"Fraxure, return!"
Iris shouted, her voice cutting through the frosty air as a beam of red light struck the slumbering dragon, pulling him safely back into his Poké Ball.
Milotic exhaled a small, disappointed puff of mist.
"Mi-looo..."
She had been ready to deliver a finishing blow. This was her first real battle since evolving, and she'd hoped to win it with a clean sweep.
Seeing her opponent simply vanish from the field was... unsatisfying.
"Don't get impatient. Keep your eyes on her movements," Kashiwagi soothed.
He was actually quite impressed.
Most trainers in this world—especially the ones traveling with a certain black-haired boy—tended to stay in the fight until their Pokémon fainted.
Iris, however, had recognized the "Trap and Sleep" combo the moment Milotic's tail wrapped around Fraxure. She was already thinking three steps ahead.
Still, the power gap was undeniable.
Kashiwagi's Internal Monologue: I'm actually more surprised than she is. Because of Feebas's... limited... combat capabilities, I rarely used her after leaving Verdanturf Town. Most of her training was internal sparring. I didn't realize she'd become this dominant.
Or perhaps, he mused, it was just that Iris's Fraxure was still in that awkward "teenage" phase—stuck in a long growth cycle where he wasn't quite a powerhouse yet.
"What's wrong?" Kashiwagi called out, seeing Iris hesitate with her next Poké Ball.
"I thought you were going to show me the 'Heart of the Dragon.' At this rate, the only thing I'm learning is how to win quickly."
"Hmph! I'm just thinking of a strategy! Go! Gible!"
Pop!
A flash of white light revealed a chunky, round, and incredibly determined-looking Gible.
...
"Ice Beam!" Kashiwagi commanded without a second's delay.
"Mi-lo!"
Milotic opened her mouth, and a sphere of jagged blue energy coalesced instantly. It fired off in a series of erratic, lightning-like zig-zags, the air itself crackling and freezing as the beam tore through the heat.
"Quick! Use Dig!" Iris yelled.
"Gible~!"
Gible's little stubby arms became a blur as he tore into the sandy earth, diving underground just as the Ice Beam screamed overhead.
The hole he left behind was instantly encrusted with sharp, jagged ice crystals.
Fast, Kashiwagi noted. He'd expected that shot to end the round.
"Stay calm. Watch your surroundings!" he shouted to Milotic.
Milotic was focused—perhaps a bit too focused. She didn't respond to him, her eyes glued to the vibrating sand. She was desperate to prove her worth in this fight.
The ground shivered.
In a normal battle, Kashiwagi might use Haze or Mist to blind the opponent, but Gible—much like its final evolution, Garchomp—possessed specialized sensors on the sides of its head. It didn't need eyes to find its target; it could feel the vibrations of Milotic's heart.
The sand rippled here, then there. Gible was circling her, looking for a blind spot.
"He can even sense when he's being stared at? Talk about a broken ability..." Kashiwagi muttered.
Finally, Gible saw his opening.
BAM!
The ground exploded diagonally behind Milotic. Gible launched himself into the air, his mouth glowing with a terrifying, sapphire-blue draconic flame.
"Dragon Pulse!" Iris screamed.
"To your right! Scald!" Kashiwagi barked.
WHOOSH!!
The energy construct of a roaring dragon head lunged forward, but before it could sink its teeth into Milotic, it collided with a high-pressure stream of boiling water.
BOOM!
Thick white steam erupted as the two moves canceled each other out.
Even with the power boost from Milotic's Mystic Water item, Gible's Dragon Pulse held its ground. This little shark was much stronger than he looked!
"Blizzard, now!"
Kashiwagi's voice rang out through the steam.
The icy-blue gale, swirling with pure white snowflakes, tore through the field and instantly dispelled the scalding steam. A layer of thick frost clung to the ground—
But it failed to find its mark.
The clever little Gible had already ducked back into his tunnel, using the earth as a natural shield to weather the Blizzard.
Iris flashed a brilliant, confident smile, as if everything was going exactly to plan. "Draco Meteor!"
From within the dark burrow, Gible unhinged his massive jaw—which took up nearly half his body—and a sphere of eerie purple energy coalesced in an instant.
It shot into the sky like a flare before exploding into a rain of violet meteors that streaked toward the earth.
He's fast, Kashiwagi noted. This Gible launched the move much quicker than his own Hydreigon, though the raw power was lower.
He knew the damage would be tied to Gible's Special Attack, but there was something else...
"The color is different?"
Kashiwagi didn't dwell on it. "Expand Aqua Ring! Intercept them!"
"Mi-looo!"
Though visibly tense, Milotic reacted instantly. Her body glowed with a soft blue light as three swirling rings of water manifested from thin air.
Under her precise control, they spun rapidly, expanding into massive watery barriers that tilted upward to meet the falling meteors!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Water collided with dragon-fire in a series of violent bursts.
Thick white steam once again blanketed the arena, only to be blown apart by the remaining meteors cratering the sand.
"You can use Aqua Ring like that?!" Iris gasped.
It was supposed to be a healing move, yet Kashiwagi had turned it into a fluid, defensive shield that comfortably neutralized a high-tier move like Draco Meteor.
It reminded her of a certain someone who also loved "nonsense" tactics and "unorthodox" maneuvers.
But once the rings dissipated...
Milotic began to flag. She coiled her body and lowered her head, her breath coming in ragged hitches.
To a Pokémon with so little battle experience, the constant output of high-power moves was a massive drain on both her energy reserves and her stamina.
To put it bluntly—she was still green.
At Level 46, she was technically the "underdog" of Kashiwagi's team in terms of raw energy levels. He couldn't expect her to carry the whole match yet.
Kashiwagi realized this and reached for a Poké Ball.
"Dragon Claw!" Iris's voice cut through the air.
Whether she noticed Milotic's exhaustion or not, she clearly wasn't going to let her swap out for free.
"Gib-le!"
Gible erupted from a hole he'd dug unnoticed. His short hind legs blurred with a burst of explosive speed, closing the distance to Milotic in a heartbeat.
His front claws shimmered with a lethal green light as he lunged!
"Block it!"
Clang!
A crisp, metallic sound rang out, followed by a small explosion of Dragon-type energy.
"What—!?"
Iris's eyes widened as a beam of red light finally struck Milotic, pulling her back into the safety of her ball.
Kashiwagi looked at the sphere in his hand and whispered a praise.
"Don't worry about it. You did great. Take a good rest before the next round."
Even without the Regenerator ability, a Pokémon naturally recovers a bit of stamina and energy when returned to its ball—though Regenerator would have done it much faster.
Across the field, Iris shared a look with Gible.
She hadn't been imagining it—Milotic had used her golden tail fin like a shield to parry Gible's Dragon Claw at the very last second.
Even a "weakened" opening had been countered perfectly...
What a terrifying Pokémon, she thought. No... what a terrifying Trainer!
She knew that such a seamless, iron-clad defense could only come from Kashiwagi's daily, rigorous training.
Her heart began to race with excitement.
Wasn't finding and battling powerful Dragon Tamers like this exactly why she went on a journey?
"Alright! We're just getting started, Gible!"
"Gible!" Gible felt his trainer's soaring spirit and let out a high-pitched, toothy roar.
Then, Kashiwagi released his second Pokémon.
Pop!
"Hydrei-g-o-n!!"
The three-headed terror descended into the arena, its six black wings beating the air with a heavy, ominous rhythm.
"Huh? It's not Aggron?" Iris blinked, caught off guard.
Kashiwagi had said he'd use his three "most Dragon-like" Pokémon.
She had assumed Aggron was a shoe-in, considering it could learn almost every major Dragon move—from Dragon Claw and Dragon Rush to Dragon Pulse and Outrage.
Like Charizard, it was basically a dragon in everything but name.
Instead, he'd brought out his heavy hitter, Hydreigon, this early.
Strange.
Iris was puzzled, but Kashiwagi's choice to bring out the "Brutal Pokémon" now was the result of a very deliberate, calculated decision.
In his original strategy, Aggron was supposed to be the second one out. But there was a slight problem...
Iris was proving to be much weaker than he had anticipated.
The whole point of this match was to attune himself to the "Heart of the Dragon," but at this rate, the future Unova Champion was going to lose before Kashiwagi could even get a feel for Hydreigon's mood.
If he sent out Aggron now, Hydreigon wouldn't even get a turn.
Could he really count on Iris's temperamental Dragonite to take down his Aggron?
Maybe, but if that Dragonite—Multiscale ability and all—got steamrolled by Aggron's sheer physical pressure, the match would be a joke.
The battle resumed.
Since Iris hadn't tried to "snatch" an opening move while he was switching, Kashiwagi gave her the courtesy of a simultaneous command.
"Draco Meteor!"
"We'll use Draco Meteor too!"
Both Dragon-types craned their necks toward the heavens.
Gible began brewing a blue-violet sphere, while Hydreigon churned a massive, orange-red orb of volatile energy.
Hydreigon's concentrated mass of power finished first, screaming into the sky just a fraction of a second after Gible's!
KABOOM! KABOOM!
It looked like two rival firework displays colliding in the stratosphere.
Eerie purple meteors and blazing orange-red fireballs rained down, each letting out a terrifying, high-pitched whistle as they streaked toward the opponent's half of the field.
The difference in power was staggering.
Hydreigon's meteors were twice the size of Gible's, radiating a much more violent energy.
As they struck the sand, they blasted deep craters into the earth, forcing Gible to dive back into his burrow just to survive the shrapnel.
Thump-thump-thump—BOOM!!
The explosions sounded like heavy artillery fire, burying Gible's side of the arena in thick, choking soot.
On the other side, Hydreigon didn't even bother to dodge.
Gible had already used Draco Meteor once earlier in the fight; his Special Attack had plummeted.
The tiny purple meteors fizzled out against Hydreigon's scales without leaving a scratch.
"Earth Power!"
"Hydrei-g-o-n!!"
Hydreigon's main head dipped low, exhaling a surge of muddy yellow light into the ground.
A jagged fissure tore through the sand, racing toward Gible's location with frightening speed.
Iris's face paled. "Get out of there, fast!"
Even without the warning, Gible could feel the tectonic plates of the arena screaming.
A massive wave of energy was closing in.
But by the time he tried to scramble out of the hole, it was too late.
Earth Power was too fast!
ROAR!!
The ground fractured into an irregular crater, and a geyser of pure Ground-type energy erupted like a volcanic blast, launching the round little shark high into the air!
"Gible!" Iris screamed.
Thud.
Gible hit the ground hard, covered in soot and bruised from the impact of the earth energy. He looked battered, his little chest heaving.
But to Kashiwagi's surprise, the little guy didn't stay down. He gritted his teeth and forced himself back onto his feet.
"Gi... Bllle!!"
Gible glared up at the hovering Hydreigon and let out a defiant roar.
Suddenly, his body was engulfed in a brilliant, celestial blue light.
Tiny specs of glowing energy began to swirl around him like a galaxy!
He was evolving!
"Hydrei?" Hydreigon's middle head tilted, a half-formed attack fizzling in its mouth.
Both Kashiwagi and Iris stood in stunned silence.
Even for Iris, this evolution was completely unexpected.
By the unwritten rules of Pokémon battles, everyone waits for the "Life Leap" to finish.
It's a mark of respect for the miraculous growth of a living being.
The spherical Gible rapidly stretched out, growing powerful limbs and a sturdy, muscular torso.
His head no longer took up two-thirds of his body; instead, he transformed from a chubby land-shark pup into a sleek, bipedal predator.
The light faded. Gabite stood on the field, letting out a sharp, piercing screech at the dragon in the sky.
"GA-BITE!!"
"Hydrei-g-o-n..." Hydreigon's main head narrowed its eyes.
Hydreigon's Thoughts:What's with this little punk? Just evolved and already acting tough? Who do you think you're yelling at?
"Dragon Pulse!" Kashiwagi commanded, picking up on his Pokémon's irritation.
Hydreigon was more than ready to teach this "Newbie" the pecking order of the Dragon world.
In an instant, all three of Hydreigon's heads lit up with tri-colored dragon-fire.
They let out a synchronized roar, spitting out a beam that merged into a single, terrifying energy dragon in mid-air!
"We'll counter with Dragon Pulse!" Iris shouted, her voice brimming with renewed hope.
"GA-BITE!"
Drawing on his brand-new strength, Gabite unhinged his fanged maw.
A surge of draconic energy boiled over and launched into a dragon-head projectile, soaring up to meet Hydreigon's attack!
CRASH!!
The two energy constructs collided in the center of the arena, snarling and tearing at each other like real beasts.
The evolution had clearly given Gabite a massive power boost—under normal circumstances, his Dragon Pulse would have been formidable.
But he was up against a Hydreigon who was "showing some love" with all three heads at once.
Hydreigon's massive energy dragon simply swallowed Gabite's attack whole and slammed into the ground-dweller with the force of a falling moon!
BOOM!
Dragon-fire surged toward the sky!
"HYDREI-G-O-N!!"
The three heads reared back and let out a triumphant, earth-shaking howl!