Chapter 272: Cruel Dragonite

Under the effects of the Superpower move, Dragonite's strength reached an incredible level. Under Garchomp's astonished gaze, its arm was lifted by Dragonite, and then its entire body was slowly hoisted into the air.

In terms of height, Dragonite stood over four meters tall, nearly half a meter taller than Garchomp.

Garchomp was not one to sit idly by. It attempted to retaliate by unleashing Dragon Pulse from its mouth. However, Dragonite freed one hand and crushed the pulse with a single punch.

What followed was Dragonite's relentless close-range assault.

Blow after blow landed directly on Garchomp's face. Its teeth were knocked out, its face was battered beyond recognition, but it gritted its teeth and endured Dragonite's storm-like attacks.

This was because Garchomp possessed the hidden ability Rough Skin. Each time Dragonite struck it with a contact move, it took recoil damage itself.

Now, Garchomp's face was utterly mangled, but Dragonite's fists had not escaped unscathed either. The skin on its knuckles had broken open, revealing raw, bleeding flesh.

Blow after blow, their blood and flesh splattered with each hit.

Dragonite's punches began to lose power, a fact that the battered Garchomp keenly noticed.

The effects of Superpower were fading, and its side effects were kicking in. Dragonite's attack and defense were dropping rapidly.

"Roar!!"

A wave of weakness surged through Dragonite. Its punches slowed for a moment—a moment Garchomp seized despite its own injuries. Its vision blurred with blood, but it locked onto Dragonite's fist and bit down.

With a sickening crack, the sound of bones breaking echoed through the air. Dragonite's arm bone had been crushed by Garchomp's jaws.

The sharp pain forced Dragonite to release Garchomp with its other hand.

However, Garchomp didn't follow up with another attack. Instead, it collapsed onto the ground.

In terms of injuries, Garchomp had fared far worse. Taking so many direct punches from Dragonite under the effects of Superpower, it was a miracle it hadn't passed out already.

If not for its Rough Skin ability and its sheer tenacity, it would have succumbed long ago.

Even now, though it remained conscious, Garchomp was utterly spent, unable to muster the strength to even stand. That last Crunch had drained the last of its energy.

As for Dragonite, its right wrist hung limply, blood and mangled flesh exposing the stark white of bone. Blood poured from the wound, quickly forming a small pool beneath it.

That arm was effectively useless for now. Without proper healing and recovery, it could even lead to permanent damage, potentially affecting Dragonite's future performance.

From a distance, Julian watched the scene, his expression filled with anguish.

Since his debut, although his Pokémon had sustained injuries before, but never had they been hurt this severely.

But now, it was time to bring this to an end.

Dragonite took a bold step forward, its left fist enveloped in a chilling white frost.

Garchomp, still on the ground, paled at the sight.

'Is this thing still a dragon? How does it still have energy?'

There was no time to dwell on the thought. Driven by sheer willpower, Garchomp pushed itself up from the ground. Its blade-like left claw glinted as it prepared to unleash Brick Break, meeting Dragonite's advancing Ice Punch head-on.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Dragonite's Ice Punch struck Garchomp square in the chest, while Garchomp's Brick Break slashed across Dragonite's upper body, leaving a long, bloody gash.

Both were sent flying by the impact.

The difference was clear—Garchomp crashed to the ground and stayed down, completely spent, while Dragonite slowly rose from the dust cloud.

Staring at the defeated Garchomp lying motionless in the dirt, Dragonite's heart swelled with the exhilaration of triumph over a powerful adversary.

"Dra!!!"

With a victorious roar, a cry echoed across Dragon Mountain, reverberating through the skies and surrounding mountains.

Level up: 66 → 67.

The relentless battles, each against high-caliber opponents, were continuously unlocking Dragonite's hidden potential. What it needed now was simply to keep fighting.

Julian approached Dragonite, the strong scent of blood immediately filling his nose.

Dragonite's gaze met Julian's. 'I did it. I won.'

Julian patted it gently. "You did great. Now, take this."

He pulled out a Full Restore. Dragonite's eyes lit up, and it eagerly swallowed the it in one gulp.

Julian now fully understood why the Drake family had only produced two successful challengers of Dragon Mountain in over a century—and even they had only attempted the climb when they were trainers at the peak of the Elite-tier.

Trainers above the Elite-tier weren't permitted to challenge Dragon Mountain, and attempts could only be made once every five years.

The difficulty was staggering. Even trainers at the peak of the Elite-tier would struggle immensely.

The Garchomp they had just faced was only at late Elite-stage, yet the sheer power it unleashed rivaled the peak of that level.

And the challenges ahead were bound to be even harder. The next Dragon-types they'd face would likely match or exceed the power of a pseudo-champion.

And at the summit? They'd face a pseudo-legendary Dragon Pokémon with champion-level strength.

If a Pokémon suffered serious injuries during the challenge—ones that couldn't be healed quickly—continuing was practically impossible.

After all, the opponents would only grow stronger as they climbed. Facing them without being in peak condition was a losing battle.

Julian knew he had the advantage of the system's Full Restore, allowing Dragonite to heal completely in a short amount of time. Without it, his challenge would have likely ended here.

Under the effects of the Full Restore, Dragonite's injuries began healing rapidly.

However, the damage to its wrist was severe—no less than four or five hours of healing would be needed before it was fully functional again.

Since there wouldn't be a second challenge today, Julian decided there was plenty of time for Dragonite to rest.

He walked over to the unconscious Garchomp, whose face had been so battered by Dragonite's punches that it was barely recognizable. Calling it disfigured wouldn't be an exaggeration.

The faint rise and fall of its chest confirmed it was still alive.

Julian pulled out a recovery medicine and administered it to Garchomp. Given its resilience, he figured it would wake up soon.

As for why he didn't use a Full Restore?

'No way I'm wasting 1,000 points on that.'

Even the recovery medicine, costing 300 points per bottle, was a stretch. But Julian decided to use it anyway, as a nod of respect for Garchomp's toughness.

"Dra~"

Not long after, Dragonite approached him. Besides its injured hand, the rest of its wounds had mostly healed, and its energy and stamina had returned to normal.

But now it felt… hungry.

"Here"

Julian said, handing over a box of Top-Grade Dragon-Type Pokéblocks.

Another 1,000 points spent, just like that.

In the past few days, the points he had burned through were more than what he'd accumulated in months, and all of it went to a single Pokémon—Dragonite.

As Dragonite dug into its meal, savoring every bite, the aroma of the food and the effects of the recovery medicine seemed to work their magic. The once-unconscious Garchomp slowly opened its eyes.

The first thing it saw was Dragonite happily munching away. The scent wafting from those tiny blocks made Garchomp's eyes light up.

Garchomp: 'Give me some'

Dragonite glanced at Garchomp. Out of the original ten Pokéblocks, only two were left now.

Under Garchomp's hopeful gaze, Dragonite casually popped the last two blocks into its mouth and swallowed them in one bite.

Dragonite: 'No more'

Garchomp: (艹皿艹)