"Arcanine is unable to battle — victory goes to Drapion!"
As Drapion's triumphant roar echoed across the battlefield alongside the referee's announcement, Gary's expression grew even more serious. After carefully considering the two remaining Poké Balls on his belt, he selected one and threw it forward with determination:
"Go! Aerodactyl!"
"Roooar!"
A savage Aerodactyl burst from the Poké Ball, instantly unleashing a terrifying aura, like a tyrant from the ancient skies descending to reclaim its dominion.
Yet facing this overwhelming presence, Drapion showed no fear — in fact, a flicker of excitement lit up its eyes.
"Aerodactyl, use Stone Edge!"
Gary wasn't about to engage Drapion in a head-on clash.
Even the weakest of Paul's Pokémon would become a terror once it ramped up its strength — and this Drapion looked every bit as powerful as any ace.
"Roooar!"
With a roar, Aerodactyl conjured dozens of sharp stone blades, which hovered menacingly around it before launching straight toward Drapion under its command.
"Acupressure. Speed boost. Then Pin Missile!"
Drapion's tail claws tapped rapidly along its own body, focusing its energy. Then, raising both massive pincers glowing with a white light, it unleashed a barrage of Pin Missile attacks, each projectile carrying an overwhelming force.
At just the slightest touch, the stone blades were shattered instantly.
"Agility — dodge it!"
Seeing the sheer power behind Drapion's assault, Aerodactyl decisively avoided the confrontation. With a burst of speed from Agility, it widened the gap between itself and the incoming Pin Missiles.
But what Aerodactyl hadn't anticipated was that under Drapion's control, the Pin Missiles bent midair like homing missiles, relentlessly pursuing their target!
"Roooar!"
Startled, Aerodactyl's eyes widened. In a desperate move, it dove sharply downward, pulling a swift U-turn to narrowly evade the pursuing missiles.
"Taunt!"
"Draaah"
Just as Aerodactyl thought it had escaped, Drapion sneered mockingly, hurling a barrage of taunting words.
"Roooaaar!"
Infuriated beyond reason, the ancient sky sovereign roared in fury. How could it — once the ruler of the prehistoric heavens — tolerate being mocked like this?
In an instant, a furious red glint filled Aerodactyl's eyes, its focus narrowing entirely onto Drapion.
"Tch...!"
Gary clenched his fists instinctively, cursing under his breath. He had no choice now — it was all or nothing.
"Full power — Giga Impact!"
"Roooar!"
Channeling its seething rage into raw strength, Aerodactyl dove with a deafening roar, unleashing the full might of its body.
It wasn't just giving it one hundred percent — it was burning at two hundred percent capacity!
"Knock it out of the sky."
Paul commanded coldly.
"Draah~"
Drapion charged in with fierce momentum, but without any boost to its attack power, a single clash was enough to send the entire Pokémon crashing down.
After plummeting under the force of gravity, it hit the ground hard, triggering an explosion from the triple-layered Spikes and suffering additional impact damage from the fall.
"Roar~!"
Aerodactyl showed remarkable resilience. Even after enduring such an assault, it hadn't been defeated outright. Bracing itself against the ground with both wings, it struggled to rise—but the Drapion that had silently closed the distance gave it no chance.
Its powerful pincers clamped down directly onto Aerodactyl's wings. With its tail already primed from an earlier Acupressure, Drapion struck once more, piercing Aerodactyl with precision.
Poison Jab!
With a single decisive blow, Aerodactyl finally fell.
A flash of white light shimmered across Drapion's body—the boost from Acupressure had maxed out its Attack!
"Aerodactyl is unable to battle. Drapion wins!"
The referee declared the outcome crisply.
"It's all up to you now, Nidoqueen!"
Frowning, Gary recalled his Aerodactyl and hurled his final Poké Ball.
"Nido~!"
Towering before them was a massive blue figure, its body clad in armor-like skin studded with poisonous spikes, with a prominent horn crowning its head—Nidoqueen had arrived.
Compared to Nidoking, Nidoqueen carried slightly less raw intimidation—but her defensive presence was undeniable.
"Nido~!"
No sooner had she touched down than the remaining layers of Spikes detonated beneath her feet, draining nearly half of her stamina in an instant.
"Ice Fang!"
Paul commanded sharply.
"Draaah~!"
With a powerful leap, Drapion lunged at Nidoqueen, propelled by the speed boost from Acupressure. All three of its ice-blue pincers slashed toward her at once.
"Dig!"
At the last critical moment, Nidoqueen burrowed hastily into the ground, narrowly avoiding the freezing fangs that snapped at the space she had occupied just moments before.
"Hyper Beam!"
Missing its target, Drapion wasted no time. Leaning down, it unleashed a deafening roar directly into the mouth of the tunnel, the reverberating soundwaves striking Nidoqueen from above and dealing continuous damage.
"Nido!"
Before Drapion could roar a second time, Nidoqueen, unable to endure any longer, burst forth from underground. Utilizing the momentum of Dig, she rammed straight into Drapion from below, sending it flying backward—a super-effective hit that left Drapion clearly rattled.
Yet Drapion showed no signs of concern. While still midair, it had already begun preparing its next move—Pin Missile, which it launched the moment it landed.
"Dig again!"
At this point, Nidoqueen couldn't match Drapion's overwhelming strength head-on. Evading underground with Dig was her only option.
Gary's thoughts raced: Just now Drapion counterattacked while above ground. It probably hasn't mastered Dig itself, right?
But before he could finish thinking it through, the storm of Pin Missiles rained down, tearing open the ground around the tunnel's entrance. With a violent eruption, the impact widened the burrow—and Drapion dove straight in!
Gary's heart faltered. He shouted hurriedly:
"Nidoqueen, use Superpower!"
"Ice Fang." Paul followed up coldly.
"Draaah~"
"Nido~"
"Aahhh..."
"Rooar~"
Various cries and roars echoed from deep within the tunnel. The ground shook violently for less than two minutes before everything fell silent again.
Nidoqueen's body was the first to be hurled out of the ground, tracing a loose arc through the air before crashing onto the battlefield, where she lay motionless.
Moments later, Drapion's figure burst from the earth in front of Paul, who gave a small nod of satisfaction at the sight, clearly pleased with his partner's work.
"Nidoqueen is unable to battle. Drapion wins. This match goes to Paul!"
The referee, though visibly surprised by Gary's crushing defeat, remained professional as he announced the outcome.
"Not bad, but there's still too much unnecessary movement. Compared to the other Pokémon, your real-world battle experience is lacking. You'll need extra training afterward." Paul said, giving a rare word of praise before immediately pointing out the flaws.
Previously, Drapion hadn't spent much time traveling alongside Paul; most of its training had taken place under Reggie's care, where it was personally coached by a squad of Elite-level Pokémon.
Though its growth had been rapid, most of Drapion's battles were one-sided — either overwhelming opponents or being overwhelmed — which, ironically, limited its ability to gain real battlefield experience.
Its movements still needed to be honed to become even sharper.
"Draah~"
Drapion responded with a blunt sound. Given Drapion's precise control over its body, a few more evenly matched battles would be all it needed to grow even stronger.
"Return for now."
Paul took out a Poké Ball and calmly recalled Drapion, before giving Gary a brief glance.
"You're still far from ready. With your current strength, if you had competed in the previous Lily of the Valley Conference, you might have made it to the Top 8 — but there's no way you would have broken into the semifinals."
He turned without hesitation, stepping away toward the exit.
Truth be told, Paul wasn't the least bit surprised by Gary's strength — or rather, his lack of it.
"Top 8 only?!"
Gary stood frozen, stunned by Paul's casual remark. After a stunned few seconds, seeing Paul about to disappear down the corridor, he quickly called out:
"Wait — have you competed in the Lily of the Valley Conference yourself? What place did you get?!"
But Paul's figure faded into the shadows of the tunnel, leaving behind only a faint response drifted back from the corridor—
"Champion."
Hearing that answer, Gary Oak stood frozen in place, unable to react for a long time.
(To be continued...)
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