A pokémon's strength isn't estimated, it's proven in battle.
Only after a true battle can one know a pokémon's combat level.
"Alright! Then I'll have Wille guide me more."
Adrian grinned, readily agreeing.
"I wouldn't dare to guide, we'll learn from each other!"
Seeing Adrian agree, Wille was all smiles and full of confidence.
He had already decided that he would definitely make his pokémon perform well later, to show their skill and style, to make the Dragon Elder's eyes light up and leave a deep impression.
As for Adrian, it wouldn't matter if he got beaten badly.
Anyway, this kid had taken so many dragon gems from him this trip, so it was only right for him to provide some emotional value to his benefactor now, wasn't it?
Let my brother suffer a bit, I'll take the benefits!
Hmm~ Logical!
"Sparring?"
Only Clair noticed something was off.
Why did Wille suddenly suggest sparring?
And Adrian, why did he look so eager to try?
He seemed confident enough to fight Wille?
It wasn't until she turned her head and saw that the Dragon Elder had arrived near them at some point that she thoughtfully stood up to greet him: "Grandpa!"
"Elder!"
Adrian and Wille also quickly greeted him.
Hearing Clair call him "Grandpa," the Dragon Elder frowned and scolded: "How many times have I told you, when in the Dragon Shrine and Dragon Sanctuary, you must call me Elder."
Clair pouted at his words, reluctantly saying, "Yes, Elder!"
"Hmm~"
After nodding in satisfaction, the Dragon Elder looked at Adrian again and asked, "Young man, is your special training complete?"
"Thanks to the Elder's blessing!"
Adrian truthfully said: "Also thanks to Miss Clair's meticulous guidance and Wille's gem support, Gyarados has completed its planned special training tasks."
"Not bad!"
After a word of praise, the Dragon Elder again sized up Adrian's Gyarados, his gaze profound.
Knowing that Adrian and Wille were going to spar, the Dragon Elder also became interested, laughing, "Since that's the case, this old man Wille also watch!"
Wille became even more excited upon hearing this.
Because Adrian currently only had two pokémon, the match was set to two-on-two. Neither side could switch pokémon using conventional means mid-battle, but moves like Volt Switch, U-turn, and Baton Pass were not included.
"Please, both sides take your positions!"
After helping the Dragon Elder sit on a stone, Clair turned back to act as the referee.
In the wide open space, Adrian and Wille faced each other from a distance, each taking out a poké ball, ready to go.
Outside the clearing and in the lake, many pokémon gathered to watch the excitement.
Because the Dragon Sanctuary was a very peaceful place, conflicts rarely occurred.
Such pokémon battles were uncommon.
"Owoo~"
Even the guardian Dragonite was attracted, but it was mainly there to maintain order among the wild pokémon, showing little interest in Adrian and Wille's sparring.
Because in its eyes, it was just a battle between weaklings!
"Go, Gyarados!"
Exchanging glances, Adrian and Wille threw out their poké balls almost simultaneously.
And as if by telepathy, the pokémon they sent out were both Gyarados.
"Roar~"
Accompanied by two roars, two fierce Gyarados appeared in the open space.
However, in terms of size and aura, Adrian's Gyarados clearly had the upper hand.
"Roar~"
But as Wille's Gyarados let out another roar, its expression becoming even colder and fiercer, the situation on the field instantly reversed.
Adrian's Gyarados seemed to have seen something extremely terrifying. Its expression subtly changed, and its body involuntarily took half a step back.
Immediately after, a faint light appeared on its body.
Adrian's Gyarados's physical attack ability was lowered!
Adrian sighed: "It's the Intimidate ability again!"
For a physical attacker, having their attack power lowered at the start is clearly very detrimental.
Especially for Adrian's Gyarados, because its ability is Moxie, it must gain an advantage and win at the beginning to continuously build momentum and sweep the team.
In the open space, Wille looked at this scene and sneered repeatedly: "Moxie? I'll make sure you can't be confident from the start!"
"Battle start!"
With Clair's command, the battle officially began.
Wille snapped his fingers, raising his head and shouting: "Gyarados, use Dragon Pulse to say hello first!"
Although Gyarados is a Water/Flying-type pokémon, under Wille's training, his Gyarados was clearly more proficient in Dragon-type moves.
"Roar~"
Accompanied by a roar, Dragon-type energy furiously gathered in Gyarados's gaping maw, eventually transforming into a dragon-shaped, colorful energy wave that lunged out menacingly.
"Dragon Breath!"
Adrian's expression remained unchanged, choosing the equally Dragon-type move Dragon Breath as a response.
Whoosh!
The scorching Dragon Breath sprayed from Gyarados's mouth, colliding with the oncoming Dragon Pulse in mid-air.
The two Dragon-type energies intensely collided, refusing to give way, and actually caused an explosion.
Boom!
Smoke billowed and air currents swept, making it hard to open one's eyes.
"It actually blocked it?"
Wille frowned slightly, a look of surprise on his face.
Although his Gyarados was smaller than the opponent's, its internal energy accumulation far exceeded the other.
And the power of the Dragon Pulse move was also slightly stronger than the Dragon Breath move.
Yet, it ended in a draw?
The Dragon Elder remained expressionless, sitting still on the stone like an old monk in meditation.
Clair, however, saw things more clearly as an observer and vaguely understood something.
That is, the proficiency of Adrian's Gyarados's Dragon Breath move was extremely high, at least one level higher than Wille's Gyarados's Dragon Pulse, otherwise it would have been impossible to achieve a draw.
"Could it be that Adrian's Gyarados hasn't just been rapidly improving its Dragon Dance move proficiency these past few days?
It also simultaneously raised the proficiency of its Dragon Breath move to an extremely high level?"
Thinking this, Clair felt her throat go dry, muttering: "Does this Gyarados really learn any skill just by seeing it, and master it just by practicing it once? This skill talent is simply too monstrous!"
"Gyarados, Dragon Rush!"
Since special attack moves couldn't achieve success, Wille immediately changed his tactics, opting instead for a physical close-combat move.
Although Adrian's Gyarados was larger, and a larger size has some amplifying effect on physical attack moves, the decisive factor was still the pokémon's own energy accumulation.
And in this regard, Wille had absolute confidence in his own Gyarados.
After all, his training duration was two and a half years, while Adrian's was merely half a year.
The stronger and weaker were clear at a glance!
Not to mention that Adrian's Gyarados was already Intimidated at the start, its physical attack ability had decreased, adding insult to injury.
Wille refused to believe that his Gyarados could still lose in such a head-on clash.
"Roar~"
Accompanied by a roar, a bright blue aura began to form around Wille's Gyarados's body, completely enveloping it before it charged out violently, its momentum terrifying.
Looking at the Gyarados charging like a heavy tank, Adrian was not surprised but rather delighted, shouting: "Thunder Wave!"
Wille's Gyarados was very strong, and its reaction speed was also very fast, with almost no weaknesses in any aspect.
If Thunder Wave were used from a certain distance, the opponent would most likely avoid it.
But now, Wille's Gyarados was already only about ten meters from Adrian's Gyarados; this distance was too close.
And no matter what move it is, as long as I'm in its face, there's no possibility of missing.