"Prepare for battle, Guzzlord!"
As Lucas threw out his Poké Ball, it burst open midair with a blinding flash of white light. A massive Pokémon emerged from within and landed heavily on the battlefield.
The sheer weight of its body caused the entire arena to tremble violently beneath its impact.
"Guuuuzzz!"
A deep, raspy, and ferocious roar reverberated across the air.
"Guzzlord?"
Iris frowned slightly as she examined the Pokémon standing before her—one she had never seen before.
The first thing that caught her attention was its size. By her estimation, the creature stood at least six meters tall, with a body that was both enormously bulky and powerfully built if not outright obese.
Its body was primarily white, with an orange patch stretching down the center of its torso, and its aura was wild and savage beyond measure.
A shiny Guzzlord!
Strong—extremely strong!
That was Iris's instinctive impression. Yet what truly unnerved her was that she had never once heard of a Pokémon by this name. That should have been impossible.
Iris prided herself on knowing every Pokémon species across all regions, she had studied even the legendary ones. Even if she hadn't personally encountered some, she had at least read their research data.
But this one… this "Guzzlord"… she felt nothing but unfamiliarity.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
From the audience, the same confusion spread among nearly everyone present. Even Raihan found himself completely baffled.
"It should be an Ultra Beast from Alola," Cynthia finally said after a brief moment of thought. "Some time ago, the Aether Foundation provided the League with data on the Ultra Beasts. Guzzlord was one of them."
Indeed, not long ago, the Aether Foundation had delivered a comprehensive report on the Ultra Beasts to the Pokémon League—claiming it was part of their research findings.
And Guzzlord had been among those records.
"Its strength seems formidable," Steven observed, narrowing his eyes as he studied the creature carefully. "It's probably one of Lucas's new main partners."
Just from its overwhelming aura and the oppressive energy radiating from its body, it was clear this Guzzlord was anything but weak.
Still, the pressure it exuded wasn't quite on the same terrifying level as the legends Lucas had once unleashed back in Saffron City. It seemed that this time, he wasn't planning to rely on legendary Pokémon to face Iris.
For Iris, that was undeniably good news.
"This is an Ultra Beast from Alola," Lucas said with a faint smile, glancing toward Iris as he gave a casual introduction. "Its name is Guzzlord, a Dragon and Dark-type Pokémon. Mine happens to be a shiny one. Normally, Guzzlord's body is black, not white."
He didn't mind revealing that much to her. Gaining a tiny advantage by withholding information wasn't something Lucas cared for.
After all, this Guzzlord was one of the Pokémon he had selected with great care.
The truth was…
Among all of Lucas's Pokémon, excluding the legendaries, he actually didn't have many Dragon-types to rely on.
He only had Dragonair and Salamence. It wasn't as if he could send out Reshiram and the others in every battle.
That would make things far too dull. These ranking matches were mostly just for fun—a way to pass the time. So, he intended to rotate through his full roster and give every Pokémon a chance to shine.
And even without his legendary Pokémon, his current team was already terrifyingly strong. The Galarian Moltres, Arbok, Salamence—after more than half a year of intense training, each had reached a level of power befitting his name.
This shiny Guzzlord, too, was a carefully chosen addition—an exceptional specimen with natural talent that had already reached Champion-tier strength upon capture.
After a month of personal training under Lucas, it was now fully battle-ready.
"A heavy-duty Dragon Pokémon, huh…"
Iris murmured thoughtfully as she stared at the towering beast before tossing her own Poké Ball forward.
"When it comes to dragons, mine aren't ones to be taken lightly!"
"Druddigon,let's go!"
A bipedal dragon appeared before Iris with a loud roar. Its body was dark green, but its entire head was a striking crimson.
A pure Dragon-type—Druddigon!
"Ah, Druddigon with the Sheer Force ability."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, Iris's main Druddigon had the Sheer Force ability—
Sheer Force: secondary effects of moves are nullified, but their power increases by 30%.
It was a very potent ability. Any trait that directly amplified attack power was a formidable one.
Normally, with Sheer Force, Druddigon's raw strength should be impressive… yet in truth…
Lucas recalled that in his past life, Druddigon was mockingly known as the "Shame of the Dragon-type," while Altaria had been dubbed the "Dragon Traitor."
Altaria earned that nickname because upon Mega Evolution, it gained the Fairy typing—a direct counter to Dragons.
But Druddigon? Its title came simply because… it was weak.
A pure Dragon-type Pokémon whose base stat total didn't even reach 500, and worse yet, its stat distribution was horribly skewed.
It had a decent physical attack 120 points but at the cost of nearly everything else.
Its speed? A pitiful 48.
Not even fifty!
And in battles, speed often determined everything—who attacked first usually decided the outcome. With such a sluggish pace, who could it possibly hit first?
If just a bit of its defenses had been shifted into speed, Druddigon might not have suffered such ridicule…
But, in the real world, base stats were only rough guidelines. The true measure of strength still depended on a Trainer's skill and training.
If Iris had kept Druddigon as one of her main partners, then it was surely powerful in its own right.
Still, for the record—Guzzlord's speed stat was only 43.
Yes, slower than Druddigon's.
Of course, Guzzlord was a heavyweight defensive counter-type, boasting an astronomical HP stat of over 200 points.
Druddigon, by contrast, was a straight-up physical attacker. Their roles were entirely different.
"Let's start by giving our opponent a proper greeting."
"Guzzlord—Draco Meteor!"
Lucas snapped his fingers lightly, issuing his calm command.
"Guuuuz!"
With a thunderous roar, Guzzlord's energy surged. A pure, blinding sphere of draconic power gathered in its jaws before shooting upward into the sky.
This shiny Guzzlord had once been the leader of its species within their Ultra Space dimension. Its temperament was vicious beyond belief.
Even by Guzzlord standards, already notorious for their savagery this one was particularly brutal.
It had once even tried to devour Reshiram…
Of course, after being captured, Lucas had spent over half a month "disciplining" it. Now, its temper had mellowed somewhat.
To truly command Ultra Beasts, a Trainer first had to dominate them otherwise, their primal instincts would inevitably turn against their owner.
The Draco Meteor exploded in midair, scattering into a breathtaking shower of blazing draconic meteors that rained down from above.
"Druddigon—Dragon Tail!"
Iris shot a sharp gClair at the falling meteors and barked her order.
Draco Meteor had a short delay before impact. There was no need to rush. For now, she needed to test Guzzlord's strength first.
Even though Lucas had explained its typing, she still didn't know its preferred combat style or where its weaknesses lay.
Druddigon roared, stomping forward as it charged straight toward Guzzlord.
The two-meter-tall dragon sprinted toward the nearly six-meter-tall behemoth, a sight both comical and awe-inspiring. But Druddigon showed not the slightest hint of fear, even roaring in challenge as it approached.
"Dragon Claw."
Lucas's lips curled slightly. Bold little thing.
Guzzlord's eerie eyes locked onto Druddigon. Suddenly, its enormous belly split open, revealing a colossal, gaping maw lined with rows of jagged fangs!
"What the—?!" Iris gasped. That huge belly is a mouth?!
Until now, she had wondered why a creature with such a small, stubby head would be called "Guzzlord."
Now she understood completely.
Guzzlord roared again, the two massive, pincer-like appendages inside its maw snapping forward like living spears, thrusting straight at Druddigon.
"Druddigon!"
Iris's instincts kicked in. The attack was sudden—but she could still react.
Druddigon's eyes narrowed sharply as it twisted its body, dodging the pincers by a hair's breadth.
"Beautiful move! Now—Dragon Tail!"
Her eyes gleamed. Perfect opening!
"Surprisingly agile," Lucas mused with a quiet laugh. Its speed wasn't great, but its movements were sharp—though that might have more to do with Guzzlord's slower strike.
Still, he showed no sign of worry, even as Druddigon drew near.
"It's too big," Clair muttered in the stands, her brows furrowing. "At that size, it can't possibly dodge a close-range strike."
Everyone could see it—Guzzlord's enormous frame made it nearly impossible to evade.
Sure, it was clearly built to withstand attacks, but eating a super-effective Dragon Tail head-on couldn't be ideal.
"No need to panic," Green said cheerfully, sipping her soda with a smirk. "Guzzlord's not that easy to hurt."
Clair gave her a puzzled look—but soon, the truth became clear.
Druddigon swung its heavy tail with tremendous force, the strike whipping up a fierce gust of wind as it slammed into Guzzlord's abdomen. The impact was massive—augmented further by Sheer Force's 30% boost.
It should have been devastating.
And yet—
BOOM!
The Dragon Tail connected with a deafening explosion, shockwaves rippling outward.
"Yes! Follow up with Dragon—"
Iris began to command another attack, but her words froze on her lips.
As the smoke cleared, the towering figure of Guzzlord stood there—completely unscathed.
Its body hadn't even shifted save for a faint scuff mark on the ground beneath its feet, where it had been pushed back slightly.
The audience erupted in disbelief.
"What… what kind of defense is that?!"
Even Steven and the others were stunned as they stared at the monstrous creature.
It had taken a direct, super-effective Dragon Tail—and hadn't even flinched.
That was insane!
"This can't be!" Iris finally shouted, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Her Druddigon was a Sheer Force powerhouse! Its raw attack was already immense, and with its ability amplifying the move, that strike should have been terrifyingly strong.
So how—how could it have no effect?
It wasn't even a legendary Pokémon—how could it possibly have such absurd defense?!
What Iris didn't know… was that Guzzlord was, in fact, a pseudo-legendary of another kind—a creature of legend from another world.
"Guzzlord," Lucas said softly, lowering his head with a faint smile.
The beast's eyes narrowed into bloodthirsty slits as it glared down at Druddigon, its expression dripping with malice.
"Oh no—Druddigon!"
Iris snapped back to her senses. Druddigon was still right in front of that monster and she had let herself get distracted!
"Dragon Pulse!"
Druddigon gathered dragon energy in its mouth, firing a beam toward Guzzlord—
But suddenly, its body spasmed mid-charge. Pain twisted its face, and it nearly collapsed.
The Dragon Pulse veered off course, completely missing its target.
Worse yet—Guzzlord's twin pincers had already clamped down on Druddigon's leg.
"Throw it!"
"Guuuzzz!"
With a bone-rattling roar, Guzzlord heaved upward, effortlessly lifting the smaller dragon into the air before slamming it down with monstrous force.
The Dark-type move, Fling, landed squarely.
The ground quaked violently, shockwaves spreading across the battlefield, even forcing Iris to brace herself just to stay upright.
Druddigon howled in agony—the hit had been devastating.
"Earthquake!"
But Guzzlord wasn't done.
Raising its heavy, wrecking-ball-like tail, it kept its pincers locked around Druddigon, pinning it to the floor.
BOOM!
The arena convulsed as the ground exploded under the massive impact, shockwaves radiating outward in every direction.
"Druddigon!" Iris called out desperately, but her partner couldn't move.
It hadn't even recovered from the first throw before the Earthquake hit cleanly again.
And then—
"Dragon Pulse!"
From Guzzlord's gaping maw, a blinding beam of draconic energy erupted point-blank at Druddigon—
Just as the remaining meteors from Draco Meteor came crashing down from the sky!
BOOOOOM!
The twin explosions engulfed the arena, the shockwave tearing through the air and whipping Lucas's silver hair around his face. His expression remained calm—lips curved into a faint, confident smile.
The smoke finally cleared, revealing the outcome everyone had already expected.
Druddigon lay motionless, utterly defeated.
Only then did Guzzlord release its grip, letting the dragon's limp body fall to the ground.
It had been a one-sided, merciless annihilation.
The entire stadium fell silent.
"Th-that's… so brutal…"
After a long moment, a young female Trainer in the audience finally whispered, her voice trembling as she stared at the terrifying monster on the field.
That relentless chain of attacks—Fling, Earthquake, Dragon Pulse, and Draco Meteor had been executed with surgical cruelty.
Druddigon hadn't even had the chance to fight back.
(End of Chapter)