In the Black World —
Drake's face beamed. The opponent had his Dragonair use Rain Dance, only for his Dragonite to counter with Twister. Strategically, it was undoubtedly a major misstep. What if he boosted Water-type move power? Not to mention his Dragonite also knew Water-type moves, but Dragonair using Water moves as a non-Water type—even in rain, the power definitely wouldn't be high! Moreover, Dragonite resisted Water moves. Ash's command was surely a mistake!
However... was it possible for Ash to make such a low-level error? The answer, of course, was no!
"Use Dragon Rage to neutralize the Twister!"
"Draa~"
A soft draconic cry sounded from within the whirlwind, and a counter-spin formed inside it! The collision of the two vortexes canceled out the Twister completely.
"Dragon Rage... I didn't expect your Dragonair to have learned that powerful technique."
"Don't let my Dragonair's lack of evolution fool you; its level is very high!"
Ash wiped his nose with a proud look. Dragonair had been raised step by step from a Dratini. In fact, it seemed capable of evolving, but showed no desire to do so... as if it intended to grow stronger in this form...
On the field, with the Twister nullified by Dragon Rage, Dragonair took little damage. Moreover, the Rain Dance began to take effect. The falling rain drenched both trainers, but Ash paid it no mind. The stage was set!
"Sometimes, Rain Dance isn't for Water-type moves... it can be for Ice-type! Dragonair, Blizzard!"
Drake: !!
Damn! That's unreasonable! A Dragon using Ice moves?! You traitor to your type!
As the blue orb on Dragonair's neck lit up, an unnatural storm erupted across the battlefield! A freezing wind carrying fine snow swept toward Dragonite! The raindrops in the sky instantly turned into pellets of hail within the howling gale! Even the powdery snow mixed within the blizzard pelted Dragonite! The swirling snow and hail sealed off all of Dragonite's escape routes!
"Dragonite, Flamethrower!"
Drake sought to counter the Blizzard with fire, but... the range of Flamethrower was too limited. It blocked only a fraction of the icy onslaught; the rest of the frost and snow struck Dragonite, dealing severe damage!
...
[Lance: Beautiful! Turning the rainy weather into a hailstorm, and using Blizzard to direct all the hail at Dragonite while Dragonair remains unscathed!]
[Cynthia: Black Ash's ideas are as inventive as White Ash's, but more polished. This strategy... even if I were facing him, I'd likely be caught off guard.]
Cynthia was a recognized tactical master. Perhaps not the absolute strongest in raw power, but in dirty... no, in command skill and tactics, even Champions like Wallace or Lance would tip their hats! Each Champion had their focus, and Cynthia's greatest strength was tactics! To earn her praise showed how far Black Ash's tactical prowess had come.
[Iris: It's impressive... but doesn't a Dragon learning Ice moves feel like a betrayal of its type?]
[Lance: Hah? Who told you that? Being a Dragon-type means you should learn Ice moves! It broadens your coverage! One of the Dragon-type's greatest advantages is its wide movepool!]
[Lance: You've still got much to learn, little Iris!]
[Iris: That's what my cousin says! I'm still studying!]
Iris greatly admired her cousin Lance. Though often jokingly called the "Flying-type King," his mastery of Dragon Pokémon was truly exceptional. Probably no one in the world understood Dragon Pokémon better than he did. For Iris, who dreamed of becoming a Dragon Master, his words carried immense weight.
...
In the Black World —
Drake's Dragonite had just taken quadruple super-effective Ice damage from a major move like Blizzard! Even if Dragonair's level was inferior, the strike had landed squarely. All trace of joy had vanished from Drake's face. Gritting his teeth, he spoke gravely.
"So that's it, Ash. You realized Dragonair's level was lower than Dragonite's, so you set up weather first. Then you used the more powerful Dragon Rage to break the Twister, followed up with Blizzard to damage Dragonite, and crucially, Blizzard's wide area made it impossible to dodge. What a plan!"
Ash tipped his hat, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"When there's a strength gap, you have to rely on strategy! Dragonair, Ice Beam!"
"We're not afraid of a single-target Ice move! Dragonite, Flamethrower!"
Ice Beam wasn't an area attack like Blizzard. Drake was confident Dragonite could neutralize or even overpower it with Flamethrower! After suppressing this attack, it would be Dragonite's turn to counter! However... when the blazing flames met the frigid beam, the expected scene of fire melting ice did not occur. Instead, the two attacks locked in a stalemate!
"How is this possible?!" Drake cried out in disbelief.
His Dragonite was stronger than Dragonair. Fire beat Ice, and neither side was using a super-effective move! Even with Dragonite injured, that shouldn't drastically weaken its move's power! But... why were the flames and ice deadlocked?
Drip.
A clear raindrop fell on Drake's cheek, snapping him from his shock. He looked up instinctively—the clouds were still thick, pouring rain onto the field. The soft sand was dampening, gradually turning into mud! In that instant, he understood.
"In the rain... Rain weakens Fire-type moves! Damn it... how did I forget?!"
The earlier Blizzard had turned the rain to hail, so Dragonite's flames weren't weakened then. But now...
"Only realizing it now is too late, Mr. Drake! This victory... I'll claim it!"
With Ash's cry, the icy beam intensified, steadily overwhelming the flames! Drake urgently commanded Dragonite to cancel Flamethrower and evade, but in its haste, the move's cancellation left its wings grazed by the Ice Beam!
"It's over! Dragonair, Dragon Rush!"
"Draa~!"
Dragonair cried out, its body coiling before shooting skyward! As its speed built, a brilliant blue energy enveloped it, taking the form of a massive spectral dragon! The colossal maw opened wide, sharp fangs clearly visible! Before Dragonite's wide eyes, the blue wyvern tore through the air, swallowing it whole!
BOOM!!
A thunderous crash echoed. Dense smoke filled the arena. In Drake's anxious gaze, an orange figure tumbled from the smoke—but before relief could dawn, it plummeted down, slamming heavily into the muddy field! The mire cushioned the fall, but it was too late. Dragonite... had fainted. Ash had won the final victory!
Drake's eyes were dazed. It wasn't that he'd never lost. Even after obtaining Dragonite, he'd faced defeats before becoming Head Trainer. But... never like this. So completely outplayed! Whether as a Trainer or in terms of Pokémon strength, he had lost on both fronts...
...
[Drake: I lost... A moment of silence for my other self. Ah, running into a monster like Black Ash is truly shocking!]
[Drake: Honestly, I thought I'd lose, but figured it'd be a crushing defeat by Pikachu. After all, Black Ash's Pikachu is incredibly strong—even Elite Four Lorelei's main Pokémon could only manage a draw.]
[Drake: But... I never expected I couldn't even handle the rest of Black Ash's team. When he sent out six, not a single one of his Pokémon fainted.]
[Drake: I was clearly flustered in that final stretch. Otherwise, even after that Blizzard, Dragonite's level advantage should've given me a chance to turn it around.]
After all, the Elite Four were the Elite Four. Even if Drake's Pokémon had only just reached that tier, and even with a 4x weakness, a high-level Dragonite shouldn't have been fainted by one Blizzard! So, despite the type disadvantage, without Ash using Aura Fusion, Drake still had a chance! But... he was rattled. Choosing to clash Ice Beam with Flamethrower set the stage for the concluding Dragon Rush. After that series of super-effective hits, unless it held a Focus Sash, Dragonite was doomed!
[Lance: Normal. Understandable. Human nature.]
[Cynthia: After all, your Black World self had just lost five Pokémon, and your ace Dragonite was being suppressed by Black Ash's Dragonair. Even for a Champion, maintaining composure in that state would be hard.]
A Trainer's psychology was a crucial part of battle.
[Sabrina: Next, it's my turn in the Black World. Honestly, I'm quite curious what six Pokémon I have there... I don't even have six right now.]
Her comment reminded everyone—Black Sabrina's challenge wasn't over... and her match! Judging by the footage, Black Sabrina's strength was nothing to scoff at—at least on par with Drake's! And Drake had just been crushed! Could he possibly recover his mindset in time for the next day's battle?
[Drake: You people are devils...]
...
In the Black World —
With Dragonite's defeat, the referee announced Ash the victor. Even with his usual calm, Ash couldn't help but cheer. Champion... another championship! Even if it was a minor league... it was still a title! Amid the cheers, Ash hugged Misty and the others one by one. Seeing him act like an excited child, they smiled warmly. Only at times like this... did he seem his age. He was, after all, just a ten-year-old boy.
Afterward, Ash went to the Victory Palace, registered the six Pokémon he'd used, and received the winner's trophy. It resembled the Indigo Plateau Conference trophy, but smaller. And most importantly... it was made of solid gold! Of course, Ash still felt a pang at the thought of selling it...
That evening, Drake learned he'd be battling again the next day—against Ash's companion, a girl named Sabrina. Instantly, his mood soured. He hadn't yet shaken off the shadow of defeat, and now he had to fight again! And against the friend of the one who'd given him that trauma! But... as the Orange League Head Trainer, he had no choice. Besides, not everyone was a freak like Ash! His opponent was just a girl. A win here could lift his spirits!
As a result, the next day... Drake was crushed again! Sabrina used only five Pokémon: Drowzee, Kadabra, Espeon, Slowbro, and Mr. Mime—a full Psychic lineup. But that wasn't the main point. The point was... Sabrina never gave a single verbal command! She communicated entirely via telepathy. It was then Drake learned Sabrina was a psychic! A psychic Trainer and Psychic-type Pokémon combined were more than the sum of their parts! By the time only Dragonite remained, Sabrina had only deployed Slowbro! Her other four were largely untouched. As for her sixth... she never sent it out. After Dragonite defeated Drowzee and Mr. Mime, it finally fell to Kadabra. Thus, Sabrina won decisively, three to six! Drake was utterly demoralized. Defeated two days in a row, and both近乎碾压... Ultimately, aside from Dragonite, his other Pokémon were under-trained. He'd relied too heavily on his ace! Recognizing his weakness, Drake vowed to challenge Ash and Sabrina again someday—next time, perhaps as a passing Trainer!
As Sabrina smiled, holding the winner's trophy, the image on the Black World screen began to fade...
...
[Lance: Fin.]
[Steven: Fin.]
[Sabrina: Fin.]
[Drake: Fin my foot! It wasn't me who got beaten!! Even if I did look pretty pathetic.]
[Misty: Sabrina in that other world is so strong too...]
Though not at Elite Four level, her strength far surpassed the average Gym Leader! With her psychic powers augmenting them, her main Kadabra could briefly touch Elite Four-tier! Among the world's Gym Leaders, that was exceptionally rare.
[Sabrina: Indeed, much stronger than I am now...]
She had half a year more training time than her Black World counterpart, yet was weaker. Why? Clearly, it was because she lacked a driving goal! Black Sabrina's strength stemmed from love! In that case, she couldn't fall behind! Sabrina's initially mild affection for Ash began to deepen...
PS from the Author: Writing full 6v6 battles feels a bit lengthy. Took a while, but luckily there aren't many full 6v6 matches. Also, in the anime, Dragon Rage and Seismic Toss are treated as big, powerful moves—which I find a bit odd. So game mechanics like fixed damage become ultimate techniques in the anime. In the series, Ash's Gengar also knows Shadow Ball... speechless.
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