Dylan had actually prepared two Alolan Ninetales?
Lance stared at the sleeker, more flirtatious Alolan Ninetales now sitting calmly on the field and fell silent.
He really couldn't understand Dylan's thinking. Sure, he had raised multiple Dragonites himself—but Alolan Ninetales and Dragonite weren't even comparable.
Dragonite was a pseudo-legendary Dragon-type with powerful all-around stats, outstanding movepool, and the ability to serve as both a bruiser and a special artillery unit when needed.
Alolan Ninetales, on the other hand, while able to summon Hail, was fragile in both offensive and defensive stats. Only its Speed was decent.
Outside of very specific strategies, what kind of sane person brought two Alolan Ninetales?
Unless…
Lance's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Lance, I prepared this Pokémon just for you," Dylan said with a calm smile.
Alolan Ninetales stretched lazily with a yawn. Her elegant and cute demeanor made the female audience absolutely swoon.
Compared to the more refined first Ninetales, this one was clearly more expressive and outgoing.
She even winked at the Mega Gyarados!
Unfortunately, just like its Trainer, the Mega Gyarados wasn't the type to flirt back. It bared its fangs at her coldly—utterly ignoring the seductive charm.
Ninetales' eyes narrowed. Her fluffy tails stilled.
Frosty aura began to rise.
"After all, when facing Lance, is there any Pokémon more fitting than Alolan Ninetales?"
Lance's facial muscles twitched again. He didn't know whether to laugh or scowl.
"I see… but you'll be disappointed, Dylan."
Lance responded coolly.
"A mere Ninetales? You think you can beat my dragons? Laughable."
A cold grin crept up his lips as the crowd gasped at his confidence.
"Well then, I'll look forward to it," Dylan replied with a chuckle.
"Ninetales!"
At that moment, the previous Hail faded away as the first Ninetales' weather ran out.
But with a soft, melodious cry from the second Ninetales, snow once again began to fall.
Of course, she also had Snow Warning.
"Iron Head!"
Though Lance had spoken confidently, he wasn't underestimating the threat.
Especially with that Pain Split earlier—it still annoyed him just thinking about it.
Mega Gyarados roared, charging forward with its head glowing metallic silver.
"Ice Veil."
Dylan's tone was serene.
Ninetales elegantly backed away. Shimmering auroras descended once more.
Just as Gyarados reached her, Iron Head struck.
Crash!
Ninetales cried out in pain and skidded backward across the field, her claws scraping to regain balance.
Her narrowed eyes were now glowing with irritation. That hurt!
Veil was up again.
Lance frowned. With Aurora Veil and Hail, even Mega Gyarados couldn't break through quickly.
And there was always that damned Pain Split…
"Return, Gyarados."
Lance made a swift call and withdrew his Pokémon.
Mega Evolution would remain active as long as Gyarados didn't faint, even when returned.
"A wise decision," Dylan said with a soft chuckle.
If Lance had kept Gyarados in, it really would've been foolish.
Was he going to bring out Dragonair now?
Dylan was curious.
The best way to break the Hail + Aurora Veil combo was to change the weather.
And Dragonair had that exact ability.
But the problem? Dragonair's solo battle capabilities were mediocre.
Lance had two Dragonairs. When they fought together, they were practically on par with his ace Dragonite.
But this was a single battle. No way Lance would send both Dragonairs at once.
If he sent one, it'd just be a support unit—sacrificed to stop the weather strategy.
Still, in Dylan's view, that sacrifice was well worth it.
Aurora Veil, Hail, boosted Defense—Ninetales was taking four-times-effective Iron Heads and still standing. That's a huge buff.
Under normal circumstances, Ninetales would never survive one hit from Mega Gyarados.
"Dragonair."
Lance's face was expressionless as he tossed out the Poké Ball.
Though he'd originally excluded Dragonair from his battle lineup, the situation demanded it. He knew full well how weather wars worked.
Some Fighters could use Brick Break to shatter Veil, and Dragonite did know it—but that required landing a hit, and Dylan wasn't going to make that easy.
With a flash of light, a beautiful Dragonair floated out before Lance.
"Ruu~"
Sitting prim and proper, Ninetales fluttered her wet tails, looked at Dragonair, and gave another teasing wink.
A delicate fox hoping this pretty dragon might go easy on her.
Dragonair tilted its head and stared, clearly confused.
What was this weird fox doing with its eyes?
Ninetales internally screamed. Why wasn't her charm working!?
"Dragonair, bring down a downpour."
Lance ignored the flirtation.
Did Dylan really think his dragons had no discipline?
Dragonair's beads glowed, storm clouds churned, and the snow gave way to torrential rain.
The Aurora Veil faded with the Hail.
"She's so pretty…" Yellow blinked in awe.
Dragonair shimmered with ethereal light beneath the storm, looking like a divine being.
Meanwhile, Ninetales' soaked fur clung to her body.
She looked like a soggy fox.
She shook herself, trying to fling off the rain—but the downpour kept falling.
"So that's one way to break Dylan's setup. Dragonair really is great at controlling the weather," Lillie said.
"Though… Dragonair is still at a disadvantage against Ninetales."
On the battlefield—
"Blizzard!"
Dylan gave the order.
Ninetales unleashed a swirling vortex of snow and frost.
Being a pure Dragon-type, Dragonair was weak to Ice.
"Aqua Jet!"
Water burst around Dragonair as it surged forward.
Aqua Jet was a Water-type priority move—fast, deadly.
"Don't underestimate my Ninetales."
Ninetales raised her head as the Blizzard continued—tracking Dragonair's high-speed movement.
The rain was instantly frozen into chunks of ice as the Blizzard met Dragonair head-on.
The Aqua Jet was quick—but that also made it hard to dodge mid-attack.
Dragonair was engulfed in snow and ice.
Water froze along its scales, and Dragonair plummeted, unable to maneuver mid-air.
Crash!
Dragonair hit the ground, ice shattering on impact.
It let out a pained cry—but the worst of the damage had been absorbed by Aqua Jet's water.
"Dazzling Gleam."
Ninetales' body shimmered pink. The beam struck Dragonair before it could recover.
BOOM!
The blast exploded. The Fairy-type move hit for super-effective damage—and Ninetales was still at +4 Special Attack from earlier.
"Return."
Lance didn't hesitate. Dragonair had done its job.
It broke the snow.
"Not bad, Lance. What do you think of my Ninetales?"
Dylan grinned.
With her foe gone, the flirty Ninetales once again sat proudly, tail swaying, eyes half-lidded with smugness.
She looked rather… weird with her wet fur matted down.
"Don't get cocky, Dylan. The battle's just getting started."
Lance replied coolly.
His brows furrowed. He needed to consider his next move carefully.
Ice + Fairy… immune to Dragon. Quadruple effective against…
Dragonite.
He had planned to let Dylan experience the majesty of Dragonite… and Dragonite Mk II, Mk III, and the glorious Giant Dragonite.
He even trained Salamence and Hydreigon—but in front of this damn fox, they might as well be Dragonites too.
Damn you, Dylan! You really raised two Ninetales?
But now… should he send her in?
Lance clenched his fists and raised his head.
"My life has always been walking on thin ice… so what's a little Ice-type?"
"My Dragonite fears nothing! It's your turn—Dragonite!!"
(End of Chapter)