Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

The latter's speed is quite fast among Pokémon of the same level, but it is far from comparable to Gyarados.

The enormous pseudo-dragon arrived first despite being behind. Enveloped in water-based energy, its entire body seemed to transform into a raging, surging wave, fiercely rushing towards Dorgonki.

"Hold on!"

At the critical moment, Dorgon suddenly turned around, and a transparent energy barrier rose up, separating him from the water flow that was only a hair's breadth away from him.

As the water flowed down, Gyarados continued to exert its strength, attempting to break through the barrier—the energy barrier of [Protect] is not indestructible, both in the game and in reality. It doesn't even need Z-Moves; as long as the difference in strength is large enough, it will work.

Clearly, the difference between Gyarados and Dragapult falls into this category.

Gyarados's continued power caused the water flow to accelerate, and the transparent barrier cracked like glass being baked at high temperatures.

Clearly, in just a few seconds, it would succumb to the damage and break apart.

Doronchi's eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth and stood firm. The dragon head, almost the size of his own body, was ferocious and terrifying, attempting to intimidate Doronchi into giving up the fight with its imposing aura.

But how could Dorgon, who had sparred with Guleton, be afraid of this? He even had time to smirk and give it a mocking smile while supporting the barrier with his energy.

Are you even capable, you fake dragon?

"Roar!"

Upon understanding that hint of a smile, Gyarados's rage surged, and its physical exertion unconsciously increased to an even higher level.

After a stalemate of nearly two seconds, the surging water finally broke through the energy barrier in the struggle and struck Doronchi.

Like a wooden boat struggling to navigate a storm, in an instant, Doronchi was struck by the surging waves and flew straight backward, upside down.

…………

"Doronmesia, now's the time!"

The resolute voice pierced through the wind and rain, reaching Gyarados's ears, and he vaguely sensed something was amiss.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small body carrying a huge, dark green dragon claw nearly two meters long, slashing down at him in horror.

It wouldn't be accurate to say it was frightening, but the exaggerated scene certainly surprised Gyarados.

Breaking through the barrier takes a lot of effort. Gyarados can't dodge, and it would be enough for it to use Protect, but it's a bit embarrassing to have to use Protect against a Pokémon that's only one percent the size of itself.

Since Mikuri's command didn't arrive in time, Gyarados simply let loose and unleashed another hurricane attack to counter it.

The wind howled and the rain raged, but Dorgonmesia did not back down in the slightest. Enduring the storm's corrosive effects on his body, he swung his giant claw, formed from dense dragon energy, and slammed it down fiercely!

"Roar!"

The roar of pain and anger echoed in the arena. Gyarados was not made of steel after all, and its relatively vulnerable face was hit hard, so it couldn't help but roar.

Only now did he realize that Doraki's defense was actually to cover for Doramisia. The dragon claw, which had been gathering energy for four or five seconds, unleashed power strong enough to harm a Champion-level Pokémon with the boost from Dragon Dance.

Gyarados, your guard is down!

However, everything comes at a price. First, it was mocked, then its defenses were breached. The repeated defeats in the battle against these weak Pokémon enraged Gyarados.

In his rage, he unleashed even more energy, the raging winds grew even more ferocious, and the chaotic air currents cut into Xia Chen's body like sharp blades.

The extreme pain caused even this energy being to let out a sharp scream.

A moment later, the painful screams stopped, and Dorgonmesia fell from mid-air onto the floating platform on the water.

Dorgonmesia has lost the ability to fight.

Having avenged its small grudge, Gyarados hadn't even had a chance to catch its breath when it heard Wallace's command voice arrive.

"Gyarados, duck down!"

A sudden thought struck Gyarados, realizing that the escaped Dragapult must have caused some trouble again.

Although the barrier was broken, it still avoided most of the damage from the waterfall. With his gym-level physical strength, Draco, who was already resistant to water, had no problem taking it.

Without looking around again, he followed his trainer's instructions and flew downwards without hesitation.

However, it was too late. His enormous body could not escape the strange, phosphorescent purple flames that drifted in and were stuck to him.

Immediately, a feeling of weakness arose from within my body.

…………

Ghost fire!

This is what Dragapult did when Dragapult was being brutally attacked by Gyarados.

Xia Chen knew all too well that defeating this Gyarados was not something that could be done overnight.

In a protracted battle, it is natural to reduce the opponent's offensive power and strengthen one's own defense. Will-O-Wisp is a wonderful move that can effectively limit physical attackers like Gyarados.

Although the burn effect caused by this ghost fire cannot achieve the effect of [halving the physical damage dealt by the opponent] due to the difference in strength, it can still achieve 25%.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; this is the only way to defeat Gyarados.

The rain had reached its peak, but even the heaviest rain couldn't extinguish the strange will-o'-the-wisp that had seeped into Gyarados's body. The weakness caused by the burns ignited a nameless anger within him.

He wanted to tear that stinking dragon, who thought himself of noble lineage, apart!

"Gyarados, charge!"

Having a thorough understanding of his own Pokémon, Mikuri granted his wish and issued the order to attack.

The burns were annoying, but they couldn't stop Gyarados from overwhelming Dragapult's power.

At most, one more Frozen Tooth, and Doronki, who had already taken a small portion of the waterfall damage, would definitely not be able to withstand it.

Without Dorgonmesia's cover, and with protection unavailable for the time being, now is the perfect opportunity to finish off the opponent.

Xia Chen, you've done very well, but this is my Gyarados!

He watched as Gyarados closed the distance to Dragapult once again, and loudly commanded, "Ice Fang!"

"Roar!"

Gyarados unleashed a powerful roar to intimidate its opponents, its wide-open mouth swirling with an aura of extreme cold, instantly transforming its sharp teeth into an icy blue.

Charge straight in and bite down—

A sudden, inexplicable sensation startled Gyarados, but its extensive experience told it that this sensation was Reflect!

No wonder this slippery creature didn't run away just now, but is now trying this kind of thing again.

Gyarados was annoyed. What's the point of all this fancy stuff?

Watch as I break through with force!

…………

The frozen fangs exerted their power, and the chill penetrated the reflective barrier, piercing deep into Doronchi's body.

"strange--"

Screams echoed through the dojo, even drowning out the sound of the rain.

Even with the double weakening from Will-o'-the-Wisp and Reflection Barrier, the Frozen Fang still dealt massive damage to Draco.

While variation-type moves are powerful, they can only achieve half the original effect, or even less, when there is a difference in strength.

As expected, Doronki ultimately couldn't withstand the double-strength Ice Fang and lost his ability to fight.

Just before he lost consciousness, a faint lightning bolt stubbornly shot out from in front of him and struck Gyarados in the face.

The weak electric current only brought a slight numbing sensation, but it did not cause any damage to Gyarados. The ferocious and enraged dragon suddenly fell silent for a moment.

A formidable opponent.

He looked at Dragapult, which Xia Chen had retrieved into its Poké Ball, and thought to himself.

The piercing whistle signaling that Doronchi had lost his ability to fight rang out, jolting the highly tense spectators on the sidelines.

They then snapped out of their trance, and an unprecedentedly heated discussion erupted in the previously silent room.

"My Arceus, I never imagined that a Gym Leader-level Pokémon could cause so much trouble for an Elite Four-level Pokémon!"

"The tug-of-war between Doronchi and Doronmesia was so exciting, my body is trembling with excitement."

"This is just a Dragapult. If it evolves into Dragapult, do they have a chance to win this match?"

"You know what, if the second Doron Mesia can play such a big role as this one, it's entirely possible!"

"Holy crap, I want to breed a Draco Mesia too! Everyone else plays doubles, I can play doubles or even triples, it's so awesome!"

"Wake up! There are so many Dragonballs in the world, but this one is special. The rest are just launching devices for dragon arrows!"

"I wonder how Xia Chen trained him; his vassal, Dorgonmesia, has mastered so many skills."

Undoubtedly, although Gyarados ultimately won the match, everyone was still discussing Dragapult, which had delivered a stunning performance.

From any perspective, he was the better player in the previous match, but unfortunately, the gap in skill was simply too large.

Even so, he did enough for Xia Chen's last Pokémon.

Will-o'-the-wisp, Reflect, and the minimal damage inflicted on Gyarados—these invaluable "legacy" skills will allow the final Pokémon to perform exceptionally well.

It is foreseeable that this battle is officially entering its climax!

…………

On the battlefield.

"Thank you for your hard work, Doronchi. You've done more than enough."

Xia Chen stroked the Poké Ball in his hand and whispered a promise: "When we get back this time, we'll evolve it."

He stored Doronchi's Deluxe Ball at his waist, then weighed the Diving Ball in his right hand and tossed it out.

"Well then, I'll leave the rest to you, Milotic!"

A flash of white light appeared, and a graceful and beautiful creature, with an elegant demeanor and noble bearing, descended into the pool, seemingly a spirit that could be described with all the beautiful words in the world.

This creature, resembling a water snake—no, a water dragon—is none other than Xia Chen's unique Milotic!

"So elegant! Absolutely so elegant!"

Mikoli, who had maintained his composure for nearly ten minutes, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration upon seeing Milotic.

This is an elf whose beauty will still captivate you no matter how many times you've seen it in videos or when you observe it up close in real life.

Just as the petal stem of the Eternal Flower is different from that of an ordinary petal stem, Xia Chen's Milotic also officially broke free from his original racial limitations after that transformation.

In terms of both strength and appearance, he stands above all other Milotic!