After dodging Aerodactyl's attack, Yanmega's Speed Boost ability had already activated.
Yanmega successfully outsped its opponent and finished off Aerodactyl with Ancient Power.
This move has a chance to trigger the Pokémon's primal power upon hitting the opponent, boosting all stats, but the probability is low, so it didn't activate this time.
Aiden wasn't bothered; it was just a gamble anyway.
Who could blame Yanmega for only knowing one Rock-type move, especially since it was also its evolution condition?
And now, another somewhat awkward problem presented itself—
While Yanmega also had the same Speed Boost as Scolipede, dragonflies don't have tentacles, meaning...
It couldn't use Baton Pass!
If he'd known the opponent was Lance, Aiden would've replaced it with Flygon.
At least that Ground/Dragon-type could learn Stone Edge and Dragon Dance, potentially dealing some devastating extra hits.
Lance likely didn't know Yanmega's limited move pool.
So, to be safe, he chose to send out his ace to quickly finish the opponent.
A flash of red light, and a chubby, round-bellied Dragonite appeared on the field. Its small wings flapped occasionally, making it look rather cute and harmless.
[Here it is, Lance's ace, Dragonite!]
Dragonite, the late bloomer Pokémon, is incredibly strong.
Its species are extremely rare in Kanto, once even considered a mythical Pokémon that was rarely seen.
Regarding this, Aiden could only say...
Kanto is still too barren. If you have time, please let Mr. Lance come to Paldea to broaden his horizons.
Dratini at Casseroya Lake have almost become an infestation!
Back to the battle.
As soon as Dragonite appeared, it lifted a huge rock, and Aiden immediately issued the same command:
"Stone Edge / Ancient Power!"
Both trainers spoke simultaneously, and both Pokémon launched their attacks without hesitation.
Hit by Stone Edge, Yanmega's HP bar was instantly depleted, and Aiden recalled it.
On Dragonite's side, it only sustained minor damage, shedding some scales that absorbed most of the impact.
It looked like a loss, and indeed it was quite a loss.
But Yanmega's unexpected appearance wasn't part of Aiden's plan, and it wasn't crucial to this battle either.
Being quadruple weak to Rock was too much; almost everyone on Lance's side could one-shot it. Breaking through Dragonite's Multiscale was already useful...
A nearly spent Kricketune in the back row stepping up would be a free gift;
Heracross, quadruple weak to Flying, was effectively one less person against Lance's Flying-type squad;
Scizor, quadruple weak to Fire, had no room to enter given Dragonite's wide move set.
Just after sacrificing Yanmega, three more Pokémon in the back row couldn't enter the field. The situation felt utterly hopeless.
In such a disadvantageous position, Aiden's options were very limited.
If only he had a Gliscor to spread Stealth Rocks, he wouldn't feel so helpless…
But precisely these uphill battles are what Aiden found most interesting about Pokémon battles!
Aiden felt his mind was crystal clear at this moment.
He had only one possibility to win against Lance, and that was—
"Let's turn the tables, Drapion!"
The moment Drapion appeared, Lance immediately reacted and saw through the opponent's little trick.
"Dragonite, Earthquake."
This Pokémon was indeed somewhat deceptive; many people mistakenly think it's a Bug-type, but in reality, it was Poison/Dark...
So, it only had one Ground-type weakness.
And Dragonite's nearly perfect coverage allowed it to easily defeat this overconfident bug while maintaining pressure on the opponent.
"YA★DA★ZE!"
Hearing Lance's command, Aiden finally exhaled and quickly gave the next command.
"Drapion, Ice Fang!"
As Dragonite's power seeped into the ground, the earth began to tremble, with surging energy indiscriminately attacking in all directions.
At this moment, Drapion's eyes showed determination.
It leaped directly toward the low-flying Dragonite, its sharp teeth still covered with some ice crystals.
Ice Fang's power wasn't high, but it was a noble Ice-type move.
And the Dragon family, represented by Dragonite, was one of the victims of quadruple Ice weakness.
This was a big gamble—I bet you'll pull the trigger first!
Without the protection of Multiscale, when Drapion's sharp fangs touched Dragonite, the accumulated frost power burst forth instantly, causing its HP bar to drop visibly until—
Completely depleted.
One-hit KO!
Dragonite's body plummeted rapidly, but the aftershocks of Earthquake hadn't subsided yet.
A one-for-one trade was acceptable...
The other Dragonite could solve the remaining Pokémon on the opponent's side.
As Lance thought this, he suddenly noticed the item wrapped around Drapion's tail.
Then, his eyes widened instantly.
The conspicuous red balloon defied physics, stabilizing Drapion's downward fall trend, suspending it in mid-air and avoiding the lethal impact.
When the earth calmed down, Drapion slowly landed, still standing tall on the ground!
[Huh? Air Balloon Drapion? That seems reasonable, treated as a Levitate ability with no weaknesses...]
[Holy shit I'm fired up! Drapion KO'd that lil Dragonite in one hit!]
[Impossible!]
With Aerodactyl and Dragonite successively falling, the score became 2:1.
As the barrage said, looking at the score alone, Aiden seemed to have a slight advantage.
But at this point, who would win or lose was still too early to tell.
As Lance recalled the fallen Dragonite, Aiden simultaneously recalled Drapion.
From the moment Yanmega was sacrificed, he had already accurately predicted the entire course of action.
Before the counterattack arrived, the item carried by this Drapion was crucial.
Even though the Air Balloon had been exposed, it could still help it avoid the fatal Ground weakness before being hit and broken, so he wanted to keep this ace until the decisive moment.
Although not on the field, Drapion's intimidation had already been established.
As long as it stayed healthy, Lance's next Dragonite couldn't easily enter the field; otherwise, losing Multiscale would inevitably lead to a repeat disaster.
Aiden sent out Scolipede again, only to be met with Gyarados' Intimidate upon entering.
For his mostly physical attacker relay team, the interference from Intimidate was troublesome.
Who knew he originally took a job from Cynthia, thinking of playing a relay team to casually showcase tactics against random opponents.
Now, he was the one sweating bullets...
Why the hell am I matched with this guy!
While mentally cursing the mysterious matchmaking system, Aiden pondered his next move.
At this point, the safest option was to continue using Protect to gain Speed.
Being safe meant no mistakes.
But at the same time, it naturally lost the opportunity to break the deadlock.
Especially since he had already commanded this twice, a trainer of Lance's level would certainly exploit his habits.
So...
At this point, if you don't take risks, how can you win!
"Scolipede, Swords Dance!"
"Gyarados, Dragon Dance."
Both sides opened their mouths almost simultaneously, issuing nearly identical commands.
[Here it is, the strengthening move Lance excels at, Dragon Dance!]
[Teacher Azure, is this within your calculations too?]
[Both sides are strengthening, it seems like Azure pulls ahead a bit here!]
Seeing Gyarados flipping and dancing in the air, Aiden knew he had gambled correctly again.
Lance noticed his habit, so instead of directly attacking when Scolipede probably used Protect, he also chose to strengthen!
But this time, I was one step ahead of your!
Though both moves were strengthening techniques, Swords Dance significantly boosted Attack, while Dragon Dance increased both Attack and Speed. Generally, Dragon Dance was more useful.
But while Swords Dance boosted, Scolipede's Speed Boost ability quietly triggered.
After a brief bout of strategy, the impact of Intimidate had been neutralized, and both sides returned to the same starting line.
"Did he predict this...?"
On the other side, Lance inadvertently furrowed his brow.
He could sense that in this battle, the opponent had more than once foreseen his next command.
Even under the significant gap in team strength, they were trading blows evenly.
First, it could absolutely be ruled out that he was a highly familiar elite trainer. So, the answer was only one—
This person's commanding ability surpasses mine?
Thinking of this possible outcome, Lance couldn't help but look astonished.
He wasn't particularly skilled at singles rhythm, but that was only relative to his own level in no-rules battles.
And suppressing his commands meant...
The opponent was at least a Gym Leader-level trainer?
"Interesting!"
Lance's eyes filled with fighting spirit.
Since this was the case, then he would go all out next!
"Gyarados, Stone Edge!"
"Scolipede, Protect!"
"Stone Edge!"
"Iron Defense!"
"Stone Edge!"
"Protect!"
Lance suddenly intensified, launching several fierce waves of attacks, all blocked by Aiden.
The good news was that after a few rounds of delay, Scolipede's Speed Boost was almost fully stacked, and Iron Defense greatly enhanced its defensive capabilities.
But under Gyarados' relentless bombardment, Scolipede's HP was already dangerously low, necessitating a Baton Pass swap.
Aiden vaguely sensed that this was Lance's deliberate move.
Since Scolipede was his important strengthening starter, it definitely couldn't trade with this Gyarados, making it only more passive.
Speaking of which, in his eyes, these gym leaders and elites all seemed to have a bit of protagonist aura.
In reality, skills could make up for it, but in the game, daring to consecutively use 80% accuracy Stone Edge and actually never missing once...
You know if you're cheating or not!
But right now, he indeed had no better way to handle it, so he could only issue a Baton Pass command, letting Scolipede temporarily retreat.
Facing Gyarados, Aiden chose Scizor.
Although there was no type advantage, it could at least withstand Gyarados' output, and Roost as a transition had virtually no side effects to save its life.
"Gyarados, Outrage!"
Seeing Aiden indeed Baton Passed to bring out Scizor, Lance immediately issued a command.
Going all out was a Fire-type physical move. If the last used move missed, this time it would carry stronger momentum, doubling the power.
Yes, Gyarados could learn Fire-type moves.
And for Scizor, this move was already lethal enough!
"I knew it..."
Aiden exhaled, at least this move was within his anticipation.
Everyone slightly knowledgeable about Scizor knew its quadruple Fire weakness, and Gyarados using Going All Out was within his consideration.
He dared to hard-counter it because, apart from having no other usable Pokémon, there was also...
Sufficient confidence in Scizor's endurance.
One Iron Defense, given Gyarados' power and moves, even a Fire-type move would almost certainly not OHKO it!
"Scizor, Dual Wingbeat!"
Due to the speed boost effect after Baton Passing, Scizor struck first despite moving later, its steel wings slapping Gyarados' vital spot, landing a critical hit and instantly depleting over half of its opponent's HP.
Gyarados, enveloped in flames, fiercely whipped its tail, exerting all its strength to counterattack.
Flames slapped against Scizor's crimson shell, and its HP bar visibly began to waver.
Upon reaching the dangerous red HP threshold, it suddenly stopped.
It even slowly recovered about a quarter of its HP after Scizor pulled out and swallowed a Sitrus Berry.
The second Dual Wingbeat followed closely, this time Gyarados had no chance to counter, and was instantly knocked unconscious on the ground.
[I can answer this question, the power of Dual Wingbeat with Technician equals Brave Bird!]
[Holy crap, is it really turning around?]
[Still a bit difficult, don't just look at the score. Azure's Pokémon's health isn't great. If Mr. Lance can withstand the pressure, he might still lose...]
[But battling to this extent with the leader of Kanto's Elite Four, Azure's strength is terrifyingly strong!]
Continuous command barrages couldn't keep up, but the overall situation was still roughly discernible.
Both sides had entered the endgame phase prematurely; next was seeing who could grit their teeth and hold on!
"Didn't get OHKOed...?"
Lance was a bit surprised but quickly composed himself.
"But it doesn't matter, Charizard can clean up."
"The opponent's lineup has been severely pressured on HP, leaving no possibility to start passing boosts again."
"So, as long as the final Baton Pass user is dealt with, it's my victory."
There was no joy of impending victory on Lance's face; instead, he became even more serious.
Because he knew, the opponent surely hadn't given up yet.
"Then, let me see your resilience once more."
When Charizard entered, Scizor could only Baton Pass again.
On Aiden's side, three were half-dead or critically injured, Heracross entering was likely to be forcibly traded, so he could only send out Drapion to inherit the boost effects.
"Drapion, Rock Slide!"
"Charizard, Blast Burn!"
Both sides issued mutually desperate commands.
What Aiden didn't expect was that Lance's Charizard was carrying a Focus Sash???
This uncommon peculiar configuration played an unimaginable role at this moment, directly costing him dearly.
Charizard, enduring Rock Slide, retaliated with a vengeful bite, spewing out Blast Burn which instantly engulfed Drapion.
As the team's pillar-like elder brother collapsed on the spot from exhaustion.
All relay tactic setups ended here.
Helplessly, Aiden could only send out Scizor again to close with Bullet Punch.
The score quickly reached 4:2.
At first glance, his side seemed to have a significant advantage, but in reality...
His side had three critically injured Pokémon, and the only combat force, Heracross, was completely suppressed by Dragonite.
On Lance's side, Kingdra and Dragonite were both in good health, capable of wiping out the opposing team.
There was hardly any way to deal with Dragonite in the lineup.
How could you lose when the opponent's dragon was riding your face?
It was still hard to say.
Among countless outcomes, his path to victory might be the only one...
Aiden quickly realized this and simultaneously revealed a confident smile.
But there was also good news.
He seemed to know how to win!
Looks like Kricketune might truly become the main character...
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