Chapter 679: “Bullet Time

On the other side.

Because ten adult wild Dragonites, including the shiny one, were eliminated quickly, many Dragonites and Haxorines began to anticipate something.

—Could it be that this outsider Dragonite truly earns the Dragonite Chief’s recognition?

Among the Dragonite clan inhabiting this Dragonite Island.

The Dragonite Chief’s prestige is second only to the colossal Guardian Dragon, absolute in authority.

The reason? Besides being older than most Dragonites, its strength remains a crucial factor.

Even the Dragonites competing for the chieftainship aim only to gain the Chief’s approval, not to actually defeat him.

But as outsiders, Luo Mu and the Dragonite genuinely intend to win outright against the Dragonite Chief.

Though he doesn’t fully understand what that mysterious power means, he believes defeating the opponent with greater strength is more convincing than mere approval.

—Of course, on the condition that the Dragonite Chief is willing to fight seriously.

Otherwise, if the opponent intends to hold back, and we go all out, it would be impolite.

“Boooh～”

The Dragonite waved off the Chief’s proposal to rest before continuing the battle.

Though this might seem impolite, the previous fight truly warmed it up—it’s now in perfect condition.

Fighting the next round poses no problem.

Since the Dragonite responded this way, the Dragonite Chief, equally curious about its true strength, nodded slightly, flapped its wings, and soared to the other side of the Dragonite, its ancient, solemn eyes locked onto the opponent.

“Auuuugh—”

After a moderate roar, the Dragonite Chief showed no restraint; with a vibration in the air, its massive emerald claw pierced through space and struck the Dragonite!

For wild Pokémon, battles have no referee, no rules about who attacks first or second.

It’s all about seizing advantage through strength!

The Dragonite reacted swiftly, using “Claw” to firmly block the Chief’s powerful “Claw” strike!

As a Trainer, Luo Mu had no intention of intervening, for this battle between the Dragonite and the Chief symbolized the transition of chieftainship.

He would not interfere.

Under Luo Mu’s gaze.

Centered on the point where their claws met, a powerful shockwave rippled outward, first striking the surrounding Dragonites and Haxorines, nearly blowing the Baby Dragons into the sky, then spreading to the forest behind, rustling the treetops before fading completely.

This sight left the shiny Dragonite and other wild adult Dragonites, long tormented by the Chief, stunned— their mouths hung open wide enough to swallow an Egg.

—No way, can the Dragonite really block the Chief’s attack?

The Dragonite Chief’s eyes flickered with admiration, then used the Dragonite’s recoil force to launch itself skyward, spreading its wings to stabilize its position.

“Huuuugh—”

Brilliant cross-shaped starlight ignited in the Chief’s mouth, then transformed into a colossal dragon of blue, purple, and red energy, composed of countless starpoints, roaring downward at the Dragonite!

“Dragon Pulse”!

In response to this devastating attack, the Dragonite chose—

It stomped hard on the ground while fully extending its wings; white light erupted from the wing roots, instantly spreading to the tips and extending outward, forming a pair of massive white light-wings far larger than before.

“Wing Attack”!

The Dragonite angled upward, its white light-wings like a blade slicing through the sky, cleanly splitting the roaring energy dragon in two!

Against the backdrop of the chaotic explosion from the out-of-control Dragon Pulse, the Dragonite flew calmly toward the Chief, its usually cute, fluffy tail now acting like a whip capable of snapping stone and steel, cracking through the air as it lashed out!

“Dragon Tail”!

Since both are Flying-type Pokémon, aerial combat is where their strengths truly shine.

The Dragonite Chief reacted instantly, soaring upward to evade the Dragonite’s “Dragon Tail,” while a sky-blue orb condensed above its head, unleashing countless crescent-shaped wind blades at the Dragonite, which had spun midair from momentum.

At the speed of “Air Slash,” even the Dragonite, with less than a meter between them, could not dodge all the attacks.

Activating “Protect” seemed a good option—it would also prevent the strategically vital “Multiscale” from being broken.

This is a unique advantage the Dragonite enjoys as a Pokémon raised and trained by a Trainer.

—But the Dragonite made a completely different choice.

It allowed the dense hail of wind blades to strike its body, sparks flaring across its well-maintained scales.

Meanwhile, it clenched its right claw, frosty energy condensing upon it.

“Ice Punch”!

Boom—!

A frigid cold wave erupted across the Dragonite Chief’s body, then spread like a snow avalanche into thick white mist.

The sudden drop in temperature slowed the Chief’s movements.

Compared to the Dragonite, whose “Multiscale” had been pierced by “Air Slash,” the Dragonite Chief clearly suffered more.

But in the next instant, a colossal wind surged outward from the Dragonite Chief.

As the wind scattered the cold mist, the surrounding Dragonites shivered; several Dragonites and Haxorines with offspring pulled their trembling Baby Dragons close behind them.

Then, sparks ignited within the wind, as if igniting a roaring flame, instantly vaporizing the cold stream!

“It’s Heat Wave—”

Hiding behind the Flareon, Luo Mu murmured as he watched the Dragonite Chief’s wings nearly glowing crimson.

Honestly, this move was impressively powerful—hard to believe a wild Pokémon, without systematic training, could refine its technique so well.

The Dragonite, having taken a direct hit from “Heat Wave,” halted its arm-blocking motion; upon closer inspection, faint wisps of smoke curled from its arms.

The temperature of “Heat Wave” was clearly extreme.

Below, the Dragonites who saw the Dragonite take another direct “Heat Wave” exhaled in relief.

Good—the Chief still stood as strong as ever. But the fact that the Dragonite had fought this far, after defeating ten opponents, earned it deep respect from those who witnessed its streak.

Yet unlike the Dragonites’ habitual assumptions, the Dragonite Chief’s mood was now grim.

Impossible to read. Completely impossible to read.

No matter what attack it used, it always fell just short—none of its moves had the expected effect.

They’d exchanged dozens of blows, yet the Chief still felt the Dragonite was holding back.

—It was as if the Dragonite was adjusting its effort based on the Chief’s own intensity and fighting attitude.

This made the Dragonite Chief slightly excited.

If the Dragonite wanted to see, then it would show it everything.

The Dragonite Chief used “Claw” again—but with greater power and speed than when it first used the move.

This gave Luo Mu a clearer judgment.

—Indeed, the Dragonite Chief’s physical condition is exceptional.

At least on par with the elite fighters from Baishuo’s Dragon Army—the one-in-a-hundred.

Undoubtedly a true wild overlord.

Yet even this attack, the Dragonite blocked it firmly—causing the Chief’s eyes to flicker with surprise.

It had nearly unleashed its full strength, yet the Dragonite remained unmoved?

The Dragonite Chief hadn’t even noticed that, over time, its mindset had shifted from merely testing the Dragonite to desperately wanting to uncover just how deep its true power ran.

In the blink of an eye, their forms had crossed dozens of times in midair.

In truth, the Dragonite wasn’t as relaxed as it appeared; at this level of attack, especially with type advantage, the threats were more than sufficient.

Even Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre would be injured and feel pain from such strikes—how much more so the Dragonite?

It wasn’t a god, nor invincible.

But it had a way to make the opponent’s attacks ineffective.

As the aerial chase intensified, the Dragonite Chief gradually felt a growing fatigue.

This was the first time since its body was enhanced by the mysterious power that it felt it had reached its absolute limit.

But what of the Dragonite it was chasing?

The air currents and wind seemed to become its extended limbs, gently embracing its sides, aiding its flight, propelling it through the blue sky.

Since the Dragonite Chief also knew “Quick Attack,” it understood clearly: the Dragonite was merely using wind assistance to accelerate.

—Yet even now, after using “Quick Attack,” it could not close the gap between itself and the Dragonite.

The Dragonite Chief glanced back at the white trail it left behind, falling silent.

Where was the promised +2 speed boost?

The Dragonite, freely soaring with “Tailwind,” had no idea what the Chief was thinking—only recalling the moments when Lugia taught it to control wind and air currents.

Could simply using “Tailwind” really boost flight speed to this level?

Amazed, and seizing this rare chance for free-form combat, the Dragonite decided to try new ideas.

—What if, right now, it used “Quick Attack” in the way of the Dragon Clan’s secret techniques?

Thinking it, it acted. The Dragonite calmed its mind, activating the most ordinary, yet most common and peaceful energy within its body.

A modest white glow lit its surface—and then, to its surprise, everything around it seemed to slow down like a movie in slow motion.

This was a far stranger sensation than merely increasing its own agility.

In Luo Mu’s words, the Dragonite felt this was exactly like his “Bullet Time”!

The Dragonite blinked, turned, and flew behind the still-unreacting Dragonite Chief, striking with “Claw”!

Boom—!

In an instant, the Dragonite Chief, flying at high speed via “Quick Attack,” plummeted from the sky like a cannonball, crashing heavily onto the solid earth with a thunderous impact and violent tremor.

The watching Dragonites all stared in shock.

No, what just happened?!

Before they could process what had occurred, Dragonite descended from the sky and unleashed a second "Dragon Claw," poised to strike.

—It didn’t believe that a single "Dragon Claw" from its own strength could secure victory against a Dragonite Alpha with such a physique.

The reality matched Dragonite’s expectations.

The Dragonite Alpha, stunned after being slammed to the ground, hadn’t yet grasped how it had been hit when a surge of dread—so intense it nearly made its scales stand on end—rushed down from above.

With combat experience among the richest of any wild Pokémon, the instant it sensed danger, it instinctively activated its ultimate trump card.

"Roar—!"

Accompanied by the violent sonic wave from the Dragonite Alpha’s roar, an invisible force blasted the approaching Dragonite straight away—over a meter away in an instant.

Nearby wild Dragonites and Haxorus, like wheat in a storm, toppled backward in waves, their gazes toward the Dragonite Alpha now filled with deeper reverence.

This time, having been so close, actually feeling it firsthand, Luo Mu could confirm his judgment.

"Indeed—it’s a power similar to a Dominant Presence."

Watching the scene unfold like a "Shinra Tensei" or the mandatory aura Zhenshe at the start of a boss battle in a game, Luo Mu murmured softly.

As he had suspected, the Dragonite Alpha’s roar bore a striking resemblance to those of the Dominant Pokémon he had witnessed in Alola.

One calls its followers; the other is used to intimidate.

Yet the Dragonite Alpha’s displayed ability lacked the overt brilliance of a true Dominant Presence, and its physique was average—even slightly more aged than some mature Dragonites.

Moreover, Dominant Presence was a phenomenon unique to Alola.

Luo Mu had once read documents indicating that when a wild Pokémon group reached a certain scale, its leader often grew stronger than its peers.

But no sufficient evidence yet proved whether this strength stemmed purely from within, or arose as a minor miracle from the collective cohesion of the entire group.

After all, some non-social wild Pokémon also exhibited extraordinary power beyond the norm.

The most representative example would be the wild Dominants in the Silver Mountain of the Johto region, who claimed vast territories.

Yet according to known information, the Dragonite Alpha’s power seemed inheritable—or at least transferable, granting similar benefits to any Dragonite that succeeded it as leader.

While Luo Mu pondered, the Dragonite that had been blown away managed to stabilize itself midair, its gaze toward the Dragonite Alpha now tinged with eager determination.

Given the Dragonite Alpha’s fierce battle spirit, having already tried combining Tailwind and Quick Attack,

couldn’t it now test out that newly learned move as well?

(End of Chapter)