Lance.
The world's greatest Flying Master!
Dragon Master…
Kanto Elite Four, Johto Champion.
So many illustrious titles were attached to this man. In his previous life, he had been someone Tetsuya could only admire from afar. Forget battling him, even meeting him once had been incredibly difficult.
Lance had already become one of the Kanto Elite Four in his early twenties, and he was even the strongest among them. His current level had undoubtedly already reached the level of a Gym Leader.
The reason he had never become a Gym Leader was simply that he did not need to.
Backed by two powerful clans, with both of his parents being members of the Elite Four, he had access to endless resources. There was no need for him to use a Gym Leader position as a milestone. He could advance directly toward the level of the Elite Four.
The next morning, Tetsuya and Ash arrived at the grassy hills behind Pallet Town where they had battled the day before, but Gary and Lance were nowhere to be seen.
Ash immediately began complaining, "Gary's such a coward! Just as I thought, he didn't dare come. Admitting defeat like this is so boring~"
"Let's wait," Tetsuya said as he stood on the hilltop, looking out at the scenery.
Naturally, there were still plenty of battles taking place today, but they were all individual battles. This time, Tetsuya only sent out three Pokémon. Golurk had yet to appear because he was conserving its energy for the battle against Lance.
"Lance, please! You have to help me today. Otherwise, that guy Ash is going to mock me to death!"
Gary could be seen pulling a young man with bright red hair up the hillside with both hands. The young man looked rather reluctant.
The red-haired young man, around fifteen or sixteen years old, already had well-defined features. He carried himself with an upright and heroic bearing. He was none other than Lance, the running gag Flying/Dragon Master who would become famous throughout the world over the next ten years.
"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to challenge someone so suddenly?" Lance asked.
"It's fine! Aren't Pokémon Trainers supposed to battle other Trainers? Besides, you're just teaching an arrogant guy a lesson," Gary said as he continued pulling Lance along.
At last, they arrived where Ash and Tetsuya were.
"Ashy-boy, are you ready to admit defeat~!?" Gary immediately taunted Ash as soon as he arrived.
"Gary, cut it out! We'll know after we battle!" Ash shot back. The two of them were locked in a head-on clash, neither willing to give an inch.
'We…?'
"Tetsuya, right? These two are just fooling around. There's no need for us to take it seriously," Lance said to Tetsuya.
Tetsuya nodded. "They are just two children fooling around. Still, I've heard plenty about the 'famous' Lance. You've already won League Championships in both Hoenn and Johto, haven't you? Battling an elite Trainer like you is truly exhilarating. Let's settle this with a single battle. We'll both use our strongest Pokémon, so please don't hold back."
"Sigh… very well. We're both Trainers, so let's have a battle with no regrets!" Lance nodded. He suddenly realized that ever since winning two League Championships, he had rarely accepted ordinary Pokémon battles.
Deep down, Lance had already begun to feel different from ordinary Pokémon Trainers. Yet Tetsuya's challenge reminded him what it felt like to simply be a Trainer again.
"Golurk."
"Dragonite!"
Tetsuya and Lance threw their Poké Balls at the same time.
'As expected, it was Dragonite.' Tetsuya thought to himself that Lance was clearly planning to go all-out. Only an opponent like this could truly showcase Golurk's might!
The two Pokémon locked eyes, each sensing the overwhelming aura emanating from the other.
"Dragonite, take flight!"
"Golurk, keep up!"
Although Dragonite had a stout appearance, its wings were broad and powerful. With a single flap, it soared into the sky, while Golurk blasted after it with rocket propulsion from its feet.
Golurk's flying speed was already something few Pokémon could match, yet it still could not catch up to Dragonite. In the blink of an eye, the two had already disappeared from everyone's sight. All that remained visible were a yellow and a white point of light colliding high in the sky.
"Awww~ I can't see them anymore!" Ash said anxiously.
"Yeah, it's such a shame to miss a battle this exciting…" Gary said as he shaded his eyes and looked toward the sky.
Tetsuya and Lance exchanged glances. From this brief exchange alone, each could see just how powerful the other's Pokémon was. Neither was certain of defeating the other. Both Pokémon were experienced warriors that had fought countless battles, requiring very little command from their Trainers.
Seeing how calm and composed the other remained, each secretly admired the other. For Tetsuya, however, it was more about gauging the level Lance had reached at such a young age; compared to his own in his past life, it was nothing.
Dragonite and Golurk continued exchanging punches as they fought all the way down from the sky. Neither gave an inch, but Golurk ultimately had the advantage thanks to its stone body combined with its Iron Fist Ability.
As the two Pokémon remained locked in a stalemate in midair, the bodies of Dragonite and Golurk gradually came clearly into view.
Lance naturally noticed Dragonite's swollen fists. He realized Dragonite had been fighting directly against Golurk's greatest strength, and he immediately began planning how to change tactics.
"Dragonite, Dragon Rush!"
Having already planned his counterattack, Lance gave the command. Dragonite let out a mighty roar and shot upward. A lake-blue Dragon-type energy gathered around its body.
As Dragonite dived toward Golurk, the Dragon-type energy formed into a gigantic dragon's maw that was about to swallow Golurk whole.
"High Horsepower!"
Tetsuya did not dare let his guard down. Although Ground-type moves had no effect on Dragonite, he only intended to use it to counter the force of Dragon Rush.
Golurk was pushed backward a certain distance before its rocket propulsion burst to full power, while its own energy enveloped its body.
It was like a clash of titans!
Booooom!
A deafening explosion rang out as the two Pokémon collided.
By now, many Trainers had gathered to watch the battle. Naturally, most of them had come to see Dragonite, Kanto's famous pseudo-legendary Pokémon. Next, they wanted to see Lance, Kanto's rising golden boy.
As for Tetsuya… hmph, he was simply that arrogant kid from yesterday!
"Aqua Tail."
Before the smoke from the collision had even dispersed, Lance had already prepared his next move. It was obvious this combination had been practiced for a long time.
A spiraling stream of water burst from the smoke and struck Golurk directly. This time, Golurk was genuinely caught off guard and was smashed into the ground!
"So your Dragon Rush was only meant to distract your opponent. Your real follow-up was the surprise attack with Aqua Tail," Tetsuya said.
"T-That's right. I can't believe you saw through it…" Lance said in astonishment.
"Excellent," Tetsuya praised before continuing, "Golurk, Heavy Slam."
"Dragonite, meet it with Hurricane!"
Lance gave the order, and Dragonite beat its wings, sending out violent winds that slashed at Golurk like countless blades, trying to halt its advance.
The silver-white metallic energy surrounding Golurk gradually began to dissipate. However, Golurk had conquered even the glacier falls thousands of meters high with its raw strength.
A mere Hurricane was far from enough to stop it!