High above the storm-tossed bay, the battle raged. The colossal Gyarados coiled and struck, its movements surprisingly agile for its size, relentlessly pursuing the elegant Dragonair. Skills flashed – Hyper Beam cutting through the rain, Dragon Rage exploding in bursts of concussive force, Aqua Tail slashing with watery power.
Dragonair twisted and dove, using its grace and the storm itself as cover. It dipped below the waves, surfaced amidst crashing breakers, rode updrafts between lightning flashes. Yet, no matter how evasive its maneuvers, the Gyarados matched it, anticipated it, always closing the distance, always pressing the attack.
Watching from the rain-lashed ridge below, Xiu couldn't help but feel a knot of anxiety tighten in his chest. It was obvious, even to his untrained eye, that the Dragonair was losing ground. It was trapped, constantly reacting, unable to mount a significant counteroffensive against the sheer power and relentless aggression of the Gyarados.
Gyarados surged forward again, energy gathering within its cavernous maw – another Hyper Beam. Dragonair banked sharply, attempting to dodge, but the beam, thick as a tree trunk, swept across the sky too quickly. It clipped Dragonair's flank, sending the serpentine Pokémon tumbling from the air, crashing heavily onto the muddy ground near the shoreline below.
The Gyarados didn't relent. Roaring in triumph, it plummeted from the sky like a vengeful serpent descending from the clouds. Even in mid-air, energy crackled around it, coalescing into another attack.
'Ice Fang? Thunder Fang?' No, it was cold energy that gathered – Ice Beam. White energy, jagged and fierce, erupted from the Gyarados, striking the downed Dragonair with pinpoint accuracy. Ice crystals instantly formed where the beam hit, spreading rapidly across Dragonair's body, aided by the freezing rain. And within seconds, half of Dragonair's elegant form was encased in thick, immobilizing ice, only its head and neck still free, struggling weakly.
A figure emerged calmly from the driving rain, walking towards the trapped Dragonair. The masked man, the Charmander mask gleaming wetly in the intermittent lightning flashes. His steps were unhurried, utterly confident. The rain still seemed to part around him, leaving him strangely dry amidst the deluge.
"I know this park," the masked man stated, his voice calm, almost conversational, yet carrying clearly over the storm's roar. "Every corner, every hidden path. You had nowhere to run."
He stopped directly in front of the trapped Dragonair, casually tossing a Poké Ball into the air. Red light coalesced beside him, forming a peculiar Pokémon. It had yellow skin, a long snout reminiscent of a tapir, but walked upright on two legs like a human, its hands possessing surprising dexterity. Its eyes held a drowsy, almost hypnotizing quality. Drowzee.
"Drowzee," the masked man commanded coolly. "Use Confusion on Dragonair. Then, Hypnosis."
Drowzee raised its hands. A wave of pink, disorienting energy washed over the struggling Dragonair. The quasi-legendary Pokémon, already weakened and half-frozen, visibly recoiled, its struggles becoming frantic but uncoordinated. Pain and confusion warred in its eyes. After a few agonizing seconds, its resistance faltered, its body going limp within the ice, consciousness fading. Defeated.
The masked man raised another Poké Ball, this one presumably for capture, ready to claim his prize.
Just as he drew his arm back to throw, a brown behemoth erupted from the nearby treeline with a ground-shaking roar – the Kangaskhan. It charged with unstoppable momentum, ignoring the storm, ignoring the Drowzee, ignoring the Gyarados hovering nearby. Its target was the Poké Ball in the masked man's hand.
WHAM!
Kangaskhan's fist connected squarely with the Poké Ball just as it left the man's hand. The ball shattered into fragments, red energy dissipating harmlessly.
The Kangaskhan didn't stop. Its charge carried it forward, slamming directly into the unprepared Drowzee.
But at the moment of impact, a shimmering, translucent film flickered into existence around the Drowzee – 'Barrier or Light Screen?' The force of Kangaskhan's charge rebounded, shoving the giant Pokémon back several steps, neutralizing the attack. Drowzee itself stumbled but remained standing, protected by its psychic shield.
The masked man reacted instantly to the Kangaskhan's sudden appearance. No panic, just cold calculation. He stepped back smoothly, putting distance between himself and the enraged mother Pokémon, already issuing new commands.
"Drowzee, return! Gyarados, Hydro Pump!"
The colossal Gyarados behind him didn't hesitate. Twisting its massive body, it surged higher into the air, head lowered, blue watery energy gathering rapidly in its gaping mouth. A moment's pause, then a torrent of water, thick and pressurized, blasted downwards like a liquid blade, slicing through the rain, aimed squarely at the Kangaskhan.
But Kangaskhan wasn't focused on the Gyarados. Its target was the Drowzee, now attempting to retreat towards its trainer. Ignoring the incoming Hydro Pump, Kangaskhan charged again, fists clenched, ready to finish the psychic Pokémon.
The Hydro Pump slammed into the ice encasing Dragonair, just behind the charging Kangaskhan. The impact was immense, shattering the ice, sending shards flying. The sheer force of the water blasted Dragonair free, simultaneously washing away the lingering effects of Drowzee's Hypnosis.
Awakened, freed, and enraged – Dragonair wasn't about to let its captors escape. Despite its injuries, it coiled, gathering power.
Meanwhile, Drowzee, seeing Kangaskhan bearing down on it, glowed with pink energy again, attempting to use Teleport to escape back to its trainer.
Not so fast. Kangaskhan wouldn't be fooled twice by psychic tricks. Anticipating the escape, it adjusted its attack mid-charge. Instead of a straight punch, it swung its arm downwards in a powerful arc, boosted by the torque of its body.
CRACK! The downward blow shattered Drowzee's forming Teleport field before it could fully activate. The psychic Pokémon cried out as the fist connected, sending it crashing back to the muddy ground, stunned and unable to flee.
Simultaneously, the freed Dragonair launched itself back into the stormy sky, escaping the immediate melee on the ground.
The masked man watched this rapid turn of events, his expression unreadable behind the mask, but his posture remained unnervingly calm. He reached for another Poké Ball on his belt, preparing to deploy a different fighter.
But things were far from over.
A sudden, guttural roar echoed from the ridge behind him – Xiu's roar, more primal than human – followed by the distinct thwump-thwump-thwump of George's net gun firing rapidly.
The masked man didn't even turn. Acting purely on instinct, he threw himself sideways, rolling through the mud and grime just as several capture nets sailed through the space he'd occupied moments before.
"Damn!" Xiu cursed, seeing his ambush fail. The nets landed harmlessly in the mud. He tossed aside the empty net gun – all cartridges expended – and charged forward recklessly, yelling incoherently, trying to create a diversion, anything.
The masked man pushed himself up, mud dripping from his raincoat. He already had a fresh Poké Ball in his hand. Worse, the Gyarados, seeing its trainer under direct attack, disengaged from Dragonair and descended rapidly, positioning itself defensively between the masked man and the charging Xiu. Its immense form truly an intimidating sight. Dragonair, circling above, was too high, too far away to intervene immediately.
But Dragonair was acting. High in the tumultuous sky, the pearl on its neck began to glow with an intense, almost blinding radiance.
Xiu felt it instantly. The already heavy rain intensified, transforming from a downpour into a solid wall of water. The wind shrieked, gathering force, converging on this small patch of coastline with hurricane intensity. Raindrops felt like tiny stones pelting his exposed skin. He couldn't even open his eyes against the onslaught, instinctively raising his arms to shield his face, struggling just to remain standing. The roar of the wind drowned out all other sounds. 'Dragon Dance? No, it's something else... Rain Dance?'
This wasn't all. Above the howling wind, a new sound emerged – a deep, continuous rumbling, far more frequent and menacing than the storm's previous thunder. Xiu didn't need to look up to know the sky above was now thick with rolling, pregnant thunderclouds, summoned or agitated by Dragonair's power.
As the wind eased fractionally, allowing him to squint upwards, the sight was terrifying. The clouds roiled, constantly illuminated by sheets of internal lightning, interweaving snakes of pure energy. The air felt heavy, thick with ozone, charged with an unbearable pressure.
Gyarados shifted uneasily, shielding its trainer beneath its massive head, its own power seeming insignificant against the gathered elemental fury.
CRACK!
The sound wasn't just thunder. It felt deeper, sharper, like reality itself was fracturing. It seemed to resonate not just in the air, but deep within Xiu's own bones. His vision exploded into pure white light, absolute and overwhelming. He squeezed his eyes shut, but the whiteness persisted behind his eyelids.
BOOM!
The thunderclap that followed was deafening, instantaneous, arriving with the light, not after it. Even blind, Xiu heard the shriek – high-pitched, agonized, and inhuman – cutting through the roar.
When his vision slowly, painfully returned, sputtering back through swimming spots of white, the scene had changed dramatically. The Gyarados lay crumpled on the ground, smoke or steam rising faintly from its massive form despite the rain. A long, blackened wound, like a horrific tear, stretched across its back, almost bisecting the giant creature. It lay utterly still, its earlier ferocity replaced by the limpness of defeat, looking like nothing more than a colossal, burnt fish washed ashore.