Dragonite?
Looking at the Dragonite Ash had thrown out, Damian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Where did Ash get a Dragonite?
True, Ash in the Journeys era of the anime did have a Dragonite, and it had a very sweet, hug-loving personality. It was cute.
But this was supposed to be the start of his journey.
Well, the original plot was already "in pieces" anyway. It wasn't strange for Ash to have a Dragonite. Maybe he even had a Gengar?
Damian looked at Paul. To be honest, after joining Team Rocket, Paul's strength had improved at a shocking speed.
It had to be said that Paul himself was a trainer with excellent natural talent.
Most importantly, he really put in the work.
On normal days, Paul spent almost all of his free time on special training. His diligence even made Platinum feel a bit ashamed.
Damian wondered if Paul could defeat Ash today.
"Using Dragonite against Drapion... but there really isn't a better choice," Brock muttered, analyzing the situation. After all, Ash didn't have any Ground-type Pokémon, so trying to use type advantages against Drapion wasn't realistic.
At the very least, Dragonite had the advantage of being in the air.
On the field, Drapion looked up and growled at Dragonite. Its two terrifying claws waved as if to intimidate its opponent.
Dragonite's eyes widened, and it stared back at Drapion with dissatisfaction. At Drapion's provocation, Dragonite's expression turned into human-like anger.
"Dragonite, use Hurricane!" Ash shouted, waving his hand heavily.
Dragonite let out a cry. Its wings, which were small compared to its body, flapped rapidly. A powerful Hurricane swept toward Drapion.
"Pin Missile!" Paul ordered in a low voice.
White light glowed on Drapion's two claws. It swung them heavily, and streaks of white light shot out one after another. The dense Pin Missiles flew to meet the Hurricane.
Boom!
The Pin Missiles and the Hurricane clashed in mid-air, locked in a struggle. The sound of violent explosions was constant.
Although the Hurricane continued to push forward, the endless Pin Missile beams kept exploding, blocking the wind.
With a final, loud blast, the Hurricane was finally worn down by the Pin Missiles. A powerful shockwave swept outward, and dust filled the air.
"What kind of Pin Missile is that?!" Ash was shocked.
This Drapion had actually managed to block Hurricane using Pin Missile? That was too ridiculous.
"Dragonite! Extreme Speed!" Ash immediately gave the next command.
A white light glowed around Dragonite. Like a bolt of lightning, it dove into the dust and rushed toward Drapion.
"Toxic Spikes."
Drapion raised its claws and brought them together. A dark purple sphere of Toxic Spikes formed.
Seeing this, Damian let out a light laugh.
Bang!
Dragonite's Extreme Speed slammed hard into Drapion's head. Drapion let out a grunt but held its ground. The Toxic Spikes were sent flying into the air by Drapion.
"Great! Fire Punch!"
Dragonite's right claw ignited with roaring flames as it swung at Drapion's head.
Drapion immediately raised its claws horizontally, blocking the Fire Punch.
Boom!
The flames exploded. The massive force caused Drapion's huge body to be pushed back. Its four legs slid across the ground, leaving four tracks behind.
At the same time, the Toxic Spikes burst apart in the air. Streaks of dark purple liquid fell, sinking into the entire battlefield.
A strange, dark purple glow flashed across the field for a second, then everything returned to normal.
"Nice! Dragonite is suppressing Drapion!" Misty said happily.
"No, those Toxic Spikes..." Brock frowned instead.
Suppressed? Brock didn't think so. Drapion had only forced itself to take Dragonite's hit just now so it could successfully use Toxic Spikes.
"Toxic Spikes... I remember that's a field-control move. Does it make the Pokémon get poisoned?"
Ash was also looking at the now-quiet field. This was the first time he had seen the move Toxic Spikes. Even when he challenged Koga, the Gym Leader of the Fuchsia Gym, Koga hadn't used it.
So, he really didn't have much of an impression of it.
But it wasn't a big problem. Toxic Spikes was a field-control move. As long as Dragonite didn't touch the ground, it wouldn't be affected by them.
And Dragonite had the ability to fly.
"Dragonite! Extreme Speed!"
His thoughts moving quickly, Ash gave the command to Dragonite again.
The priority move, Extreme Speed, was simply too useful for closing the distance. Besides, Dragonite was naturally strong in close-quarters combat.
"Iron Defense," Paul said, remaining very calm.
Drapion growled, and its body began to glow with a metallic luster.
The Steel-type move Iron Defense could greatly increase the user's physical defense.
Bang!
Extreme Speed struck again, hitting Drapion's head once more. Drapion let out a cry of pain.
The metallic glow faded into its body; Drapion's Iron Defense was successful.
"Dragon Claw!"
This time, Ash didn't have Dragonite use Fire Punch. After all, both Fire Punch and Dragon Claw dealt normal damage to Drapion.
Ash could see that this Drapion's fighting style was basically standing its ground and trading hits, relying on nothing more than its strong physical body.
In that case, it was better to use Dragon Claw. A Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB) Dragon Claw would definitely deal more damage.
Dragonite's claws glowed with sharp green light as it lunged to tear into Drapion.
"Catch it!" Paul suddenly ordered.
"?" Ash was stunned.
Dragonite's Dragon Claw hit Drapion's head, but Drapion forced itself to endure the pain and take the hit.
Because Iron Defense had greatly increased its physical defense, the damage from this Dragon Claw wasn't actually very high.
The next second, the claws on the sides of Drapion's face suddenly shot out, clamping down on Dragonite's arms before it could pull them back.
Dragonite tried to pull away with all its strength, but Drapion held on tight.
"Hydro Pump!"
Ash frowned. It really got caught, but that would work.
Dragonite drew in a breath, its cheeks puffing out. A blue light of water gathered—the Water-type move Hydro Pump.
But just then, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out.
Drapion's hooked tail attacked with lightning speed, directly locking onto the defenseless Dragonite's throat. It then used its strength to slam Dragonite toward the ground.
The Hydro Pump was fired, but because Dragonite was being pulled backward by Drapion's tail, the blast missed completely.
Boom!
Dragonite was slammed heavily onto the ground. The violent impact caused the earth to shake.
"What?!"
Ash was shocked. He looked at Drapion's long, extending tail. It can do that?
As Dragonite hit the ground, a dark purple poisonous light glowed on the surface. Toxic Spikes had been triggered!
The eerie purple light spread across Dragonite's entire body, making it let out a painful cry. This was the poison damage from the Toxic Spikes.
"It's over," Damian muttered, seeing this. He wasn't a stranger to this scene because, in the anime, Paul used this exact Toxic Spikes tactic to let Drapion take down three of Ash's Pokémon in a row.
In reality, many moves were very different from how they worked in the games. After all, games are built for balance and mechanics, but reality is different.
A perfect example was Toxic Spikes.
In the games, Toxic Spikes is an entry hazard move, similar to Spikes. It poisons an opponent's Pokémon when they switch in. It only affects the ground, so Poison, Steel, and Flying types are not affected.
But in reality, Toxic Spikes didn't just affect Pokémon being swapped in.
As long as an opponent touched the ground, the poison damage would trigger. Furthermore, the same Pokémon could be triggered more than once.
And it was also effective against Flying-type Pokémon. As long as a Flying-type hit the ground, it would trigger the Toxic Spikes just the same.
Just like in the anime when Ash's Staraptor used Aerial Ace, Drapion dodged it at point-blank range, then grabbed it with its tail and smashed it into the ground, triggering the Toxic Spikes damage.
"Dragonite!"
Ash was very worried as he watched Dragonite take the poison damage.
"Ice Fang!" Paul's voice remained steady.
Drapion lifted Dragonite with force. A thick, icy-blue mist rose from its sharp teeth as it bit down on Dragonite.
Ash's pupils shrank. Oh no!
Dragonite had just taken the Toxic Spikes damage, making it very hard to dodge. Most importantly, its throat was still locked by Drapion's tail.
Dragonite could only watch as Drapion's head got closer. Although it struggled to move, it was pinned firmly to the ground by Drapion.
Crunch!
The chilling Ice Fang bit directly into Dragonite's body. A large patch of frost instantly froze over the spot where it was bitten.
Dragonite let out an agonizing cry. Its aura instantly became weak. An Ice-type move like Ice Fang dealt massive damage to it.
"This..."
Watching the situation flip in an instant, Misty was completely stunned.
Dragonite had a fourfold weakness to Ice!
"Come back, Dragonite!"
Ash didn't hesitate to pull out a Poké Ball, wanting to recall Dragonite.
"Crunch."
However, Paul gave him no chance. Drapion followed up with a Dark-type Crunch.
The poison damage from Toxic Spikes, plus Ice Fang, plus Crunch—after that combo, Dragonite couldn't hold on anymore.
Dragonite's legs kicked out once, and its body instantly went limp.
Seeing this, Ash grit his teeth. His expression looked very bad.
"Dragonite is unable to battle. Drapion wins," Platinum announced the result.
"Ash was too careless," Caitlin commented.
"That's right. It seems he doesn't understand Drapion's fighting style. He gave Paul an opening."
Platinum, who had walked back over, agreed with her.
"If we are talking purely about raw power, that Dragonite is stronger than Drapion."
Platinum looked at Ash. But a battle wasn't just about raw power.
When fighting a Drapion, you had to be wary of its flexible, extendable tail. Clearly, Ash didn't know that.
But it wasn't surprising. After all, Drapion was a Pokémon that mainly lived in Sinnoh.
And because its appearance was terrifying and monstrous, not many people used Drapion as their main partner.
Paul was one of the few who used Drapion extremely well.
Brock: "..."
Misty: "..."
"I'm sorry, Dragonite. It was my fault. Get some rest now," Ash said as he recalled Dragonite, offering words of comfort.
"Is this all you're capable of?" Paul said to Ash in a flat tone.
"You don't even understand your opponent's Pokémon. Without trying to test for information, you blindly start a series of attacks. You're reckless and impulsive, fighting based only on a burst of emotion."
"Are you really a qualified trainer?"
Paul's tongue was very sharp at times. At the very least, veins were popping on Ash's forehead right now.
"You! You only have a slight lead! This is a Full Battle, and the fight has just begun. What are you so proud of?" Ash was furious.
What is wrong with this guy?! The fight just started, and he starts talking trash after beating one Pokémon???
"I am merely stating facts. If this is your level, the battle will be over very soon," Paul's tone was still calm.
"Heh~" Ash laughed out of anger.
"The bond between me and my Pokémon isn't that weak! Keep your eyes wide open and watch!"
Ash forcefully threw his second Poké Ball.
"Gengar! I'm counting on you!"
A white light hit the ground. Accompanied by a creepy, low laugh, a round purple ghost appeared in front of Ash. It made a huge, scary face at Drapion.
It was Gengar.
But Paul didn't care about that. Instead, he frowned slightly.
"Bonds?"
Paul whispered the word to himself. His gaze toward Ash became even more full of dislike.
Bonds...
Is it another one of those guys who spends all day talking about bonds and friendship?