Chapter 101: Dylan, She's Your Childhood Friend!
A Champion-level Dragon-type Trainer!
Hearing Zinnia's words, Ilene and Lillie were both very surprised. A Champion-level trainer is at the top of the ranks in any region. Such an opponent is undoubtedly extremely formidable.
The news that Dylan and Zinnia would battle quickly spread through Meteor Village, attracting not only the elder but also many of the remaining Meteor villagers who came to watch.
In the open space in front of the village.
"Then I'll be the referee."
Itto stepped forward without hesitation. Unfortunately, Meteor Village was quite primitive and lacked scoreboards or similar facilities, but that wasn't a big issue.
"Now the battle between Dylan and Zinnia begins!"
"The battle rules are 6 vs 6! Both sides can switch Pokémon, and the battle ends when one side's six Pokémon are all unable to continue. The other side wins!"
"The battle starts!"
Itto waved a small flag and then stepped off the battlefield.
"Dylan."
Zinnia took out a Poké Ball, enlarging it and pointing it at Dylan, her face showing a bright and fearless smile, full of heroic spirit.
"Since Aster left, I have been honing myself and my Pokémon day by day, and I have finally become who I am now!"
"The fangs and claws of Dragons are their most powerful weapons! Can you withstand them?"
Seeing that Dylan remained unfazed, Zinnia threw the Poké Ball with force.
"Goodra!"
The Poké Ball opened, and a bipedal Dragon appeared before Zinnia.
It was a tall and robust figure, mostly purple, with very smooth skin, a thick and massive tail, and a layer of slime on its body.
This was Goodra, the final evolution of Goomy.
'Drip~ Goodra, Dragon-type, Dragon Pokémon
Ability: Hydration
Signature Moves: Draco Meteor, Muddy Water, Body Slam, Dragon Pulse, Rain Dance, Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, Thunderbolt…
Description: This Pokémon is very affectionate toward people. It gets lonely when its trainer is not around and cries sticky tears.'
The first Pokémon was Goodra…
Lillie, who wasn't a trainer herself, clicked her tongue in admiration as she read the Pokédex information on Goodra. Although she wasn't a trainer, she knew that being called a 'late-blooming Pokémon' was extremely rare and valuable.
"That's really strong," Ilene said, her lips pressed together, her brows slightly furrowed.
Just from Goodra's aura, one could sense that its strength was likely very high.
On the battlefield.
"This Goodra is probably at least level 65 or higher."
Dylan carefully observed Goodra, pondering.
He had a Goodra himself, but his Goodra was probably not as high a level as Zinnia's.
In that case, he would need to slightly adjust his strategy. Although he had Articuno as backup, Zinnia's strength was higher than anticipated.
"Incineroar, prepare for battle."
Dylan threw out Incineroar's Poké Ball.
Incineroar landed, opening its arms and roaring fiercely at Goodra, showing a menacing pose.
"Oh~ Is this the evolved form of the Litten I sent?" Itto's eyes lit up as he took out his Pokédex to check Incineroar's information.
He nodded in satisfaction as he read, clearly proud of his son.
"Incineroar?" Zinnia recalled Incineroar's type.
Though she had never seen an Incineroar before, knowing its type was enough.
"Incineroar!"
Incineroar roared at Goodra, and under its imposing presence, Goodra's physical attack was lowered by one stage.
Intimidate ability!
"Goodra, use Muddy Water!"
Zinnia remained unperturbed and decisively commanded Goodra. Her Goodra specialized in special attacks.
Goodra let out a dragon's roar, and water-blue energy began to shine from its body.
Water-type Muddy Water!
"Fake Out!"
The black and red figure dashed toward Goodra with lightning speed and slapped Goodra hard on the face.
Goodra's Muddy Water was interrupted, and it staggered back, covering its face and retreating a few steps.
"Hmm?" Seeing this, Zinnia tilted her head slightly.
"Parting Shot!"
Incineroar, with one hand on its waist and the other pointing at Goodra, began to insult Goodra, causing its eyes to become increasingly fierce, its breathing heavy, and it was clear that Incineroar was cursing harshly.
After the taunt, Incineroar returned to Dylan's Poké Ball in a flash of white light.
Goodra's white light dissipated, and its physical and special attacks were further reduced by one stage.
"…" Zinnia looked somewhat confused.
Though her Pokémon was very strong, her experience in battling outsiders was limited; she mostly sparred with elders from her tribe.
Dragon-type battles were usually straightforward, but she was a bit taken aback by this tactic.
"Sableye! Prepare for battle!"
Sableye appeared before Dylan.
Zinnia recognized Sableye; it was a Pokémon of relatively low strength, and she wondered why Dylan chose it as his main.
Nevertheless, even though Goodra had been weakened twice by Incineroar, its power was still far beyond what Sableye could handle!
Goodra gathered dragon energy in its mouth.
"Fake Out."
The small Sableye dashed at Goodra at high speed and swiped its claws at Goodra's face.
Goodra's Dragon Pulse was interrupted again, and it covered its face, staring blankly at Sableye.
Zinnia was silent, and Sableye used Fake Out once more.
"Taunt!"
Sableye's eyes sparkled with an eerie light as it showed off, extending its small claws and making a show of bravado.
Goodra's forehead veins bulged, and its eyes seemed to flicker with flames. Its anger had reached its peak.
This…
Zinnia frowned, sensing that something was off.
"Goodra, Dragon Pulse!"
But no matter what, they needed to attack.
Goodra, usually gentle, was already extremely angry after two slaps and one taunt, and its dragon energy was now fully charged.
Just then, a beam of light struck Sableye, and it was returned to Dylan's Poké Ball by him.
After recalling Sableye, Dylan fell into deep thought.
Zinnia tightened her lips, her hand unconsciously clenching into a fist.
But after waiting for a while, Dylan still hadn't sent out his Pokémon. Acting as the referee, Itto immediately warned Dylan.
"What's wrong, Dylan? Delaying the battle like this is against the rules."
Everyone, including Zinnia, looked at Dylan in confusion.
"I was thinking, if I send out Incineroar again and then repeatedly switch with Sableye, that shouldn't be against the rules, right?"
Dylan hesitated for a moment but decided to voice his thoughts.
What the heck?!
Hearing Dylan's words, Itto and the others were stunned. They instantly understood what Dylan meant.
Yes, Dylan could indeed send out Incineroar again, using Intimidate plus Fake Out, then swap to Sableye, repeating the cycle.
It wouldn't take long before Goodra's physical and special attacks would be reduced to the minimum, turning it into a powerless opponent.
Moreover, once Dylan switched to Sableye for the second time and used Mean Look, Goodra would struggle to continue the battle.
"???"
Zinnia's eyes widened, her pupils dilating as she stared in shock at her childhood friend Dylan.
No way! How could you do this? You weren't like this before, Dylan!
"Technically, that's not against the rules, but Dylan..."
As the referee, Itto hesitated, trying to phrase it as gently as possible.
"Zinnia is your friend. You understand what that means, right, Dylan?"
The underlying message was clear: even if you want to play dirty, you shouldn't completely disregard basic decency! Plus, this is in her own village!
The silent elder: "..."
The embarrassed Lillie: "Hehe..."
Ilene: (—)
"I understand." Dylan sighed with some regret.
Indeed, since they hadn't seen each other for so long, he should at least give Zinnia some battle experience and not be too inhumane.
In that case...
"Drapion! Prepare for battle."
Dylan threw out his third Poké Ball.
Seeing that it wasn't Incineroar, Zinnia secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Though the strategy was a bit annoying, Dylan was still a good person! Just as gentle as before!
"A Poison/Dark-type Drapion, Dylan, are you a Dark-type specialist?" Zinnia recognized Drapion and curiously asked Dylan, noting that he had already used three Dark-type Pokémon.
"That's right. I'm using a Dark-type team." Dylan nodded.
"I see."
Zinnia understood why Dylan's strategy was so... unique. With a Dark-type team, no tactic would be too surprising, given their nature.
"Let's continue then!" Zinnia, now reinvigorated, flashed that spirited smile once again.
"Goodra! Dragon Pulse!"
For the third time, Goodra opened its mouth to gather dragon energy, and this time, it finally succeeded!
Goodra was practically in tears; this was the first time it had successfully unleashed a move in the entire battle.
"Toxic Spikes."
???
Zinnia looked at Dylan in confusion. Toxic Spikes?
A dragon-shaped wave of energy shot toward Drapion, hitting it directly and causing an explosion, but the Dragon Pulse didn't have a type advantage over Drapion.
Moreover, Goodra's special attack had already been weakened once.
Drapion let out a pained cry but withstood the attack, using its pincers to scatter the Toxic Spikes into the air. The spikes burst in midair, and a layer of purple fluid sank into the ground, causing the surface to glow with a dark purple light before returning to normal.
Zinnia's frown deepened. Unlike in Kanto, Toxic Spikes weren't well-known in Hoenn, especially to Zinnia, who had only recently left Meteor Village.
But Zinnia knew that Dylan wasn't a simple opponent, so those Toxic Spikes definitely had some trick behind them!
"It's here! Dylan's specialty, the Toxic Spikes strategy!" Ilene's eyes lit up, her tone excited.
"Sister Ilene, are Toxic Spikes really that powerful?" Lillie asked innocently.
"Very powerful! Dylan was the pioneer of this strategy! Now, the Toxic Spikes tactic is famous throughout Kanto!"
Though not for the best reasons, and Dylan has been cursed behind his back more times than one could count for it.
"Dylan is amazing!" Lillie gasped, covering her mouth in astonishment. Famous throughout Kanto, wow!
"Just watch, Lillie. This Goodra is already destined to lose."
Ilene's beautiful face was full of confidence as she envisioned Goodra's inevitable defeat.
(End of Chapter)