After witnessing Salamence being taken out with a single punch up close, Drake quickly furrowed his brows and silently recalled it.
This is troublesome...
Originally, he just planned to have Salamence use Intimidate to interfere with Lance's Dragonite and see if he could knock off its defensive Multiscale first.
He never expected his ace to be KO'd so easily, instantly putting him in an extremely unfavorable situation.
However...
Fortunately, he had prepared a backup plan.
Drake quickly shook his head and took another Poké Ball from his pocket.
"Go, Clefable!"
A pink, bipedal Pokémon with three pairs of wings appeared on the field.
Fairy-type Pokémon, Clefable.
Of course, Aiden was very familiar with it.
In fact, it was one of the beings that shared the title "Pink Demon" with Chansey.
As everyone knows, pink is a color exclusive to true men; without some strength, one can't handle such a flashy color scheme.
And this little pink fairy, which allegedly arrived in this world riding a meteorite from outer space, naturally should not be underestimated.
Possessing the noble Fairy-type that surpasses Dragon-types, Clefable, the boss of Mt. Moon who can both attack and tank, has absolute dominance over Dragon Pokémon.
This was also a consideration for Drake to temporarily include it in his lineup.
Even after using Dragon Dance to boost, Dragonite's attacks still posed no threat to it.
"Is it Clefable with the Unaware ability?"
From the stands nearby, Aiden looked at this Clefable having a staring contest with Dragonite and quickly realized.
Clefable possesses the hidden ability Unaware, which ignores changes in the opponent's stats, whether offensive or defensive, making it an excellent defensive ability.
In front of it, the effect of Dragon Dance was merely an increase in speed.
Since Clefable couldn't possibly be faster than Dragonite anyway, this point was negligible.
"However..."
Aiden's eyes suddenly held a teasing glint as he looked down at the resolute Elite Four member Drake.
"With the moves Dragonite can learn, sending out Clefable might not be a good idea..."
So far, Lance's Dragonite had revealed Again, Dragon Dance, Ice Punch, and still had one move left.
Thus, it was most likely—
"Iron Head!" ×2
Aiden and Lance below simultaneously spoke.
[It's back again, Teacher Azure's seemingly cheat-like live prediction ability!]
[Teacher Azure used Parrot Mimicry!]
[Not the Synchronize ability?]
For Aiden's accurate prediction command, the audience had long become accustomed to it these days.
Moreover, he didn't hold back, sharing the secrets of how to train predictive abilities during the live stream.
In his own words, as long as you memorize the Pokédex more or less and play a few thousand ranked matches, you can basically reach an entry-level.
Hmm, sounds easy to achieve, right?
The audience reacted indifferently, but Clair, watching from the side, wasn't so calm.
After casting a surprised glance at Aiden, her heart was immediately filled with shock.
Although her cousin used unconventional command strategies never seen before, it seemed as though all of Lance's commands were within his expectations.
Moreover, his reaction was much quicker than Drake, the Hoenn Elite Four standing opposite Lance!
Which means—
Apart from having decent tactical creativity, his commanding ability was almost on par with her cousin?
No, it's not just that.
Though reluctant to admit it...
Lance's tactical changes today were indeed closely related to Aiden and, to a certain extent, could be said to have been learned from him.
Who exactly is this young Paldean Gym Leader?
On the other hand, Dragonite, which flew towards Clefable with thunderous force and launched a fierce attack, quickly hit its target.
A single Iron Head instantly sent Clefable flying, causing it to crash spectacularly.
Although it struggled to get up, it was evident that it had suffered significant impact from the previous assault.
There are no absolutely perfect types in the Pokémon world.
Just as powerful Dragon Pokémon are helpless against Fairy types, Fairy types also have their weaknesses.
Poison and Steel.
Though these two types lean towards defense, they still have offensive capabilities, and Dragonite happens to learn Iron Head, which has considerable power.
Its speed was already extraordinary, and under the boost of Dragon Dance, the Iron Head's speed rivaled Extreme Speed, making its lethality even more astonishing.
Even though Clefable used Softboiled in time, it was still taken out by the subsequent second Iron Head.
At this point, the situation completely collapsed.
"Lance is going to win 3-0."
Aiden shook his head, quietly declaring the match over in advance, while getting up to applaud and cheer for the victor.
His judgment was naturally based on evidence.
Because Drake's last Pokémon had already been revealed at the start—
Flygon, weak four times to Ice, stood no chance against Dragonite's Ice Punch onslaught.
Sure enough, as he predicted, the Flygon that came out last didn't do anything. As soon as it appeared, it saw a Dragonite that had already KO'd two teammates and was radiating terrifying momentum, smiling as it delivered an Ice Punch to its face.
Then, there was nothing more.
The score was an utterly bleak 3-0, with Lance crushing Drake, another equally formidable Elite Four member, with a regal demeanor.
This thrilling battle also sparked heated discussions among the audience.
[Wow, no wonder he's Kanto's last gatekeeper. Lance's strength can't be blackened!]
[A single Dragonite piercing through three opponents. There is indeed a gap in strength between Elites...]
[To be fair, that "Again" move really reminded me of Teacher Azure, hahaha!]
[But today Dragonite didn't use a single Dragon-type move, not even a Flying-type move. Lance, you've changed!]
[Cmon now, Dragon Dance is indeed a Dragon-type move...]
[For victory, I can even sacrifice my old buddy (referring to Flying type)!]
Even Clair sitting next to Caitlin looked somewhat moved.
She had a crushing defeat in the quarterfinals, ending her journey in this Dragon-type Master Tournament.
Yet Lance could effortlessly advance to the finals.
Besides the gap in Pokémon strength, the more important factor was...
Lance's tactical design was far superior to his opponent's, accurately predicting what Elite Four member Drake might think.
Thus, like Cynthia in the previous match, he ended the battle effortlessly.
"..."
Clair couldn't help but reflect: should she also learn from her cousin and broaden her battle strategies?
Her gaze inadvertently glanced at Aiden on the other side.
If she could learn from that guy, adopting Trainer Aiden's ideas...
She would probably become stronger too, right?
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