Aboard the five-masted Black Pearl, Gary easily took the first round of his battle against Drake thanks to Togetic's outstanding performance.
Drake took a deep breath, shaking his head with a wry smile. "To think I let someone lead me around by the nose. I still haven't trained enough."
Gary waved a hand and offered some casual reassurance. "Well, don't worry about it. This sort of thing happens all the time."
"But I haven't conceded yet." Drake raised his head. "Now it's time to get serious! Salamence! Go!"
"Raaagh!" A savage dragon roar rang out. Salamence crouched on all fours, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Young Master Mao grew serious. A true Elite Four-level Dragon Pokémon certainly had an impressive aura.
"After all that training, it's time to get back into form." Young Master Mao tightened his grip on his Poké Ball. "Dragonite, I choose you!"
"Awooo!" With a long dragon cry, Dragonite appeared, his claws round, his chin round, and his body covered in golden Dragon Scales.
Boom! Golden flames of light burned quietly around him. Dragonite gazed imperiously at his opponent.
"Urgh..." Salamence stiffened all over. In a rare occurrence, he actually flinched!
"This is!" Shock filled Drake's eyes. "Higher-order suppression? Dragonite can actually exert higher-order suppression on a Salamence at the same level?"
"My Dragonite awakened Dragon Soul True Form in the Hollow in Blackthorn City. He seems to have picked up a trace of an ancient Dragon God's draconic might as well," Young Master Mao explained calmly.
After such a long period of integration, little Dragonite had completely mastered his power.
Unlike the creamy yellow bodies of ordinary Dragonite, his glittering golden scales looked decidedly "precious."
"Whew! What a perfect opponent!" Drake's eyes flashed brilliantly. No Dragon-type Pokémon Trainer could turn down a battle with this little