[Sand Rush: Doubles speed in a Sandstorm.]
The hidden ability of a certain mole-headed Ground dragon! How did it suddenly appear in his ability pool?!
Even in a dream, this is too much, right?
Wait... a dream?
A flash of inspiration struck Caesar's mind (Excadrill version).
Right!
This is a dream!
In a dream, physical stats might be weakened and skill execution might be imprecise, but by the same token... the rules can be rewritten!
As long as your will is strong enough and your imagination is vivid enough, you can fight with your mind!
Thinking of this, Caesar skidded to a halt.
He would run no longer.
In the sky, that mountain-sized Bronze Dragon had already spotted him and was diving down with unparalleled pressure.
A massive shadow completely enveloped Caesar.
But Caesar wasn't panicking at all now.
"A Level 78 Bronze Dragon? An ancient giant dragon?"
"Is that supposed to be impressive?"
"It's not like you're the only one who can get big!"
Caesar pulled back his dragon maw, revealing a predator's grin.
"In my dream, how do you expect to beat me!"
With a single thought.
Come forth, my ancient form! Ancient Garchomp!
Caesar's body suddenly expanded in an instant. Mysterious ancient patterns surfaced beneath his deep blue scales as his size skyrocketed—ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters!
The originally 1.4-meter-tall little guy transformed on the spot into a prehistoric behemoth over forty meters tall!
His appearance resembled a shark, his body a base of deep blue, with a striking red from his jaw to his belly. Two hammerhead-like protrusions grew from his head, and the scythe-like wings on his forearms were savage and overbearing.
This was the form he was most familiar with from his past life; this was the final form he had dreamed of!
Garchomp!
And it was an ancient form based on the Ancient Gengar (from Episode 73 of the anime)...!
Thanks to being in a dream state, Caesar was able to enjoy the powerful stats of his final evolution and the sense of power brought by his all-around expansion in advance!
"Roar—!"
With a deafening roar, the thirty-meter-tall Garchomp stomped the Ground, making the entire ruined city tremble!
He looked up, meeting the gaze of the diving Bronze Dragon.
"Come on! Let's have a real fight!"
Ancient Garchomp charged straight up to collide with the Bronze Dragon!
The two behemoths crashed into each other mid-air with a boom!
"Clang—!"
Dragon Claw met Dragon Claw, erupting in the ear-piercing sound of grinding metal and dazzling sparks.
At the moment of impact, the Bronze Dragon Viola let out a low growl mixed with pain...! This collision felt as if she had clawed a piece of volcanic rock covered in inverted scales. Caesar's deep blue scales were terrifyingly rough now, their edges shimmering with a faint, sharp cold light.
Her Dragon Claws, capable of tearing through steel, actually throbbed with pain from the recoil, and even developed tiny cracks!
At this moment, the skill pool belonging to Garchomp was completely open to Caesar!
"[Dragon Claw]!"
Caesar roared in his heart as his claws, coated in dragon-type energy, slashed frantically at the opponent's bronze scales, each strike leaving deep gouges in the hard armor.
The Bronze Dragon let out a pained roar and opened her mouth to release a Time Breath.
Caesar dodged to the side. The greyish-black beam of light flew past his wing, missing by a hair; he could even feel the power that caused all things to decay.
"[Crunch]!"
He opened his bloody maw and bit down on the Bronze Dragon's neck!
Dark energy erupted, and the bronze scales shattered accordingly, but the opponent's defense was terrifyingly high. This bite only broke the armor and didn't cause a fatal wound.
Stung by the pain, the Bronze Dragon's Dragon Tail swept across like a massive battering ram. Caesar immediately responded with [Dragon Tail].
"Bang—!"
Two massive Dragon Tails collided violently in the air...! But Viola suffered again. She felt as if her tail had struck a steel plate covered in dense spikes. The moment of contact brought a dense sensation of tearing; the force was actually weakened and reflected back by those file-like scales!
[Rough Skin]!
Caesar's tactical thinking was very clear: close-quarters combat to push Garchomp's 130 base Physical Attack to its limit!
Simultaneously, he quickly recalled his skill pool.
"[Earth Power]! Stacked with [Stone Edge]!!"
With a thought from Caesar, Ground and Rock-type energy exploded. Countless sharp stone pillars rose from the Ground like a forest of spears, stabbing toward the Bronze Dragon's belly!
These were the skills he preferred to use: simple, crude, and easy to visualize.
He could release them rapidly in the dream world in a continuous combo—!
The Bronze Dragon clearly sensed his intention. She beat her wings violently, using a blast of Time Breath to decay all the incoming stone pillars. Immediately after, a series of complex Draconic Magic chants poured from her mouth.
Clusters of scorching fireballs, blades of sharp wind, and sheets of freezing frost poured toward Caesar like a barrage.
Caesar didn't dodge at all, tanking them directly with his body!
Most of these spells felt like tickles when they hit him, but the ice magic was four times effective, causing Caesar bone-chilling pain.
"Damn, that actually hurts!"
The sensation of pain in the dream was actually this realistic.
Even so, he relied on Ancient Garchomp's stats to endure, wanting to force a close-quarters brawl!
But Viola the Bronze Dragon was a Level 78 Boss, after all, with rich combat experience. She saw through Caesar's intent and immediately pulled back, using round after round of Draconic Magic bombardment to keep Caesar from getting close.
This wouldn't do!
Caesar tried to activate [Sand Tomb] to restrict her first.
Then, he stomped his feet hard on the Ground!
"[Earthquake]!"
A terrifying shockwave swept through the city, centered on Ancient Garchomp—
The Ground cracked, and buildings collapsed in swaths! The Origin power of the Ground-type could deal double damage to a Dragon/Steel dual-type Bronze Dragon!
However, Viola the Bronze Dragon simply flapped her wings. Her massive elemental wings kicked up a gale, allowing her to easily break free from the quicksand's grasp and hover higher in the air, perfectly dodging the world-shaking strike.
"A Steel Dragon that can fly? Isn't that cheating?!"
Caesar almost cursed out loud.
Theoretically, his Ground-type STAB moves should counter her, but her ability to fly made his core damage skill, [Earthquake], completely useless.
Seeing a new round of Time Breath and Draconic Magic about to bombard him, Caesar had to use [Sand Attack] again, kicking up a cloud of dust to hide his form.
He tried to imagine an all-encompassing Sandstorm, the kind of apocalyptic scene that could blot out the sun.
But the [Sandstorm] skill failed!
Perhaps because he had never seen a real Sandstorm with his own eyes, his imagination was a bit lacking in this regard. He could only create a dusty environment near the Ground, unable to pull the high-flying Bronze Dragon into it at all.
The result was the Bronze Dragon acting like a map-wide artillery battery from above, performing indiscriminate carpet bombing on the dust-covered area.
Caesar could only rely on the speed boost from [Sand Rush] to desperately dodge and hide within the sand.
—I have to find a way to fly and take the fight to the air!
Garchomp was naturally capable of flight, and could even reach supersonic speeds!
...!
Caesar concentrated his mind, trying to make himself fly to engage the Bronze Dragon in a final aerial battle.
To ensure he could completely crush his opponent, he even intended to go a step further.
In the dream world, perform a MEGA Evolution!
However, the System popped up a line of cold notifications—
[Warning: Lacks this world's key items 'resonance stone' and 'bloodline soul crystal'. Unable to perform MEGA Evolution.]
"Huh?!"
Caesar was stunned.
"Even MEGA Evolution is restricted in a dream? Where's the logic in that! What about Dynamaxing?!"
[Warning: Lacks this world's key item 'Giant Spirit Secret Medicine', and not within the 'Magic Net—Dark Night Radiation Zone'. Unable to perform Dynamaxing.]
Some strange terms seem to have popped up... Hey, don't expand the world-building at a time like this!
Caesar clicked his tongue. It looked like he had no choice but to use his trump card.
Isn't it just a contest of imagination?
Isn't it just about who can dream better?
When it comes to dreaming, who can beat me, a Garchomp!
Ability: [Anxiety Power]!
"Magnetic Field Rotation, 999,900 Horsepower—"
"Come forth, the power of my desires, aaaaaahhhh!"
Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!
An unprecedented light erupted from Caesar's eyes as he concentrated all of his willpower—!
[Dragon Dance]!
ACTIVATE, DAMMIT!!!