Dragonite!
One of the pseudo-legendaries of the Kanto region, and the very symbol of Lance himself.
But everyone knew—Dragonite's usual height was only a little over two meters.
So what the hell was this thing in front of them?!
"Genetic mutation…?"
Leon stared up at the towering, utterly absurdly gigantic Dragonite before him.
Just by visual estimation alone—one of its claws was bigger than a grown man!
How could a normal Dragonite possibly grow into something like this?!
Leon seriously suspected that this Dragonite had undergone some sort of genetic mutation!
As for the thought that had flashed through his head a moment ago.
"Could it be Gigantamax?"—
That was just his brain short-circuiting from the sheer shock.
Gigantamax transformations were always accompanied by red energy, and there were no Energy Dens in Kanto that could trigger such energy.
So there was no way this was Gigantamax.
"An ancient Pokémon, perhaps? So, this is the dragon you captured, Lance."
Agatha narrowed her aged eyes, studying the unimaginably large Dragonite with a mix of curiosity and intrigue.
She knew that earlier that year, Lance had caught a new dragon-type Pokémon.
It was precisely because of that new capture that Lance missed the S.S. Anne incident and only arrived after the chaos had ended.
At the time, Agatha hadn't paid much attention to it—
after all, Lance's obsession with dragon Pokémon bordered on mania.
It wasn't surprising for him to fixate on a new one.
But now, seeing this enormous creature before her, even Agatha couldn't help but be astonished.
"It seems the ancient records about the massive size of primeval Pokémon weren't wrong after all."
Her wrinkled face showed rare interest.
Within the Pokémon League archives were many ancient texts,
and Agatha had always been particularly fond of such topics.
Those records spoke of a distant era, when certain Pokémon were said to have been vast beyond imagination.
Unlike the modern Gigantamax forms of the Galar region, which were artificially expanded through Gigantamax energy,
those ancient Pokémon had enormous bodies naturally.
There were even Kanto documents recording such legends,
and rumors persisted in Hoenn of a giant Claydol with immense psychic power.
Now, before her very eyes, the colossal Dragonite's existence confirmed it—
those records were true.
"Feel honored, you filthy rat. This is a dragon I've just completed raising.
I was originally saving it for my battle with Lucas."
Lance crossed his arms, his cold, sharp gaze fixed upon Giovanni.
He had captured this giant Dragonite half a year ago.
Since then, it had been under constant special training and conditioning—
and now, it was finally ready!
Its massive body made it less agile, yes,
but in terms of raw strength and endurance, it far surpassed even his ace Dragonite!
And besides…
Lance couldn't deny how satisfied he was with this mighty, massive creature.
As a self-proclaimed "Dragonite Master,"
a Dragonite this huge and majestic was utterly captivating to him.
"Hmph, just a mutated Dragonite, that's all.
How typical of you, Champion Lance, to be so arrogant."
Giovanni's tone was faintly mocking, his lips curling in a smirk.
Yet, despite his words, a cautious glint flashed through his eyes.
Because truth be told, this creature's sheer size was intimidating—
its overwhelming presence made the air itself feel heavier.
Even among Dragonite, already known for their power,
this one was something else entirely.
"Oh?"
At Giovanni's dismissive words, Lance's eyes flashed with cold fury.
Calling his Dragonite a mutation?!
Mutation, my ass!
This was what you called innate genius!
"I just hope you won't be terrified by the dragon you so carelessly dismissed."
"Dragonite—use Dragon Dance!"
Lance's voice was cold and sharp as a blade.
The enormous Dragonite roared, its colossal body lifting slightly from the ground,
swaying in a mysterious, ancient rhythm.
The dance of dragons, boosting both attack and speed.
True, with such a gigantic body, its flexibility was limited.
But "speed" and "agility" weren't quite the same thing—
a body that large didn't necessarily mean slow attacks.
Its massive build only made its movements more earth-shaking!
"What laughable pride. Everyone knows Dragonite's weakness."
Giovanni's smile widened faintly.
The Dragonite's strength was undeniable,
but that enormous body—wasn't it also the perfect target?
Dragonite's greatest weakness: Ice! Four times effective!
"Mewtwo, Blizzard!"
Mew was said to possess the DNA of all Pokémon—
whether that claim was true or not was up for debate.
But one thing was certain: Mew could learn nearly every move known to Pokémon.
And as a man-made Pokémon cloned from Mew's genes,
Mewtwo inherited that same terrifying versatility!
Mewtwo spread its arms wide—
and a raging snowstorm burst forth, engulfing the entire battlefield.
The howling blizzard turned the very sky white,
coating the surrounding landscape in frost,
the temperature plummeting in an instant.
"Dragonite, Heat Wave!"
Lance's face darkened.
This blizzard's magnitude—it was monstrous.
If Dragonite took that attack head-on, even with its bulk, the damage would be devastating.
No matter how resilient Dragonite was,
it still had a fourfold weakness to Ice!
With a thunderous roar, Dragonite flapped its immense wings,
summoning searing waves of heat.
A fiery tempest met the raging snowstorm head-on—
two titanic forces colliding midair!
Fire-type moves were supposed to overpower Ice-type attacks,
yet this time, the two forces clashed evenly—
and gradually, the Blizzard began to press down.
"Its attack power… is this high?"
Even Giovanni frowned slightly.
It didn't match his expectations.
Fire was meant to beat Ice—
and yet Mewtwo's Blizzard wasn't crushing the Heat Wave,
only suppressing it slightly.
That meant one thing: Lance hadn't been exaggerating.
This enormous Dragonite's strength was monstrous—
comparable, perhaps, to a high-tier legendary Pokémon!
"Charizard—Fire Blast!"
Seeing Dragonite and Mewtwo locked in a stalemate, Leon didn't hesitate.
Charizard X ascended high into the sky,
its chest swelling as it unleashed a massive fire-shaped "大" symbol of flame toward Mewtwo!
"What a nuisance."
Giovanni's expression darkened, glancing at Leon.
And not just Charizard X, Dragapult was also streaking toward Mewtwo at breakneck speed!
"Mewtwo, crush them."
Understanding Giovanni's command, Mewtwo's psychic power surged.
The Blizzard intensified into a roaring storm!
BOOM!
The collision of raw power exploded in a shockwave,
forcing the massive Dragonite back several meters.
Then, Mewtwo turned sharply—
its eyes gleaming with brilliant blue psychic light.
"Psychic!"
A wave of iridescent psychic energy exploded outward,
shattering Charizard's Blast Burn and forcing back Dragapult simultaneously.
"Dragonairs use Dual Dragon Hurricane!"
Lance's eyes narrowed.
Even his gigantic Dragonite couldn't overpower Mewtwo in direct combat.
But it didn't matter—he wasn't fighting alone!
Two Dragonair let out melodious cries, their tails glowing as energy gathered.
Twin dragon-shaped tornadoes roared to life,
merging into a colossal hurricane that swallowed Mewtwo whole!
Within moments, the tornado grew so massive it reached from earth to sky!
"They're trying to trap me," Mewtwo said coolly through telepathy,
its sharp eyes calmly scanning the swirling winds.
"This is only the setup," Giovanni replied quietly.
He knew Lance well—this wouldn't be the end of it.
"Blizzard!"
As expected, the next instant—
Dragonite and both Dragonair unleashed Blizzards simultaneously!
A blinding storm blanketed the heavens,
three dragons combining their icy storm into one terrifying assault!
The entire battlefield was soon buried under thick snow—
the very ground cracking and freezing solid.
The spinning dragon hurricane froze solid in an instant,
transforming into a massive, shimmering sculpture of ice!
It was breathtakingly beautiful—
and absolutely deadly.
"Mewtwo, status?" Giovanni asked, protected behind Nidoking.
"No harm."
Mewtwo's calm telepathic voice answered.
Though the cold was intense, it had shielded itself with psychic energy,
avoiding being frozen entirely.
And even if it had been encased in ice,
Mewtwo was confident it could break free with ease.
"To see such a grand ice sculpture in summer—how delightful."
Giovanni's lips curled in amusement.
"Lance, if you ever lose your Champion title,
I think you'd do very well performing as clown in a circus."
His tone was smooth and mocking.
He gazed at the colossal frozen tornado with an almost admiring smirk.
Even he had to admit, it was magnificent.
Lance's eyes darkened dangerously.
Circus performance? A clown?
Leon wiped the sweat from his forehead,
feeling completely sidelined.
The tension between the Team Rocket Boss and the Indigo Champion
was so thick it could suffocate a man.
"Then why don't you continue enjoying this 'circus show' of yours,
you filthy rat?"
"This is a performance you'd never get to see while hiding in your sewer!"
Lance's chest heaved—his emotions clearly unstable again.
He gave Giovanni a cold, sinister grin.
Both sides hurled insults like blades,
every word meant to wound deeper than the last.
Leon couldn't help it—
as much as he loathed Giovanni,
he couldn't shake the absurd feeling that these two were… rivals fated to clash forever.
"Dragon Rush!"
"Dragonairs, Dual Dragon Draco Meteor!"
Lance roared his commands.
The two Dragonairs lifted their heads,
each releasing a brilliant orb of condensed draconic energy into the sky—
while the giant Dragonite gathered an immense, black aura of dragon energy around itself,
its body becoming a monstrous dragon-shaped comet.
It charged straight toward the frozen hurricane with terrifying force!
Giovanni's eyes narrowed.
That raw destructive energy—if it struck a mountain, it would shatter it to rubble!
"Then let's shatter your pretty little 'glass sculpture,' shall we?"
"Mewtwo, Psystrike!"
However, Giovanni did not panic, and gave orders to Mewtwo with a faint smile.
A mere cage like this would never hold his Mewtwo.
…
Meanwhile, on another battlefield.
BOOM!
A blinding flash of light burst from another battlefield.
Mega Garchomp screamed in pain as a dark beam struck it squarely,
sending it crashing heavily to the ground.
The light faded—its Mega Evolution dissolved.
It had fainted.
"Still not giving up? Honestly,
I can't think of any reason you people could keep going."
Lucas cast a faint glance at the grim-faced Cynthia, shaking his head.
He had to admit, their determination was commendable.
Even in such an unwinnable situation, they hadn't given up.
But with Steven's ace shiny Metagross down,
and the tide of battle so heavily against them,
their resistance was admirable—but futile.
Blue's Mega Blastoise was strong, yes,
but its inability to fly limited its options—it could only offer long-range support.
And Lucas had already sent his Dragonair to keep Blastoise busy.
Now, Steven's Metagross, Blue's Pidgeot, and Cynthia's Mega Garchomp
had all been defeated.
Only Blue's Mega Blastoise and Iris's tired Haxorus remained.
"I think I understand your intent now," Lucas said slowly,
twirling a Poké Ball between his fingers as he looked at the four of them.
"You're trying to keep me here—stop me from helping the others, aren't you?"
He smiled faintly.
"But haven't you wondered—
about why I am so leisurely playing with you here?"?"
At that, Cynthia and Steven froze.
Yes… he'd said "playing."
And the terrifying part was—he wasn't wrong.
But what did he mean by that?
(End of Chapter)
TN: Tried a new prompt to make the novel a bit shorter. I don't like it. It was supposed to make it more direct and more a translation rather than a rewrite, I don't like it so I'll revert back to my old prompt instead.