The thick smoke and dust gradually settled.
At the bottom of a fresh crater, Gabite lay flat on his back.
His mouth was slightly agape, trailing wisps of smoke, and his eyes were replaced by those unmistakable, dizzying swirls of a knockout.
The excited grin on Iris's face froze, then slowly crumbled.
"Ga... Gabite..."
No trainer is ever happy to see their Pokémon evolve only to be immediately flattened.
Worse still, he had lost in a direct clash of raw power....
The gap between these two Dragon-types was so vast it felt like a physical weight, a silent indictment of her skills as a trainer.
She knew she had messed up.
Once the initial shock wore off, Iris realized that while Hydreigon was undeniably stronger than Milotic, the real reason Gabite went down so fast was that she had let her guard down.
The sudden evolution had filled her with a blind, reckless confidence. She had honestly thought Gabite could go toe-to-toe with that three-headed monster.
If she had played it safe—stuck to the Dig tactics she used against Milotic—they might have stood a chance. Earth Power doesn't catch its target every single time.
But there are no "what-ifs" on the battlefield.
"Congratulations on evolving. You worked so hard," she whispered, pulling Gabite back into his Poké Ball.
She felt a pang of regret. She had hoped to use the momentum of evolution to forge a deep, spiritual link with Hydreigon's heart through the heat of battle, and then share that feeling with Kashiwagi.
She wanted to pull him into that profound, mysterious state of mind where he could feel exactly what his partner was feeling.
One mistake, and the plan had gone up in smoke.
Iris sighed, but as she looked over at Kashiwagi, she froze. He was staring up at Hydreigon with a glazed, distant expression, his face an absolute blank.
Wait... is he...
Before she could confirm her suspicion, Kashiwagi snapped back to reality and looked over at her.
"Did you feel that just now?" Iris asked, her sixth sense tingling.
Kashiwagi hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly.
He wasn't sure if it was just because he was overthinking it, but the moment Hydreigon let out that triumphant howl, he could have sworn he heard a voice screaming in his ear:
"I AM THE TRUE ACE!!!"
It had startled him so much he almost jumped. But when he tried to listen again, the voice was gone, leaving him wondering if it was just a vivid auditory hallucination born from the desert heat.
"Was it just a delusion?" he asked, relaying the sensation to Iris.
Her eyes lit up like Christmas trees.
"Absolutely not! That's it! That hazy feeling like you're actually hearing their inner voice! That's exactly how I started!"
"How 'started' are we talking? When did it happen for you?"
"Uh... when I was seven... or maybe eight?"
Iris scratched her massive hair sheepishly.
Kashiwagi felt a bit speechless.
"..."
If the symptoms started at seven and only bore fruit at eleven, that was a four-year wait. He didn't have that kind of time.
Then again, he'd only talked about it yesterday, and he was already showing signs today. Maybe his "System-enhanced" life could skip the boring middle chapters?
"HYDREI-G-O-N!!"
The dragon's roar snapped them both out of their conversation. They looked up to see Hydreigon glaring down at them with three very grumpy faces.
As if asking, "Are we going to fight or not? We've been waiting for ages! "
The two snapped out of their daze and said,
"Right. Let's finish this," Kashiwagi said.
"Mm-hmm! Keep that feeling close, Kashiwagi! It might happen again!"
Iris gave him a thumbs-up before hurling her final Poké Ball.
"This powerhouse is all yours! Go, Dragonite!"
Pop!
A fierce, sharp-eyed Dragonite materialized. Its tiny wings fluttered with deceptive strength, keeping its massive, muscular frame perfectly suspended in the air.
It locked eyes with Hydreigon, its fighting spirit visible as a shimmering heat haze.
"DRAGO-NITE!!"
The roar was a physical shockwave that rippled across the sand.
Ever since the Mirage Tower, this Dragonite had been itching to scrap with the three-headed beast. Back then, the environment and timing were all wrong.
Now? The stage was set.
"The 'Little Tyrant' finally makes an appearance," Kashiwagi noted.
He knew this was Iris's true Ace. Back in Unova, it had traded blows with Ash's Charizard. After traveling with Iris for so long, its power level had likely reached a new peak.
It was the perfect opponent for Hydreigon.
"Nasty Plot!"
Kashiwagi didn't open with an attack. He needed to restore the Special Attack power lost from the previous Draco Meteor.
"Hydrei-g-o-n!"
Hydreigon's three heads scanned Dragonite, looking for openings and weak points. As it did, an orange-red aura of power flared around its body.
In the anime world, move mastery could mitigate side effects.
As Hydreigon grew more accustomed to Draco Meteor, the "recoil" drop in power wasn't as crippling as the games made it out to be.
With Nasty Plot active, his next hit was going to be devastating—it had to be, or he'd never crack through Dragonite's Multiscale ability.
Iris saw the setup and roared her counter-order:
"Dragon Rush!"
Iris wasn't about to stand by and watch her opponent power up for free.
The moment Kashiwagi's command left his lips, she retaliated with lightning speed.
"DRAGO!"
Dragonite snapped its wings open, catching a thermal that propelled it high into the stratosphere. Looking down from its perch like an apex predator, its body ignited with brilliant azure flames.
Draconic energy danced between its fine scales like flickering spirits, eventually enveloping its entire frame in a massive, roaring energy construct. The terrifying pressure rolled off it like a tidal wave, crashing toward Hydreigon!
ROOOOAR!!
It felt as though a primordial dragon was howling across a desolate wasteland.
There was a time when this Dragonite ignored Iris entirely, acting only on its own stubborn whims; now, it moved in perfect synchronization with her will.
The shrieking energy dragon tore through the sky, but Hydreigon had already finished its preparations. It was waiting.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Hydreigon took a massive, shuddering breath. Its chest swelled unnaturally, as if it were trying to vacuum all the oxygen from the desert air into its lungs.
Then, it unhinged all three maws, unleashing a torrent of tri-colored flames directly at the descending Dragonite!
KABOOM!
The searing heat caused the moisture in the air to vanish instantly.
The three entwined streams of energy morphed into a massive, multi-colored fire-dragon that rivaled the size of Dragonite's own aura. The two behemoths collided head-on!
BOOM——!!
An ear-splitting explosion rocked the oasis. The sonic boom was so intense it felt like it would shatter eardrums.
A thick wall of dust and sand, kicked up by the shockwave, blanketed the field, forcing both Kashiwagi and Iris to shield their faces from the stinging grit.
While it's understandable that a clash of moves needs a certain visual impact to create a sense of awe, frankly, there was far too much smoke.
It was extremely inconvenient for battle.
Through the haze, Iris saw Dragonite beat its tiny wings to retreat back toward her.
Wisps of grey-white smoke drifted from its body, and several charred patches on its belly showed it had taken a significant hit.
Even with a protective energy shroud, taking a move point-blank with your physical body is a losing game. Hydreigon had only felt the aftershock, but Dragonite had been at ground zero.
As Dragonite's wings cleared the remaining smoke, Hydreigon came into view. It was hovering almost exactly where it had been, looking virtually untouched.
The opening exchange had clearly gone to Kashiwagi.
Iris gritted her teeth, her brow furrowing. Kashiwagi, on the other hand, was internally celebrating. Dragonite's hurt, he noted. That means the Multiscale is broken, so there was no need to worry about the moves being significantly less effective.
"Dark Pulse!" he called out.
Iris didn't hesitate. "Ice Beam!"
"DRAGO!"
An icy blue sphere formed in Dragonite's mouth, firing a jagged bolt of freezing electricity. It intercepted three spiraling rings of black-purple energy mid-air!
THUD!
Another cloud of steam erupted and quickly dissipated.
Failing to make headway twice in a row was starting to agitate Dragonite. It was a brawler at heart, and it was getting tired of trading projectiles. It wanted to feel its claws sink into something solid.
Iris read its mood perfectly.
"I hear you! Let's go! Dragon Claw!"
"WU-OHHH!"
Dragonite's claws glowed with a vivid, emerald energy, looking like oversized neon gloves of destruction.
It beat its wings with a violent crack, lunging at Hydreigon with even more explosive speed than before.
It was as if the pain from its injuries was only fueling its adrenaline.
Facing the berserk dragon, Hydreigon prepared its ultimate answer.
"Draco Meteor!"
"HYDREI-G-O-N!"
Ignoring the incoming Dragonite, Hydreigon reared its heads back. A massive, orange-red sun of energy gathered in its core before being pumped upward.
Suddenly—Pop! Pop! Pop! Like a rapid-fire grenade launcher, all three of Hydreigon's heads spat out brilliant orange-red spheres into the sky!
"What in the world?!"
Iris gaped at the spectacle. Even though she was from the Village of Dragons and had seen a thousand Hydreigon in her life, she had never seen one split a Draco Meteor into three separate launches simultaneously.
She couldn't even fathom the logic. The move is already designed to scatter! Why would you bother splitting it beforehand?!
In the center of the field, Dragonite had already reached its target.
It didn't care about the sky; it swung a glowing green claw directly at Hydreigon's middle head!
THUD!
A heavy, bone-crunching blow from Dragonite's glowing claw connected with a dull thud, sending Hydreigon spiraling toward the earth like a kite with its string cut.
But Dragonite's victory was short-lived. To its horror, it felt a crushing pressure around its legs.
Hydreigon's two side-heads had clamped down on its ankles mid-fall, dragging both dragons crashing into the sand together.
At that exact moment, the trap was sprung.
The three energy spheres that had reached the apex of the sky shattered like massive fireworks.
Countless meteors, trailing long, blazing tails like ethereal arrows, let out a bone-chilling shriek as they plummeted.
The sheer density of the attack was terrifying—it wasn't just a move; it was a concentrated storm of draconic wrath!
Watching Dragonite pinned on top of Hydreigon on the ground, Iris finally understood the logic behind the triple-launch.
By splitting the initial shot into three, Hydreigon had tripled the number of meteor fragments!
"Dragonite, get out of there! Move!"
She screamed, but Hydreigon's bite was like a steel trap.
No matter how much Dragonite thrashed, the Brutal Pokémon wouldn't let go.
Even the fist Dragonite tried to swing was caught and crunched by Hydreigon's large middle head.
Then, the rain of stars arrived.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
A relentless barrage of energy arrows hammered into Dragonite's back, wings, and tail.
In Hydreigon's calculated gamble, it took the "splash damage" while ensuring Dragonite took the full, concentrated force of the impact.
The shockwaves alone were enough to make the desert floor heave.
"DRAGO-NIIIIITE!!"
Even a warrior as iron-willed as Dragonite couldn't hold back a scream of agony under such a brutal assault.
"Dragonite! Hang in there! Use Roost!"
Iris's eyes snapped shut in concentration. She reached out her right hand, and a soft, shimmering golden glow began to radiate from her palm.
Kashiwagi's eyes widened.
There it is! The Heart of the Dragon!
That golden light was the mysterious power Iris used to commune with Dragon-types.
She was using it now to stabilize Dragonite's spirit—but how did she do it?
Kashiwagi mimicked her, reaching out his hand. But without knowing what she was feeling, he couldn't even form a mental image.
He tried calling out to Hydreigon in his mind, but... nothing. You couldn't just copy a soul-link like a move in a TM.
As the meteor shower died down, Dragonite looked like a wreck, its back covered in scorched craters. But suddenly, shimmering white feathers began to drift down from the air.
As they touched the burns, a soothing green light flickered, knitting the wounds back together. Roost was working.
Kashiwagi watched, refraining from ordering an immediate attack.
This battle was a classroom, not a tournament. If he wanted to win, he'd strike now, but if he wanted to learn...
Hydreigon had taken a heavy Dragon Claw, but it was still in fighting shape. Maybe he should order a Roost too?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a strange ripple shivered through his heart. It was a sudden, sharp spike of urgency—as if something was shouting at him to move.
『If you don't strike now, it'll be too late! DO IT! NOW!』
The feeling wasn't his own, but he felt it as clearly as if it were. It was coming from... right under Dragonite.
It's Hydreigon! Kashiwagi realized. He can't roar because his mouths are full of Dragonite's limbs!
The realization hit him like a lightning bolt. He didn't think; he just shouted: "Finish it! Outrage!"
The moment the command left his lips, that urgent anxiety in his heart flipped into a surge of pure, wild euphoria.
He hadn't just guessed right—he had felt his Pokémon's soul.
On the field, Hydreigon's body erupted in a terrifying, blood-red mist. His eyes glowed with a feral crimson light.
With a surge of prehistoric strength, all three heads yanked upward, tossing the massive Dragonite into the air like a ragdoll.
Hydreigon's six black wings beat the air with a violent crack, launching it upward like a black rocket.
"Dragonite! Thunder Punch!" Iris cried out.
But the Outrage speed was too much for the battered Dragonite.
Before it could even cock its fist, Hydreigon slammed into its chest with the force of a runaway freight train.
CRACK!
Dragonite's body folded nearly in half from the impact, the sheer force of the blow sending it hurtling toward the edge of the oasis.