The rain poured relentlessly.
Lance's crimson hair was drenched, and his cold, piercing gaze locked onto the five Trainers standing across from him—Giovanni and the rest.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, briefly illuminating Lance's stormy face—twisted and grim.
His Mega Gyarados slammed heavily into the ground, struggling to rise, only to collapse again with a loud thud.
The Mega Evolution faded with a flicker of white light—Gyarados had lost the will to fight.
Lance returned it to its Poké Ball. His eyes swept across the remaining combatants on his side:
A battered Dragonite… and two wounded Dragonair.
That was all.
His massive Dragonite, his Mega Gyarados, his multiple Dragonite—defeated. Every one of them.
But the enemy wasn't doing much better.
"How is he this strong…?"
Selene stared at the still-standing figure in disbelief.
Even without Dylan, they had five Champion-tier Trainers on their side—including the new Kanto Elite Four led by Giovanni.
And yet, this 5v1 had ended in mutual devastation.
Yes—mutual.
Selene was already out of usable Pokémon. So was Leaf. The two of them were the weakest among the five, and Lance had focused them down early.
"That Dragonite and that… gigantic Dragonite were monsters," Leaf muttered, face scrunched.
She rarely had to go all out in battle. Yet despite giving it her all, she'd still been the first to drop.
Those two dragons had exerted overwhelming pressure. Taking down the giant Dragonite had cost them dearly.
Now, only Giovanni, Red, and Blue remained with Pokémon.
Blue had just his bruised Pidgeot.
Red—his badly wounded Charizard X.
Giovanni—his Rhyperior.
Just three Pokémon left.
It made sense. Besides Giovanni, none of them could match Lance's power head-on. Especially not the still-developing Selene and Leaf.
And Giovanni's team was mostly Ground-types. Without Beedrill—he was ill-equipped to face dragons of this caliber.
Even with the numbers advantage, they'd barely managed to hang on.
"Give it up, Lance. If you come back now, the League will still welcome you."
Giovanni wiped rain from his face and spoke steadily.
He hadn't expected Lance to be this much trouble. Had he always been this overwhelming?
Probably.
Without Beedrill, Giovanni couldn't match him. He needed a new ace—urgently.
At Giovanni's words, the muscles in Lance's face twitched. His eyes darkened further.
"Hah… ha ha ha…! You actually… pushed me this far."
Lance's cold stare swept across the five. But his grin widened—wild and proud.
"But you still can't defeat me! No one can defeat me!!"
His voice rang out like a furious roar, echoing through the storm. The others flinched slightly.
Red tensed. Blue scowled.
Giovanni narrowed his eyes, silently weighing the odds of Mega Evolving Beedrill right now just to piss him off.
"…Looks like there's no reasoning with you," Giovanni said flatly.
"I WILL NOT LOSE! NEVER!!"
Lance swung his arms furiously, fury blazing in his voice.
He was Lance, the Dragon Master!
"Dragonair! Draco Meteor!!"
The two Dragonair spiraled into the air, conjuring glowing orbs of draconic energy that glittered like falling stars.
Draco Meteor.
"Shit!"
Selene and Leaf's expressions changed instantly. Draco Meteor had massive range and power—and their side was already at its limit.
"Pidgeot! Quick Attack!"
Blue reacted instantly.
His Pidgeot blurred forward in a flash of light—Quick Attack.
BAM!
The tackle struck both Dragonair squarely in the head. They cried out, dazed and faltering.
Even a weak hit was enough to stagger them in their current state.
"Dragonite! Dragon Rush!"
"Charizard! Dragon Rush!"
Red backed him up. Lance snarled.
Charizard X surged forward with draconic energy. The two dragons clashed mid-air—but Lance's Dragonite overwhelmed Charizard again, sending it crashing to the ground with a pained roar.
"Rock Slide!"
Boulders rained down from Giovanni's Rhyperior, slamming into Dragonite before it could follow up. Dragonite shrieked in pain.
Giovanni had been waiting for that.
The Pidgeot dove again, cloaked in flame—Brave Bird—and smashed both Dragonair into the ground.
BOOM!
Rain dispersed the smoke instantly.
In the crater, all three Pokémon—Pidgeot and the two Dragonair—were down for the count.
"Hydro Pump!!"
Lance's voice cracked. Only his ace Dragonite remained.
It dove, pain-wracked but furious, mouth glowing with surging water.
"Stone Edge!"
Giovanni reacted.
Rhyperior summoned glowing stones—but Dragonite dodged mid-flight, letting loose a point-blank Hydro Pump.
BOOM!
Water blasted Rhyperior across the field. Even with Solid Rock ability reducing the damage, the triple-weakness to Water was too much.
Rhyperior hit the ground, unmoving.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Lance burst out laughing.
"I TOLD YOU! YOU CAN'T BEAT ME! MY DRAGON LEGION WILL NEVER LOSE TO YOU!!"
"Dragon Rush!"
But—
"Dragon Rush."
A calm voice cut through the storm.
Lance's eyes widened.
From the side, Red's Charizard X—bloodied and battered—had risen again.
It launched itself at Dragonite with one last desperate charge.
"WHAT?! It's still standing?!"
Lance's eyes twitched violently.
He'd been sure Charizard was out!
"Dragonite!!"
Dragonite turned, gathering energy—but Charizard struck first.
BOOM!
Dragon and dragon collided mid-air, snarling and snapping.
This was it.
Giovanni, Blue, Selene—all stared, holding their breath.
The final clash.
BOOM!!
A shockwave burst across the battlefield. Both dragons were sent flying.
THUD!
Charizard slammed into the ground, body wracked with pain. It couldn't open its eyes.
"Charizard!"
Red's voice reached its ears.
And somehow—Charizard moved.
Trembling, it clawed itself upright.
Across from it, Dragonite knelt, gasping, eyes fierce.
Only the rain and their ragged breaths filled the silence.
Then—
THUMP.
Dragonite collapsed.
It didn't get up.
"…Impossible…"
Lance stared at the unconscious Dragonite in disbelief, taking a shaky step forward.
But his leg gave out.
His entire body was weak. Uncontrollable tremors wracked him.
His head pounded—stabbed with pain.
Bloodied fingers clutched his scalp. His face twisted in agony.
"I… actually lost…"
His voice was hollow.
His Dragonite was down.
His entire dragon army—defeated.
By his juniors. His successors.
What did that make him now?
"Ugh…"
Lance groaned.
His dragons… his ideals… his pride…
All of it shattered in an instant.