The fainted Dratini finally woke up in its bed.
"You're awake!"
Next to it, Gabriel watched with concern. Despite their best efforts, Dratini had ultimately lost the match against the Growlithe. Its Protect had completely nullified Dratini's Dragon Rage, leaving it without a scratch.
Dratini let out a disheartened sigh and leaned against Gabriel.
"Mu~" (In the end, I still lost.)
Gabriel hadn't expected Dratini to take the loss so seriously. Stroking its head gently, Gabriel tried to comfort it.
"That Growlithe was really strong. Reaching this point was already impressive."
"Mu!" (But I still lost!)
Dratini's watery eyes looked up at Gabriel with a pitiful expression that made her chuckle. he hadn't realized until now just how competitive Dratini was.
"Don't worry. We'll increase our training. Sooner or later, you'll defeat that Growlithe!"
Losing wasn't all bad. Mini-Dragon was now experiencing the sting of defeat firsthand. Gabriel hoped it would approach future training with even more determination.
In their battle, Dratini's performance had been remarkable. It had dodged Growlithe's attacks with Extreme Speed, burned itself with Flamethrower to activate its Marvel Scale ability, and endured Growlithe's powerful strikes before launching a counterattack.
If it weren't for Growlithe blocking Dragon Rage with Protect, sister Phoebe's might have been the one to lose.
"That Sister Phoebe sure loves playing dirty," Gabriel grumbled. "That Growlithe is far stronger than Dratini, practically bullying a little kid!"
Even so, Dratini had given it everything it had, even exceeding its limits. Losing was inevitable when faced with such a power gap.
"Get some rest first, Little Mu. Once you've recovered, we'll start training again. This time, we'll turn that loss into a victory!"
What? Isn't this a bit much? Losing isn't the end of the world, thought Dratini.
But seeing the determination in Gabriel's eyes, it reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Once Dratini was fully rested, Gabriel took it to the plaza to start their training.
Following their usual routine, they began with physical conditioning before moving on to more targeted exercises.
"Mu, you've already noticed how skilled that Growlithe is. Its mastery of moves is far beyond ours!"
"Mu!" (That's true, it's really strong.)
Recalling the Growlithe, Dratini's expression turned serious. It was, after all, its first rival. Losing felt terrible—so much so that even Pokeblocks tasted bland.
"That Growlithe is fast and versatile. A head-on fight is almost impossible to win. To succeed, we need to rely on your Extreme Speed to create distance and then attack from range."
Growlithe's speed and variety of moves were undeniable. Dratini's Extreme Speed was its only reliable method to dodge its opponent's attacks. To win, they'd have to use it to maintain distance and strike with Dragon Rage from afar.
While Growlithe had ranged attacks as well, Dratini wasn't defenseless. Its Marvel Scale would boost its defenses, and its Shed Skin could heal status conditions.
Oh, and there was also Thunder Wave! Paralyzing Growlithe could limit its movements!
This plan seemed promising!
"Mu!" (That might actually work!)
But all of this relied on the Growlithe not revealing even greater strength. Gabriel was skeptical that such a straightforward strategy would be enough, but he shared it anyway to rebuild Dratini's confidence.
Afterward, he led Dratini to a special training area in the forest behind the mountains. Dratini looked around curiously.
"Mu?" (What are we doing here?)
"From now on, you'll be training in this forest."
A Pokémon's battle prowess depended on two factors: its fundamental stats and its mastery of moves. For a species with a base stat total of just 300, Dratini's physical stats were relatively low. Even though Gabriel had been training its endurance recently, it was still far behind that Growlithe.
This was also why Gabriel had agreed to Phoebe's battle challenge. Real combat was the ultimate test of training results.
The fact that Dratini had been able to repeatedly dodge Growlithe's attacks with Extreme Speed was proof of their progress.
But it wasn't enough!
Dratini had significant weaknesses in physical strength, speed, and explosiveness compared to Growlithe. To defeat it, they would need to improve in every aspect!
If Dratini could learn to control its body as precisely as a Pokémon Contest performer, it would make enormous strides in battle.
To achieve this, Gabriel had chosen this dense forest as their training ground. The trees here were unusually sturdy and far taller than those elsewhere.
He wasn't sure why the trees were so different, but after much thought, he concluded this was the ideal training spot.
To ensure Dratini's safety, Gabriel had asked his maid Elle to spray insect repellent to drive away Bug-type Pokémon. She also let her Garchomp roam around to scare off other wild Pokémon.
After making all the necessary preparations, Gabriel finally brought Dratini to the forest. Today's training task was simple: use Extreme Speed to dash back and forth between the trees, which would serve as obstacles to strengthen Dratini's physical resilience.
Dratini didn't need to worry about injuries—Elle was on standby with healing supplies and would intervene immediately if needed.
"Mu?" (Are we really doing this?)
Dratini looked at the dense maze of tree trunks, its eyes filled with apprehension. It knew its Extreme Speed well; if it sprinted full force, it would definitely crash into the trees. They looked incredibly sturdy—it would hurt a lot!
Gabriel could guess what Dratini was thinking. It had never undergone such grueling training before.
The battle with Growlithe had been a wake-up call for both of them.
As the saying goes: sweat more in training, bleed less in battle. If they didn't push themselves now, they'd only suffer more during real fights!