Pokemon: The Legendary Trainer

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"Roooar!!"

The Shiny Kingdra, sensing the terrifying aura radiating from Swampert, had a faint red glint flash in his crimson dragon eyes before letting out an enraged bellow in response to the challenger's intimidation.

At the same time, a fierce fighting spirit erupted from him. If it weren't for Clair not having issued an order yet, he might have already charged in to teach this audacious Swampert—who dared to provoke his authority—a harsh lesson.

Truth be told, ever since Clair saw her Altaria get effortlessly defeated by Sato's Nidoking, her opinion of him had changed completely. She had always known Sato was strong, but she hadn't imagined he'd be this strong.

Pokémon like Swampert—brimming with a murderous presence—were nothing new to Clair, who had grown up in Blackthorn City, the Dragon Clan's main stronghold.

She'd seen many, such as her father's Champion-level Dragonite, or the ancient Dragon-types deep within the Dragon's Den—some of whom might have been centuries older than her. The pressure they exuded was at least as great, if not greater, than what she felt from the Swampert before her.

As a child, every time she saw her father's Dragonite—even though it always behaved kindly—she couldn't help trembling all over, unable to look it in the eye. Only after she grew older did that fear gradually fade.

That's why Clair understood perfectly well the terrifying nature of Pokémon like Swampert. Not only were they battle-hardened veterans with far more combat experience than the average Pokémon, but they had also survived countless life-or-death encounters, with uncountable fallen foes behind them.

She knew that once you engaged such a fearsome Pokémon in battle, you had to be at your absolute peak. Otherwise, her Shiny Kingdra could very well be killed outright by an enraged Swampert.

Pokémon like Swampert, having fought through so many deadly duels, were masters of simple yet deadly combat techniques, with razor-sharp timing.

In game terms, their chance of landing a critical hit was far higher than that of ordinary Pokémon—one mistake and they could dispatch their opponent in an instant.

As for her Shiny Kingdra, Clair knew him inside and out. While they had spent years training together in the family's forbidden Dragon's Den, their actual life-and-death battle experience was scarce.

If they clashed head-on with a monster like Swampert, Kingdra would be at a severe disadvantage.

Even so, neither Clair nor her Kingdra felt a shred of fear. Only burning battle intent filled their hearts.

Because of the oppressive aura radiating from both Pokémon, not all spectators in the arena remained conscious and aware. The ones still standing looked pale and shaken. The stadium was eerily silent, the only sound being the steady shhhhhh of rain falling from above.

"Kingdra, Dragon Dance, then look for an opening to use Hydro Pump!"

As soon as the trembling referee announced the start of the battle, Clair immediately ordered her Kingdra to seize the initiative, using his most practiced fighting style against Swampert.

In the rain, the Swift Swim–enabled Shiny Kingdra's speed was astonishing. At Clair's command, he began darting quickly across the battlefield while performing a set of deliberate body movements to execute Dragon Dance.

In no time, he had smoothly completed one round of Dragon Dance while on the move, his body radiating the glow of increased power.

Unfortunately, Swampert's vigilance was extraordinary. No matter how Kingdra shifted his position to find a blind spot in Swampert's defenses, the opponent always anticipated his moves and blocked him.

As a result, his Hydro Pump attacks nearly all missed—and those that didn't were countered by Swampert's evasions, whether by Dig, by creating ice walls with Ice Punch, or by stomping the ground to raise earthen barriers.

Still, Kingdra was in no rush. He knew that as long as he kept using Dragon Dance, his speed would only get faster and his physical attack stronger. Eventually, Swampert—forever on the defensive—might fall to a single decisive blow.

Of course, Sato wasn't about to just watch while Kingdra stacked Dragon Dance boosts. He knew the importance of speed in battle.

So he immediately ordered Swampert to unleash Icy Wind as a wide-area attack. Even if it didn't deal much damage, its guaranteed speed-reduction effect would offset Kingdra's boosts.

At the same time, using telepathic communication, he secretly instructed Swampert to subtly alter the terrain around them.

Swampert's mastery of Icy Wind was far beyond what it once had been. On the mysterious island, he had refined it through constant practice into a deadly battlefield tool—especially useful in large-scale skirmishes.

With his massive lung capacity, Swampert exhaled a blast of frigid, ice-blue wind that instantly covered the wet grass in a thin layer of frost.

As a move tied closely to the force of wind, Icy Wind had an extremely wide range. Even with Kingdra's rain-boosted speed, he couldn't completely avoid it.

Over time, the repeated Icy Wind slowed Kingdra rather than speeding him up. Frost clung stubbornly to his body, sapping his warmth and making his movements increasingly stiff.

Seeing her Swift Swim–boosted Kingdra losing ground in a rain-soaked battle, and Swampert showing little sign of tiring, Clair's expression shifted several times.

"Kingdra—charge in! Use Waterfall!"

Knowing she couldn't let this drag on, and with Kingdra's attack now tripled from three Dragon Dance boosts, Clair ordered a direct assault.

The rainclouds summoned by Kingdra's ability poured down relentlessly, and soon the grassy field was submerged, slowly transforming into a water battlefield.

With the terrain change, Kingdra's speed and agility increased—he was far faster in water than on land.

At Clair's order, he let out an excited roar, surging straight toward Swampert's flank. A torrent of white-capped water wrapped around him, and soon he was engulfed within it, transforming into a massive, roaring water dragon.

The watery dragon charged straight for Swampert, sweeping away every obstacle with tsunami-like force.

But when it came within ten meters of its target, it suddenly sank downward, its speed plummeting.

By the time it was almost upon Swampert, most of its body was already mired in the ground, mixing with muddy water—looking less like a fearsome dragon and more like a loach playing in the muck.