Excadrill's onslaught ground to an abrupt halt. It stared upward in dazed bewilderment at the plummeting Deino.
Deino crashed down with tremendous violence. Excadrill released a piercing shriek of agony as the draconic energy enveloping Deino tore through its body like a boring drill. The sheer friction of the crashing dragon aura ignited a colossal explosion, sending a brilliant golden mushroom cloud billowing into the sky.
The concussive shockwave rippled outward in all directions, blowing the spectating crowd off their feet. Had Latias not revealed her true form in the nick of time and deployed her psychic barriers, countless onlookers would have been hurled against the cavern walls and severely injured.
Once the shockwave dissipated, the battlefield was left utterly unrecognizable. Pitted craters scarred the earth, and broad swathes of stone were scorched pitch-black.
Excadrill had suffered the worst of it. It lay sprawled in the rubble, barely breathing, its body lacerated with wounds and the steel spines across its back snapped clean off. It was breathing out far more air than it was drawing in.
Seeing his granddaughter routed so brutally, Drayden's face turned livid with rage. With a frigid snort, he whisked Iris away without another word, rushing Excadrill off for emergency medical treatment.
At that exact moment, Deino began to glow with the brilliant light of evolution. Yet Deino forcibly clamped down on the radiance, suppressing the transformation. Without first securing the legacy of the Tao Trio, it could not allow itself to evolve, lest it forfeit a peerless opportunity.
Watching Drayden depart in fury, Instructor Victor felt an uneasy foreboding settle in his gut. The Second Elder, claiming old age and a need for rest, climbed onto the back of his Drampa and drifted away as well.
On the opposite side of the grounds.
Feng Lu had clawed his way through a grueling battle to secure victory over his opponent. He was now just one win away from obtaining the Dragon-Taming Flute and finding his missing child.
I have no choice but to use the forbidden technique in the final round, Feng Lu resolved silently. Otherwise, I won't be able to handle what's coming.
The forbidden art he mastered was Dragon Evolution—using Dragon Force to stimulate the latent bloodline within Dragon-type Pokémon, inducing an atavistic awakening that tapped into their ancestral origins.
"I'll be counting on you next," Feng Lu murmured softly. "Dragonite, Kommo-o, Hydreigon."
High above Dragon's Den, in the sea of clouds, Zekrom encountered Reshiram as the white dragon beat its massive wings and emerged into view.
Reshiram was entirely white, evoking the silhouette of a majestic white bird fused with a grand, wyvern-like dragon bearing vast wing-talons. Its entire form was cloaked in plumage as soft as down. Reshiram possessed vivid blue irises framed by deep black sclerae, with a cloud-like crest of long, flowing fur trailing from its head. Its countenance resembled that of an arctic wolf, adorned at the neck by two bands bearing a metallic sheen.
Matching its neck, the base of Reshiram's tail was similarly bound by a pair of lustrous metallic bands, below which lay an engine-like structure. The tail's tip drifted lightly into the air, resembling curls of flame or plumes of smoke. In its Overdrive state, that engine-like base would flare with an intense, fiery brilliance, spewing scorching heat, while the tips of the long fur atop its head would blush with a subtle ember glow.
Reshiram hovered among the clouds, beating its wings gently, its dragon eyes fixed on the battle unfolding down below.
"Reshiram, what brings you here?" Zekrom asked, surprised.
"I sensed an unsettling aura. Kyurem's seal has shifted," Reshiram replied, golden embers drifting from its wings with every stroke.
"Kyurem shouldn't awaken so soon, however," Zekrom said, frowning. "Even if the seal were breached, the Never-Melt Ice encasing it for eons would not be easily dispelled by human hands."
"After such an enduring slumber, its mind should have regained its reason," Reshiram mused. "Our duty is to watch over Kyurem and ensure mankind does not disturb its sleep. If Kyurem can truly regain its senses, order may finally be restored to the Unova region."
Reshiram shifted its gaze downward once more. "That Deino is remarkable. It appears to harbor your thunderous power. In that case, should its Trainer claim the crown at this Dragon Festival, I shall bestow upon it my Blazing White Flame. If it could then obtain the Permafrost Ice from Kyurem as well... there is no telling what terrifying heights it might reach."
Reshiram's form began to dissolve into the white clouds. "I will rest for a while. Awaken me when the prayer ceremony commences."
Leaving those faint words behind, it vanished from sight.
"What wonders will this chosen child bring?" Zekrom watched Feng Che for a lingering moment. "Could he truly be the future sovereign of Unova? Unova has remained fractured for far too long; it is high time it was reunited."
Scratching its backside with a claw, Zekrom faded back into the thick mist of clouds.
Both Feng Che and Feng Lu were granted an intermission to allow their Pokémon to fully recover before the championship clash commenced. This final duel would determine the next sovereign ruler of the Dragon-Taming Clan.
Feng Lu studied his opponent across the arena. A surging Dragon Force radiated from the young man, prompting the Dragon Force within Feng Lu's own veins to stir and sing with unbridled resonance.
I do not know who stands before me, but nothing will keep me from finding my child and wife. Steeling his resolve, Feng Lu unleashed a torrent of Dragon Force.
When the two currents of draconic power slammed into each other, they did not violently clash. Instead, they began to subtly weave and merge together.
"Who on earth are these two? The pressure rolling off them is staggering!"
"Indeed... it's like watching two walking, humanoid Legendary Pokémon!"
"Where did they even come from? I don't recall the Dragon-Taming Clan harboring individuals this formidable!"
"Could they have been biding their time in secret, waiting for the Dragon Festival to reveal their true strength?"
The spectators wracked their memories, desperate to match either combatant to a known face.
Down below, Instructor Victor watched the two Dragon Forces intertwine. His eyes widened in disbelief.
No way... Could one of them be my elder brother, Vio? This is bad.
Vio hailed directly from the Dragon-Taming Clan and possessed the rare knowledge of using Dragon Force to trigger Dragon Evolution. Furthermore, as a direct descendant of the main lineage, he carried the purest draconic bloodline.
There is only one circumstance where two Dragon Forces achieve spontaneous harmony: between a father and his direct, primary bloodline. Brother Vio is playing with fire! If Drayden catches wind of this, it will tear the clan apart in civil war.
Without hesitation, Victor released his Hydreigon, intent on rallying his old faction to protect Vio at all costs.
Meanwhile, on a knoll in the distance, Vio lowered his binoculars with a bizarre expression.
"How strange... Feng Lu's Dragon Force briefly resonated and merged with his opponent's. I've never seen anything like it. If only Victor were beside me—with how widely read he is, he'd know what this means."
Scratching the chin of the Kommo-o resting beside him, Vio sat cross-legged atop a boulder, lost in deep contemplation.