"A battle, huh?"
Upon hearing the challenge, Lucas raised an eyebrow and looked at Rosa, who was radiating determination. His gaze flickered slightly with interest.
It wasn't too surprising—after all, in this world centered around Pokémon, Pokémon battles were the mainstream. Friendly battles could happen anytime and anywhere in every corner of the world.
"Alright then," he replied after a moment's thought. "But for today, let's keep it a one-on-one battle. If we meet again next time, we can do a full-team match."
Lucas wasn't in a rush and didn't mind indulging Rosa. He was actually curious about the current levels of Rosa and Hilda. Though not quite at the cheat-level of Red and Green, these two females leads naturally had outstanding talent.
And since they were main characters from the original story, Lucas had no problem playing along—he had time to spare anyway.
Judging by Rosa's expression, she was clearly someone who loved Pokémon battles. A full-team match might've been more exciting, but this would suffice.
"Okay~ Let's start then!" Rosa replied cheerfully, though a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes—after all, full-team battles were the most thrilling. Still, she quickly got over it.
They were already just outside of Icirrus City, so there was no need to waste time looking for a battle arena.
They moved to an open area, and Lucas and Rosa took positions at opposite ends.
"Now commencing a battle between Lucas and Rosa," Hilda announced from the sidelines, temporarily acting as referee. "The rules are one-on-one. When one Pokémon can no longer battle, the other side wins."
"Let's go with this one," Lucas said, taking out a minimized Pokéball. He glanced at Rosa, a small smile playing on his lips, and threw it casually behind him.
"Arbok, prepare for battle."
With a flash of white light, a massive Arbok emerged. Its golden body coiled up, and its cold, piercing eyes locked onto Rosa.
Its gold-colored scales reflected the sunlight with a glint, but rather than looking radiant, the entire creature exuded a chilling, ominous aura.
It was the shiny Arbok Lucas had caught in the Viridian Forest!
Currently, Lucas held seven Pokémon not including Eternatus and Reshiram. But his older Pokémon like Dragonair weren't suitable for a friendly match with Rosa.
His Galarian Moltres, though powerful—having reached the Champion level after being caught at the Elite Four peak—was overkill for this match. Rosa looked to be around seventeen at most, likely less than a year into her journey like Hilda.
So, the most appropriate choices were the newly captured Arbok and Salamence.
"Wow~ A shiny Arbok!" Rosa and Hilda's eyes sparkled. A regular Arbok was dark purple, but this one was gold. There was no doubt—it was shiny.
"Alright! It's our turn now!" Rosa warmed up, then threw her Pokéball confidently.
"Serperior, I'm counting on you!"
A flash of light revealed a sleek and noble green snake-like Pokémon. It raised its head high, looking down on Arbok with royal poise.
The final evolution of Unova's Grass-type starter: Serperior!
"A Serperior at Elite Four level... her talent really is impressive," Lucas noted, observing its radiant sheen and sharp spirit. It was clear that Rosa had been raising it with great care.
"Confident, aren't you? A pure Poison-type Arbok against a pure Grass-type Serperior?" said the observing Green, raising an eyebrow in surprise at Rosa's choice.
"She's using her starter as her ace, probably," said Marnie. "Though Arbok was just recently caught, judging by its presence, Rosa's in for a tough fight."
Hilda also overheard this and nodded internally. Despite being newly captured, Arbok didn't seem weaker than Serperior at all.
Back on the battlefield—
"Serperior, close in!" Rosa's expression grew serious. Whenever she entered battle, she focused completely.
Serperior lowered its body slightly before slithering at high speed toward Arbok. Though it was quite long—at least three to four meters—it moved with remarkable agility.
"Poison Jab."
Lucas glanced at Serperior. It was fast, but that alone wasn't enough.
Arbok raised its tail, which glowed a sinister purple, but didn't move otherwise—it simply waited, its gaze locked on Serperior.
"Serperior, Aqua Tail!"
Rosa furrowed her brow. Arbok wasn't reacting to Serperior's swift movement—it was waiting for Serperior to strike first.
Fine then. Let's go!
Serperior's tail glowed with swirling water as it swerved to Arbok's side, slamming Aqua Tail down.
Even though Serperior was Grass-type, it had learned the Water-type move Aqua Tail, which Rosa had taught it specifically for coverage.
But Arbok was quick to respond, meeting Serperior's attack head-on with Poison Jab.
The glowing tails collided with a sharp crack—a draw.
"Wrap it!"
"Use Sludge Wave."
Rosa called out her move instantly. Serperior lunged at lightning speed and wrapped itself around Arbok.
But before she could rejoice, a thick, murky wave of sludge surged from the ground, engulfing both Pokémon's lower halves.
"Serperior!"
Rosa's face changed. The Sludge Wave had risen up and buried them mid-battle.
"No choice—go all in! Wrap!"
"Death Gaze."
Lucas smirked and gave a sudden command.
"Death Gaze? What the heck is that?" Rosa blinked, confused. So were Hilda, Green, and Marnie, who'd never heard of such a move.
Arbok's strange chest pattern began to shift.
Serperior tightened its grip and lifted Arbok into the air before spinning and slamming it hard to the ground—Wrap!
BOOM!
A cloud of dust erupted.
Arbok was smashed heavily to the ground, stirring up a lot of smoke and dust. His cold eyes narrowed slightly. This blow was not light.
"Poison Fang!"
Lucas's next command came immediately.
Arbok recovered quickly, its chest pattern changing again as it sprang toward the falling Serperior.
"What? Already?!"
Rosa's eyes widened—Arbok was supposed to be reeling from the last hit!
"Serperior, dodge!"
But Serperior, just landing, was still adjusting.
As it hit the ground and tried to pull back, pain suddenly surged through its body. A strange purple glow—poisoned!
Turns out the earlier Sludge Wave had lightly tagged Serperior, just enough to poison it.
And now—Arbok's jaws clamped down hard on Serperior's neck, venomous fangs flashing with eerie purple light.
Serperior screamed in pain, writhing violently on the ground.
"Serperior, use Leaf Storm!"
Despite the panic, Rosa yelled out an order.
Serperior glowed green, trying to gather power.
But—
"You're too naive. Arbok!" Lucas snapped.
Arbok, still latched on, pulled itself upright. As the ground cracked slightly from the brewing Leaf Storm—
CHOMP.
It opened its mouth and swallowed Serperior's entire head and part of its neck.
"???"
Rosa froze in place, eyes wide with horror. The image of her Serperior half-devoured was burned into her mind.
Marnie, Green, and Hilda: "!!!!"
WHAT?!
It actually swallowed Serperior!
Crunch!
A chilling sound of something breaking echoed from Arbok's mouth.
The move: Crunch.
Serperior's green glow faded instantly. Its body, once stiff with energy, went limp like a wet noodle.
Upon hearing the dreadful snap, Rosa finally snapped out of it.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!"
"You better spit out my Serperior right now!!"
Her scream echoed through the sky with incredible pitch and volume.
--------------------------
Later…
"Serperior, are you okay?" Rosa gently treated Serperior's wounds with medicine, eyes full of worry.
That damn Arbok! Why did it have to go that far?!
Just because her Serperior was pretty?
Serperior shook its head and peeked fearfully at Arbok before hiding behind Rosa.
"…Lucas, does your Arbok have some special preferences?" Marnie asked softly, her expression unreadable but clearly disturbed.
Why did Arbok swallow Serperior's head when Crunch alone could've ended it?
Now Serperior was probably traumatized for life.
She even suspected it had fainted more from fright than damage.
"Probably not…" Lucas muttered, rubbing his chin as he glanced at the brooding Arbok.
Besides that one time he used Arbok to swallow a ship captain for intimidation, he hadn't noticed any weird habits.
Though…
It was effective.
And Arbok could control its stomach acid—unless it wanted to, anything it swallowed wouldn't be digested for a while.
Might be a good tactic against stubborn enemies in the future.
"Lucas, what exactly is that 'Death Gaze' move you used?" Hilda asked curiously.
As a trainer, knowing every move—even ones from unfamiliar types—was essential to avoid being outplayed.
But she'd never heard of Death Gaze before.
"It's something I developed based on Arbok's special characteristics," Lucas explained openly.
"Developed?"
All the girls were surprised.
"Arbok's chest pattern has over twenty known variations. By combining them with specific symbols and methods, it can enhance a particular ability—like speed or defense."
Lucas elaborated, "It's based on Kanto Elite Four Agatha's special move 'Death Gaze.' She'd manually paint patterns to boost her Arbok's stats. I just copied the concept and trained my Arbok to change patterns on its own."
So far, he had only unlocked attack and defense buffs—not overly powerful, but practical.
"I didn't invent it—just adapted Agatha's exclusive technique."
The girls remained amazed by the explanation.
Meanwhile, in Blackthorn City, Johto—
A fearsome Aerodactyl descended from the sky. Standing beneath its wings was a man with a Champion's cloak—Lance.
Though he was returning to his own clan's estate, Lance remained calm and composed.
This trip was only for one reason:
To find out what exactly was going on with his 'dear cousin'—Lucas Blackthorn.
(End of Chapter)