Salamence had deep blue skin, its chest and abdomen covered by a hard shell. However, its most striking feature was its wings, as red as blood, mirroring its dangerous temperament. Even as a Shelgon, it had an insatiable desire to fly. The mutating cells that accompanied its evolution granted it wings and altered its personality.
Irritable, fierce, and incredibly destructive, Salamence was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous Pokémon in the wild.
Drayden's Salamence suddenly slammed the ground and opened its mouth wide to let out a deafening Dragon Roar, startling Ogerpon as it was changing masks. It seemed that Salamence's ability was Intimidate.
"Boni."
Ogerpon stood frozen, holding back tears, then pouted and glared angrily at the dragon in front of it, its determination undiminished.
"Hahaha, who would have thought? It's got the Defiant ability! Drayden, you didn't expect that, did you?" Wattson laughed loudly, teasing his old friend.
Drayden's expression remained unchanged. "No matter. It's normal to encounter countering abilities."
"Gao!"
Ogerpon took out the Cornerstone Mask, carefully putting away the Teal Mask before donning the new one. Its outerwear immediately turned a dark gray, adding the Rock type.
"Attribute change, huh? This feeling, it's Rock type," Pryce, an Ice-type trainer, was very familiar with this type. His eyes sparkled with interest. A Pokémon that could change its form!
"Hahaha, now even the type advantage is gone!"
Ignoring Wattson's laughter, Drayden stroked his beard. He had seen Pokémon that changed types using tools, but those were man-made Pokémon relying on technology.
This Pokémon before him, however, changed types by its own power. Truly remarkable.
"Let me attack first then. Salamence, Dragon Rush!"
Drayden extended his arm, and with a roar, Salamence soared into the sky, diving down with a terrifying momentum as if it could crush everything in its path.
"Ogerpon, run forward, don't stop!"
"Boni oh!"
After eating the Micle Berry, Ogerpon's agility had increased significantly. It dashed forward like a dark gray shadow.
Boom! Salamence crashed down, shattering the ground tiles into fragments and raising a cloud of dust. It missed!
Salamence turned to look at its escaping opponent, only to see Ogerpon sticking out half its face, making a taunting grimace.
Salamence's eye twitched, flames igniting in its mouth, signaling its rising anger.
"Calm down, Salamence!" Drayden's shout quickly calmed Salamence.
Trying to wear down my stamina? Drayden mused. Dragon Rush had immense destructive power but suffered from low accuracy.
Usually, Dragon Rush relied on its terrifying momentum to paralyze the opponent with fear, thereby increasing its accuracy.
However, Ogerpon was clearly unafraid of Salamence. Summer's strategy was wise: to evade Dragon Rush, one only needed to run in the opposite direction as soon as the move was initiated.
In the air, this move was difficult to change direction, let alone turn around.
"Ogerpon, use Growth."
Taking advantage of Salamence's moment of recovery, Summer commanded Ogerpon to strengthen itself.
"Gao!"
Ogerpon took a step forward, its coat glowing as it absorbed the sun's energy, its aura growing stronger.
"Use Iron Head."
Salamence dug its claws into the ground, its hind legs powering up as its head gleamed with metallic light, charging like an out-of-control truck towards Ogerpon.
Salamence might be the master of the skies, but its powerful muscles gave it terrifying speed on the ground as well.
"Spiky Shield."
Ogerpon grabbed its coat and curled into a ball, a green shield covered in sharp spikes enveloping it.
Salamence felt the sting of the spikes as it collided, roaring in pain as it threw Ogerpon into the air.
"Now, Ogerpon, Thorned Cane!"
"Gao!"
Ogerpon pulled out a thorned cane, now transformed into hard, sharp rocks. With its type change, the Thorned Cane's attribute also turned to Rock type.
Take this!
The heavy, sharp cane struck Salamence's neck, slamming its jaw into the ground with an audible crack.
But it wasn't over. Ogerpon repeatedly swung the cane, battering Salamence's neck several more times, its smiling mask adding an eerie feel.
"Oh, I like this feeling!" Grampa Gideon's clenched fist showed his joy. "If only it hit a bit harder."
"Return the favor, Salamence. I permit you to unleash your rage with Outrage!" Drayden's eyes sharpened. Well done, but this ends now.
Salamence's aura surged, its fury boiling its blood. Even the wounds from the Thorned Cane began to heal rapidly.
Its powerful tail wrapped tightly around Ogerpon, then smashed it to the ground. Salamence's bloodshot eyes and sharp claws attacked Ogerpon mercilessly.
The Thorned Cane fell from Ogerpon's hand, rolling slowly on the ground. Masked Ogerpon lay motionless on the ground.
"It's over. Sorry, I got a bit serious," Drayden showed an apologetic expression.
Outrage, combined with Salamence's rage, greatly boosted the move's power. Salamence's temperament was perfect for this combination.
He generally avoided using this combo in gym battles, especially against an unofficial trainer like Summer.
"Mr. Drayden, not judging the situation properly is not good."
Drayden's eyes widened. No, Ogerpon still had fighting spirit!
"Gao!"
Ogerpon bent its knees and leaped up, a new Thorned Cane appearing in its hand. Anger is bad, so let Ogerpon send you sweet dreams!
The sudden ambush left Salamence unable to react, especially in its enraged state.
The Thorned Cane, gathering all of Ogerpon's strength, smashed into Salamence's jaw. The violent collision between upper and lower jaws sent a powerful shock to Salamence's brain. Its eyes rolled back, and it lost consciousness instantly.
"This form of Ogerpon doesn't have the Defiant ability, but rather Sturdy, right?" Drayden guessed aloud.
"Yes, that's correct."
Summer quickly approached Ogerpon, standing triumphantly on Salamence's head, raising its cane in victory. Ogerpon was indeed a dragon-slaying hero!
"Hmph, I always claimed to treat everyone equally, but it seems I'm the most arrogant one," Drayden laughed at himself.
"I told you to use Haxorus!" Grampa Gideon walked towards Drayden with a grin, extending a hand. "Shouldn't you give the winner a prize?"
"Of course. But you're really lucky, Grampa Gideon. How about giving it to me?" Drayden joked without changing his expression.
Grampa Gideon glared at Drayden, then decisively refused, "No!"
Wattson laughed heartily, and Pryce closed his eyes with a smile. The way they interacted as youngsters hadn't changed much.
The future of this world belonged to the young. Drayden walked slowly towards Summer, who was carefully spraying medicine on Ogerpon. Yes, he was indeed a promising trainer.
"Summer, as the victor, is there anything you want?"
Summer thought for a moment. Drayden was a Dragon-type trainer, so...
Upon hearing Summer's request, Drayden rarely showed a puzzled expression. Really, Summer, what do you need those for?
(End of Chapter)