Boom!
The surging torrent shot like an arrow, piercing the rain and driving toward Dragonite's midair belly.
Even without Sniper, this hit looked more powerful than a typical Sniper Kingdra's blow.
That was the heritage of a mainline scion handed down to Clair.
But she faced a monster of an even higher tier—a "genius" who defied common sense—just like her cousin Lance.
In an instant, Dragonite flipped its body with unimaginable speed, evading what looked like a killing blow.
Emerald light gathered on Dragonite's claws, forming massive talons of dragon energy. With a howl of wind, Dragonite hammered Dragon Claw down at Kingdra!
However, in the rain Kingdra's agility was like it had turned on cheats. It vanished from its spot, and a heartbeat later was nearly ten meters away.
Dragonite's claw smashed into the ground, the stadium groaning under the impact. Debris sprayed; spectators had to brace each other to stay upright.
Cynthia pulled Iris into her arms protectively.
To her, Iris was a junior to be looked after. She didn't realize Iris had grown up in the wild, leaping between branches and swinging like Tarzan—her balance superb.
Cynthia was always like this, caring for juniors as best she could. Even random challengers who stopped her on the road—she'd accept gladly, then offer insightful advice after the battle.
Thus she was beloved by the people of the Sinnoh League.
Still shielding Iris, Cynthia murmured her observations. "Just now, Dragonite created a sudden, powerful opposing airstream in a split-second to force its bulky, unwieldy body to turn. No wonder you saw a 'storm.'"
"This Dragonite's talent in Flying-type techniques may far exceed its Dragon-type talent."
Drasna looked a bit surprised at Cynthia's analysis. As expected of the Sinnoh Champion—her keen eye surpassed Drasna's.
Dragonite flapped after the speeding Kingdra, gales filling the arena. It opened its jaws; radiant energy coalesced into a clawing dragon—Dragon Pulse soared skyward, then dove like a winged skeleton of energy to obliterate the foe.
Kingdra glimpsed the glow behind it, even had the leisure to turn and spit a low-power, taunting Hydro Pump through a gap in the Dragon Pulse, then slid away across the field, slipping the bombardment's net.
Boom!
Dragon Pulse obliterated bare ground, thundering as the blast's shockwave forced umbrellas down tight to avoid getting drenched.
Observers saw it: in sheer speed and turn capability, Kingdra toyed with Dragonite. Swift Swim in rain gave Kingdra too much of a buff.
Dragonite, steadily mastering the way of the wind, felt a bit stifled, but only a bit. It knew its strengths lay in an almost all-purpose arsenal of moves and a powerful body as a late-blooming dragon.
Even with the apparent advantage, Clair stayed solemn. "Surf!"
At Kingdra's call, water converged and rose into a towering white wave that seemed to touch the sky.
Then, the wave crashed down with unstoppable momentum, its roar deafening, as if the world itself trembled.
Dragonite was flying low. Lucas judged that rather than waste time climbing and losing hard-won ground on Kingdra, it should accelerate through with brute force.
Amid stunned looks, Lucas spoke calmly. "Punch through at once—Dragon Rush!"
"Drago~—!"
Dragonite roared, sheathing itself in surging energy. A cerulean dragon tore the Surf apart, bellowing as it chased Kingdra down.
The Surf was rent by brute force. Spray joined the rain, flooding outward. The crowd took several synchronized steps back to avoid the wash.
As Dragonite rode Dragon Rush's momentum, about to close on Kingdra, Clair snapped, "Smokescreen!"
Kingdra's eyes hardened. Though unwilling, it admitted a gap in raw power. Rather than recklessly brawl, it would suppress its instincts and heed the girl who'd grown up with it.
In a breath—
Inky smoke gushed from Kingdra's snout, blanketing the area. Even with rain dampening it, Kingdra vanished within.
Dragonite, at high speed, frowned. It couldn't whip up a gale in time to clear the smoke and plunged in, energy and momentum howling.
But the expected hit never came. The gale Dragonite kicked up blew away smoke and rain, revealing an empty crater—Kingdra had somehow slipped away.
For Dragonite, the chase had been a warm-up.
The dragon trainers around understood that too.
Lucas knew why Dragonite couldn't catch Kingdra.
Though Dragonite could circle the globe in a day, that was because it flew straight, barely needing to turn, and could wrap itself in streamflow to accelerate past Mach speeds.
But that was its straight-line, unobstructed top speed.
Move execution speed, combat agility, reaction time—those reveal Dragonite's base speed.
Bulky body, not so nimble; tremendous power, not built for skirmishing.
To close the speed gap with Kingdra, they needed buffs.
"Charge in—Dragon Dance!"
Lucas swept his right hand, giving the order.
Dragonite climbed toward Kingdra, and dragon energy wrapped it in blue-violet-red tri-color light, spinning into a brilliant tricolor halo.
Seeing the top spinning toward it, Kingdra frowned. Cold wind gathered at its snout and blasted at Dragonite.
Icy Wind!
Water and ice go hand in hand. A Water/Dragon learning Ice moves isn't unusual—Paldea even has Baxcalibur, a Dragon/Ice.
Kingdra knew Icy Wind could drop Dragonite's speed, denying Dragon Dance its payoff.
Frosted wind froze the rain in its path and descended on Dragonite.
But to Kingdra's surprise, whirling winds rose around Dragonite, like a knight's armor gifted to a princess—shielding it.
The slipstream met the chill, negating much of the impact; Dragon energy from Dragon Dance blunted ice's bane. Dragonite finished its buff—speed skyrocketing!
Buffed, Dragonite pounced like a tiger down the mountain, closing on the stationary Kingdra that had just cast Icy Wind!
Shock flashed across Clair's face. Wasn't Dragonite using Dragon Dance—where did those winds come from? Was it splitting its focus to control the free winds while executing a move?
Hand clutching her pounding heart, Clair shouted, "Then use something stronger—Ice Beam!"
Kingdra glared, and as Dragonite canceled its spin and lunged, icy blue light flared at its snout.
In a heartbeat—
Freezing beams split into three serpents, encircling Dragonite to bite. Frost filled the air; ice formed on Dragonite's lashes.
"Heat Wave!"
Lucas's voice cut like frost; the command burned hot.
"Drago~!"
Just before the beams hit, Dragonite bellowed, stubbornly pulling Fire energy under the rain's suppression.
Brilliant flame burst; motes of fire spread like endless stars, and the gale fanned them out. They blocked Ice Beam and vaporized the rain into towering white steam.
The hot blast forced the crowd back a few steps. Someone exclaimed, "Heat Wave that strong even under Rain—amazing!"
Lucas didn't miss the praise. He smiled—battles with the Fire Lord, Fire-type legends like Moltres and Victini on the ranch and Victini's blessing—Dragonite's Fire moves being overtuned was only natural.
Dragonite whipped up another gust, clearing the fog and the line of sight—Kingdra was now at point-blank, stunned that Ice Beam had done nothing.
Dragonite's wings beat as it surged in!
Finally, Dragonite was upon Kingdra.
With a hum that made the air vibrate, Dragonite swung Dragon Claw down on the slippery eel it had labored to chase!
Clair wouldn't sit and wait. "Draco Meteor!"
A bystander cried out, "Is she crazy?!"
At this range, Kingdra would be caught in it too!
Cynthia's lips parted. "No—she's right."
Drasna's expression agreed.
"Better to trade blows than let a Dragon Dance Dragonite get in your face. And Pokémon are more tolerant of energies generated within their own bodies."
"In simple terms—a layer of damage reduction."
Kingdra didn't aim Draco Meteor skyward—that would be too slow at this range.
It stared at Dragonite's emerald claws, dragon energy gathering into a massive deep-purple sphere, pulsing with dreadful power—ready to bring calamity once unleashed.
Indeed, it's a high side-effect move; dragons don't use it lightly.
But once unleashed…it can turn the tide!
And now, Draco Meteor hadn't yet split—if it landed, the full hit would connect!
Even with Multiscale, Dragonite would be blasted into a sorry state.
In Clair's mind, Lucas had two choices.
One: abort the attack or use the precious Protect. Then she'd reset distance and never let Dragonite close so easily again.
Two: slam through regardless and eat a full Draco Meteor—enough to make even a dragon of Dragonite's caliber suffer. As a scion of dragon heritage, Clair had full confidence in her partner's Draco Meteor—enough that even Lance would avoid taking it head-on!
But—
Under Clair's suddenly constricted pupils, Lucas chose a third option!
With a slightly wild grin, his voice carried a hint of mad courage.
"Dragonite—Draco Meteor!"
Dragonite executed instantly.
A deep violet glow blossomed—brighter and larger than Kingdra's—forming before Dragonite's chest. The pressure alone weighed on every trainer present.
Some looked horrified. Do these two remember this is a spar?!
If the two Meteors collided, the blast might reach beyond the battlefield!
Some ran; some called out their Pokémon to shield them. There were no protective barriers here—getting hurt at a banquet would be awful.
Thankfully, everyone present was a trainer—dragon specialists, no less.
If they couldn't protect themselves from the aftermath, they might as well retire and farm.
Lucas knew this and pressed on.
Cynthia unhesitatingly sent out Garchomp to shield herself and Iris; Drasna called out an Altaria wearing an Eviolite-like charm to protect her.
In the next instant—
The twin Meteors collided—light blazed as if the world dimmed; a deafening roar shook the grounds. Shockwaves pummeled outward; the rain flashed to steam.
A small mushroom cloud rose over the Dragon Clan's ancestral estate.
Even Lance and Drayden's battle was affected. Haxorus and Dragonite, crossing Dragon Claw and tusks, both lost footing and landed on their backsides—faces lost.
Moments later—
The light and aftershocks faded.
Everyone snapped their gaze to the field.
At Lucas's side, a Serperior's vines casually dispersed the remaining shock, not even singed.
At Clair's side, a Charizard wrapped her in its wings, unscathed.
On the field, scattered blue scales lay in a crater. Seeing Kingdra battered and flagging, the crowd fell silent.
On the other side, a nearly tangible shield of storm winds hugged Dragonite's body. Thanks to that storm shield and Multiscale, Dragonite bore only light burns and scratches.
Cynthia pursed her lips, studying Lucas—seeing no surprise on his face.
"Confident with cause…?"
As she suspected, Lucas knew Dragonite could protect itself under Draco Meteor's onslaught—and so made a seemingly mad choice.
The storm shield was a cyclone whirling tightly around Dragonite. Ordinarily, it would be nearly impossible for a Pokémon to control wind to such a degree—especially while casting a major move like Draco Meteor.
A Serperior might split focus like that—but a dopey, cuddly Dragonite?
In truth, those storm winds weren't a formal move at all. Lugia had taught Dragonite the technique it used to keep a psychic barrier up in battle, helping Dragonite achieve a similar effect using its weather-shaping affinity from its Dragonair days—without invoking a named move.
As Dragonite's understanding deepens, one day it may command the winds like its own limbs.
Looking at the battered Kingdra, Clair fell silent.
She hadn't expected such a gap between herself and Lucas. This Dragonite wasn't even his ace, yet its strength was nearing the image she chased in her mind.
Stung, but not resigned, Clair bit her lip and set her sternest face yet. "Dragon Pulse!"
…
In the end, under the crowd's complicated gazes, Clair lost.
With its storm shield revealed, Lucas and Dragonite stopped holding back. In the rain, Dragonite's wide-area Hurricane, boosted by weather, would be hard even for a fresh Kingdra to deal with—let alone one in poor shape.
The rain Kingdra summoned became Dragonite's aid.
Air Slashes that could slice the sky tore through Kingdra's scales, dealing massive damage.
Kingdra could only fall, unwilling, before the Dragonite it refused to yield to.
...
Bonus chapter at 100 PS