Chapter 351: How Many Legendary Pokémon Do You Have? This Really Is the Last One

The video continued playing.

The battle began.

Once again, Lance gave the first command.

"Dragonite, Dragon Dance!"

Dragonite beat its wings and twisted its chubby body through the dance, raising both its Speed and Attack.

Aurelia reacted immediately.

"Latios, predict its dive path and keep your distance."

But Lance had predicted Aurelia’s prediction.

He thrust both hands forward.

"Dragonite, get the jump on it! Extreme Speed!"

Dragonite turned into a streak of golden light, moving so fast that the naked eye could barely follow it.

Latios had retreated less than half a meter before Dragonite was already right in its face.

"Dragon Claw!"

Dragon-type energy wrapped around Dragonite’s right claw as it slashed viciously toward Latios’s chest.

"Latios, Protect!"

A green barrier appeared.

Dragon Claw slammed into it and was blocked.

But Lance had no intention of slowing down.

"Dragonite, Hurricane!"

Dragonite beat its wings violently.

Two tornadoes erupted from the battlefield and swallowed Latios whole.

Latios was tossed wildly inside the gale.

Aurelia frowned deeply, but she didn’t panic.

"Latios, spin with the wind and use Dragon Pulse!"

Latios stopped resisting.

It allowed the tornado to carry it around, found its angle amid the high-speed rotation—

And fired Dragon Pulse straight through the wall of wind toward Dragonite.

"Dragonite, Outrage!"

The moment Dragonite entered its Outrage state, its power and speed surged.

Like an out-of-control cannonball, it charged straight through Dragon Pulse and chased Latios all across the sky.

Latios could barely withstand the assault by repeatedly using Protect.

Aurelia quickly assessed the situation.

"Latios, don’t fight it head-on. Draw it higher into the sky!"

Latios pulled sharply upward and shot into the clouds.

Dragonite followed exactly as expected.

The two dragons clashed high above the stadium.

Dragonite’s eyes suddenly turned red.

Violent Dragon-type energy erupted around its body, and Dragon Pulse scattered against it like water splashing off stone.

But Outrage only made Dragonite more ferocious as the battle continued.

Latios was forced steadily backward.

Finally, during one direct clash—

Dragonite’s Dragon Claw struck it cleanly.

Latios plummeted toward the ground.

"Dragonite, Dragon Rush!"

Purple Dragon-type energy engulfed Dragonite.

Like a meteor, it came crashing downward.

Latios no longer had time to evade.

Aurelia closed her eyes for a brief moment.

Then opened them.

"Latios, Zen Headbutt."

Latios lifted its head.

All of its psychic power gathered around its forehead and it charged upward directly toward Dragonite.

The two forces collided in midair with a deafening explosion.

Purple Dragon-type energy and blue psychic light burst into a rain of brilliance across the sky.

The shockwave swept across the entire battlefield, bending even the flame atop the ceremonial torch.

When the light finally faded—

Latios slowly descended from the air.

Then its knees gave way.

It collapsed onto the ground.

Seeing Latios become unable to battle, Lance subconsciously let out a breath of relief.

A very restrained smile even appeared on his face.

Judging from the Pokémon Aurelia had revealed so far, Latios should have been her strongest Pokémon.

Her remaining Pokémon was most likely Gallade.

Dragonite had already spent a fair amount of stamina, but it still had the boost from Dragon Dance.

Thinking about it that way...

Maybe he really did have a chance to defend Kanto’s Champion seat?

Lance had even begun composing his post-match interview in his head.

"Trainer Aurelia displayed extraordinary strength, but I believe she still needs a little more time before taking the position of Kanto League Champion."

No.

That didn’t sound enough like a winner.

"Trainer Aurelia’s performance was astonishing, but experience still triumphs in the end."

No.

That sounded a little too smug.

While Lance was seriously considering his wording—Aurelia silently reached to her waist and pulled out a Master Ball.

Red light flashed.

A small pink Pokémon with a long, slender tail and enormous blinking eyes appeared in the center of the battlefield.

It looked toward Lance and gave him a wink.

"Ciallo~ (∠?ω＜ )⌒★"

Lance’s smile froze.

He took a deep breath.

Only after calming himself did he finally speak.

"Aurelia..."

"Exactly how many Legendary Pokémon do you have?"

Aurelia answered with complete sincerity.

"This really is the last one."

Lance slowly raised his head.

He stared up at the roof of Indigo Plateau.

He remembered every day and night he’d spent climbing step by step from a Dragon Tamer to a Dragon-type Elite Four member.

He remembered that sunset when his first attempt to reach the Champion position had ended in failure and he had sworn to become stronger.

He remembered...

"Elite Four Lance?"

The referee asked carefully.

"Can we begin?"

Lance closed his eyes.

Then opened them again.

An utterly enlightened smile appeared on his face.

"There’s no need to continue."

The referee froze.

"Elite Four Lance, are you certain?"

"Yes."

Lance paused.

His voice carried the weary serenity of a man who had suddenly seen through the meaning of life.

"Dragonite has already done its best."

Dragonite cooperatively let out a heavy pant.

"Trainer Aurelia."

Lance recalled Dragonite into its Poké Ball and walked to the center of the battlefield.

Then he extended his hand.

"Congratulations."

"You’ve won."

"From today onward, the Kanto League Champion’s seat belongs to you."

[VIP Chat Group]

[Leon]: I took a screenshot of Lance’s "enlightened smile." From now on, this is the official reaction image for "I did my best."

[Raihan]: Lance: I spent my entire life walking on thin ice. I fought with everything I had to reach the other side—only to discover that Asher’s daughter had been standing there since birth.

[Clair]: Cousin, don’t be discouraged. So what if you lost the Champion position? An Elite Four member still has plenty of chances to challenge for it again.

[Lorelei]: Lance had never even been Champion at this point. What’s there to be discouraged about?

[Lance]: ...

[Flint]: At least Lance managed to knock out Latios and Ninetales. The other three didn’t even take down a single Pokémon.

[Bruno]: Hold on. Are you saying the three of us were trash?! You want to settle this one-on-one?!

[Agatha]: Hehehe. At my age, this old woman stopped caring about wins and losses long ago. Besides, losing to that little girl from Asher’s family isn’t exactly something to be ashamed of.

The video continued playing.

Aurelia stood on the Champion’s podium at Indigo Plateau.

Behind her stood Ninetales, Gallade, Latios, and Mew.

The sight was nothing short of magnificent.

Lance held the Champion cape he had never once gotten to wear himself.

Step by step, he walked up to Aurelia.

"Trainer Aurelia."

His voice was steady and powerful.

"Congratulations on becoming the new Champion of the Kanto League."

"From today onward, this cape belongs to you."

Aurelia accepted it with both hands.

"Thank you, Mister Lance."

"I’ll do my best."

Just then—

Whoosh!

Selene’s livestream drone shot directly into Aurelia’s face.

The lens practically touched the tip of her nose.

"BIG SIS!"

"KANTO CHAMPION!"

"Come on, say a few words to the camera!"

"Victory speech! Victory speech! Victory speech!"

"Important things have to be said three times!"

"..."

Aurelia was just about to raise a hand and push the drone away when both of her shoulders suddenly grew heavier.

She turned her head.

At some point, Asher and Sabrina had appeared behind her.

"Dad? Mom?"

"When did you—"

"Right around the moment you were thinking, Is Mister Lance’s cape a little too big?"

Asher grinned and vigorously ruffled Aurelia’s hair.

Aurelia had a stubborn retort ready on the tip of her tongue but the instant he ruffled her hair, the tips of her ears turned bright red.

All she could do was press her lips together and turn her face away.

Sabrina placed a bouquet into Aurelia’s arms.

"You fought well."

"Thank you, Mom."

Aurelia carefully held the flowers.

Whoosh!

Selene teleported to Aurelia’s other side.

With her free hand, she threw an enormous V-sign toward the camera.

"Come on!"

"Dad, Mom, smile!"

"And Big Sis, stop turning the corners of your mouth down all the time!"

"Okay!"

"Three, two—"

"Ciallo~ (∠?ω＜ )⌒★!"