Pokémon: Starting with a Dragon Dance Gible [11]

[Dragon Dance] plus Gible—is that even a thing?

Of course it is!

To Kaiba, this combo is right up there with “Groudon learns [Fly],” “Kricketune Hero,” and “Charizard, Charizard: can’t actually breathe fire, not even a real dragon”—those legendary memes that set the whole Pokémon fandom ablaze.

Who wouldn’t want to see a Garchomp that could use [Dragon Dance]? Or a Groudon that, at long last, could finally fly?

Groudon: I have my own code. I refuse to let Kyogre step on me forever. You think I’m just some useless bum? I’ve waited three years for this moment, not to prove how amazing I am, but to show everyone I can get back what I lost!

This “headline meme” Kaiba had dreamed up would definitely be clickbait gold if he ever did a livestream.

He was sure he wasn’t the only Trainer with the idea—there had to be other streamers on “Poke-TV” trying to attract an audience with exactly this kind of stunt.

He never believed he was smart enough to come up with something so genius that no one else in the entire Pokémon world could think of it.

So, wanting to scout things out, avoid landmines, and get ahead of the competition...

Kaiba quickly opened Poke-TV’s search bar and typed in keywords: “[Dragon Dance] + Garchomp,” “[Dragon Dance] + Gabite,” “[Dragon Dance] + Gible.”

He never expected—

He actually found it! There it was: a livestream, front and center, the words “[Dragon Dance]” painted in huge red letters over a Garchomp’s face.

...

Thirty seconds later...

Kaiba left that troll streamer’s channel cursing under his breath.

“Seriously? You slap [Dragon Dance] up there in bright red like it’s some huge deal, but if you look closer, hiding in tiny black print in the middle, it actually says [Dragon Cheer]—total scam. Just fishing for gullible clicks...”

The good news: In Generation 9, Garchomp finally learned [Dragon Dance].

The bad news: It’s [Dragon Cheer].

[Dragon Cheer]: The user lets out a rousing dragon cry, boosting their teammates’ morale and increasing their critical hit chance. This effect is even stronger for Dragon-type Pokémon.

That streamer was running a team comp using Garchomp, Dragonite, Salamence, Hydreigon, Charizard, and Gyarados, spamming [Dragon Cheer].

Of course, Charizard and Gyarados were just benchwarmers in his Box, never actually hitting the field—since neither of them is a Dragon-type, they couldn’t even get the bonus effect from [Dragon Cheer].

That team comp was just disrespecting half the Pokémon involved.

A true “meme lord” of a streamer, through and through.

The chat was flaming him, too, roasting the guy for misleading new viewers.

[‘Dragon Cheer’ gets called ‘Dragon Dance’ now? Makes sense.]
[Confirmed: streamer’s a Cynthia anti.]
[On behalf of the Garchomp Protection Society and the Cynthia Fan Club, I’ve reported this streamer. Did I do the right thing, guys?]

“So basically, Garchomp with [Dragon Dance] is a running joke in both my old world and this one,” Kaiba mused.

From his perspective as a “Pokémon player” with that all-seeing, meta-awareness, it was obvious—Garchomp just can’t learn [Dragon Dance].

—It’s practically a universal truth.

Case closed.

After all, Game Freak is basically out here making sure Garchomp will never get [Dragon Dance].

They’d rather make its scales into crafting materials for the [Dragon Dance] TM than actually let “[Dragon Dance] Garchomp” loose on the meta.

The malice is almost impressive.

But...

From the point of view of Trainers in this world, there’s no absolute certainty that Garchomp can never learn [Dragon Dance].

It’s just—everyone thinks it’s really difficult for Gible, Gabite, or Garchomp to learn the move.

No one here would ever flat-out declare, like a player breaking down game mechanics, that Garchomp can never learn [Dragon Dance], right?

Level-up moves, evolution moves, heart scales for move recall, egg moves, tutor moves, TMs, mimicry herbs, secret techniques—Pokémon have all sorts of ways to learn moves.

To be precise, in this world, not a single person, not even a Pokémon researcher—

Not even the world’s top Garchomp Trainer, Sinnoh Champion Cynthia herself, could dare to say—

Could dare to absolutely claim that Garchomp can never learn [Dragon Dance].

After all, never say never.

It’s just that Trainers haven’t yet found the right way for Gible or Garchomp to learn [Dragon Dance].

That’s exactly why “Garchomp can’t learn [Dragon Dance]” is such a popular meme here, just like it was back in Kaiba’s old world.

But how many people truly understand just how rare and powerful a [Dragon Dance] Garchomp would be? That’s still up for debate.

Roughly speaking...

The higher a Trainer’s tactical skill, breeding expertise, and understanding of Gible and Garchomp—

Only the world’s best Garchomp Trainers

Are truly aware of just how difficult it would be to teach Garchomp [Dragon Dance].

And just how much stronger a [Dragon Dance] Garchomp—or a Mega Garchomp—would be, if it could actually learn it.

To most average Trainers, and the meme-loving trolls in the chat, it’s just a funny gag.

They have no idea what kind of value or tactical depth might be hidden behind that joke.

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This is a fan translation of 宝可梦，开局龙舞圆陆鲨 by 眼含泪光 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!