The roar of Dragonair's Twister was grand and flamboyant.
Yet, its actual power wasn't as overwhelming as one might expect.
Golduck was caught in two successive Twisters, twisted and hurled around, but in the end, it only suffered minor scratches—not even enough to tear its shirt.
Despite this, Golduck remained spirited, as if entirely unaffected.
"Haha, didn't see that coming, did you? Twister was just a distraction. Take this—Dragon Tail!" Gary shouted.
As it turned out, while the Twisters were ensnaring Golduck, Dragonair had stealthily flown in front of it.
The moment the final cyclone dissipated, Dragonair whipped its tail with a terrifying swoosh, slamming it toward Golduck.
"Heh, you think I don't know what you're up to?" Yozora smiled inwardly.
Although the massive Twisters blocked visual sight…
Yozora had Aura, and even without direct sight, he could sense Dragonair's every move.
Moreover, the bond they had forged allowed Golduck to share the same awareness—sensing Dragonair's position and intent.
"Use Psychic to block it!" Yozora shouted.
"Golduck!" it responded immediately, raising its hands to generate a shimmering purple barrier, stopping Dragonair's Dragon Tail.
But… BOOM!
The tail struck the psychic barrier with such force that it exploded, and a powerful shockwave flung both Pokémon backward.
"Golduck is a Water-type Pokémon. Electric attacks shouldn't be ineffective…!" Gary's eyes narrowed.
Earlier, Nidoking's Thunder Punch hadn't harmed Golduck much, but Gary refused to accept that. He yelled, "Dragonair, Thunderbolt!"
"Aim the Hydro Pump after dodging it!" Yozora almost simultaneously instructed.
In the pouring rain, the Thunderbolt struck like a serpentine lightning bolt, yet Golduck's speed was even faster. In a flash, it dodged and unleashed a Hydro Pump in retaliation.
"Hmph, speed-wise, we're not necessarily losing!" Gary said confidently. Dragonair mirrored that confidence, dodging Golduck's Hydro Pump in turn.
Thunderbolt!
Hydro Pump!
For a moment, the two Pokémon clashed relentlessly in the rain. As attacks rained down, more began to land, and both Pokémon sustained serious injuries.
Although Golduck had the Volt Absorb ability, Dragonair's level and raw power were far too high for it to fully resist. Volt Absorb only provided partial mitigation.
Repeated hits from Dragonair's Thunderbolt inflicted heavy damage.
Conversely, as a Dragon-type Pokémon, Dragonair had strong resistances—especially against Water-type moves.
Thus, even Golduck's Hydro Pump, with power far exceeding its level, barely made a dent.
The battle reached a stalemate, with both sides gravely injured.
Breathing heavily, the two Pokémon paused their attacks.
"Yozora really is impressive. Even without Beedrill, his strength is formidable!" Gary, soaked from the downpour, looked battle-ready.
Because his Dratini had grown so slowly, he had been completely outclassed by Yozora and Red since childhood.
But now, his Dragonair had finally evolved.
Step by step, he would claw back the gap!
"Return, Golduck." Just as Gary prepared for another strike, Yozora called Golduck back and sent out Doublade instead.
"Huh? Isn't that a Pokémon native to Kalos?" Gary was taken aback, staring at Doublade.
Being Professor Oak's grandson, he had been well-educated and highly knowledgeable—but mostly about Kanto.
His understanding of Pokémon outside Kanto was limited. Though he knew a bit about Pokémon from the Johto region due to its connection with Kanto, anything beyond that was a mystery.
"Doublade is mostly found in the Kalos region, so it's quite rare here in Kanto," Yozora explained briefly.
"Kalos, huh?" Gary nodded slightly. Although he had never been there, he knew a fair bit about it.
Kalos had been the first region to introduce Mega Evolution, and Mega Stones were more abundant there. Most Mega Stones in Kanto were imported from Kalos. Whether Kanto had wild Mega Stones remained uncertain.
"Doublade? Quite a peculiar Pokémon. Looks like Steel-type… I wonder if it has another type?"
Gary pondered, then smiled. As long as it had Steel typing, that was enough. "Dragonair, Flamethrower!"
A jet of scorching fire blasted from Dragonair's mouth. Yozora's eyes lit up.
Gary had deduced Doublade's Steel typing just from its appearance—he was sharper than expected.
"Though it won't matter…"
By now, Dragonair was visibly fatigued, its combat power diminished. The Flamethrower's strength had dropped. Combined with the rain, its power dropped another tier—practically negligible.
Yozora didn't even bother using Iron Defense; he directly unleashed Sacred Sword.
In this world, attacks were split into physical and special, but defense wasn't divided—it was holistic, covering both.
Thus, Iron Defense increased overall defense, including special defense.
Whoosh…
A massive blade of energy cut through the rain, slicing apart the fire and striking Dragonair hard.
Dragonair let out a mournful cry and slowly collapsed.
"Dragonair…" Gary froze, watching Dragonair fall. His eyes dimmed.
"Ah… Master Gary actually lost…" The cheerleaders behind him wept.
"Return, Doublade." Yozora called his Pokémon back. By now, the rain had just stopped.
He walked toward Gary, who instantly restored his confident, smiling facade.
Perhaps because he had been relentlessly beaten by Yozora and Red since childhood, Gary had grown far tougher than his original counterpart.
They shook hands.
"Yozora… I didn't expect to lose again. I thought I could win this time—after all, your Beedrill wasn't even out," Gary said, smiling wryly.
As a child, he had never minded being dominated; everyone knew Dragonite's slow growth was unavoidable.
Now, starting on equal footing without Beedrill, he still lost—completely.
"Tch, Golduck and Doublade… You've only been traveling for just over three months, and yet you've trained two powerful Pokémon in that short time!" Gary gritted his teeth, jealous and amazed.
"Just lucky. Those two were already strong when I caught them," Yozora replied with a smile.
And he wasn't lying. Golduck was Elite-level when caught, already on the verge of evolving. Doublade was even higher—Elite-high rank upon capture.
"No, luck is also a form of strength. Weak trainers wouldn't even be able to catch strong Pokémon," Gary said with a laugh.
"Alright, I should go. Next time we meet, I'll defeat you!"
"Sure. I'll be ready for your challenge anytime…" Yozora smiled, watching Gary and his cheerleaders leave.
Gary often traveled with his flashy cheerleaders, which naturally hindered his growth.
But at this stage, he believed he was special and naturally resisted extra effort. Perhaps only a real setback would awaken him.
…
With Gary gone, over ten thousand Tokens remained.
Yozora packed up all of them—over fifteen thousand—and sold them to the little chubby boy.
Suddenly, Yozora received 23 million in cash, instantly becoming a wealthy man.
"Good luck, little chubby. I hope you hatch your Dratini egg and realize your dream." Yozora pinched the boy playfully before parting.
"I'm not 'little chubby.' My name is Jun. In three years, I'll be your strongest rival!" the boy said seriously.
Yozora laughed, patted him—well, Jun—on the shoulder, gave a slight encouragement, and waved goodbye.
…
Still wary of Team Rocket, Yozora didn't challenge Saffron Gym and left the city.
Now with three badges, his next target was Celadon City's Gym.
Seeing the map, he decided that water travel was the shortest route.
A month later, on a remote island between Saffron and Celadon, Yozora and his companions concluded their training journey.
Over the month, besides basic physical and move training, they also practiced meditation under waterfalls.
Meditation itself was challenging, and under a waterfall, it was even more difficult. After a month, everyone had improved considerably.
Even Yozora's own body had strengthened, approaching Elite-level Pokémon standards, with his height increasing by two centimeters.
Of course, compared to Yozora's Aura, this physical boost was minor.
During this month, Yozora's Aura power had surged dramatically. His Aura Sphere was now too strong for even Beedrill to take head-on.
…
…
(End of Chapter)