In this era, knowledge about Pokémon was not as abundant as it would be twenty years later. Those twenty years would also be the years of the Pokémon League's fastest development.
At this current time, possessing such a Dragonite made Cain feel that Kael's strength at this moment should already be enough to occupy the position of a regional Elite Four.
It was no wonder the council Elder valued Kael and Giovanni so much. They truly had exceptional talents.
It was unquestionable that the opponent would use Dragonite. Cain looked at the three Pokémon beside him.
The three Pokémon all had eager expressions, ready to try, but after thinking briefly, Cain lifted his chin toward Lucario.
Seeing Cain's gesture, Lucario immediately rejoiced. He jumped and flipped forward, appearing in front of Cain. He brought his fists together before his chest, and the spikes on the backs of his hands shone with white light. A milky-white bone staff, emitting small points of light, appeared in his hands.
Lucario's desire for battle was high!
Gardevoir and Venusaur felt somewhat disappointed when they saw Cain send out Lucario, but after a brief disappointment, they still cheered Lucario on.
Cain also had his own considerations. Among his three Pokémon, clearly Gardevoir, of Psychic and Fairy type, had the greatest advantage.
But in this era, the Fairy type had not yet appeared, and Fairy-type moves were not suitable to be shown in this period.
So, having to choose between Venusaur and Lucario, Cain chose Lucario, who possessed greater flexibility. In addition, the Grass type was countered by the Flying type, while Lucario's combination of Steel and Fighting types could just compensate for the effect caused by the Flying type.
"Lucario! It's a Pokémon that was discovered not long ago and registered in the League's Pokédex, right?" Kael looked at Lucario, whose face was full of fighting spirit, with a solemn expression.
He had enough confidence in himself, but he would not underestimate any opponent.
Originally, as a Gym Leader, when participating in Gym challenge battles, he had to send out Pokémon that matched the challenger's strength. Kael's Dragonite basically had never appeared in Gym battles.
But evidently, Cain, who was standing before Kael at this moment, made him feel an enormous threat. Because of that, he would use all his strength from the beginning.
"As the challenger, you have the right to the first move," Kael said to Cain.
Hearing this, Cain narrowed his eyes and smiled, showing his teeth.
"Since that is the case, I will not be polite. Lucario, Swords Dance!"
"Dragonite! We will use Dragon Dance!" Kael said in a deep voice.
Lucario and Dragonite did not take their eyes off each other's bodies, but they did not start an attack. Instead, they followed their Trainers' orders and began to move.
The two Pokémon danced two completely different dances.
However, right after Lucario executed the move Swords Dance, Cain's eyes shone. He no longer used his voice to command, but employed telepathy through his psychic power.
Seeing the changes in Cain and Lucario, Kael showed nothing on his face, but his heart trembled.
"A psychic!"
Cain smiled again, showing his teeth, and gave him no answer. Then Lucario, after finishing Swords Dance, kicked the ground hard with both legs and launched directly toward Dragonite. Around his body, several invisible currents of air were spinning.
Extreme Speed!
Bang!!
The bone staff in Lucario's hands struck Dragonite's body firmly. Dragonite gritted his teeth and crossed his arms in front of his chest, blocking head-on that thunderous and unstoppable blow from Lucario.
Between Dragonite's clenched teeth, small traces of violet-blue burning breath leaked from the corners of his mouth.
"Dragon Breath!" As soon as Kael's voice fell, a scorching breath shot from its mouth, heading directly toward Lucario's face.
Luckily, Lucario's speed was high enough, and he was already prepared. With several agile backward flips, he dodged this attack.
But after landing from those flips, Lucario brought both hands together before his waist, and a light-blue sphere of energy shot out from between his hands.
Aura Sphere!!
Boom!
This time Dragonite could not react, and was struck directly in the abdomen.
Lucario did not become complacent from the success of a single attack. He once again made an agile sideways flip and dodged Dragonite's Dragon Pulse.
Compared with Kael's Dragonite, Lucario's combat experience was much richer.
As the eldest legitimate son of the Drako family, an outstanding figure of the League's younger generation, and the Leader of the Blackthorn City Gym, the sum of these identities caused that, although Kael's strength was not weak, his combat experience was not so abundant.
After all, he was someone who had occupied a high position since birth, and more or less lacked real combat experience.
Nor could he compare with someone like Giovanni, born within a force like Team Rocket, who had carved his way up from the bottom.
Much less with someone like Cain, who possessed even harsher experiences.
Moreover, even if the Drako family had people who accompanied Kael in training every day, could they be stronger than Cain's Blaziken, Tyranitar, or even Darkrai?
After having seen a certain level of the world, some things no longer seemed so impressive.
At least, in Lucario's eyes at that moment, Kael's Dragonite was not that powerful.
"Lucario, Ice Bone." Cain's voice once again echoed in Lucario's mind.
Then Lucario could be seen dodging Dragonite's attacks again with his agile steps. Then, he held the bone staff by the center with both hands and, as if he were stretching a bone, pulled from the center toward both sides.
During the stretching process, a large amount of ice crystals condensed from Lucario's hands, freezing the entire bone staff until it turned into a bone staff shaped like frozen crystal.
After all, Lucario's bone staff was originally something condensed from his own energy. Once covered by a layer of ice, the whole thing condensed into Ice-type energy.
If that blow landed, Dragonite would probably suffer quite a bit.
After all, Dragonite, as a Dragon- and Flying-type Pokémon, was four times weak to Ice!
(End of chapter)