Unova Journey, Complete
Aisha accepts Iris' challenge.
The duo engaged in a one-on-one Pokémon battle on top of the Nimbasa Gym's Battle Arena.
It wasn't that Instructor Ai liked to bully little girls.
It was mainly because Iris' status was a bit special.
She was thee future Unova Champion.
Instructor Ai wanted to see if Marill's "Dragon Slaying Warrior" quest would work on Iris.
So, during the match, Marill killed Iris' Axew with a Play Rough.
The system didn't react.
Instructor Ai was greatly disappointed.
It seemed that there was no way to get a reward by bullying Iris, who wasn't a champion yet.
Operation Card Bug, a big failure.
"Aye..."
"Lu..."
Leaning on top of the wall and looking at the chandelier hanging above the ceiling, Instructor Ai sighed in disappointment.
Next to him, Marill also had a lost look on its face.
It was so hard to meet a Dragon type Pokémon, and it thought it could have a good fight.
If not, there would be rewards to be had - Marill had seen Rotom and Charmeleon's high to the point of being unable to do so after they had taken the Fusion Bolt version of the Electric Gem and the Victory Flame, respectively.
It was envious.
The little water bear also wanted a reward.
Then...
Its hopes were gone.
"Lu~"
Following the example of Instructor Ai, Marill leaned against the wall and sighed.
"..."
The look of one human and one Pokémon falling into Iris's eyes was a great mockery.
"Aye..."
However, Iris, who grew up in Village of Dragons and experienced countless trials and tribulations, wasn't some deep-rooted young lady with a big temper.
Defeat was defeat, there was nothing to say.
On the contrary, she worshipped Instructor Ai even more.
Because, Iris knew that Instructor Ai's Marill was a Pokémon that had only begun to be cultivated this year.
However, Axew was Iris's companion since she was a little girl, and received training from her elders in the Village of Dragons together with her. Although she has not yet evolved, her strength is not to be underestimated.
Despite this, Marill was able to kill Axew with a single Play Rough...
This then showed that Marill's rank was high.
At the very least, it had thoroughly crushed her own Axew.
"What a powerful Pokémon breeding skills..."
Looking at Instructor Ai, who was leaning over the wall with a depressed face and sighing, Iris selectively ignored his expression and lamented his ability.
Not only was he a master tactician of the game, but his real-life Pokémon breeding techniques were also so strong.
It was worthy of being Instructor Ai.
"Instructor Ai-..."
"Iris, why are you running around again?"
While Iris was about to strike up another conversation with Aisha, a large hand clapped on top of her shoulder, followed by a familiar didactic voice.
"Gran- grandpa Drayden."
Iris turned around, and it was to see her unrelated elder, and now the leader of the Village of Dragons, Drayden standing behind her.
"Are you giving people trouble again?"
"No, how could I?" Iris hurriedly waved her hand and said, "I just saw Sister Iono inside the gym and thought of saying hello, but then I didn't expect to meet that Instructor Ai that we've been watching the video of before, and... then on a whim, I invited Instructor Ai to spar."
She was honest and explained her entire behavior.
Hearing her explanation, Drayden breathed a sigh of relief.
He did trust Iris and knew that this little girl wouldn't lie.
"It's good that you didn't cause any trouble."
Drayden still had the same serious expression, however, the tone of his voice slowed down quite a bit.
He also knew Iris' wild nature, and was always afraid that this junior would cause trouble for others.
"Uh-huh."
An innocent-looking Iris spat out her tongue next to Drayden's.
"And... Instructor Ai?"
Repeating Iris' words, Drayden followed her line of sight and saw Aisha next to him.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Drayden frowned.
He detected a familiar aura on Aisha's body.
It was the scent of a dragon...
"Instructor Ai."
Drayden strides forward.
"This child has caused you trouble."
"No, no."
Seeing Drayden carrying Iris towards him, Aisha also waved his hand and said, "Iris didn't cause me any trouble, she's pretty good."
"So..."
Hearing Aisha praising Iris, Drayden's mood was also greatly improved.
"I wonder what Mr. Drayden wants?"
Looking at this man with a stocky build and a white beard that had been erected in the shape of a mask above his chin, blocking half of his face, Aisha also spoke up and inquired about his purpose.
"No, it's nothing..."
Having said that, however, Drayden's eyes remained fixed on Aisha's body.
As if trying to see something under his expression.
Aisha, on the other hand, had the same expression as usual.
It was true that he had no intention of deliberately befriending Drayden.
The DNA Splicers that Drayden's side was guarding was indeed something quite important to himself.
However, the DNA Splicers thing was also an important inheritance for Drayden.
Even if he told him what this thing did, and how much Ghetsis coveted the DNA Splicers, Drayden wouldn't necessarily believe it.
In that case, it was better to do less.
Anyway, by the time when Team Plasma was ready to freeze Opelucid City, he himself would step in to help Drayden and get his hands on the DNA Splicers to the same effect.
"I wonder, would Instructor Ai be interested in sparring with me?"
"Hm?"
Hearing Drayden's invitation to fight, Aisha was also quite puzzled.
What?
You Village of Dragons are so full of martial virtues?
It's kind of interesting...
"Of course."
Aisha smiled and accepted Drayden's invitation to fight.
It's just as well, if Iris can't pop gold coins, you, the elder, can do it for her...
Drayden was a serious Dragon type Gym Leader.
"Marill!"
Calling out to the little water bear, Aisha walked towards the sparring ground.
"Lu!"
Marill Dew also followed in his footsteps with a face of excitement.
The look it gave reminded Drayden of the dragons in the Village of Dragons - the way the giant dragon looked at the treasure vault was similar to the way Marill looked at him now.
"Lu~"
With a jump, Marill stood in front of Aisha in a fighting stance.
Finally, it was time to pop gold coins.
"Druddigon, please!"
Drayden stood very steadily straight and threw a Poké ball, while a Druddigon that was as stocky as he was roared onto the field of battle.
"Roar-!!!"
"Lu!"
As the Druddigon let out a roar, Marill slammed an Aqua Jet into its head.
"Roar!"
Druddigon held the roar back in its throat as Marill's Play Rough had hit it.
Drayden immediately commanded Druddigon to use Iron Head.
"Boom-!!!"
Marill's fist knocked on top of Druddigon's head with a crisp sound.
A good sound is a good head!
"Roar..."
Druddigon took a step back with its head spinning.
Marill, on the other hand, landed easily.
"Not Rough Skin... Sheer Force or Mold Breaker characteristic?" Aisha took a look at Marill's fist and roughly judged Druddigon's trait after realizing that it didn't hurt much.
Drayden, on the other hand, marveled at Marill's great strength.
"Druddigon, Thunder Punch!"
"Marill, Play Rough."
Each side gave the command to attack, and the two Pokémon ran towards each other without hesitation, with lightning and goblin energy wrapped around their fists.
"Roar!"
As Druddigon's fist smashed into Marill, it was met with Marill's feet stepping in a marvelous pace, and actually magically deflected its body to avoid the fist.
After that, Marill imprinted its fist on top of Druddigon's stomach.
"Lu!"
With a flourish, it immediately knocked Druddigon back a few steps.
This fellow was known as the Dragon Race's Shame though, with a racial value of less than five hundred.
However, it was at least a dragon, or Drayden's Pokémon, so its body was naturally not brittle.
"Play Rough."
Aisha, on the other hand, bluntly gave the most effective command.
That was to attack without hesitation.
"Lu!"
Marill clenched its fists, and taking advantage of Druddigon's unsteady stance, it quickly bullied its way up and swung its fist at the dragon's head.
"Oh no, Druddigon, Gunk Shot!"
Druddigon opened its mouth and violently spat out a large cloud of venom.
Marill did its best to dodge it, but it still got a puddle of venom on it.
Nonetheless, its fist was still unrelenting as it imprinted on top of Druddigon's head, releasing a powerful force.
"Roar..."
After taking three rounds of Play Rough in a row, even with a dragon's physique, Druddigon couldn't hold out any longer.
It collapsed on top of the ground and lost its ability to fight.
"Lu!"
Marill, on the other hand, gasped slightly and landed next to Druddigon.
It had won.
The process wasn't really tough, Druddigon's Gunk Shot wouldn't have flipped Marill over even if it had hit all of them.
On the contrary, when competing for strength, the seemingly stocky Druddigon was no match for the petite Marill, and it was only a matter of time before she lost.
Trainers like Drayden, who were good at tough fights and head-to-head battles, would lose in terms of strength, and their advantage would be gone.
"What a hero."
Looking at Marill, who had defeated his own Druddigon with such ease, Drayden shook his head helplessly and sighed as he withdrew his Druddigon, saying, "I lost."
"..."
Aisha on the opposite side looked at the air next to him with some fascination, a moment later she also stepped forward with a smile on her face, saying, "Gym Leader Drayden has admitted that this Druddigon is not your true strength."
"Losing is losing, there's nothing to say."
Drayden was frank about his loss.
Although this Druddigon wasn't his main Pokémon, it was still the Pokémon that he was used to on a regular basis.
The fact that it was still crushed by Aisha was indicative of this teenager's ability.
"Your Marill seems to have a bit of a martial arts background?"
Drayden looked at Aisha's Marill.
He was also a high-ranking trainer of Unova, befriending the fighting god of Unova's Elite Four - Marshal.
Unova Champion Alder himself was also Marshal's master, so Drayden was actually considered knowledgeable about martial arts.
Just now, Marill dodged his Druddigon's Thunder Punch's alignment, which contained some underpinnings of martial arts, and Drayden was naturally able to see that as well.
"With such strange strength, practicing martial arts is a good path."
Drayden exclaimed so.
Aisha, on the other hand, smiled without saying anything.
"Instructor Ai, I wonder if you have the time to come to our Village of Dragons?" Drayden also got right to the point and said, "I feel that there is something special about you."
"No time."
Instructor Ai also got straight to the point, saying, "I've been invited to attend Elesa and Iono's event as a guest for this one, and it's not many days before the event officially starts."
"Oh..."
Drayden's expression was a bit regretful.
"And."
Aisha spread his hands, full of helplessness, and said, "I signed up for this session of the Kanto Region Indigo Plateau Conference, and I'm still three badges short of collecting them, so after this Nimbasa Gym event is over, I'll need to speed up my pace and return to the Kanto Region to continue with the Gym Challenges."
"I see."
Drayden expressed understanding.
"The League Conference is indeed a good stage as well, so I would like to wish Instructor Ai a successful victory."
"Thanks for your kind words."
After some courtesy, Drayden brought Iris to bid farewell to Aisha and Iono.
They themselves were just passing through Nimbasa City.
It was all about Iris running into the Nimbasa Gym when she saw someone familiar, nothing much per se.
"Instructor Ai, see you later, next time I'll become even more powerful and we'll fight against each other again at that time!"
"Ax~axew~ax~"
Iris said goodbye towards Aisha with Axew who had hidden inside her hair.
"Good."
Aisha also smiled as he watched the duo and the dragon go away.
After their backs gradually disappeared, Instructor Ai's palm opened, revealing an extremely high-purity Mystic Water and a Fairy Gem whose quality was not inferior to the former.
This was Marill's reward for defeating Drayden...
Drayden was a proper Dragon type Gym Leader.
"Your wish is granted, Marill."
Aisha tossed the two secret treasures to Marill.
"Lu!"
After Marill hurriedly caught them, it heard Aisha's words.
"Although the quality of these two items is not as good as Rotom's Electric Gym and Charmeleon's Victory Flame, it's good that your quest isn't a one-time quest, so we can continue to look for quest targets to swipe the rewards later on, and we'll be able to get plenty of them... I wonder if the system ruled Lance to be a Dragon type Champion, not to mention that he was ruled to be a trainer specializing in the Flying type?"
"Lu?"
Marill didn't quite understand Instructor Ai's self-talk.
It swallowed Mystic Water and Fairy Gem in one gulp and shivered in comfort.
"Lu..."
"The Unova region is really my treasure." Entering the Nimbasa Gym, Aisha sighed with a sigh and said, "Once I arrived in the Unova region, the Pokémon, the quests, the money, all of it was arranged."
"Isn't it true that I can still whore out a
Instructor Ai fell into deep thought.
As expected, he still liked Pokémon with high face value.
It just so happened that there was no Grass type Pokémon in the team.
Otherwise, sing the opposite's grass snake to arrange it?
...
After walking out of the Nimbasa Gym's range, Drayden suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He still couldn't forget, the dragon's scent wrapped around Aisha's body.
As the leader of the Village of Dragons, Drayden was naturally familiar with the legend of the two dragons that had been passed down since ancient times in the Unova region.
"Tsk..."
Drayden had a bit of a headache.
He had nothing better to do than to go on a trip, and he actually met one of the heros who had gained the recognition of the dragons within the legend?
Is there such a coincidence in the world?
How could it be...
"What's wrong?"
Iris asked Drayden with a curious expression.
It was the first time she had seen the usually serious Drayden show this look.
"No, nothing."
Drayden collected himself.
Still, he unconsciously looked back in the direction of the Nimbasa Gym.
He was really looking forward to the fact that he could meet a hero.
And then gave that thing, to the hero who had mastered the giant dragon.
"When you go back, investigate that teenager's whereabouts during this period of time, and see if he's been to Eindoak Town or Dragonspiral Tower during this period of time... if it's really established that he's the hero who holds a giant dragon, investigate his character and give him the stuff!"
In this way, Drayden made up his mind.
"Iris, let's go back to the Village of Dragons."
"Good!"
...
The Nimbasa Gym event was held as promised.
The event opened with Elesa vs. Aisha.
Emolga and Eevee put on a spectacular and magnificent show for the audience, and the opening of the event was considered a great success.
In the aftermath, although it was said that Instructor was no longer in attendance, Iono and Elesa, as veteran entertainment professionals, still managed to control the atmosphere.
The audience responded enthusiastically.
The guys' efforts during this time were not in vain.
The Nimbasa Gym event was also a big success.
Instructor Ai had once again gained a large number of female fans through his real-life appearances.
He was very relieved.
Elesa's collaboration with Iono is also off to a smooth start.
Then, after the event was over, Aisha was running out of excuses to continue traveling over here at public expense.
He said goodbye to the three Swords of Justice and Keldeo.
Keldeo was sad to part with Ai Instructor as a partner.
It was only after Aisha made an appointment with it to crusade against Kyurem together in the future that the pony was holding back his reluctance to bid him farewell.
After learning that Instructor Ai was about to leave, Ingo and Emmet from the subway team also came to see him off with "reluctance".
Elesa even said that if Aisha has a chance, she can give up all her work and become his guide when he travels in the Unova region.
Skyla tried to raise her hand but Elesa pushed it down.
Iono, on the other hand, smiled without saying anything.
She and Instructor Ai were the most familiar of partners, and there was no problem at all with not meeting offline, there were so many opportunities to link up during the online broadcast.
Thus, Instructor Ai boarded the flight back to Kanto.
"The target is Fuchsia City."
Above his seat, Aisha looked at the map Rotom had presented to him, and muttered to himself, saying, "I also want to learn the power of ninjas."
Thus, Instructor Ai's trip to Kanto, continue!