"Experience it for yourself! Feel the power of my Dragon Corps!"
Lance made a proud declaration. He threw his first Poké Ball with a stylish flick of his wrist.
"Gyarados!"
"Roar—!"
Gyarados let out a dominant, fierce roar that shook the air. The massive, muscular body of the Gyarados landed heavily in front of Lance. It looked down at Giovanni from a great height.
It was a Water and Flying-type Gyarados!
"Hmm..."
Platinum's pretty face looked a bit strange as she watched Lance and Gyarados on the field.
There was no doubt that this Gyarados was extremely powerful. Just its intense, pressuring aura was many times stronger than Lysandre's Shiny Gyarados.
But that wasn't the point.
Lance's declaration was very impressive. It was enough to make anyone's blood boil with excitement.
The "unrivaled Dragon type" really did sound cool.
But after saying such a cool line, why did he throw out a Gyarados?
Even though Gyarados had "Dragon" in its Japanese name, the problem was that Gyarados did not actually have the Dragon type...
Champion Lance, is this 'Dragon Corps' of yours... correct? Platinum thought.
"A Gyarados, huh?"
Giovanni narrowed his eyes slightly. Gyarados was one of Lance's well-known top-tier starters.
It was also one of the main Pokémon in the team Lance used when he first became the Kanto Champion.
Without a doubt, this Gyarados was incredibly strong!
"I'm not done yet."
Lance's movements didn't stop. He raised his arm, and a Key Stone on his hand began to glow brightly.
"Mega Evolution!"
The Key Stone sparkled. In response, the Mega Stone on Gyarados's body began to shine.
Gyarados's entire massive body was covered in the light of evolution. In an instant, a more ferocious and powerful Mega Gyarados appeared. It lifted its head and let out a violent roar.
"Huh? He's using Mega Evolution right at the start?" Platinum was quite surprised.
Shouldn't a trump card like Mega Evolution be saved for a critical moment? Who uses Mega Evolution the second the battle starts?
This was way too aggressive.
"So you chose to evolve Mega Gyarados? It seems you still haven't found a Dragoniteite, Champion Lance."
Seeing this, Giovanni teased Lance.
"Hmph!"
Lance scoffed unhappily and crossed his arms. He couldn't argue back.
He had indeed been working hard to find a Mega Stone for Dragonite. However, up until now, he still hadn't found one.
This made Lance frustrated. His faith was in Dragons, and his ace was Dragonite. It was because of Dragonite that his Dragon Corps had always been invincible.
But with the arrival of Mega Evolution—this magical power that could make a final-stage Pokémon evolve again—it was clearly a must-have for any top-tier Trainer.
If others had it and you didn't, weren't you falling behind?
However, Mega Evolution wasn't something every Pokémon could have. Lance firmly believed Dragonite must have a Mega Stone, but unfortunately, there was no news of one yet.
Because of this, to avoid having no Mega Evolution to use at all, Lance had to use other Mega Stones as substitutes for now.
"Even if I haven't found a Dragoniteite yet, my Mega Gyarados is still not something an ordinary person can handle," Lance said coldly and proudly.
That was actually true.
Giovanni looked at this incredibly fierce Mega Gyarados. Gyarados was already one of the strongest Water-type Pokémon. If it weren't for the four-times weakness to Electric moves holding it back, it would definitely be at the very top of normal Water-type Pokémon.
After Mega Evolving, Mega Gyarados's type changed to Water and Dark. It no longer had that fatal four-times weakness to Electric.
Its combat power had definitely increased by more than one level!
"Nidoking!"
Giovanni thought for a moment and then decisively threw Nidoking's Poké Ball.
Nidoking landed heavily in front of Giovanni. It growled at Mega Gyarados.
Mega Gyarados wasn't afraid at all. It roared back at Nidoking even louder.
"Nidoking? You're still not using Mega Evolution? It seems you are quite arrogant, Giovanni."
Lance looked the Nidoking over.
In the challenge matches against Lorelei and the other two, Giovanni's Nidoking had performed very well. But Lance wasn't like Lorelei and the others!
"The battle has just begun. Why be in such a hurry?"
Giovanni still had one hand in his pocket. He smiled calmly.
"Hmph! I want to see how long you can keep up that relaxed act."
Lance glanced at Giovanni and grinned, but his voice was cold.
It had been a long time since he met someone who dared to be so bold in front of him.
"Gyarados! Aqua Tail!"
Without hesitating, Lance launched the first attack.
Mega Gyarados swung its giant tail. It roared and charged toward Nidoking.
Its huge, thick body created an amazing amount of pressure.
After all, Mega Gyarados's size was simply too big. A normal Gyarados was about 6.5 meters long, which already made it a large Pokémon.
But Lance's top-tier Gyarados was actually 8 meters long. It was more than a meter larger than a normal one. This showed how well Lance had raised it.
Mega Gyarados roared. Water swirled around its massive tail as it slammed it down hard toward Nidoking.
It was the Water-type move, Aqua Tail!
"Block it with Superpower!" Giovanni's tone was much more serious than in the previous three battles.
Nidoking growled at Mega Gyarados. Without any fear, it raised its strong arms high.
The Fighting-type move, Superpower!
"Oh? Can you actually block it?" Lance showed a cruel smile.
Block it? Giovanni was looking down on his Mega Gyarados too much!
Mega Gyarados's Aqua Tail slammed down hard. It hit Nidoking's two arms directly.
BOOM!!!
The dull sound of the heavy impact made people's ears ring. Nidoking's arms were forced down. The ground beneath its feet cracked inch by inch, with cracks spreading out like a spiderweb.
Both of Nidoking's feet were pressed into the ground. This showed just how heavy Mega Gyarados's Aqua Tail was.
However, Nidoking really did block it!
Even though Nidoking looked like it was about to be crushed and could only grit its teeth to hold up the giant tail, it had indeed stopped the Aqua Tail!
Lance's face looked a bit annoyed. This was truly unexpected.
But then, Lance's mouth curled into a grin. This made things interesting!
If the opponent broke after just one hit, where was the fun in the battle?
"Hydro Pump!" Lance suddenly shouted loudly.
So what if it blocked Aqua Tail? The battle was just starting.
Mega Gyarados roared. Water light began to gather in its huge mouth. The Water-type move, Hydro Pump!
"Dive into the ground to dodge!" Giovanni ordered without hesitation.
Actually, if he could, he really wanted Nidoking to use Thunder to trade damage with Mega Gyarados. Since Mega Gyarados was Lance's Mega slot, trading damage would be a win for Giovanni.
However, Nidoking had just barely blocked the Aqua Tail. It was in no state to attack. If it tried to use Thunder now, it would be hit by the Hydro Pump before the move finished.
Nidoking immediately used Dig and disappeared into the ground. It moved very fast.
The thick stream of the Hydro Pump shot out, but it missed Nidoking.
"Digging? You're asking for trouble!" Lance laughed coldly.
"Gyarados! Earthquake!"
Everyone knew that Earthquake dealt double damage to Pokémon hiding underground!
Mega Gyarados raised its giant tail high and slammed it heavily against the ground.
The Ground-type move, Earthquake!
"Superpower!"
However, Giovanni was naturally prepared. Diving underground was only to dodge the Hydro Pump and give Nidoking time to recover its strength.
Nidoking burst out from the ground and jumped up. It swung its arms, using the Fighting-type Superpower against Mega Gyarados.
Because Mega Gyarados lost its Flying type and gained the Dark type, it was now weak to Fighting moves!
"I expected that!"
Lance wasn't surprised at all. Instead, his grin widened.
He knew Giovanni couldn't be that stupid!
Mega Gyarados stopped its motion of slamming its tail into the ground. It changed direction and slapped its tail hard toward Nidoking.
Violent water swirled around the tail again. Aqua Tail!
Giovanni narrowed his eyes.
As expected of Lance, he thought.
BANG!
The Aqua Tail collided with Nidoking's Superpower once more. However, this time Nidoking wasn't standing on the ground. Mega Gyarados's strength was much greater than Nidoking's!
Nidoking couldn't hold on. It was knocked heavily to the ground by the powerful Aqua Tail. Water splashed everywhere. Half of Nidoking's body was even smashed into the dirt.
Nidoking growled in pain. This hit was very heavy!
"Giovanni, is this all you've got?"
Having the advantage, Lance looked at Giovanni. His voice was flat.
"If you only have this much skill, you should just send out Groudon right now."
"Don't be in such a hurry, Champion Lance. The battle has just begun. And..."
Giovanni let out a low laugh. His dark face pointed toward Mega Gyarados.
"Why don't you take another look at your Mega Gyarados's current condition?"
"?"
Lance's sharp eyebrows furrowed. He looked at Mega Gyarados.
Mega Gyarados's face looked pained, as if it were suffering from something. A moment later, a strange, deep purple poisonous light flashed across its body. At the same time, purple spots appeared on its skin.
Mega Gyarados was poisoned!
Most of the audience members were shocked.
Lance's expression became cold and ugly. Poison? Since when?
"Is it the Poison Point ability? No, this is Toxic!"
Lance's eyes were extremely sharp as he looked at the Nidoking that had been knocked down.
Nidoking's most common ability was Poison Point, which had a chance to poison an opponent that touched it.
But that was just normal poison. These purple spots only appeared when a Pokémon was hit by the move Toxic!
Mega Gyarados had been badly poisoned! Was it during that moment it was pressed against the ground by the Aqua Tail?!
"I see. Everything before this was just to set up this Toxic?" Lance stared at Giovanni.
He finally understood. Every move Nidoking made just now was to hide the fact that it was using Toxic.
"Good plan, Giovanni."
"It seems you understand now, Champion Lance. Your biggest weakness is your extreme arrogance and pride," Giovanni said with a calm smile.
Toxic was a condition where the poison became stronger and stronger as time passed.
So, theoretically, Mega Gyarados was already dying a slow death.
Such a powerful enemy would eventually fall on its own over time!
Hearing this, Lance's expression looked bad. He kept his eyes fixed on Giovanni.
Soon, a low laugh started to come from Lance's throat.
"Heh... hehehe... Hahaha!"
Lance's laughter grew louder, but then it stopped suddenly.
"Interesting. This is truly interesting, Giovanni!!"
"I didn't expect that you, the man known as the strongest Gym Leader, would use a method like poison."
Lance's voice couldn't help but carry a bit of mockery.
"The feeling is mutual," Giovanni replied.
He still wore his mature, calm smile as he fired back without hesitation.
"The man called the strongest Dragon Tamer and the Dragon Master hasn't used a single Dragon-type move yet, have you?"
Trainers who specialized in Dragons were called Dragon Tamers, and Lance was obviously the strongest Dragon Tamer in the world today.
Hearing Giovanni's comeback, Lance's face twitched. He looked like he wanted to laugh, but also looked angry. It was very strange.
The tension between the two had become extremely thick without anyone noticing.
It was so thick that the referee and the host with the sunglasses were both sweating and breathing hard.
Does anyone else see this? they thought. Why do these two seem so incredibly angry at each other?
---------------------
This novel is already complete.