The battle was won, but it had been a tough victory. Without using the Peak Elite Experience Card, Dragonite would never have been able to defeat Salamence.
It wasn't that Dragonite was weak; the gap in their levels was just too large.
Dragonite wasn't even at the level of an Elite Pokémon, so how could it possibly defeat a Salamence on par with a pseudo-Champion?
Without a handicap or the use of an external boost, there was no way Dragonite could have won.
After defeating Salamence, Julian decided to forgo further challenges on Dragon Mountain. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he simply lacked the strength to continue.
The final guardian of Dragon Mountain was a pseudo-Champion Pokémon.
With the Peak Elite Experience Card used up—his only one—there was no point in pressing on. He had no choice but to give up the challenge.
When he first attempted Dragon Mountain, Julian had been hopeful about completing it. He never expected the second-to-last stage to be this difficult.
Still, he wondered how much time Dragonite would now be allowed to soak in the mountain's Dragon Pool as a reward.
Gible gazed at the resting Dragonite with admiration written all over its face. The power Dragonite had just displayed was leagues beyond what its parents could manage.
Gible: "You're amazing!"
Dragonite: "Metagross is the real boss"
As the two Pokémon exchanged words, Julian handed Dragonite a Full Restore.
As for Salamence? Julian decided to leave it frozen for now. After all, with its strength, it wouldn't freeze to death. It would likely break free soon anyway.
A few minutes later, Salamence broke out of the ice sculpture. Its expression was grim—it had lost the battle, and it wasn't happy about it.
Salamence: "How old are you? I'm already 500 years old."
Noticing Dragonite's youthful energy, Salamence was curious about its age. To be so young and yet capable of defeating it was impressive.
Dragonite: "A year and a half."
By Julian's calculations, it had indeed been a year and a half since he received the Dratini egg during his third year of high school.
Salamence: ⊙０⊙
'A year and a half? I, a five-century-old veteran, lost to a kid not even two years old?'
Salamence didn't think Dragonite was lying. Its youthful aura was evident, and as a pseudo-Legendary Dragon-type, Dragonite had no reason to deceive about such matters.
For pseudo-Legendaries, growth was naturally slow.
In the wild—even in Dragon's Den—a Dragon-type Pokémon at a year and a half old would still be considered an infant.
Salamence recalled how it had taken 50 years to evolve from a Bagon into a Shelgon, and another 60 years to evolve into a Salamence.
For a Dragon-type Pokémon with a long lifespan, Salamence's 500 years were roughly equivalent to a human in their early thirties—prime adulthood.
Under natural growth conditions, Pokémon of any type matured slowly. But pseudo-Legendaries were the slowest of all.
With human help, however, Pokémon could grow tens or even hundreds of times faster than their wild counterparts, achieving combat readiness in a fraction of the time.
Before the existence of human Trainers, wild Pokémon would often sneer:
Wild Pokémon: "We despise Pokémon like you who throw yourselves into the arms of humans. Traitors."
After the rise of Trainers, however, their tone changed.
The relationship between Trainers and Pokémon is one of mutual benefit. Trainers help Pokémon grow faster, saving them an immense amount of time, while Pokémon help Trainers gain social status.
"Salamence, we've decided to give up on the challenge. When can you take us to the Dragon Pool?" Julian asked.
He had already given Salamence some medicine to restore its stamina.
Salamence: "I'll take you there now"
Despite receiving help, Salamence's attitude toward Julian remained sour. Even after taking the restorative medicine, its expression stayed grumpy.
Salamence: 'Damn it, only a year and a half old... I actually lost to a one-and-a-half-year-old baby. Thankfully, no other dragons know about this'
All it wanted now was to send Julian and his Dragonite on their way.
Since Julian had given up the challenge on Dragon Mountain, he no longer needed to climb further. Riding atop Dragonite, he followed Salamence toward the mountain's summit.
On the way, they passed through the territory of the pseudo-Champion Dragon Pokémon, but it was nowhere to be seen.
At an altitude of 10,000 meters, the wind was bone-chilling and cut like knives against the skin. Julian shielded his face with Aura, preventing frostbite or injury from the cold.
The temperature had plummeted to around -30 degrees Celsius.
Julian had already recalled Gible into its Poké Ball. Its level was far too low to survive in such extreme conditions.
Salamence: "We're here. Just head forward on your own."
Salamence stopped at the edge of a cliff, pointing toward a flat path ahead. Without waiting for any questions, it flew off immediately.
Julian and Dragonite followed Salamence's instructions, gliding slowly in the indicated direction. The Dowsing Machine showed a massive red dot ahead, confirming that the Dragon Pool was nearby.
After a ten-minute flight, they arrived.
The Dragon Pool wasn't very large, with an area of about 100 cubic meters. The water was a vibrant emerald green.
This wasn't ordinary water—it was liquefied Dragon-type energy. Only in places with incredibly high energy concentrations could gaseous energy compress into a liquid state.
However, standing near the Dragon Pool was another Dragonite, staring directly at Julian's Dragonite.
Pokémon: Dragonite (Dragon/Flying)
Level: 96
Potential: Purple
Ability: Inner Focus
Held Item: Dragon Fang
Gender: Male
Moves: Hurricane, Wing Attack, Wrap, Roost, Leer, Dragon Tail, Twister, Thunder Wave, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rush, Safeguard, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Slam, Rain Dance, Hyper Beam, Icy Wind, Hydro Pump, Flamethrower, Substitute, Iron Tail, Wide Guard, Breaking Swipe, Agility
TMs: None
Egg Moves: Extreme Speed, Draco Meteor, Dragon Dance, Outrage
---
'Oh, come on! This is a Champion-level Dragonite—and not even at the early Champion stage'
The Dragon's Den, as a special Advanced secret realm, wasn't lacking in Champion-level Pokémon. What intrigued Julian was the fact that this Dragonite seemed to be waiting specifically for them.
Moreover, the way this Champion-level Dragonite was looking at his own Dragonite felt... odd.
Julian: 'They're both male. No way its tastes are that unconventional, right?'
Julian's Dragonite also seemed curious, observing the Champion Dragonite without showing much stress despite the vast gap in strength.
Champion Dragonite: "Son"
Julian: (⊙_⊙)?
Dragonite: "Dad?"
Julian was utterly dumbfounded. He thought his Dragonite might get angry—after all, who would willingly accept a random dragon claiming to be their father?
Besides, his Dragonite had been with him since it was an egg. Where would a father even come from? If there 'was' a dad, wasn't 'he' the one?
But to his surprise, Dragonite agreed without hesitation.
As the realization struck, Julian's eyes widened. Had he been underestimating this goofy dragon of his all along? On the surface, it acted clueless, but underneath, it was clearly scheming.
Think about it: if a Champion-level Dragonite wanted to call you his son, would you say no?
Edward-Dragonite-Newgate: "Be my son!"
Julian's Dragonite: "Dad!"
Julian was floored. His Dragonite had made it big. With a Champion-level dad now, didn't that mean this Dragon's Den secret realm was practically theirs to roam freely?