Episode 174

Four Dragons is the 174th episode of the Fairy Tail anime.
Natsu and Gajeel's fight against the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth continues, with both sides taking turns to have and hold the advantage in the fight. Remembering a promise he once made to Lector, Sting apparently downs the two Fairy Tail Mages. However, before victory is his both stand once more, Natsu pushing Gajeel aside to take on the two by himself. 
==Summary==
The audience is excited as Sting and Rogue show some trouble in their fight against Natsu and Gajeel. Natsu asks them if they really defeated a Dragon with the amount of power they have now, Sting proudly declaring that not only did he defeat the Dragon, he also killed it. They then start attacking seriously, and Natsu and Gajeel seem to have trouble fighting back. 
Back in the infirmary, Porlyusica notices the change in the cheering of the crowds and concludes that Natsu and Gajeel are having trouble. Wendy gets worried about this, but Porlyusica assures her that the battle has just begun. Meanwhile, while attacking Natsu, Sting reveals his goals of surpassing him. Erza notices a change in his attacks and it is shown that Sting has put a Magic circle on Natsu, but he quickly burns it off. After a while, Gajeel and Natsu begin to overpower Sting and Rogue, much to Fairy Tail's relief. As they fight, Makarov notes that three months of training and activating the Second Origin has made them very powerful.
Sting and Rogue struggle to get up, and Lector is worried about Sting. Lector thinks back to when Sting first made a promise to him, and Sting activates his Dragon Force, promising to fight for Lector's sake. Rogue also activates his Dragon Force, and Mavis and Jellal are shocked to see that they can activate it to their own will. Sting then challenges the both of the Fairy Tail members alone, and, as they fight, the whole arena shakes at the magnitude of his power. Wendy, Carla, and Lucy become worried, but Porlyusica states that since this is a battle between Dragon Slayers, the price of it is going to be heavy. 
As the debris clears out, Chapati Lola announces in shock that the floor of the arena has crumbled, and Lacrima screens appear to show the audience the battle going on inside the pit. When Natsu and Gajeel seem to have fallen, and Sting thinks back to the promise he made to Lector. In the past, Sting asked Lector why he was crying, and Lector replied that other people did not believe him when he said that Sting had defeated a Dragon. To comfort him, Sting promised Lector to defeat Salamander in front of everybody, to prove that Lector was not a liar. 
It looks like a victory to Sabertooth, and the Fairy Tail guild members are saddened by this outcome. Romeo begs Natsu to get up while Happy silently cries. Natsu then gets up, telling everyone not to think of this as a victory yet. Cheers of relief run through the audience and the people in the infirmary notice the change of cheers, and they are assured that Natsu and Gajeel are still fighting. Natsu then reveals that he has noticed a pattern in everything Sting and Rogue do, and as they go over them, they start squabbling. While arguing, Natsu pushes Gajeel on a cart, and the cart starts to move, triggering Gajeel's motion sickness. Natsu then challenges Sabertooth alone, feeling the need to have revenge on them for taking Fairy Tail too lightly.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
==Battles & Events==
*Natsu Dragneel & Gajeel Redfox vs. Sting Eucliffe & Rogue Cheney
==Magic, Spells, and Abilities used==
===Magic used===
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===Spells used===
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*Shadow Dragon's Haste
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===Abilities used===
*Hand-to-Hand Combat
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==Manga and Anime Differences==
*In the anime, various scenes with the spectators commenting on the fight are added.
*The fight is extended in the anime.
*A few scenes with Elfman, Porlyusica, Wendy, Carla and Lucy in the infirmary are added in the anime.
*In the anime, Sting apologizes to Rogue for defeating Gajeel, and says he kept his promise. This was not included in the manga.
*The way Natsu and Gajeel regain consciousness is more comical in the manga.
*In the anime, after Natsu and Gajeel stood back up, there is a brief scene where Lecter wonders if he's experiencing a nightmare. Frosch, surprisingly, doesn't think so too. In the manga, both the exceeds are only shown bewildered and speechless.
*The scene that Natsu fights with Gajeel about Sting's stance when he attacks is extended in the anime.
*A small panel with a motion sick Gajeel on the wagon is included in the manga but not the anime.
==Navigation==
Category:Episodes