Su Hao had mainly accepted Dande's challenge because he wanted to test how much Incineroar's strength had grown in actual combat after its special training with Little Soft.
It just so happened that Dande's Charizard had spent three days searching for a lost Trainer and was recovering its strength at the Pokémon Center, leaving it unable to battle. Otherwise, Su Hao would never have accepted this invitation.
He never took part in Pokémon Battles where his chance of winning was below one hundred percent.
Seeing Su Hao accept Dande's challenge, Opal picked up the parasol hanging nearby and said with a smile, "The Battle Arena should be repaired by now. Let's use Ballonlea Stadium directly."
With that, Opal got up and led the two of them there.
Bede silently followed from the side. He wanted to see whether Su Hao could still maintain the same overwhelming pressure he had displayed against Opal when facing Dande.
On the newly repaired Battle Arena, Su Hao and Dande stood on opposite sides, their Pokémon facing each other.
On Su Hao's side stood Incineroar, wearing an arrogant expression as it provocatively stared at Iron Hands.
Dande's side was more interesting.
It was a burly gorilla with leaf-like green hair, holding two drumsticks. A tree-stump drum it had somehow produced was placed before it.
The Drummer Pokémon, Iron Hands!
Su Hao remembered this Iron Hands vividly.
If Ash's Pikachu was the undisputed ace, reliably taking down two opponents in three matches, while Sirfetch'd and Dracovish were the pillars of the team who had endured immense pressure in adversity—
Then Iron Hands on Dande's team was unquestionably the king of knockouts.
Aside from being instantly defeated once by Alain's Mega Charizard X, this gorilla had been utterly unstoppable throughout the following two rounds, racking up