Lazuli's Drapion

**Lazuli's Drapion** (Japanese: **ラズリのドラピオン** *Razuri's Dorapion*) is one of the Pokémon that Lazuli captured during her Sinnoh journey.

## **New Era**

### **Sinnoh**

Drapion was selected by Lazuli as her third Pokémon against Dwayne during their battle at the finals of the Lily of the Valley Conference, being paired up against Dwayne's Buizel. Drapion attacks with Pin Missile, which Buizel cancels out with his Counter Shield technique. Drapion then uses Cross Poison, which Buizel dodges by sliding behind Drapion. Buizel uses Sonic Boom at Drapion's back, who blocks the attack with its tail. Drapion grabs Buizel with its tail, twisting around its torso to menace the struggling Buizel. When Buizel tries to use Sonic Boom with his free tail, Drapion just grabs it with a free arm, rendering it useless. Dwayne instructs Buizel to puff up the life preserver object on his neck and then let the air out in an instant. After freeing himself, Buizel uses Water Gun to lift himself into the air, away from Drapion. With Buizel still in the air, Drapion uses Toxic Spikes, littering the field with them and poisoning Buizel. Then, Drapion uses Pin Missile to finish off Buizel, thus leaving Dwayne with five Pokémon.

Dwayne then sends out Crobat to battle Drapion next. Drapion uses Pin Missile, which Crobat effectively dodges with its high speed. Crobat then comes down with Brave Bird, which Drapion manages to dodge at the last second, and captures Crobat like it did with Buizel. Drapion uses Pin Missile on the trapped Crobat, therefore knocking him out. Dwayne then sends out Torterra next, and Torterra feels the effect of the Toxic Spikes instantaneously. Drapion uses Cross Poison on Torterra, and Torterra sends Drapion away with Energy Ball. Dwayne quickly attacks again with Leaf Storm, hitting Drapion again. Lazuli instructs Drapion to use Pin Missile to counter the Leaf Storm, which end up neutralizing each other. Torterra comes out of the smoke with a Rock Climb, but is grabbed by Drapion when he is just about to attack and uses Poison Fang on Torterra. Torterra uses Synthesis to gain back some energy and Drapion comes to attack with Pin Missile, again, hitting Torterra and knocking it out, leaving Dwayne with three Pokémon.

Drapion then gets recalled and substituted for Ninjask. He gets called back out to face off against Dwayne's Gliscor. Drapion uses Pin Missile to start things off and Gliscor quickly dodges the attack. Gliscor uses Stone Edge and Drapion uses Cross Poison to neutralize the attack, leaving behind a large smoke cloud which Gliscor shields itself in. Dwayne then tells Gliscor to use Giga Impact, and Gliscor emerges only to power up and fly back into the cloud. Drapion gets ready to attack, not knowing where Gliscor will come from. Gliscor appears and Lazuli commands Poison Fang, as Giga Impact scores a direct hit. Drapion turns around to counterattack, only to be shocked that Gliscor isn't there. Lazuli and Drapion then find that Gliscor used the momentum from the attack to quickly throw itself back into the sky, safe from attack while it recharges from using Giga Impact.

Lazuli realizes she allowed herself to be distracted by Stone Edge and has Drapion use Pin Missile. Gliscor dodges the attack quickly and expertly. It then powers up an X-Scissor, but it is subsequently blocked by Drapion's Pin Missile at the last moment, sending Gliscor flying back and landing on the ground. When Lazuli instructs Drapion to use Cross Poison, Dwayne calls out to Gliscor to use Fire Fang, and Gliscor is all ready to go. He jumps up, dodging the Cross Poison along the way and lands a direct hit with Fire Fang. As a result, not only does Drapion suffer major damage, but also gets burned. Lazuli is angry at once again being outmaneuvered while Dwayne grits his teeth with hope. From a combination of the damage he's received, Drapion finally faints, thus leaving Lazuli with one final Pokémon.

## **Personality and Characteristics**

Drapion quickly proved himself undoubtedly as one of Lazuli's most reliable and dangerous Pokémon, being capable of knocking out three of Dwayne's Pokémon in a row without any signs of exhaustion. Furthermore, Drapion's usage of Toxic Spikes proved itself as his greatest advantage, making any Pokémon that appears on the battlefield immediately poisoned.

Morever, Drapion can utilize his body parts for defensive purposes, such as blocking Buizel's Sonic Boom with his tail, and using his claws to trap his opponents and restrain them for any movement. And if his Toxic Spikes are active, Drapion uses his claws and tight grip to slam his opponents directly onto the ground, causing them to become poisoned as a result. The combination of his prowess in battle effectively cement Drapion is a powerful force to be reckoned with.

## **Moves used**

 A **†** shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves.