Junior?
And… it can talk?
When the giant Dragonite literally started speaking human language, Lance was utterly floored.
A Pokémon that could talk—unless it was a one-in-a-million prodigy, it had to be ancient. And by the looks of it, Silas's Dragonite definitely fell into the ancient category. Lance just couldn't understand how Silas always ended up surrounded by Pokémon that were legends in their own right.
"You wanna die?!"
While Lance was still reeling, his Dragonite roared in outrage and launched an attack!
A golden Dragon Rage instantly gathered in Dragonite's mouth, splitting the air with a sonic boom as it shot straight for the giant Dragonite!
Watching the oncoming blast, the giant Dragonite's eyes flashed with scorn. A second later, a Dragon Rage identical to the first formed in its jaws and it fired right back, sending its own attack smashing straight into Lance's Dragonite's move.
Dragon Rage vs. Dragon Rage!
The two golden pillars of force clashed midair!
But the huge explosion everyone expected… never happened. One glance and you could see who was stronger. The giant Dragonite's Dragon Rage crushed Lance's—forcing it back in a matter of seconds!
No way…!
Lance's Dragonite couldn't believe it. But disbelief or not, it instantly released its Dragon Rage and dodged away!
BOOM!
With Lance's Dragonite no longer blocking, the giant Dragonite's Dragon Rage smashed into a distant mountainside, blasting a massive hole right through the rock.
"Legendary Pokémon level…" Lance's Dragonite stared at its opponent, eyes full of shock.
But the giant Dragonite didn't care what it thought. Without missing a beat, a jet-black Hyper Beam rocketed straight for Lance's Dragonite!
See, once you reach the Champion Battle level, it's all about direct, no-holds-barred slugfests—except for dragons. With their mastery of the draconic element, these types boost their signature moves to insane levels. The deeper the mastery, the greater the multiplier. So Pokémon that truly understand the dragon element always rely on special attacks, not close combat.
As it dodged the streaking Hyper Beam, Lance's Dragonite cursed to itself, barely keeping away from the onslaught.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Miss one shot? Just fire another!
The giant Dragonite's Hyper Beams came one after another, like it was shooting for free—forcing Lance's Dragonite to dodge in total embarrassment.
There was no helping it. One clash was all it took—Lance's Dragonite realized how wide their gap truly was. Elementally, it was hopeless. If it kept trading signature moves with the giant Dragonite, it was a straight-up loss every time, so it didn't even dare try!
With Lance's Dragonite getting chased all over the sky, Lance himself was still frozen in shock.
He'd heard it perfectly clear: Legendary Pokémon level. That was the stuff of myth.
Sure, a lot of Pokémon get trapped at the Champion threshold—but that doesn't mean some can't make it. Legendary, though? That blocked out 99.99% of all Pokémon; only one in ten thousand could ever hope to reach that realm—it was vastly beyond Champion caliber. For most Trainers, it was just a fairy tale.
Hell, even Lance had never dared dream his own Pokémon could break that barrier.
But now, a Pokémon of that fabled tier was standing right in front of him—and belonged to Silas! How could he not be stunned?
"Stop! That's enough! End the battle!"
Finally snapping out of it, Lance called off the fight. He wasn't some hot-blooded fool—no way was he risking his Pokémon's health in a battle it couldn't win. Time to cut the losses.
"Surrendering?" Silas asked, totally straight-faced.
Little punk…
Lance cursed in his head. He'd already called for a stop, and with the way things were going, his meaning should be obvious. Silas just wanted to make him actually say it—admit defeat, out loud. Well, he couldn't weasel out, so he grumbled, "Yeah! I surrender!"
"Dragonite!"
Getting the response he wanted, Silas called out, and the giant Dragonite obediently stopped its attack and returned to Silas's side.
While Silas's Legendary-level Dragonite stood firmly at his command, Lance felt even gloomier staring at his own peak-Champion-tier Dragonite, who'd just gotten whipped. Frustrated, he asked, "How in the world did you find that Dragonite?"
"Secret." Silas replied with a mischievous grin.
"…." Lance just rolled his eyes. Realizing Silas wouldn't talk about it, he switched topics: "So you're still not going to apologize?"
"Is that a problem?" Silas arched an eyebrow.
"Nope." Lance shook his head, blunt as could be, "If you really have a Legendary-tier Pokémon, then most problems won't be 'problems' anymore."
"But I've still got my problems."
"What problems?" Lance frowned a little.
"One: I want you guys to make this whole thing go away—cleanly."
"Guaranteed."
"Two: I want to keep traveling. I have zero interest in League politics. If you guys really need my help, I might step in."
"Done."
"Then we're good." Silas, seeing Lance agree to all his terms, recalled Pikachu, Tyranitar, and Dragonite, then smiled and said, "Everything else is on you."
"Wa—" Lance wanted to say something, but Silas was already gone—he'd hopped onto Charizard and flown away without a care, leaving Lance staring blankly at the wrecked cops and trainers below, clutching his temples in despair.
Two hours later.
Acapulco Hospital.
Giselle hung up the phone in a daze. Turning, still in shock, to where Silas was quietly reading, she blurted, "You… you just beat Dragon Master Lance?!"
"What's the matter?" Silas looked up, puzzled.
"What do you mean, 'what's the matter'?!" Giselle snapped, practically losing it. "That's Dragon Master LANCE! The Johto Region's Champion! One of our area's top Elite Four! And you just stomped him—how am I supposed to NOT freak out?!"
"Oh?" Silas replied placidly.
"Oh, come ON!" Giselle groaned at Silas's deadpan calm. "Can't you react with at least a little excitement?"
"Nope." Silas shook his head.
He always knew his own abilities inside and out. Sure, he couldn't call himself completely unbeatable, but almost nobody in this world could pose a real threat—aside from maybe old-timers like Agatha. In the whole League, none of the current Champions had Legendary Pokémon at their command; those were all in the hands of the old guard.
"You…" Giselle wanted to scream, but there was nothing she could do. She grumped, "My grandpa just called. He said everything with Officer Jenny has been settled, your conditions have been agreed to, and that we're free to travel. Oh—he also wanted to know if you'd consider stepping up as the Kanto Champion as soon as possible."
"Oh." Still that same calm.
"Ugh…" Giselle finally gave up expecting a reaction—she just added, "And, um, Grandpa said be careful. With those terms, some of the old geezers at the League might see you as a tool…"
"What terms?" Silas looked genuinely confused.
"You know, that 'if the League needs you…' thing—"
"What's that got to do with me?" Silas interrupted.
"Huh?" Giselle blinked. "Didn't you say that yourself?"
"I did." Silas nodded, eyes narrowing a bit, "But I only said it to shut people up. Never planned on really doing it—someone always expects some sort of gesture, right? If they want my help, fine, but they'd better pay up. Why would I work for nothing?"
"…" Giselle.
"You didn't really think I'd help for free, did you?" Silas looked at Giselle like she was an idiot. Giselle, blushing, shook her head, realizing maybe she actually had thought that…
"Ahem." As things got awkward, Suzie—lying in her hospital bed—let out a cough.
That snapped both Silas and Giselle's attention to her. They realized she was awake, eyes open.
"Are you feeling okay?" Silas asked at once.
"I'm fine." Suzie shook her head and managed a bright smile. "Just kinda weak—dizzy, mostly."
"I'll get the doctor!" Giselle didn't hesitate, instantly dashing out the door to call for help. Silas couldn't help but laugh; he figured Suzie's condition was normal—blood loss and a close brush with death would do that to anyone.
"Sorry." Silas spoke softly, looking at Suzie.
"Hmm?" Suzie blinked, puzzled.
"It was my mistake." Silas sighed, his voice quiet. "If I'd just stepped in when the boat first had trouble and got you out, you never would have gone through all this."
"It's fine." Suzie smiled and shook her head. Her eyes shined as she added, "Actually, I think it's a good thing. If I hadn't gotten hurt, I never would've realized just how strong you are. Knowing that, I can finally relax."
"You heard all that?" Silas arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Suzie nodded shyly, apologetic. "I've actually been awake for a few minutes, just too tired to open my eyes. Wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I promise."
"It's fine." Silas shrugged. "It's not like it's some big secret."
"Hehe…" Suzie giggled. She knew Silas wasn't the type to care—if he did, he would've noticed and stopped long ago.
A moment later, her cheeks went red. Blushing, she looked at Silas and murmured, "Uh… Silas, could you get a nurse? I, um, need a lady to help me…"
"What's wrong?" Silas tensed up. "You feeling sick?"
"No," Suzie said, blushing harder. "I… I just need to use the bathroom."
Oh.
Silas flushed red, then practically bolted for the door. "I'll go right now!"
Stepping out, he found a man in a black suit standing by the door and a nurse nearby.
He nodded to the nurse to go in, then turned to the man in black and arched an eyebrow. "You are…?"
"Petrel."
As soon as the man said his name, Silas's face darkened, his voice outright dangerous: "Team Rocket just never learns, does it? You really have the balls to show up in front of me now?"
"No, no, no," Petrel shook his head frantically, nervously forcing a smile. "Silas, sir—we had no idea you'd be on that ship! If we'd known, even if Team Rocket had a thousand lives, nobody would've dared touch that vessel. We came here to apologize."
"Apologize?" Silas's lips curled into a cold smile. "Save it. Go back and tell Giovanni that if this ever happens again, I won't care about my father's friendship with him—I'll wipe Team Rocket off the map."