In the end, Dracovish was in grave danger of being melted down into a puddle of purple sludge by the corrosive venom.
Innumerable violet poison needles showered down like a torrential storm of pear blossoms, plunging straight into Dracovish's maw. Yet Dracovish began snapping its jaws shut in apparent delight, wearing an expression of supreme bliss as if savoring the greatest delicacy it had ever tasted.
Good. Eat up, then. Gorging yourself on it will only speed things along.
Seeing that Dracovish had walked right into his trap, Feng Che seized the moment. "Now, Naganadel! Use Dragon Tail!"
Naganadel raised its massive tail and swung it down violently toward Dracovish.
"Dracovish, dodge it!"
Dragon Tail was a move that, upon landing a hit, forced the target back into its Poké Ball and dragged another Pokémon onto the field. But Venomous Dragon only held three Poké Balls on his person. If Dracovish was recalled, he had no substitutes left to take its place.
Deploying an empty Poké Ball would instantly reveal the ruse to everyone present, exposing the fact that he was cheating in the tournament. And if he were disqualified for cheating, his grandfather would beat him half to death with that dragon-head cane.
Venomous Dragon stole a guilty glance toward the Second Elder, only to meet the old man's freshly opened, piercing eyes.
Don't tell me this brat rigged the match.
Every single one of the three Pokémon he sent out happens to be the strongest he owns.
Even I find it hard to believe his luck could be that convenient.
He probably loaded only three Poké Balls into the launcher, left the other three chambers empty, and rigged the mechanism by hand.
The Second Elder saw through his grandson's schemes in an instant.
He shot Venomous Dragon a venomous glare before his eyes darted away in calculation. He had only this one precious grandson; if Drayden caught wind of the cheating, the furious mayor might very well expel the boy from the clan entirely.
Fortunately, the Dragon Tail failed to hit Dracovish, slamming heavily into the hard ground instead.
"Naganadel, hit it with a continuous Dragon Tail!"
Since a single strike had missed, a relentless barrage would ensure that one blow eventually struck home.
"Dracovish, evade the Dragon Tail!"
Venomous Dragon's heart hammered against his ribs.
Each time the tail cracked down, Dracovish slipped past the impact by a hair's breadth. Yet just as Venomous Dragon began to breathe a sigh of relief, he noticed Dracovish's movements beginning to drag.
Its visage had taken on a sickly, livid cast. The poison was taking its toll.
That bastard played me!
Frustration burned through Venomous Dragon.
He saw right through my setup from the beginning and turned it against me.
He knew the virulent toxin lingering in Dracovish's body required Life Dew to stave off the poisoning.
He deliberately ordered Dragon Tail to pressure my Dracovish, shaving close with every single strike.
Forced into desperate evasion, Dracovish's violent exertion accelerated its blood circulation.
And with that surging bloodstream, Naganadel's venom spread straight through its entire body.
He never truly intended to expose my cheating with Dragon Tail—he just wanted to drive Dracovish into severe intoxication!
Venomous Dragon recognized this for what it was: an open gambit from Feng Che that left him no choice but to take the bait.
His face drained of color. If not for the mask concealing his features, every spectator would have seen his face contorted in humiliation and rage.
Dracovish's body grew increasingly sluggish, its massive jaws parting and shutting with waning strength. Finally, with a dull thud, it collapsed onto the arena floor, completely unable to battle.
"Match concluded on Field Four! The victor is the candidate codenamed Tyrant!"
After inspecting Dracovish's condition, the referee officially declared Feng Che the winner.
"Dracovish, return!"
A fossil hybrid like Dracovish was extraordinarily rare and valuable; Venomous Dragon could not bear to see it ruined here. He hurriedly recalled the fallen Pokémon, summoned a Noivern, and took to the air, rushing off toward the clan healers.
My useless grandson lost after all. I never expected him to stand a chance against that Tyrant fellow anyway.
The Second Elder fixed his sharp gaze upon Feng Che, his cane tapping against the stone floor in a steady, measured cadence, masking whatever thoughts churned behind his eyes.
A short distance away, a member of the Dragon Clan heard the rhythmic tapping and immediately pressed a hand to his earpiece, transmitting a message.
"Shadow One reporting. Young Master Venomous Dragon has suffered a total defeat. Initiate Plan B."
Though Shadow One kept his voice to a faint murmur, Mewtwo's heightened senses caught the transmission with ease.
Feng Che, we're in for quite a show, Mewtwo remarked with undisguised amusement. The Second Elder has laid down countless covert pawns across this Dragon Festival. He intends to seize power.
Drayden is far too shrewd an old fox to let the Second Elder succeed. He must have prepared contingencies of his own, Feng Che replied.
Otherwise, in the canon timeline, Iris would never have ascended to become the next Champion of the Unova region.
Before long, the outcomes across all four fields were settled.
Feng Che's next opponent was a cloaked figure bearing an Axew mask. However, the next round was scheduled to commence in two hours, granting the clan healers ample time to tend to the exhausted Pokémon.
Elsewhere in the Unova region, within the conference chamber of Team Plasma:
Six of the Seven Sages had gathered together, with only Zinzolin absent from their ranks.
"I have received fresh intelligence," said the silver-haired Giallo, addressing Ghetsis. "It appears that newly appointed Dragon-type Elite Four member has slipped into the Dragon Clan's festival."
"It matters not. The Dragon Festival is restricted strictly to members of the Unova Dragon Clan," Ghetsis dismissed, shaking his head. This was not the concern weighing on his mind. "If that Elite Four member is unmasked before the assembly, the enraged clan will tear him apart on the spot."
Team Plasma had long considered the Dragon Clan a thorn in their side, and the clan viewed Team Plasma with equal enmity. Yet internal strife had caused the once-mighty first family of Unova to steadily decline from its former glory.
"Now, all we must do is await N's return. Harnessing the might of Reshiram, we will march upon Opelucid City," Ghetsis declared, laying out his designs to the assembly. "We must unbind Kyurem from its seal beneath the city."
"Once Kyurem is unleashed, will it truly submit to our command?" Giallo asked, furrowing his brow in concern.
"It will. We possess the DNA Splicers—the very artifact Kyurem yearns for above all else," Ghetsis said with supreme confidence. "With the DNA Splicers in our grasp, we can crush Opelucid City and erase that wretched Dragon Clan from the face of Unova forever."
"Furthermore, according to reports from my embedded informants within the clan, their Second Elder intends to launch a coup during the festival. He has assembled a massive force to seize control."
"Our foremost obstacle at present remains the Dragon Clan. Aside from that newcomer to the Elite Four, the remaining members of the Pokémon League's Elite Four have already been in contact with me."
"They have assured me they will not intervene in the conflict between the Dragon Clan and Team Plasma."
"In fact, they would like nothing more than to watch us tear each other to shreds."
Ghetsis sneered coldly at the gathered Sages.
"I have already dispatched operatives to locate that wayward son of mine."
"The moment he returns, we strike Opelucid City without delay."