"YOOOO! Didn't expect that… Sato's first Pokémon is Hydreigon! Is he trying to give Lance a wake-up call?"
In the audience, Flint leaned so far forward that half his body was hanging out, eyes gleaming as he watched Hydreigon and Kingdra face off.
Volkner grabbed him by the belt with a deadpan look, dragging him back. They were both Elite Four Trainers… how could Flint still be so reckless?
Then, the battle began!
---◓---
Kingdra took the lead, using Agility. Even without water on the field, it moved effortlessly, leaving behind a clear watery trail.
On the other side, Hydreigon launched an all-out assault without hesitation.
It hovered at the center of the battlefield. Its three heads twisted evenly, giving it full visual control of the entire field.
Then… it went wild…
Relentless Dragon Breath!
With Agility active, Kingdra was darting across the field at high speed. But in the next second, a yellow-green blast of Dragon Breath appeared right in its path!
Slow down, swerve!
Kingdra barely managed to dodge, but immediately after, another Dragon Breath shot straight for it again?
With three heads, the move chaining was insanely fast!
Left with no choice, Kingdra relied on its tough Dragon-type physique and twisted again midair.
When the third Dragon Breath preemptively blocked its path, Kingdra decisively abandoned Agility, instead raising its head skywardm as if praying for something.
"KING!"
BOOOOM!
The bellow, deep like a bull's, was quickly cut off by another incoming blast of Dragon Breath.
Kingdra was sent flying, but Hydreigon in the air had no intention of letting up.
Dragon Breath!
Dark Pulse!
Dragon Pulse!
Three moves launched in tight sequence, each just milliseconds apart, all aimed straight at Kingdra.
"Dragon Dance!"
Lance finally gave a command. A sharp, timely order right when Kingdra was in its most perilous moment.
At Sato and Lance's level, they both had unique ways of communicating with their Pokémon; like Sato's synchronized resonance technique.
Lance clearly had his own method. Kingdra responded instantly, twisting its body as soon as the command came out.
The mysterious Dragon Dance enshrouded Kingdra in a noble purple light. Then, both the Dragon Breath and Dragon Pulse were dodged cleanly. Only the Dark Pulse grazed its tail, dealing minimal damage.
At that moment, a raindrop suddenly landed on the bridge of Sato's nose. The cool sensation made him furrow his brow.
The next second, heavy rain poured down. Roaring and intense!
The earlier Rain Dance hadn't been interrupted. As the raindrops hit Kingdra's body, they instantly activated its Ability.
Swift Swim: speed doubled in rain. But for Kingdra, it was more than that… it was like walking on rain itself.
Kingdra took flight!
"Dragon Breath!" "Hydro Pump!"
This time, both Sato and Lance issued commands together.
Hydreigon's three heads charged up Dragon Breath simultaneously, unleashing it at blinding speed toward Kingdra.
Kingdra took a deep breath, and from its cannon-like mouth, a giant spiral-shaped Hydro Pump burst forth.
The spiral Hydro Pump moved at incredible speed, with such force that it sliced through the falling raindrops, blasting straight toward Hydreigon!
Lefty's Dragon Breath collided with the Hydro Pump almost instantly.
The Dragon Breath was torn apart like paper, followed by Middy's Dragon Breath being struck head-on.
The Hydro Pump plowed forward with unstoppable force, but its momentum had slowed… just slightly.
Suddenly, the final Dragon Breath wasn't aimed to block the Hydro Pump!
Instead, it followed closely behind the spiral water blast, speeding toward Kingdra!
Pshh…
BOOOOM!
Two different impact sounds rang out almost simultaneously. The twice-weakened spiral Hydro Pump struck Hydreigon hard, pushing it all the way to the edge of the battlefield.
But Righty's Dragon Breath also successfully hit Kingdra, interrupting the sustained output of Hydro Pump.
Soon after, both sides returned to the center of the battlefield.
A clearly visible Hydro Pump burn mark streaked across Hydreigon's body. The impact had nearly stripped a layer of skin from the injured area.
Looking back at the whole match so far, despite Hydreigon having taken multiple hits, none had dealt damage as severe as that one Hydro Pump.
Kingdra's offensive was overwhelmingly oppressive!
Sato frowned, mentally recalling the dossier's description of this Kingdra, and his conclusion became more certain.
---◓---
"Possesses both Swift Swim and Sniper as dual Abilities…? Tsh, Lance really is lucky."
Fujin sat quietly in the stands, smiling as he muttered to himself, clearly curious about how Sato would break the deadlock.
"YOU OLD MAN! What's with that 'swim' and 'sniper' talk? My idol relies on skill, not luck!"
A nearby girl snapped angrily without even turning to look at him.
Before Fujin could respond, she turned right back around and shouted Lance's name with all her might, clearly uninterested in any explanations.
Fujin blinked a few times, chuckled, and then slowly faded from his seat… unnoticed by anyone around him.
---◓---
At that moment, the battle had shifted again. After successfully injuring Hydreigon, Kingdra's speed suddenly dropped back to normal.
Faint sparks flickered across Kingdra's body, and the crowd finally realized…
Kingdra was Paralyzed!
A wave of realization swept through the audience.
So that's why Sato had stuck with Dragon Breath the whole time, even though Hydreigon had far stronger moves.
From the beginning, Sato's plan had been to inflict Paralysis on Kingdra and limit its mobility!
Sure enough, Hydreigon immediately dropped Dragon Breath and began bombarding with stronger moves. Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Earth Power…
All sorts of attacks flew out like they cost nothing, striking from all kinds of tricky angles that left Kingdra struggling to dodge.
But in that critical moment, Kingdra displayed the pride of a Dragon-type Pokémon.
It stood tall and firm, unleashing wave after wave of terrifyingly powerful Dragon Pulses from its cannon-like mouth. Half of them used to block incoming moves, the other half fired straight at Hydreigon without hesitation.
One mouth versus three, yet for a moment it felt like an even fight!
But ultimately, the gap between them was real. Hydreigon's overall advantage was too great. After just a few minutes of trading blows, Kingdra was overwhelmed and unable to keep up.
BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOM! BOOO…
Three consecutive explosions echoed as a barrage of Dragon Pulses struck Kingdra, blasting it out of the arena.
And with that, Kingdra fell. Hydreigon, slightly injured and heavily drained, claimed victory!
Round one…
Sato wins!
Without a word, Lance decisively recalled the fallen Kingdra and immediately sent out his next Pokémon.
"GYARAAA!"
A deafening roar shook the arena. A towering, ten-meter-tall Gyarados thundered onto the battlefield.
In front of this beast, even the pseudo-legendary Hydreigon looked slightly small.