Dante glanced at their opponent's Pokemon. Steelix and Cloyster, both Pokemon with high Defense who prefer to use physical attacks. However, Cloyster's Ice typing may prove problematic to Dragonite who has 4x weakness to it.
"I take care of Cloyster, you handle Steelix?"
"Hmm. Sounds good."
"Then, Riolu, Vacuum Wave!"
Steelix has a racial Defense limit of 150, while Cloyster wasn't far behind at 140.
Even though Riolu has a much more diverse and powerful physical moves, his Attack stat of 100 wasn't enough to break through this kind of defense. Therefore, Dante decided to take advantage of both the opponent's much lower Special Defense.
Riolu whirled his fist, the air visibly rippling as he punched and sent a pure vacuum towards Cloyster.
The clam-like Pokemon didn't have time to dodge. She just managed to slightly shift her body, causing the attack to hit her hard shell. Even so, Cloyster flinched in pain as her body slid backwards.
"This Riolu…is more powerful than expected. But it's useless! Duff, honey, let us show them the power of love! Cloyster, Shell Smash!"
"Of course, sweetie pie! Steelix, Gyro Ball!"
Gyro Ball is a Steel-type physical move. Its power depends on how slow the user is and how heavy their weight- a perfect move for Steelix.
Dante had planned to take advantage when Cloyster was using Shell Smash to launch another attack. However, as the Vacuum Wave was released, Steelix's huge body blocked the path of the attack.
The large, steel snake coiled around Cloyster. He used his large body as a shield, deflecting Riolu's attack with the momentum of Gyro Ball.
"Dragonite, use Heat Wave!"
Focalors seized this opportunity. Earlier, she had commanded Dragonite to fly above the arena to avoid Cloyster's possible sneak attack.
With a flap of Dragonite's wings, a high temperature wind blew towards Cloyster and Steelix. Steelix was only able to offset some of the attack's power with the force of Gyro Ball, leaving him to tank most of it.
His movement began to slow down. But even so, he persisted, shielding Cloyster from Riolu who constantly attacked from the side.
"Thank you, love. Now, Cloyster, use Icicle Spear!"
Eda shouted. Following her words, Steelix opened up gaps in his shield. And from there, spears of ice launched in a continuous cycle, heading towards Dragonite who was still using Heat Wave.
"Dragonite, Extreme Speed!"
Dragonite stopped using Heat Wave, his body disappearing just in time as sharp spears of ice occupied his previous position.
"Take this opportunity, Riolu! Use Focus Blast!"
"Rio!"
Riolu condensed a blue ball of Fighting-type energy and hurled it at Steelix.
Duff and Eda reacted instantly. They chose to forgo attacking Dragonite. Instead, a gap opened at where the Focus Blast was about to land and Icicle Spears shot out, bombarding the blue orb of fighting energy until it dissipated.
"Hohoho, it's useless. Our love is unbeatable! Cloyster, Life Dew!"
"Our love is one plus one more than two million! Steelix, Gyro Ball!"
Eda and Duff held hands as they laughed uproariously. On the field, drops of water fell on Steelix's body, healing his injuries as he rotated around Cloyster once again.
Focalors frowned. She stared at Cloyster and Steelix, her mind whirling with ideas. If they can take down Steelix, then their win is guaranteed. However, the Pokemon's sturdy body gave them a hard time doing so, even if they took advantage of his weak Special Defense.
"Focalors. Can Dragonite take Riolu to the sky?"
"Hmm?"
Focalors turned her head. When she heard the plan proposed by Dante, the corner of her lips curved and she nodded.
"Hehe, then Riolu! Climb onto Dragonite's back and use Nasty Plot!"
"Dragonite, use Agility!"
Dragonite flapped his wings, Psychic energy wrapped his body and boosted his speed. Behind his back, Riolu closed his eyes as he focused on increasing his Special Attack.
"Oh no you don't! Cloyster, Ice Shard!"
"Steelix, use Rock Tomb!"
Eda and Duff exclaimed. With both their Pokemon weak to Fighting type, if Riolu is really able to boost his special attack so freely, they would be doomed!
Ice and stone flew through the air, heading towards the orange, chubby dragon. But before they could hit him, he flew away at a much faster speed.
Then, the chase began.
Cloyster and Steelix used all the moves they could to take down Dragonite. However, with the help of Agility and Extremespeed, Dragonite dodged all of them.
The diners in the restaurant held their breath, some of them stuck holding the spoon with food as they watched this intense match. This was the moment for the battle to be decided.
"Oh no!"
A young girl exclaimed. Stealthy, floating pieces of rock appeared where Dragonite dodged. Although he reacted in time and smashed them before they could hit, the delay was enough for Cloyster's attack to finally reach him.
"Yes!"
Eda and Duff cheered. The icicles exploded into light-blue mist at Dragonite's position. Soon however, the both of them frowned as they felt something wrong. How come Dragonite is so silent? Did he faint?
"Heh, I think both of you forgot. This is a doubles battle."
Dante chuckled. The couple's expressions changed. From within the smoke, a large ball of blue energy whirred and headed straight towards Cloyster.
"Steelix, Gyro Ball!"
"Cloyster, Icicle Spear!"
Duff and Eda wasted no time and fell back to their tried-and-true turtle strategy. But this time, the result was much different from earlier.
Cloyster's Icicle Spear shattered upon impact, only causing the orb of energy to slightly slow down. Then, it continued unimpeded and hit Steelix.
Silver and blue clashed.
BOOM!
"Steel!!"
Steelix roared, Steel-type energy emitting from his body as he exerted Gyro Ball to the maximum. But even so, the force of Riolu's attack caused his body's rotation to start slowing down. Fortunately, the blue ball of energy slowly petered out and he only suffered some slight injury.
But unfortunately also, that was just a single wave of attack.
From above the sky, Dragonite appeared, carrying Riolu who had condensed another ball of Fighting-type energy behind him. Then, under the despairing gaze of the Trainer and their Pokemon, the ball fell and caused a large explosion.
…
"Oh my~ We didn't expect we'd be able to fight against the famous Dante Zulueta!"
"Indeed. I always thought Riolu was abnormally powerful for its species. Now I understand why!"
After the match, Duff and Eda sat opposite Dante and Focalors, the pair of couples having decided to eat lunch together. When they saw the Shiny Azumarill, they instantly realized the true identity of one of the teenagers who defeated them.
"Hah! You're exaggerating. I also learned a lot against fighting you two veterans."
Dante chuckled and glanced at the six Pokemon released by the two, a whole team by the Alliance's standard. With this number, it meant they both had at least 6 or 7 badges.
After the pleasantries, the distance between the two groups became closer. Duff and Eda were especially curious about the relationship between the famous Dante and this mysterious girl. At the same time, Focalors was also interested in love advice from this 'very intimate' couple.
They had a pleasant chat over the meal, with both couples satisfying their curiosity. And before they parted, Duff asked something from Dante.
"By the way, Dante, can you sign me an autograph? It's for our daughter. You see, she idolizes you very much. She even said she wanted to enter the same university as you next year."
Duff had a fond smile when he mentioned said daughter. Seeing Dante nod, he excitedly took out an exquisite piece of paper along with a marker from his Space Bag.
"Do you want me to specifically write anything?"
"Oh no no, just a general encouragement. Ah, and please address it to Amy."
"Sure, wait just a sec."
With a flourish of his fingers, Dante wrote:
Looking forward to seeing you next year, Amy
From the Strongest Pokemon Trainer