Salamence

The battle between Reid and Aaron took place on a beach just outside Sunyshore City. The city's small size and tight development planning left little space for large-scale battles, so the sandy shores were the perfect spot.

In addition to Reid and Aaron, Volkner was present as well. Next to Volkner stood his Pokémon, Alakazam, a yellow-brown creature with a wide, shiny forehead and long whiskers, holding spoons in both hands. Alakazam had followed them from Volkner's room in Sunyshore Tower, and though its intentions were unclear, no one questioned its presence.

With everything prepared, Aaron, who had initiated the battle, shouted across the beach to Reid. "The rules are three versus three. We can switch Pokémon, and the battle continues until one side's Pokémon are all unable to fight. Sound good?"

"No problem," Reid nodded.

Whether it was three or six Pokémon, it made no difference to him. After all, this was just a sparring match, so he didn't need to take it too seriously. Despite Reid's relaxed demeanor, Aaron was on high alert.

"I'll take the first move," Aaron declared as he tossed an Ultra Ball. With a flash of red light, a massive, scorpion-like Pokémon with hook-like pincers and a stinger landed on the beach—Drapion.

"Drapion, huh?" Reid muttered softly, preparing to send out his signature Unown as usual. But before he could grab the Master Ball, another Pokéball on his belt shook vigorously.

"Salamence?" Reid was surprised for a moment but quickly understood the reason.

Salamence had mostly been used as a "transport Pokémon" recently, even being kept out of the fight with Azelf to avoid accidentally knocking it out too quickly. Salamence must have been feeling restless after missing out on those battles.

With a chuckle, Reid grabbed Salamence's ball. "Alright, I suppose you've earned this. You're up."

As the Pokéball was thrown, a large blue dragon appeared in the sky, eagerly flapping its crimson wings. Seeing Salamence's enthusiasm, Reid reminded it, "You can handle this fight, but remember what I told you. Don't get carried away, especially since this is just a spar."

"Roarrr!" Salamence responded confidently, hovering above Drapion and awaiting the first command from Reid or an attack from Aaron.

Unexpectedly, Aaron didn't attack. After a brief moment of hesitation, he recalled Drapion.

Salamence: ???

"What? You call back Drapion before we even start?" Salamence seemed puzzled, and so did Volkner and Reid.

"Ah, I see," Reid mused. "He expected me to start with Unown, and when he saw Salamence, he decided to switch."

It made sense. Drapion, primarily a physical attacker without flight, was at a disadvantage against Salamence, even without type advantage. Reid speculated that Aaron's next choice would be a Pokémon capable of flight.

Sure enough, Aaron sent out his next Pokémon—Flygon, a Dragon and Ground-type that, despite its appearance as a dragonfly, was actually a dragon.

"Not a bug-type pokemon?" Reid grinned, noting that Flygon had the advantage in terms of type matchup He also found it amusing that neither of Aaron's Pokémon so far fit his title as the "Bug-type Master."

But that wasn't a big issue—after all, the supposed "world's best Dragon-type Trainer" also mainly used Flying-types. If it looked like a dragon, it was a dragon. If it looked like a bug, it was a bug.

"You can have the first attack," Reid said, eyeing Flygon.

"Alright then, here goes," Aaron responded. "Flygon, use Tailwind!"

Flygon flapped its wings, creating a strong wind that rapidly swept across the beach, kicking up sand as it transformed into a sandstorm.

But that was just the beginning. As the sandstorm grew, Aaron followed up with another command: "Use Boomburst!"

Flygon stopped flapping and opened its mouth, unleashing a fierce, ear-piercing soundwave that shattered the air, sand, and even the wind, amplifying the sandstorm and sending it rushing toward Salamence.

Reid watched the combination attack and murmured to himself, "He's grown since the last time we battled… but this is still a bit weak."

"Salamence, let's show them. Use Hyper Voice!"

Salamence opened its mouth wide, releasing a deafening sonic blast. In a blink, Salamence's attack collided with Flygon's "Boomburst Sandstorm" in midair.

BOOM!

The clash created a powerful shockwave that spread across the beach, but it lasted only a moment. Despite Boom Burst being a better move in general, the attack was overwhelmed by Salamence's Hyper Voice within seconds.

Before Aaron could react, Salamence's Hyper Voice continued, cutting through the remnants of Flygon's attack and slamming directly into it.

BOOM!

An explosion followed, and black smoke filled the sky. Flygon's figure emerged from the smoke, plummeting toward the ground, defeated.