At the Pokémon Battle Dome—the forest arena
Despite its name, the forest arena wasn't densely wooded. The trees were spaced far enough apart that both sides could still see each other clearly through the foliage. Its close quarters turned the battlefield into a chessboard of movement and line-of-sight—camouflage without concealment.
Typically, the earth arena was the most popular. Its flat terrain, lack of obstacles, and simplicity made it ideal for beginners.
As a result, the other arenas were rarely used. The rocky arena, in particular, saw the least action—mainly because no Pokémon actually enjoyed battling there.
Preference wasn't the only factor—they also had Arthur to think about.
Most of the time, they chose the earth arena out of consideration for him. The other arenas were more fragile, and any serious battle risked damaging or outright destroying them. Repairing those arenas took more time, resources, and money—something they didn't want Arthur wasting unnecessarily. So, they were careful about when and where they fought.
But today was different.
The forest arena had been chosen at Virelyra's insistence. Cocky as ever, she had challenged Arthur's parents—Hector and Anna—wanting to fight them at their full strength.
Yes, the so-called grandpa and grandma referred to none other than Hector and Anna.
Like she had with Arthur, Virelyra begged for a double battle. Four of their Pokémon against just two of hers.
On paper, Hector and Anna had the clear advantage—in both levels and numbers. But Virelyra's Pokémon were hers for a reason.
Arthur had already experienced firsthand how absurdly strong her Dratini was. It stood to reason that her Swablu would be just as unreasonable.
As for why they weren't using the alternate space Virelyra could create, like she had during Arthur's own battle with her, it was simple: Arthur had requested this.
He wanted to see how much stress the forest arena could endure.
This could very well become the most destructive Pokémon battle yet—and there was a good chance Dratini might finally get the chance to unleash Draco Meteor, instead of being taken out anticlimactically by Destiny Bond like last time.
Arthur was also curious to see just how strong his parents' Pokémon had become.
Unlike Arthur and Lena, who mostly stayed home to train, their parents would occasionally head into the forest to hunt with their Pokémon. Their growth rate was slower compared to Rosaria's team—mainly due to the lower quality of food and resources—but what they lacked in growth, they made up for with real combat experience.
What, his dad lost to him a lot?
Well, that was mostly due to unfortunate matchups and an extraordinary run of bad luck.
The only time his dad ever got lucky was when his Scizor had just evolved—and managed to win a single battle against Arthur's Misdreavus.
After that? Right back to being hopelessly unlucky. Thankfully, with Scizor on his side, he still managed to scrape out a win now and then—just enough to keep him and his Pokémon's morale from collapsing completely.
That said, Hector was far more experienced in wild, chaotic group battles than in official, structured matches within the confined space of an arena.
When it came to double battles, though, Arthur firmly believed his parents were still the reigning champions. No one could coordinate like they could—at least, not yet. That's why he was betting on them to beat Virelyra and her absurdly powerful Dragon team.
Unless they got careless...
"Bro, who do you think's gonna win?" Lena suddenly asked, standing beside him as they waited for both sides to finish preparing.
Arthur paused a moment, then answered, "I'm betting on dad and mom."
"Me too! Vira's Pokémon levels are so low, I don't know where she gets that confidence from," Lena said with a nod, snuggling against Lapras, who had lowered its head to nuzzle Lena's cheek.
"Pikapi..."
"Vu..."
Pikachu and Misdreavus, however, didn't share Arthur's confidence.
While Arthur had been the one giving commands, Pikachu and Misdreavus had witnessed firsthand just how powerful Dratini truly was.
In the end, they won—but only because Misdreavus had taken itself out alongside Dratini. And while a win was still a win, to them, it didn't feel like a real victory—at least not one that proved who was stronger.
From their perspective, even in defeat, Dratini had still come out on top.
"Not agreeing with me?" Arthur smiled, reaching out and wrapping his arms around both of them in a hug. "My parents might struggle in one-on-one battles, but together? Even if they end up losing, they'll definitely put up a good fight against Virelyra..." He paused, his smile lingering—then added silently in his mind: And who knows... maybe this battle will be completely one-sided.
Now that he had time to reflect, Arthur realized he'd been too pressured by Dratini's moveset at the time. He'd played overly cautiously, letting Pikachu stack Nasty Plot instead of attacking in tandem with Misdreavus to completely overwhelm Dratini.
No matter how strong Dratini was, could it resist being overwhelm by constant flinching, confusion, and paralysis alone?
Sometimes, knowing too much about your opponent—and letting that knowledge breed pressure and caution—could be just as dangerous as underestimating them.
Arthur looked to both sides of the arena, wondering how this battle would play out.
On Virelyra's side of the field, she simply nodded at her Pokémon, grinning from ear to ear. "Alright—show your grandparents the Might of Dragons!"
"Dra~!"
"Swa~!"
Both Pokémon cried out with fierce determination.
Across the arena, Hector and Anna stood together, speaking casually as they prepared.
"Are we sure our Pokédexes aren't broken?" Hector asked, skepticism in his voice.
Anna chuckled. "Dear, we both know who Virelyra really is. Do you honestly think Pokémon raised by someone from the Dragon Race would be ordinary—even if their levels are low?"
"I know, I know… and I also know she's much older than us. But still—seeing her hang out with our kids like that, it's hard not to think of her as just another kid," he admitted with a lopsided smirk, clearly underestimating her.
Anna raised an eyebrow, a calm smile playing on her lips. "Have you already forgotten how badly you got beaten by Arthur before Scizor evolved?"
Hector lowered his head, grinning sheepishly. "That was a one-on-one match! But now?" He straightened, eyes gleaming with confidence. "As long as we fight together, I've got no shortage of confidence! Ouch!"
He winced as Anna pinched him.
Glancing at her with a sigh, his tone softened and his smile became gentler. "Alright, alright—I won't underestimate her."
Anna gave him a quiet nod, then turned to gently encourage her Pokémon. Hector followed suit.
They decided to let Butterfree and Beedrill, the old duo, fight first while Paras and Scizor waited inside their Poké Balls.
There wasn't much to discuss—the preparation felt just like the ones before their forest hunts. All they could do now was give it their best.
Lena stepped forward after both sides nodded. "This will be a double battle! The side whose Pokémon all faint or can no longer continue will be declared the loser!
"Battle, begin!"
"Beedrill, Focus Energy!"
"Butterfree, Hazard Zone: Ball."
Hector and Anna took the initiative, while Virelyra grinned, showing no intention to personally command the battle—just like when she first fought Arthur.
Beedrill's eyes gleamed as it sharpened its focus. But instead of preparing to unleash that energy on its opponents, it concentrated inward—toward its own mind. Hector had trained Beedrill's Focus Energy to a high level of mastery, honing its willpower specifically to endure the effects of Butterfree's combination move: Hazard Zone.
The name Hazard Zone—referring to a battlefield layered with powders and spores—had been suggested by Arthur to describe Butterfree's combination move. Anna liked it and adopted it as a command for her Pokémon.
Right now, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, and Stun Spore hovered in front of Butterfree—but instead of scattering, they condensed like a ball of shimmering particles, held together by Butterfree's psychic energy.
At the same time, Dratini and Swablu began their dance.
Dratini, just like before, combined Dragon Dance and Twister. It didn't use Scale Shot this time—combining too many moves would demand too much energy, and it was better to conserve that for later. Meanwhile, Swablu combined Dragon Dance with Feather Dance, scattering its feathers to weaken their foes.
Arthur wondered why it hadn't combined Dragon Dance with Hurricane—but then realized it probably couldn't yet. Hurricane was a far more advanced move compared to Twister, so it wouldn't be easy to pull off.
However, Virelyra had once again underestimated her opponents by not checking their moves with her Pokédex.
Had she done so, she would have known that Feather Dance was a waste of stamina against this pair of status-effect spammers.
"Beedrill, Assurance!"
A pair of floating, shadowy hands—formed from dark energy—materialized in front of Beedrill. They scooped up the condensed powders and spores into a tight cluster, then floated forward, weaving swiftly between the trees before stopping in front of Swablu and Dratini.
The hands opened.
A cloud of powder and spores burst forth, released directly in front of the two dragons who were still in the middle of their dance.
Beedrill was visibly sweating. The intense control required for Assurance, combined with the earlier use of Focus Energy, had clearly taken a heavy toll—draining a significant amount of its stamina and focus.
"Stop the Twister!" Virelyra finally commanded, quickly halting Dratini before it could scatter the powders and spores further. Her instincts warned her that it would be dangerous for her Pokémon to come into contact with them.
But Arthur's parents had never expected their opponents to do the scattering for them.
"Beedrill, Venoshock!"
"Butterfree, Gust and Whirlwind!"
Beedrill raised its stinger and launched a swirling mass of purple-pink poison energy through the trees with pinpoint precision, striking the floating Poison Powder in midair.
Upon contact with Venoshock, the Poison Powder detonated—exploding into a dense mist of intensified toxins, now mixed with Sleep Powder and Stun Spore. The result looked like a polluted fog, thick with shimmering spores and powders.
Then came Gust and Whirlwind, tearing through the air and scattering the toxic mist across half the arena. In an instant, the Hazard Zone had been fully deployed—completely engulfing Dratini and Swablu.
"Dra…"
"Blu…"
Both Pokémon staggered, their graceful dance abruptly faltering as their movements slowed.
Coughing. Pain. Sleepiness. Paralysis.
Unlike in the games, where only one status effect could be applied at a time—in the real world, these effects could stack.
Dratini had Shed Skin, and Swablu possessed Natural Cure—both capable of easily shaking off status effects. But with the powders and spores so dense and swirling around them from every direction, curing was pointless; they would be afflicted again moments later.
Virelyra's beautiful face darkened as she turned serious. "Dual Tail Wind! Twister!"
Swablu's fluffy wings shimmered with a vibrant blend of purple and white as it combined Dual Wingbeat and Tail Wind, striving to whip up a stronger gust from behind to push back the hazardous mist.
But her opponents wouldn't let her succeed so easily.
"Beedrill, String Shot!"
Out of the swirling, dense purple-pink mist, Beedrill emerged—ghostlike and sudden—barely affected by the Harzard Zone. It unleashed a stream of sticky silk that clung tightly to one of Swablu's wings.
Thanks to its sharpened Focus Energy, Beedrill had forged a fierce willpower, granting it a superficial endurance against the powders and spores. It forced itself to withstand the status effects through sheer determination alone. The trade-off was a significant drain on its stamina—but that was a small price to pay compared to being incapacitated by its own teammate.
Normally, it's difficult for a non-Psychic-type Pokémon to train Focus Energy to such a high level. Although Beedrill wasn't Psychic-type, it could learn moves like Agility and Rest—moves that hinted at psychic energy within its body. Butterfree and Misdreavus also played a role, frequently using Confusion on Beedrill's mind as it practiced Focus Energy. On top of all that, its Trainer wielded magic. Together, these factors allowed Beedrill to master Focus Energy as a way to strengthen its mind.
Hector and Anna knew Swablu would cause them the most trouble as a Flying-type, so they made it their priority to take it down first.
Swablu, with one wing trapped in the enhanced String Shot, tumbled to the ground in panic while Dratini successfully managed to cast Twister. Yet, the mist was too thick, and Dratini's lower level compared to Butterfree meant it failed to disperse the hazard.
"Butterfree, Attract."
"Free~"
Butterfree fluttered forward and began acting coy in front of Dratini, attempting to Attract it.
In the games, Attract only works on opponents of the opposite gender, but in the real world? As long as a Pokémon finds its opponent pleasing to the eye, even those of the same gender can fall under its spell.
And this Butterfree?
She had both beauty and cuteness!
Dratini was successfully distracted, happily dancing around Butterfree, while Beedrill launched an attack on Swablu, which was struggling to use its beak to cut the sticky String Shot.
"Aerial Ace! Dragon Pulse!"
"Beedrill, Venoshock!"
Swablu calmed itself, its wing glowing with pure white light as it summoned Flying-type energy to power Aerial Ace and sever the Bug-type String Shot.
But just then, a stream of poisonous energy shot from Beedrill, slamming into Swablu and detonating the poison inside its body!
"Swa!" Swablu cried out in pain, its face paling as sleepiness from Sleep Powder and numbness from Stun Spore took hold.
Summoning the last of its strength, Swablu let out a fierce, dragon-like cry and unleashed a heavy presence, channeling its remaining energy to boost Dratini with Dragon Cheer.
Then, eyes swirling, it collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"Swablu!" Virelyra's voice trembled with panic and desperation.
She had expected a straightforward, head-on battle—but what was this?
It felt even worse than being struck by Destiny Bond!
Her expression hardened as she commanded, "Dratini, snap out of it! Draco Meteor!"
"Butterfree, Psybeam."
A dark purple beam of Psychic energy shot from Butterfree, striking Dratini and causing its body to convulse violently.
Still held captive by Attract's charm, Dratini endured the splitting headache from Psybeam, along with the poisoning, sleepiness, and paralysis weighing it down. Instinctively—thanks to their intense training—it obeyed Virelyra's command as dragonic energy swirled and gathered in its mouth before launching skyward.
The glowing orb of vibrant purple struck the ceiling, activating the magic circle's defense mechanism and exploding into a dazzling shower of light.
"No way…" Hector stared upward in shock as multiple glowing rocks wreathed in vibrant purple energy began to materialize from the light.
He'd heard of meteors before, but he'd never seen one with his own eyes.
The Pokédex had listed Draco Meteor when he scanned Virelyra's Dratini—but he'd assumed it was just a name, not a move that literally summoned meteors.
Beside him, Anna's calm smile froze as she stared in disbelief at the dome's ceiling.
Who would've thought they'd witness real meteors—summoned by a Pokémon's move?
Even if these meteors were small—they were still meteors.
Both of them briefly considered taking out Dratini quickly to stop the Draco Meteor. But in the end, they decided against it—the move had already been launched, and chances were that even if Dratini fainted now, the meteors would still fall.
"Beedrill, use Assurance to protect yourself!"
"Butterfree, Air Slash!"
Both shifted to defense. Beedrill darted beneath a tree with dense branches, summoning a pair of dark, shadowy hands above itself—crossing them like a shield to guard its head. Butterfree soared higher, just above the tree Beedrill hid under, flapping its wings rapidly as it fired off bladed gusts of wind, slicing at the incoming meteors.
Empowered by Swablu's earlier Dragon Cheer, the Draco Meteor transformed into something apocalyptic.
The meteors shifted midair, their trajectories curving unnaturally as they honed in on Butterfree and Beedrill with terrifying precision—aiming for critical hits!
Both Pokémon mentally cursed at the same time. If they'd known the meteors could lock on, they would've flown far away rather than hunkering down. But now, escape was impossible—the curving meteors surrounded them from all sides.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Blades of wind from Air Slash tore through several meteors—
But there were too many!
Sweat beaded on Butterfree's tiny face as the first meteor struck… then a second…
One after another, the meteors rained down as Butterfree did its best to endure!
"Free~..."
With a cry, it crashed beside Beedrill—wings scorched and body trembling.
Without missing a beat, Beedrill adjusted its position, weaving its shadowy hands together to form a dome-like shield over both itself and Butterfree—an airtight fortress meant to block the final devastating blows.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rocked the arena as the meteors slammed into the dark, shadowy dome!
The impact erupted into a small mushroom cloud of debris and shockwaves, shaking the arena with raw power!
"Ugh..." Arthur raised his hand to shield his eyes as the shockwave slammed into him, the wind whipping fiercely across the arena.
The powders and spores dispersed, replaced by a thick cloud of dust filling the arena.
Half the forest arena was obliterated!
A level 14 Dratini's Draco Meteor—still small in scale—had caused such destruction. Even with the Dragon Cheer buff, it was undeniably impressive.
Pikachu and Misdreavus quickly positioned themselves protectively in front of Arthur, while Lena's Pokémon did the same for her.
"Beedrill!" Hector called out anxiously, but Anna remained calm, a slight smile playing on her lips.
When the dust finally settled, a scorched crater marked the spot where the Draco Meteor had struck, bruising Butterfree and Beedrill.
Despite the injuries, both Bug-types looked mostly fine—thanks to their higher levels. No matter how powerful Dratini's stats were, or how strong Draco Meteor was, it simply wasn't enough to match them yet.
Relief briefly flashed across both Pokémon's faces, but it quickly morphed into anger as their eyes locked onto the exhausted Dratini—just moments after using Shed Skin, still visibly drained from unleashing Draco Meteor—like two grim reapers poised to claim its soul.
"Dra!" (Please, spare me… I'm only following my mom's orders!) Dratini trembled, shaking its head, trying to crawl away.
But Butterfree and Beedrill had no intention of letting it go.
"Free~..." (You used such a big move to scare us! Now it's our turn to turn you into a big pile of meat!)
With a cry of desperation from Dratini, both Bug-type Pokémon lunged forward, beating it mercilessly.
Virelyra shouted commands desperately, but neither Pokémon gave her a chance—terrified of another Draco Meteor.
"Both Swablu and Dratini have fainted and are unable to battle! Dad and mom win!" Lena announced, her voice ringing clearly through the arena.