Chapter 52: Mega Beedrill
"Major crisis! Draco has already lost three Pokémon, while Ryan has only two injured, not a single one down! What can Draco do now?" the announcer shouted.
Draco silently recalled his Pidgeot and sent out his fourth Pokémon. An adorable Dragonite appeared on the field, waving its short arms while tiny electrical currents danced around its body.
"Charizard, can you still fight?" Ryan asked.
"Roar!" Charizard responded, giving Ryan a confident thumbs-up. Ryan understood its determination and nodded. "Then I'm counting on you, Charizard! Use Earthquake!"
Charizard stomped its foot hard on the ground, sending powerful shock waves toward Dragonite.
"Dragonite, Magnet Rise!" Draco commanded.
Strong electrical currents flashed beneath Dragonite, and its body slowly levitated into the air, completely nullifying the Earthquake attack.
Ryan frowned. "Charizard, Heat Wave!"
"Thunder!" Draco shouted back.
Charizard took to the sky, its wings creating scorching waves of superheated air. Dragonite endured the heat wave while raising its hands skyward. A massive bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from above, striking Charizard directly.
Charizard cried out in pain and plummeted from the sky, unable to continue fighting. Ryan's eyes narrowed as he finally understood Draco's training philosophy. He pushed everything to extremes, disregarding balance entirely. His offensive Pokémon were glass cannons with explosive power, while his defensive Pokémon were built purely as tanks.
Dragonite's attack power was devastating, but after enduring that Heat Wave, it was already severely weakened and vulnerable. As Ryan recalled Charizard, he shook his head. He'd initially considered a similar approach, but Steven had warned him that while this method wasn't impossible, maximizing advantages also maximized weaknesses. A Pokémon trained this way could never reach the highest levels. Elite Four might be the absolute limit—becoming Champion or even Master rank would be impossible.
"Sylveon, you're up!" Ryan called out. "Misty Terrain!"
Pink energy enveloped the entire battlefield, creating a dreamlike scene that was truly mesmerizing. Seeing the terrain change, Draco commanded, "Dragonite, Iron Tail!"
"You're too slow! Moonblast!" Ryan shouted.
Sylveon extended its ribbons, and the image of the moon appeared behind it in the sky. It formed a brilliant pink energy sphere in front of its mouth and launched it at Dragonite. Dragonite tried to deflect the attack with Iron Tail, but the resulting explosion left both Pokémon severely damaged.
Draco recalled his Dragonite and said, "Go, Kingdra! Bubble Beam!"
"Swift!" Ryan commanded.
Kingdra fired a concentrated beam from its mouth that split into countless bubbles, aggressively targeting Sylveon. Following Ryan's command, Sylveon gracefully leaped, dodging Kingdra's Bubble Beam. Then, extending its ribbons, it created a shower of star-shaped energy projectiles and launched them at its opponent.
Kingdra swiftly tried to dodge Swift, but why is Swift a sure-hit move in the games? The reason is simple: in reality, such guaranteed hits are nearly impossible to avoid!
Sylveon guided Swift to curve around and successfully strike Kingdra. Although the individual hits weren't massive, remember that Sylveon's Pixilate ability had converted the Normal-type Swift into a Fairy-type attack, dealing super-effective damage to the Dragon-type Kingdra.
"Finish it! Moonblast!" Ryan called out.
"Kingdra, Hydro Pump!" Draco shouted desperately.
Sylveon's Moonblast and Kingdra's Hydro Pump collided mid-field, with both attacks finding their marks. Kingdra collapsed to the ground, unable to battle. Sylveon shook the water droplets from its fur, standing there breathing heavily.
"Incredible! Draco's Kingdra is down! That leaves him with only one Pokémon remaining! What will his final choice be?" the announcer called out.
"My last hope... Dragonite!" Draco recalled Kingdra and sent out his ace—a powerful, battle-scarred Dragonite that looked far more formidable than his previous one.
"Return, Sylveon." Ryan recalled his Fairy-type. "Beedrill, let's go!"
"Beedrill? Are you trying to stall and wear down Dragonite?" Draco frowned in confusion.
"Trainer Ryan has sent out his Shiny Beedrill! Is he trying to buy Sylveon some recovery time before the final showdown with Dragonite? Everyone knows that Sylveon's Fairy typing gives it immunity to Dragon-type attacks. Sylveon used a lot of energy in that last battle, so giving it proper rest now seems like the smart strategic choice!" the announcer explained.
"It seems everyone's underestimating you," Ryan said, touching the two Key Stones embedded in his left wristband. "Show them what you're made of, Beedrill!"
The Mega Stone on Beedrill's chest flashed with brilliant, rainbow-colored light, and several beams of energy connected with the Key Stone on Ryan's wrist. As the light faded, a Mega Beedrill appeared on the battlefield.
"What?! Beedrill has Mega Evolved! Ryan has surprised us once again! Who could have predicted that after Greninja's Bond Phenomenon, Ryan would reveal yet another evolution? What a trainer who never stops amazing us!" the announcer exclaimed in disbelief.
"So what if it evolved again? It's still just a pathetic Bug-type. Dragonite, Fire Punch!" Draco scoffed.
Dragonite nodded and charged at Mega Beedrill at tremendous speed, its right fist already blazing with flames. But in a flash, Beedrill vanished completely. In the next instant, Mega Beedrill's drill-like stingers pierced Dragonite's back from behind, injecting a potent poison!
Ryan grinned confidently: "I originally only had a 60% chance of winning, but now that the poison's taken effect, my odds have jumped to 90%!"
Dragonite is known as one of the fastest Pokémon around—at least, that's what the Pokédex claims. But in terms of actual battle statistics, Dragonite's base Speed is only 80 while its Attack is 134. Meanwhile, Mega Beedrill boasts a Speed of 145 and Attack of 150.
Although extremely fragile, Mega Beedrill's offensive capabilities would make any opponent despair.
"Mega Beedrill, Venoshock!" Ryan commanded.
Beedrill's stingers rapidly sprayed venomous, green liquid that struck Dragonite directly. The dragon writhed in pain as the poison coursed through its system. Since Dragonite was already poisoned, Venoshock's power doubled. However, Mega Beedrill's Special Attack was its weaker stat, so while the damage wasn't overwhelming, it significantly worsened Dragonite's poisoned condition.
"Damn it! Dragonite, Rain Dance, then finish it with Thunder!" Draco desperately commanded.
"You think I'll give you the chance? Mega Beedrill, continuous Twineedle! End this now!" Ryan shouted.
Beedrill instantly became a blur of motion, striking Dragonite with rapid Twineedle attacks. Its incredibly high Attack stat, combined with its Adaptability ability, occasionally landed critical hits. Dragonite roared in agony, unable to track its opponent's movements and forced to endure the relentless assault.
The final Twineedle struck home, sending Dragonite crashing to the ground, unable to continue fighting.
"Dragonite is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner is Ryan!" the referee announced.
Ryan stepped forward, his fist meeting Mega Beedrill's steel-hard stingers in a victory pose. Trainer and Pokémon basked in the thunderous cheers and applause of the crowd.
He had done it!
(End of Chapter)
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