Noivern held Jacob's gaze for a long moment. Slowly, the uncertainty in its eyes gave way to something firmer. It turned its head and looked up at Hydreigon floating high above, radiating power like a force of nature.
The sheer size of the three-headed dragon, its dense and churning energy — it was the kind of presence that made a person want to step back without thinking. To train under something like that?
Not long ago, Noivern would have refused without a second thought. Back then, all it had wanted was to stay by Jacob's side. That was enough. That was everything.
But things were different now. Noivern had been through a great deal, and it had changed. It thought more carefully, weighed things it once would have brushed off without a care. The carefree days of playing around felt like a memory from someone else's life.
More than any of Jacob's other Pokémon, Noivern understood now how much strength truly mattered.
There had been a time when it was the weakest member of the team — not just a little behind, but clearly last. It had never been serious about training, preferring to goof off and enjoy itself. Every day passed easily, without much thought given to tomorrow.
And then, quietly, it began to fall behind.
The moment it truly hit home was watching Charmander evolve into Charizard. Charmander, who had joined the team after Noivern. Then Treecko evolved into Sceptile too, driven and focused in a way Noivern had never been. Meanwhile, Noivern was still a Noibat. Small. Uncertain. Unable to do much of anything useful for Jacob.
That stretch of time was the hardest it had ever known. Not because Jacob treated it any differently — his patience and warmth never wavered. But watching Charizard and Sceptile grow into Pokémon who could carry real weight in battle made something quietly shift inside Noivern. For the first time, it felt a genuine need to become stronger.
Even after it finally evolved into Noivern, the gap did not close overnight. It had fallen far enough behind Charizard and Sceptile that catching up felt like an uphill struggle. The three were often called the iron trio, but Noivern knew which one of them was barely keeping pace.
It was only when Jacob used a Bottle Cap on it — raising its potential all the way to Master-level — that things began to improve, if only a little.
You never truly understood how much strength mattered until you had gone without it.
Kree—
Noivern looked back at Jacob. Its mind was made up. It gave a firm, deliberate nod, then turned and let out a sharp cry toward Hydreigon high above.
Jacob watched, and the knot in his chest loosened slightly. His little Noibat had grown up. It had found the kind of resolve he had always hoped for. There was real pride in that.
But there was an ache, too — like watching a child you had raised from the very beginning walk out the door on their own for the first time. He was glad. And in spite of himself, a little worried.
He and Noivern had never once been apart. Not since before it had even hatched — back when it was still an egg. Of all his Pokémon, Noivern had been his very first partner. In many ways, it was the one who had set Jacob on the path toward becoming a Dragon Master.
He knew this was the right call. Training under Hydreigon was the best opportunity Noivern could ask for. But knowing that and truly being at peace with six months of separation were two very different things.
"Noivern," Jacob said quietly, stepping forward. "Have you really thought this through?"
Noivern looked at him steadily and nodded.
"Okay." Jacob closed the distance and wrapped his arms around it. "I'll come back for you in six months. I promise. Take care of yourself out there."
Noivern spread its broad wings and returned the embrace. For a brief moment they stayed like that, still and quiet.
Then Noivern pulled back. It looked at Jacob once more — calm, certain — and without hesitation, spread its wings and launched itself into the sky, cutting through the clouds toward Hydreigon until it disappeared from sight.
They both understood, without needing to say it. This parting was the first step toward something better.
"Now," Hydreigon's deep voice resonated from above, "you may proceed to the final layer of the secret realm."
A silver rift split open in the sky. Jacob returned the rest of his Pokémon to their Poké Balls and stepped through.
Dragon Spiral Tower — Fourth Layer
"The blazing sun will scatter all shadow, burn away all that is wicked. Those who stand against it shall be reduced to ash."
Heat.
That was the only word for it.
The moment Jacob arrived at the fourth layer, a wall of scorching air slammed into him. It pressed against his skin and chest and made every breath feel like inhaling from an open furnace. Waves of heat rolled in without pause, and within seconds sweat was already soaking through his clothes.
Steam rose in thick columns, warping the air into rippling shapes that blurred everything in sight. Above, the sky blazed with a blinding white light. Jacob squinted and could make out nothing — just an overwhelming, radiant blankness.
"Gyarados, use Rain Dance!"
He released Gyarados immediately, hoping the weather change would bring some relief.
It didn't work. The Water-type energy Gyarados began to gather evaporated almost at once, consumed before it could take hold. Rain Dance had no effect.
Jacob's thoughts started to blur. The heat was getting into his head.
Then, without warning, the blinding light above dimmed. The crushing waves of heat eased, pulling back like a tide retreating from shore.
"Gyarados—" Jacob's voice came out rough. "Water. On me. Now."
A small sphere of Water-type energy struck him, and the relief was immediate. He sat down on the stone floor, breathed steadily, and let himself recover before looking around properly.
Floating in the air before him was what could only be described as a living sun.
Six orange-red wings spread wide, veined with rivers of living flame. Embers drifted from their tips and landed on the floor with a soft, crackling hiss. Deep blue eyes regarded Jacob with calm, unreadable focus.
Volcarona.
The Sun Pokémon.
It was clear now. Volcarona had been the source of that blinding heat — every last bit of it. If it had not chosen to rein in its Fire-type energy at the last moment, Jacob would have been in very serious trouble.
The space around them was entirely enclosed, like the inside of a deep grotto. The walls were made of old yellow stone, worn with age and marked by time. Carved into them were ancient murals and rock sculptures — Bronzong, Claydol, Relicanth, Hydreigon, Volcarona — and among them, the unmistakable towering forms of Zekrom and Reshiram. The murals depicted scenes of people gathered in ceremony, heads bowed and hands raised in offering and prayer. Many had crumbled past recognition, leaving only a few intact enough to read clearly.
Jacob looked back at Volcarona and assessed it. The aptitude reading came back the same as Hydreigon's — Legendary Class. He accepted that without surprise. He was past the point of being caught off guard by it.
A clear pattern had emerged across the layers of the tower:
The first layer held Bronzong and Claydol, both at Master-level aptitude. The second held Relicanth, also Master-level. The third held Hydreigon at Legendary Class. And now, the fourth held Volcarona at the same rank.
Each layer raised the bar. Each guardian was stronger than the last. That Volcarona held the fourth layer meant it was a step above even Hydreigon — and what had just happened made that easy to believe. A Pokémon that could fill an enclosed chamber with heat intense enough to overwhelm a trainer in seconds, without even trying, was not something to underestimate.
Jacob exhaled slowly and steadied himself.
Volcarona's deep blue eyes had not moved from him.
What kind of trial was waiting here?