Celadon City outskirts, Indigo Plateau.
It was already deep into the night.
A red-haired man riding on the back of a mighty dragon cast a stern gaze at several black figures fleeing below in panic.
"Dragonite, Blizzard."
Lance's voice was filled with intense disgust.
With his command, Dragonite's wings began to vibrate rapidly, soon fanning out a bone-chilling cold front.
By the time the nearby police arrived, the temperature within a hundred meters had dropped below zero.
Apart from the Dragon Envoy clad in a red and black cloak, the poacher gang members around him had turned into ice sculptures, their faces contorted in pain.
"Well then, I'll leave the cleanup work to you."
Seeing them arrive, Lance nodded politely and soon flew away on Dragonite amidst the admiring gazes of the officers.
"As expected of Mr. Lance, single-handedly taking down a poacher squad at lightning speed..."
Looking at the grotesque faces of the trapped henchmen frozen in ice, a young officer couldn't help but shiver.
"But, wasn't that a bit too harsh?"
Although being burned, frozen, or electrocuted is common for trainers...
If they weren't thawed in time, it could lead to severe aftereffects.
The old-timers exchanged knowing smiles.
"You underestimate human endurance too much. Though not as strong as Pokémon, even being frozen for a day or two wouldn't be an issue."
"And Mr. Lance only appears cold-hearted; he always controls his power carefully, so there's no need to worry about overkill."
People who first encounter this Kanto Elite Four member often think he seems aloof and distant.
But once you get to know him, one would discover—
Mr. Lance is actually a good person. Using such tough attack methods to control his targets is just to eliminate potential risks.
Multiple anti-crime operations have proven:
Showing mercy to ruthless villains might result in unbearable costs.
Precisely because of this iron-hard yet tender-hearted nature, Mr. Lance is seen as a justice-bringer by the people of Indigo Plateau, an idol in countless hearts.
Even if jokingly called "Flying Elite" online, he can laugh it off.
What a perfect gentleman!
...
The cloak snapped loudly in the high-altitude air.
Riding on Dragonite's back, Lance silently shook his head and sighed.
As a once-in-a-century prodigy of the Dragon Envoy clan, he never forgot the elder's wise words: "With great power comes great responsibility."
Because he was a strong individual capable of taming dragons, upholding justice was his duty.
And the more he yearned for justice, the more limited he felt in his abilities.
As long as human ambition existed, those dirty means lurking in the shadows would never disappear.
At times, he even seriously pondered—
Perhaps humans are the virus causing disharmony in the world?
"But precisely because of this, we need people like me to uphold justice and punish evil."
Lance muttered to himself, reiterating the answer he ultimately reached.
Therefore, he couldn't stop.
He must become powerful enough to intimidate all evil organizations alone, making the darkness hidden in Indigo Plateau nowhere to hide!
With these thoughts, after returning home, Lance started his late-night ranked battle.
Honestly, he wasn't very adept at 1v1 duels; group battles were where the Kanto Elites thrived.
For millennia, Indigo Plateau had followed chaotic battles without rules, with 6v6 brawls being commonplace, and trainers themselves often joining the fray.
Another Kanto Elite, Bruno, even possessed a sturdy physique capable of withstanding attacks from multiple Dragonites.
But the upcoming Masters Rule was about to take effect, and no-rules battles would soon become history.
Thus, he planned to leverage the popularity of Pokémon Champion to compensate for his lack of conventional battle tactics.
After all, Lance was considered the strongest force in the Kanto League.
As the leader of the Elite Four, he was typically viewed as the face of the region; calling him an uncrowned king wasn't overstated.
If circumstances hadn't been special, he would have become the regional champion long ago, his strength overwhelmingly crushing other trainers.
The Kanto League hadn't failed to crown a champion due to weakness.
Instead, all four Elites possessed the capability to be champions but mutually countered each other, resulting in years of no one able to defeat the other three.
Newcomers facing such a terrifying lineup could only sigh hopelessly.
How could this be fought?
Once the Master Rule takes full effect next year, there will be more opportunities to battle elites from other regions, and he couldn't let the Kanto League down.
In the game, even without a significant power gap, his Dragon Pokémon army remained invincible.
"A worthy opponent has been matched for you!"
The matching interface spun, and soon the opponent's information appeared before Lance.
"A pure Bug-type team?"
Seeing the opponent's lineup, Lance paused, his expression subtly changing.
"Competing against elite trainers using only weak Bug Pokémon indeed requires immense courage."
"Unfortunately..."
"You've picked the wrong opponent!"
Fierce flames burned in Lance's eyes.
"The power of dragons is unmatched; clever tricks are meaningless!"
...
"Huh?!"
When the match notification popped up, Aiden's expression became somewhat strange.
The opponent's ID was "Dragon Envoy."
The trainer's image soon appeared.
Red hair, black cloak, cool stance, and behind him, a Dragonite with a round belly.
And the extremely familiar team...
Dragonite, Aerodactyl, Charizard, Gyarados, Kingdra, Dragonite.
Sorry officer, I didn't recognize you earlier.
Here it is!
Unable to assemble other Dragons, except for a bunch of Flying-types without Dragon attributes, he had to add multiple Dragonites to make up the weird lineup!
Got it wrong, let's try again!
It's you, the leader of the Kanto Elite Four, former Johto Champion, Dragon Envoy, Flying-type Master, the man closest to becoming the champion—
Lance!
[This team is really strong, a player relying on Pokémon quality to rank up?]
[Streamer, streamer, why is the opponent a master ball level expert...]
[Whoa, this lineup looks familiar, isn't it the same as Elite Four Lance's?]
[This is Mr. Lance from the Kanto Elite Four himself, chill on the memes!]
[Huh? Really matched with a Master Ball Ranked player???]
The barrage quickly realized something was amiss; this person was considered half a champion-level figure, how did Teacher Azure get matched with him?
"Chat, don't panic. The problem we're facing now is huge, panicking won't help."
Aiden couldn't help but twitch his lips, his expression also slightly awkward.
According to the game's matchmaking mechanism, his account's current win rate was indeed a bit too high, so being matched with opponents far beyond the same ELO was understandable.
But why do you keep throwing Elite-level opponents at me!
Given the situation, Aiden could only grit his teeth and face this Mr. Lance.
He quickly got into the zone, analyzing the opponent's lineup in his mind while starting to mutter.
"This lineup is almost entirely Flying types, the suppression against Bug types is extraordinary..."
"If you were truly a Dragon Envoy, I wouldn't be so worried."
"I took a trip to Casseroya Lake, one of the ten scenic spots in Paldea, and I probably saw more Dragon Pokémon than what's in your lineup..."
"But it's not completely hopeless, let's send out Kricketune to see the opponent's lineup first!"
Aiden quickly determined his starter.
Meanwhile, under his quiet murmurs, the barrage was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
[BRUH Teacher Azure, you dare say this haha, you're definitely the one who "respects" Lance the most on the entire internet!]
[Meme as you like, but Lance's strength is widely recognized, streamer, be serious...]
[He's cooked 100%]
[Matching with this guy is already impressive, winning or losing doesn't matter. No one really thinks you can win against this setup with just Bug Pokémon, right?]
Chat messages flashed by, and both sides had confirmed their starters.
The screen gradually transitioned to an indoor battlefield, with Aiden and Lance's trainer images appearing on both sides.
Both simultaneously threw out a Poké Ball, and their respective starting Pokémon appeared.
On Aiden's side, Kricketune stood in a somewhat comical pose, staring blankly at the opponent with its big Casilan eyes.
On Lance's field, a grayish-white Pokémon resembling an ancient pterodactyl flapped its wings in the air. Its powerful jaw revealed a row of serrated teeth, and its unique menacing gaze as an ancient Pokémon stared directly at Kricketune.
Aerodactyl, an ancient fossil Pokémon.
Whether Rock or Flying, it was lethal enough for Kricketune.
Aiden fell into deep thought.
Initially, he thought Kricketune coming out to lay Sticky Web would be the biggest contribution to the team.
But facing Lance's Flying-type squadron, laying Sticky Web made no difference.
Perish Song's effect in singles was quite limited; Aerodactyl could easily knock it out first and safely switch out.
So, he had to change tactics...
Fortunately, Aiden came prepared, having another strategy ready for Kricketune—
"Kricketune, Sing!"
Before Lance could give a command, Aiden acted first!
[Status to face as the first move, the streamer's ethics seem a bit low...]
[Breloom almost always starts status spamming, I can understand that, but Sing is too easy to dodge, right?]
[Sure enough, it dodged. This is an Elite Four member, landing Sing at the start is probably too difficult, right?]
Facing Kricketune's Sing interference, Lance's trainer image snorted disdainfully.
"Aerodactyl, Aerial Ace."
Aerial Ace was a highly aesthetic technique. The swift-winged pterodactyl soared high, easily leaving the range of Sing's attack, then swiftly plummeted downward!
Seizing the moment after the opponent's action ended, the attack was unavoidable.
In an instant, Kricketune was sent flying.
However, even under attribute disadvantage, Aerodactyl ultimately failed to secure a one-hit KO.
Though covered in dust, Kricketune still struggled to rise, its eyes burning with anger from the attack.
Some pink light suddenly appeared around it.
At this moment, Aiden spoke again—
"Kricketune, Baton Pass!"
"Well done, now it's your teammates' turn!"
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