Emerald stepped out onto the stone floor of the arena. The rays of the sun beamed down on his face, highlighting his features for all to see.
His short hair was a vibrant green like forest grass, but a black hat covered most of it. He wore a black jacket with green lining, and puffy black joggers that reached his black trainers.
For such a young man, his face was surprisingly cold. His lips never budged into a smile or frown and his eyes scanned the arena lazily.
The crowd gasped in surprise. It was him. The Runaway Prodigy.
However, it wasn't only the boy who caught the crowd by surprise.
It was his Battlemon.
"I-it can't be..." Mark stuttered with his jaw hanging low. "Is that allowed?"
"What the hell is that!"
Emerald had to hold back his smile, as his battlemon entered the stage behind him.
Unlike all Nature battlemon, it did not walk on the ground. Instead, it flew through the air like a Sky type.
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Battledex Entry No.71
[━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━]
「 Name ~ Draxil」
「Type ~ Nature/Sky」
「Level ~ 11]」
「Total Stats ~ 212」
「Temperament ~ Proud」
Battle Style: Aerial Striker – specialises in hit-and-run tactics from mid-air.
Known Skills: N/A
Ability: Photosurge – In sunlight, charges Nature-type attacks 50% faster.
Preferred Terrain: Open skies / rocky plains
Trainer Bond: ★★★★☆ (Strong)
Origin: A rare battlemon found in certain grassy forests.
Classification: Serpent Drake
Height: 2.3m
Weight: 45kg
---
Draxil swum through the air around Emerald as though it owned the world. Its face resembled a dragon. Flared nostrils, angular face, sharp green eyes. Its body was a two-meter-long snake, with scales all different shades of green. Running down its spine was spiky green fur that resembled flames.
Draxil remained near its master at all times, creating an excellent display of synergy. Perhaps that was why Emerald was able to hold his head so high in confidence.
The crowd screamed at the sight of the battlemon. Some in admiration, others in excitement.
Kite kept his face straight and his arms crossed. Synthsword remained by his side, breathing aggressively as its eyes glared at its flying opponent.
"But how?" Mark asked Lucy with shock. "This breaks the rules. The Trainer duels must be between two battlemon of the same type... that battlemon is flying!"
Lucy shook her head.
"Wrong." She said, opening the screen of her battle deck. A device that tracked battlemon. "The battlemon only needs to share a main type, which makes Draxil eligible. You wouldn't know because we never see a dual-type battlemon in these duels."
Mark swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked towards Kite. The young boy seemed unbothered, and Synthsword remained confident.
"It's fine... Kite will be leagues ahead in terms of strategy. This is his victory."
Lucy furrowed her brows. "Hey, we're not supposed to pick favourites."
———
Emerald stood before Kite, yet his eyes lingered in the crowd. Towards the champion stands.
There, his gaze met with his father's. Jade.
It had been years since they last saw each other.
The former champion's eyes were wide in disbelief, though he tried to hide it. There would be thousands of questions running through his mind at that moment, but all he could do was sit there and watch the son whom he had rejected for being a failure.
Then, Emerald's eyes fell to Kite's.
The two stared each other down, whilst their battlemon did the same thing.
Synthsword was a higher level than Draxil, and yet Emerald did not carry any nerves.
After all, Draxil was part Sky type.
One of Nature's weaknesses.
The announcer's voice boomed through the crowd once again, readying the audience for what would be the greatest duel of the day.
"Let the battle between Trainer Kite and Trainer Emerald begin!"
Emerald placed his hands into his coat pocket casually, after the battle had commenced. Meanwhile, Kite's young face went hard, as he pointed a finger at the flying Draxil.
"Snythsword, break him down!"
"Awoooooh!"
The green wolf's leaf wings began to flap, creating a gust of green energy around it. Leaves floated from his form like autumn, before shooting towards Draxil like bullets.
A simple nature skill, learnable for most nature types.
The leaves flew through the sky towards Draxil. He flew up into the Sky without needing to be commanded by Emerald, but he was unable to dodge with normal movement.
The leaves followed him wherever he went, like homing missiles.
Draxil's eyes looked confused, so Emerald uttered a command in his mind.
It's fine, Draxil. Your altitude is high enough to use Dive...
The suggestion clicked instantly, and the battlemon used one of the skills in its arsenal.
It dove its dragon head low and flew rapidly towards Snythsword with speed. He moved so fast that to the untrained eye, he seemed to be a green blur.
"Move, Synthsword, move!" Kite shouted urgently.
His battlemon danced side to side, trying to make itself a harder target to hit, but it didn't work.
Dive did radius damage, no matter where it landed. As long as you were close enough, you could become a victim.
Crash!
Draxil crashed into the stone with tremendous force, sending rocks scattering into the air. It hurt itself in the process, but most importantly...
Synthsword was thrown to the side by the force, tumbling over itself. It managed to slide to its feet, but it was already bruised and beaten.
The battlemon whimpered softly to itself in pain.
Kite gritted his teeth in frustration, and the crowd went manic. Never had they expected to see a prodigy take such damage, and it still wasn't over.
Emerald spoke a new command in his mind.
The sun shines bright today, Draxil. Collect its energy.
Draxil followed the order immediately, turning its green head towards the sun and opening its draconic jaws.
Kite's face twisted into fear. Sweat beaded from his face as he realised what was about to happen.
"Q-quick, use Furl!"
Synthsword noticed the danger. It had no clue what to do next, but luckily its Trainer had given it a command.
The green wolf curled its leaf wings around itself and hoped for the best.
Draxil's mouth began to form a radiant orange ball of energy. Then, it dropped its head and pointed the ball towards Synthword.
The crowd went silent, terrified of the growing power.
Then, Draxil let it roar.
Solar Beam.
To those without knowledge of Nature/Sky types, the attack would seem to be of the Fire type, but that wasn't the case.
In harsh sunlight, Draxil could fly closer to the sun, and absorb its energy through photosynthesis. It then concentrates the energy into what the crowd was about to witness.
A bright orange beam of light shot from Draxil's jaws, aimed towards Synthsword at an unavoidable speed.
Synthsword tightened its guard, but there was no use.
The beam crashed into its weak defence, creating a miniature explosion. Synthsword was sent flying backwards, tumbling meters before crashing with force into the walls of the arena.
A cloud of dust formed, and once it died down, Synthswords body was found lying there, eyes crossed in defeat.
Just like that, the battle was over. A prodigy had been defeated, by a child who was once seen as a failure.
The crowd roared.
「Draxil has reached level.12」