Drayton's Pokémon was a creature with features of both dragonflies and western dragons: all green, flapping two diamond-shaped red-edged wings, and red lens-like bulges over its eyes—Flygon, the Dragon Dancer!
Flygon was one of Drayton's signature openers. It had appeared when Nemona and her friends visited Blueberry Academy for a friendly match. Compared to back then, this Flygon seemed to have transformed, with even more imposing power and aura.
On Nemona's side, with a heavy thud, the fierce Ursaluna howled at the sky. Its primal presence bore down on Flygon!
As a pure Dragon-type, Flygon bristled with pride, releasing a sonic dragon's roar from the air, eyes tightly locked on Ursaluna.
Clashing right from the start, the audience couldn't help but get excited.
Most of them had never actually seen a Flygon or even heard of Ursaluna.
But for others, while Flygon's name was familiar, that of Ursaluna's wasn't.
"…Ursaluna?"
Geeta frowned, whispering the name as she studied Nemona's Pokémon with confusion.
She prided herself on knowing nearly every Pokémon, or at least recognizing a few.
But whether it was the name "Ursaluna," or that quadrupedal, muscular bear Pokémon, she had never seen or heard of either.
She glanced at Biology teacher Jacq, who kept taking off his glasses in shock, hoping he'd offer an answer.
But at this point, Jacq was honestly bewildered—he'd never heard of an "Ursaluna" either!
The teachers all looked at each other, then at Lucas.
Just as Geeta was about to speak, Lucas didn't play coy. He went ahead and explained:
"Ursaluna is the evolved form of Ursaring, a Ground + Normal-type Pokémon."
"The details will be published soon in official journals like 'Pokémon and Nature,' in a paper by Professor Oak."
That single sentence instantly silenced Geeta and everyone else.
They took a moment to digest the short but info-packed speech, and all eyes were glued to the Sun Plaza battlefield, eager to witness Ursaluna's performance.
Drayton noticed his opponent's unfamiliarity but didn't panic. He immediately had Flygon stir up a sandstorm, making the weather perfect for itself.
No matter who the opponent was, just beat it down!
Holding that belief, Drayton commanded: "Flygon, Dragon Dance!"
Amid the howling sandstorm, Flygon let out a loud cry and danced nimbly in the sand, its elegant figure swirling in the dust.
"Let's do it too—Bulk Up!"
Nemona couldn't see through the sandstorm, but her instincts made her choose to boost Ursaluna's power.
Ursaluna's muscles bulged, a red mist flashing over its body as its strength got a huge boost.
As soon as the stat boosts finished, both trainers practically gave attack orders in sync.
"Dragon Breath!"
"Stone Edge!"
Dancing freely in the sandstorm, Flygon's red lensy eyes spotted Ursaluna's outline. Quietly, it approached from the side, then unleashed a blast of indigo breath—vapor or flame—that burst through the sand, rushing at Ursaluna.
But it was as if Ursaluna had eyes on its back. With a stomp of its paw, a sharp, glowing blue stone pillar burst from the ground behind it, blocking the incoming Dragon Breath.
At the same time, more jagged stone pillars rose from the ground like swords stabbing toward Flygon.
Flygon weaved skillfully through the barrage, striking down any unavoidable stones with its sharp, emerald dragon claws, its rapidly beating wings forming a blur.
With Stone Edge dealt with, Ursaluna didn't panic.
Its nose twitched slightly, as if sniffing something.
Drayton, unable to see clearly through the sandstorm either, relied on intuition: "Earthquake!"
Such a wide-area move is just what you need against a clumsy, grounded foe like Ursaluna.
Flygon dropped to the earth like a shadow. Its dragon tail pulsed with ground energy, slamming into the ground and unleashing a massive shockwave.
Realizing the tremors, Ursaluna let out a roar. Even without Nemona's command, it responded instinctively.
Its own paws pounded the earth, unleashing a much stronger shockwave than Flygon's, neutralizing Flygon's Earthquake and pushing back with even greater force.
Amid this, the dust storm began to thin, splitting open in several places and letting the audience glimpse what was happening.
"Fly up again!" Drayton's expression changed. He ordered Flygon to take off.
Why was Ursaluna so much stronger—even after both had boosted themselves? Was it Ground-type too? This was odd.
With the tremor shaking it off-balance, Flygon was in a hurry to fly again to nullify ground moves, but Nemona's command beat him to it.
"Charge in—Headlong Rush!"
Flygon's flying ability makes it immune to Ground-type moves only when airborne.
But as soon as it touches the ground, Ground-type attacks can hit it.
Just as Flygon was about to take flight, Ursaluna, for the first time, initiated an attack.
Bellowing, the ground shook wildly. Ursaluna exploded forward at a speed unthinkable for its size, the earth quaking beneath its feet so much that many in the audience almost lost their balance.
Smashing through flying debris, Ursaluna lunged at the just-about-to-take-off Flygon, one paw dragging it down forcefully!
"Raooh!"
Flygon yelped in shock and fury, slashing at Ursaluna's right shoulder with its energy-forged dragon claw.
But Ursaluna's hulking frame was like a fortress, barely flinching. With its free paw, it hammered down with a whooshing wind on Flygon's head, nearly knocking it out with one blow!
"Draco Meteor!" Drayton's anxious instructions followed. Flygon howled in pain, spraying deep purple orbs into the sky.
Bang, bang, bang—!
Amid an unending shriek, countless meteor-like projectiles of Dragon energy rained down on Ursaluna's sturdy back, occasionally hitting Flygon too.
Even so, Ursaluna didn't budge.
Merely pinning Flygon with its powerful body, its paws began to radiate frosty energy.
"Ice Punch!"
A heavy punch powered by freezing energy landed—Flygon could only watch helplessly as Ursaluna's icy fist grew larger and larger in its vision.
With each thudding hit, the ground shook and frost spread.
Within moments, Ursaluna stood up.
Flygon was out cold, its eyes spinning.
A deathly silence.
This kind of overwhelming, start-to-finish, crushing victory—Ursaluna's wild, fierce strength left everyone in awe.
The Blueberry side fell so silent, you could hear a pin drop.
"This…"
Alder had stood up at some point, staring fixedly at Ursaluna and Nemona.
He finally understood why Nemona had seemed so off.
She wasn't the type of trainer who should even be taking part in an exhibition!
Drayton could easily take first place in the Unova League now, but judging by Ursaluna, Nemona could skip the League and jump straight to fighting gym leaders, maybe even challenge the Elite Four!
How is anyone supposed to compete with this?
Alder glanced at Lucas, whose face was calm as ever, and felt his teeth itch in frustration.
Lucas, you sly fox—hiding such strength!
Compared to Alder's shock, Drayton—once exuberant—now was stunned.
He was more at a loss than anything else.
One moment of negligence, and Flygon had been utterly overpowered, so fast he couldn't even organize a counterattack.
Was this really Nemona's full power?
As the sharp whistle blew, Drayton took a deep breath, trembling a little as he picked up the Poké Ball to recall Flygon. In his mind, he kept telling himself:
I've still got my ace. Nothing's decided until the end!
Deliberately ignoring the uncomfortable fact that Nemona's own ace hadn't appeared yet.
"Haxorus!"
Drayton threw his second Poké Ball with all his might.
Nemona, meanwhile, recalled the howling Ursaluna and swapped in another adorable Pokémon.
Her usual lineup included Pawmot, Ursaluna, Tauros, Goodra, and Decidueye.
The sixth Pokémon was one few people had seen, but Nemona had definitely raised it well.
A flash of light, and a tiny, fairy-like Pokémon appeared as the sandstorm faded. Its wings buzzed rapidly, a red bow scarf ringed its neck. It was pink and adorable—Ribombee!
In contrast to the fearsome, axe-mouthed, green-armored Haxorus—even just from appearance, this Pokémon seemed too cute, too small, and even weak. It was hard not to feel pity.
Yet the moment Drayton saw it, goosebumps rose on his arms.
If he reacted this strongly, it HAD to be a Fairy-type!
Drayton watched warily.
At last, on the Naranja Academy side, Teacher Jacq piped up: "That's a Ribombee. In Alola, Bug/Fairy types like this are common—but the colors look a bit…"
To Jacq's hesitation, Lucas offered a supplementary clarification: "This Ribombee is a rare Shiny Pokémon. I believe Nemona's sister brought it back from another region."
"Don't let the little looks fool you—its power is something else."
Seemingly recalling something, Lucas shook his head, looking meaningful.
"I'd say, if Blueberry Academy's Dragon tamer isn't careful, they'll be in for a nasty surprise."
Hassel, stroking his chin, agreed quietly.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the next clash began.
Drayton and Haxorus tried to probe Ribombee with a "Dragon Pulse." Nemona didn't even dodge; the Dragon energy splashed harmlessly off Ribombee's body, indicating its Fairy typing.
Drayton's face froze; he raised his hand to bring back Haxorus.
But Ribombee was faster.
Like a passing breeze, Ribombee breezed behind Haxorus, casting bug-type energy as silvery threads to tie up Haxorus's waist.
Next moment—
The Poké Ball's recall beam ended up bouncing off the green glow protecting Haxorus.
"Infestation…"
Drayton's expression soured as he muttered the move's name.
A Pokémon under "Infestation" can't be withdrawn via Poké Ball for a time.
"Fine, then let's see who's stronger!"
Biting his lip, Drayton commanded: "Iron Tail!"
Whoosh!
With a slicing sound, Haxorus's huge, colored tail whipped through the air like a lash toward Ribombee!
With Ribombee's frail build, taking a hit like that would be devastating.
"Quiver Dance."
Ribombee was unbothered, flitting nimbly between the attacks, dancing mystically whenever there was room.
Wisps of crimson lit up its body, signifying boosts in its stats.
"Outrage!"—Drayton's response was immediate, letting Haxorus enter a frenzy, swinging claws, axe, and tail relentlessly at Ribombee.
Raging, Haxorus's brutal and terrifying power made many spectators flinch.
"Dazzling Gleam!"
A multi-colored blast radiated outward from Ribombee, leaving visible burn marks on Haxorus. But with "Outrage" dulling its pain response, Haxorus just shook its head, launching itself once more at Ribombee.
And Ribombee calmly kept up its Quiver Dances, to Drayton's mounting unease.
When Infestation's effects finally faded and Haxorus was exhausted, Drayton wasted no time recalling it for a third Pokémon.
"Archaludon!"
At the same moment, Nemona's cue rang out:
"Baton Pass, Ribombee!"
In an instant, Ribombee turned to red light and withdrew, as Nemona hurled her own third Poké Ball energetically:
"It's your turn—Pawmot!"