"Well? This Vanilluxe is quite something, isn't it?" the Second Elder bragged, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"Ah, but I never explicitly stated that we had to use Dragon-type Pokémon," he added slyly, his tone dripping with affected, theatrical smugness.
He had intentionally deployed an Ice-type Pokémon, specifically targeting Feng Che's public reputation as a Flying- and Dragon-type Elite Four member.
"How concurrent. It just so happens that my strongest Pokémon isn't a Dragon-type either," Feng Che replied smoothly. "Apologies, but I am an Elite Four Trainer of many types. Come on out, Incineroar!"
Feng Che released Incineroar. The moment the muscular, imposing Heel Pokémon materialized on the battlefield, the Second Elder's face turned completely green.
"Hmph! To think you were hiding your true colors so deeply," the Second Elder spat, utterly exasperated. His intelligence reports had shown that Feng Che possessed numerous Dragon- and Flying-type Pokémon. He thought he had mapped out Feng Che's entire roster, only to realize that what he knew was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Where on earth did this brat get the resources to cultivate so many high-level Pokémon? The Second Elder felt a sudden surge of bitter jealousy, muttering sourly to himself.
"Vanilluxe, use Ice Beam! Turn this entire Dragon's Den into a frozen wasteland!"
The moment the words left the Second Elder's mouth, Vanilluxe unleashed a barrage of Ice Beams. The freezing spheres of energy shattered in midair, instantly causing a heavy blizzard to blanket the sky. Countless snowflakes cascaded down, making the native wild Pokémon of the Dragon's Den grow restless and agitated.
Zekrom, however, unleashed an endless storm of raging lightning to shield the surrounding Pokémon. Golden arcs of electricity tore through the sky above the cavern, flash-melting the heavy snow into a torrential downpour that washed over the valley.
"If you want to trigger a stampede in the Dragon's Den, you'll have to go through me first," Feng Che said, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Dammit. I wanted to incite a wild Pokémon riot to keep the Dragon Clan distracted, the Second Elder thought, frustrated. Forget it. With Zekrom hovering right there, watching my every move, I shouldn't overcomplicate things. Vanilluxe is strong, but my ultimate ace is still Drampa.
Feng Che shouldn't have any Champion-level Pokémon; otherwise, he'd be called the Champion instead of an Elite Four member. There is an insurmountable chasm between a Champion-level and an Elite Four-level Pokémon. Even if you have a Pokémon at the absolute peak of the Elite Four rank, that final step is a massive hurdle. If the quality of your Pokémon falls short, trying to make up for it with numbers simply won't work.
After running the calculations in his head, the Second Elder decided to let Feng Che have his moment of glory before publicly crushing him.
"Incineroar, turn this ground into molten magma!"
Having sent out one of his main partners, Feng Che was completely unconcerned about losing. The Second Elder's ultimate trump card was nothing more than that Champion-level Drampa, which had additionally awakened Psychic-type traits.
But Feng Che possessed a Champion-level Gengar, leaving him with zero anxiety. The moment he had stepped into the Dragon's Den, his Gengar had fully awakened from its deep slumber. Its belly, previously bloated like a full-term pregnancy from absorbing energy, had slimmed down considerably. Gengar's strength had officially broken through to the mid-tier Champion rank.
"Vanilluxe, create an ice mirror landscape!"
Endless frost erupted from Vanilluxe's two small mouths. In the air, countless ice walls resembling reflective mirrors began to manifest, shimmering in and out of view.
The Second Elder sat back in a chair, his cane tapping rhythmically against the ground, bearing a striking resemblance to Pryce commanding a battle. He was relaying his tactical directives entirely through the clicks of his cane. Upon hearing the patterned taps, Vanilluxe melted seamlessly into the mirrors.
"This is my Vanilluxe's signature technique—the Mirror Flower, Water Moon! Within this multi-layered labyrinth of ice mirrors, you will never find its true form," the Second Elder boasted with a smug grin. The smile crinkled his face into a web of deep wrinkles, making him look exactly like a Shar Pei.
"Incineroar, it seems someone is looking down on you. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't take that sitting down."
The moment Feng Che's voice fell, massive pillars of fire erupted from Incineroar's body. The roaring, blazing white flames radiated such immense, suffocating heat that the solid earth beneath them instantly liquefied into a flowing river of magma.
Up above, the ice mirrors quickly dissolved into scalding water under the intense thermal radiation. The vast array of mirrors that had populated the sky just moments ago was instantly decimated, leaving barely any standing.
The Second Elder looked up and caught sight of Feng Che's mocking expression. The boy's lips were silently forming the words: Is that it?
The Second Elder felt as if he had been physically slapped across the face.
"Incineroar, those lonely ice mirrors left in the sky look far too miserable. Shatter them completely with Flamethrower!"
A sequence of fiery torrents erupted from Incineroar's flame belt, bursting in midair into a downpour of countless flaming arrows. The projectiles effortlessly pierced right through the remaining ice mirrors. Vanilluxe scrambled out of the breaking reflections in utter panic, its backside smoking heavily as if it had been set on fire.
Looking around, Vanilluxe realized its surroundings had been utterly transformed into a volcanic hellscape. Molten magma bubbled and flowed across the terrain, sending thick plumes of sulfurous smoke into the air.
"Incineroar, use Fire Blast!"
Bathed in the surrounding lava, Incineroar channeled the immense thermal energy of the battlefield into its body. A colossally oversized, kanji-shaped blast of roaring flame surged violently toward Vanilluxe.
Seeing the gargantuan Fire Blast hurtling its way, Vanilluxe's eyes nearly popped out of its head. Spurred by a frantic command from the Second Elder, it summoned every ounce of its courage and exhaled a desperate Blizzard.
However, the moment the heavy snow collided with the advancing magma-infused flames, it vanished with a pathetic hiss, instantly vaporized into a puff of white steam.
The surrounding members of the Dragon Clan watched the display, feeling a wave of secondhand embarrassment for the old man.
"Elite Four Feng Che's Incineroar is terrifyingly strong! It's making the Second Elder's Pokémon run like a scalded Ekans."
"The Second Elder definitely thought he had this mapped out. He sent out an Ice-type specifically because Feng Che is known for Dragon and Flying-types."
"Who would've thought Feng Che would turn around and drop a powerhouse Incineroar on him? Seeing the Second Elder's theatrical posturing get instantly shut down is hilarious. His face must be burning right now."
"Hahaha!"
The clan members, who had been suppressed by the Second Elder's faction for the longest time, felt an immense sense of satisfaction watching the old man's face warp with frustration.
"Feng Che's strength is immense. To my eyes, his power is already bordering on the Champion level," Drayden observed gravely, his eyelids twitching slightly.
He had always felt quite proud of Iris, the successor he had poured so much blood and sweat into raising. But comparing her to Feng Che was like comparing the dirt on the ground to the heavens above.
Beside him, Vio's smile was so wide his mouth could barely close. He had essentially stumbled into an incredibly talented grandson whose strength was already knocking on the door of the Champion rank.
"Of course he is! That's my bloodline right there," Vio boasted proudly.
Even though they hadn't conducted a paternity test yet, and Feng Che didn't bear a striking resemblance to Feng Lu, Vio's sheer intuition told him that Feng Che was undeniably Feng Lu's boy.
"It seems my elite genetics skipped a generation," Vio muttered, casting a sideways glance at Feng Lu, who had been brought back by Kommo-o. The grown man was currently weeping like a helpless toddler, a sight that made Vio's blood boil with irritation.