting stronger… at least strong enough not to get bullied by Lorelei all the time."
Dragonite perked up slightly.
After recalling Dragonite, Lance walked back toward Aiden and Rayquaza, his fighting spirit rekindled.
"As expected of a Legendary Pokémon. Please, allow me to continue learning from you!"
With that, Lance threw another Poké Ball.
A massive shiny Gyarados burst out in a flash of red light.
Even Aiden had to admit—it was impressive. Top-tier trainers really did have special Pokémon.
"Ding! Gyarados's current stats are as follows:
Pokémon: Shiny Gyarados
Level: 82
Ability: Intimidate
Type: Water, Flying
Quality: Gold
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Ice Fang, Waterfall, Rain Dance, Dragon Dance, Hydro Pump, Hyper Beam…"
A Team Rocket–engineered shiny, trained by Lance for only a year, and already Master-class. No wonder Gyarados would later become his main ace.
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam, full power!"
Despite the overwhelming pressure Rayquaza radiated, Gyarados forced itself to obey. An orange-gold beam blasted forward.
The beam struck Rayquaza directly.
And did absolutely nothing.
"…What?"
Lance stared in disbelief, then let out a bitter laugh. "Of course."
"Rayquaza, Dragon Breath."
A simple command.
A green beam of dragon energy fired from Rayquaza's mouth and smashed into Gyarados, knocking it down instantly. Rayquaza had clearly held back—otherwise, even a Master-class Pokémon might not have survived.
Using Aura once more, Lance healed Gyarados. With only those two Pokémon at Master tier, he knew it was enough.
"Legendary Pokémon really are something else," he said sincerely.
Then he took out another Poké Ball and handed it to Aiden.
"This is the finest Dratini of this generation from Dragon's Den. Consider it my thanks. Being able to battle a Legendary Pokémon is an honor—I hope you won't refuse."
So this was the "rule" Lance had mentioned.
Just like Steven and Wallace had gifted him rare Pokémon after battling him, Lance was doing the same.
"Well then, Champion Lance," Aiden smiled, "I won't refuse. And don't worry—this battle stays between us."
Relieved, Lance exchanged contact details with Aiden and departed.
Aiden opened the Poké Ball.
A small blue, serpent-like Pokémon with a white belly and little wing-like fins appeared.
"Ding! Dratini's current stats are as follows:
Pokémon: Dratini
Level: 25
Ability: Shed Skin
Type: Dragon
Quality: Gold
Bond Evolution: Not unlocked
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Wrap, Twister, Dragon Breath, Extreme Speed, Water Pulse, Dragon Tail
Affinity: 70
Experience: The finest Dratini of the current Dragon Clan generation, entrusted to the host by Lance
Hobby: Loves eating berries."
Another powerful future dragon had just joined Aiden Flint's growing legend.
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