"An unexpected Metronome, an unexpected Blissey!" Lance gazed gently at the Poké Ball holding Kingdra. After putting it away, he took a deep breath to soothe his nerves after the maddening combination of Liu Qing and Blissey. He took out his fifth Poké Ball and looked up at Liu Qing, his eyes shining. "Liu Qing, you caught the Archen you used at the start in Unova, didn't you?"
"Yes!" Liu Qing nodded. Watching Lance and the Poké Ball in his hand, he had a vague idea of what Lance was about to say.
"The Pokémon I'm using next was one I caught while carrying out a mission in Unova two years ago. This battle will also be its first official match..." As he spoke, Lance tossed the Poké Ball without the slightest hesitation and shouted, "Carry Kingdra's regrets with you! Go, Druddigon!"
As the Poké Ball opened, white light poured out and landed on the ground, revealing a Pokémon with a red face, a deep blue body, sawtooth-like wings, and extremely coarse skin studded with red spikes. At the same time, white light appeared across the battlefield, forming more than a dozen rocks that struck Druddigon from all sides. They exploded with a thunderous boom, scattering clouds of dust. A roar immediately followed, its tremendous force dispersing the dust and revealing the ferocious-looking Druddigon again. It seemed entirely unaffected by Stealth Rock.
"Druddigon, huh..." Unova Champion Alder rubbed the stiff stubble on his chin as he watched Lance's Pokémon, then tossed a Poké Ball. A Druddigon appeared beside him. "Let's see how strong a Druddigon raised by you, the Dragon-type Champion, really is!" he said eagerly.
"It probably has Rough Skin. As long as Blissey's Metronome doesn't draw a physical attack, we can ignore it!" Liu Qing studied the opposing