Though Dragapult looked quite ridiculous at the moment, it still hadn’t lost its fighting spirit.
The damage from Ice Punch and Iron Tail wasn’t nearly enough to knock it out completely.
The sandstorm continued to rage across the battlefield, its coarse grit pummeling Dragapult’s body, slowly draining its stamina.
This battle can’t drag on like this!
Having made up his mind, Leon gave a sharp command:
“Dragapult, use [Dragon Pulse]!”
Dragapult had taken quite a beating up to now and was full of pent-up rage. Finally given an outlet, it opened its jaws, charged briefly, then let loose a powerful blast of draconic energy.
“Tyranitar, use [Dark Pulse]!” Luo Yuan countered.
A cold, sinister energy began to pour from Tyranitar’s body. Under its control, the wave of dark force surged forward, colliding head-on with the [Dragon Pulse].
BOOM!
A thunderous sound erupted at the center of the battlefield.
The gray-black wave of [Dark Pulse] and the deep violet of [Dragon Pulse] clashed in midair, their explosive energy dispersing the sandstorm in an instant.
The two attacks remained locked in a stalemate, refusing to yield.
At the edge of the battlefield, the audience finally let out a collective breath.
Now this—this was what a real Pokémon battle looked like!
To them, Leon had lost the last two rounds due to Luo Yuan’s “underhanded tricks.” Now that the fight had finally turned into a direct clash of strength, the crowd firmly believed Leon wouldn’t lose this one.
As they watched in growing anticipation for Leon’s comeback—
The [Dragon Pulse] and [Dark Pulse], locked in deadlock for so long, suddenly reached a breaking point after accumulating too much energy.
BOOM!!!
An explosion far more powerful than anything before rocked the entire arena.
A miniature mushroom cloud erupted at the center of the battlefield.
The shockwave from the blast tore through the area, scattering the last of the sandstorm. The turbulent storm Tyranitar had kicked up came to an end—wiped out by the force of the explosion.
But before the audience could cheer, the shockwave hit both Tyranitar and Dragapult full force.
Tyranitar staggered backward under the blast, its massive frame shuddering from the impact. Neither it nor Dragapult had held back—Tyranitar had endured the hit purely through its toughened hide.
But Dragapult wasn’t so lucky.
Its light frame and lower special defense stats left it far more vulnerable—plus, [Dark Pulse] carried a type advantage.
Dragapult was sent flipping head over tail, hurled across the sky by the force of the explosion.
“Dragapult!” Leon shouted.
From midair, Dragapult let out a weak cry in response, signaling that it was still conscious—but anyone could hear the exhaustion in its voice.
Luo Yuan, sharp as ever, wasn’t about to give it a chance to recover.
“Strike while the iron’s hot, Tyranitar!”
“ROAR!”
Tyranitar, having regained its footing, let out a thunderous roar and slammed its right foot into the ground.
A pulse of energy surged from its leg into the earth.
The force rippled through the entire arena, and then—
The ground beneath Dragapult cracked open, and jagged stones shot up toward the airborne Pokémon.
Sensing danger, Dragapult immediately ascended higher to evade.
But Luo Yuan had anticipated this.
“[Rock Slide]!”
Tyranitar smashed a boulder in front of it with a heavy punch, sending another wave of shrapnel hurtling toward Dragapult.
Targeted from below by [Stone Edge] and from the side by [Rock Slide], Dragapult had only one option—use the aerial maneuvers it had honed over years of training to dodge midair.
But after enduring two rounds of attrition, its stamina was nearly depleted. Evading all the projectiles was a struggle. It resorted to blasting incoming stones with [Dragon Breath] to protect itself.
Even so, a few rocks managed to slip through, slamming into its body.
Dragapult let out a cry of pain—but that pain quickly turned to anger.
“RAAARGH!”
Its roar echoed through the sky.
It wasn’t ready to give up.
On the ground, sensing Dragapult’s resolve, Leon grit his teeth. Including Mr. Rime earlier, this would be the second time he’d been cornered into a desperate counterattack against Luo Yuan.
For a Champion, this shouldn’t happen. A Champion isn’t supposed to be the one backed into a corner.
But Luo Yuan didn’t care for Leon’s frustration. In his eyes, desperation was normal.
Every Champion he’d faced—Lance, Steven, Cynthia—had fallen to him in the end. Leon was no different.
Just another Champion.
After a moment’s hesitation, Leon finally called out:
“If that’s how it is—go for it, Dragapult!”
Given permission, Dragapult let out a roar of fury.
It dodged the remaining stones and suddenly surged skyward.
High in the air, green energy burst from Dragapult’s form, its entire body enveloped in a vibrant emerald light.
The instant Luo Yuan saw the familiar motion and glow, he knew exactly what was coming.
“[Protect], Tyranitar!”
There was no escaping it—Dragapult’s base Speed stat was 142. With [Dragon Rush] in play, its speed now was terrifying. Tyranitar, with its measly 60, had no hope of dodging.
So Luo Yuan chose the only viable move—[Protect].
Even before his words finished echoing, a whistling howl cut through the air.
Dragapult, its aerodynamic body slicing through the sky like a living missile, streaked downward wrapped in blazing green energy. With a tearing sound, it slammed straight into Tyranitar’s shimmering barrier.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Dragapult, eyes blazing with fury, versus Tyranitar—solid, immovable, like a mountain.
Then—
An explosion far more powerful than before tore through the stadium.
The shockwave surged in all directions. Smoke billowed out, swallowing both Pokémon in its wake.
Leon’s cape flared wildly in the wind, and he had to raise his arm to shield his face from the flying sand.
In stark contrast, Luo Yuan stood calm and composed.
A translucent blue barrier shimmered before him. Hands tucked into his coat pockets, Luo Yuan stood behind it, completely unmoved—his hair not even ruffled.
The difference between them was stark.
—
T/N: bro is aura farming
This is a fan translation of 我，火箭队二把手！ by 落唯 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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