~Roar~
The whole arena went silent the moment Deino appeared before the spectators.
~Roar~~Roar~
It gathered draconic flames in its mouth, but before it could fire at the people around it...
"Bad Deino!" Daemon spoke.
~Grrr~
The dragon snapped his head towards the black-haired boy.
"Want a fight?" Daemon asked, not backing down from the staring contest.
Deino growled once again, and then his eyes landed on Kirlia, who was looking at him with a soft smile.
~Grrr~
He let out another growl, but this time it was weak. The horrors he had been through for a week...only he knew. But despite that, he was not going to cover in fear.
"Instead of Alice, how about you battle someone else?"
It was then that the voice of the human who had tried to tame him entered his ears. Deino's head snapped back to the nine-tailed fox standing on the other side of the battle arena he was in.
"Dei?"
"That guy challenged us to a battle, you up for it?"
~Roar~
Of course, the dragon was always ready for a fight. His head once again turned to Daemon.
"~Dei."
"You want to fight on your own?" The black-haired boy shook his head. "You forgot the deal we made yesterday? I will find you strong opponents; in turn, you will listen to my commands in trainer battles."
According to the deal he had made with the dragon, Daemon would find him strong opponents. In turn, the dragon would follow his commands in trainer battles, but not in encounters against wild Pokémon.
Though he had partially agreed due to Kirlia being very good at negotiations.
The dragon growled at the boy, but the flames in its mouth died down soon after. The dragon had made a promise...he would not break it...it had nothing to do with the psychic fairy looking at him with a soft smile...
"Good lad." The black-haired boy smiled before pointing at the nine-tailed fox. "You see that? That's your opponent for the day. You think you can defeat it?"
~Roar~
The dragon did not like his strength being questioned, but he was also not going to attack without being commanded since they had made a promise...at least not yet.
"I-Is that a fucking Deino?"
"What the hell?"
"Since when did he have a dragon?"
"Wait...is that the Deino that dude from Unova released in the Viridian Forest?"
"Shit! This is huge! I need to post this on the forums."
"Bro, that dragon is listening to him! How?"
The thoughts of spectators varied quite a bit, but there was one thing common among them all: they could not believe a young trainer had a dragon, much less a Deino known for its strength and cruelty.
"Wait! When you said you caught a dark-type, you meant a freaking Deino?" Misty gawked at the dragon and at Daemon.
"Is it so surprising?" The black-haired boy asked, but he knew how absurd it might seem.
Cross looked at the dragon, then at the crowd's reaction. The orange-haired boy snarled at losing the limelight. "Tsk! What's so good about it? That Deino does not belong to you."
"Last I checked, I caught him, and he is also registered to my trainer license, approved by the league as well." Daemon shrugged. "You want to start the fight or complain?"
"You!" Cross huffed before turning to the referee. "Start it."
The referee gulped at the look the orange-haired boy gave him and then motioned for the psychic Pokémon to raise a barrier.
"Begin!"
"Burn it to the ground. [Fire Blast], full power!"
The nine-tailed fox took a deep breath before the sky illuminated. Its ability, Drought, had created artificial sunlight, and then it opened its jaws wide.
Fire-type energy gathered in its mouth, larger than what it had used against the Scyther and then let it lose towards the dragon.
Daemon watched the [Fire Blast] approach and gave the command. "[Incinerate], 50%."
~Roar~
Deino protested at being asked to control his strength, but agreed nevertheless before shooting his own torrent of flames at the incoming star of fire.
Two fire-type attacks met each other, and Daemon covered his face with his arms, bracing for the shockwave as well as the heat from the blast.
BOOM
The psychic barrier ensured the blast did not reach the spectators; however, the spectators were already left in awe.
How could a [Incinerate] compete with a [Fire Blast] in a head-on clash? The thought was flashing through everyone's mind, even the orange-haired boy.
"[Dragon Breath], 50%."
Before the blast could settle, greenish-purple draconic flames shot through the orange fire, making the flames disappear upon contact. The draconic flames consumed the fire and rapidly approached the fire-type.
"Shit, use [Protect]."
BOOM
The nine-tailed fox protected itself with a barrier, barely surviving that attack.
"What was that?"
The speed at which the [Dragon Breath] came left everyone astounded and questioning their eyes.
"Keep going."
~Roar~
Deino roared, and the flames did not stop, and he kept breathing out draconic flames at the barrier. He stopped after a few seconds, and the barrier surrounding the nine-tailed fox was miserably cracked.
"I need to teach my Pokémon that move," Daemon spoke outloud in a casual tone as he made notes on the ongoing battle. The relaxed nature of his approach to this battle left everyone stunned.
[Protect] was indeed a move that saw a lot of use, more so than attacking moves in high-level battles.
"You! Ninetails, once again, use..."
"75%."
~Roar~
Before the order could even be completed, the dragon-type let out another [Dragon Breath]. Draconic flames, even stronger than what they were before, pierced through the cracked [Protect] and struck the fire-type.
The nine-tailed fox was covered in the draconic energy, its body soon paralyzed, making it fall to the ground.
~Zzzt~Zzzt~
Ninetails trembled on the ground in pain before its eyes rolled to the back of its head, and it lost consciousness.
The referee pointed the red flag at the orange-haired boy.
"Ninetails is unable to battle...D...Deino is the winner. Cross Thompson, please send out your next Pokémon."
"WOAH!"
Misty gaped at the strength of the [DragonBreath]...as well as how easily the dragon had taken down the nine-tailed fox. The dragon had kept the flames going for an extended period without breaking a sweat.
She was shaken by the ease with which Deino had won. She had always known dragon-types were strong, even in their first evolutions... especially the ones categorized as pseudo-legendary.
The orange-haired girl had never trained one by herself, but her father had a Kingdra in his main team.
He had always warned his daughters about the difficulties of raising dragons and how strong these species were. He had told them, especially, never to underestimate a pseudo-legendary... they were given that title for a reason.
When legendaries did not step into the realm of mortals, it was pseudo-legendaries that reminded the world of the strength that almost rivalled theirs.
"Is that it?" While everyone was busy gawking at Deino, the black-haired boy looked at Cross with a smirk. "But then again, I wasn't expecting much from a scrub like you."
He had no intention of starting a drama, but he was not going to shy away from it either. Cross wanted to make a spectacle of him? Yeah...good luck with that.
The lack of sleep was already causing him a headache; the orange-haired boy was going to suffer the consequences of it.
"What did you say?" Cross scowled at the comment and the snickers that rang in the crowd. His eyes, red with anger, turned to Daemon. "You think defeating my exhausted Ninetails makes you a better trainer?"
"If that helps you sleep at night, sure." The black-haired boy shrugged.
Other than his Incineroar or Turtonator, he was not afraid of the other three Pokémon the orange-haired boy had.
The orange-haired boy grabbed another Pokeball with gritted teeth and sent it forward. "Get him, Houndour!"
~Grrrr~
The dark-type stepped on the field with a growl, but then took a step back when the dragon snarled at it.
Cross snickered when his Pokémon got scared. "Close in with [Flame Charge]."
The dark-type got over its fears and charged at the dragon with fire enveloping its body.
"Deino, let it come close, then [Thunder Fang]."
Electricity enveloped the dragon's mouth, and when the dark-type came at him, Deino took the brunt of the attack, not caring to dodge before his fangs clamped down on Houndour's neck.
~Awoooo
Houndour let out a painful wail.
"Fling it to the air."
Deino spun and, with everything he had, flung the Pokémon in his jaws upwards.
"[Incinerate], 50%."
Fire gathered in the dragon's mouth before he breathed it all out.
"Dumbass," Cross smirked when the flames did no damage to Houndour; instead, the aura around the dark hound increased in intensity. "Flash Fire allows my Houndour to increase the strength of its fire-type moves. And the artificial sun from Ninetails's ability is still up, boosting fire-type moves even further." He looked at the black-haired boy mockingly. "Do it, Houndour, [Fire Blast]."
'Damn, does every Pokémon of his have that move?' Daemon wondered as a fire star enveloped his Pokémon. TM for [Fire Blast] was very expensive and so far almost every Pokémon of Cross seemed to know this move.
This time, the [Fire Blast] was actually devastating since the dark hound was boosted by both its ability and environment.
KABOOOOOM
"Another one!"
KABOOOOOM
"Another!"
KABOOOOOM
"Use everything you have, one last time!"
KABOOOOOM
Cross's eyes turned red as he squeezed every drop of energy from his Pokémon and ordered four [Fire Blasts]. Of course, by the last one, the attack was not as strong as the first, but the collective damage was not something any Pokémon on the dark hound's level could handle. Heck, even some Pokémon with three badge strength would be downed by two direct hits.
"Is it still alive?" Misty gulped a mouthful of saliva as she looked at the devastation caused by those attacks.
The dragon should be done now, right?
Everybody waited with bated breath as the flames engulfing the dragon started to die down.
It took a while for the dust to settle, and seeing how the black-haired boy had not called for a move, unlike when Deino shot a [Dragon Breath] through the flames previously, everybody guessed the dragon was down for good. After all, no matter how strong, the dragon-type would make some noise after being hurt. If he did not, then it only meant that Deino was down for the count.
Morons.
The psychic fairy could read the emotions of every person around her, and she rolled her eyes. She had fought Deino...she knew what he was capable of.
Any other Pokémon might have been beaten to the ground by now, but what no one even considered was that the opponent facing Houndour was a dragon.
Was the dragon invincible? No, it was not. She had beaten him quite badly a few times.
She was a fairy, and her fairy-type moves were four times as effective. But that was also the only way she had been able to put up a fight against Deino.
Even her endless spamming of [Mystical Fire] had not done the deal, nor had any other attack. The dragon had eaten everything she threw at him with a grin on his face, except [Disarming Voice].
But the hound was no fairy.
Even then, the dragon could be slain. The dragon could be hurt.
But unlike many other Pokémon who only had a dragon as a separate type, like an Altaria...
...Deino WAS a dragon
He embodied everything about that type.
So, when the dust settled, the gazes of everyone landed on the dark dragon with its scales scorched as badly as the ground he was standing upon.
He was injured.
He was panting.
He was in pain. Absolute horrifying pain.
But he was a dragon...
...and a dragon did not scream...
...because dragons were many things...but weak...
They only did one thing...
~ROOOOOOAAAAAAR~
Deino opened his clenched jaw that was suppressing the agonizing pain and then let out a roar of defiance. And that roar shook the spectators as well as the dark hound, along with the orange-haired boy, to their core.
It embodied his will as well as his stubborn pride.
And so, Daemon let go of the metaphorical leash he had put around the dragon's neck.
"[Dragon Pulse], 100%."
Unlike [Dragon Breath], which Deino could use almost instantly, [Dragon Pulse] needed time to be charged and then fired. It was enough time for the opponent to dodge or come up with a counter.
However, as the draconic energy surged around Deino, covering his whole body, the dark hound standing opposite him froze...unable to move from the sheer pressure as well as fear.
"Oh?" Daemon watched with a raised eyebrow as the energy surrounding Deino started to turn red. 'Alice, you are going to have your hands full for the next month.'
It wouldn't be fun otherwise.
"No way it can..."
Deino shut the doubt in the orange-haired boy's mind with a full-powered [Dragon Pulse].
~SHAZOOOOM
The draconic energy turned into a dragon, opened its maw and engulfed Houndour's whole body.
...for a moment, all the noise was consumed by the draconic maw...and then...
....There was no then.
As fast as it had come, the draconic maw disappeared, leaving behind the dark hound... unconscious on the floor.
"Houndour is unable to battle. Deino is the winner. Cross Thompson, send out your final Pokémon."
~ROOOOOOAAAAAAR~
---------------------------------------
[Author's Note]:
[1]: Did you guys like the chapter? I tried my best to write a fight of how a dragon would fight.
[2]: I made a mistake in the last chapter; it is a 3vs3, not a 2vs2. Sorry about that; it's fixed in the previous chapters now, though.
[3]: You all might have seen those percentages. I will explain those in the upcoming chapters.
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