Pokémon: Rebron as Red, The Strongest Champion - 297

Chapter 297: Dragonair Falls, Sylveon Enters the Field

"Dragonair, counter with Dragon Breath!"

Even after taking Dragon Breath head-on, Ryden's Dragonair refused to back down. It fired its own Dragon Breath right back, trying to reclaim its pride.

Two streams of green dragonfire met in the center of the battlefield, colliding violently as each tried to devour the other.

Bang!

As the clash dragged on, the more experienced Dragonair seized its opening. It poured all of its power into Dragon Breath, overwhelming the Shiny Dragonair's attack.

"Ugh…"

Shiny Dragonair took the hit full force, its expression twisting in pain.

Seeing this, Ryden's Dragonair finally wore the smile of a victor. It was a senior, after all. How could it allow itself to be completely dominated by a younger Shiny Dragonair?

"Dragonair, flap your wings and get into the air. Use Dragon Dance!"

Ryden wasted no time. This was not the moment to bask in advantage; it was time to press the attack.

The tiny winglets on either side of Dragonair's head suddenly grew larger, stretching into full wings.

Dragonair took to the sky, gliding freely above the field.

Under Shiny Dragonair's curious gaze, Dragonair launched into a fierce Dragon Dance, its power and speed both rising.

"Dragonair, now use Dragon Rush!"

A green draconic aura covered Dragonair's entire body as it turned into a massive energy dragon and dove from above straight toward Shiny Dragonair.

"Dragon Rush," Red said quietly.

Shiny Dragonair took a deep breath, then erupted with a terrifying dragon aura of its own. That ancient draconic pressure was so intense it even shook the charging Dragonair.

Startled by the ancestral might radiating from its opponent, Dragonair's eyes flashed with fear, and the power of its Dragon Rush faltered.

"Red's Dragonair definitely has an extraordinary origin. There is no way it is just some ordinary Shiny Pokémon…" Ryden murmured, staring at Shiny Dragonair in shock.

He glanced down at his own arm and realized his hands were trembling uncontrollably. Even he had been affected by Shiny Dragonair's ancient draconic presence.

A purple-gold dragon aura flared around Shiny Dragonair, then solidified into a ferocious energy dragon.

Bang!

The two colossal dragons collided at the center of the battlefield, the explosion so powerful that the shockwave buffeted even the front-row spectators.

When the blast finally died down, both Dragonair lay on the ground, breathing hard, too exhausted to move.

A few moments passed.

"Dragonair, hang in there and use Ice Beam!" Ryden shouted.

Battle-hardened Dragonair was the first to pull itself together. While Shiny Dragonair was still trying to recover, it opened its mouth and fired a freezing Ice Beam.

"Dragonair, use Dragon Breath."

Seeing the incoming Ice Beam, and noticing the stubborn fire still in Shiny Dragonair's eyes, Red decided to trust it. He believed it could withstand this attack.

Shiny Dragonair mustered the last of its strength and unleashed Dragon Breath. The two moves collided, and it barely managed to cancel out the Ice Beam before collapsing onto the ground, panting heavily.

"Return, Dragonair."

After soothing Shiny Dragonair with a few soft words, Red recalled it into its Poké Ball. Shiny Dragonair still lacked real battle experience; otherwise, it would not have fallen behind Ryden's Dragonair for now.

But given the circumstances, it had already performed exceptionally. Forcing it to continue would only hurt its body further.

Because of that, Red had prepared a new opponent for Ryden's Dragonair—one that was, in a sense, very "friendly."

"I choose you, Sylveon."

Red threw his next Poké Ball.

White light faded, revealing Sylveon, with a bow on its left ear and another at its neck, each with two flowing ribbons.

"This is bad… a Fairy-type," Ryden said grimly.

As a member of the Wataru family, he understood all too well how dangerous Fairy-type Pokémon were for Dragon-type specialists.

Dragonair found Sylveon undeniably cute, but its instincts were screaming—a predator's pressure radiated from this so-called "fairy."

"Dragonair, use Water Pulse!"

Knowing Dragon-type moves would not work on Sylveon, Ryden immediately switched tactics.

Dragonair quickly formed a large orb of swirling water in front of its mouth, then launched it at Sylveon.

"Use Swift."

Sylveon flicked its ribbons and fired a barrage of shining stars at the incoming Water Pulse.

Thanks to Pixilate, Sylveon's Ability, the originally Normal-type Swift transformed into a Fairy-type Move and gained a 1.2x power boost.

But that was not all. Sylveon also possessed Adaptability, further amplifying the damage of its STAB Moves.

With both Abilities empowering it, Swift's power became terrifying.

Under Dragonair's horrified gaze, the starry barrage pierced straight through Water Pulse and continued on, slamming into Dragonair and dealing massive damage.

"Ugh—"

Dragonair collapsed, unable to rise again. Its eyes lingered bitterly for a moment on the Sylveon now cuddled in Red's arms before rolling back as it fainted.

"Dragonair is unable to battle!"

The referee declared, staring wide-eyed at the Sylveon in Red's arms. No one had expected that the Dragonair, which had shone so brilliantly just three days prior, would be taken out this easily.

(Fairy-types really are Dragon-killers…)

The referee could not help thinking this privately.

"Return, Dragonair."

Ryden recalled his fallen Dragonair, then stared in disbelief at the Sylveon nestled against Red. He had not anticipated his Dragonair being one-shot like that.

"Pixilate, huh?" Ryden muttered, quickly deducing the cause. Otherwise, there was no way a former Normal-type Move like Swift could hit that hard.

What he did not realize, however, was that Sylveon also had Adaptability, stacking another layer of power on top of Pixilate's boost.

"Be good and fight properly," Red said helplessly after calming Sylveon's clingy, spoiled behavior.

Sylveon stuck out its tongue and gave Red's cheek a quick lick, then reluctantly hopped down from his arms and trotted back onto the battlefield.

"I'm counting on you, Gyarados!"

After a brief consideration, Ryden shouted and threw his next Poké Ball.

White light flashed, revealing Gyarados, its massive body and fearsome face dominating the field. Three upward-pointing blue horns crowned its head, and a broad plate of armor rested on its back.