"Deino, are you ready?"
"Dei–nah~"
Deino nodded calmly, signaling that she was fully prepared.
Seeing her assume a battle stance, Ethan smiled faintly.
"Then let the battle begin."
The moment Ethan's voice fell, Deino showed clear combat experience.
Her mouth snapped open, and dense Dragon-type energy rapidly condensed.
"Dei!"
In the next instant, a dragon-shaped wave of energy burst forth, charging straight toward Tyrantrum.
Dragon Pulse.
"That power is impressive," Ethan muttered.
"No wonder the system ranked her as a golden-tier opportunity."
"But attacks like that—"
"They won't hurt Tyrantrum."
"Tyrantrum—Dragon Dance!"
"Then—Dragon Claw!"
At Ethan's command, Tyrantrum threw his head back and roared.
A draconic rhythm surged through his body as he began the ancient Dragon Dance, while dense Dragon-type energy wrapped around his powerful legs.
"…What?!"
"Two moves at once?"
From the sidelines, Victor Stone was visibly stunned.
Executing two techniques simultaneously wasn't unheard of—but it was something only high-level professional Trainers could reliably pull off.
And yet Ethan had already taught Tyrantrum how to do it.
That was absurd.
As Dragon Pulse rushed toward him, Tyrantrum sneered.
"ROAAAR—!"
With a thunderous leap, Tyrantrum launched himself into the air and struck—
Dragon Claw, delivered with his legs.
Unlike most Dragon-types, Tyrantrum's forelimbs were relatively underdeveloped.
But his hind legs?
They were monstrous.
Ethan had deliberately redesigned Tyrantrum's fighting style—discarding weaknesses and amplifying strengths.
Using his legs for Dragon Claw.
At first, it was just a theory.
But Tyrantrum's learning ability was terrifying.
In less than a week, he had fully mastered it.
Tyrantrum weighed over a ton, yet could leap more than two meters into the air.
That alone proved how horrifying his leg strength truly was.
Now add Dragon Dance amplification—
The result was brutal.
The moment Tyrantrum's clawed kick connected, the incoming Dragon Pulse shattered instantly, dispersing into nothingness.
"ROAAAR—!"
Tyrantrum roared triumphantly.
This was his first real battle.
And he was crushing it.
"Good job, Tyrantrum," Ethan said calmly.
"But don't get careless. Maintain momentum."
"Use Ancient Power."
Tyrantrum nodded.
The ground beneath him exploded.
Chunks of stone tore themselves free and rose into the air.
"ROAAAR—!"
At the same time, Ancient Power's secondary effect triggered—
His primal bloodline awakened.
Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, Speed—everything surged.
In that moment, Tyrantrum no longer felt like a mere Commander-tier Pokémon.
The oppressive aura radiating from him rivaled that of a Dominant-class Dragon.
Even Dragonite, Garchomp, and Hydreigon widened their eyes.
The sheer tyrannical presence rolling off Tyrantrum made the entire Cloudpeak Dragon Valley tremble.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Eight massive stones shot forward.
At the same time, jagged rocky scales fired outward.
Yes—
While using Ancient Power, Tyrantrum had also unleashed Scale Shot.
This was Ethan's design.
Ancient Power alone hit hard—but its suppression wasn't absolute.
Scale Shot filled that gap with relentless pressure.
Power plus suppression.
A perfect combination.
For most Pokémon, merging techniques like this would be nearly impossible.
But Tyrantrum?
Ethan barely had to teach him.
He understood instantly.
The barrage ended.
Deino was slammed into the ground, unable to withstand the overwhelming assault, collapsing in a weakened heap.
Tyrantrum prepared to attack again—
"Enough, Tyrantrum."
"The battle is over."
Ethan's voice cut through the tension.
Tyrantrum froze, clearly frustrated.
He had just finished warming up.
But despite his dissatisfaction, he immediately stopped.
Then—unexpectedly—
Tyrantrum walked over to Deino and lowered his massive head.
"Rooa~"
He gently checked on her, asking if she was hurt.
The tyrant of moments ago now looked… absurdly gentle.
Though Deino ached all over, Dragon-types were naturally resilient.
She wasn't seriously injured.
Seeing Tyrantrum's concern, she shook her head slightly.
Tyrantrum finally relaxed.
But just as he turned to return to Ethan—
"Dei–nah~"
Deino stood up and suddenly leaned into Tyrantrum, rubbing against him shyly.
Ethan blinked.
Then froze.
Because he knew exactly what that meant.
Among Dragon-types—
This was a courtship gesture.
Moments ago, Tyrantrum had beaten her into the ground.
And now she was… smitten?
Ethan stared at Deino with a complicated expression.
"…Wait."
"…Is she into this?"
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