Just doubles its Speed!?
Even as green as she was compared to her future self, hearing Lucas's casual line made Iris feel at a loss for words.
Adding to her frustration was the fact that her Excadrill didn't know any weather moves—she couldn't even trigger its likely Sand Rush or Sand Force.
Feeling guilty, Iris shot a glance at Drayden. She'd skipped the Sandstorm lesson that day to go play outside—that's why Excadrill hadn't learned it.
Drayden's face, hidden behind his beard, revealed nothing, but his gaze was sharp and unwavering, like a straight sword piercing through Iris' distraction and forcing her to refocus on the battle.
Excadrill now defended against attacks from all directions. Without a weather move, it could only try to find openings in the opponent's terrain.
Steel clashed on steel; sparks flew bright against the thick hail.
In Hail, Slush Rush negated the Alolan Sandslash's weight induced clumsiness from the heavy ice spines on its back.
Sandslash had already carved several deep wounds into Excadrill with its terrifyingly sharp hooks. Excadrill, by contrast, was being pinned down and whittled by Hail.
Though flustered, talent is illogical—using keen observation, Iris noticed Sandslash often surged forward a bit after high speed movements, unable to fully overcome its momentum.
To check that, Sandslash needed one or two seconds after appearing to suppress that momentum—creating a tiny gap between reappearing and striking.
As Sandslash blitzed behind Excadrill again, Iris didn't hesitate: "Excadrill, Stomping Tantrum!"
Trust between them ran deep; even before spotting Sandslash, Excadrill stomped down hard.
Ground cracked outward from Excadrill, an ocher shockwave sweeping the field. Sandslash, caught in its momentum check window, couldn't dodge the well timed strike.
Boom.
The roaring ocher wave exploded beneath Sandslash's feet, blasting it head over heels.
"Yes!"
Feeling she'd sounded the counterattack horn, Iris leapt up with a cheer.
Drasna covered her mouth, surprised. "That child's observation is sharp."
Refereeing, Cynthia's lips curled. "Excellent judgment."
The surrounding Dragon type trainers gasped and withdrew their earlier "too green" assessments.
"Not bad."
Lucas praised Iris' near feral battle sense.
"But if that's all, you're still far from beating Sandslash. Icicle Crash!"
Grimacing, Sandslash steadied itself. The thick, sharp spines on its back exuded frost that surged into the sky, gathering over Excadrill.
With the Hail assisting, the icicles formed in a flash. Before Excadrill could react, a rain of spears fell.
"Oh right—Sandslash is Ice type too!"
Iris clapped a hand over her mouth. With Sandslash having used only Steel and Fighting moves so far, she'd almost forgotten Ice moves were even stronger in Hail.
"Don't get hit! Drill Run!"
At the last second, Excadrill aligned its claws and head spike into one and spun at high speed, becoming a great drill.
Rather than intercept, it played to its Ground/rodent strengths and dove for the earth.
In a single breath, half its body had burrowed underground.
But then Icicle Crash hit.
Kaboom!
Ice shards sprayed. Frost instantly froze the area; white mist billowed, turning the field into a fairyland.
A very cold fairyland.
The power stunned the Dragon type onlookers. Who would've thought Ice moves would shine brightest at a Dragon festival?
When Excadrill drilled back up and landed on the thin ice, a brittle crack sounded. They could see the pained look on its face—its legs numbed by frostbite.
Because Garchomp is 4x weak to Ice, Cynthia had extensive experience with such interactions. She frowned slightly. "Still too late."
Icicle Crash's massive Ice energy had exploded, catching Excadrill before it could get fully underground and freezing its legs.
And with its legs slowed by cold, Excadrill was now a lamb for Slush Rush Sandslash. Defeat was only a matter of time.
"Excadrill!"
Iris' worried voice rang out. Drayden sighed imperceptibly. Four words surfaced in his mind—
The die is cast.
Events unfolded as he expected. Hobbled, Excadrill couldn't withstand Sandslash's blend of speed and power. Even a desperate Horn Drill was meaningless against an almost errorless Sandslash under Lucas's command.
Sandslash dodged Horn Drill, then finished with another Icicle Crash, draining Excadrill's last drop of stamina.
In heels, Cynthia stepped onto the ice, checked Excadrill, and declared firmly, "Excadrill is unable to battle. Sandslash and Champion Lucas are the winners!"
"Drago~~"
"Sha sha!"
Sandslash strode back to Lucas, high fiving Dragonite, who'd watched intently.
Sandslash felt a bit relieved.
Thank goodness Dragonite had asked it to help train cold resistance—a major weakness. In assisting, Sandslash had discovered more of its own power. Otherwise, fighting this bull headed youngster would've been tough.
Iris walked over, crestfallen, and said to the barely conscious Excadrill, "I'm sorry—if only I'd been more focused…"
Excadrill gave her a helpless look—why did it have to comfort her after losing?
"Drill…"
Even so, it didn't hesitate. In a thin voice, it comforted Iris.
In that instant, even though Excadrill wasn't a Dragon type, Iris sensed its frustration and unyielding spirit.
Eyes widening, she smiled, reigniting her fighting will. "Mm! We'll train when we get back to the academy—then challenge big brother Lucas again!"
Seeing her recover cheered Drayden, Cynthia, and Drasna. The League's future would be forged by such lively youth.
Drayden was about to call the Dragon Clan's healers when Lucas stopped him and sent out a small Comfey with a smile. "Let Comfey handle the treatment."
"Fey fey~"
The reliable little doctor floated over Excadrill's head. Under Iris' curious gaze, it swayed, and a sweet floral scent with rosy light enveloped Excadrill.
Healing energy flowed—numb legs regained feeling, and stamina returned.
Iris looked up at Comfey. "It smells so good—what Pokémon is this?"
"Comfey—a Pokémon unique to Alola. Fairy type, excellent at healing," Cynthia answered, having handed Excadrill back.
"Fairy type…"
The Dragon trainers—already wary of Ice—froze at "Fairy." One resists Dragon, one is super effective on Dragon, and one is immune to Dragon while also super effective.
Was Lucas here to crash the Dragon festival?
As the crowd dispersed, Lucas and the others left the battlefield for an open space.
Cynthia smoothed her waist length blonde hair, smiled, and offered a hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Cynthia—an archaeologist, currently serving as Sinnoh League Champion."
Lucas shook lightly. "An honor, Champion Cynthia."
He thought it was just a cordial greeting, but Cynthia suddenly said, "Just call me Cynthia. After all, this is our second meeting."
"Huh?"
Lucas paused.
"Oh my—did you forget me?" Cynthia covered her mouth, chuckling. "The cream ice cream Pokéblock. Delicious. Didn't your Alcremie come with you this time?"
"Ms. C?"
Lucas's eyes widened as memory flashed back—to the dessert contest in Medali, where he'd won the Alcremie evolution item and where a blonde judge wearing a Togepi mask had gone by "Ms. C."
"So you remember…"
Before she could finish, Iris, collected again, blinked and asked, "Ms. Cynthia, what's that cream ice cream Pokéblock? It sounds so yummy!"
At that, Cynthia glanced at Lucas. He understood she was asking permission to tell the story, and nodded. He didn't mind.
These days, his main job was farmer; trainer was the side gig.
Even Drasna and the usually proper Drayden pricked up their ears, curious when Lucas and Cynthia had met.
Cynthia recounted the small tale: invited to be an anonymous dessert judge; Lucas made orange peel honey Pokéblocks with ice cream and won. A low stakes, charming story.
When she finished, Cynthia put a finger to her lips and smiled at Iris. "Please keep this a secret—especially from Lucian and Bertha."
She'd dumped her work on Lucian and Bertha to attend that event, after all.
Drayden looked a bit odd. In his mind, Sinnoh's Battle Goddess Cynthia always exuded a commanding aura on the field—no less than any man.
He hadn't expected her to love sweets so much.
Drasna cradled her face, her eyes narrowing into crescents. "Just hearing Cynthia's praise makes even an old lady like me crave that dessert."
Iris nodded furiously, a drop of drool at the corner of her mouth. "Me too!"
They chatted, but their eyes drifted toward Lucas. He wasn't dense; he knew what they were angling for.
"You're all welcome to visit my farm sometime. It's in Paldea—on the outskirts of Los Platos. Lucas Farm."
Whether Cynthia, Drayden, Drasna, or Iris, all were potential future customers—maybe even bridges to other regions.
Currently, his farm by products sold in Los Platos and a few items were auctioned in Levincia, but it never hurt to cultivate clients.
Drasna beamed. "I'll definitely make time to visit~"
"Teacher, teacher!" Iris' starry eyes sparkled at Drayden. Cold outside, warm within, Drayden soon caved.
He bowed slightly to Lucas. "Then, please allow me to bring Iris to visit."
Lucas nodded. "Please contact me then."
Cynthia smiled too. "Might I join the fun?"
"But of course. We've just started keeping Miltank; I'm switching the ice cream milk base to Moo Moo Milk. I'm also planning goat milk from Skiddo—and Alcremie's Salted Cream ice cream toppings in the Pokéblocks."
He spoke calmly about upgrading his ingredients—but when he finished, he noticed Cynthia had gone silent.
When he looked over, she was frozen—literally slack jawed.
He suddenly recalled: canonically, Cynthia not only loved sweets—her favorite was… ice cream!?
Her vacant stare quickly turned into impatience. If not for champion duties and archaeology after the festival, she'd head straight to Paldea to visit the farm.
Pure Moo Moo Milk and salted blended goat milk ice cream—just imagining it made her want to drop everything and go.
Sadly, reason prevailed.
Before they could talk further, night fell completely. Bright lights lit the Dragon Clan manor like day.
In the next instant, a gale dropped from the sky, precise and controlled—no harm done, yet impossible to ignore.
All eyes turned upward to see a Dragonite with its aura contained. On its back rode… Kanto Elite Four and Champion—Lance!
Cynthia's eyes sparkled. "Perfect control of power. Interesting."
Next moment—
Amid gasps, Lance leapt down from a hundred meters up. His red lined black cape snapped in the wind, then stilled as he landed smoothly.
Lucas's mouth twitched. Were Kanto/Johto folks always this theatrical? That was a hundred meters.
Drayden and Drasna, however, saw the trick.
"That Dragonite… used wind to cancel most of the falling force," Drayden said.
"And with that well trained body—and absolute trust in Dragonite—that entrance was possible. He's not just a Dragon specialist—he's skilled in the domain of Flying, too," Drasna added.
Drayden nodded slightly. Usually wrestling with Haxorus, Druddigon, and Salamence, he suddenly had the urge to wrestle Lance to see whose physique was stronger.
With Lance drawing all eyes, Clair arrived with a very elderly man.
The old man introduced himself as the Dragon Elder, guardian of the Dragon's Den.
Smiling, he welcomed the dragon tamers gathered from around the world. Then he said, "Tonight is merely the appetizer for our Dragon Festival, in thanks for your presence."
"After tonight's banquet, tomorrow morning—here—we'll hold the true event of the Dragon Festival: the Dragon's Den Trial!"
"On behalf of the Dragon Clan, I promise: any trainer who passes the obstacles at the Den's entrance and reaches its depths may choose a Dragon type or a Pokémon bearing dragon bloodlines from within—even our clan's Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite."
"And if you pass the hidden trial, and your Pokémon is Dragon type and can learn Extreme Speed… I will personally pass down the Dragon Clan's secret Extreme Speed technique to you!"