Chapter 106:
Although Dragonite looked incredibly powerful, one Trainer, unwilling to accept this, finally stepped onto the arena.
And he explicitly challenged Dragonite by name.
As the arena holder, Hayashi Kaede didn't have the right to refuse, because the challenger needed to defeat all three of the holder's Pokémon to succeed.
The arena holder, however, had to reveal their three Pokémon in advance for the challenger to face one by one.
This was a slight advantage for the challenger, allowing them to learn a bit about the holder's strengths and plan for type advantages.
It was just a pity for Torchic; its chance to battle vanished once again.
The challenger was a young man, probably around 23 or 24 years old, like a recent university graduate.
His first Pokémon was Venusaur.
[Pokémon: Venusaur]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Overgrow]
[Potential: Blue]
[IVs: ...]
[Level: 37-39]
[Moves: Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Grassy Terrain, Toxic, Substitute, Protect...]
Ah, an impulsive young university student~!
After checking Venusaur's stats, Hayashi Kaede roughly guessed the opponent's intended strategy.
But he still said to Dragonite, "Dragonite, take it easy later. Just defeat them, that's enough."
Although he could see Dragonite's stats and knew what moves it had, he had never commanded Dragonite in battle before and wanted to avoid causing any adverse reaction.
So, for this battle, Hayashi Kaede decided to let Dragonite handle it itself.
However, before the battle started, he glanced down at Gardevoir.
The meaning was clear: if anything goes wrong, be ready to step in.
Gardevoir nodded, gently conveying its message via telepathy.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things for you."
Hayashi Kaede felt a sudden surge of emotion.
Gardevoir's tone seemed to say, "Go ahead and give it your all. No matter what happens, I'll handle it."
In truth, ever since Gardevoir arrived at the plantation, he really felt like he was being taken care of by it.
But Hayashi Kaede's words took on a different meaning in Dragonite's ears.
"Dragonite?"
Them?
Dragonite looked at the opposing Venusaur. There was clearly only one.
It then looked at the other Trainers' Pokémon below and suddenly understood.
Did he mean it needed to defeat all the Pokémon?
"Let's go, pal!"
The university student opposite could barely contain his battle lust. The moment the match started, he commanded his Venusaur, "Grassy Terrain!"
Instantly, even on the rocky arena, lush grass sprouted.
"Great!" Seeing the terrain successfully set up, the student was delighted and was about to order Venusaur to use its second move, "Toxic..."
But before he could finish, Dragonite's claws were already enveloped in blazing fire, descending like a meteor onto the ground.
Fire Punch.
The Grassy Terrain, covered in verdant grass, was instantly engulfed in flames, burning away into scattered embers.
Immediately after, Dragonite soared into the sky, its form flickering. An invisible shockwave shimmered around it. In the blink of an eye, it landed beside Venusaur, its powerful tail glowing as it slammed into the Seed Pokémon.
This was Extreme Speed and Dragon Tail.
*Whap~*
After the whip-like crack, Venusaur's eyes were already swirling.
The joy on the student's face instantly turned to astonishment...
He had originally thought that after setting up Grassy Terrain, he might have a chance using a combination of Toxic, Substitute, and Protect.
But the result was, Venusaur didn't even get a chance to use Substitute or Protect.
Was this Dragonite just too strong?
Was this young Trainer, who looked even younger than him, actually an Elite Four-level Trainer?
Absolutely terrifying...
The student stared at Hayashi Kaede in shock, before finally recalling his fainted Venusaur and retreating dejectedly.
"Dragonite~!"
Watching the Trainer recall Venusaur and slowly walk away, Dragonite turned its gaze to the other Trainers below, extended one claw, and beckoned with an utterly arrogant and unruly expression.
The look made even Hayashi Kaede stare blankly.
Because in his impression, the Dragonite that delivered letters was very gentle.
When did it become so cocky?
However, Its expression successfully infurated the Trainers below.
"What does that look mean? So arrogant! I refuse to believe it can defeat all our Pokémon!"
"Let's go... everyone!"
One hour later.
Only five of the dozen-plus Trainers below remained, while the Dragonite on the stage was still full of energy.
Basically, no Pokémon could withstand more than two moves from it.
There was one Galarian Mr. Rime that managed to block a Dragon Breath from Dragonite using a combination of Misty Terrain and Light Screen.
But it was quickly taken down by a Flamethrower.
By now, no one dared to step up and challenge anymore.
The Dragonite on stage looked pleased as punch, as if reveling in the sweet feeling of "vengeance served."
For some reason, It just felt incredibly good right now.
Perhaps it had stayed by Mewtwo's side for too long, making it feel less powerful than it actually was.
"Phew..."
Looking at the dejected group of Trainers below, Hayashi Kaede felt a little sorry for them.
He had imagined many outcomes for this match: Torchic struggling but winning against the opponent's Pokémon, followed by Serperior and Gardevoir cleaning up.
But he never expected it to end like this.
A Dragonite falling from the sky, defeating every challenger's Pokémon.
Mainly, Dragonite was just so full of fighting spirit.
Although Hayashi Kaede didn't know why its fighting spirit was so high.
After Plantation Owner Inoue announced the result, Hayashi Kaede somewhat awkwardly approached her with Dragonite and Gardevoir.
"Sorry... it seems I ended the challenge matches early."
Unexpectedly, she just smiled, her face full of amazement and admiration. "Not at all, child. I should thank you. All these years I've held these challenge matches, they've never been very exciting because we lacked truly powerful Trainers. With you here now, I believe more skilled Trainers will come next year."
"Is that so?"
Hayashi Kaede was taken aback...
"Yes." Inoue sighed again with emotion. "It's hard to imagine you're a plantation owner. I've been holding these challenge matches for so many years, and I've never seen a plantation owner this powerful..."
Then she added, "So, for this year's one-thirtieth of the Grepa Berry harvest, would you prefer to wait for us to sell it and give you the money, or shall we pick the berries for you directly?"
Hayashi Kaede smiled somewhat sheepishly at the praise, as Dragonite wasn't actually a Pokémon he had raised himself.
But regarding the Grepa Berries, he naturally chose the latter. "I want them fresh, not sold."
"Alright. If we pick them, there will be a labor cost involved. If we sell them for you, there won't be."
"Mmhmm."
Hayashi Kaede wasn't surprised by this. After all, even one-thirtieth of a hundred-plus acre plantation was a significant quantity.
She nodded. "You can come collect your Grepa Berries in three days. However, you should note that once picked, if they aren't stored in a low-temperature environment, they need to be brewed into wine as quickly as possible, preferably within ten days."
"Okay." Mentioning brewing reminded Hayashi Kaede of another goal for this trip. He looked at her expectantly. "It's just... I heard from Uncle Genmu that you also have Shuckle here, right?"
A kindly smile appeared on Inoue's face,
But her words made Hayashi Kaede's heart sink.
"For brewing, having Shuckle is perfectly normal, right? But judging by your tone, you want to raise Shuckle too, don't you? That's a shame, child. I don't have many Shuckle, and they've been helping me brew wine for a long time. They're all my old partners..."