"Go!"
Lance's expression was extremely grave as he threw the Great Ball in his hand, drawing a brilliant arc through the air.
"Dragonite!!"
Its round yellow body and pair of tiny wings that seemed ill-suited to its size nevertheless whipped up a howling gale as it slowly landed.
Like Lance, Dragonite brimmed with fighting spirit. It stood before him with its arms crossed.
At this moment,
Lance and Dragonite's wills and convictions were perfectly synchronized.
"Contestant Lance's ace Pokémon, Dragonite, has entered the field!!"
The announcer's excited voice echoed throughout the arena.
As the Champion of the Johto Region, and with the Dragon Clan of Blackthorn City's reputation behind him, this Dragonite had risen to fame alongside Lance through countless battles. It had long become one of the Pokémon most associated with him.
"We're old friends. Say hello, Beedrill."
On the other side,
the Poké Ball in Xia Yan's hand also landed successfully.
From the red light emitted by the opened Poké Ball emerged a golden Beedrill crackling with lightning.
Its thunder-plasma wings vibrated, its twin needles covered in faint purple patterns rubbed together, and its scarlet compound eyes locked tightly onto Dragonite across from it.
Beedrill versus Dragonite!
When the two Pokémon's gazes met,
the same scene surfaced in both their minds, though the protagonists were different.
Back at the Power Plant in Goldenrod City, that had been the first time they fought together.
But at the time, the weak Weedle could only serve as support.
The somewhat stronger Dratini had taken on the main offensive role.
Now,
those two Pokémon, both once so weak, stood upon the world's grandest stage. As Xia Yan and Lance's strongest ace Pokémon, they battled beneath the gazes of tens of thousands.
No words or exchanged glances could express their hearts better than