Although Duraludon was made entirely of metal, its body resembled finely polished alloy. It was not only incredibly durable but also remarkably light, weighing only 40 kilograms.
The reason the Duraludon before Silas weighed only 20 kilograms was entirely due to its Ability.
Duraludon's standard Abilities were Light Metal and Heavy Metal.
In other words, although its metallic body had a base weight of 40 kilograms, a Duraludon would normally weigh either 20 kilograms or 80 kilograms, depending on its Ability.
The fighting styles of the two variants were completely different.
A Duraludon with Light Metal effectively neutralized moves like Grass Knot and Low Kick, allowing it to function as a highly mobile artillery platform.
Even many Pokémon known for their Speed couldn't catch it.
Its lightning-fast charge at Silas moments earlier was the best proof of that.
Fortunately, Blaziken wasn't slow either. Once its Speed Boost Ability had activated, it was still faster than Duraludon.
Otherwise, things could have become rather dangerous.
From within its partially recessed head, Duraludon glared furiously.
It was obvious that Silas's order for Prinplup to flood its cave had thoroughly infuriated it.
This was also one of the drawbacks of Duraludon's all-metal body.
Its resistance to corrosion was relatively poor. If exposed to rain, it could rust rather easily, limiting its battle performance.
That was why Duraludon generally preferred living inside caves.
From its perspective, Prinplup's use of Water Sport to soak the cave was an unmistakable act of provocation.
Ever since it had beaten the nearby Aggron into submission, no Pokémon had dared disturb it.
Yet this tiny Prinplup actually had the nerve.
Duraludon brought its two differently shaped yet perfectly coordinated arms together.
Silver light flowed across its body, gathering into a brilliant sphere before its chest.
It intended to teach this human exactly what happened when one provoked the strong.
Although Blaziken hadn't been weak during their brief clash, Duraludon didn't believe it could lose.
Silas's eyes narrowed.
"Blaziken, Flamethrower!"
"Blaze!"
Blaziken was equally irritated.
It was only a harmless prank.
Yet this Pokémon had immediately tried attacking its Trainer.
That was unforgivable.
The pillar of fire collided head-on with the silver beam, producing a deafening explosion.
When the smoke cleared, neither Blaziken nor Duraludon had suffered any damage.
"Aura Sphere!"
Silas shouted without missing a beat.
A deep blue sphere of Aura rapidly condensed in Blaziken's right claw, expanding as it pulsed with tremendous power.
With a single swing, it shot forward faster than the naked eye could follow.
Duraludon reacted instantly.
A transparent Light Screen materialized around its body.
Boom!
Another explosion shook the battlefield.
The area where Duraludon stood disappeared beneath a thick cloud of smoke.
"Bulk Up. Swords Dance. Agility."
Silas calmly took advantage of the opening, having Blaziken stack its stat boosts.
Its Attack increased.
Its Defense increased.
Its Attack rose sharply once more.
Its Speed rose dramatically.
Combined with several turns of Speed Boost, Blaziken had essentially reached the strongest version of its normal battle state.
"ROAR!"
An enraged roar echoed from within the smoke.
Apparently, the saying "where there's smoke, there's no damage" didn't apply to Duraludon.
As the smoke gradually dispersed, Duraludon emerged.
It had been forced several meters backward, and obvious injuries covered its metallic body.
Although Light Screen had greatly reduced Aura Sphere's damage, the Steel/Dragon typing offered Duraludon little protection against Fighting-type attacks.
Even after the damage reduction, the blow had hit hard.
Just as Duraludon prepared to retaliate, Silas gave another command.
"Close the distance! Use Brick Break, then Double Kick!"
"Blaze!"
Blaziken instantly vanished.
The battle-hardened Duraludon immediately sensed danger.
This provoking opponent actually knows what it's doing.
Opening its jaws wide, it emitted an ear-piercing metallic screech.
"SKREEEEEEE!"
The grating sound echoed through the surrounding mountains.
Silas instinctively covered his ears.
Blaziken also halted its charge as the painful noise reached it.
A brief flash of pain crossed its face.
Seeing this, Duraludon immediately ceased the screech. Blue-purple energy rapidly gathered inside its mouth.
After only a brief charge, it unleashed the attack.
"Split it apart, then keep attacking."
Silas showed no hesitation.
Blaziken rushed forward.
Having quickly shaken off the dizziness and discomfort, it twisted its body slightly as brilliant white light enveloped both claws.
"Hyah!"
The blue-purple beam was literally sliced into two by Blaziken's glowing claws.
The remaining energy blasted past both sides of its body before striking the ground, sending shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
The next instant, Blaziken appeared beside Duraludon.
Its legs whipped out with explosive force.
Clang!
Metal crashed against metal.
Reacting with incredible speed, Duraludon coated its tail with Steel-type energy to reinforce it before deliberately intercepting the kick.
That certainly weakened Blaziken's attack.
But only that one.
With its Attack and Speed massively boosted, Blaziken displayed flawless close-quarters combat techniques.
Realizing the tail was exceptionally sturdy, it immediately twisted its waist, redirecting its second kick upward.
Thud!
The kick slammed directly into Duraludon's head.
The massive Steel Dragon immediately toppled sideways.
Before it could recover, Blaziken lowered its center of gravity.
Its legs blurred into invisible afterimages.
Despite Duraludon's enormous size, it was kicked backward like a soccer ball.
Even so, it never stopped resisting.
Its arms continuously swung with metallic energy coating them, occasionally landing blows that dealt minor damage to Blaziken.
Bang!
Moments later, Duraludon was driven all the way back until it crashed into the rocky wall beside its cave.
"Blast Burn!"
Silas's voice rang out from the distance.
Blaziken quickly leaped backward to create space before opening its mouth wide.
A gigantic flaming 大 (Dai) character erupted forward, crashing into the exhausted Duraludon.
The immense flames pinned it firmly against the cliff face.
Its silver metallic armor even began glowing a faint reddish color from the intense heat.
When Blast Burn finally dissipated as its energy ran out, Duraludon could no longer remain standing.
It collapsed to the ground.
"Nicely done."
Silas walked over and patted Blaziken on the shoulder.
Against an Elite-level Steel Dragon, Blaziken had maintained complete control from start to finish.
That wasn't simply because of superior talent.
More importantly, it was the result of Blaziken's relentless hard work.
It had forged overwhelming strength in every aspect.
Otherwise, even a Champion-potential Pokémon wouldn't dominate opponents so thoroughly at the Elite level through talent alone.
"Blaze..."
Blaziken responded while catching its breath.
Claiming it had consumed no energy at all would be unrealistic.
However, most of its fatigue came from the strain of stacking multiple stat-boosting moves rather than from any injuries Duraludon had inflicted.
"Prin..."
Prinplup eagerly approached Blaziken.
Yes.
That's the kind of power I want.
It's incredible.
It desperately wished to become just as strong.
Then it could finally pin its Trainer to the ground and get revenge for all the teasing.
"Heh! Blaze, blaze!"
Seeing its junior asking for advice, Blaziken immediately straightened up, folded its arms across its chest, and pretended the battle had been effortless.
"That Pokémon was pretty average, you know. About that strong compared to me.
The only reason I was breathing hard was because I'd already used up some stamina during this afternoon's battles.
Otherwise, I wouldn't even have broken a sweat beating it."
Blaziken shamelessly boasted.
Prinplup's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Silas rolled his eyes but couldn't be bothered exposing Blaziken's exaggeration.
Instead, he crouched beside Duraludon and carefully examined it.
He wasn't worried that it would suddenly recover and attack him.
Dragon-type Pokémon were far too proud to resort to such tactics after being defeated.
Silas had no intention of catching Duraludon.
Like the so-called "Little Steel Dragon," Dialga, Duraludon possessed outstanding defensive capabilities thanks to its typing.
The problem was some of Duraludon's attack animations simply lacked style.
If it naturally moved on four legs like Gigalith, that would have been one thing.
But instead, this bipedal Pokémon had to crouch awkwardly whenever it used certain moves.
Honestly, Silas thought its rival Tyranitar looked far more imposing.
Duraludon slowly regained consciousness.
As a Dragon-type Pokémon, its recovery speed was naturally impressive.
Although it couldn't continue battling, ordinary movement and conversation posed no problem.
The moment it opened its eyes a human face filled its vision.
"ROOOAAAR?!"
It jumped in fright.
Silas was startled by the sudden roar as well.
He rolled his eyes and gave Duraludon a light pat on its metallic body.
"Quit yelling. I just want to ask you something."
Duraludon blinked.
Its first instinct was to get angry and teach this human a lesson.
But the intense Fire-type aura radiating from somewhere nearby immediately calmed it down.
"Roo..."
Go ahead. Ask.
Silas got straight to the point.
"Did you move here recently?"
The seemingly random question caught Duraludon by surprise.
Although it had no idea how the human knew, it honestly nodded.
"And why did you move?"
"Roo... Roooo... Roo."
At the mention of the subject, Duraludon became visibly agitated again.
Blaziken quietly walked over and resumed its role as translator.
As Silas listened to the translated explanation, his eyes gradually lit up.
"So that's exactly what happened."
The story was actually quite simple.
This Duraludon had been driven out by one of the Dragon-type Pokémon groups living deeper within the Dragon's Den.
That explained why Silas had noticed earlier that the rocks around its cave showed very little sign of being eaten, despite not matching Duraludon's usual appetite.
The reason was straightforward.
It had moved here less than a month ago.
Most of the food it had consumed during that time came from reserves it had brought with it, while the local rocks had only been eaten occasionally.
As a powerful Elite-level Dragon-type Pokémon, even though it wasn't a pseudo-legendary itself, Duraludon was certainly qualified to live in the deepest part of the Dragon's Den.
Unfortunately it had picked a fight with one of the strongest clans living there.
The Garchomp clan.
Although Duraludon had resisted, it ultimately found itself facing a group of pseudo-legendary Pokémon backed by a Champion-level elder.
With no chance of winning, it could only flee in defeat and settle in this slightly less dangerous region of the Dragon's Den.
...
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