Virelyra, a True Dragon in humanoid form, was performing an actual Pokémon move—Dragon Dance—right in front of Arthur an Rosaria!
Then, as if to confirm his thought even more, Virelyra's presence grew heavier, pressing down on them like an invisible weight. It became harder to breathe.
Through Dragon Dance, her strength surged far beyond what a normal Dragon Dance could achieve.
Sensing their struggle, Virelyra gracefully tried to temper her overwhelming aura while continuing her elegant dance.
Dragon Dance ×1...
Dragon Dance ×2!
Dragon Dance ×3!
"S-stop! I can't breathe!" Arthur gasped, forcing the words out as he noticed Virelyra herself beginning to sweat, struggling to contain the immense power leaking from her.
With a sharp snap of her fingers, the slightly weary Virelyra dispelled the lingering power of her third Dragon Dance, ending the stacked boost.
Arthur and Rosaria both hunched over, gasping for air.
That feeling… I finally found something worse than sleep paralysis, Arthur joked to steady himself.
After several deep breaths, he frowned and asked, "Is that Pokémon's Dragon-type move Dragon Dance?"
Virelyra nodded firmly. "If it were a fake dragon, how else could a True Dragon like me learn its abilities?"
Arthur was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.
"Wait, really? That's a Pokémon move? You actually learned it?" Rosaria asked in disbelief. She had tried mimicking her Charmeleon's Dragon Breath and Fire Fang before—failing the former but managing the latter. The concept of Fire Fang wasn't difficult to grasp; any creative Fire Elemental Mage could likely recreate it without needing a direct example.
But she'd never imagined a True Dragon would actually use a Dragon-type move as her own.
"In fact, after learning Dragon Dance, I went around challenging other Sovereign Dragons, proving myself the most powerful of them all!" Virelyra said proudly, then glanced at Arthur with a grateful smile.
"You did what?!" Rosaria nearly choked on her shock.
Nodding her head, she continued, "Dragon Dance is incredibly powerful… You should understand that we Sovereign Dragons have already reached the limits of our strength. But then, suddenly, an ability appeared that let us push beyond those limits…
"Also, even we—the Dragon Race—could never give birth to a new species like Dratini…"
She fixed Arthur with a sharp gaze, now more intense and unsettling. "With all this, do you still think it's wrong to call you the Father of Dragons?"
Ignoring her question, Arthur tensed and asked hesitantly, "…Are you intending to stop me from giving Dragon-type Pokémon to other Dragons?"
Virelyra suddenly burst out laughing, tears in her eyes.
"W-what?" Arthur blinked, more confused than ever.
"No, no! I'd never do that! You don't have to worry!" she said seriously, prompting Arthur to breathe a sigh of relief.
"—But..."
Here came the infamous 'but'! Arthur's face tightened again.
Clearing her throat, Virelyra blushed deeply and knelt before him like a bashful girl. "Father of Dragons, Arthuros, please acknowledge me as Dratini's Mother and promise me you'll only birth Dragon eggs for me!"
"???" Both Arthur and Rosaria shared confused looks.
What kind of sus request was that?! Arthur was utterly dumbfounded.
Virelyra began to explain.
As he listened, Arthur slowly started to pierce it together.
What Virelyra wanted wasn't to stop other dragons from obtaining Dragon-type Pokémon—it was something more symbolic. She wanted to be the only one who received Dragon-type Pokémon Eggs directly from him. The rest of the Dragon Race would have to capture their Pokémon in the wild, unable to hatch them from eggs.
Why? Because in the eyes of the Dragon Race, if she was considered the Mother and he the Father—the creators of the Dragon-type Pokémon lineage—their "children" would carry their symbolic bloodline. This unique bond would grant Virelyra a deeper connection to the Pokémon, enhancing her ability to use Dragon-type moves.
This odd magical inheritance system, Arthur learned, applied only to the Dragon Race. Despite being the so-called 'Father', a human like him gained nothing from the connection.
And while Virelyra had already learned Dragon Dance, the move put a serious strain on her—potentially weakening her over time if overused. But with the "birthright" of being acknowledged as Dratini's symbolic Mother, that burden could be lessened, allowing her to wield Dragon-type powers more freely and with less cost.
Frankly, Arthur couldn't wrap his head around the logic. It sounded abstract and overly ritualistic. But Virelyra insisted this was simply how Dragon Race operated. Even if the child wasn't born of flesh and blood, the symbolism alone made it true in their eyes.
Arthur didn't think too deeply on it and agreed.
After all, it wasn't like they were actual couple or anything. It was just some deeply-rooted cultural tradition among Dragons.
In short, by declaring Virelyra the Mother of Dragons, Arthur had unknowingly made it harder for other dragons to learn Dragon-type moves at her level of proficiency. They could still learn them—but not as easily. And certainly not with the same affinity or power. It gave Virelyra a significant edge over her peers.
Still, this turn of events wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it was a very good thing.
Now he had the most powerful dragon in existence standing as his protector. Who would dare mess with his Dragon-type Pokémon now?
The Dragon Race respected strength above all. As long as none of them could defeat Virelyra, they wouldn't dare challenge or bother him. Which meant, in effect, the safety of his Dragon-type Pokémon—and by extension, all Pokémon—was now virtually guaranteed.
In a strange, roundabout way… he had succeeded in reaching out to the Dragon Race.
But at what cost?
…Well, it was just a verbal promise. Nothing too serious.
Virelyra's earlier embarrassment made more sense now—her request had sounded like a proposal, even if it wasn't one. Thankfully, it hadn't turned into anything more than symbolic ritual and tradition.
Besides, even if Arthur ever started thinking about romance, that was something for when he was eighteen—at the very least. Not now. Not at thirteen.
Also, the fact that Virelyra had figured out his long-term plan—to shift from hatching Pokémon from eggs to encouraging wild capture for rookie Trainers—wasn't because Rosaria has told her. It was pure deduction.
She had inferred everything just from analyzing the intention behind his creation of the Poké Ball.
A dragon's wisdom really was terrifying!
---
"Are you sure about this?" Arthur asked, eyeing Virelyra, who radiated a fierce fighting spirit.
The three of them were currently inside a pocket dimension created by Virelyra—a miniature artificial world with open skies and solid ground, much like the space 'outside' Rosaria's tent. However, unlike Rosaria's, this one was far more stable, refined, and seamlessly constructed.
They had agreed to battle in a two-versus-one Pokémon match.
Virelyra had been cocky—overconfident, even—insisting Arthur use both of his Pokémon against her lone Dratini. But Arthur wasn't about to let his guard down. That Dratini wasn't ordinary.
If he had a Pokémon with resistance to Dragon-type moves, it might have been an easy win—especially since Dratini's entire move pool was Dragon-based. Unfortunately, none of his current team had that advantage.
Rosaria, who had looked a bit uneasy ever since they arrived here, was standing off to the side, acting as the referee for the upcoming Pokémon battle.
"Rosaria, are you alright? If you're feeling tired, you don't have to be the referee," Arthur asked, concern evident in his voice.
"I'm fine..." Rosaria replied with a slight pout, her eyes flickering back and forth between the puzzled look on Arthur's face and the mischievous grin—and wink—of Virelyra.
With a long sigh, Rosaria raised her hand and announced, "The battle format will be a double battle. Each side is allowed to send out two Pokémon total. The side whose Pokémon are all knocked out will be declared the loser!"
At first, Arthur felt a flicker of concern about the battle. He knew Virelyra's Dratini was unusually powerful for a level 10, yet having it face two opponents at once still seemed unfair—though she insisted.
He had tried to talk her out of it—several times—but both Virelyra and her Dratini were stubborn to the core, eager to display their draconic strength.
In the end, he had no choice but to sigh and go along with it.
Level 10 Dratini versus a Level 21 Pikachu and a Level 10 Misdreavus.
Normally, this would be like pitting a peak Zero Ring against a Second Ring plus a peak Zero Ring—an overwhelmingly one-sided match. But Pokémon didn't function that way. Their strength scaled more evenly.
In Ocasia, Pokémon gained a +1 boost to all IV stats each time they crossed a tenth-level threshold. It was a meaningful increase, but still far from the sharp power spikes that Ocasia's inhabitants experienced when advancing through their Mana Rings.
Anyway, even without factoring in the Ring System, this would still be a complete stomp—if Dratini had been an ordinary one.
But Virelyra's Dratini was anything but ordinary.
"Battle!" Rosaria's voice rang out, signaling the start of the match.
Since Virelyra was determined to fight two-on-one, Arthur would honor that resolve—and fight without holding back!
"Misdreavus, focus on Astonish! Pikachu, Nasty Plot!"
While Arthur's Pokémon moved to carry out his orders, Dratini's aura suddenly flared with a violet hue as it began coiling in place, its serpentine body moving in a mesmerizing rhythm. Wind stirred around it, picking up speed, forming a growing vortex.
Without Virelyra even saying a word, her Dratini had already launched into a devastating combo: Dragon Dance intertwined with Twister—using the dance itself to generate the spiraling storm of dragon energy.
Misdreavus arrived just in time, its shadowy form suddenly swelling to an intimidating size before Dratini's eyes. Terror flashed in the dragon's gaze as the Astonish struck, disrupting the rhythm of its dance and forcing it to flinch.
But the Twister had already been unleashed mid-dance. The swirling winds howled, crashing into Misdreavus and hurling it back through the air.
Without missing a beat, Misdreavus broke free from the Twister and unleashed another Astonish, striking Dratini just as it attempted to resume its Dragon Dance.
Arthur briefly considered using Confuse Ray or Confusion—but quickly dismissed the thought. This Dratini had Shed Skin, and knowing Virelyra's expertise in dragon training, he suspected the ability had been honed to its peak. Status effects would likely be shrugged off before they could matter.
That path was a gamble not worth taking.
His current plan was simple: buy time for Pikachu to stack up Nasty Plot—a power-up move similar to Dragon Dance——and end the battle in a single decisive blow!
But Virelyra's Dratini… was even more absurd than he'd imagined.
"Dratini! Show your Father the might of a True Dragon!" Virelyra shouted.
Dratini's eyes gleamed with crimson light as it growled, pushing through the flinch by sheer force of will.
It began to dance, a surge of purple aura swirling around its body as another whirlwind of dragon energy enveloped it.
But this time, it wasn't just Dragon Dance and Twister.
Shimmering scales gleamed brightly, breaking free from its body and merging into the vortex.
Then, at the climax of its dance, its tail glowed with a vibrant purple aura, propelling the Scale Shot-empowered Twister forward with a powerful Dragon Tail!
"This is absurd!" Arthur exclaimed in disbelief, eyes wide as Virelyra grinned proudly.
Is this really a level 10 Dratini?
Misdreavus couldn't dodge in time. The Twister's fury swiped it away, scales and dragonic wind battering its body relentlessly, leaving it badly injured.
But Dratini wasn't finished yet.
Though visibly exhausted from unleashing such a powerful combination, its gaze remained unwavering. Leaning back, it opened its mouth and spewed Dragon Breath toward the empowered Twister.
Arthur's eyes nearly popped out as the Dragon Breath altered the Twister's course, sending a dragon tornado hurtling toward Pikachu—who now had two stacks of Nasty Plot.
Gritting his teeth, Arthur shouted, "Volt Switch! Destiny Bond!"
He didn't even have time to call out their names or explain—he could only hope they understood his plan.
Thankfully, they did.
Without hesitation, Pikachu's body shimmered and transformed into pure electricity, dashing toward Misdreavus spinning helplessly inside the Twister. A trail of yellow, zigzagging lightning marked its path.
Braving the storm of violet winds and gleaming, razor-sharp scales, Pikachu pushed forward, pain crackling across its form even in its electrical state. Still, it pressed on—driven by determination to reach its friend trapped at the center of the chaos.
The moment they touched, Misdreavus's body crackled and shifted into electricity as Pikachu took its place in the heart of the storm. Misdreavus then raced along the lightning trail, returning to Pikachu's original position just before the Volt Switch began.
They had switched places!
Unlike in the games, where Volt Switch simply allows a Pokémon to retreat into its Poké Ball and be replaced by another, in the real world it could be used to switch places with another Pokémon—provided the target allowed it.
The moment Misdreavus regained its footing and snapped out of the flinch, its eyes gleamed with eerie light. Shadowy tendrils extended from its body, snaking through the air toward Dratini—who had just recovered slightly thanks to its Shed Skin.
"What is that?" Virelyra frowned, a deep, instinctive dread rising in her chest at the sight of the move.
Because of her confidence, she hadn't bothered to scan Arthur's Pokémon beforehand. She had no idea what Destiny Bond even was.
It didn't look like a threat to her—but Virelyra's maternal instincts flared with alarm. "Dratini, dodge it!" she shouted, voice sharp with urgency.
But it was too late.
The shadowy tendril struck Dratini, linking its fate to Misdreavus's just as the ghost-type succumbed to its injuries and collapsed.
The connection flared. Misdreavus's fading energy surged through the spectral bond, reaching the terrified Dratini. Its body trembled, bathed in a dark, ominous aura.
Their destinies were now bound.
And just like that—Dratini fainted.
The battle ended in an anticlimactic silence.
Pikachu's carefully stacked Nasty Plots had gone largely unused.
But that was how Pokémon battles—or any real battle—truly were. They didn't always end in cinematic brilliance or flashy finishes. Not like in the anime.
No matter how extraordinary Virelyra's Dratini was, facing two opponents above its level alone was simply too much.
"Both Dratini and Misdreavus have fainted and are unable to battle! Arthur wins!" Rosaria, who had been holding her breath through the entire battle, declared the result with a burst of excitement and relief.