The battle was won, but it had been a tough victory. Without using the Peak Elite Experience Card, Dragonite would never have been able to defeat Samence.
It wasn't that Dragonite was weak; the gap in their levels was just te.
Dragonite wasn't even at the level of ae Pokémon, so how could it possibly defeat a Samen par with a pseudo-Champion?
Without a handicap or the use of aernal boost, there was no way Dragonite could have won.
After defeating Samence, Julian decided to further challenges on Mountain. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he simply cked the strength to tinue.
The final guardian on Mountain seudo-Champion Pokémon.
With the Peak Elite Experience Card used up—his only ohere was no point in pressing on. He had no choice but to give up the challenge.
When he first attempted Dragon Mountain, Julian had been hopeful about pleting it. He never expected the sed-to-st stage to be this difficult.
Still, he wondered how much time Dragonite would now be allowed to soak in the mountain's Dragon Pool as a reward.
Gible gazed at the resting Dragoh admiration written all over its face. The power Dragonite had just dispyed was leagues beyond what its parents could manage.
Gible: "You're amazing!"
Dragonite: "Metagross is the real boss"
As the two Pokémon exged words, Julian handed Dragonite a Full Restore.
As for Samence? Julian decided to leave it frozen for now. After all, with its strength, it wouldn't freeze to death. It would likely break free soon anyway.
A few mier, Samence broke out of the ice sculpture. Its expression was grim—it had lost the battle, and it wasn't happy about it.
Samence: "How old are you? I'm already 500 years old."
Notig Dragonite's youthful energy, Samence was curious about its age. To be so young a capable of defeating it was impressive.
Dragonite: "A year and a half."
By Julian's calcutions, it had indeed been a year and a half since he received the Dratini egg during his third year of high school.
Samence: ⊙０⊙
'A year and a half? I, a five-tury-old veteran, lost to a kid not even two years old?'
Samence didn't think Dragonite was lying. Its youthful aura was evident, and as a pseudo-Legendary Dragon-type, Dragonite had no reason to deceive about such matters.
For pseudo-Legendaries, growth was naturally slow.
In the wild—even in Dragon's Den—a Dragon-type Pokémon at a year and a half old would still be sidered an infant.
Samence recalled how it had taken 50 years to evolve from a Bagon into a Shelgon, and another 60 years to evolve into a Samence.
For a Dragon-type Pokémon with a long lifespan, Samence's 500 years were roughly equivalent to a human in their early thirties—prime adulthood.
Under natural growth ditions, Pokémon of any type matured slowly. But pseudo-Legendaries were the slowest of all.
With human help, however, Pokémon could grow tens or even hundreds of times faster than their wild terparts, achieving bat readiness in a fra of the time.
Before the existence of human Trainers, wild Pokémon would often sneer:
Wild Pokémon: "We despise Pokémon like you who throw yourselves into the arms of humans. Traitors."
After the rise of Trainers, however, their tone ged.
The retionship between Trainers and Pokémon is one of mutual be. Trainers help Pokémon grow faster, saving them an immense amount of time, while Pokémorainers gain social status.
"Samence, we've decided to give up on the challenge. When you take us to the Dragon Pool?" Julian asked.
He had already given Samenedie to restore its stamina.
Samence: "I'll take you there now"
Despite receiving help, Samence's attitude toward Julian remained sour. Even after taking the restorative medie, its expression stayed grumpy.
Samence: 'Damn it, only a year and a half old... I actually lost to a one-and-a-half-year-old baby. Thankfully, no other dragons know about this'
All it wanted now was to send Julian and his Dragonite on their way.
Since Julian had given up the challenge on Mountain, he no longer o climb further. Riding atonite, he followed Sameoward the mountain's summit.
On the way, they passed through the territory of the pseudo-Champion Pokémon, but it was o be seen.
At an altitude of 10,000 meters, the wind was bone-chilling and cut like knives against the skin. Julian shielded his face with Aura, preventing frostbite or injury from the cold.
The temperature had plummeted to around -30 degrees Celsius.
Julian had already recalled Gible into its Poké Ball. Its level was far too low to survive in such extreme ditions.
Samence: "We're here. Just head forward on your own."
Sameopped at the edge of a cliff, pointing toward a ft path ahead. Without waiting for any questions, it flew off immediately.
Julian and Dragonite followed Samence's instrus, gliding slowly in the indicated dire. The Dowsing Mae showed a massive red dot ahead, firming that the Dragon Pool was nearby.
After a ten-minute flight, they arrived.
The Dragon Pool wasn't very rge, with an area of about 100 cubic meters. The water was a vibrant emerald green.
This wasn't ordinary water—it was liquefied Dragon-type energy. Only in pces with incredibly high energy trations could gaseous energy press into a liquid state.
However, standihe Dragon Pool was another Dragoaring directly at Julian's Dragonite.
Pokémon: Dragonite (Dragon/Flying)
Level: 96
Potential: Purple
Ability: Inner Focus
Held Item: Dragon Fang
Gender: Male
Moves: Hurrie, Wing Attack, , Roost, Leer, Dragon Tail, Twister, Thunder Wave, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rush, Safeguard, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Sm, Rain Dance, Hyper Beam, Icy Wind, Hydro Pump, Fmethrower, Substitute, Iron Tail, Wide Guard, Breaking Swipe, Agility
TMs: None
Egg Moves: Extreme Speed, Draeteor, Dragon Dance, e
---
'Oh, e on! This is a Champion-level Dragonite—and not even at the early Champion stage'
The Dragon's Den, as a special Advanced secret realm, wasn't g in Champion-level Pokémon. What intrigued Julian was the fact that this Dragonite seemed to be waiting specifically for them.
Moreover, the way this Champion-level Dragonite was looking at his own Dragonite felt... odd.
Julian: 'They're both male. No way its tastes are that unventional, right?'
Julian's Dragonite also seemed curious, the Champiohout showing much stress despite the vast gap in strength.
Championite: "Son"
Julian: (⊙_⊙)?
Dragonite: "Dad?"
Julian was utterly dumbfounded. He thought his Dragonite might get angry—after all, who would willingly accept a randon g to be their father?
Besides, his Dragonite had been with him si was an egg. Where would a father even e from? If there 'was' a dad, wasn't 'he' the one?
But to his surprise, Dragonite agreed without hesitation.
As the realization struck, Julian's eyes widened. Had he been uimating this goofy dragon of his all along? On the surface, it acted clueless, but underh, it was clearly scheming.
Think about it: if a Champion-level Dragonite wao call you his son, would you say no?
Edward-Dragonite-e: "Be my son!"
Julian's Dragonite: "Dad!"
Julian was floored. His Dragonite had made it big. With a Champion-level dad now, didn't that mean this Dragon's De realm ractically theirs to roam freely?
