Pokémon: I’m Really Not a Team Rocket Spy

Lance shook off the last trace of underestimation. He had initially planned to hold back a bit during the battle, but that was clearly unnecessary now.

In fact, this was the kind of battle he wanted all along.

"Dratini, use Twister!"

With a dramatic sweep of his arm, Lance commanded Dratini to attack, hoping to disrupt Charmander before its Dragon Dance could be fully executed.

Dragon energy coalesced in Dratini's mouth, forming a swirling blue Twister laced with faint traces of dust. The attack spiraled toward Charmander with formidable force.

As a member of the Dragon Clan, Lance knew the power of Dragon Dance. Even if Charmander had inherited the move, Lance doubted it could use it proficiently. Successfully pulling it off at all would already be impressive for a beginner Pokémon.

"Charmander, use Ember!"

"What? That fast?"

Lance's expression faltered. The speed at which Charmander completed its Dragon Dance was absurd. Its execution was too precise, a clear sign of extensive practice with the move.

Charmander's Ember collided with Dratini's Twister, sending a cascade of sparks flying in every direction. Dratini wriggled its body to avoid the scattered embers, but some still managed to singe its sleek, blue hide.

"Don't get burned… don't get burned…" Maki muttered under his breath.

He knew that Dratini had two potential abilities: Shed Skin and Marvel Scale. Given that this Dratini was from the Dragon Clan, Maki strongly suspected it had the latter.

The Marvel Scale ability increased a Pokémon's defense when afflicted by a status condition. Aside from Dratini and Dragonair, the only other Pokémon with this ability was Milotic.

(And Milotic, don't even try to deny that you're Dragonair's true evolution!)

Charmander had incorporated some elements of its practice with Flame Burst into the attack, making the Ember feel like a half-formed Flame Burst. However, since the technique wasn't fully developed, its damage output remained limited.

Thankfully, Maki's luck didn't betray him this time, and the attack didn't inflict a burn.

"You call that Ember?"

Lance stared incredulously. Who in the world produces an Ember that explodes like that? It was as if Charmander had spat out a mini-bomb.

"I've been helping Charmander refine its moves a bit," Maki explained, hearing Lance's exclamation.

"You combined it with Flame Burst, didn't you?"

Having raised a Charmander himself, Lance quickly deduced the inspiration behind the move. Yet, his surprise only deepened.

"You've clearly trained this Charmander well, Maki, but there's no way we're going to lose!"

The stronger Maki appeared, the more fired up Lance became. After all, the greater the challenge, the sweeter the victory.

"Charmander, charge in and use Scratch!"

Having boosted its speed and attack with Dragon Dance, Maki knew a close-range fight was the best way to maximize the advantage.

With a burst of speed, Charmander closed the distance between itself and Dratini in a blink. Its claws gleamed as it swiped at the serpentine Pokémon's blue-and-white body.

"Dratini, counter with Dragon Tail!"

Lance wasn't surprised by Charmander's quick approach. Dratini coiled its body, using its abdomen as a pivot point to swing its energy-charged tail toward Charmander's incoming claws.

"Now, use Crunch! Aim for its belly!"

Maki didn't need to see the result of the clash to know how it would go. Scratch simply couldn't match the power of Dragon Tail. Not only was Dragon Tail a stronger move, but it was also a Dragon-Type attack, which Dratini naturally excelled at.

However, Maki's goal wasn't to win the initial clash—it was to create an opening for a follow-up attack.

As the force from Dratini's Dragon Tail slammed into Charmander, the impact nearly sent it flying. But hearing Maki's command, the little Fire-Type quickly regained its balance and lunged forward, sinking its teeth into Dratini's soft underbelly.

Using its mouth to attack was clearly Charmander's favorite strategy.

Dratini writhed as Charmander bit down on one of its weakest spots. Maki had deliberately targeted the underbelly, knowing it was a vulnerable area.

"How does this Charmander know so many tricks?"

Lance gritted his teeth. His initial assessment had been that Charmander, even with a Dragon Dance boost, wouldn't have any moves capable of dealing significant damage to Dratini.

As a Dragon-Type, Dratini resisted Fire-Type moves, reducing the impact of Charmander's most powerful attacks. And non-STAB moves—those that didn't match Charmander's typing—weren't likely to cause much harm either.

From the outset, Dratini had held the upper hand in terms of type advantage.

But then Maki pulled out Crunch, and all of Lance's assumptions were shattered.

Now, his primary concern was figuring out how to free Dratini from Charmander's grip. If he didn't act quickly, Dratini would risk losing its ability to fight.

Here, the difference between having limbs and not having them became painfully obvious. While Charmander clung to Dratini with its jaws, its free claws could still attack. Dratini, on the other hand, relied entirely on its body for close-range moves.

"Use Extreme Speed!"

Lance sighed internally. He hadn't wanted to resort to this move, knowing it might feel unfair.

For the Dragonite family, Extreme Speed was a signature move. Dragonite could naturally learn it upon evolution, but passing it down to Dratini required a specific breeding method, one known only to the Dragon Clan.

In other words, only members of the Dragon Clan could train Dratini capable of using Extreme Speed.

Some might dismiss the significance of a single move, but Extreme Speed was a game-changer. Before evolving, most pseudo-Legendary Pokémon like Dratini weren't much stronger than regular Pokémon.

But with Extreme Speed—a high-power move with +2 priority—it became a formidable force even before evolution.

To understand Extreme Speed's advantage, one must consider priority in battles. In games, moves with higher priority allowed Pokémon to act first. In real-world battles, this translated to drastically reduced preparation time for the move.

Moves like Quick Attack, Bullet Punch, and Mach Punch all gained +1 priority at the cost of reduced power.

But Extreme Speed was the exception—offering both high priority and formidable power.

As Dratini's body glowed with a faint aura, its speed surged beyond anything Charmander could keep up with. The battle wasn't over yet.

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