"Gyarados, you must be furious about losing. Don't worry. Leave the rest to your teammates!" Looking at Dragonite on the ground and the fallen Gyarados, Liu Qing felt not discouraged, but even more fired up. After recalling Gyarados, he took out his fourth Poké Ball and murmured, "This is your first official match. Give it your all! Salamence, I'm counting on you!"
As Liu Qing threw the Poké Ball, Salamence appeared in midair, beating her striking scarlet wings. She gave Dragonite a draconic roar, her eyes blazing with the desire to fight. Provoked, Dragonite flapped its wings and rose to the same height. It answered with a low rumble, then beckoned to Salamence.
This was the Salamence Liu Qing had obtained from Hunter J. After all the care and training she had received, she now worked very well with him and was competing as one of his main fighters in Latios's place. After all, it was better not to use a Legendary Pokémon like Latios in an Elite Four Champion Challenge watched by so many people. Liu Qing did not want to become Champion only for others to claim he had won by relying on a Legendary Pokémon.
"So you've finally brought out Salamence. Huh? No, this isn't the same one..." At first, Lance assumed the Salamence in the air was the one he had seen with Liu Qing in Hoenn. A closer look, however, revealed something was off. Thinking back, he realized Liu Qing had never used this one in his previous battles. He understood that Liu Qing intended to use Dragonite as a training partner. Lance was neither angry nor dismissive. He merely sneered inwardly and issued the first command. "Dragonite, use Thunder!"
At the command, Dragonite's eyes burned with intensity. Golden electricity rapidly flickered around the two