Chapter 679: Bullet Time

On the other side.

Because the ten wild adult Dragonites, including the shiny one, were eliminated so quickly, many Dragonite and Dragonair began to feel hopeful.

—Perhaps today, this outsider Dragonite could truly gain the approval of the Dragonite Chief?

Among the Dragonite clan inhabiting this Dragonite Island.

The Dragonite Chief's prestige was second to none, save for the giant Dragonite that served as their guardian deity.

Besides being older than most Dragonites, its strength was also a crucial factor.

Even the Dragonites participating in the chief election were thinking only of how to gain the Dragonite Chief's approval, not truly intending to defeat it.

But as outsiders, Luo Mu and his Dragonite genuinely intended to win a fair and square victory against the Dragonite Chief.

Although he wasn't clear what that mysterious power referred to, he felt that defeating the opponent with superior strength was far more convincing than merely gaining approval.

—Of course, this presupposed that the Dragonite Chief had such intentions.

Otherwise, if the opponent intended to hold back during the fight, striking too hard on their part would be somewhat impolite.

"Boo-wuu~"

The Dragonite waved its hand, rejecting the Dragonite Chief's proposal to rest a while before continuing the battle.

Though it might sound impolite, the previous fight had indeed served as a proper warm-up, and its current condition was excellent.

Continuing to fight the next round posed no problem whatsoever.

Since the Dragonite responded this way, the Dragonite Chief, who was equally curious about its true strength, nodded slightly, flapped its dragon wings to leap to the opposite side of the Dragonite, and fixed its aged yet solemn dragon eyes tightly upon its opponent.

"Aowu—"

After a roar neither too light nor too heavy, the Dragonite Chief showed no intention of holding back; accompanied by a hum caused by vibrating air, a massive emerald-green dragon claw pierced through the atmosphere, striking toward the Dragonite!

For wild Pokémon, battles had no referees, nor any rules regarding who attacked first or second.

Everything depended on seizing advantage through sheer strength!

The Dragonite's reaction was not slow in the least; it likewise used the move "Dragon Claw," firmly withstanding the "Dragon Claw" slammed down by the Dragonite Chief, which carried immense force!

As a Trainer, Luo Mu had no intention of stepping forward to give commands, because this was a battle between the Dragonite and the Dragonite Chief, representing the succession of the chieftainship.

He would not interfere.

Under Luo Mu's gaze.

Centered on the area where both parties' dragon claws overlapped, powerful gusts of air rippled outward in waves, first striking the surrounding onlooker Dragonites and Dragonairs, nearly blowing the little Dratinis up into the sky, before spreading all the way to the forest area behind, rustling the tree canopies loudly before finally dissipating.

This scene left the wild adult Dragonites, including the shiny one who had suffered greatly under the Dragonite Chief's torment, utterly dumbfounded; their widely opened dragon mouths were large enough to swallow a Chansey's egg.

—No way, can the Dragonite really withstand the Chief's attack head-on?

A look of appreciation flashed in Emperor Yan Di's eyes; borrowing the force pushed back by the Dragonite, it was thrown up into the sky, then spread its dragon wings to stabilize its posture.

"Houwu—"

Brilliant cross-shaped starlight ignited within the Dragonite Chief's mouth, transforming into a colossal energy dragon composed of countless star motes in blue, purple, and red hues, which spewed forth toward the Dragonite below!

"Dragon Pulse"!

Facing this attack, which was extremely effective against it, the Dragonite's choice was—

While fiercely kicking off the ground with its legs, it spread the dragon wings on its back to their maximum extent; white light instantly expanded from the base of the wings to their tips, then extended further outward, transforming into a pair of white light wings far larger than before.

"Wing Attack"!

The Dragonite ascended sideways; that pair of white light wings resembled a sharp blade tearing through the sky, splitting the massive, imposing energy dragon right down the middle!

With the violent explosion generated by the out-of-control Dragon Pulse as a backdrop, the Dragonite, expression unchanged, flapped its wings and flew toward the Dragonite Chief; its tail, usually looking very cute and adorable, now resembled a long whip capable of easily snapping stone and steel, carrying a sound of breaking air as it lashed toward the Dragonite Chief!

"Dragon Tail"!

After all, both parties were Flying-type Pokémon; aerial combat was the fighting style that could best bring out their specialties.

The Dragonite Chief reacted quite promptly; suddenly climbing to a higher altitude to dodge the Dragonite's "Dragon Tail," a sky-blue orb of light condensed above its head, aiming at the Dragonite whose body had spun in mid-air due to inertia, as countless wind blades resembling crescent moons surged toward it!

Given the flight speed of "Air Cutter," even for a Dragonite, under the current circumstances where both parties were less than a meter apart, it was difficult to dodge all the attacks.

Erecting a "Protect" barrier seemed like a good choice, which could also prevent the strategically significant "Multiscale" ability from being broken.

This was also the unique advantage enjoyed by the Dragonite as a Pokémon captured and raised by a Trainer.

—But the Dragonite made a completely different decision.

The Dragonite allowed the dense barrage of wind blades to bombard its body, scraping up dense sparks against its well-maintained dragon scales.

Meanwhile, it clenched its right claw, as an aura of frosty cold condensed upon it.

"Ice Punch"!

Boom—!

A low-temperature cold stream suddenly exploded across the surface of the Dragonite Chief, then, much like a snow avalanche on a snowy mountain, spread into a thick white mist.

The sharply dropping temperature caused the Dragonite Chief's movements to slow by a beat.

Compared to the Dragonite whose "Multiscale" had been broken by "Air Cutter," clearly the Dragonite Chief was at a greater disadvantage.

But in the next instant, centered on the Dragonite Chief, a massive wind rose up first.

As the great wind blew open, this spreading chill even made the Dragonites watching below shiver; several Dragonites and Dragonairs with children hurriedly shielded their trembling Dratinis behind them.

Immediately afterward, specks of sparks filled the great wind, as if a raging fierce flame had been ignited out of thin air, sweeping away the cold current entirely!

"It's Heat Wave—"

Hiding behind Moltres and gazing at the Dragonite Chief in the sky, whose dragon wings were nearly dyed a crimson red, Luo Mu murmured to himself as if speaking softly.

To be honest, the power of this move was quite dazzling; it was hard to imagine that a wild Pokémon, without undergoing systematic training, could hone its moves to such an outstanding level.

The Dragonite, having taken a direct hit of "Heat Wave" at close range, stopped the motion of blocking with its arms crossed before its body; if one looked closely, one would discover that wisps of greenish smoke were still rising from its arms.

This showed just how high the temperature of "Heat Wave" was.

Below, the Dragonites who saw their fellow Dragonite take another direct "Heat Wave" from the Dragonite Chief breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the Chief remained as dominant as in their impressions; however, the fact that the Dragonite could fight the Chief to this extent inevitably filled these Dragonites, who had witnessed it defeat ten opponents in a row, with admiration.

Yet compared to the Dragonites' habitual thinking, the Dragonite Chief's mood was quite Solemn at this moment.

Unfathomable, completely unfathomable.

No matter which type of attack, it always fell just a breath short, completely lacking the effect it had anticipated.

Even though they had already exchanged blows several times, it still felt as if the Dragonite was holding back strength.

—It was almost as if it was deciding how hard to fight based on its own output and combat attitude.

This also made the Dragonite Chief feel slightly excited.

Since the Dragonite wanted to see, then it would let the other party see their fill!

The Dragonite Chief used "Dragon Claw" again, but both its power and speed were a level higher than when it first used this move.

This also gave Luo Mu a clearer judgment.

—As expected, the Dragonite Chief's physical qualities were quite outstanding.

At the very least, it was on the level of those one-in-a-hundred elite members within the Dragon Legion of Eight Months.

It could truly be called a worthy wild overlord.

But even against such an attack, the Dragonite still steadily blocked it, causing a look of surprise to flash in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

It had nearly exerted its full strength; even so, was the Dragonite still unmoved?

Even the Dragonite Chief itself hadn't realized that as time progressed, its thoughts had completely shifted from initially just testing the other to wanting to probe just how bottomless the Dragonite's strength truly was.

In the brief span of Zha Yan De Gong, the figures of both sides had crossed each other dozens of times in the air.

In fact, the Dragonite was not as effortless as it appeared on the surface; at this level of attack, not to mention possessing a type advantage, it was more than enough to pose a threat to it.

Even Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre would be injured and feel pain if they took a hit, let alone a Dragonite.

It was not a god, nor was it that invincible.

But it had methods to make the opponent's attacks difficult to inflict effective damage.

As the aerial chase intensified, gradually, the Dragonite Chief began to feel a hint of being unable to cope.

This was the first time since its physique had been strengthened by a mysterious power that it felt going all out had touched its own limits.

But what about the Dragonite it was chasing?

Air currents and wind power seemed to have become arms extending from it, affectionately circling at its side, acting as its aid and striving to propel it through the blue sky.

Precisely because the Dragonite Chief also knew the "Extreme Speed" move, it was quite clear that the Dragonite was currently just relying on wind assistance to accelerate.

—Yet, it had now used "Extreme Speed," so why could it not close this gap in distance between itself and the Dragonite?

The Dragonite Chief glanced at the Bai Guang trailing behind it and couldn't help but fall into silence.

What happened to the promised priority increase of two?

The Dragonite, freely soaring by utilizing "Tailwind," was unaware of the Dragonite Chief's inner thoughts; it merely recalled the scenes when Lugia had taught it to control wind power and air currents.

Could merely using the "Tailwind" move boost one's flight speed to this level?

Amidst its astonishment, borrowing this rare battle for free expression, the Dragonite formed the intention to try more ideas.

—At this moment, what would happen if it used the "Extreme Speed" move in the manner of the Dragon Tamer Clan's secret manuals?

Thinking it, it did it; the Dragonite settled its mind and stimulated that most ordinary, yet also most common and peaceful energy within its body.

A not-so-bright Bai Guang lit up on its surface, and then, to its surprise, it discovered that everything around it seemed to have entered the slow motion of a slowed-down film.

This was an experience even more wonderful than the feeling of purely increasing its own agility from before.

If one were to use Luo Mu's words, the Dragonite felt this was just like the "bullet time" he had described!

The Dragonite blinked, tried turning to fly behind the Dragonite Chief who seemed yet to react, and slapped down with "Dragon Claw"!

Boom—!

In an instant, the Dragonite Chief, flying at high speed via "Extreme Speed," fell from the sky like a cannonball, crashing heavily onto the solid rock and soil, producing a huge noise and tremor.

The surrounding Dragonites all revealed expressions of shock.

Wait, what just happened?!

Before they could sort out their thoughts, the Dragonite had already descended from the sky, charging up and smashing out a second "Dragon Claw."

—It did not believe that with the Dragonite Chief's physique, a single "Dragon Claw" from it could decide the victory.

Facts were just as the Dragonite had thought.

The Dragonite Chief, having crashed to the ground, was first stunned; before it could figure out how it had been hit, a sense of crisis that made its scales nearly stand on end surged from above.

Its combat experience could be counted among the richest of wild Pokémon; the moment it perceived the threat approaching, it subconsciously activated its trump card kept hidden in its box.

"Roar—!"

Accompanied by the intense sound waves produced by the Dragonite Chief opening its mouth to roar, an invisible force directly blasted the Dragonite, which had approached to within less than a meter, away.

Some wild Dragonites and Dragonairs nearby, those relatively close, fell backward row upon row like wheat in a field encountering strong wind, and the looks they directed at the Dragonite Chief carried even deeper awe.

This time, because he was very close and had almost personally experienced it, Luo Mu could confirm his judgment even more.

"As expected... it is an ability similar to the Totem Aura."

Watching this scene, which resembled "Shinra Tensei" or like a boss in a game battle inevitably releasing an aura intimidation at the start, Luo Mu murmured softly.

Just as he had guessed before, the performance of this dragon roar from the Dragonite Chief shared the same effect as the roars of those Totem Pokémon he had seen in the Alola region.

One was for calling subordinates, the other for intimidation.

It was just that the ability displayed by the Dragonite Chief was not as conspicuous as the "Totem Aura," and its size tended toward normal, or one could even say it appeared slightly older than some prime adult Dragonites.

Furthermore, the "Totem Aura" was a special phenomenon limited to the Alola region.

Luo Mu had once seen some documents indicating that when a wild Pokémon population reached a certain scale, the leader guiding that population would often be stronger than its peers.

But to this day, there was insufficient evidence to show whether this strength absolutely originated from the individual itself or from some small miracle born of the cohesion generated by the entire population.

After all, there were also some wild Pokémon without habits of living in groups that possessed similar extraordinary strength.

The most representative example should be some of the wild overlords occupying vast territories within Mt. Silver in the Johto region.

However, based on the known intelligence, the Dragonite Chief's power seemed inheritable, or capable of benefiting other Dragonites who assumed the position of chief.

While Luo Mu was lost in thought, the Dragonite that had been "blown away" barely stabilized its form in the sky, its gaze upon the Dragonite Chief now tinged with eagerness to try.

Seeing the Dragonite Chief's battle-ready demeanor, since they had already attempted stacking "Tailwind" with "Speed Boost"...

... wasn't it time to try out that move just learned?

(End of Chapter)