Word had spread and Nina’s match with Lilian had gathered quite the crowd. To the point where teachers had to step in to impose order in the gym where the match was going to be held.
Nina began by first dictating the terms. “This will be a one on one match against my Dratini. Does that sound good to you?”
Lilian smiled. “I am only possessed of my partner Dratini at the moment. So this is a perfect arrangement.”
“Awesome, no point in playing senseless mind games then,” Nina said as she released Tini onto the flat arena.
“I concur,” Lilian grinned as she also released her Dratini.
Nina had spent enough time with Tini at this point to be able to discern the gender of his species at a glance. She could tell that this one was female, based on her sharper eyes and more pronounced ear fins.
Lilian’s Dratini glared at Tini and let out a challenging cry. To which, the friendly Tini simply responded with a smile and a cheerful wave of his tail. It had been a long time since he’d seen another one of his kind, so naturally he couldn’t help but feel joy at the surprise encounter.
“Alright, Tini. Today’s finally going to be the day.” Tini looked back at his partner with glittering eyes, fully in tune with Nina’s intent. “I’m not going to hold you back anymore, so show our new friends here the fruits of your labor… and become the Dragon you were always meant to be!”
“Dra TINI!” Tini cried out in determination, as he turned his head back to face his opponent with a determined gaze, looking more serious than Nina had ever seen him before.
Lilian gave a savage grin at the sudden change in Tini’s demeanor, recognizing that she was finally going to be presented with a proper battle for once.
Seeing that both trainers were ready, Mr Yamada, who had volunteered to referee the fight, announced the start of the battle. “This will be a one on one battle between Lilian Blackthorn, representing the exalted Blackthorn Family, and Melina Jones, representing the Cerulean Gym and the prestigious laboratories of Professor Oak and Professor Bill.”
Nina held back an urge to groan. Her overly dramatic teacher was treating this as if it was an official conference match. Even going so far as to call out each of their individual sponsors. She could already hear the audience’s murmurs at the mention of the big names backing her.
“Trainers, are you ready?!”
“Ready!!”
“3, 2, 1, and… Begin!”
Right off the bat, both Dratinis started off with a Dragon Pulse, without even needing any input from their trainers. Eliciting fervent cheers from the audience when the two equally powerful bolts of Dragon Energy collided in the middle of the arena.
That said, Nina could tell that Tini’s Dragon Pulse fell a bit short of his opponents. Something that Lilian noticed as well as she ordered her Pokemon to persist in her bombardment.
“Don’t bother matching her, Tini. Time to show off what you learned from Kingsley.”
With a slight grin and another cry, Tini danced all around the bolts of Dragon Energy that was shot his way. The scales on his muscular serpentine body glowing with a purple draconic aura all the while. The sight of which was enough to make Lilian lose her composure.
“Get in there, Sapphire. Stop him!” Yelled the Blackthorn.
A surge of Dragon Energy took over the other Dratini’s body as she surged forth in a Dragon Rush, quickly closing the gap between her and Tini.
“Milotic into an Onix,” commanded Nina. She had taken to using codewords related to battles they’ve experienced to hint at specific moves and strategies that they’ve formulated over the years.
Instead of moving to dodge the incoming Dragon Rush, Tini simply coiled up his body and tensed up all his muscles while steadily waiting for the right moment to strike.
And right as Sapphire was due to come into range, a feeling of discomfort overtook her and caused her to falter somewhat in her charge. Leaving her slightly open to a counter strike from Tini’s pseudo-Coil empowered Dragon Rush, which was more akin to a whipping motion as opposed to the charging one that Sapphire had employed.
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Tini slammed into Sapphire right in the jaw, effectively uppercutting the female Dragon as she cried out in pain and was sent tumbling back to her side of the arena.
“Snap out of it, Sapphire!” Lilian yelled. “Burn him!”
An impressive wave of purple Dragon Breath spewed out from the Dratini as she covered the entire arena in her draconic fire. Tini winced at the damage, unable to avoid the all encompassing attack.
Nina hummed. She could tell that Lilian’s training ethos was more geared towards pure power in the form of Dragon Type Energy. To that end Sapphire seemed to have quite a fair bit of endurance as well. “Trying to end this quickly with big moves might end up backfiring on us.”
“Cerulean on Ice,” she called. This was the original strategy that Nina had devised to make up for Tini’s lack of mobility on land. But her Dratini had since learned air swimming and his variant Dragon Rush to make up for it. Didn’t mean the idea had lost its merit though.
Tini cried and shot a Hydro Pump straight into the air, the geyser eventually tapering off to sprinkle water droplets all over the field and turning into steam as they hit the blazing draconic flames.
Lilian misunderstood, thinking that Tini was trying to put out the flames, and told Sapphire to double down on Dragon Breath.
But the male Dratini was undaunted, instead of repeating his actions, Tini simply endured the Dragon Breath and began performing an elegant dance, his body flowing and undulating like ocean waves. The rising water vapors from earlier began to congregate at Tini’s Rain Dance, forming gray clouds overcasting the arena as droplets of rain began falling.
The range of Sapphire’s mighty Dragon Breath was diminished in an instant, no longer able to cover the entire arena like it used to. Lilian once again ordered her Dratini to rush in, only to be dodged by another Dragon Dance from Tini.
“Time to finish your set up, Tini.”
With a casual Dragon Pulse from Tini to keep his opponent at bay, he whipped his tail up into the air and raised a wave of water that washed over the entire arena, pushing Sapphire even further away from him with a yelp.
Nina grinned. Tini’s Typing meant that his Surf took copious amounts of effort to set up only for a single use. And it likely didn’t do much damage either. But now, the surface of the arena had become one big puddle, allowing Tini to skate around the space as if it were ice. Hence, Cerulean on Ice.
Which was exactly what Tini did as he skated all around Sapphire while Dragon Dancing and spamming Water Pulse at his disconcerted opponent.
Lilian’s eyes flitted all around as she gritted her teeth and wracked her brains. Finally calling out to Sapphire for an indiscriminate Thunder to make use of the ongoing rain clouds.
A flash of bright light and thundering boom rang out at Sapphire’s cry, causing Nina and spectating students to cover their ears in fright. Tini barely dodged out of the way but could clearly feel the superheated plasma singing his scales.
Unfortunately, his opponent did not stop at just one strike. Lilian called for an indiscriminate bombardment, so bolts of Thunder began striking the arena at random, straining Tini’s reaction speed to the limit as he attempted to dodge each one.
Nina was unable to give orders from all the noise and Tini could not dodge forever, eventually getting struck and crying out in pain, finally putting a stop to the crisis.
Sapphire heaved in exhaustion at the ridiculous power she just demonstrated, while Tini spasmed in pain from the electricity coursing through him.
Nina suppressed a tear at seeing the burned and singed figure of her partner. She had half a mind to return him right now, but Tini simply cried out with a defiant “TIIIN!” as if sensing Nina’s hesitation.
A wave of strong emotions washed over Nina, infusing her with a renewed determination and completely dispelling her defeatist notions. The girl sniffled and rubbed her eyes. “I believe in you, Tini. I know you can do it.”
Tini looked back and gave a solemn nod to his partner, before he began to gently sway his body to an inaudible tune. Nina recognised the beat, it was the same lullaby that Tini always sang whenever she was having trouble sleeping. A rendition of the song that Victoria, Tini’s mother, sang to him during their last moments together.
Nina unconsciously hummed along, feeling her connection with Tini solidifying as they became increasingly in sync with one another.
Seeing that Nina and Tini were passive and Sapphire had recovered somewhat from her strain, Lilian commanded her Dratini to finish this.
Sapphire heaved, forming a feeble Dragon Pulse in front of her mouth before shooting it at Tini, who just casually swayed to the side to dodge.
Lilian frowned as Tini’s scales began to regain their luster and shine in a brilliant light. “Twister!” She called. “Whatever it is they’re planning, disrupt it!”
“Draa!” Cried Sapphire as she forced herself to wave her exhausted tail and conjure up a Twister, which Tini simply dispelled through a casual flick of his empowered tail. Not even needing to break the rhythm of his dance to do so.
By this point, Tini was full on glowing as he sang along with Nina, letting out a haunting melody which had captured the hearts of everyone present in the gym. And for a brief moment in time, everyone ceased their chatter and strained their ears to enjoy the mesmerizing Dragon song. Even Lilian and Sapphire watched on with bated breath at what was about to happen.
Tini’s body slowly began to thicken and elongate as he danced, his silhouette gradually sharpening in the light. Like a Dragon rising into the skies, he went higher and higher until he attained a length long enough to reach halfway across the arena.
As the light began to dissipate, Tini’s tune shifted, from somber and melancholic to upbeat and cheerful. Nina could feel her partner’s happiness being conveyed through song and broke out into a wide smile. The girl clapped fervently to congratulate Tini for his achievement. “I suppose I should call him Nairy from now on.”
“Good job, Nairy! I knew you could do it. Now let’s finish this match with a bang!
“Dragonair!!!!” The Dragon roared, announcing his newly evolved status for everyone in the world to know. Purplish blue Dragon and Water Type Energy converged on his tail as he primed for his signature Double Tail attack. Charging up at a speed that was almost three times as fast as before he evolved.
“Defend, Sapphire!” Yelled the panicking Lilian.
Sapphire obliged by conjuring a circular Protect barrier to encompass her. But Tini simply broke it with the raw strength of his tail. Then circled around to immediately slam the full might of his Dragon and Aqua Tail hybrid onto the Dratini, leaving an ugly gash on the floor from the sheer amount of power that was contained within his strengthened body.
“Dratini is unable to battle. Winner of this match is Melina Jones and her Dragonair!” The referee called the match, after seeing that Sapphire was completely unconscious and buried deep in the gash that Nairy had created.
Nina pumped her fist into the air in ecstasy as the audience broke out into rapturous applause at the incredible match they just witnessed.
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Alright, that's it for my December releases. I'll be going on break until sometime in January where I'm hoping I'll have more leeway to write. In the meantime, make sure to follow and and favorite this fiction to be notified of my return.
For those of you who are impatient, you may check out my Patreon for 10 advanced chapters.
Note: I haven't had the chance to proofread and edit Chapters 81-90 yet, so if you do check out my Patreon, please don't be too alarmed if there are more mistakes than usual. I'll get to fixing everything up eventually.
Thank you all again for joining in Nina's journey thus far. Rest assured that there will be more to come.