Chapter 89: Dratini vs Kangaskhan

Dratini slithered by my feet, his shiny green scales gleaming under the sputtering lights. He'd taken a hit—no denying that—but he was still in this. I reached into my sling bag, pulled out an antidote, and applied it with ease.

"Let's go for round two," I said, my tone casual, almost playful.

Dratini coiled, his muscles tensing. Across the hall, Kangaskhan stomped, her massive form practically vibrating with restrained power. Each thud of her foot seemed to shake the very floor beneath us.

"Dratini, 𝘈𝘲𝘶𝘢 𝘑𝘦𝘵!" I snapped. Water spiraled around Dratini's slender body as he shot forward like a bullet, his speed blurring in the narrow space.

Darius didn't even flinch. "Kangaskhan, 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦."

Kangaskhan's foot came down with the force of a sledgehammer, a shockwave ripping through the floor. The metal plates under Dratini's path buckled, sending him crashing into the ceiling before he could connect. Water sprayed everywhere, soaking the corridor, but Dratini wasn't done. He flipped mid-air, using the force to push off and regain his balance.

"𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳," I ordered, my voice hardening.

Dratini spun, whipping his body in tight coils as a spiraling vortex of wind and draconic energy exploded forth. The hallway filled with the deafening roar of the whirlwind, but Darius... Darius just stood there, unfazed.

"𝘐𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩, Kangaskhan."

With terrifying precision, Kangaskhan's fist glowed with a frigid blue light, punching straight through the twister like it was nothing. Frost sprayed across the walls as her arm, now encased in ice, came crashing down toward Dratini.

"𝘈𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺!" I barked.

Dratini shimmered, moving faster than the eye could follow. The ice-clad fist slammed into the floor where he'd been a split second earlier, leaving a spiderweb of cracks in the steel. Kangaskhan snarled, her breath misting in the cold air.

Darius's voice cut through the din like steel on steel. "𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩."

Kangaskhan moved faster than her size should've allowed, her dark energy-infused fist shooting toward Dratini as he darted back into range.

"𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵, now!" I called, my voice calm despite the chaos.

The hall filled with a thick, cold fog that billowed from Dratini, obscuring everything in a ghostly shroud. Kangaskhan's punch cut through the air, but Dratini had already faded into the mist.

A smirk tugged at Darius's lips, cold and calculating. "𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."

Kangaskhan's eyes glowed red, cutting through the fog like a predator locked onto its prey. Dratini's shimmering outline appeared, no longer hidden. Darius's smirk grew. He thought he had me.

"Dratini, 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩!" My voice was sharper now, urgency seeping in.

From the fog, Dratini unleashed a torrent of green-blue energy, roaring toward Kangaskhan's exposed front. For the first time, Darius seemed to tense, his eyes narrowing.

"Take it. 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭."

Kangaskhan bellowed, taking the full brunt of the Dragon Breath, her body glowing with fierce, red energy. The more damage she took, the stronger she became. She charged forward, her fists brimming with power, ready to obliterate anything in her way.

I gritted my teeth. "Dratini, 𝘞𝘳𝘢𝘱!"

Dratini surged forward, coiling around Kangaskhan's massive arms and neck. He squeezed with everything he had, trying to slow the beast down. But Kangaskhan was too strong. She snarled, muscles bulging as she fought against Dratini's grip.

"𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯," Darius commanded, his voice devoid of emotion.

Despite being bound, Kangaskhan lunged, using her sheer weight and power to slam Dratini into the wall with a bone-rattling crash. The steel dented under the impact, and Dratini's hold weakened.

"Dratini, 𝘌𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥!" I snapped.

Dratini shot off Kangaskhan in a green blur, zigzagging down the hall, too fast for her to land another hit. But I knew we couldn't keep this up forever. I needed to end this, and fast.

Darius's eyes flashed with cold amusement. "End it. 𝘏𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮."

Kangaskhan's mouth opened wide, energy building in a brilliant, deadly orb. The hallway lit up like a supernova, and I knew Dratini couldn't dodge this one forever.

"Dratini, 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦,full power!" I roared, my last-ditch effort.

Dratini spun, launching a swirling sphere of water directly at Kangaskhan's face. The Hyper Beam fired at the same time. The two attacks met mid-air in an explosion of light and sound, the sheer force shaking the entire corridor.

But the Hyper Beam tore through.

It smashed into Dratini, sending him flying across the hall. His small, green form skidded to a stop at my feet, battered and barely conscious. The battle was over, and I'd lost this round.

I knelt down, placing a hand on Dratini's slick, cool scales. "You fought well," I whispered, my voice steady despite the tension thrumming through me.

Darius watched from the other end, his face unreadable. But there was a glint in his eyes, a cold, calculating victory.

I returned Dratini to his ball and stood up, slipping another Pokéball from my belt. My fingers tightened around it. The battle wasn't over.