A mere Priority +1 move like Baby-Doll Eyes—
Against Frog Boss, it was nothing more than a cheap trick!!
Aaron's calm voice rang out:
"Greninja… use Quick Attack!!"
The moment his words fell, Greninja vanished from where it stood.
Before Leafeon and Grace could even react, in a blur of motion, they vaguely caught sight of a streak of black lightning flashing past.
"Boom—!"
"Leafeon…!"
A dull impact echoed through the field. Leafeon let out a pained cry as its body was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the icy ground. Its eyes spun wildly as it fainted.
"This…"
Grace and Ethan stared in disbelief.
"How… how is that possible?!"
"Quick Attack one-shot Leafeon?!"
Ethan's throat went dry. He swallowed hard, eyes wide as he spoke.
Grace found it hard to believe as well, but the result was right in front of her. She had no choice but to accept it.
The aura Greninja was giving off was only at the early stage of Advanced level.
Even so, it shouldn't have been able to one-shot her Leafeon with a mere 40-power Quick Attack.
Unless…
That Greninja's Quick Attack had reached an extremely high proficiency—perhaps even the Mastery level!
Grace thought silently.
"Referee!"
"What are you staring off for?!"
Aaron glanced at Ethan and reminded him.
"Huh?!"
"Oh—oh… Leafeon has fainted,"
"Please have Grace send out her next Pokémon!"
Ethan snapped back to his senses, swallowed again, and turned to Grace.
"Come back, Leafeon!"
"Have a good rest—you did great!!"
Grace recalled Leafeon into its Poké Ball, speaking softly to it. Then she took out a second Poké Ball and threw it forward.
"Come out… Dragonair!!"
A flash of light erupted, and a long-bodied Pokémon appeared on the field. Its body was pale blue and white, with a pair of small wing-like fins on its head.
It was the evolved form of Dratini—Dragonair!!
This was a Pokémon that could evolve into the pseudo-legendary Dragonite, famed for its overwhelming and majestic presence.
[Name: Dragonair]
[Gender: Female]
[Nature: Jolly]
[Type: Dragon]
[Ability: Marvel Scale (Hidden Ability)]
[Base Stats Total: 420]
[Level: Intermediate (Peak Stage)]
[Potential: Champion-Level Potential]
[Known Moves: Leer (Proficient), Dragon Dance (Proficient), Extreme Speed (Proficient), Twister (Proficient), Dragon Tail (Basic), Agility (Basic), Aqua Tail (Basic), Thunder Wave (Basic), Dragon Rage (Basic), Thunderbolt (Basic)…]
[Description: Dragonair, the Dragon Pokémon. The evolved form of Dratini. It lives in oceans or lakes. Although it has no wings, it can still fly through the air…]
...
This was the Pokémon Aaron had seen Grace use back at the academy—though at that time, it was still a Dratini.
Now, it had evolved into Dragonair!!
It possessed Champion-level potential and a Hidden Ability—Marvel Scale.
It had even inherited Dragon Dance and Extreme Speed.
On top of that, it knew Thunderbolt, which must have been learned through a purchased TM.
A powerful move like Thunderbolt cost over one million on the market—more expensive than some Pokémon themselves.
This Dragonair was practically flawless!!
Its potential was limitless. Once it fully matured, it would undoubtedly rank among the very best, even at the Champion tier.
Truly terrifying.
Even Aaron couldn't help but feel a flicker of temptation.
"Dragonair… use Thunderbolt!!"
Grace's voice rang out once more.
"Dragonair…"
Dragonair let out a low cry as the pearl in its throat released a burst of yellow lightning. Crackling electricity surged forth like a writhing electric serpent, shooting straight toward Greninja.
"Greninja… dodge!!"
"Then use Ice Punch…"
Aaron's expression didn't change as he issued the command.
"Greninja…"
Greninja's figure flickered, effortlessly evading Dragonair's Thunderbolt. In the next instant, it had already appeared behind Dragonair.
Quick Attack had pushed its speed to an overwhelming new level.
Its movements were almost impossible to track!!
Greninja's sudden reappearance made Grace's breath hitch.
"That Greninja's speed is way too insane, isn't it?!"
At that moment, Greninja's right fist was already wrapped in an icy blue glow—the Ice-type move that dealt double damage to Dragonair.
Ice Punch!!
If Dragonair took this hit head-on, even if it didn't faint outright, it would be severely injured.
In a split-second decision, Grace shouted urgently:
"Dragonair—use Extreme Speed to dodge!!"
"Dragonair…!"
At the critical moment—just as Greninja's Ice Punch was about to land—Dragonair's body burst into motion at extreme speed, narrowly evading the attack.
...