Chapter 45: It's Not My Fault, It's Dylan's!

"This..."

The onlookers were speechless. After all, this was a Pokémon that had just used Belly Drum! In battles between evenly matched opponents, a Pokémon that has used Belly Drum is nearly unbeatable. Shouldn't it be unleashing a massive show of power and devastation?

"Drapion!"

Dylan called out to Drapion.

"Draaaap!"

Drapion let out a low growl, and its pincers on its raised tail sliced through the air, clamping down on Snorlax's neck and slamming it heavily onto the ground.

Snorlax, who had just barely recovered from the effects of Toxic Spikes, had no time to react and was immediately pinned to the ground by Drapion's tail.

"Cross Poison!"

Drapion's two pincers crossed and then swung down heavily, sending a sharp Cross Poison attack shooting towards Snorlax.

Bang!

Snorlax, who was just about to struggle to get up, was hit squarely, letting out a pained cry as its movements came to a halt.

Although Snorlax is bulky and fat, its physical defense is actually quite low—one of the lowest, in fact. However, its stamina is incredibly high.

But Snorlax had already used Belly Drum, and now its condition was far from good.

"Snorlax, grab it!"

Red's expression tightened as he commanded in a deep voice.

Snorlax isn't Pikachu! Right now, Snorlax's strength is far beyond Drapion's!

Snorlax, enduring the pain, reached out its large, chubby hand to grab Drapion's tail that was locked around its neck.

"Earthquake!"

But it wasn't going to be that easy. Drapion quickly retracted its tail. If Snorlax had grabbed it, it could have swung Drapion around and smashed it to the ground without mercy.

Snorlax missed its target, but Drapion wasn't done yet.

Its raised tail brought down a fierce gust of wind as it slammed into the ground next to Snorlax.

"Snorlax!" Red's brows furrowed deeply.

Rumble!

The ground trembled violently as the solidified shockwaves of the Earthquake rippled out, hitting the nearby Snorlax directly.

Snorlax let out a pained roar; the damage from Earthquake was not insignificant!

"Snorlax has to stand up! If it doesn't, it will keep taking hits!"

Misty was getting anxious.

"Impossible. Dylan won't give it a chance," Brock shook his head.

"Plus... Toxic Spikes will probably come into play again!"

But the Toxic Spikes might not even be necessary.

On the battlefield, Snorlax, who had fallen to the ground, was already severely weakened. Its injuries were serious.

"Snorlax, use Rest!" Red quickly thought of a solution and immediately ordered Snorlax.

"Not a chance!" Dylan's eyes flashed.

"Cross Poison!"

Snorlax closed its eyes, preparing to enter the Rest state. Rest is a Normal-type move that allows the user to recover health as long as it sleeps.

But Drapion's pincers were already swinging, and Cross Poison was rapidly approaching.

Boom!

Cross Poison exploded against Snorlax's body, spreading thick dust that obscured it from view.

"Did it work? Did Snorlax succeed?"

"I don't know. Cross Poison came too quickly. Snorlax might not have had time to use Rest, right?"

"Not necessarily. Rest is fast. As long as it fell asleep, Snorlax's health would recover, and it could withstand Cross Poison."

"Why is the dust still not clearing?!"

The spectators were all drawn in by the intense battle, each more anxious than the last.

Ash and his friends felt the same way, especially Ash, who watched the gradually dissipating dust with bated breath.

Did it succeed? If Snorlax managed to fall asleep, there was a chance it could turn the battle around!

Red also stared intently at the dust, focusing on Snorlax...

Slowly, Snorlax's form became visible to the crowd.

But when they saw Snorlax, Red's eyes flickered slightly, and he remained silent.

Snorlax's eyes had turned to swirls, indicating it had fainted. In the end, Cross Poison was just a bit too fast, and Snorlax hadn't managed to use Rest.

"Snorlax is unable to battle. Drapion wins!"

Leah stepped forward to check and crisply announced the result.

On the scoreboard, Snorlax's portrait on Red's side dimmed. This was a 4v4 battle, and Red now only had one Pokémon left.

Red silently recalled Snorlax, staring at its Pokéball for a long moment, his emotions complex.

To be honest, by this point in the battle, Red understood that his disadvantage was now significant.

After all, Drapion was only Dylan's second Pokémon, and it was still in good condition. This meant that if Red wanted to win, his last Pokémon would have to defeat all three of Dylan's remaining Pokémon.

There was no denying it—Dylan was different from any opponent Red had faced before. In his previous battles, almost all of them were straightforward, face-to-face confrontations.

But Dylan was different. While his Pokémon weren't weak, the true core of his team seemed to be the poison and Toxic Spikes field strategy he employed. At least, that's how Red saw it for now.

Even though Dylan had only used two Pokémon so far, Red knew that whether it was Arbok or the stronger Drapion, in a normal, straightforward battle, he believed his Blastoise and Pikachu could defeat them. But now? Even Snorlax had been taken down by Drapion.

This was the first time Red had faced an opponent like this—he had really learned something.

"There's still a chance!" But Red never gave up. He took a deep breath and steadied his mind. As long as the battle wasn't over, there was still a chance to turn the tables!

He couldn't give up!

"Dylan is really strong, isn't he?"

Ash also realized his brother's situation was becoming difficult. He stayed silent for a while before finally squeezing out this comment.

He really hadn't expected that his older brother, whom he admired, would be at such a disadvantage against someone his own age.

Dylan now had three match points in hand!

Ilene's fair face showed an even deeper smile, clearly indicating she was in a very good mood.

"Ilene?"

"What's up, Leah?"

"Dylan really started changing just half a month ago?" Leah couldn't help but fall into deep thought, suddenly realizing something.

"Yes." Ilene was taken aback, then nodded.

"It was around that time that he decided to use a Poison-type team first. Most of the Pokémon like Arbok, Drapion, and Sprigatito were captured and trained by Dylan during this period."

Ilene smiled as she spoke.

Ilene wasn't a trainer herself, although she knew that for Dylan to have trained Pokémon like Arbok to be so strong in just half a month, he must be an incredibly talented trainer.

But she didn't have a clear concept of how remarkable that was.

Hearing this, Leah, Misty, and Brock were stunned, while Ash didn't think too much about it.

"Can you be more specific? Were Pokémon like Arbok already strong when he caught them?"

Misty couldn't help but ask, her nerves growing tense.

Are you kidding? Captured and trained in just half a month? Half a month!! And they're already this strong?!

"Well... not really. Skorupi was sent to Dylan by his father, but back then, Arbok was still just an Ekans. I went with Dylan to Mount Moon, and back then, Arbok couldn't even beat a Floragato. It was really weak."

Ilene spoke gently and nostalgically, but then noticed the bizarre expressions on Misty, Brock, and Leah's faces.

"Huh? What's wrong with you guys?"

"Heh heh heh... I really am a failure..."

Misty let out a dry laugh, her eyes hollow as she finally gave up all hope.

Even Red took three or four months of travel to reach his current level of strength!

What is Dylan trying to do? Is he trying to drive all the other trainers his age to despair?!!

Does he not care about being human at all? This is way too demoralizing, ugh ugh ugh...

"Emmm..."

Leah and Brock couldn't help but ponder. They were thinking, is it that we're too weak, or is there something wrong with Dylan, or maybe the world itself is broken?

After a few seconds of reflection, Leah and Brock were absolutely certain: there was nothing wrong with them because everyone else was just like them!

Leah even felt that she was actually stronger than most of her peers, alright? When it came to monsters like Red, Leah didn't even bother to compare—she had already said he was a monster, so there was no point in comparing.

As for Dylan...

Leah was sure of one thing: it's not her fault, it's Dylan's!

Who's responsible for making him such a freak?!?!

Yes, Leah was sure she hadn't lost her mind. The world must be the one going mad.

(End of Chapter)