"Drapion versus Nidoking… interesting."
Blue watched the two Pokémon on the field with keen interest.
He had a core Nidoking himself, and after quickly running through possible strategies in his head, he felt that this matchup… wouldn't be easy.
Not impossible—but definitely uncomfortable.
After all, Nidoking excelled in close combat and had decent special attacks as well.
In the end, it would still come down to execution.
On the battlefield—
"Nidoking! We're going all out!"
Yellow shouted firmly.
Nidoking let out a deep roar. Under her unwavering resolve, power surged endlessly from within its body.
For Yellow's Pokémon, this kind of situation wasn't new anymore.
In fact, sometimes Nidoking and the others even wondered—
Was their Trainer really human?
But that didn't matter.
All they needed to do was fight, and claim victory for Yellow.
"Earthquake!"
"Earthquake!"
Almost simultaneously, Yellow and Dylan gave the same command.
RUMBLE—!
Nidoking and Drapion slammed the ground at the same time.
Two violent shockwaves spread outward, colliding fiercely in the center of the field before canceling each other out and fading away.
"Nidoking, High Horsepower!"
Yellow wasn't surprised that Earthquake hadn't worked.
Although her power amplified Nidoking as much as possible, it wasn't truly limitless.
With her current Viridian Forest power and will, this was the peak she could normally reach.
But even so—it was already terrifying.
This was the very level of enhancement that had helped her defeat Lance.
Nidoking roared and charged forward, massive legs pounding the ground.
The sheer momentum of the charging beast was overwhelming.
"Pin Missile." Dylan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Drapion's claws flashed white as it swung forward.
Streams of needle-like projectiles shot out like ribbons, raining down on Nidoking.
Bug-type Pin Missile was resisted by Nidoking—but Dylan never intended it to stop the charge outright.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Wave after wave of missiles slammed into Nidoking, explosions echoing nonstop.
Yet Nidoking didn't slow down.
A faint layer of earthy yellow energy wrapped around its body as it pushed straight through the barrage.
The distance closed rapidly.
Nidoking was already upon it.
"Night Slash—take it head-on!"
As the timing lined up, Dylan issued another command.
Black light flared around Drapion's claws as it thrust forward.
BAM—!
Night Slash vs. High Horsepower!
The two monsters collided violently.
Drapion didn't budge an inch.
Its claws locked firmly against Nidoking's shoulders.
After being weakened by Pin Missile, Nidoking couldn't even match Drapion evenly—
It was being pushed backward, step by step.
"Nidoking, Thunderbolt!"
Yellow noticed immediately and gave the order.
Nidoking growled, golden arcs of electricity crackling across its body.
"Stop it."
Dylan's lips curved upward slightly.
It wouldn't be that easy.
Drapion's eyes gleamed viciously.
At some point, its tail had already risen high—and now it stabbed down toward Nidoking's face.
"Nidoking!"
Yellow's pupils shrank.
SMACK!
The tail struck squarely against Nidoking's face.
Nidoking roared in pain as its massive body reeled backward, balance completely shattered.
Before the tail could withdraw, Drapion adjusted its angle and slammed Nidoking down, pinning its head to the ground.
BOOM!
Nidoking crashed heavily onto the battlefield.
The sudden fall dispersed the electricity it had gathered.
Thunderbolt failed.
This is bad!
Yellow's expression changed instantly.
That tail again—
She clenched her teeth, staring at Drapion's extended tail.
Always that tail.
"Earthquake!"
Drapion raised its forelegs and stomped down brutally.
RUMBLE—!
The ground shook violently.
The shockwave passed straight through Nidoking's body.
Nidoking let out a pained groan.
Earthquake hit it hard—it was super effective.
"Lift it."
Dylan grinned.
Drapion growled and exerted force with its tail.
To the shock of the entire stadium—
Nidoking was lifted straight into the air.
"Ah?!"
Ash froze in disbelief.
"Nidoking!!"
Yellow cried out.
"Nidoking! Thunderbolt!"
Yellow instantly understood Drapion's intent and shouted the command.
But Nidoking had just been ravaged by Earthquake—its entire body throbbed with pain.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easily lifted in the first place.
Still, hearing Yellow's voice, Nidoking forced itself to respond.
Electricity crackled faintly again.
"Drapion!"
Dylan didn't give it the chance.
With a violent swing of its tail, Drapion flung Nidoking downward.
BOOM—!
Nidoking was smashed brutally into the ground.
A surge of pain flooded its body, blood rushing, vision spinning.
Thunderbolt failed again.
"Earthquake!"
At the same time, Drapion struck the ground once more.
RUMBLE—!
The shockwave hit Nidoking at point-blank range.
Nidoking shut its eyes in agony.
It hurt—far too much.
"Iron Tail."
Dylan calmly issued the finishing command.
Before the Earthquake had even fully subsided, Drapion released its grip.
Its tail rose high, gleaming with metallic luster.
Steel-type—Iron Tail.
CRACK!
The tail slammed down cleanly.
A perfect hit.
When Drapion withdrew its tail, Nidoking lay motionless on the ground, eyes spinning.
"Nidoking is unable to battle. Drapion wins!"
The referee announced.
For a split second—
Silence.
Then the entire stadium exploded.
"What the hell was THAT?!"
"No, seriously—how can a Pokémon be THIS strong?!"
"That tail is insane! Pidgeot fell to it, and now Nidoking too?!"
"At least Pidgeot got a counterattack in—but Nidoking? Completely suppressed from start to finish!"
"AAAAH! I want a Drapion too! How can it be this broken?!"
"Is this really the same species as my Drapion?!"
The crowd went wild.
Everyone already knew Dylan's Drapion was strong.
Arcanine and Mega Pidgeot had proven that much.
But no one expected the fight against Nidoking to end like this.
Other than Earthquake and High Horsepower—
Did Nidoking even get to do anything else?
No.
It wasn't that it didn't want to—
It was completely locked down.
"The suppression is unreal," Wallace said, still stunned.
"This proves one thing—once this Drapion finds an opening, turning the tables is incredibly difficult."
"Exactly," Steven said solemnly.
"You can't just focus on its front. That tail is the real threat."
"But that's easier said than done."
Selene watched the ferocious Drapion with sparkling eyes, clearly intrigued.
"Its frontal combat ability isn't weak at all—that's the key."
"If you don't commit everything, you'll just get overwhelmed head-on."
"And the moment you slip up, that tail grabs you."
She frowned slightly.
"Yeah… that's a nightmare matchup."
She quickly ran through possible counters in her head.
"Overwhelming special attackers to break through head-on, Pokémon that specialize in status and control…"
"Or extremely fast and agile Pokémon to fight a high-speed battle."
But those were only theoretical solutions.
In practice—
Drapion's reactions were terrifyingly fast.
That tail moved like lightning.
And its raw power was enough to withstand most strong special attackers.
"Well," Steven said softly, looking back at the battlefield,
"I wonder how Yellow plans to deal with Drapion."
With Nidoking down, she had already lost two main Pokémon.
Arcanine was injured as well.
If Drapion wasn't dealt with soon, the situation would only get worse.
On the field—
Calm down. I have to stay calm.
After recalling Nidoking and offering a quiet word of comfort, Yellow took a deep breath, forcing her thoughts to settle.
She couldn't rush.
She had to fight calmly.
Her opponent was Dylan—of course there would be pressure.
She couldn't let that cloud her judgment.
Over and over, she steadied herself—
Until the restlessness and panic finally faded.
"Looks like your mindset hasn't collapsed. Good."
Dylan nodded approvingly.
"Sorry to embarrass myself, Gym Leader brother," Yellow said shyly.
"No need to feel awkward," Dylan replied with a smile.
"With your talent, you probably haven't faced many high-pressure situations like this before."
"But as an excellent Trainer, maintaining composure in any situation is a required lesson."
Yellow was a monster.
Even without her special Viridian Forest power, her natural talent alone was monstrous.
And monsters like that usually grew up under smooth, favorable conditions.
Situations with this much pressure?
Rare.
"Staying elegant under pressure," Dylan said gently,
"is something you still need to learn."
Hearing that, Giovanni and the others wore strange expressions.
So this was why he was pushing her so hard?