Chapter 137: That detestable fatty

"What a powerful Salamence, Dylan! You've trained it exceptionally well."

Brandon praised openly. Without a doubt, this was the strongest Salamence he had ever seen.

As a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Salamence's bloodline advantage was already immense. Once fully trained, its power far surpassed that of many ordinary Pokémon.

However, for most lucky Trainers who obtain a Bagon, evolving it into a Salamence is no easy feat.

The title of "late bloomer Pokémon" is not without merit.

Even after its evolution into Salamence, very few Trainers can bring out its full potential and strength.

Dylan's Salamence was unquestionably trained to near perfection, even stronger than Drake's Salamence. Brandon had never heard of such a powerful Salamence before today and hadn't expected that Dylan had secretly raised one.

"Thank you for your kind words, senior," Dylan replied with a smile, then recalled his Salamence into its Pokéball.

With Salamence cursed, it couldn't continue to battle without a huge risk.

Since this wasn't a Gym battle, Dylan had the freedom to switch Pokémon.

"Well then, Dylan, my second Pokémon is this one!"

After a moment of thought, Brandon decisively threw out his second Pokéball.

"Solrock!"

In a flash of white light, a strange-looking Pokémon appeared, hovering before Brandon.

Its body was orange, with eight yellow rock spikes extending from its sides. Its front and back were adorned with patterns made of small yellow stones, and its large, crescent-shaped eyes gleamed.

This was Solrock, a Rock and Psychic-type Pokémon.

'Beep~ Solrock, Rock and Psychic-type, Meteorite Pokémon

Ability: Levitate

Moves: Explosion, Trick Room, Solar Beam, Stone Edge, Psychic, Morning Sun, Flare Blitz, Cosmic Power…

Description: Said to have fallen from space, Solrock silently floats through the air, emitting a bright light during battles.'

It looked just like a little sun. Quite fascinating.

Lillie curiously observed the Solrock, its quiet aura and unique appearance truly living up to its name.

"Well, this is quite a coincidence, Brandon, but I'm not targeting you intentionally," Dylan said as he enlarged the Pokéball in his hand and threw it out with a reverse flick.

"Dragapult, get ready for battle!"

As the Pokéball opened midair, a spectral dragon, part ghost and part tangible, descended and quietly faced Solrock.

Its head was triangular, with horns extending to the sides that housed four cannon-like holes. Its golden eyes gleamed eerily, and its long, thick tail became transparent at the end, exuding a chilling and menacing presence, in stark contrast to the fierce and brutal nature of Salamence.

Brandon closely examined the unfamiliar dragon, his brows furrowing as a realization hit him.

"Is that…"

Carsey gazed in astonishment at the eerie dragon.

"Dragapult! A pseudo-legendary Dragon-type Pokémon from the Galar region."

Anabel's eyes lit up again with excitement—another pseudo-legendary dragon!

'Beep~ Dragapult, Dragon and Ghost-type, Stealth Pokémon

Ability: Clear Body

Moves: Dragon Darts, Dragon Rush, Phantom Force, Dragon Dance, Hex, Sucker Punch, Quick Attack, Outrage…

Description: By honing its willpower, its entire body can become invisible. Even the Dreepy inside its horns become undetectable.'

This Dragapult looked incredibly powerful!

"Is Gym Leader Dylan really this strong? How did he acquire both Salamence and Dragapult?" Anabel couldn't help but blurt out, not really directing the question at anyone in particular.

Dylan was a Gym Leader from Kanto, yet both Salamence and Dragapult were incredibly rare pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

How did a Kanto Gym Leader manage to get his hands on these two powerful dragons? If he had a pseudo-legendary, shouldn't it logically be Kanto's Dragonite or Tyranitar instead?

Wait, does he also have a Dragonite? Anabel suddenly considered this possibility.

"…" Carsey was speechless. How was he supposed to know?

"Bagon was a gift to Dylan from an old lady, while the Dreepy was a reward from Chairman Goodshow for capturing a Rocket Executive," Ilene answered in her pleasant voice.

"???"

Anabel and Carsey were even more shocked.

Never mind who that old lady was, but a Dreepy as a reward for capturing a Rocket Executive? Well, capturing a high-ranking Rocket member was a significant achievement, so awarding a pseudo-legendary wasn't that far-fetched.

But if they remembered correctly, the first time Dylan captured a Rocket Executive was in Celadon City, just under two months ago.

And Dylan had already evolved the Dreepy into a Dragapult???

"This guy's a monster, isn't he?" The more Carsey thought about it, the more disturbed he became. Even Lance couldn't train Pokémon this fast!

"Hmm... quite a few people have praised my brother for being a monster," Lillie said, thoughtfully touching her chin as she recalled.

"???" Carsey was full of question marks. Was that supposed to be a compliment? He was literally implying that Dylan wasn't human! How could a human train Pokémon like this?

On the battlefield...

"Dragapult, the Ghost Dragon…"

Brandon gazed seriously at the eerie Dragapult across from him. While its presence wasn't as overwhelmingly powerful as Salamence's, Brandon was certain this Dragapult was far more dangerous and difficult to deal with!

Should he switch out Solrock?

Brandon hesitated. His Psychic-type Solrock was at a disadvantage against Dragapult's Ghost-type. Battling with such a type disadvantage was already tough, let alone against a pseudo-legendary like Dragapult.

"Let's test it out first."

Brandon made up his mind. He was the senior here! How could he back down in front of a junior before the battle even began? Type disadvantage or not, so what?

It wasn't like Dragapult could knock out his Solrock in one hit, right?

Besides, he had never faced a Dragapult before, so probing its strength was necessary.

"Solrock, use Shadow Ball!"

Brandon made the first move, which played right into Dylan's hands.

"Sucker Punch," Dylan said with a gentle smile, tilting his head slightly.

A black Shadow Ball began forming in front of Solrock, a Ghost-type move perfect for countering Ghost-types!

Just as the Shadow Ball shot forward, Dragapult's eyes gleamed with black light, and its body transformed into a blue shadow, darting at Solrock at an incredible speed.

So fast!!

Brandon's pupils shrank. From his perspective, Dragapult was almost too fast to even track.

When he finally regained sight of Dragapult, it had already appeared above Solrock!

How was it this fast? Even though Sucker Punch was a priority move, this level of speed was unreasonable! The only explanation was that Dragapult itself was incredibly fast, and the priority move only enhanced that further.

No time to think now.

"Solrock, use Protect!" Brandon shouted urgently.

"Good reflexes, senior, but a little too late," Dylan said softly with a smile.

Solrock instinctively tried to raise its defenses to use Protect, but as it looked up, it saw Dragapult's cold, piercing eyes already too close.

Bang!

The Dark-type Sucker Punch slammed hard into Solrock, sending it crashing to the ground with a pained cry.

Sucker Punch, being Dark-type, dealt significant damage to the Psychic-type Solrock!

"Dragon Darts!"

Dragapult eerily glided upward, blue light shining from the holes on its head. Two ghostly missiles in the form of Dreepy shot out, bouncing and shifting unpredictably in mid-air as they sped toward Solrock.

Dragapult's signature move: Dragon Darts!

Boom! Boom!!

Solrock didn't even have time to get up before the high-speed Dragon Darts hit it in quick succession, resulting in two violent explosions and a strong wave of air sweeping through the area.

Dragon Darts hit Solrock perfectly!

"This…"

Brandon's expression froze as strong gusts of wind whipped against his face painfully. However, he had long been accustomed to such conditions from years of adventurous archaeological work. What mattered more to him was the current situation.

How could this be?!! Why is it so powerful?

Just feeling the shockwaves and strong winds from the aftermath of Dragon Darts indicated its immense power. Even if Dragapult was not particularly effective against Solrock, Solrock wouldn't be able to withstand Dragapult's attacks!

Even normal-damage Dragon Darts would be strong, and combined with the surprise attack, Solrock was significantly injured. It was only thanks to Brandon's excellent training that Solrock hadn't lost the ability to fight, as its defenses were quite good.

Dust filled the air, completely obscuring Solrock on the ground, making it impossible to see clearly. However, Dylan didn't need to see; he just had to finish off the weakened opponent.

"Dragon Rush!"

Dragapult let out a roaring cry, stretching out its limbs and body as pure Dragon-type energy continuously gathered, instantly transforming into a massive dark dragon.

The dark dragon silently roared in madness and then lunged down with terrifying killing intent.

Dragon-type Dragon Rush!

"Solrock! Hold your ground!" Brandon immediately ordered.

This hit from Dragon Rush must not be allowed to connect; otherwise, Solrock would either die or be left severely incapacitated.

The impact from Dragon Rush directly dispelled all the dust, revealing Solrock beneath it, with a green shield starting to form.

Boom!

Dragon Rush crashed heavily into the shield. The dark dragon furiously slammed against the barrier, causing ripples across its surface like a disturbed water surface, but it remained solid.

Finally, the Dragon Rush ran out of strength, and Dragapult's body eerily froze in place, its dark eyes coldly looking down at Solrock beneath the shield.

The protective light of the barrier began to shatter, and the shield was about to disappear.

Seeing this, Brandon's brows furrowed. He knew that Dragapult was currently lying in wait, waiting for the shield to completely vanish.

Brandon clenched his Pokéball, considering if he could recall Solrock in time.

No, it was probably too late. Dragapult was too close to Solrock. If it attacked immediately, it would hit Solrock, and no matter how fast he was, he couldn't outpace the poised Dragapult.

In that case…

"Solrock! Use Psyshock!"

"Phantom Force!"

Dylan's smile grew warmer.

What???

Brandon's pupils constricted.

Solrock's eyes lit up with a blue psychic glow, as its solidified colorful psychic waves surged forward.

However, Dragapult's body eerily shifted and vanished into the deep spatial rift beside it, using the Ghost-type move Phantom Force.

It wasn't attacking directly as Brandon had guessed; it had instead used Phantom Force.

"Come back, Solrock!"

Realizing this, Brandon immediately raised his Pokéball, wanting to recall Solrock. Solrock couldn't just fall here.

Although Solrock was in a weakened state, it still had the explosive power of a Psychic-type move! This ultimate move was very powerful and ineffective against Dragapult, but it could certainly devastate Dylan's other Dragon-type Pokémon.

He couldn't let Solrock go to waste.

"Dragapult!"

Bang~!

But Dragapult appeared perfectly behind Solrock, and Phantom Force crashed heavily into Solrock. Solrock let out a pained groan and fell to the ground.

Solrock was sent flying by Dragapult's attack, and Brandon's attempt to recall it failed.

"…" Brandon stared at Solrock with a stern expression, his feelings shifting between anger and concern.

The Phantom Force from Dragapult was a heavy blow to Solrock, and coupled with the previous two hits, Solrock had already slipped into a 'serene' sleep.

"Solrock has lost the ability to battle; Dragapult is the victor."

Anabel glanced at Dylan, her expression quite peculiar, but she still announced the result of the battle.

"It seems, senior, that your luck is rather poor; you were just interrupted by Dragapult while trying to recall Solrock," Dylan said with an appropriately regretful tone.

"…"

Brandon silently recalled Solrock.

Poor luck? He seriously suspected that it wasn't just a matter of luck!

Dylan's command for Phantom Force clearly indicated he had anticipated Brandon's intent to have Solrock use its ultimate move to counter Dragapult's attack.

Because Dylan must have guessed that he would try to recall Solrock, and Phantom Force was the perfect move to use.

The force of Phantom Force was considerable, and being Dragapult's Ghost-type move, it dealt heavy damage to Solrock.

Moreover, using Phantom Force had a lead-up, and entering the alternate space allowed Dragapult to avoid Solrock's attack perfectly.

All of this was clearly calculated by Dylan!

This seemingly gentle junior was actually full of cunning schemes!

Which junior intentionally prevents their senior from recalling their Pokémon during a battle?

Brandon realized what was happening; both Dragonite and Dragapult were ferociously powerful, and Dragapult had easily taken out his Salamance!

Was this junior trying to climb over him to rise in rank? He didn't believe for a moment that it was just an experiment to test a new team's strength.

That detestable fatty, Carsey, what kind of trainer had he set him up to fight against?

(End of Chapter)